I can't believe our kids are almost two years old! Time really does fly...too quickly. Here's what's new with Isaac and Audrey at 20 months:
Isaac
1. Isaac is one chatty guy! He has an impressive vocabulary and--thanks to day care--surprises us every day with new words. In just the past couple of days, he has come home saying puzzle, circle, bubble, and--my favorite--cardinal (they have a couple of bird feeders outside of their classroom and they're studying birds right now!). His favorite words, however, are dada, Audrey (Dah-dee), tickle...or tickle, tickle!, uh oh, please, owie/ouch, and basketball (most balls are "basketballs").
2. He loves his sister. While they still fight every once in awhile (which will probably continue for years to come), it is so fun to hear him yelling, "Dah-dee! Dah-dee!...DAH-DEE!!!" when he can't find her or has something to share with her (yes...he does "share" with Audrey every once in awhile!).
3. He's obsessed with moons. I don't recall how it started, but I think my enthusiasm one night on the car ride home about a huge full moon in front of us may have had something to do with it (or it could be the fact that you could pick up any children's story and probably find a moon in there). And that's exactly what Isaac does: He flips through book pages until he sees a moon and points excitedly, "Moon! Moon!" It took awhile to differentiate between the moon and the stars, but he has since figured it out.
4. He has a mind of his own and a little bit of a stubborn streak, so getting him to cooperate takes some creativity and a lot of praise. He has a lot of energy to burn and thus does not like to be constrained or restrained--the stroller and the car seat are his enemies (thank goodness he hasn't tried to climb out of the crib yet!).
5. Isaac is a very social guy and has made a lot of friends at day care (they swarm him when he arrives in the morning). He loves to say hi/bye and his teachers have taught him very good manners, which we try to reinforce at home! While he doesn't blow as many kisses as he used to, he still loves to give hugs--so don't be afraid to ask next time you see him.
6. Some of his favorites:
Color - blue (though he says "purple" too)
Food - still blueberries!
Animal - probably monkeys, and most recently cardinals
Song to listen to - A Whole New World (Aladdin)
Song to sing - Old McDonald had a Farm ("e-i-e-i-o") - and he only has cows on his farm
Sport - basketball
Activity - reading stories, playing basketball, going down the slide, and throwing his food/dishes on the floor (he can't get enough of any of these)
Sounds - Ow! (Michael Jackson), caw (crow) and weeee!
Vehicle - truck (he knows the difference between a car and a truck, but anything questionable is a truck)
Audrey
1. Audrey is our little perfectionist. She either practices over and over again or waits until she's confident enough in herself before she shows off her skills. Examples? She loves puzzles--she could sit there for hours doing puzzles and usually won't put one down until every last piece is in place. She is very "dainty" with her utensils and would rather take an hour to eat a meal--one pea on her spoon at a time--than give up and use her hands. She also has a knack for stacking creamers; she will stack five of them perfectly and will swat your hand away while she tries to nudge the top one a sixteenth of an inch to the left so that the tower is that much sturdier. :)
2. She loves hygiene-related activities: brushing her teeth, brushing her hair, taking baths, and watching me do my hair (which you all know is just pulling it back into a ponytail!). She has recently taken an interest in the potty chair and needs to sit on it in the mornings after she brushes her teeth (it has been incorporated into her morning routine). She doesn't know what it's for or why it's there, only that she gets praised just for sitting on it--and who wouldn't want that? :)
3. She loves "no" and we're pretty sure she's in the phase where it's fun to say "no" for its own sake. We play a little game on the car rides home where I ask her what she wants for dinner--ranging from brussel sprouts and lima beans to pizza and ice cream--and she gets such a kick out of shaking her head "no" to everything--even when she knows it would be awesome to have ice cream for dinner (thank goodness she knows I'm not being serious!).
4. While she's still pretty quiet, she's very inquisitive, and her favorite word is "this." We answer the "This?" (as in, "What's this?") question a million times a day even though we know that she knows exactly what "this" is. She recently started saying door, shoe, and--just today--"uh oh" with a cute little shoulder shrug and hands up in the air. Aww...
5. Like Isaac, she also loves stories and it is fun to see which ones she chooses off of the shelf. For example, she always gravitates toward stories with animals--especially stories with baby animals--and those that have fun sounds like "Wow!" or "Tada!"
6. Some of her favorites:
Stuffed animal - Bonnie the Bunny (graduated from Caty the Caterpillar) - and no, I'm not very creative with names! :)
Food - oatmeal, but also she's still a meat and pasta kind of girl!
Animal - giraffes, zebras, horses...any hooved animal, really (I'm curious to know if she still loves the camels at the zoo!)
Song - "This Little Light of Mine"
Number - One (she knows how to show you her age and how to do E.T. phone home)
Sport - fishing (she still loves her pretend fishing pole and bath time is her favorite time of the day!)
Career - doctor (if the stethoscope is there, she has to wear it!)
Activity - puzzles, coloring, racing the push-toys down the hallway, wrestling Isaac (she knocks him over and pummels him--it's hilarious!), and reading stories
We love you both--you amaze us every day!
