Howard Trio Plus One: The Big 2-0

Alexis, Jack, and Faith are 20 months old today, which means their second birthday is approaching quickly! Although we have been noticing more and more that they are more similar to kids than babies in how they act, this has become even more evident in the last month as they are giving us a run for our money. Fortunately, they are also a lot of fun right now, but I'm already becoming tired of wrestling with Faith every time I want to put her in the car seat, checking Jack's hands and coat pockets for rocks before letting him come inside, and having Alexis shake her head "no" to every question I ask. When I think about it, we should take a step back and appreciate the fact that they are all healthy and able to assert their toddler independence, but in the moment some of the things they do during the day can feel very frustrating.

Our toddlers running down the trail after a hike (they rode in packs). A, J, F

We love to run!

It seems like they are learning new things every single day, and the differences in their personalities are becoming more apparent. Here are some of the things that each kid enjoys doing:

Alexis: She readily imitates words (or at least the correct number of syllables), she gets the most messy when she feeds herself, she eats dirt every few days when we're playing outside, she always unbuckles the velcro on her shoes, and she loves to pick up the stones in our backyard and dump them onto the patio by the slider door

Mmmm, dirt

Dumping rocks on the patio

Big girl Lexi at the table

Jack: He loves to imitate things he sees (if you bonk your head on something, he will do the same and laugh), he loves to give hugs to his sisters and us, he has a great laugh, and he is super proud when he tries to imitate words.

Playing outside with a great profile shadow

Sitting at the table

Jack loves the cat, but this is the closest she'll let him get since she felt safe with the pane of glass there

Faith: She "talks" all of the time (but most of it is nonsense words that she makes up as she goes), she scrunches up her nose to be cute, she is the most brave when it comes to interacting with strangers, and when she "blows kisses" she keeps going for a full minute (instead of just doing it once or twice).

Faith hanging out in the backyard

Feeding her water to the doggie

All: Every time they finish a meal or snack they must buckle the seat belts on their booster seats before they start playing, they love to be tickled and to try to tickle each other, they are insistent on saying goodnight to our cat before they go to bed at night, they enjoy turning on the humidifier and space heaters in their rooms, and they constantly imitate things we do.

Faith "dusting"

My cleaning crew

Buckling their seat belts

20 Month Statistics

WEIGHTS: Alexis is about 21 lbs. 12 oz, Jack is about 20 lbs 3 z, and Faith is about 21 lbs 3 oz.

HEIGHT: Alexis and Faith are both about 32 inches, and Jack is about 31 inches.

CLOTHES: All three are in 18 month clothes now.

TEETH: Alexis has 9, Jack has 12, Faith has 11.

NEW WORDS: There are so many new words and they don't all say the same words, but recently everyone started saying "two" when I count. This took me by surprise, but I guess they are starting to learn patterns. All three say at least 15-20 words on their own, but they will imitate most words when we ask them to try.

MILESTONES: The bedtime bottle is officially gone! A few days ago we decided to try giving them a snack and a cup of milk before bed as they had been sleeping great at night, so the timing felt right. They did great! Now we just have to get rid of the morning bottle, but I think that will be possible in the next couple of weeks. This truly makes them seem less like babies!