In this JOYFUL life: February 2014

I feel like we have hit another age milestone that I felt like would take forever to reach, but in the blink of an eye, my babies are 18 months. A year and a half. Ugh. They are going to be 2 ~~tomorrow~~ in 6 months. While I am sad they are growing up so quickly, I am so thankful that I have two happy and healthy toddlers! They bring so much joy to my heart daily, and several times each day I feel like my heart might explode. This age is SO very fun, as they are learning new things by the minute. It is so fun to watch them grow and see the world and learn so much each day. I feel like this age also brings challenges as they are walkers now, which brings a new independence and sass about them. We are doing lots of training and correction and they aren't old enough to rationalize and fully understand but they are very smart and understand much more than you may think. Both babies will follow my commands when asked and love to please momma. It is just too sweet. They are walking around everywhere, getting into everything and love to play, dance and laugh. They can both dance on command, act "silly" (shaking their heads back and fourth) and love to blow kisses to all their friends and family. They are still sharing a room and love to laugh and giggle and chat together for a few minutes before bedime, some nights they even stay up partying for a little TOO long. They play very well together for the most part but do have their moments. They both eat pretty well, especially Hadley. Jack Henry nearly killed me with a recent picky phase that seems to be over now. Their favorite foods...
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, waffle with almond or peanut butter, yogurt, oatmeal, berries.
Snacks: Annie's crackers, strawberries, blackberries, bananas, pineapple, applesauce, clementines, fig bars, granola bars, fruit and veggie smoothies, tortilla chips, pirates booty, dried cherries.
Lunch: PB&J, Mac n Cheese, quesadillas.

Dinner: whatever we are having, unless kid-unfriendly and then we go back to one of the lunch options.

They are learning their body parts and know and can point to their : eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tongue, hair, belly, toes, and Hadley's "pretty" bow.
In addition to their words at 16 months, you can see those here, she also says...
bow (only Hadley)
shoes (oosh)
cheese
Hi
Mindy (a friend of mine)
They have perfected their "puppy" sound from a howl to an "arf"
hot
no
Moo (our cat's name)
They have put two words together saying "Hi Moo"
They both received several molars this month and had a but of a hard time getting them in, just fussier than normal and not as interested in food at times.

Hadley: My sweetest girl. She is so spunky, joyful and full of life. She is usually very happy and easy going unless she isn't :) Sometimes she loves to have a dramatic moment, but overall she is very steady, calm and even keel. She giggles, scrunches her nose and her once unsteady walk is starting to develop into a precious run. Hadley right now is the bossy twin. She sometimes touches brother in the face when she isn't liking what he is doing and she has also been known to take his toys. I have also caught her many times, giving Jack Henry a toy he wants and being a very sweet little sharer. She has the cutest belly that sticks out when she prances around and she holds one arm out while she walks that makes this momma melt! She loves baby dolls and loves to give baby kisses.
She loves to play, run around on her "walker", walk outside, loves putting on her bow and shoes, and loves to dance and praise Jesus. She is such a girl and loves to help mommy. If I tell her to put something away or close something, she loves to proudly do as I say. If she doesn't want to do something she says '"nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh" which we have to tell her that is not acceptable and she has to do it! As frustrating as that is, I am thankful that this is all normal development. We praise her and clap for her when she obeys which she loves to receive. She is very social and neither her nor brother have ever been sad when we drop them off in the church's nursery each Sunday. She is very smart, right now is a momma's girl and this girl is my joy!

Jack Henry: PRECIOUS boy! This fella is just a ham. He throws more fits than sister and we are currently working on not crying or getting mad when asked to do something he doesn't want to do, most popularly, diaper changes. He LOVES his daddy and id definitely daddy's boy. When he is happy, he is happier than Hadley. He giggles, flirts, smiles and loves. When he is sad, he is sadder than Hadley. He has more extreme emotions and can be challenging at times but is momma's baby bear. I never knew how special a mom's love for her little boy could be. He LOVES to chatter and talk and is quite good at it! He says "Hi" every time he sees someone or enters the room. It is so adorable. He can now give kiss on the lips and is walking more "naturally" each day. He loves to dance whenever music comes on and he loves to "wrestle" with daddy. He shows little interest in babies or dolls like Hadley, loves to bang on things like he is making a beat, crash his cars and stomp around. While it is so funny to see what a boy he is, he is still a very sensitive guy. He says "mommy" when he wants "up" even if it's daddy he wants to hold him. He loves to explore, play and love. My precious boy, I love you!