Howard Trio Plus One: 21 Months

21 Month Statistics

WEIGHTS: Alexis is about 22 lbs, Jack is about 20 lbs 13 oz, and Faith is about 21 lbs 13 oz. Although they are not heavy children, they are definitely getting taller! Right now Faith is the tallest (probably about 33 inches but I'd need to measure to know for sure and our toddlers aren't very cooperative with that right now), Jack is a couple of inches shorter than Faith, and Alexis is in between.

CLOTHES: 18 month clothes still fit although some shirts are starting to get short in the sleeves for the girls, and we are starting to transition into 24 month clothes as well.

Although it is hard to see growth when you see your children every day, it was really obvious how much Jack has grown when I put him in his infant car seat when we had friends in town. Since Jack is technically small enough to ride in his infant seat, my friend's son borrowed Jack's convertible car seat so they didn't have to bring one along. This pic was taken a couple of days after Jack left the hospital when he weighed a little over 6 lbs and was about 19 inches long.

And here is Jack at 20 months in his infant car seat. He is definitely at the height limit so this seat won't work for him anymore. Look at those long legs! The girls also had to try out the seat and all enjoyed rocking each other in it.

We can almost reach the branches Mom!

TEETH: Alexis has 10, Jack has 12, Faith has 12.

NEW WORDS: I've definitely lost track of the words each one says, but Jack has taken the lead with the most words in his vocabulary and he LOVES to imitate sounds and words. Both girls will imitate words as well. We are encouraged that all three are beginning to ask for things by name (apple, 'nana,' cheese, cracker, paci, more, etc).

MILESTONES: Alexis, Jack, and Faith amaze us every day by what they know how to do. Whether it's stacking blocks or other objects, taking off their pants unassisted, or pretending to drink a cup of water just so their sister can't drink out of it (little stinkers!), they are demonstrating their skills and independence.

All three love to color on the white board. Some day they'll understand that it works better when their bodies aren't on the board...

Jack definitely gets the most into the coloring. He did all of the red by himself!

Jack's masterpiece

Half of the fun of coloring on the white board is cleaning it up with wet cloths afterwards

Faith LOVES to sit in boxes

All three love to clean with Norwex cloths, and believe me when I say that they know the difference between a Norwex and something else!

Playing with magnets on the dishwasher

Climbing chairs is fun! Note that we no longer have adult chairs at our kitchen table as they pose a hazard.

Faith made a tower using only the purple blocks. Both girls prefer building towers using all of one color while Jack enjoys a random assortment tower.

My spices are being moved up higher as everyone is able to grab stuff out of the drawers in the kitchen and therefore spices have become a favorite toy. I don't mind the towers, but I don't want to turn around and see spices all over the kitchen!

Jack's spice tower

Jack is content playing with blocks for a very long time

Faith loves to play with random objects such as pom poms, bells, noodles, and buttons. She enjoys stirring them and moving them from one container to another. All three enjoy this activity, but Faith seems to be the most content with it.

Although Jack got his official first haircut at the end of January, I still felt like it was too long since it stuck up straight and I suppose it had grown since his haircut, so I decided to cut it myself with the clippers. Jack sat on Micah's lap and was very content the whole time. Here is his "before" pic.

And here is his after pic with 5/8" hair (although I still need to go back and cut the stray hairs that missed the clippers since his hair is so fine).

As we approach Alexis, Jack, and Faith's second birthday we are becoming more and more excited for their birthday. Although some say it is the "terrible twos," we are excited to see them become little kids as they are so much fun to be around. Every day they find ways to make us laugh, and we are enjoying the little bit of independence that they do have as we are more able to get out and do things as a family.

Faith and Alexis running in the backyard. The like it when we say, "one, two, three...go!" and then they start to run.

Alexis ready to go down the slide. This continues to be a favorite backyard activity.


I'm not proud of this as I don't want our kids to watch much TV, but honestly I am feeling more and more like it is necessary a few minutes here and there throughout the day. It is almost impossible for me to make dinner unless the kids are distracted as otherwise all three want "up" and I'd never get anything done. I also tend to turn it on for a few minutes in the morning so that I can get a few dishes done before we leave the house or before people come over. I feel a little bad that when I ask, "Do you want to watch a show?" all three shout "SHOW!," run over to the family room, and pull their chairs out, but it's also kind of cute. Baby Babble and Baby Einstein are their favs right now.

Faith really knows how to lounge.

Alexis, Jack, and Faith adore our cat Sienna. She doesn't hang out by us much during the day, so they love to stop in our room to say "hi" to her when they are upstairs. She has learned to tolerate them as she knows they'll keep their distance (I've worked really hard on teaching them this as our kitty isn't very social).

Showing Sienna their toys

Backyard selfie with Alexis (and Jack)

We are STILL doing a morning bottle, but this is truly only because I mix in a powdered probiotic every morning and I want to make sure that all three get the full dose. They are almost guaranteed to drink their whole bottle, but they are not as consistent with their cups yet. Once cold and flu season is over the bottles will be gone!