16 months old!

The twins are 16 months old already! I still catch myself calling them "babies," but they seem more and more like little kids now, and seem to grow leaps and bounds every week.

Here's what you should know about them at 16 months:


Audrey:
1. Audrey is still our happy, happy girl. While she wears her "serious" face a lot, she continues to be laid-back, easy going, and generally cheerful. That said, she does have her moments when she needs to cuddle and be held (love those moments!) and when she lays the smack down (Isaac literally gets smacked now if he gets in her way or bothers her!).
2. Her favorite word is "light." She loves lights--turning them on/off, telling us when she wants them on, and pointing out all of the little (and big) lights that we take for granted and don't even notice in our daily lives: street lights, car light, little lights on the T.V. buttons and dishwasher. She spots them all!
3. She continues to be our "goofball"--she loves imitating and initiating gestures and knows when she's being silly! Favorites: side-to-side, head tilts, head shakes, and peek-a-boo.
4. We're pretty sure she'll love the rides at Valley Fair and Disney World someday: She loves to spin, rock, go upside-down, bounce, dance and splash. At day care, she loves to spend open gym time on the rocking horse (when Ryan picks them up at the end of the day, that's where he usually finds her!).
5. Audrey's all about routine. She expects dinner on the table when she gets home from day care, doesn't like bath time to be a minute late, and loves her milk with bed time stories. The only part of her routine she hates is brushing her teeth; she has several tricks up her sleeve to make sure that toothbrush never reaches her mouth!
6. She helps us out around the house, and would rather be with us than playing with her toys. She loves to load and start the dishwasher and "sort" the mail and the laundry.
7. Some of her favorites: blankies, her stuffed caterpillar, spicy food (loves Mom's chili and hummus!), books like The Rainbow Fish and Can You Cuddle Like a Koala?, and--of course--our dog Sydney and cat Mookie. Her favorite instrument is the triangle, favorite movie is probably Baby Neptune (but any Baby Einstein, really), favorite cereal is Kix, and her favorite pastime is emptying the bookshelf, cupboards, freezer, and anything else that could be emptied!

Isaac:
1. Isaac loves to smile and make people laugh. He blows kisses at anyone who will reciprocate and isn't shy about giving kisses to strangers! He still has a hearty laugh and shriek and reminds us every day to have fun and see the humor in life.
2. He continues to love balls and gravity--he has the most fun when he's rolling small ones on different surfaces, dropping them from various heights, or bouncing the "big ball."
3. We predict he'll be a techie--the first one in line at Best Buy to buy the latest gadgets! He loves the cause-and-effect of pushing buttons and levers--from the most basic of technology (flushing the toilet) to the T.V. remote, air purifier, microwave, camera, and laptop. It isn't too difficult to find him in the house: Just listen for one of these to mysteriously turn on!
4. Isaac still likes to eat, though he has a more discerning palate now. He LOVES fruit--especially blueberries--but tends to throw his veggies to Sydney and won't usually humor me if I cook something new. The first day of day care he cried and cried until someone said the word "snack." I guess his mood and expression immediately changed, as if to say, "Food? No one told me there was food here!"
5. He continues to talk a lot, and has added enough words to his vocab that we stopped keeping track. He loves to imitate words too, and he'll practice and practice until he gets it right (or, at least until Ryan and I can understand him). Everything usually starts as "dah" and over time morphs into the correct pronunciation (though most of his words still lack the final consonant sound!).
6. Reading stories continues to be a favorite pastime for him. He likes to choose his own stories now and will usually throw a mini tantrum when we finish (apparently, four stories isn't enough--especially when he's trying to stall bed time!). His current faves: Sleep, Baby, Sleep; Wow! Said the Owl; and The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear.
7. He initiates a lot of games and is a terrific problem-solver (when he wants to be). At day care, he purposely creates traffic jams of cars at the bottom of this car chute they have, and then removes the first car to watch them all come flying down (again, fun with gravity!). He says (or attempts to say) "stop" when he sees a red light and "go" when he sees a green light and gets upset if I don't acknowledge this (i.e. "Yes, Isaac, red means stop"). He continues to amaze me with his inquiries and attempts to make sense of the world around him!

Pumpkin Pickin'

We took the twins to the pumpkin patch this weekend. Things were pretty picked over, but Isaac and Audrey managed to find the perfect lil' pumpkins (with maybe a little bit of help from Mom and Dad). Take a look:

Why do we have to sit here with these pumpkins?

Slim pickins'

Waiting for the tractor to come around again and take us for a hay ride

Donkeys make everything better!

Footprints on our Hearts

Audrey and Isaac lost their dear friend Eli unexpectedly last week. He added so much to their lives in such a short time, and will be deeply missed. These pictures were taken just a week and a half ago at the apple orchard. I wanted to share them in Eli's honor.

 Audrey and Eli having a conversation

All three loved the goats

Look Who's Talking

The twins are really starting to "talk" to us now, and they have discovered how empowering it is to have a "say" in various matters. While Isaac has a few real words under his belt (though only Ryan and I can understand him at this point), his favorite new word is actually a gesture: a fast and furious head shake that obviously means "no" and is a borderline temper tantrum (do those really start this early?). However, he has learned to use it calmly, too--when I asked him if he wanted more cereal the other day, he looked up as though he was pondering it a moment, then slowly shook his head "no." I was shocked--since when does Isaac turn down food? :) Sure enough, he was just reveling in his power to choose (I came back a few minutes later and he was asking for more).

Speaking of more, Audrey has started signing "more" all of the time now, and I wonder how she can possibly fit all of that food into her tiny tummy! Like Isaac, I think she enjoys this new "word" more than she actually enjoys the food. I used to joke that she just picked at her food like a bird, but now she eats as much as her brother! She has also learned to sign "food" now (surprise, surprise), and this becomes a problem when it's not even close to meal time!

Isaac also figured out how to flush the toilet this week. First step toward potty training, right? :)

All of these skills are prepping them for daycare, which they'll be starting full-time in three weeks. While I'm really sad I won't be staying home with them anymore, I'm excited for the fun that awaits them!

A Busy Month!

Audrey and Isaac had such a busy end to the summer! A trip to Iowa, their first wedding, a pool party, and their first carousel ride--at the State Fair, of course! Check out what they've been up to:

Team "Trouble"

Now that Audrey crawls as quickly as Isaac, we've noticed that they travel together--and get into trouble together. Every day they go together to the bookcase where Isaac will stand and reach the books off of the highest shelf and toss them down to Audrey. When all books are off of the shelf, they page through--and sometimes rip pages out before I can save them!

Yesterday, they got mysteriously quiet and I knew they were up to no good. I found them in the bathroom--Isaac had emptied the garbage can of its contents and Audrey had discovered the toilet paper roll. I found them sitting together in a whopping pile of toilet paper and Kleenex--even Sydney couldn't make that big of a mess! Someone remind me...when can I start teaching them to clean up after themselves?

They've had many bouts of separation anxiety lately, which I find endearing in spite of it all. Yesterday when I left the house, I turned around as I walked down the front steps to find Isaac, face smashed against the window, staring at me and bawling his eyes out with the most painful look! As much as I feel bad for causing his anxiety, it's touching to be loved so much. :)

Self grooming?

If Isaac looks a little more disheveled than usual the next time you see him, it's because he has decided to take grooming into his own hands. He knows how to comb his hair and brush his teeth now, so we're letting him take over during our bedtime routine. Granted, I usually have to re-brush his teeth (I think he mostly brushes his tongue and chews on the toothbrush), but I'm going to let him comb his own hair (his hair is so wild it doesn't cooperate anyhow!). Audrey also learned to share this week, so we've been practicing sharing toys and balls (she won't share with Isaac yet, but she'll share with me and Ryan!).  

Kim also posted some of the twins' one-year photos online. They're amazing! Check them out at http://www.kiddiewhampusphotos.blogspot.com.