15 month update and some more cottage pics « Leah, Emma and Claire (and Jen and John)

My parents arrive tomorrow and we leave Sunday night so I’m doing this now to make sure I get it done. I’ve included some pics John’s mom took at the cottage. We paid $1.33.9/L for gas today - Kieran is probably the only person that cares but he mentioned it so I’m pointing out how insane it is. It costs over $50 to fill the Focus. We’ll have to stop having kids so we can always drive a small fuel efficient car…I can just see some of you saying “No, don’t say you won’t have more kids”…and it’s not because you don’t want us to have to finance gassing up a minivan but because you’re all anxiously waiting to see if we have twins again. That seems to be everyone’s favourite joke these days. Not funny.

Teeth:
Their mouths are filling up quickly. I haven’t counted lately but they each got a bunch more of their molars. They’ve handled it fine.

Hair:
Slow and steady progress. Leah is getting a bit of a mullet…I always said no child of mine would have a mullet but it’s actually pretty cute.

Sleep:
I hate talking about sleep because I usually end up jinxing it. They have gone to bed with no crying all week. There was one night Leah had a bad dream which woke Emma up and we had to go in but besides that they have been doing fantastic. They are still going to bed at 8 but they go right to sleep (no talking or laughing even) so they’ve been gettting up earlier. For awhile there they were getting up at 9. It was kind of nice but I’d rather have them up early so we can drive John to the GO station and have the car. They still need two naps a day.

Getting around:
Leah is doing really well. She is right there with Emma minus the balance and stability. She is so determined and fearless that she’ll try anything. Thankfully there aren’t any bad falls to report. It’s the first time they’ve been anywhere near each other in terms of physical stuff since birth and they’re having fun playing and discovering new things together.

Emma has started standing up on her own (in the middle of the room). She’s not taking any steps and I think she has all the tools required to walk except the confidence. She’s still a little chicken but she is so proud of herself when she stands that she laughs and claps - and thankfully doesn’t lose her balance.

“Are they walking?” seems to be the question on everyone’s mind these days. We hear it everywhere we go. I’ve started telling people their corrected age (13 months) because I am sick of people looking at them like there is something wrong with them when we say they don’t walk. My favourite are the people that point out that little “Sally” walked at 10 months when they’ve just found out the girls are 14 months and obviously nowhere near walking. Again this is one of these times where I need to be more like John and be content with the knowledge that we are informed and know the girls are doing just fine. It’s just hard not to care what other people think when it comes to your children.

Food:
Our picky little eaters have developed a love of food. People told me it would happen and we wouldn’t be sending them off to university on mush but I was starting to have my doubts! They are open trying more new things now. Leah likes crunchy stuff and is less open to soft things (like blueberries, grapes or tomatoes) than Emma but we keep on giving them to her. They’re not big on veggies yet so we still give them mushy veggies at dinner. Besides that it’s all table food. They get three meals a day. We decided against snacks because we only let them eat in their chairs and cleaning up after the two of them three times a day is enough. They get the odd Arrowroot when we’re out. They have also started to be very interested in what we’re eating. Leah has started saying “YUM YUM” whenever she sees us eating (I have no idea where she got it - John has this thing about no baby talk). They both beg likes dogs with their mouths hanging open. It’s hard not to laugh at them.

They are still getting their bed time bottle. We’re going to try bed time straw cups when we get back from Vegas.

Talking:
They both really took off this month. They babble back and forth all day long and one of their favourite toys is the phone. Here is what they can say in context - we hear other words but they are not consistent enough to count yet.

-cat
-mama
-dad
-papa
-cheese
-ball
-book
-baby
-hi
-bye
-yum yum (I know - not a word!)
-Leah
-Emma
-cookie

It’s also crazy how much they understand now. You can ask them to get a list of things and they will bring you the correct object. They are starting to learn body parts (nose, belly etc) and they can find objects in their book and point to them. They both dance when you play music - or just ask them to dance. They also “sing” which is very, very cute. They are so much fun these days.

Personalities:
Leah seems to have inherited my patience. If things aren’t ready right when she wants them she’ll let you know she’s not happy. She’s a pro whiner and we do our best to ignore her so she doesn’t think it works. When all is good in her little world she is very happy. She likes to talk and her favourite thing to do is quietly sit and flip through the pages of a book. She’s still not a big cuddler although when she’s tired she will follow us around grabbing our legs and pulling at us to pick her up. She still gets the soother in her crib and there is talk of taking it away. That will be interesting. She’s also very stubborn and I expect it will be a big fight.

Emma is still a big softie. She’s my little clinger and she holds on tight if she’s unsure or sometimes if she just wants her mama. She is very determined and her favourite thing to do when you tell her not to do something is to smile, laugh and then do it again. She is much more patient than Leah but if she gets upset watch out - she has quite the little temper (unfortunately another trait from me). Emma is quicker to laugh and be silly than Leah and she scrunches up her nose when she smiles.

The twin benefit (thankfully there are some!) is finally starting to happen. They are quite content to play with each other and learn from each other. Emma has taught Leah how to climb in their chairs and Leah has taught Emma where her nose is. They have really started to call each other by name. They don’t fight very often - every once in awhile they’ll each tug at something and they’ll be some crying but for the most part they enjoy each other. Leah kissed Emma the other day - Leah usually only kisses Jackson. John and I have to beg for kisses.

I’m not sure how much they weigh these days but they’re both still under 20 pounds. I’m guessing they’re close to 19 by now. At this rate they’ll be 2 before we can turn around their carseats. We have a pediatrician appt when we get back so we’ll know then. They are both so long and skinny. When we were at the cottage John switched their bathing suits. It was the first day we all realized that they have very similar builds - Emma is just stronger than Leah. It was really hard to tell them apart at a glance when you couldn’t see their faces. Let’s hope this keeps up and they can share clothes for years to come.

Bedtime story