21 month update

I can't believe my boys are almost two! It seems like just yesterday I was WISHING they could just walk so they wouldn't be so needy. I see now that walking does not necessarily cure that neediness.

The boys are doing amazing. They are still a little on the small size. They are about the same weight and Connor is still taller. Nana Warren bought them matching 12 month pants for the winter which fit both boys well until, I swear, last week when they suddenly became high-waters for Connor. They fit Cameron perfectly. I can't believe they grow so fast!

The boys are both acquiring new words at a dizzying rate as well. I know they are picking up new words with me all the time. One of the funniest ones for me is "Oh no!" This is one of the first things they say in the morning since the boys like to throw every.single.thing in their crib out either before they go to sleep for the night or upon waking before we get them up and out of their cribs. When I come in to get them, I always turn on the light (after warning, "Bright Light! Bright Light!" which is their signal to shield their eyes) and then, upon seeing the mounds of stuffed animals and blankets in front of their cribs, will stretch out my arms and say "Oh no! What happened?" Now, after I turn on the lights, both boys will lean out of their cribs with their arms outstretched and say "Oh no!" Seriously, it cracks me up! It's SO cute!

Which leads into the next cutest thing they do that Mike and I both L O V E. They totally cannot stand anything dirty. If their hands get dirty playing or eating, they will hold the dirty hand out as if disgusted saying "dee dee" for dirty. They are not happy until the offending hand is cleaned. However, if you tell them it is okay, you will clean it when they are done, they will continue playing/eating without concern. This offense of dirty applies to everything! Last Saturday, Cameron kept pointing to things on their bedroom carpet shouting "EW! Dee Dee! Dee Dee!" until I would pick it up. I finally put both boys in their cribs to vaccuum. They were both quite relieved I got all the Dee Dee up! Then I showed them the vacuum canister to which we all shouted "Ew! Dirty!" SO funny! Seriously, this must be a learned trait. Mike and I both have our own clean fetishes and both boys are picking up on them. Mine is the dirty fetish - dirty hands, little things on the floor. Mike's is the messes - things have to be put away. Both guys totally get this and help to clean them up. It is ADORABLE! In this same train of thought, they also know that dirty dishes go in the kitchen sink, used toothbrushes (and hair items) go in the bathroom sink, anything dirty or labled garbage goes in the trach can (primarily the kitchen garbage which, in our house, is a drawer that they open, put the item into and close). They do get a little carried away throwing cups they are still drinking from into the sink and toys they like into the garbage but, for the most part, they are right on in getting the correct item into the correct room and recepticle. It's great. I hear they are very good at this at school too.

Which leads to my next observation of the boys. Mike and I only speak English. Well, Mike's fluent in French but doesn't speak it at home since none of us would know what he's saying. We can ask the boys to do almost anything now and they will do it. Sometimes, they either won't because they do not want to or, occassionally because they just don't understand the request. When they don't want to, they say no or just ignore us. When they don't understand, they will pause and listen but can't react. You can definitely tell which situation is going on. Cameron opts to ignore us more so I think sometimes he actually doesn't understand so he just ignores us rather than try to think about it. Connor is our contemplative boy and he will really sit there trying to figure out what we're saying. He'll use trial and error trying to get to what we want which is really so sweet. Anyway, watching the boys I know how they deal with our requests and how compliant they typically are to do what we ask. I know at school their teacher only speaks Spanish and I know she's always saying (through the owner's translation to me) how smart they are - especially Cameron. Today, I asked how they are at following directions. I know if someone asked me to do even the simplest task in Spanish, I would be almost completely clueless. The boys, however, normally do what their teacher asks. I find this utterly amazing! They have only been in this environment for 4.5 months and they can follow simple requests in two completely different languages! Amazing! They also understand that things have two names. For example, they can identify the parts of the face in both English and Spanish. I can ask them where my mouth or boca is and they will point to my mouth. Ditto for nose/nariz, hair/pelo, and eye/ojo. They will talk about their zapatos (typically pronounced with way too many sylables like "za pa ta pa mos") usually indicating they they have untied their shoes or taken them off. However, when I ask them to get their shoes, they will get their matching tennis shoes (they have different shoes since Connor has gratuated to the next size up while Cameron's still in the smaller shoes). AND, if I tell them to get their sandals, they will get their own matching sandals. They will refer to any shoes as zapatos. I find this pretty amazing for practically babies. AND they know that their socks are not zapatos and will get socks separately as requested. They know that water and agua are the same thing. When their teacher asks for besitos, they will give her kisses. When Mike or I ask for kisses, they will give us kisses (or say "no"). Cameron also is very adept at getting Baby Tad to give us kisses if I ask him to. Sorry to ramble on with all these details but I really find this absolutely fascinating. Both boys verbal skills are amazing. They try to say all kinds of stuff but since they can't make f, g, k, and v sounds some words are almost impossible to make out. Both boys know that when they want something, they should say "please" which they've just recently begun attempting to verbalize along with the sign for it. They are now working on Thank You - sign only. That one may be confusing a little since it's the same as blowing a kiss which they've been doing for so long. Although I've noticed that they don't make the "mwah" sound like you do to blow a kiss when they are saying thank you so I think they are getting that too. I think "Por Favor" and "Gracias" would be lost causes at this point in their vocal development. Cameron is faster and louder with his vocal responses. If you ask a question, he will answer it before Connor. Sometimes, I have to ask it a few times so Connor has a chance to respond. However, this should not be interpretted as Connor being slower than Cameron. I believe he's just more reserved. Connor has been able to follow complex requests for some time now while Cameron is just now starting to grasp them. Connor also made a complete sentance yesterday. I couldn't believe it! He went slowly but said "More (verbally and with hand sign)... cracker... please (verbally this sounds like "peas" and he included the hand sign)... mommy." Wow! This is going to be cool! Too bad the melt downs don't come with some explanation yet! And, this weekend, we realized the Cameron has a nickname for Connor - Da Da! How cute is that?! This has been tested several times now just to make sure we weren't imagining things. Daddy is Daddy. Mommy is Mommy. My sister, Jackie, is Ti Ti (Puerto Rican term for Aunt). Nana is Nana. Grandpa is something that sounds like "pwa pa" and Connor is Da Da. Connor has not created a name for Cameron yet (that we know of). They both have to think really hard when we ask where Cameron or Connor is. I think they get themselves confused since we get their names confused so often! That's terrible, I know!

Other than being on the smaller side of the scale, they are doing great developmentally. They run, jump (almost), walk up stairs, walk down stairs (sometimes without tripping), and climb. They climb everything. Recently, I've had to tell them that they can't climb drawers. Thankfully, they haven't yet attempted to climb out of their cribs. We really need them to stay in those for a while longer. They still stuggle to use a fork or spoon and often prefer to eat with their hands. At least they are fully capable of getting food into their mouths using a utensil. They have great appetites and will try anything. Some days they are ravenous and others they will just pick at their food. There is nothing they consistently refuse to eat and they still love bananas although a little less than their prior insistent requests for them at any meal or snack time (that was especially true for Connor). Now, they still enjoy them and have them almost every morning but it's not as constant of a request.

The boys are a joy to be around when they are happy. They are so playful and fun. They love to hide from you and especially to be chased. They will give hugs randomly as inspired and as a way to say they're sorry. Connor is friendly by saying hi and bye to people but if they try to pick him up, he will throw a complete fit. Cameron is still incredibly friendly but still prefers for me to hold him rather than anyone else. Except my mom. Both boys HAVE to have their Nana. It's really something. She must get exhausted when she's with them since they are as demanding of her time now as they were of my time earlier. Both want her to hold them and at the same time and no one else, myself included, will do.