Gus and Gibson are 20 months old now! I know, it's kind of passé to keep counting months once you've reached the 12th one, but what can I say, human development is interesting...to me at least!
Language
New words include balloon (ba-oo) and broccoli (bah-kee). They attempted to say guacamole the other day (ga-oh-ee)...I'll take it!
I tried to make a list of all the vowel sounds I've heard them say: short a (dada), short e (eh eh, pointing at what they want), long e (eeeee! squeal of excitement), short i (ih ih, when trying to accomplish a task), long i (nigh nigh, aka pacifier), short o (dog), long o (no), short u (uh oh), ow sound (wow), oo sound (moo), oy sound (ga-doy, Gus's favorite word which he repeats at least 10 times in a row. I don't know what it means).
Consonant sounds are kind of hit-or-miss. They can definitely say b, d, hard g, k, and n. Sometimes they get l, m, and t in the mix as well. I wouldn't call it a definite "th" sound, but they do like to stick their tongues between their teeth and kind of make a noise.
I'm trying to make sure DF teaches them how to roll their Rs, like rr in Spanish. Despite my many years of Spanish language study, I still can't roll the rr correctly in words like burro, though I can fake it relatively well. I remember learning once that below the age of 5, kids can learn to make any sound from any language. So as long as we teach them young, hopefully they'll be set.
Physical skills
Climbing on everything. Their latest activity is to make loops up and over the couch - we have a couch with a chaise cushion that sticks out, so they climb up one side and down the other in endless succession. I don't even have to catch them very often anymore, except when they are getting tired and wobbly.
Sleeping
We're in a solid one-nap-a-day routine. They generally nap from 12-3, though sometimes shorter depending on the day. At night, they sleep from about 8pm-7am if we're lucky.
Eating
They've been trying all sorts of new foods lately. They're doing better with dairy so I'm not as vigilant about avoiding all milk. In fact, they love Goldfish crackers (and the Aldi-brand-equivalent penguins). But they don't like mac & cheese, which I find strange because I thought all American kids were born with a genetic predisposition to love the stuff.
Since they have a couple molars now, chewing is getting easier. I gave them Veggie Straws the other day (like a semi-healthy chip shaped like a french fry), and they were big fans.
They still like fish, which I consider a win since I hated fish as a kid. Basically all our seafood comes from Costco and is the freezer-to-oven variety. We like salmon, mahi mahi, and panko-breaded tilapia. I try to feed them fish once or twice a week.
Overall
They are becoming more like little kids every day - as in, less like babies. They're getting more self-sufficient and can understand more language. Actually, that last part is kind of dangerous because I have to watch what I say now. For example, I can't talk about teeth or the brushing thereof unless it's actually time to brush teeth, because if I mention it they drop whatever they're doing and run to the gate at the bathroom door, clanging until I let them in and give them their toothbrushes...
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