18 Months Old!!!

Yes, they are already 18 months old! Can you believe it?  Next thing I'll be blogging about is the terrible two's...times three!  They'll actually be 18 months on Thanksgiving but we had their wellness visit this week.  So here are the stats:

Ava:
Birth: 4lb 6oz
18 Months: 24lb 14oz (70%) 30.5cm (23%)

Ava's still the chunkster!!! Brayden's not far behind though! Ava has a mouth full of teeth that she still likes to use on her brothers if given the opportunity. Her molars are also coming in on the bottom. Ava has so much personality and can put on a show for anyone (hmmmm, where did she get that from)...she is extremely smart as well. She can point and say a few of her body parts (nose, eye, mouth, ear, hair, fingers, toes, belly button) and will copy anything you do or say. So we have to be extra careful now with what we do when our little mini me is present. Ava loves to snuggle and walk around with blankets wrapped around her. She follows directions really well but will also test you while giving a sweet little smile to see what she can get away with. She likes to copy Gavin with the climbing and has already discovered how to put her foot up on the crib...we're just waiting for her to learn how to climb over top of the railing! Ava is such a sweet little thing that wants to cuddle all day with a book in front of her!

Gavin:
Birth: 4lb 2oz
18 Months: 21lb 8oz (7%) 30 cm (5%)

So in other words...Gavin's got his Mommy's short, stalky stature!  But it's okay because it hasn't affected how well he can climb, run, or get into trouble!  He's got some more teeth now including some back teeth coming in!  Daddy is still his favorite person and when he's around no one else exists in Gavin's eyes.  He loves to climb on EVERYTHING including, but not limited to, the TV stand, book shelf, highchair and couches.  Not to mention he makes the most of his size by stuffing himself into the floor vent in which I had to pull him out!  Gavin is also the only one that can open doors despite his height.  So he'll open the doors and let Brayden and Ava in, then he'll run away!  Needless to say, Joe was very busy last week installing door locks and latches and nailing down floor vents!  Gavin still doesn't have a huge appetite but he'll eat just about anything.  Words that he says regularly are Mommy, Daddy, dog, bear and baby.  He can't quite say some other words but he gives a good attempt if you say them first.  We have 3 ceramic piggy banks sitting on the shelves in their room so his newest thing is needing to kiss each one goodnight before being put in his crib.  Gavin definitely has no fear and will no doubt keep us on our toes FOREVER! 

Brayden:
Birth: 3lb 11oz
18 Months: 24lb 9oz (40%) 31cm (19%)

He's not far behind Ava in weight but he still stands the tallest with those long legs!  Brayden has the most teeth and is struggling through his molars right now.  Poor thing, is a drooling machine!  Brayden is still our best eater, though he'll throw in some games once in a while to see if he can get away with it.  In the past couple of weeks he has become very vocal and walks around talking his own language all day.  He's big into copying sounds of objects and once he gets it, he remembers it!  Brayden LOVES cars, trucks and machines and when he pushes cars around he does the vroom-vroom sound along with a beep-beep here and there.  If a truck or car drives by he gets into a zone and there's no getting him out of it until it's gone.  Lately, Brayden has also realized how strong he is and how to defend himself.  So he's learned about time outs to go along with that when he shoves his sister down on the ground or clocks his brother on top of the head.  He'll give you that little smile though to try and get himself out of the time out.  Hopefully that stage will pass soon.  You can always count on Brayden to have a smile on his face and witness him running around giggling (unless he's hungry)!

We now eat together as a family at the table for dinner which is so nice and for the most part they eat what we're eating unless it's something like steak, which they can't quite chew yet.  It's probably the best part of the day for me when we're all around the table enjoying dinner and laughing. 

All three of them are really into sounds now and can do a Pig sound where they scrunch their noses up and breathe in and out as well as an Elephant sound where they tuck their top lip and blow up.  It's so cute to watch!


All three have been working really hard to use forks and spoons on their own and are doing great!  They've fully transitioned into straw sippy cups which is so much easier than spouts as far as the leaking goes!