Mealtime

THE New Family Mom recently visited IKEA where she purchased the table and chairs for the Twins.

The Twins know to go sit in their chairs when told to do so in preparation for a meal. They respond to "Go sit down," and race to take their place at the table.

Their high chairs have been put in storage and hopefully will not be put back in service to them again.

Dad was shocked the first time he told them to go sit down and they complied. He had not taught them that intentionally. He realized that they were imitating behavior they have seen. Drawing from this, he realized how important is was to model behavior he wants them to learn. So he reconfigured the dining room to be used as a dining room and eats his meals at the table. No more dining on the couch in front of the TV or at the office desk in front of the computer (at least not in front of them).

Next lesson, saying grace before a meal.

18 Month Checkup

THE Twins went in for their 18 month checkup on 12/17.

They both measured 33" in length. Dad remeasured when they came home and measured them both at 31 3/4". He believes his measurement to be more precise. He had them stand up barefoot against the wall and carefully placed a pencil mark even with the crown on their head. The lay-down-and measure-from-head-to-toe method is error prone.

At 33", a full inch and a quarter longer than  Dad's measurement, she is in the 83rd percentile and he in the 66th. According to growth charts available on the web, he is actually between 25 and 50% while she is between 50 and 75%.

He weighs in at 23 lbs. 5 oz. (38%).

She weighs in at exactly 21 lbs. (28%).

Dr. Pedia asked a littany of questions about their development. Embarassingly most of the answers were "no."

"Do they use between 7 and 20 words?"

"No."

"Do they climb stairs?"

"Um, we don't let them."

"Do they use utensils?"

"Well she holds a spork and stabs food with it. But mostly she picks food up with her hand and puts it into her mouth."

But the New Family Parents were largely unconcerned. Dad knows that anytime he makes a declarative sentence about the Twins, they take it as a cue to prove him wrong. Sure enough they are now doing all of those things.

Except climb stairs. Those are still off limits. But they climb everything else.

At their 24 month visit, should Dad encounter any question about their development to which the answer would be "no," he will instead reply, "(S)he will by this afternoon!"

Rockin to the Music

DAD had the TV on recently to occupy the Twins for a while so he could accomplish some chores. The show played a song with a rhythmic beat and the Twins broke out in adorableness.

EJ Photos

MOM has been requesting more photos of her son to be posted on the blog. The problem was that for a while EJ had a rash around his mouth that really stood out in photos and Dad didn't want to share those photos with the world. But the rash is finally clearing up. So per Mom's request:

Don't be fooled by their apparent adorability above. They were competing to occupy the play kitchen sink. Shortly after this photo was taken she was pushed to the floor.

Miss Fixit

BUGGY crawled up onto the new kitchen counter recently.

"Here's the problem Dad. The polarity is reversed. Want me to go ahead and fix it?"

Dad's Discovery

DAD discovered Mom has been teaching Buggy to kiss.

On the lips.

He discovered this when, after having recently changed Buggy's diaper, he stuck his face into hers to engage in some play and she puckered up and planted one on his lips.

Parenting is not for the squeamish.

Update: Chef's Toques

GRANDMA saw these hats and thought they were too cute to pass up. They are a little big, but Dad will find a away to make them fit and get pictures up.

 Dad aspires to the day when the Family can all cook together in a large kitchen.

Buggy likes to wear hats, EJ not so much. But he tolerated it long enough for Dad to capture a few pictures.