18 Month Update

Ethan and Mia are officially 1 1/2 years old. This is both a fun and challenging age. Both kids are becoming more independent. They want to use adult forks to try and feed themselves. It takes them forever to get their food on their forks, but it's so funny to watch. They are so serious when they're doing it. They are starting to play more on their own and with each other a little bit. They make us smile and laugh every day! It's challenging because of all the temper tantrums. Neither one listens to us at all. They love to test us all of the time!

Ethan and Mia usually take one nap around noon. They sleep for about an hour. They have quiet time in their cribs around five for about 30 minutes. They usually don't fall asleep, but it's a nice time out for all of us! Both Ethan and Mia LOVE pestering our dog, Elsa, and our cat, Rusty. Both kids have been nipped at. Rusty doesn't have front claws, thank god, because Ethan and Mia would be all scratched up. This doesn't deter the two of them at all. You'd think Elsa and Rusty would hide from the two of them, but they don't.

Both kids have gotten picky when it comes to food. Ethan is definitely the worse of the two. He hardly eats anything. I'm surprised he's not skin and bones. He loves to eat oatmeal, cream of wheat, sometimes bananas, anything sweet, juice, peas, corn, and cheese puffcorn. Mia's favorite food, by far, is fruit. She would eat it all day every day! She also likes oatmeal, cream of wheat, sweets (but not as bad as Ethan), juice, peas, and cheese puffcorn.

Ethan is extremely active. He doesn't sit down from the second he wakes up until he goes to bed. The ONLY time he'll sit still is when he's tired and wants his feet or back rubbed. It's exhausting watching him! He loves playing with balls, tools, and his trucks. Every once in awhile, he'll play with one of Mia's dolls. I've caught him kissing them a few times. It makes me laugh! He would spend all day outside if I would let him. Every time we go outside, he pulls all of the solar lights off of our walkway. It gets a little old picking those up all of the time! He's started saying some new words. He says, "more" when he wants more to eat or drink. It's really funny because he almost yells it. I'm trying to teach him, "more please" but he hasn't caught on yet. He's also started saying "thank you".

Ethan is still really jealous of Riley. He'll hit her every chance he gets. He doesn't like it when I hold her at all! Ethan has started climbing on EVERYTHING. It's SO annoying. He can climb up on our kitchen chairs so I've caught him on my kitchen table and computer desk. The other day, he was on the kitchen table swinging my light fixture back and forth like a pendulum on a clock! He hasn't pushed the chairs over to the counter yet, but I'm sure that's coming. He also climbs up on the changing table and enjoys throwing all of the lotion and butt creams down. He messes with the blinds and has bent those all up. He can climb up on the toilet. He also climbs up on the top of the couch and stands up on it. He hasn't fallen off of the couch yet, but I know it's coming! He hurts himself all of the time. He has bruises everywhere! Ethan almost always wakes up crabby. It's as though he's mad he fell asleep!

Mia isn't as active as Ethan. She loves to sit and play with her dolls. She'll sit there with them for a good hour! She'll grab Riley's blanket or will find a pacifier to give her dolls. She kisses them and hugs them. She also likes playing with balls and tools, though. Mia would also spend all day outside if I let her. She's a little trickier to watch because she immediately goes for the road. She knows she's not supposed to do it because she turns around and makes sure I'm looking at her before she jets for the road. I have a feeling she thinks it's a game.

She has also learned a couple of new words. She says "all gone" and "thank you". Mia has gotten a lot better with Riley. She now kisses her quite a bit. Every once in awhile, she will try to hit her. Mia isn't interested in climbing on things. She really watches everything Ethan does. She's very observant. Mia is a little bit of a food hoarder. If I have a handful of crackers, she'll try to take every single one, where Ethan will take just one. Mia also tries to stuff them all in her mouth. She'll start choking on something and out falls 5 or 6 pieces of food. That's a lot of food to stick in a little mouth! Mia is really easy to watch. She likes to sit next to me on the couch or sit on my lap when I don't have Riley. She's never very far from me! She always wakes up in a good mood and with a smile on her face. She's a sweetie!

Taking a nap with Dad.

Playing at the water park. Neither one liked it that much, surprisingly.

Playing at the park.

Ethan loved the swing.

Mia did not like the swing!

Playing with the little tractor.

Sitting on my computer turning it on and off. He looks surprised that he got caught!

The kids love going downstairs, but Mike works during the day, so we baby gate them out. They'll sit by the gate like this a few times a day.

Wanting to go downstairs.

Playing out in the rain.

Swinging on the hammock.

Swinging on the hammock. Mia is asleep!

Playing with her dolls.

Climbing on their table.

Bugging Riley.

Goofing off.