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!

Bunny love

This week we are bunny-sitting for some friends from church who are putting their house on the market and don't want potential buyers to be scared away by bunny dootlets scattered about the house. And since our house is going to be demolished in a couple months anyway, a little bunny mishap here or there isn't going to cost us anything.



The boys love the bunny! They had the best time chasing her around the basement earlier today. Poor bunny often sought refuge under the bed, and the boys would get down on their bellies and growl at her in true Wolf fashion. Well, actually Joshua would growl and Caleb would laugh hysterically. At one point Joshua grabbed the bunny by the loose skin on her back and picked her up! The bunny was very cooperative and didn't put up a fight. When he let go of the bunny, he had two fistfuls of fur. Poor bunny! When I hold the bunny and pet her, Joshua will sometimes stick his head in between me and the bunny so that I can "pet" his head, too. I think he's just making sure that this bunny isn't going to replace him as mama's boy.

In other news, Caleb and Joshua have discovered the deliciousness of summer fruits. They love eating peaches, nectarines, and plums, provided that they are ripe and sweet. Caleb's favorite food is still yogurt. Whenever the fridge is open, he points to the YoBaby stash and asks if he can eat some. He will only eat yogurt if he thinks it's YoBaby brand, but since it's rather expensive I've been buying organic yogurt in bulk tubs as well. I save the little YoBaby cups, wash them, and pour yogurt from the big tubs into the little cups in order to trick Caleb into thinking he's getting YoBaby. I have a feeling he might catch on pretty soon, though, because he watches me like a hawk in eager anticipation of getting this cold creamy treat.

Percentile fun

This morning we went to the doctor's for a belated 18-month checkup. We also missed their 15-month checkup... oops! I'm going to be more on top of things from now on. The boys got 3 shots today, including their first MMR vaccination. A couple months ago we babysat our friend's son for a whole week and while he was staying with us, he came down with the mumps! Thank God for protecting Caleb and Joshua from catching the mumps, too!

Caleb is in the 30th %tile for weight at 24 lbs. 10 oz. Joshua is in the 40th %tile for weight at 25 lbs. 6 oz. Caleb and Joshua are both in the 80th %tile for height at 34 inches. Caleb is in the 75th %tile for head circumference at 19.25 inches. Joshua is in the 93rd %tile for head circumference at 19.75 inches.

The conclusion? We have a couple of tall, skinny boys with big heads! And they're both perfectly healthy. Thank God for a good report!

19 Months Old

Although the boys won't be 19 months old until Sunday, I'm posting early since this is going to be a busy weekend for us.

The boys' current favorite words are "apple" and "lion". Joshua will point to any round fruit and say "apple! apple!" If we give him an apple to hold, he will carry it around with him for an hour. He also likes to eat them. Caleb, however, likes to chew apples and then spit them out :( The boys also love to hug their stuffed lion toys and identify the lions they find in their books. Other new additions to their vocabulary include "boo-boo" (since their knees have been continuously skinned for the past few weeks) and "owl". The other day out of the blue, Caleb turned to a page in a book with an owl illustration and pointed to the printed word "owl" and said "owl". We don't even remember teaching that to him. It's amazing what they pick up in passing and remember.



This past week we spent a couple afternoons at the pool. They loved it! I turned them loose in the baby pool and they adapted to their new environment remarkably well. On our first day there, the other moms marvelled as Caleb and Joshua independently forged into neck-high waters while their own 2 and 3-year-olds sat timidly on the edge or clung reluctantly to the wall. Caleb was especially steady in the water and didn't even lose his balance once. Joshua toppled over face-first into the water several times. A couple times I helped him back up, but a couple times he was able to resurface on his own. Both boys revelled in being splashed in the face and having water dumped on their heads. Having been an avid swimmer in the days of yore, it warmed my heart to see my boys take to the pool so well!

The boys have also been creating some artistic masterpieces lately. They were given some nice beeswax block crayons and have been using them to create Jackson Pollock-esque masterpieces. Caleb seems to be especially interested in drawing, which is interesting since he's also been fond of observing art hanging on the walls.

The boys seem to be very strong-willed (to put it nicely) compared to some other kids their age. They do not like to take "no" for an answer and Caleb seems especially prone to throw tantrums if he doesn't get his way. On a recent play date I marvelled as my friend explained to me that her son doesn't touch their trash can because she told him not to. I tell our boys not to touch (or remove trash from or put their toys in) the trash can about 50 times a day. While figuring out how to effectively discipline strong-willed twin toddlers has been frustrating for us as parents, we're realizing that a positive side-effect of their strong-will and determination is that they are relatively fearless and confident. They are not afraid of the dark, going down slides head-first, climbing on playground equipment designed for older kids, big dogs who lick their faces, or being splashed in the pool by rough-housing 5-year-olds. When they fall and skin their knees to the point of profuse bleeding, it hardly phases them. They are, however, still rather skeptical of people they aren't extremely familiar with. But that's probably a good thing.

5-Year UVA reunion

This past weekend we attended our 5-year college reunion in Charlottesville. The boys got a very comprehensive tour of the Grounds from their trusty red wagon, and enjoyed being lavished with attention from everyone we passed, as usual.



On Saturday I had the privilege of being a panelist on the Class of '02 panel (thanks to Di for nominating me!). They gathered a group of alumni who've had a wide variety of experiences during these past 5 years, and my claim to fame was (of course) having twins. It was fun (and a little daunting, since it's been a while since I've done any public speaking) to share my perspective as a mom of twins. We were asked questions by a moderator and had to come up with answers on-the-spot, so that was a little nerve-wracking! I was told the panel discussion would be podcasted at some point. I'll put a link to it here if I ever find it. Thanks to Tim for being my personal photographer while Joe was outside chasing after the boys :).



Another highlight of the weekend was seeing Tiki or Ronde Barber (we can't tell them apart!) outside one of the pavillions. He was talking with several people near where Caleb and Joshua were playing on the Lawn, and at one point our boys ran up to the group and Tiki/Ronde turned around and smiled at them! Joe wanted to go up to him and ask if he'd let us photograph him with our boys. We thought he might oblige, figuring he must have a soft spot for twin boys, being a twin himself. But we were of course too shy to ask.