A year and a half

A year and a half really doesn't seem that long but then again it does. It seems like forever ago that we brought the girls home so tiny in their car seats and just sat there staring at them and taking a bazillion pictures. Now here they are 18 months old and they won't hold still for a second so picture taking is pretty much out the window. That's why our Christmas card has only pictures of Nick and I holding them. We tried and tried to get them to sit in front of the tree, on the stairs or anywhere together for a second to snap a picture but they just wouldn't. Oh well, I still think the card turned out cute and I'm sure I will get many more of them sitting in front of the tree in the years to come.
So I wanted to update on some things they are doing lately....
Talking so much more! Since Christmas now when Sloane sees a Santa face she says Ho, ho, ho. I didn't know what she was saying at first then one time I saw her looking at a Santa and I understood what she was trying to say. I don't know where she learned it because I really didn't talk much about Santa but I do think it's cute.
They still say dog-dog for dog, ba-ba for baby, and nack for snack. They have recently started calling each other sissy. I always have called them sister but sometimes sissy would slip out too and I guess that is what's going to stick. I don't have a sister but I know most girls who do tell me that they called their sister sissy at one time or another, or still do!
Sloane says D-da for grandad and calls for him often. They sign for Grammy and Mamaw often too.
They try to copy lot's of things we say now so it's really fun to say something to them and try to get them to say it back. Especially names of friends. :)
Because of the nativity scene they now really know their animal sounds. They can say Baa for sheep, moo for cow, neigh for horse, and hee-aaw for donkey. We didn't know a sound for camel so Nick made a spitting noise. That stuck so now they do that for camel. They also say ssss for snake and quack quack for duck. We were going to the park the other day and some duck were crossing the road in front of us. All the sudden Sloane starts quacking in her carseat. I was so impressed! I didn't think she could even see them much less make the connection. So smart
Speaking of the park, she loves it! I took them yesterday by myself and there were tons of people there. I wasn't thinking about all the kids still being out on vacation. I would have just left but they already knew where we were so I went ahead and let them play. It was a mistake! When there are so many other kids you have to watch for all of them too. Make sure the girls are walking in front of the swings or slides or climbing up too high or chasing dogs! Sloane ran after one so fast I almost thought I wasn't going to catch her. Yes, picture me carrying Stella and sprinting full speed after my other run-away one year old! I got home exhausted and told Nick "I don't know why I thought that would be fun".
The girls are also getting all of their incisors at once! They have all four front top and bottom and four molars, now just filling in the gaps. This has been the hardest set of teething yet. They have been waking up at nights, sometimes several times each and these past few mights they have been getting up and staying up. It's so frustrating because I don't know what to do. I give them Tylenol I try to comfort them back to sleep then as soon as I walk out they are screaming again. I know what you are thinking, let them scream. No, you don't understand, it's not an I don't want to go to sleep cry, it's the I'm in pain cry. These girls are good sleepers, been sleeping through the night since 4 months and really not needing much help to sleep then. They go to sleep fine normally, and still do at the beginning of the night, it's just once they are up they can't go back to sleep. I know it's just a season and it will be over soon (hopefully) but some of these seasons are really hard to live through. I'm so thankful for healthy babies and the privilege to stay at home with them no matter how hard it is. I count it all as joy! On that note, I'm going to try and go take a nap while they are. The rack full of ironing, sweeping, and cleaning the bathrooms can all wait.