Fifteen Months!

Well, the boys turned fifteen months old this past weekend and we finally have some toddling toddlers in our house.  It finally clicked for Winston in the last week and he is walking longer and longer distances.  He can now walk down the hall way or across the room if he is on a roll.  Winston can turn and also do circles so he is pretty impressed with his mobility these days.  Abraham can take 3-4 steps before he falls.  Both boys can now stand up without pulling up on anything without any problem.  They can both stand and squat to pick something up and then stand again.  Abraham has once again shrunk back from trying to walk and is focusing on cruising furniture and crawling.  I know it is going to click for him as well and then I will be going crazy trying to chase after the two of them. 
 

  Abraham (left) and Winston-I have to work harder for these smiles in their pics these days.

Having the boys taking steps and learning to walk is in itself a huge change but they are also gaining a lot of new words.  It thrills my heart when they say something clearly enough that I understand.  Communication, blessed communication.  It is hard when little ones cannot convey their needs and wants, so I am grateful that the boys are beginning to communicate with us.  Abraham is very verbal and started repeating words back to us last week (not perfectly though, mind you). Winston started in on the fun as well when he saw how excited we would get about Abraham saying words.  Abraham and Winston can now both say juice, poop (poo-poo), hat (at-huh), diaper (diap-uh), Bible (Bi-bo), cheese (chiz) and avocado (havaka). Abraham can also say, teeth, bubbles and book.  Abraham and Winston will repeat the word thirsty (fursty). They can both say apple and doggie very clearly.  They do not say my name, mama, very often but they are saying papa all the time now.  Abraham is very effusive and and commanding when he uses his words.  He repeats them again and again in order to make them sound correct.  Winston is more quiet in his tone and will say things under his breath.  Abraham will be saying something and I realize Winston is saying the same word just as clearly but not as loud.  It's as though Winston's words are for himself.  He has a very strong, independent streak so I think it is showing us he is his own man.  Abraham feeds off the praise and excitedly shows off his learning. I am obviously thrilled that our twin boys are already so verbal since both boys and twins tend to behind on their speech.  It is honestly hard keeping track of their words at this stage.  I am trying to write down words as they repeat them and when they start using them on their own spontaneously but it changes by the day.

I had my first sort of conversation with Abraham.  It went something like this:

Me: If you go poop in the toilet, you will get a cookie.

Abraham: Poo-poo tookie?!?

Me: Yes, if you go poop in the toilet you will get a cookie.

(After he accomplished the task)

Abraham: Tookie! tookie!

And trust me, if I do not get that cookie to him quickly enough, he will definitely express how he feels about it. 

Mr. Personality, my Abraham

He loves to find objects to slide across the floor so that he can speed crawl.

Abraham has become more extroverted as of late and has a smile for whoever smiles at him.  He is a talker and a wiggle worm.  He loves looking at books and turning their pages.  He has this look on his face most times that seems to say he is wanting to have fun and is excited.  It is sweet seeing his infectious joy.  He obviously loves his cookies and is very impressed with special treats.  Eric says that he thinks Abraham is more like him. 

This morning Winston was super cranky.  I asked him if he was thirsty and wanted a drink.  Once I brought him his cup, he said 'fursty.'  I could see him light up with the realization that 'fursty' meant he would get a drink.  Hopefully this will mean less tantrums and more talking.  My kids never really caught on to baby sign language.  I tried to be consistent enough that they would catch on but they just don't seem to like to do it. I constantly tell myself that each child is different and there is not a one size fits all approach. 

Winston-this kid is intense and serious and so is his smile.

Watch out world, he is on the move!

Winston is analytical and serious.  He can be goofy and playful when he is feeling comfortable with his environment.  For a while he was our extrovert but he has returned to more of how he was when he was born and quietly listens to everything around him.  He likes to growl because we laugh when he does it.  He is our snuggle bug.  Winston likes to quietly sing to himself.  Eric says that Winston is more like me. 

They are going to have a lot of pictures of them in the bath tub when they grow up.

We are dealing with a lot of the normal toddler stuff like tantrums and not sharing.  It is exhausting trying to referee them and try to help them understand empathy.  It is hard because Winston has started to get very aggressive with Abraham (formerly vice versa) and will slap him in frustration or throw objects.  Sigh.  The boys are also cutting teeth like crazy.  Winston is now at eleven teeth and Abraham has ten.  They have several very close to coming in.  I am telling myself we are just getting this stage out of the way and will hopefully have it wrapped up before they turn two.

Raising children has its highs and lows but it is the most wonderful job I could imagine having.  We are immensely blessed. 

Cascade Lake

We had a busy weekend with a graduation and birthday party.  The boys had so much fun yesterday afternoon that they completely skipped their afternoon nap.  Fortunately there were no melt downs but I am not thinking I want to over extend them like that too frequently.

Today was much less frenetic and we got to enjoy the great outdoors.  It was windy yesterday but today was nice and warm.  After church we headed up to Cascade Lake which is right near Lake Tahoe.  Our friends' landlords have a small cabin on the lake and we were invited to spend the afternoon there. Eric's parents' also came and we had a nice family day.  Since there is only access to the lake through the landowners, it was quiet and peaceful.  It was absolutely beautiful and serene.  I am amazed at how we can drive such short distances and feel so far from the rest of civilization and in the middle of raw nature.  The boys LOVE being outside and were all about playing in the dirt.  Abraham and Winston are becoming such big boys learning to walk and exploring everything around them.  Our little guys actually turned fifteen months old today so I will be doing their monthly post this week. 

For now enjoy some pictures of the fun.  I will also post some cell phone pics later this week.

The adorable little cabin.  Eric is on the balcony with Abraham.

A sweet little rock pier in front of the cabin.

Winston was having a high old time digging around in the dirt.

 

Mr. Abraham was such a wiggle worm that it was hard to get a decent pic of him.

I thought this was funny because it looked like a cigar.  It was a little pine stick.  Eh, it's good for his immune system, right?

Walking around and digging in the decomposed granite. 

Gender Reveal Party

This past weekend we all met up at a local park for Adam and Ally's gender reveal party for "little G."  I had been rooting for a boy for months because I wanted A&W to have a little boy cousin to run around with.  I started to have a gut feeling that a little girl was on the way however.  The pictures can tell the story better than I can so you will have to scroll down.

Num-num-num

Team Pink!

Team Blue!

The Gender Reveal Cake

Family from both sides ready to find out the exciting news.

Aunt Frances' name was drawn for the honor of cutting the cake.

That is some pink frosting!

 

Little G is a girl!

It was a fabulous spring day albeit a bit windy.  The boys had another fantastic afternoon using their walkers toys all over the park. 

Go, Abraham, go!

Winston is very determined.

Papa made tunnels for them to go through.