15 Months

15 Things for 15 Months

Ella
1 Has developed a sudden interest in dolls and all things cuddly (stuffed animals). Yesterday, she crawled across the room, picked up a doll, looked at me and said (clear as a bell), “Baby”.
2 Says “Day-Do” (thank you).
3 Is scared of cats.
4 Loves to be rocked before bed. She puts her little head on your shoulder, cuddles her bunny and is perfectly content to rock for hours.
5 Still very timid at trying new things – she always lets Aidan lead the way. She is an excellent copy cat!

Aidan
1 Took his first steps on Tuesday, August 5.
2 Is much more aggressive in his play than Ella – loves to “Hulk Hogan” everyone and everything. By that I mean he wrestles and pounces with such force that he knocks everything over!
3 Has no fear of anything at all.
4 Still wakes up once a night (anywhere between 10:30 and 3 AM)– not for any particular reason.
5 Identifies each and every truck that he sees. Lately, he will say “Tuk, Brr” (Truck, Vroom).

Both
1 As previously noted, mealtimes have taken on a whole new level of messiness lately.
2 Love to laugh at, and entertain, each other.
3 Are very sociable with others, Ella even seems to be over her “stranger danger” phase.
4 Seem to be developing a bit of separation anxiety if I dare to leave the room.
5 Love to dance!

We have “survived” another month with twins.

In the beginning, there was a lot of survival mode. There were times when I got mad, times when I got frustrated, times when I lost my cool and all three of us were crying. I freely admit that there were really, really hard parts.

But, it’s not like I ever felt as though I somehow wouldn’t make it through. The times when I felt really overwhelmed didn’t last too long at a stretch. Looking back, a lot of it is a blur. And maybe that’s part of the survival mode bit. I can scarcely remember what I did when they were three months old. And yet, I did it. Whatever it was, it happened. I wasn’t spinning out of control. We all had food and drink and clean clothes and dry diapers. As we all know, people always ask “how do you do it with two babies?” And my answer remains the same: “you just do.”

There were lots of things that helped. My moms of twins club and the friends I made through it. Blogging. Getting out of the house. Routine. Cutting myself some slack.

When they were newborns, people would randomly come up to me and say “it gets better!” I thought it was odd (even annoying) at the time. Did I look that strung out? The babies weren’t screaming, all was well. And yet, I do that to other people now. Alas.

It really does get better. Less never-ending screaming for no apparent reason (I’m not saying it disappears completely, but there’s a whole lot less). More sleep (most of the time). Sitting up, I remember, was a big milestone that seemed to change the way we all interacted. Crawling even more so. Walking is on the horizon.

While it definitely gets better as they get older, I hesitate to say it gets “easier.” It gets… different.
At the beginning, it’s all feeding and sleeping. Bottles got easier, more predictable, faster. They held them on their own. They got into a good nap schedule and they slept through the night. That stuff is easier.

And yet, now there are entirely new things. Opinions, frustrations, distractions. Childproofing. A sudden dislike for grilled cheese, which was such a hit last week. Sleep is certainly easier than the, say, two-month stage, but it’s never great for too long. Nap strikes, the impending 2-to-1 nap transition, early risers.

I think, if it is actually easier, that has more to do with confidence and knowing your kids than it does about the actual challenges. Now I have to worry about things like falling down the stairs and slamming fingers in doors.

And yet… it’s better.

Way better than the haze of the newborn days, wondering why they wouldn’t sleep for more than 10 minutes at a stretch for four straight days. At the time, I questioned whether I’d survive. Now, if they skip a nap, we deal.

Here we are. 15 months. We made it.

Now, onto even bigger adventures.

This video makes my heart just melt - I think it is so funny to see just how hard they both laugh at their Dad!!