18 Months Old

When Josiah was 18 months old, I had less than four months to go till the girls were born. Now my babies are a year and a half--with hair long enough for tiny pigtails; humor and mischief enough to keep us entertained all day; and kisses ready for all endearing friends and family (and animals and sometimes trucks and airplanes). 

For comparison's sake, here's Josiah at 18 months:

 So little!

 Only three of us (at least on the outside)

 You can see my belly a little bit here--I would have been around 24 weeks along, I think

At Great-grandma and Great-grandpa's house--Abby and Lydia didn't like the big bear so well this year :)

The sisters are taller and curlier than their brother at this age, but somehow I thought of him as older then than they seem now. Maybe it's just because I have a three-year-old to compare them to!

Lydia on the left, Abby on the right

They found hairbands and wanted to wear them as bracelets

And they did NOT want to be removed from the tree!

Both girls adore babies, as we discovered during our vacation with extended family in Michigan. Babies were plentiful (four of my cousins had babies this spring, and there were also some smaller toddlers). Every time someone came down the gravel road pushing a stroller, the girls pointed and blew kisses and flocked to see the baby. They liked to give hugs and kisses, stroke feet and heads, poke eyes, and make sweet babyish noises. 

Lydia kissing Damien, my cousin's son

Lately Lydia wakes before the other two from her afternoon nap, and she loves to have me read books just to her. Today we made it all the way through Robert the Rose Horse. Both girls request Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb over and over. Often we finish one reading, and they want me to turn right back to the beginning and start again! (They've perfected the "unh-unh-unh" sound for "I want" and use it to request/demand all manner of things.)

Lydia on the left, Abby on the right

Grandma Dortha spent a few days with us last week, and all three kids were thrilled to see her. They vied with each other for her attention at dinner, with both girls babbling and laughing while clearly telling stories and making conversation. They threw in "Mama" and "Dada" at times, but the rest of the language was unintelligible to us.

Lydia with Aunt Hannah and Uncle Andrew

Lydia is perhaps as active and adventurous as her brother at this age--or maybe more so, since she has him to imitate and idolize! Last Monday she launched off a chair at the Bayne's and landed on the sharp edge of a soda can, cutting herself pretty deeply just a half-inch from her eye. We butterflied it shut, and surprisingly she mostly kept the butterfly band-aids on. 

Uncle D endeared himself to Lydia quickly upon his return!

I guess she decided to even out the injuries, because after we arrived home, she dived over the arm of the couch into the forbidden zone by the CD player. But she didn't aim well and ended up with a black eye from the foot of the coffee table. She likes to jump without warning from couches and beds, and often leaps onto unsuspecting parents or siblings.

Of course, all three love to be tossed in the air, flown on Daddy's legs or feet, bounced on knees, spun around till dizzy . . . and they throw themselves with abandon into bouts of wrestling and tickling.

Lydia

In other milestone news, both girls peed on the potty today! (Not a first--they urgently ask to use the potty every time they're in the bathroom for any reason--but they often just sit there and don't produce anything.) 

Lydia seems readier to train than Abby, though, as she often pulls out diaper changing stuff or climbs onto the changing table and points at her diaper right after she soils her pants. She sometimes backs up to me so I can check her diaper after she's done the job. More recently even a little pee seems to bug her. She also added "pee-pee" to her vocabulary, and she has long approximated "pee-you" (apparently it's supposed to be spelled "pew"), accompanied by pinching her nose.

Lydia and Aunt Bobo

The girls devote a good part of every day to buckling--up at Lorien in Michigan they loved to buckle stray strollers, their own highchair seats, and their car seats housed on the porch. At home they buckle themselves into their highchair seats before each meal, and when we set them free afterwards, they invariably turn right around and buckle those buckles again! 

 Lydia poised to oust Abby from the buckling fun

 Buckle fiends!

 Lydia

Abby

While Abby quails at the sound of a dog barking a block away, she does kiss pictures of dogs in books (like her sister) and even pets a subdued puppy if Daddy holds it still. At dinner the other night with some friends, Lydia and Josiah gleefully chased their chihuahua Lola 'round the big kitchen island, while Abby sought security in Daddy's arms. She gingerly pet Lola a couple times, but tended to keep a safe distance. But during dinner Abby loudly chanted Lola's name: "Wo-wa! Wo-wa! Wo-wa!" She kept this up for most of the meal.

Abby

Up at the lake, Abby loved to see and chase ducks. With loud, deep voice--seemingly uncharacteristic for little Abby--she called after them, "Guck! Guck! Guck! Guck!" She indiscriminately hailed all birds with this greeting--gulls, loons, geese, etc. 

Abby's interest in calling to animals is perhaps akin to her interest in names generally. Often when I change her diaper, she recites a litany of names with proclamatory fervor: "Dada! Mama! Lilla! Da-ah ['Siah]! Yamma! Pa! Bobo!" When we gathered for meals with my family on vacation, she liked to point to each person at the dinner table and say his or her name in turn. She and Lydia both like to say "hi" to each and every person in a group--turning their eyes to each new person and insisting on a reply before saying "hi" to the next. 

Abby

Lydia

Lydia's most recent word is "uh-uh," and I've heard "no" a couple times from both girls. The other day we saw Josiah and Lydia playing a back-and-forth game of contraries: Josiah nodded his head, Lydia shook hers; Josiah shook his, Lydia nodded hers. I remember doing that with my siblings! 

Lydia and Josiah

It's lots of fun to hear the three siblings interact verbally. Josiah talks to the girls and clearly expects intelligent responses--and they usually give them in some form! (Lydia likes to say "uh-uh" to his requests.)

Both girls use their hands to wave/hit away undesirable people, food, objects, situations, etc.

Abby's neat-freak tendencies continue to blossom. She surprised me the other day by picking up all the duplos (unasked), placing the lid atop the container, and then hauling it to its spot with the other toy bins. One day she was on a mission to clean up the toy food. Lydia wanted to play with some of it, and Abby got into a scuffle with her as A tried to wrench the food from L to put it away. 

Abby's look of injury at injustice

Of course, often Lydia antagonizes Abby during a clean-up spree by dumping the half-filled bin of toys. Then Abby cries and comes to me, pleading, "Holp, pease! Holp, pease!"

Abby in Pa's shoes (both girls are still shoe-lovers)

I love seeing the bond between the sisters develop, despite the fights. This weekend Lydia happily went to nursery during church (maybe stranger anxiety is on the wane?!), but we kept Abby out because she'd been under the weather. Poor Abby was pitiful to behold. As I held her outside the sanctuary, she kept pointing toward the nursery and saying, "Lilla! Lilla!" She nodded her head emphatically when I asked, "You want Lydia?"

 Abby

Lydia in Grandma's glasses

If one girl wakes before the other from a nap, I often take her out of the room--but she always points to the other's crib and clearly wants her to come, too!

A final twin story to wrap up this post: At a park last week, Abby found a mirror on the landing of a play-structure. She saw her reflection, grinned, pointed, and said, "Lilla!" And when we show her pictures on the camera, every picture of herself or her sister is "Lilla!" 

Abby inside, Lydia on top