18-19 Months

Our toddlers turned 18 months on March 17th. They are learning more and more each day and amaze us in so many ways. It has been a long winter for us all!!! Luckily gramma and papa got us Gymboree gift cards and Aunt Andi and Uncle Kevin got us a gift card to the Ozo play café. We are so happy that the weather is starting to turn and we can play outside and go on walks.

Ozo Play Cafe

Chalk time at Ozo

Playtime at the playground in Mt. Adams

Our 18 month check up went very well this time- only 1 shot!!! Anna and John still clung to both of us, but were a little less leery of Dr. Parks than the previous visit. We of course bribed them with toys and snacks:) Here are their 18 month stats:

Anna-
Length-2 ft. 7.5 inches
Weight- 24.5 pounds
Teeth count- 8 teeth (4 on the top and her fourth tooth on the bottom just broke through)
Words- hi, da for daddy, car, ooos for shoes, crocs, b for brother, b for baby, do for dog, cheese, bu for bus, pa for pop, mi for milk, kittie sounds like chee, to for top, choo choo, tweet tweet for birds, quack quack for ducks

John-
Length- 2 ft. 9.75 inches
Weight- 27.2 pounds
Teeth count- 12 teeth and working on his eye teeth
Words- oh toodles from Micky Mouse, car, da for dad, crocs, bu for bus, pa for pop, mi for milk, choo choo, to for top, tweet tweet for birds

Towards the end of their 18th month, A and J's language skills have really taken off. Anna is more verbal than her brother, but he says his fair share of words too. They love pointing to cars and buses when we are outside. They sound like they have a Boston accent when they say the word car- not sure where that came from, and they call buses "bu." They both still have a love for babies, kitties and doggies. Anna is extremely nurturing and loves taking care of her brother.  Since she almost always wakes up first from naptime, Anna loves taking John his water and snack when he wakes up. She shares everything with him and compromises with him many times a day!  She's a really good big sister to him!!

I was telling my friend the other day that I don't know why we have spent so much money on toys because they seem to play with everything but toys these days! They love trying to break into the toilet, tear toilet paper into the tiniest pieces possible, spread laundry all throughout the house, play with recycling, and one of the most popular activities is taking apart the pieces of the sippy cups and bottles. All of these activities keep them busy and content for a small time:)

They've enjoyed playing out front on our porch and have fun sitting on everyone else's doorway and enjoying their snacks and water.  We have to steer them away from the stairs that lead down to the sidewalk, but they are usually pretty good about it. They have become masters of the stairs, both inside and out so they think they can do anything:) Anna and John are very cautious on the steps, so no accidents so far. Fingers crossed on that one!

Hanging out on their favorite stoops:)

Outside dining :)

Playing out back. First day in shorts!!

Pretty cool!

Oh my goodness John and Anna are absolutely obsessed with shoes. They love wearing their own shoes as well as each other's. John especially loves wearing Anna's light up, glitter shoes. We have to pick our battles and some days he wins. He actually wore these shoes to the mall one day. Oh well!!

A and J's love of cleaning continued over the past few months, although their idea of cleaning usually ends up making more of a mess!!! They like carrying around empty spray bottles and a paper towel to clean just about anything. I have to say that it does keep them busy while I attempt to clean! They also like using wipes to clean, but we try to use those sparingly.

Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up!

We are ready for summer! We will be moving at the end of May and have lots of packing to do. We still aren't sure how the move will go with two toddlers in tow. We love our new neighborhood and can't wait to move!! So long Mt. Adams... hello Oakley:)

Christmas in Cincinnati



Christmas greetings from Cincinnati:)


Our traveling Christmas show began in Cincinnati the Friday before Christmas. We decided to have the babies open their gifts from us at home, rather than lug all the gifts and everything else to Cleveland and Pittsburgh.  Anna and John loved opening their gifts. See for yourself:)

It's a shopping cart ...

and play food!!!

 

 

Abby Cadabby tea set

LOL Elmo

A and J checking out the first snowfall of the year. 

 

Christmas in Cleveland

 

We continued our annual Christmas tradition of taking Sean, Brian and Regan to Dave and Buster's for their Christmas gift.  Gramma and Poppa were nice enough to keep Anna and John at home with them so we could relax a bit and enjoy spending time with our niece and nephews.  It was great spending time with everyone, including Tom, Trace, Andi and Kevin! All the kids and parents had a blast :)

 

Trace, Brian and Uncle John

Enjoying lunch and an adult beverage :)



 

Everyone came over to the Senior Briches for Christmas Eve lasagna dinner, which was delicious as always. The babies even enjoyed this meal, with little of the lasagna ending up on the floor. That's a good sign! John cleaned house on his mom's nut horns and candy cane cookies. The kids all enjoyed opening their gifts. Anna and John loved the balls from the Murphy Family. Thanks to the Flatens and Briches for our awsome play gift certificates to Ozo and Gymboree. This should keep us active and busy throughout the long winter.  The babies loved exploring and doing laps around the first floor at gramma and poppa's house. Poppa even had to put up a gate at the bottom of the stairs for these eager explorers!!!

 

Playtime!

Playtime with cousins Brian and Sean

Of course, daddy joined in on the fun:)

John sprouted a molar on Christmas Eve, and then another one after Christmas. Poor bud had the reddest cheeks I've ever seen !

We went to Target to get a thermometer to check his temp!

 

Christmas in Pittsburgh

We drove to Pittsburgh on Christmas morning after our visit in Cleveland. The babies enjoyed hanging out in their jammies and opening up presents before their cousins arrived. There were so many new things to explore at Nanny and Poppy's house and explore they did! They were up and down the steps, in every room of the house, and even took a swim in the big jacuzzi tub. The visit was a whirlwind with daddy having to leave in a snowstorm to go back to work, but we all had a wonderfully, crazy holiday :)


Anna and John opening up their Little People nativity set from Meme.

Poppy, Nana and the Briches

 

Peek-a-boo

Aunt Jenny, Ethan and Amelia tearing into their gifts :)

Watch out Nan. John is a wild boy!!!

John checking out Ethan's Dyson :)

Pretty girl

Poppy and Anna enjoying a quiet moment

Splish splash in the big tub

My handsome boy

Anna ended up at the Urgent Care with a head to toe rash from an allergic reaction. Poor girl, she was the best patient! Luckily, the rash cleared up after some steroids and Benadryl. She was back to normal in no time. Thanks Poppy for coming with us in the snow storm.









 

 

 

15 Months

The babies, well actually toddlers, turned 15 months on December 17.  We came more prepared to their doctor appointment this time. At their 12 month visit, they were all over the place and wanted to get into absolutely everything. This time, we came armed with Mega Blocks, which they love, milk and snacks.  This visit was different from their 12 month visit because they are no longer crawling, which was very nice. We didn't have to worry about holding them the whole time. They could explore a little without crawling all over the floor. Anna was more leary of Dr. Heaton this time and wanted me to hold her throughout her exam. John was less shy and and cooperated for the doctor. Here are Anna and John's 15 month stats:

Anna:
Weight- 22 pounds 9 ounces (50th percentile)
Length- 2 ft. 6.75 inches (50th percentile)
Teeth Count- 5

John:
Weight- 26 pounds 3.2 ounces (90th percentile)
Length- 2 ft. 8.75 inches (95th percentile)
Teeth Count- 12

I remember when people would warn me about the babies becoming mobile. All I wanted for them was to walk, now I understand all the warnings I received. They are everywhere and get into everything, but they are also so much fun and gaining more independence each day.  They love to  help me "clean" and love exploring every level of the house. Anna and John are understanding most of the things we say and are starting to talk. Using some sign language allows them to express what they can't say yet. Anna and John sign for light, please, thank you, and sometimes clap their hands for the more sign. They both love babies and animals, especially kitties and doggies. They call babies "b" and make their own versions of a meow sound when they see our kitties. Anna also says "b" for her brother and they both say "h" for hot. Looking at their touch and feel books and lift-a-flap books is a favorite pastime. Anna reads her books and plays very contently.

John needs more action! He likes flipping toys over, dumping his shopping cart out and on occasion launching toys off the balcony. We are trying to discourage that one!  He definitely plays like a boy and loves to rough house with us, especially with daddy. We are working on being more gentle with one another and not hitting. I think this may take awhile to sink in!  John's developing a sense of humor and we like to call him our little jokester.

Anna and John both like music and dancing. I wonder  where they get that from? Their dancing consists of some feet stomping and head shaking. Anna throws in a knee bend every now and then. They are also enjoying sensory activities because they love to explore new things. We did a sensory box filled with Christmas items and made some exploration bottles. They love to shake things and make lots of noise!!! It definitely isn't quiet in our house, except at naptime and bedtime. They've moved to one nap now and we are still working on stretching this nap out as long as possible! Although we may not have a lot of quiet in our house, we definitely have a lot of love:)

Love that smile!

Anna loves the sound machine

Reading books

Making a mess :)

Christmas sensory box

Ozo Play Cafe