Fifteen Months

Leif is not a baby any more! He is walking all over the place lately and only crawls when he is being lazy. He is getting pretty independent and loves to try to do everything himself. He adores his older brother and wants to do everything that Asher does. Asher likes this most of the time, but sometimes gets annoyed if Leif is getting in the way of what he wants to do.

Leif still eats like a champion- he will eat pretty much anything, anytime. He loves to feed himself and cries or refuses to eat if I don't at least allow him to hold his own spoon while I'm feeding him with another spoon. Its very messy business, but I usually just allow him to feed himself.

I've started reading a board book to Leif every day before nap time and bedtime to get him in the habit of reading everyday. He likes to help me turn the pages, but he really loves the routine of holding the book while I take him over to the bookshelf so he can set it down there, closing the door all the way, and turning the light off. Then he claps for himself because he is so pleased with himself that he knows the routine and is good at doing it. Sometimes he has trouble focusing on the book- he just tries to close it and makes it obvious that he wants me to take him to the bookshelf.

Something else that Leif is proud of himself for is knowing what shoes are for. Whenever he comes across his shoes, he holds them next to his feet to show me he knows where they go, then he puts up a huge fuss until I put the shoes on his feet. There have been a few times that I have been too busy to put them on right away, so I had to listen to a huge tantrum until I found the time to sit down and put them on his feet, at which point, he settled down right away and went back to whatever he was doing before the shoes upset him.

Leif is good at shaking his head "yes" or "no" when we ask him questions. Sometimes I think that he is just randomly shaking his head, but his answers seem pretty much in line with what he really wants. If we ask him if he wants something to eat or drink, or wants a toy or activity, he will usually answer in a way that is consistent with what his actions tell us he wants. Sometimes, though, he just shakes his head "no" to anything I ask.

Leif loves to give kisses- but mostly only to mommy and Asher. Sometimes when Austin tries to kiss him, he turns away or shakes his head no. Austin and I have made a game out of it--I hold Leif and Austin tries to kiss him, then when he turns away, I turn him toward Austin so he can try again. Sometimes this launches Leif into a little tantrum, but its pretty funny.

Here are the photos I got of Leif today. Don't mind Asher in background of most of them. He was begging me to take photos of him too so he kept getting as close to Leif as he could. I did take some photos of Asher, but we'll save those for another time. 

31 Months

At 31 months, Asher is getting to be even more of a chatter box and sometimes he even surprises us with how much he understands and picks up in social situations. Sometimes Austin and I will have a conversation that I don't think he would understand or be interested in at all, then hours later he will mention something about it. Last week I was at the store with the boys and realized that I didn't have my credit card because Austin had taken it out the night before. I briefly mentioned this to the cashier as I paid with my debit card instead, then I called Austin on the way out just to make sure that he knew where my card was. Later, Asher asked me "Mommy find her credit card? Daddy have it." That's just one example- he is picking up social situations like crazy. He loves to mimic everything that I say and is an especially great recorder/repeater of things I wish I didn't say. Sometimes this included swear words (Yikes! I'm bad at that) but I've done pretty well to convince him I was saying something else other than the swear word (yeah-really tricky mom-that one's not going to last too much longer) But usually he just repeats back annoying things that I say in the same tone of voice I say them so I can hear just how annoying they are. Last night he told Austin "I'm sick and tired of it. I'm sick and tired of mommy" Just to emphasize that he got that phrase from me. He was in a happy mood when he said it, which leads me to believe that he isn't really sure what it means. I'm going to try to cut that one out of my vocabulary as soon as possible. Asher also clings on to certain phrases that he likes in books and repeats them at random times and of course when we are reading the book he got the phrase from. He really likes to say "pipe down" from a construction book he has and he gets really hooked on the phrases "a familiar sound" and "peeked at the machine" from his Curious George books
For the last few weeks Asher has been all about asking questions. He asks what everyone (including himself) is doing (He usually says it in the same tone of voice I do when I'm playing with Leif). Over and over again he'll say "What Leif doing? What Asher doing? What Mommy doing?" He often likes to ask where people are going too. It might sound kind of annoying, but its actually really cute. Asher also loves to ask "Mommy happy?" He usually asks this when he can tell that I'm frustrated or annoyed, but sometimes he will ask it when he can tell I am really happy. When I am irritated and he asks it, it usually does a pretty good job of making me smile. But we have been using these times to learn different emotions so I tell him "No, Mommy is annoyed" or "No, Mommy is frustrated that . . ." He is picking up on the actual words, but I'm not sure that he really gets what they mean.
The boys and I are all a little sick. Leif has the worst of it, but Asher and I also haven't been feeling well today. Asher has been really helpful today, doing all kinds of little chores that I ask him to do, or he has been whining and hanging on me because he doesn't feel good and doesn't know what to do.  These are the photos I got of him today, and yes, he did pick out his own clothes ;). The ambulance you see in the pictures is the car Asher has been attached to lately. About once a week or so, Asher will pick a car that he has to have with him everywhere, including while he is asleep. I'm not really sure what prompts him to like that car or how he decides its time to choose a new car- but such is the mystery of a two-year-old.