15 Months
My darling little boys are 15 months old today. I find myself exhausted and tested to the limits of my patience by these two little toddlers who can tear up a house in seconds flat. They throw every pillow from the couch to the floor, they pull every blanket out of the cabinet, they dumb toy bins out with reckless abandon. They fight all the time over toys and space; Forest does not like to be touched and Logan appears to do it on purpose. They are both teething so we have clingy babies, runny noses, and lack of sleep. But that all fades into unimportance when they open their arms wide for a hug. Yes, this month they learned how to give hugs.
Logan is really into talking these days. He is learning a new word every few days and some of them are almost understandable. He points out every car that we see and tries to say “car”. He plays shy with strangers at first but then his outgoing nature comes out within a few minutes or if they are smart enough to play peek-a-boo (his favorite game) with him. He loves balls, books, and most importantly, his stuffed blue doggie. He’s sweet to animals and seems to have a real kindness towards them, until the toddler part of him steps in and starts pulling tails. He has a smile that can light up a room and a laugh that is contagious. He loves to wrestle and cuddle and sings all day and most of the time in the car. Not to be outdone, he learned to dance so he’s an all around performer.
Forest may not say any understandable words but he understands every word we say. I’m constantly amazed at how much he understands. He loves to read books and stack. He’ll stack anything and everything and is really good at it. He knows it too because he gets so tickled and has the cutest giggle when he creates a masterpiece (and they are all masterpieces). He finally got two teeth this past month (with more obviously on the way) but they are spaced apart so we’ve been calling him “snaggle tooth”. Another cuddler, Forest has relaxation down to an art form. He’s also completely obsessed with trash cans and can point them out from yards away in a parking lot or when driving down the road.
While they seem more clingy in some moments, there are signs of how much more independent they are becoming. With Brad gone last week I experimented and found that I can put a baby gate in the bathroom doorway and take a shower without them being upset. And they certainly prefer to be on their own outside, the less adult interference the better.
Both boys love to “help” around the house. They push brooms, vacuums (Logan makes the sound when it’s turned off), and love to wipe down everything with rags.
Meals are still a pleasant experience for us, for the most part. Forest will start throwing things off the side if he’s not very interested in the food. He also prefers not to wear a bib so we can only use the snap on kind. I try to give them something to eat with their own spoons and bowls at least once a day and they are getting pretty good at it. Chicken is a big hit right now while some past favorites like eggs and cheese seem to have lost their interest. Yogurt is the be all, end all reliable food and cheerios make mornings manageable.
I’ve started to see signs of empathy among the boys. Logan giving Forest a toy or stuffed animal when he’s crying. Logan giving toys to Forest to play with him. If I have to put one into a crib for a breather (when they are so fussy or wound up that I can’t figure out any other way), the other one will sit nearby to make sure that brother is ok. They don’t know each other by Forest and Logan, they know each other as “brother.” I love that.
A month ago I couldn’t have imagined being able to take two newly walking little guys into the gym with me. But today I got both out of their car seats - one at a time, put them down on the ground at the same time, and the three of us walked hand in hand into the gym together. I took the boys to the day care, where Forest cried when I left. But when I returned 15 minutes later, he was happily playing with the little wagon and almost didn’t want to leave. Almost.
Oh yeah! And they like to walk around on their tip toes.
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Hi. I am mom to 14 month old ID twin boys. Love reading your blog. Your boys are absolutely adorable.