Eighteen Months!

Yes, we have reached the eighteen month mark.  It happened much earlier in the month when we were on vacation in Sunriver.  It feels so official to say that we have toddlers now that the boys are a year and a half old.  I had a sick little Abraham when we got back and I am still trying to get back into the normal groove of things.  Abraham had a moderately high fever and a clear runny nose but nothing else. Winston was fine. It was seriously perplexing because if one gets something then the other always gets it.  Maybe it was his last tooth trying to pop through?

Haul trucks!

The boys are active little guys. After returning from a vacation, the boys are obsessed with being outside.  I kept them indoors a lot during the summer because of the heat but after getting to do so many activities while in Sunriver they are always asking to go outside.  Now when they wake up, they clearly say "outside" and tend to throw a fit if I tell them they have to wait.  I mean, it would be nice if they at least let me put normal clothes on and feed them breakfast, right?  They both can be stubborn and strong-willed.  It is like they each pick their moments.  It is definitely never dull around here.

Winston (left) and Abraham

They both suck their left thumbs.  Winston is trying to be good here so he switched fingers.

Abraham has a goofy streak.  He dances/marches in place when he is happy and excited about something.  Blow some bubbles and that kids gets so excited he cannot help but dance.  He is a determined little guy and will not accept help very often.  He tries to eat with a spoon but it ends up on his chest.  He does not want any help and is very determined.  We call him our Dennis the Menace because he is a total mess when he eats and musses his hair right after it is combed.  Abraham has a serious sweet tooth and is always asking for cookies.  He is our fearless little guy and we have to be careful that he does not try to climb up or down things and get himself hurt.  Abraham likes to tackle his brother and wrestle with him.

Babe-braham Lincoln

Watching TV--how I get them to hold still for photos.

Winston is all about the details.  He loves building blocks and spinning wheels on his trucks.  He is our little engineer.  He is still our little singer and sings when he is content and happy.  Winston is pretty handy with a spoon and accepts help on how to use it.  He is a great thinker and I know he is quite cerebral. This kid absorbs stuff and then just clearly demonstrates new words or abilities and it is because he figures it out for quite a while before trying to do it.  He figured out how to climb up and down stairs more slowly than Abraham but he mastered it sooner.  He is a sensitive little guy and does not like when his brother takes his stuff.  We have been encouraging him to be more aggressive and take his items back rather than crying.  He is getting the hang of it and we are proud of him.

Little Stinker

Yep, he knows he got caught.

The boys love any outdoor activity, going for walks or runs in their stroller, playing with their haul trucks, dirt and playing in the bath tub.  They are great little eaters and are learning to use utensils.  Some new words they have learned include fan, bath, circle, shadow, haul truck (sounds like all guck), help (sounds like hope), drink, fork (rhymes with look...ha ha), snack (just nack) and spoon (just poon).  My heart melts now that they can tell me 'hold you' for when they want to be held.  They are also trying to say 'love you.'  They are great about telling us when they are thirsty and that they need a cup or drink.  They also tell us 'eat' when they are hungry. I am so impressed with how well they are beginning to  communicate.  They do not have any sentences yet but they are getting how to put words together.  The hard part now is that they say please and they think it is magic and they can get what they requested instantaneously.  So we are working on what it means to be patient and to wait.  We are also working on what is means to share with their brother and to not be unkind and steal toys from one another.

Gorgeous boys.

The boys fit perfectly in 18 month clothing and are wearing quite a few 2T items.  They wear size 5 shoes and size 4 diapers.  We had a great visit for their eighteen month well child exam.  Here are their most recent stats:

Abraham

Birth-5 lbs. 15 ozs.; 18.75 inches

One Month- 7 lbs. 1 oz.; 21 inches

Two Months-10 lbs. 8 ozs.; 21.75 inches
Four Months- 13 lbs. 13.5 ozs.; 25 inches
Six Months- 15 lbs. 14 ozs.; 26.75 inches

Nine Months- 18 lbs. 12 ozs; 28 inches

Twelve Months- 20 lbs. 9 ozs; 29.75 inches
Fifteen Months- 23 lbs. 3 ozs.; 31.75 inches

Eighteen Months- 25 lbs. 2 ozs.; 32.75 inches

Winston

Birth- 7 lbs. 9 ozs.; 20 inches

One Month- 7 lbs. 10 ozs.; 21 inches
Two Months-11 lbs. 13 ozs.; 23 inches
Four Months- 13 lbs. 13 ozs.; 25.5 inches
Six Months- 15 lbs. 13 ozs.; 26.25 inches

Nine Months- 18 lbs. 12 ozs.; 28 inches

Twelve Months- 21 lbs.; 30.25 inches

Fifteen Months- 23 lbs. 12 ozs.; 31.25 inches 

Eighteen Months- 25 lbs. 12 ozs.; 32.5 inches

The boys are ranging in the 50-70th percentile for weight and height.  As is normal, their heads are in the 98-99th percentile. The boys are keeping on trend with Abraham being slightly taller and Winston weighing more.

Family swing time

 

They love dirt!

We feel so blessed that they are such healthy little boys and are hitting all their milestones.  We are so blessed to be these boys' parents and feel privileged to raise them.

Meeting up with Krystle from 3 Little Men & a Mommy

While we were on vacation, I got a chance to meet up with Krystle, a fellow blogger MoM.  Krystle and I first met through the Multiples and More blogging network when were both pregnant with twin boys.  Krystle's twin boys, Camden and Christian, are a month older than mine and she also has wonderful four year old named Jack.  Krystle writes about her life with her little guys and her pastor husband over at 3 Little Men & A Mommy.  Whenever I feel overwhelmed with A&W, I remind myself that I am not trying to deal with a very active four year old on top of it.

We met up with Krystle, her boys and her mom at a nice little spot close to Crater Lake.  There was this nice little area for all the kids to run around and a ice cream shop right around the corner--perfect!  This meet up was the first time I had a met a blogger friend in real life.  It is so funny to say but I was so nervous that Krystle would not like me in person.  She is such a warm and genuine person though that I felt comfortable with her right away. It is surreal reading about someone's life and feeling like you know them and then actually getting to meet them.  It was fun and I loved getting to see Krystle's gorgeous little guys.

Our little guys turned eighteen months old the day of our visit.

Amazing!  I got all four boys in one frame.

"Hey, check out these rocks!"

Christian letting us know that the fire ring was hot.  He obviously picked up on what he was told.

Jack showing off his jumping skills.

 

"Hey, check this out!"

Double the twin boys.

All the little guys.  Unfortunately Jack's face is partially covered.

Two mamas and all their little men.

Cuteness overload.  From left to right:  Winston, Abraham, Christian and Camden.

After hanging out for about an hour and a half, we had to head back to Sunriver because it was late afternoon and our boys had never napped. A&W did so well despite being so tired.  The boys were only in the car for a few minutes and then they conked out.  It was a short visit but very sweet and I was so happy to meet Krystle and her boys.

Sunriver Vacation

We got back last weekend from a wonderful vacation in Sunriver, Oregon. I have been working on writing about our trip this entire past week but one of my little guys was sick and that always changes everything around here. This is one of those posts where it is really hard to summarize a week in words and pictures... but I will try my best to capture the spirit of our time there.

Happy Bubbas at breakfast time

I posted that the night before we left for Sunriver that we had our first night away together from the kids.  Ideally we would have hit the road by 9:00 at the latest but we did not end up leaving until about 11:00.  Then we got the brilliant idea that we would change the boys' seats to facing forward so that they would be more well behaved.  Epic parenting fail.  The boys' morning nap was interrupted so that we could leave and the forward facing thing over-stimulated them to the point that they did not want to nap in the car at all.  I think I could write a whole post about what we learned from road tripping with toddlers.  Perhaps I will...if I ever get around to it.  We finally rolled into the driveway of the rental house at about 9:00 pm after surviving some major whining.  We got settled in and went straight to bed.  I was so tired that I fell asleep right away.  It was amazing and I slept better that week on vacation than I have in a really long time.

"Woo-hoo's" from Abraham.  It was great at first but not when we wanted them to nap.

Winston liked facing forward as well.

Last fall when Eric's brother Adam got married, we talked to his cousins about the potential of all of us spending a week in Sunriver for a cousins' reunion.  When Eric was growing up, members of his immediate and extended family would go to Sunriver for vacation.  Some families went every year and some more sporadically.  At the time when this all came up, I loved the idea of all of us going on vacation together but Eric had just lost his job the week before.  Our future was uncertain and I was trying to mentally prepare myself for continuing to work full time to support our family.  The idea of planning a vacation a year down the road seemed very unrealistic to me.  Fast forward a year later and Eric has almost been at his current job for a year.  I was even able to quit working a couple months after Eric started working again.  God was very, very gracious to us. It still amazes us to see what God has done in our lives in the last year and how He has been so faithful to provide for us. We had vacation time provided through Eric's job and started planning the trip with his cousins.  Eric's cousin Jason and his wife Rachel headed up the hunt for a house for all of us to rent together and they did a great job.  We ended up staying in a 5 bedroom/5 bathroom house and it had four suites.  This meant that all of us married couples had our own bathroom within our room.  The kitchen was huge and we were all able to cook at the same time and not get into each other's way too much.  Everyone was gracious enough to allow us to have the biggest bedroom, the one with the walk-in closet, so that we could have the boys sleep in there.  

Home sweet home for the week.

We would open the pocket door to the closet in the morning and this is what we would see.

What I loved about the week was that it was very relaxed and casual. There were no itineraries or schedules. We stayed in the same rental house all week so there was no driving here and there and everywhere. This trip was our first vacation for the sake of just having a vacation.  Every trip we have gone on has been tied to a holiday, wedding or a funeral so it has been busy and not always very relaxing.  The week was really what the doctor ordered.  The boys loved seeing Eric every day and getting to do lots of activities.  We went on bike rides, went to the swim center (SHARC), went for walks in the local outdoor mall and in general spent lots of quality time with family.

Winston running around at the SHARC.

Peekaboo

Our family of four

Abraham catching a little break.

Jason and Rachel--we love them lots.

Winston and Lorelai had lots of fun playing in the sand area.

Cousin love.  Winston goes in for a smooch.

Getting ready for a bike ride.  Rene with Abraham, Mama with Winston, Aunt Cindy and Jonathan.

The bubbas taking a stroll at The Village.

What is this bike trailer thing and why do we always have to wear our hats?

Before the long ride. We gave up on the hats.

After

One of the highlights of the week was that we had a big potluck with all the families.  There were cousins, great aunts and uncles, great great aunts and uncles and great grandparents.  The downstairs area of our rental house accommodated everyone quite nicely.

Like father, like son.

We learned that Abraham figured out how to get more dessert.  He would go around saying "bite" and Aunt Cindy was one of the people happy to oblige.  He is a smart little stinker.

The kiddos had fun doing laps around the pool table.

These kids were deliriously tired by this point.

Uncle Tracy and his little granddaughter Lorelai.

Tickle time!

Great Uncle Denny and Uncle Tracy with Winston checking out the TV.

Grandma Guddat and Grandma Holmes

Mama and Winston

We are already looking forward to going again and are hoping to make it a biennial event with all the cousins.  One thing I wish I had was group photo of all of us that were in the house but I was trying to be relaxed about the picture taking--being more in the moment rather than trying to orchestrate the perfect picture opportunities.  The blessing is that our family is rapidly expanding with additional family members getting married and having children of their own.  Doing this trip again is definitely an event to look forward to.

Getting ready for a bike ride!

Climbing hills at The Village

Winston and Great Grandma Guddat

Our drive home went much, much better.  We left at a decent hour and the boys took both a morning and afternoon nap.  We took a longer lunch break in Klamath Falls and then stopped again in Susanville.  We found a nice little park and let the boys run around for a while.  The boys played on the swings for the first time and they loved it.  We got home right a round dinner time and it was easy getting the guys back into their normal routine.

Eric was wearing his 'iDad 2.0' shirt--perfect!

Sweet Abraham

Precious Winston

Another of Mama and Winston

It was a great trip and I was so thankful to spend time with extended family and get a break from our everyday routine.  I am ready to go back already!