Jesse & Danielle: Things I love: Nineteen Months

{As of Oct. 28}
Yes I'm behind and the blog has been more neglected than I would like.
It might be like that for awhile.

Nineteen months is a hoot!
Especially with these crazy kids.
I can't get enough.

{B} {I}

{I} {B}

{B} {I}

{B}

{B} {I}

{I} {B}

Ian

Ian is such a joy to be around. He is very independent, cute around other kids, still loves stairs, and cries on his way to nursery. He loves to wander around the house doing his own thing but also seems to be the leader when he and Briggs are together. He instigates games, particularly when they roam around the circle, is quick to laugh, and makes super cute faces all the time. He is usually the more calm and easy of the two and gets neglected more because he is content to do his own thing. He is just so darn sweet.

And seriously, I tried really hard to take pictures of these children but this was the best I could get.

It's very indicative of how they are right now though.

{Update: We went for a Sunday afternoon walk and I took my camera and captured a few more pictures! Ian just kept trying to run away but I finally pinned him down for a few pictures

Just ignore the trail of leftover soda on his chin, his slightly goobery nose, and of course the fact that he only seemed to want his tongue out.}

1. Loves wearing hats.

And does this adorable cock of his head.

2. Is awesome at stacking blocks. He has gotten up to eight high!
He also squats like this a lot.

3. Our checkbook has become one of his favorite toys as of late.

4. Out of his two blankets, the blue one is his favorite.

5. He always tries to hold lots of things in one hand. Sometimes it's his silverware, sometimes it's socks, sometimes it's cars, etc. but whatever it is, he always wants one more than he can hold in that one hand. It is really frustrating to him but he keeps trying to do it anyway.

6. Has a quiet voice. He talks a little quieter and doesn't shout nearly as often as Briggs does.

7. He has decided that signing is for the birds. He sometimes signs "more" or "all done" or "milk" and usually does "please" and "thank you" but he just doesn't care to do many signs. He usually gets what he wants through grunting, pointing, and ahhhh-ing.

8. He is so ticklish! And he has the best belly laugh to go with it.

9. He Mowgli walks around our apartment and can go pretty fast!

10. He still loves dancing to the beat of the washing machine.

11. He loves climbing into the sink. If I haven't heard from him in a minute or two, I know to check the bathroom sink.

12. When I clean his face after he eats, he always shakes his head into the rag.

13. He always chooses the second high chair and cries if Briggs gets in it first. But he is somewhat easy to please because if Briggs does crawl in first, we can just switch the chairs positions and then he's fine.

{B} {I}

{I}

I don't know what was with his funny little smirk but he wouldn't stop doing it!

14. Lays down randomly and just basks in the comfort of the floor. A lot of times while snuggling his blanket.

Briggs

Briggs is my little tag-a-long. He loves to be held, is very snuggly, loves his brother, cracks me up (and drives me nuts) on a daily basis. He is considerate of others' feelings and needs and tries to help when he can. He is fascinated by dogs, babies, birds, and airplanes and loves to point them out. He is also obsessed with helping cook which makes for some tricky cooking. He throws tantrums and usually whacks his head on the floor or his hand when he gets frustrated.

Once again, this is as good as it gets with this hooligan.

19 months is rough on pictures.

{Briggs was slightly more cooperative at holding still on our walk, but he didn't love looking at the camera.}

1. Without fail, whenever Briggs is in his crib and is done with something, he throws it into Ian's crib. This could be his pillow, sippy cup, book, or blanket. If you can't find it, look in Ian's crib. Heck, just look in there first if you gave something to Briggs.

2. Is such a mama's boy. Although he loves his dad as well and loves to wrestle and play when daddy is done with work. (which makes for some Ian-Mama bonding time) I think he just likes to have a buddy while Ian is more content to do his own thing. Briggs is always on my hip when I'm in the kitchen or sitting on my lap when we play in the front room.

3. He is a little (or maybe a lot) OCD. He always wants things in order and hands everything to me. He is still especially obsessed with closing the flash on the camera and he always hands me my phone.

4. His OCD transfers over to meal time as well. He is constantly putting whatever I gave him into the cup holder. He does like his tray to be clean whenever possible, will not sit down if there is anything on his chair, and gives a little holler when he drops food on his shirt or down his side.

4. Shares things with Ian when asked. He will take a snack or toys or whatever it may be to Ian.

5. He thrives with sign language and learns new things all the time. He signs "more," "all done," "please," "thank you," "bird," "treat," "clean up," "book," "shoes," "baby," "dog," "read," "fish," "milk," "water," "help" and is putting two or three signs in a row to form a sentence such as signing "milk please" or "help please." (I guess it's mostly adding please to what he wants but it still counts!)

6. Briggs definitely knows what "all done" means and always signs it when he is done with his food. When he signs it, we quickly clean him up and get him out of his high chair. He then likes to climb back up into his chair a few minutes later and sign all done again. Silly kid.

7. He has to point out everything that he sees. Airplanes, pictures on the TV, any animals he sees, and pretty much anything else. He hollers until I acknowledge what he is showing me.

8. He can't figure out the Mowgli walk. When Ian starts Mowgli walking, Briggs just crawls on his hands and knees.

9. He asks for treats/snacks all day long.

10. He absolutely loves snuggling with Ian. He comes up behind him often and gives him a big hug or lays on top of him when he's on the floor. He's also very conscious of other's needs. Usually he's pretty good at give toys or snacks to Ian to make him feel better and gets a big sad face if he sees that Ian is sad.

{I on top} {B on bottom}

{I} {B}

{B on top, I on bottom}

11. He has a louder voice by nature and if you ask him to whisper he usually shouts instead.

12. The back of the couch has become his favorite way to get down despite our best efforts to redirect to the front of the couch. I don't know who this crazy child belongs to! (OK so if you ask my mom you'll know he belongs to me, but it doesn't make him any less crazy!)

13. His hemagioma that showed up shortly after he was born is starting to disappear. It's pretty much flush with the rest of his skin and quickly fading. I guess the "fail-safe" of knowing who is who is going to be gone before we know it! Actually Briggs does have a couple of cute little moles (one on the back of his left leg and one on his hip) so we are still good. I have yet to find any moles or birth marks on Ian.

14. Loves to look at the camera on my phone and make faces at himself.

Both

1. They absolutely love being held together. They both start giggling when I pick them up at the same time.

2. They love flipping light switches.

And those two worlds combine in the bathroom when I can hold both of them and let them each flip a light switch! It's only the greatest thing ever.

3. They always want to dance to the music at the end of Frozen and The Lorax. Usually they want to be held while I dance them around the room. Preferably together. My arms get a little tired by the end!

4. They both know exactly two words besides Mama and Dada. Chhhhhzzzzz with a raspy garble in the back of their throats (aka cheese) and no (usually in a nononono format)

5. They seem to eat left handed more than not. I know there's still lots of time for that to change but I still wouldn't be surprised if they turn out to be left handed.

6. Our nightly routine includes changing into pajamas, acquiring the various snuggly items they prefer, milk, brushing teeth, kisses/tickles from mama and daddy, prayer, (they both fold their arms and raise their arms to cover their faces. I think they get that from us kneeling at the side of their cribs and putting our faces on our folded arms. haha!) and lights out. Usually they are awesome at going to bed without any problem. It's keeping them asleep that is a challenge. Briggs has been sleeping pretty well lately but Ian has been up 2-4 times a night for some random reason.

Sometimes our nightly routine turns hilarious though and it becomes worth documenting.

7. They love playing with the camera on my phone when I do it forward facing so they can see themselves. They make faces and love to watch their lips and tongues move! It cracks me up.

8. These two monkeys love to crawl back and shake the cord to our video monitor in their room. It is not so good because it's scraping up our wall where the monitor plug is plugged into the extension cord but obviously they don't care.

9. Carnations have been a favorite snack lately.

10. With Fall, we have started wearing socks and shoes. The boys look ridiculously cute in their socks but they do slip and fall in the kitchen. Which is also cute. I might laugh at them occasionally.

11. The boys love riding on my back. We spend a lot of time laughing with this.

12. They like packing around shirts on hangers. I'm not quite sure why.

13. We spend a lot of time sitting on our kitchen floor. They like to drink from cups, eat snacks, and pull all the hand towels off the oven.

14. They like to be together. Ian crawled into this bin and Briggs immediately followed and sat opposite him but decided that wasn't good enough and quickly turned around to sit right next to him. My mama heart swelled with the cuteness.

{B brought the treats and I brought the smile!}