Happy 18 Months, Boys!

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.
~Elizabeth Stone

Jacob and Caleb are growing right along, become more and more like little toddlers and less "babyish." They are so fun now - when they're not having a tantrum, biting, or fighting over toys! Overall, they truly are good and very sweet little guys.

Jacob, our "Baby A," has really learned to share, which actually is not always a great thing. Most of the time he'll cave in and give Caleb a toy if he wants it, even if he was playing with it first. Also, all Caleb has to do now is point and "grunt" at a toy, and Jacob will go "fetch" it for him. That is very sweet of him to do, don't get me wrong, but Caleb is still not walking well, so he REALLY needs to be getting his little hiney up and practicing on his own! Jacob is one of the most tenderhearted little kids I have ever seen. He really is a sweetheart.



His giggle is contagious! He gets tickled at watching his brother do all sorts of crazy things! He also loves to dance (I need to try to get a video of him dancing to "Jakey got low, low, low, low, low, low, loooooowwwww...")



As far as mobility, by watching Jacob, you NEVER would guess that his motor skills were delayed only a couple of months ago. Last night he didn't want his nails trimmed (it's really torture to him, as he has to sit still for more than 30 seconds), so the silly boy was running from me laughing (what a fun game to be chased by Mommy)! He walks constantly, often carrying really heavy and/or bulky toys around. He also likes to "read" to us. He opens a book and babbles "words" as he turns the pages.


Here Jacob decides he is too busy too sit down and read, so he combines his two favorites - walking and reading.

Jacob is a GREAT eater! He is pretty good with a spoon/fork and will eat almost anything that we offer. He likes all veggies, but especially is a meat eater. The kid shocks me with the amount of food he can put away for his size! (A typical breakfast is a whole bowl of oatmeal, a whole piece of fruit, a 6 ounce cup of milk, and oftentimes some Cheerios or Cheetah Chomps to munch on while his brother finishes... and that's just for breakfast!)



His favorite things right now are balls/playing catch with Daddy, books, coloring, being outdoors (he is tall enough to reach the door knob, and tries to go outside several times a day), playing in sand, barbeque brisket (no, I'm not kidding), sweet corn bread muffins (what can I say - the boy LOVES good food!), and giving kisses.



Caleb, our "Baby B," is still, well, our little Caleb! I've never met another kid quite like him. He has such a fun personality and a smile (with big dimples) that can make anyone melt.



However he most definitely knows how to work that to his advantage! He still gets that look like he scheming up something often, and several times a day will actually look at me, smile really sweetly, and then throw a toy at or tackle his brother. He thinks that his cuteness will get him out of anything.



It already seems, however, that Caleb already has extreme stubbornness and perfectionist behavior. He CAN walk (we've seem him do it on multiple occasions), but just only does it when it benefits him. My thoughts? He is not wanting to walk right now - he wants to run - and he is not going to run until he knows that he can do it perfectly. Until that moment clicks with him, he's not going to attempt to walk alone too much - and the more we push him, the more ticked off he's going to get at not only us, but also himself. He is stubborn, he is a perfectionist, he is really hard on himself, and he is his Mommy all over! He'll learn soon enough that being a perfectionist is both a blessing and a curse.



Caleb is also very, very good with a spoon! The boy will diligently eat every bite with his spoon rather than use his hands (most meals). In fact, he tries to eat his finger foods (Goldfish, etc) with a spoon if he has one.


Here Caleb munches down on some Indian food - Chicken Tikka Masala, a toned down palak sadheko, and some mango with yogurt

His favorite things right now are giving hugs, tackling/rough housing with brother (which Jacob hates!), having bites of Mommy's cheesecake Blizzard when we go to Azle, making people laugh, giving "raspberries," his puppy, and going in the wagon for walks.


Caleb having a bite of yummy Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard at DQ.

As you can clearly see, we are crazy about these boys! They are twins, yet so very different. I love how both of their personalities shine.

Mommy and Daddy love you, boys! We can't wait to see you bloom even more in the coming months!