It was two and a half years ago that the kids were born (December 11, 2009). I don't think that I've ever published their birth story but if you want a little information, you can catch up on the (new) "About" page.
Where has the time gone?
I know that everyone says that but seriously, I don't remember the first 1.5 years (luckily I kept a detailed journal and this blog). Breastfeeding for two and missing Alexander kept me pretty busy and I can count the number of times that I left the house on one hand (not including our four month trip to Mexico).
Just to give you a baseline as to what the kids are doing, I thought that I'd include a copy of the milestones for 30-monthers issued by Nipissing District.
Fortunately, they meet all the minimum milestones for their age and exceed in many such as #8 Remove Clothing already Unzipped or Unbuttoned.
Let's just leave it at "Remove All Clothing, All the time, and Anywhere".
Click on the image to enlarge.
Due to the "Leaded Ball Debacle of May 2012", Artemis got weighed and is up to 11.70 kg (25lbs12oz). That's up over 2lbs since December 2011 (23lbs8oz). Funny thing is that she still feels like a feather (and always has). She's pretty much the same height and shoe size as Max (6 almost 7) but he's built more like a boy. They're both in two year old clothing and have a definite sense of style (or lack thereof). The days of my getting to dress them and have them match right down to their socks and hair elastics are over.
Speaking of hair elastics, Artemis' bangs are so long that they're irritating her eyes and she won't leave her barrettes in.
So far, telling her that if she doesn't wear her barrettes (or headband) that I'll have to cut her hair has worked.
What happens one day (and it's coming) when she says "okay, cut my hair". Then I'll have to go through with it...
Max is also due for a haircut but his is easy; install bowl, cut around edges, remove bowl. Presto.
Artemis has started to use the pronouns; "I" and "me". Not "mine", that was her second word ("more" was the first one). Both kids regularly call Ed, "Ed". Well, more like yell "EEEEEEddddd". Wonder where they learned that from. They know that my name is "Sarah".
Max has been jumping off stools, chairs, tables, stairs, pretty much everything for the past three months. Artemis is a bit more reserved but if in doubt, she gets Max to jump off first. As long as he doesn't *cut his lip, she'll give it a try. Max is especially proud of himself when he does something and gets praise. He regularly "fixes" things (after he's broken it in the first place and doesn't really fix it in the end anyways) and tells us 32 times that he fixed it.
*"Cutting your lip" is a feared activity around here. Max fell once (maybe two months ago) and cut his lip. There was a total of three drops but I might have played it up a bit... Now, you can get them to do almost anything for fear that they will "cut their lip". And real terror ensues if you say that someone else (like Nanna) will cut her lip. That surely gets the job done!
Their use of language has exploded each month since we got back (in March). They're talking in 6-8 word sentences and sometimes they just ramble off 20 words in a row which may or may not be related and/or decipherable. Regardless they seem to know what they're talking about. They even have their own little language (which I'm told implies superior intelligence, duh). They can count from 1-10 (and sometimes beyond) but don't ask them how many of something you have unless it's two.
They know the "Alphabet Song" and can identify most letters when shown to them. Thanks to Barney (seriously, why don't people like the purple dinosaur?) they know that "A is for Apple", "B is for Ball" and quite a few more. They know "left" and "right" just not which one is which (well, they're right 50% of the time, or is that left, smile).
They are both napping again during the day (thankfully!) but aren't getting to bed earlier than 8pm. It probably has something to do with the days being so long. Makes for long days for me.
Toilet (not potty) training is going well. We're up to three scheduled successful bathroom trips a day. Short of camping out in the bathroom until they get it, I'm not sure that I have time to add anymore trips. I think the key is that unless they're sitting on the toilet, they don't get it yet. Thankfully, I'm not sick of changing diapers, yet. They're in a size 5 (almost 6) diapers.
Everyday we listen to their Mickey Mouse tape deck (yes, t.a.p.e.d.e.c.k, you'd think I'd written 8-track or something) that Poppa got them. I got an "A,B,C" and counting tape at Laz House (for free!) and they love it. In fact, the songs are playing in my head as I write this. Thankfully, pretty catchy as it's been two months...
In Mexico we were playing the "matching game" (really a memory game but without the memory). Now, they will pick something up (say a ball) and then find something else that is the same colour.
As for Spanish, they hear it everyday, throughout the day. I am committed to having them be bilingual (and hopefully trilingual, Ed has started to read French books to them at night). They know most body parts, animals, numbers and totally understand it when I talk to them. Artemis tends to talk more in Spanish than Max but they definitely have some words that they don't even know what they are in English (pull, run, come, tia).
They really enjoy each others company and for the past two months, when I go in to check on them before bed, they are always sleeping together in Max's bed (with Alexander's Bear).
After a timeout, it doesn't matter who they're supposed to apologize to; me, Ed, the cat (yes, the cat), they run to each other, both say sorry, hug tightly, give each other a big kiss and then get on with their day. It is so cute that I wish they were in timeout more (did I just write that?).
In a nutshell, if it can be broken or taken apart, Max is your man. If it's dirty or disorganized, Artemis will clean it up for you.
Check out our other Nipissing Developmental Checklist posts.
Besos, The Zoo
What a great story. Love the "memory game without the memory" - knowing left and right, but which one is left? - 20 word strings that may or may not make intelligible sentences. Classic.
ReplyDeleteI'm a mum of a 2.5 year old "master of the universe" too.
Aren't we lucky. Children really are amazing creatures.
Thank you for the laugh.
Malibu Mum