Now that they are almost 15 months old, the boys have learned a lot of new tricks. One of James' favorite things to do is feed the dogs, by hand.
Living hand to mouth.
Taking a goldfish for himself with a captive (and hungry) audience.
True love - a boy and his dog.
Ryan is my cuddliest kid for the moment. He loves to sit on my lap, and when I'm in the kitchen, he likes to watch me cook and clean. He is a fantastic dancer with a great stomp/turn step. He likes to walk on the couch and enjoys digging out his favorite musical toys. He's always exploring new places, especially the cabinets. He still is a disgusting eater, but lately more of his food actually makes it all the way down the hatch. When he's full, he likes to fling his food onto the floor with gusto. Ryan likes anything that makes noise. He is constantly talking into tupperware and laughing. Ryan likes to talk, and he will repeat words you say. I'm pretty sure he says ball, more, and Bob. He can build with megablocks, but he likes to take them apart as well. He will stop by and put a shape in the shape sorter when he feels the urge, but for the most part, he is always on the move. Ryan is pretty clever at figuring out how things work. We call him eagle eye. Anything you have that he doesn't, he will point at and say "that." He has figured out how to slip his hand inside the guard I have put up in front of the electronics and turn up the volume on the TV. He is very busy carrying things, and like his brothers he has switched is TV preference from Yo Gabba Gabba to the Muppets.
Michael loves to read his books, but he's gotten very busy. If he does take the time to read, he'd like to hear the book somewhere between 10,000 and 10,001 times. He is a silent threat. He likes to play with the toys his brothers have and sneaks up, grabs, and runs. He is a very slow eater and the pickiest of the kids. He is very polite and will put the items he prefers not to eat on Ryan's tray (of course he will also attempt to throw said tray on the floor). He loves to dance, but rather than a step/stomp like Ryan, he does a great little booty bop. He is a great climber, and he likes the slide in his playhouse. He was the first to figure out how to climb up the steps and slide down without help. He likes blocks of all kinds and is learning to use the shape sorter. Michael likes to talk his own language and has for a while. He's evolved from "daka daka daka" to "techum techum" to "naka naka" to "nickle nickle." I think he is trying to say his own name, but recently he has been obsessed with his word "nigum." Yes, I'm pretty sure someone has been whispering racial slurs to him at night. I would blame Mandy and Zach, but they are much too far away. Thankfully, he's saying nickle much more often than nigum so we might be able to go out in public again.
James is still amazingly entertaining. His current repertoire includes getting down on all fours and rubbing his head on the carpet for several feet, building with the megablocks, and attempting to get a leg up on anything he can. Recently, he climbed into our rocker/glider and glided himself and the chair straight to the floor. He likes to drag things around and loves to carry around a blanket. His current holy grail is finding the toilet brush in my bathroom which grosses me out to no end. Thankfully he just likes to wave it around not chew on it. He is a daredevil with no holds barred. He often flips off elevated surfaces and then gets right back up. He is a slide junkie and will push his brother out of the way to get down the slide faster. He likes to go down face first and on his bottom, but he likes to do it much faster than our more cautious Michael. He is also talking constantly - mostly to himself. I'm not sure if he's got any actual words, but he does have a lot to say. James is my mini-Bob. Not only does he make Bob's faces, he sits like him, stands like him, and walks like him. He is the one to get most upset when Bob leaves the room, and he is very strong and has definite opinions about what he would like to do.
All of the kids are learning so many new things. I'm not sure if they are slow to talk or just slow to speak English. They definitely talk to each other all the time and over a period of time you can hear them repeating the same sounds to each other. I'm pretty sure they are plotting how to get outside more often. They are all walking like pros (although I'm not ready to break out the leashes and let them roam on their own yet), and they like to run as well. They climb all over, are attempting to walk rather than crawl up the stairs, and love to run into Grandpa's office and spin in his chair. They are still pretty good eaters, they are starting to pick up their toys, and they will come when called and go get things when you ask them to (assuming they are in the mood to comply with your request). They like to crawl on Mommy & Daddy's bed, but they only sleep in their own beds. They still love to splash in any available water. They like to chase each other and anyone who will run. They have started giving each other hugs that sometimes take them to the ground and at other times end up in a biting match. They are very cuddly when they want to be, and they still like to sit with Mommy and play (although sometimes they would rather just do it themselves).
The boys are still great sleepers. They go to bed at 7 pm, wake around 7:30 and stay in their beds until 8. They nap from 10:30 to 1, then "nap" from 3 to 5 (usually around 30 minutes of sleeping time that interrupts playing in their beds. They are absolutely the best little boys a mom could ever hope to have.
Putting on the stylish (and manly) cape, Michael seems somewhat apprehensive.
James comes over to check out the action. At this point, we weren't sure whether or not he was going to take a turn in the chair since his hair is all business in the front and not too long in the back.
Ryan was the second man in the chair. He kept thinking he was finished and standing up grabbing on to me. He did very well. No tears at all and he even charmed the barber into letting him hold the clippers and the brush.
