The Boys: A Skills Update

I haven't done a post expressly devoted to my rambunctious toddler boys in awhile, so I think that might be in order today. But before I launch into a list of just what they are up to (and into) lately, I'll share a cute story from this morning.

Both boys are acutely aware of their sister and her needs, and Jack especially works hard to help me out and take care of Charlotte. He hands her toys, gives her a sippy cup when she cries, rubs his blankie on her face, puts her socks back on her feet, and just generally is a fantastic helper to his busy mama. So I wasn't all that surprised at his "helping" this morning. I tempted fate by using the bathroom (Imagine that! Using the bathroom! By myself!) for a couple minutes, and when I came out and glanced quickly around the main level, things looked fine. That is, they looked fine until I came into the kitchen and found Jack holding a baby-sized bowl of mashed up peaches and a baby spoon in his grubby fists. The peaches and spoon were leftover from Charlotte's breakfast, and I guess I had left them too close to the edge of the counter. (Note to self: Jack's arms are longer than previously supposed.) At first I thought he was just messing with the peaches--you know, stirring and "playing" at cooking, as they both like to do. But then I hazarded a glance at his sister, who was sitting in her Exersaucer, and the truth came out: Jack had been feeding his baby sister. She was covered, just covered, in peaches, and truth be told, she looked pretty happy. Jack seemed pretty proud to have helped out so much, so I praised him, gently took the bowl, and thanked him for his kind consideration. What a funny little guy!

Now for the aforementioned list. First I'll list some things they are regularly saying. You should know that, two weeks ago, at their two-year doctor's appointment, their pediatrician asked if they were putting two words together yet. They weren't, but he seemed fine that they were combining signs for words and actual words themselves. (As in, Baylor would sign "more" and actually say "cracker.") Just a couple days after that appointment, we were playing outside, where Baylor and Jack pointed out every car that passed by. Without any prompting, Jack said "blue car" when a blue car passed us, and a couple minutes later Baylor said "black car" when he sighted, you guessed it, a black car.

So clearly we're in that development-taking-off-at-the-speed-of-light point, and every day they surprise me with more words, more questions, and more observations. I love it.

(Note: Please don't think I'm one of those silly parents of twins who operates under the mistaken impression that I have two identical boys who are advancing at the exact same rate and learning the exact same things. Jack and Baylor are definitely different, but for brevity's sake, I'm just lumping them and their skills together right now. Sorry if that bothers you.)

And since their out-of-state grandparents have expressed interest in knowing exactly just what they are doing and saying, a list is in order. Here goes:

Words (and Signs) the Boys are Using at 25 Months

• car
• blue car, black car, etc.
• blue (this works for any color)
• yellow (when prompted)
• various animals and/or their accompanying sounds: cat ("meow"), puppy, horse (a sort of whinny sound), sheep ("baa"), cow ("moo"), pig (they snort), squirrel (accompanied by a clicking noise), bird, elephant (they make a "trunk" with their arms and attempt a trumpeting sound), seal (they make the sound), wolf (they howl and yip), mouse, bunny, raccoon
• mama, baby, daddy, girl, boy
• Pa (for "Grandpa"), Jojo (for their Uncle Joey), and something that doesn't really translate for "Gamma"
• boat
• up, down
• ball
• Big Bird and Elmo
• Bambi and Dumbo
• Snoopy
• airplane (Baylor has made up his own sign for airplane, too. He takes his hand and swirls it around, like he's flying a toy airplane, and makes a "zooooom" sound.)
• Oliver (We have a picture of the Myers family on both bulletin boards, and I hear "Oliver!" a lot.)
• bubble
• block
• truck (blue truck, etc.)
• clock
• cracker
• strawberry
• moon
• star
• snow
• blankie
• fufu (This is our family word for "pacifier.")
• book
• teeth (This is said whenever they see teeth, a toothbrush, toothpaste, or a picture of someone brushing his or her teeth)
• Yes
• Yes, ma'am (Baylor says something like "omom" for this, but I accept it.)
• more (accompanied by sign)
• please (with sign)
• Okay, a list of signs: more, please, thank you, dinosaur, motorcycle, drink, eat, cheese, apple (they can say those last two, also), and a whole lot more I know I'm forgetting.

This is by no means a definitive list. I know I'm forgetting words, and they are, quite literally, adding new ones each day. It's a little staggering how much knowledge they are absorbing. And it's obvious that they understand a lot more than they let on.

And now, a list of skills:

What the Boys are Doing at 25 Months

• stacking, building, and organizing everything: blocks, pillows, books, toys, etc.
• clapping for themselves and each other after building anything
• dancing, oh the dancing (Baylor likes to use his arms to dance. I'm afraid he's destined to dance like a white boy.)
• mimicking our movements, words, etc.
• jumping
• recognizing that there are other babies besides Charlotte and other mamas and daddies beside their own
• taking care of themselves: combing their hair, putting on lotion, dressing and undressing, putting on and taking off shoes
• playing: the "up and down" game, hide and seek, peek-a-boo, chase, pretend (Ex: They stir imaginary soup in a pot and "feed" it to you on a spoon.), playing with toys, putting things through the cat door and shrieking at the top of their lungs, lots more--we play a lot.
• playing outside with rocks, sticks, mud, and bugs
• identifying letters of the alphabet: A, B, M ("W" and "M" are one and the same at this point), O, R, Z, and sometimes J
• identifying the number 9... they seem content to stop there for now
• buckling any buckles they find (car seats, highchairs, etc.)
• reading--we read all the time. Seriously, our kids seem to have absorbed our love of reading at a very young age. They never want to stop reading.
• taking care of their sister (see above examples)
• coloring
• finding bits of minutiae and handing it to me or throwing it in the trash can
• helping: throwing trash away, putting diapers in the diaper keeper, comforting baby sister, gathering toys, putting away books, helping me vacuum and dust, etc.
• playing together in their room for hours after being put to bed (This is when I wish they were still in cribs.)
• kissing--this is actually pretty funny. They are finally figuring out how to actually kiss, instead of licking or just opening their mouths wide. Baylor likes to make a fishy face and lean in for dramatic effect, and they both just recently learned how to "blow" kisses. This has caused a bit of confusion. Now when I ask for a kiss, one of two things happens: either I get a real kiss on the lips, or they pucker up and take their palms and pat me on the mouth, kind of like a backward "blow." I find it especially funny that they will take out their pacifiers at night to kiss me in the latter manner, even though they never put their lips to mine. I'll take what I can get.

Again, I know I'm forgetting fun skills. Both boys are a total blast at this age, even with their short fuses and frequent tantrums, and I love witnessing their development firsthand.

And if you are wondering what is going on with Miss Charlotte recently, then content yourself with the knowledge that she is close to crawling any day now, has a very sunny attitude, eats voraciously, had to undergo a slight haircut lest she look like she was wearing a toupee, and has one tooth almost all the way through on her bottom gum.

Don't I just have the greatest kids?