The other day Alicia asked me when the girls started yogurt. I had no idea - I thought it might have been while we were still in the condo but I wasn’t sure. Luckily I have their every move documented so I just had to search the updates.

Teeth:
I haven’t looked and we’ve had no signs of teething. Since we are spending more time around kids their age I realize just how toothy they both are. Nice to see them excelling at something!

Hair:
It’s getting thicker. Everyone who hasn’t seen them in awhile comments on how much more hair they have. I probably could get Leah’s hair in a tiny ponytail but I think it would look stupid…

Sleep:
Much better than last month but still not perfect. We had a stretch of 5 nights of uninterrupted 12 or 13 hour sleeps but since then it’s been hit or miss. Last night Leah woke up at 4am and was just talking to herself. It wouldn’t be a big deal except it wakes me up and then I can’t get back to sleep. We also had a night last week where they were screaming with laughter at 3am. John and I were lying in bed laughing at them which was a nice change from being fed up with being up in the middle of the night. They have officially gone down to one nap a day which if they had their way would be in the morning. We get in a nice little groove but then we have Mother Goose on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 which messes it up. Oh well - good thing they’re flexible. A couple of times Leah has got pretty wound up in the afternoon and taken a second nap but Emma is officially done.

We have also moved their bedtime to 7:30 which is quite nice. We now give them a bath every night and they get their bottles in their room while we read them a story. They go to bed no problem and they don’t cry anymore at all. They say night night to us and go to sleep. It’s very cute. I love having an extra 30 mins to myself each night.

Getting around:
This month Emma decided to walk. It’s by far my favourite developmental thing because she is just so proud of herself. It’s also very nice not to have to carry her everywhere when we’re out and I’m by myself. She is getting steadier and quicker with each passing day.

Leah has also shown amazing progress and is able to stand up by herself (in the middle of the room) and walk a few steps. She’s nowhere near as steady as Emma was but she has determination. I don’t think she’ll be taking any one month breaks like her sister now that she’s started to get the hang of it. She is also very proud of herself and she seems a lot less frustrated these past few weeks.

We got them walking shoes this month and they love them. They both ask for their shoes and will sit patiently while we put them on. They’re also great because you can really hear them coming. They’re not light on their feet!

Food:
It’s been a month of trying to keep them both regular. We’ve had to carefully watch their diet and we’ve ended up cutting back their milk intake. We tried the other dairy but it did not help. We now give them water all day long and they get their milk at bedtime. This has been really frustrating because it doesn’t exactly get us any closer to getting them off the bedtime bottle. I am making an effort to stop my obsession with their bedtime bottle. They need milk and since they still aren’t 20lbs yet (according to our scale) it’s pretty obvious they need the extra calories. It’s just one of those things I said I would never do which I know is stupid but it bugs me and I just have to forget about it.

So now that the constipation is sorted out they are eating well. They still aren’t very adventurous but they eat healthy foods and have healthy appetites so I think they’re doing fine.

Talking:
They were both evaluated by the speech and language program earlier in the month and they are doing just fine for their age. They are picking up new words every day and starting to communicate their wants and needs. I am using some of the strategies I learned in the workshop and I can see it helping. We have to go back in January for the second workshop which while a pain should be interesting. I’m too lazy to list all their words but I would say they’re nearing 50 by now although some are way more common than others. Cat is still a favourite - poor Jackson!

Personalities:
Not a big change this month. Emma is still our little suck and Leah is still miss independent although she does get sucky every now and then. Leah is very motivated by food and Emma is very motivated by our reaction. They are both very good at playing and they only follow us around when we’re in the kitchen. They like “helping” with laundry, vacuuming, cleaning and they love the dishwasher. In that parenting class I took they said that all kids should do chores as soon as they are able and not be rewarded so they learn it’s their family job. I can’t wait. Two little slaves!!

We started swimming lessons this month. They both love the water and they don’t cry unless they are cold. They will blow bubbles and don’t mind being dunked. Leah even tries to go off by herself which is pretty funny. We also started Mother Goose which is when I realized how independent they both are. Part of me wishes they would sit on my lap and stay close like all the other kids but then I go home and I’m thankful they’re not like that. They seem to enjoy Mother Goose. They are starting to pick up the words to songs and they will sing which is very cute. They can say row row row and something that sounds kind of like merrily for Row Your Boat.

We have had a lot less temper tantrums this month which is very nice. Emma has bitten Leah twice in the past few days to try and get her to give something up. It is very hard not to have a big reaction to that type of behaviour but so far they are isolated events.

That’s all I can think of. We are all doing well. We’re a bit tired but it could be so much worse. They are so much fun now and every day they make us laugh.