the johnsons: 19 Months

I feel like this was our hardest month. I don't know if it's due to teething but they (especially Jack) have become so cranky and whiny. We have had some happy days or at least parts of days, but the majority of this month has been walking on egg shells with these guys. Nonetheless we love these growing boys so much.

Lots of demanded cuddles during this month. And this was a rare moment they were okay to share me.

Teeth: Jack has 2 molars and 2 almost through...it's taking forever to be done with this! Eli has 1 molar and the others on the verge of coming soon. Cutting molars has really effected their temperament and patience and I really can't blame them because it doesn't look fun.

New Words: They (especially Eli) are really into labeling people. They will call names (Mamma, Dada, Papa, Jack-Jack) as they look for whoever they want. They will also point to us and say who we are just out the blue and I love it. I also think they both think they are Jack-Jack. Whenever I tell Eli to say "Eli" he points to himself and says, "Jack-Jack" (which sounds a lot like "da-da". The new words this month that they can now repeat and understand are: bubble, eyes, stinky, P.U, choo choo, beep beep (when something/someone is in their way), please (instead of just signing it), all done, hmmm (when looking for something), up (which Eli often says backwards as 'puh'), and they almost always know how to find and say the color yellow. When I was first teaching Jack he would say it so cute with just a gibberish jumble of sounds but was so consistent in what he chose to say for it.

Naps: A big change this month was moving their nap to after lunch time. They now eat lunch around 11:30/12:00 and go down for their one nap between 12:30/1:00 and sleep for about an hour and half. They call their stuffed animals their "baby" and that is now definitely what they need for sleeping. They LOVE their babies.

The sweetest moment where Eli patted Jack on the arm for a good while to say goodnight to him. Jack just stared at him loving it.

I love looking at them before I head to bed and being creepy as I take sleeping pictures...I love that they sleep with a pillow made by Great Grandma Christensen, a blanket made by Grandma Lisa, and their babies from Grandma Willa.

Binky: Huge change this month was transitioning out their binkies. They can sleep totally fine without them now and today was the first time in weeks Jack even said the word..."me-me". And that was because he noticed it on a friend at the park. But after she was out of sight he totally forgot again. I'm so proud of them.

Prayers: My favorite thing is saying goodnight prayers with them. Their closed eye faces are to die for. More often than not they will sit still now, fold their arms, and close their eyes for a quick prayer. The past 2 nights Eli has also started mumbling gibberish when I ask him to fold his arms for prayers like he is saying his own! He looks at us with a huge proud smile on his face when he does it and just giggles. They both hold their hands out and try to say 'amen' when prayers are over and most of the time they say 'all done'.

Play: This month I've really noticed that when we are out places or even around the house they like to look for each other and know where the other is. They like to climb together, sit together, race together, push each other on the wagon (and yes they even take turns on their own with this!), play magnets together, trains together, etc. I love when they are content with just each other. It's so fun seeing them play and be best buddies. They love to spin in circles (especially Eli) until they fall down. They laugh and laugh! They love to look at their I-Spy blankets. They love to watch movies and I hate that it's the ONLY thing to settle them down if nothing else is working. They love to roll on and lay on soft things like blankets and pillows. They love to stand on their toys and look out the playroom window. They now know how toy planes work and love to fly them around.

tasting puddles...I should have stopped this