11 and 23 months

This month, the last month-marker came around before Dallin and Leah turn 1 and 2.  Crazy!

A snapshot of Dallin at 11 months:

He is all over the place.  His favorite is climbing stairs, and we're still working on learning how to go down safely.  He can do the two steps down into our living room fine, but nothing bigger than that.  

He loves food and wants whatever Leah has.  If I give him his bottle and Leah is eating something else, he throws the bottle to the side and demands what she has.

He loves baths but hates cold water, so he hasn't loved swimming yet.  Hopefully he'll get over that.

He is amazingly difficult during diaper changes and getting dressed.  I thought Leah was tough in this regard at this age, but she didn't have the strength that he has.  He just doesn't want to stop and gets very impatient.

He says lots of "ma ma ma", "ba ba ba", "nigh nigh nigh" (usually when he's tired), and "da!" (just one of those at a time).  

His few "tricks" on command: "How big is Dallin? SO BIG!", peek-a-boo (he puts his hands on either side of his eyes), waves bye-bye and hi, claps his hands, and tries to talk on the phone (whenever he hold it up to his ear, he holds up his other hand over his other ear).

Has the most kissable cheeks.  I can never stop kissing them.

Has the most endearing, pure, innocent, sweet countenance.  He is a joy (I have more pictures of him to share, but I have to find them).

I can't believe this is the last month before Leah turns 2 (we'll have a 2 year old?!).  She is animated, vibrant,  busy, creative, determined, alert, aware, loving, and helpful.  She continues to love her purses and bags and always has one over the shoulder when we're getting ready to head out the door.  She currently has a fascination with large vehicles and calls all of them "choo choos" (sounds more like ju-ju), but she also knows their different names if you ask her to point them out (truck, bus, train, tractor).  She also LOVES babies and looks for them everywhere we go.  The moment she spots a stroller or carseat, she calls out "a bubby!".  If she herself is not strapped in at the time, she will run over to investigate this "bubby" (and it can be a total stranger in the middle of the city...luckily most people with babies are pretty patient with other people with babies and they often stop to let her take a look at their baby).  She has four baby dolls and insists on all of them being tucked in with her at night.

She loves books and her current favorites are The Biggest Bed in the World, Knuffle Bunny: A Case of Mistaken Identity, Dooby Dooby Moo, and We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

A newer development in the last couple months is her interest in singing.  She's more than happy to do a song and dance for us whenever we ask her to.  She also likes to sing along to her piano playing.

She loves to run and she is always falling down (I talked about this in the last post, though...I won't repeat myself).

She's our girl.  We love her!

We turned on the faucet in the kitchen sink the other day and let her have at it with the dishes.  

She was thrilled with the opportunity to "wash the dishes".

 

 

I think she took a sip from every cup and bowl in the sink.

 

 

She approached me with this laundry basket on her head the other day saying "hat!"

Life with these two is crazy and beautiful.  They can be challenging to keep up with, but we also have peaceful moments too (some days more than others!), especially as they have gotten older.  They are becoming better and better playmates as they grow and it is so much fun to see them enjoying each other.  It is also gratifying to see Leah looking out for and taking care of her little brother.  Of course we have moments of discord, too, but overall they have a sweet sibling relationship.  . 

Yes, Dallin is drinking the water from the dishwasher door.  I also had just thoroughly cleaned the dishwasher earlier that day!