Speech update

As I've mentioned before, Carter is currently receiving speech therapy.  At his one year well-check, when he still wasn't making any consonant sounds, we were referred to ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) here in Houston.  6 months later, he has made such progress.  He says dad, dog, woof, oom (vroom for cars).  He makes lots of sounds, including an imitation of the timer on the microwave.  He can follow simple directions.  He signs "more" and "all gone."  We still have a ways to go, and in fact he just started the point and whine, but I am so pleased with all he's done.

Brady, while not as behind as Carter, is still behind other kids his age.  He also has benefited from these lessons.  He has 5-6 words that anyone would recognize, and another 5-6 that I know what he is saying.  My question is:  Should I be worried that one of his 10-12 words is spongebob?

No babies were harmed in writing this post

It has been entirely too long since I put up some pictures of my cute babies.  By the way, I'm wondering how old they will be when I stop referring to them as the babies.

 See how cute?  Just chillin.  They have gained a huge interest in books, and will sit and look at pictures for quite a while.  Especially if there is a dog (Carter) or a ball (Brady).  You will also notice Brady and his love of milk.  Man that boy can drink.  And we have discovered that Carter loves chocolate milk.  And don't forget those taggies.  Carter is in love.

I remember thinking, it's going to get worse before it gets better.  Well, we have hit the "worst."  They can open doors and climb!  Brady climbed first, but Carter did it about a week later and now loves climbing.  See:

I went to upload those pictures above, and turned around and saw this:

So now the barstools live in the dining room on the other side of the gate, and the high chair trays are always on.  The kitchen chairs live on top of the table, and the top of the piano is constantly full of junk, because it is one of the few surfaces in the living room high enough to keep the babies away.  However, I am expecting things to improve from here on out.  What could get worse?  And if you have an answer to that, please don't tell me.

18 months

Well, they actually hit 18 months in December, but we finally made it in for our check up last week.

Brady
25.5 pounds (40th percentile)
32 inches (40th percentile)

Carter
23.3 pounds (15th percentile)
32 1/4 inches (40th percentile)

Carter has really slowed down on his weight gain, which is funny.  He was bigger at birth and actually eats more than Brady most of the time.

Overall, they are doing great.  Progressing just the way they should.  Language is still behind, but they have definitely progressed over the last few months. 

And just to see how far they've come:

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

Yummy yogurt

It had been brought to my attention that the boys had not had enough experience self-feeding with spoons.  So for a snack the other day, we pulled out yogurt and spoons.  I was amazed at how differently the two attacked the yogurt.  Brady did it "right."  He dipped and ate off the spoon, but because he has had little practice, he couldn't get it all and I fed him the remainder.  Carter made some great attempts, but decided nothing was going to stop him from getting that yogurt, and used any means (ie hands) to get to it.

Here is Brady at the end of his feeding:

And here is Carter during and after:

Hello 2011

In yet another way I have turned into my mother, I love new beginnings.  I always love turning a calendar page to a new month, Mondays are a good thing, and the new year just makes me giddy.  I don't know what it is, but it has something to with potential.  A stretch of time lies before us and it is up to us to do what we want with it.  And it really can be whatever we make it.

With that in mind, I have been thinking about the upcoming year.  I wish I had a few more concrete goals in mind, but I do have a wish list.  My hopes and dreams for 2011:

• I wish my home was orderly and clean.
• I wish I had more time to read.
• I hope Dan does well at work. (He is so much happier when he is not worrying about sales numbers.)
• I would love to have a new addition to our family.
• I wish I didn't have to see those close to me in pain.
• I dream of the day I have a well-stocked pantry which I can use to whip up healthy meals that everyone would eat.
• I hope everyone is healthy and happy this year.

And of course, I know that a real goal must be specific and measurable, and none of those things are.  So my goal is to do the 30 bag challenge.  I am going to get rid of 30 bags in 30 days.   They can be trash, donations, etc.  They can be big or small.  The point is to declutter and empty.  So there is my one goal for 2011.  I will let you know how I do.  And if I am successful, perhaps I can set another goal as I work toward making my other dreams a reality.

Happy New Year!

Good-bye 2010

I am happy to say good-bye to:

That stinky helmet!

The current climbing phase (I hope we are not taking this too long into next year)

The continual destruction of my house. (Again, I'm hoping here.)


But I am going to miss

 Simultaneous bottle feedings

THIS stage

The ability to fall asleep anywhere

6 (Boy was 6 a fun year with this boy.)

Tyler's front tooth gap (of which I cannot find a good picture)

2010 was a great year for us.  Here's to hoping next year is just as good.