New Nap Schedule

The last few weekends have been long days with Hailey only napping in the afternoon and Hunter napping in the morning and then getting cranky the rest of the day, but never really falling asleep. We decided we needed to switch up what we were doing for our own sanity.

The kids now both stay awake all morning instead of taking a nap at 8, and will play and run around until noon when they take their only nap of the day until about 2/230. The transition was a bit harsh, but we've found ourselves now comfortable in the new schedule and it's working great! The later nap is helping the kids stay up later (7pm on some nights!) which in turn means they aren't waking up at 330am. They've been peacefully sleeping in the mornings at least until 5, if not later on occasion, which allows us to get ready for work in the mornings without tripping over two toddlers who think the bathroom is their's to explore! Of course that isn't every morning... but when that does happen it is so nice to take a shower that is longer than 5 mins.

With the swapping of our nap time, it was pretty clear that it was a change for them when they fell asleep in the middle of lunch at the same time! So much for the quesadillas I had made.

Big Kids!

I was a little shocked when I went to get the kids after work and saw that they were outside playing! I guess I didn't realize how big they really are getting and that is something I guess they can do now?! It sounds so silly when I type that...

I had to snap a quick photo of all the fun they were having and as I pulled the kids away from the fun to go home (which was no easy task- there was kicking, screaming and pointing!), I bumped into a few of the gals who remember when these little ones came to Daycare the first time at just 8 weeks old! Wow, how times have changed! I get now why our parents always say, 'it feels like just yesterday' because it really does.

What Have We Been Up To?

It's been a busy beginning of the new year and we are having fun exploring new activities with the kids. 

We headed to the Seattle Children's Museum and the kids really loved being 'on stage'. Hunter was active pushing a cart in front of the audience and Hailey like being a background "extra" on the bench. They both were very interested in the curtains and the pre-stage area with the lighted mirrors. We were pleasantly surprised how big this Children's Museum was and how it didn't seem as packed as the Everett Children Museum has been the last few times we've gone. 

We also headed back to Little Gym for the first time in over a month! December was so busy with family activities and pair that with gym closures due to the holidays, it definitely had been a while and the kids were happy to get back and play with their friends! They are both getting so much more active which we love. 

Hailey has mastered walking on the balance beam while holding onto the rails on either side while Hunter really likes to play with the hula hoops and shakers (it's just a pain trying to get him to put them away once it's time to move to the next activity)! 

Hailey + Hunter Are 16 Months Old

So much has changed with Hailey and Hunter since 4 months ago (the last monthly update I did), that it seems like a world away. I get fun updates in my email on what to expect for their milestones and this is the one I got for 16 months:

"Your toddler is learning how to get a laugh out of you and what brings your disapproval. He's studying your reactions, so now's the time to start teaching right from wrong by cheering on "good" behavior (picking up a toy and putting it in the toy box) and frowning on "bad" (throwing the toy across the room). And don't forget to watch what you say and do. Your child learns how to behave by imitating others close to him. "

Well, yep! That is them to a T right now! They are both pushing boundaries by repeating actions we tell them not to do! If we get one of them to stop doing something (like standing on a chair or worse, on top of their tall slide), the other one will go and do it too! So, we've implemented time out. Now, when they do something bad we tell them CORNER and they will walk themselves over and take a break. Of course that doesn't last long and if one of them is in time out, the other comes over to rub it in their face.. so I will end up standing there with whoever is in timeout to act as a blocker for the other one coming over. 

Aside from the bad behavior and testing boundaries, they do have a very sweet side these days... Especially Hunter! He loves to go up to his sister and hug/kiss her, but she HATES it! She throws a temper tantrum and he's left looking at her like- what? But he still is biting which is hard to tell when he also likes to give kisses. 

Hunter is still very much into tackling his sister... oh and mom, dad, the dogs, the cat... anything he can find! Hailey on the other hand can sit quietly in the corner and enjoys having a moment to look at books and be alone. 

Both Hailey and Hunter have been sleeping very well (a trend that i HOPE extends throughout these next few years). At daycare, they take naps on nap mats with several other kids in the room for about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs in the afternoon. On the weekends, Hunter still enjoys taking a nap in the morning, but Hailey is up all day and will take a good nap later in the afternoon like she does at daycare. They both are ready for bed around 6-630 at night and typically wake up around 4/430 to start our day (yes, that includes on weekend which is so BRUTAL when all you want to do is sleep in!). 

Our speech is developing quickly! Hailey now says several words and will even talk back if you ask a question. She knows how to say mommy, daddy, dada, mama, baba, paco, doggie, sock, and mine (which sounds like Mikey and daddy does NOT like that). Hunter can say mommy, dada, baba, mama, and sock. But our ALL TIME favorite word? NO! They will say no to us, to each other, to the dogs... ugh. The good part about the word is that they understand what we ask them. If they are done eating, instead of taking them out of the high chair at the sound of screaming, we make them say 'all done' with hand gestures or nod yes to the question. Both of them love to scream and hear their voice so we are trying desperately to get them to use their words so we are not embarrassed in public when they start screaming and actually know what they want. 

As far as toys, Hunter is very into trucks. He loves to take them and crawl alongside them as he pushes them across the kitchen floor. He also really likes anything that you can stack or build (like Legos). Hailey loves stuffed animals... LOVES THEM! She will take them and carry them around everywhere and if we make her put it down to put on a jacket or change her, she points and says 'mikey' (mine). And of course, as mentioned, she loves books. She likes to point out things on the picture and over time is starting to listen to stories for a longer period of time instead of getting bored and either walking away or changing the page before you are done reading it. 

As for mommy and daddy? We are having to watch what we say and do WAY more! We're not too bad with bad words, but the occasional S word will slip out (especially when you are juggling getting the dogs outside to potty and one of them goes for poopy from one of the dogs or when you are across the room and one of them decide to stand on top of something like the slide that is really tall and you have to run over to get them before they topple over), so we've decided that if we use a swear word, that it will cost us 25 sit-ups and each additional word in that day, you add that 25 on to.. so, 3 bad words = 75 sit ups! That'll teach us to be better about it for sure. 

Looking forward to what comes next and really trying to enjoy every stage along the way.. it goes WAY too fast.

BONK!

Uh oh! The other morning Hailey bonked her head on the bookshelf at daycare! I walked into work and before I even had my computer turned on, I had a call and knew something happened. I was rushing to get out the door and Michael decided to run and get the little princess and bring her home so I could finish up some work. She was ok, but had a nice goose egg and a cut right on her forehead.
When Michael went to get her, he still had to work so he left Hunter at daycare.. of course when he saw Daddy leaving with his sister he was PISSED he was being left behind. Well, turned out mommy caught a really bad cold and headed home in the early afternoon and swooped by to get the little man so we could all be home together.

We LOVE Smoothies

Every time I make smoothies these two suck them down! I've been hiding veggies in them too and they have no idea... and every once in a while we'll grab a Jamba Juice for a little treat! They sure are big kids drinking their own smoothies in a normal cup...Yummy!