No!

The inevitable has come to pass- quite some time after learning to say "yes", the boys have finally learned to say "no!" I think it sunk in a few days ago when I got passionately upset with them for making an unusally huge mess. I must have been gesticulating somewhat wildly while exclaiming "no! no! nooo!", because now whenever the boys say "no!" they wave their forearms in the air, just as someone would who is saying "enough is enough!" They will walk around the house and point to all the crayon scribbles that have cropped up on our walls and furniture recently, and sternly say "no! no!" They have also started saying "no!" to each other when they irritate each other. They have not been so brazen as to use it against their parents, though!

Caleb has memorized the rhythm of Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? books. Throughout the day I will hear him singing to himself "Brow-bear, brow-bear, wha da daa da?" or "Lion, lion, wha da daa da?" etc. He can also identify all the different animals at the end of the book, even in the Polar Bear book, which has children dressed up in animal costumes and is therefore a little trickier. If you ask him "where is the walrus?" or "where is the zebra?" he will point to the correct animal costume. He is one smart little animal-lover.

One funny thing that the boys have been doing for a while now, but I keep forgetting to mention, is that if you tell them "Joshua and Caleb, you look sooooo cute!" they will look down and examine their outfits to see what they are wearing. I don't know how they learned to do this, but it's really funny (and sooooo cute)!

On track?

Sometimes I can't help but compare Caleb and Joshua's development to other kids their age and wonder if they are "on track". One of my friends can ask her son (who is the same age as our boys), "Would you like to eat an apple, a banana, or pretzels?" and he will calmly mumble something to her, and she will reply "Oh, you want an apple? Ok!" I found myself gaping at this exchange in awe, considering that our boys are more likely to convey their food preferences in the form of pointed fingers, high-pitched shrieks, or Caleb's favorite phrase as of late, "ahbidgee-bijah!", which we've determined means a variety of things. Another friend has told me that her son (who is also the boys' age) has started speaking in sentences. Our boys will "speak" in sentences, sure, but none that any English-speaking person can understand! Also, Halmoni says (and has photos to prove) that when I was the boys' age, I could feed myself a sliced-in-half grapefruit with a spoon. The boys' favorite thing to do with a spoonful of food is fling it through the air. I'm even lucky if I can get a break from holding the boys' sippy cups for them while they drink! 

I have been told that I should attribute Caleb and Joshua's verbal shortcomings to the fact that they are twins and that they don't feel as great an urgency to learn to communicate with others, namely their parents and other people who speak English, since they can commuicate with each other in their own "twin language". Perhaps this is true, I've decided to let myself think that it is. As far as their motor skills are concerened, though, I probably have nothing to blame but my own uptight tendency to cringe at messes and wastefulness. Perhaps what's holding the boys back is my hesitancy to allow them to "feed themselves" (or in other words "fling across the room and smear all over their faces and clothes") organic baby yogurt that is nearly worth its weight in gold.

20 Months Old

The boys have hit the big 2-0! I've got to say that I'm kind of looking forward to when we can simply tell people "they're 2" or "they're 2 and a half" because keeping track of months can get kind of tricky after a while.

The boys have been enjoying their last month in this house before we move. This little old house and its many quirks have grown on us, and it's sad to think that in a matter of months it will be a mere memory, with a behemoth McMansion standing in its place. The boys won't remember this house when they're older, and we'll never be able to walk down our street and show them their first home. But at the same time, we feel like we've outgrown this small space and the move will be good for our family. We're hoping to transition the boys into their own toddler beds, and maybe even their own room, when we move... we'll let you know how that goes! A dishwasher and hardwood floors are two upgrades that we're especially looking forward to. However, we're really going to miss our huge yard, garage, and neighborhood, and Joe is going to miss his "man" bathroom since our new place only has one. But the new place seems to have less wasted space and more room for the boys to play indoors, so in that respect it will be an upgrade.

The boys are getting to the age where they're fighting with each other a lot, but they're also constantly "loving" each other and playing with each other really well. It's so fun to watch them sit across from each other and play "monkey see, monkey do", mimicking each other's actions and laughing uproariously. Another game they play a lot involves running towards each other from opposite sides of a room, yelling. They also enjoy wrestling their way out from under a big colorful quilt that is thrown over their heads. They also like to create crayon masterpieces, kick and throw balls, and ride their spring horse. They enjoy going to the pool and having water dumped repeatedly on their heads. Joshua has a strong kick and loves kicking the water, and Caleb has been experimenting with putting his face in the water. Have I mentioned that I can't wait til they're old enough for swim team? :)

Introverts

Last week we were on vacation with Joe's family at the lake, and the boys were unusually cranky about 90% of the time we were there. Upon reflecting back at our week at the lake, we've determined that they were cranky not because they dislike their grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, but because they were constantly surrounded by lots of people. Speaking from personal experience, Joe and I can attest to the fact that introverts tend to withdraw and become very tired when surrounded by lots of people in social situations. And what do babies do when they get tired? They cry and whine. What do young toddlers do when they want to withdraw from their surroundings? They cling to Mommy and Daddy. The boys did all of these things a lot last week. Seeing that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, we've concluded that Caleb and Joshua must both be introverts as well. We can only hope that Granny, Grandad, and the rest of the family were not too offended by the boys' behavior but realize that they're actually just really introverted!