We're officially 19 months old!

I thought I'd try to reflect on what the twins are up to these days. They amaze Hugh and I every day in the things they have somehow learned.

Current words that we hear a lot in our house are: Momma, Dadda, car, car, car, ball, bye-bye, baby (pointing to my tummy), and sometimes please (closer to "peez").
Even though those aren't a lot of words that they say - they understand most everything these days. We've resorted to spelling words to minimize some potential tantrums.

Yes, tantrums. Since Connor and Kate can't express their frustration, they mostly either stomp their feet or lie down on the floor and kick their arms and feet. We mostly try to ignore it, but every once in a while it makes me laugh a little.

Kate and Connor run around the house and rarely trip or fall. The can walk up and down the stairs (if we hold their hands), or slide down on their tummy with no help if they prefer. They have tried to learn to jump up and down - but it doesn't go so well yet. The hands go up in the air, and the knees bend down, but we never actually get the feet up off the ground. Connor especially loves playing Ring Around the Rosie, but Kate doesn't get the "we all fall DOWN" ending. She wants to stay standing and keep going in the circle. One of the funnier things to me is how much Kate and Connor love dancing to any music they hear. Any TV commercial that has music is a big hit - with the two of them bopping to the beat.

Our big entertainment these days is running around in the backyard. Kate will fetch most any ball we throw for her. Connor, though, has some confusion about this game. He usually is too busy picking up a rock or a stick - so he can't decide if he should put the rock down to get the ball - or just keep the rock. The rock seems to win out quite a bit.

Favorite toys in the house are the remote control, the stuffed Airdale dog, the stuffed pink and purple dolphin, and the huge stuffed polar bear. Books are a must - all day and night. The kids especially love us reading Panda Bear, Panda Bear, and Polar Bear, Polar Bear. Some other little books about counting Frogs on a Log are popular, and Dr. Seuss books are starting to kick in. From all of this reading, Kate and Connor can point to the correct colors and animals in a book.

It all amazes me how smart their little brains are and how fast they are growing!