17 Months

It is my motherly prerogative to keep noting my children's monthly milestones even if they're getting kind of old to have their age measured in months :)

Gus and Gibson are becoming toddlers before our eyes! Here's what they are up to these days.

Physical
-They walk almost all the time now. They only crawl when they're trying to get underneath something low, like the dining room chairs or high chairs.
-If they get really excited, they run a little bit. It's not real running yet, more like a trot.
-I've never really seen them walk backwards so I can't say for sure if they know how to do that.
-They're good at squatting and working on climbing. Gibson almost climbed up on the couch yesterday. Bravo, but eeek! They have no fear and try to fling themselves headfirst off the couch once we put them up there...

Eating
-We've been trying to remember to give them utensils more often during meal times, and I can already tell they are improving. Both of them can stab food with a fork. Sometimes it gets to their mouths. Spoons are trickier. I don't like to give them spoons because invariably they stick them too far into their mouths and start gagging. Gross! But, they've got to learn, so we keep trying.
-I should probably let them try more foods, even though they don't have a lot of teeth. One of them grabbed a thin apple slice at a party last week and wolfed it down easily. I didn't know they could eat apples!
-Gus got a new tooth, bringing his total up to 7. Gibson is still at 6.

Sleeping
-We're in a slow transition from two daily naps to one.

(I'm proud of myself that I can say that without panicking! Last year at this time, I was really stressed about how much they were sleeping, how long they went between naps, sleeping through the night, and all that. The phrase "nap transition" sent my anxiety spiking. But now that we've been through a couple other transitions, I've figured out that it will work itself out eventually. Progress!)

-On days when they have a morning activity, like Mother's Day Out, a doctor's appointment, or going to the nursery at church, they usually just take one nap in the afternoon. If we're home in the morning, boring ol' mom is not stimulating enough to keep them awake (and Mom doesn't like to listen to screaming), so they will take a short AM and longer PM nap.

-They go to bed anywhere between 7:30-9pm depending on how much they napped during the day and get up around 7:30am.

Health
-Holy ear infections, Batman! These kids have started getting ear infections every time they have a cold. And they get a cold about twice a month. I attribute some of their above sleepiness to their immune systems working so hard all the time. They're both going to have surgery at the end of the month to get ear tubes. Hopefully the tubes will work as well as everyone says they do and we'll have two healthier kiddos on our hands this winter.