18 month check-up, finally

We finally went for the boys 18 month check-up today. What a surprise - for the first time since they were born Charlie weighs more than Jack! I had Jack re-weighed but it's true. Here are the stats: Jack weighs 27 lbs 7.5 oz and is 33.75". Charlie weighs 27 lbs 11 oz and is 34.25". She said both look great and are well within normal ranges for all developmental areas. Aunt Ria went with us and got to see what a well child check is like. It was probably our hardest check-up thus far in that Jack definitely knew where we were and was not happy about it at all. Charlie was in a great mood though and put on quite a show right up until his shots. The good news is that we only get 1 shot next time and then we are done with regular vaccines until kindergarten.

Swimming

Yesterday's high was 80. The boys have been kind-of snotty, restless and grumpy for almost a week now so we are really looking for distractions. I decided it was time to get out the pool. They really enjoyed it. I would estimate that half the water was out of the pool before they were through. If you've ever seen them splash in the bath you know they can move some water.

Our friend

We have a bunny. He/she lives in the bushes behind our basketball goal. It is not skiddish at all and will come out even if you're playing a game. The boys are fascinated and of course try to get close enough to touch. He/she lets them get within about 2 yards before hopping off. I used to think it was a boy bunny (I can't really say why, I just assumed) but now I'm fairly sure it's a girl. We had been seeing her every evening but then we didn't see her for a couple of weeks. But yesterday we saw her 3 times and she was eating a ton each time. She also was a little more slender than before and I think she may have had babies.

At long last

A new post. The boys are cutting their second year molars. This round hasn't been so bad except that it has really messed up their sleep patterns. For the last couple of weeks Jack has been wide awake for at least an hour each early morning (like around 2 or 3 AM.) So instead of posting new stuff I've been napping during their naps which have also been a bit hit or miss.

There are lots of new things happening. The boys are dancing up a storm. Charlie spins, shakes out his hair and does this little side to side step. Jack bounces up and down, spins some and marches in place. They are working on and can partly do several animal sounds. Jack is so close to full on speech that I dream about him really talking almost every night now. He babbles a lot of things that sound oh so close to real sentences and has added several new words. Charlie knows everything you say to him but doesn't say as much as Jack does.

They are spending lots of time working on their puzzles and I'm sure they'll have them figured out any day now. Yesterday we got out the shape sorter for the first time in quit a while and they really got the hang of it. Books continue to be big favorites and sometimes we have to hide certain ones since they will try to make you read the same one 4 or more times in a row.

With the warm weather we've been going out to the park some. Charlie, true to form, loves the big kid slide and does not want you to go down with him. (In the picture above he really prefered to go down the yellow slide in the background without daddy holding on but I had to catch him at the bottom and couldn't get any pictures. Jack also prefers to swing by himself but this park didn't have toddler swings so he was stuck with me.) Jack will do the slide but really prefers to swing the whole time. They also continue to love the water and have already been playing in the hose some.

By far the most popular two things right now at our house are playing patty-cake (you'll catch Jack doing it dozens of times a day) and pointing to something accompanied by "that?" or "that!". Sometimes Jack gives up on the patting part and just rolls it up and throws it in the pan. Charlie will do it too but he is far less enamoured with the game than Jack is. Charlie is more into pointing to his belly or ear or belly-button.

Happy Easter

We had to make an emergency trip to the mall yesterday as I realized the boys shoes were not going to fit. I had completely forgotten that the Easter Bunny would be there. He was right outside Stride Rite and while they were getting fitted Granmomma took turns letting them walk out there to see him. They were fascinated so we decided to try for a picture. I was ready to abandon ship at anytime but there was no need. They both loved him. They smiled and laughed and patted him. The bored teenage girl working the camera didn't get any pics when they were both smiling but this one was pretty good anyway.

Just in time for Easter pictures

Driveway rash. Walking on concrete is hard in more than one way. Both boys took a little tumble in the driveway Monday evening. Jack scrapped his nose up a little (it's all but gone now) and cried for about 30 seconds. Charlie scrapped his chin up a little more and did not cry at all. They are super cute these days. They chase each other around the play room. Charlie even ran up and gave Jack a big hug on Monday but he had so much momentum going that they both fell down before I could even react.

Our first basketball game

Today is unseasonably warm. In fact, it seems ridiculous to see pictures of the boys in snow gear now. This afternoon we took them outside for a bit and a basketball game broke out. They are both very interested in balls of all types right now and did a good job of scraping their knees and feet crawling around after the ball. (Crawling seemed to be preferred as the ball was fairly unwieldy for a little boy to pick up and carry while walking.) The game was definitely short on scoring and offense in general but it was a great defensive showing on both sides and included quite a few jump balls.