18 months « Leah, Emma and Claire (and Jen and John)

I can't believe they're 18 months.

Teeth:
I'm officially not sticking my fingers in their mouths anymore. They are getting really good at brushing their teeth on their own.

Hair:
Filling in slowly. Leah has more hair and it's not as curly. I actually bought baby shampoo for them this month (we had been using the all purpose baby wash).

Sleep:
Not good. It's completely hit or miss but more often than not one of them will be up in the night screaming her (which turns to their) head off. I'm inclined to think they're having bad dreams because they get so upset. We also thought maybe they were hungry so we've started snacks and tried to get them to eat as much as possible at dinner. The last two nights they have eaten way more than usual and slept through so hopefully we're on to something. John and I are both pretty frustrated (and tired) with this - they were sleeping better a year ago. They are still having two naps every so often. They like to nap in the morning but I'm trying to get them to go right after lunch. Some days are better than others.

Getting around:
Leah started walking this month. They are both getting very good at climbing things. They can get up on their craft table (of course they stand on it) and they are smart enough now to pull things over to use as a step to get on the couches. They have a pretty good idea of where the edge is but it still makes me very nervous. I think they would both be careful enough on their own but you can't trust them not to accidentally (or so I think) push each other.

Food:
I am happy to report that we've had a pretty regular month and they are back to eating all their favourites. They've both developed a love of raisins which has really helped. I've also started making them banana and apple bread on a regular basis. They love bread of any kind but they gobble up homemade stuff. They still aren't overly excited about trying new things but we manage to get a well balanced diet it them although some days it is very challenging.

Talking:
They continue to add words on a daily basis. They are starting to use their words to tell us what they want which is reducing the crying and whining. Emma is better at this and Leah can still pitch a pretty good fit but she will eventually tell you what she wants. My favourite is during the day when Leah is tired we ask her if she wants to go night night. If she doesn't she used to ignore us but now says Noooooo. If she does she'll come over, put her arms up to be picked up and say night night. Emma will run to the stairs saying night night and they both usually go to sleep. Over the past week or so they have both started saying no. At first I thougth they didn't understand the meaning but if I throw in "are you a good girl?" in a series of questions that get a "nooooo" they will smile and not say anything. Buggers. Leah has taken no one step further and has a quick decisive no, a long drawn out noooooo and a no no no no which is accompanied by a wagging finger. It is so hard not to laugh.

Personalities:
It is becoming harder and harder not to compare their behaviour - both good and bad. Leah has been a real handful lately. She is so determined, independent and impatient. She gets very upset when she doesn't get her way and it is a real test to my patience. She lets you know in a hurry if she's tired, hungry or mad. That being said she is much better at sharing and much less sensitive than Emma. She plays well by herself and when she's in a good mood she's full of laughter and smiles.

Emma is for the most part much more even tempered. She seeks approval and direction from us and is much less independent. She will share things with us (including the cat) but if you ask her to give something to Leah she gets very upset. Her outbursts are short lived and quickly forgotten. When her feelings are hurt she drops to the floor and does the saddest cry…with the occasional peek up to see if we are watching…

They both have their challenges and we are really starting to have to act like parents. It amazes me how much work it is and how consistent you have to be. The other week I let them in the cupboards because I was fed up saying no every 2 mins (this was pre magnets). I successfully created two little monsters who pitched fits any time you tried to tell them no after that because they knew that they'd been allowed that one time. I definitely learned my lesson!

Enough complaining! For the most part they are two happy little girls. They are full of laughs and smiles and they like to play with us and each other. I'm really glad I found the video feature because now you can all see just what they are like most of the time. They both really love books and will either read by themselves or fight for a spot on our lap.

Here's a video I took today. It was dark so the quality isn't that good. They just started this walking around in circles dancing thing - they get so dizzy which is not for the faint of heart. I'd never thought I'd be saying that I'm glad we don't have a lot of furniture. There are some pics too.

THE VIDEO