Eighteen Month Newsletter

Eighteen months. It’s been like a time out. Not the kind that you’re becoming acquainted with, but the kind during a game where play is suspended and you get to catch your breath while the coach looks at the playbook and draws out a new plan on the eraser board before you get a drink of water and head back out onto the field, rested and ready. Except that we’re the coaches, too. And we’ve never coached before. Nor played this particular sport. Well, the point is, we’re not gasping for air right this minute, and it's rather enjoyable.

You can both walk. And run. A lot. We ordered your new dining chairs and you can get yourself into and out of them with little assistance (we do the buckles, thank you). You assist in getting yourselves dressed, though we're working on the order of things like that the diaper must come off before your attempts to propel yourselves into the bathtub. Because WATER! You can't get enough WATER! Always wanting to "wash han?" (wash hands), and "bat?" (bath) as you sign the sign. And if only we could get you to say the word please, though that you sign it just fine.

You can also open the baby-proofed cabinets, open the freezer door and get your own ice (without closing it correctly), and you now have the upper body strength to pull yourselves up on the things you couldn’t conquer a few months ago. We can hear the Ikea and Target bookshelves and end tables are screaming I Wish I Was Born A Thomasville or Ethan Allen. This also means that you can now parallel bar yourself on the edge of the crib, which means those bed rails were delivered in the nick of time, but for our deciding if it’ll be converted cribs to toddler bed or the twin mattress on the floor. Soon.

The weather has been more pleasant and we’re spending more time outside. We’ve been to the zoo twice, one of those with PawPaw Jimmy and MawMaw Marketta. A particularly cold, wet, weekend at my boss' river house made us realize that you had only one (Mateo) or two (Harper) pair of shoes, none being fully enclosed or appropriate for cold, wet weather. Oops. Thankfully, Grandma G brought some to the river just in time to play with your new friend, Jude.

You continue to grow, albeit at a less vigorous pace. Your 18 month well-checkup showed that Mateo is 33 ¾” (90%tile) and 29 lb 2 oz (85%tile), 6 oz more than the week before when we went to the doctor for our introduction to croup. Harper, you are 32 ½” (70%tile) and 25 lb 4 oz (60%tile), not quite the height you become when you walk around so proud after putting on your own pants (with some help at the end from us). The pediatrician thinks you’re both doing great and we have to agree.

You both enjoy when we play “tumm-bow” (tumble) on the mats or show you how to roll across the floor. You are both so much fun and talkative and the words you say and our understanding of them are starting to match up more frequently. Like the day I figured out, Mateo, that when you said “tahSHHHH!” you meant “touch” - as in touch each of the wooden monkey, giraffe, elephant, and lion decorations on the wall of your bedroom. And your eyes lit up when I repeated “touch?” to ask if I understood you. And you ran to me, arms raised, for me to lift you because yes!, you wanted to touch and say “nigh nigh” to them before we turned off your light to go to bed.

You also say “EWWWWW, duddy” (as in dirty diapers), “mo” (more), “nack” (snack), “truck” (truck), “woo woo woo woo woo” (dog), “luv” (love), “bath” (bath, while also signing it), “shoes” (shoes), Hoppah (“Harper”), “AH-gummm, NUH-mo” (all gone, no more), “awwah” (“agua” for water), “let’s go!” (let’s go), “play” (play), “sit” (sit), “eh-pane” (airplane) and so much more. Your first sentence was "Open it" (referring to either the gate at the bottom of the stairs, or taking the top off your straw up so you can get those last drops of milk.

I love that you meet me at the top of the stairs when I get home and say “hand” and hold yours out to grab mine so you can take me and show me whatever it is you want me to see. I love that you come to us and go “uh-OH!, HEP!” (uh-oh, help!) when your “Waf” (Raffy, your giraffe lovie) is too far back in the crib and you can’t reach him for pre-bed book reading. I love that one of the first things out of your mouth in the morning is your sister’s name, wanting to know where she is. And I love the way you say (yellow) "lello".

Harper, your favorite named objects are “loo-LOO” (lizard), “too-DOO” (turtle), “l’bug” (lady bug), “HECK-opp-cop-opp” (helicopter), “bud” (bird), “tah-push” (toothbrush), “pigGEE” (‘pinky’, your pink poodle stuffed animal), “cam-MOLE” (the camel pawpaw brought you from Egypt), not to be confused with “peePEE” (pee-pee), plus “EWWWWW” (for a dirty diaper), “potty” (potty), “chip” (chip) and “no, no, no, no, no!” (all one word). Your first sentence was “I love pan-cays (pancakes)”. To be honest, you use so many words now it’s hard to keep up and instead I just look at you, amazed of this little person you are becoming.

I love how you say “step, down” as we walk hand in hand down the stairs, and that you’ll come to us when you are tired and say “carry”. I love that after breakfast you run to the window and say “Gawhee” (Gary), while Matou lifts you to see the neighborhood cat in the driveway. I love that if in the morning we say Mateo is still sleeping you’ll put your index finger to your lips, pinky up, and go “shhhhhh, Tayo nigh nigh”. And I love to watch you think, like when I say "Where is the lizard?" and you will wave your index finger back and forth (the sign for "where") as your eyes scan the shrubs.

Dare I say it, I do believe we are in a Zone. Oh sure, there are plenty of fits, particularly around meal times (not having the food prepared soon enough) and bedtime (overtired, overstimulated). But our ability to communicate as a family, via spoken words and sign language, has markedly improved the cadence of our day to day.

Enjoying the rhythm,
Mommy and Matou

Comments

[Melanie]

18 months...so hard to grasp! I remember when you posted your bfp...wow! What sweeties! Love all the words they are saying...too cute!

[meg]

Love the updates! I can't wait to meet these precious babies. And yes they are still babies :)

[Trina]

Beautiful letter to your beautiful babies; I can't bring my self to call them big kids yet, mine are almost 2 and they will always be babies to me:)
Love the new site. Great work!
Trina