Fifteen Months

 

(Wait for me!)

Eat.  Three meals a day (7 am, 1:00ish pm, 5 pm) and 1-2 snacks (9:30 am and maybe 3 pm).  I shifted their lunch this month to after their nap.  Previously I was trying to give them lunch before they napped, around 10:30-11, but they would either A) fall asleep in their chairs or B) be super crabby and not eat very much anyway.  They are just more than ready to go to sleep by late morning.  I give them a bigger morning snack and they eat lunch when they wake up, which means sometimes they eat lunch at 12:30 and other days at 2:00.  It's kind of a weird schedule, but it works.  They are eating pretty well, too.  Caden has gotten only slightly more particular (i.e. he doesn't always automatically scarf down everything in sight), and Brooklyn is actually eating quite a bit more consistently.

Sleep.  Bedtime at 7 pm, sleep for 11-12 hours.  Nap at 11 am for 1 1/2-3 hours.  The biggest sleep transition this month has been letting them fall asleep on their own.  After a couple nights of having to go back and rock them to sleep after they fussed for 10 minutes or so, they now put themselves to sleep on their own, no problem.  Tyson and I both bring them upstairs to tuck them in their sleep sacks (which Brooklyn has become quite attached to), and then I leave while Tyson reads them some books.  They don't even cry when he leaves the room (and only did for a couple of nights anyway).  Tyson and I are both amazed at how smooth the transition was.  I think it just goes to show that they are old enough and ready to go to sleep on their own, and I'm glad we didn't force them to before now.

Play.  Not much new on this front.  They like playing with most of their toys...building with blocks and Legos, cuddling baby dolls, going in and out of their toy house, playing peek-a-boo in their fort, watching for birds out the window, playing outside as much as possible...

Caden has been driving me slightly crazy because he wants to be held a lot and carried over to point at something that he wants but can't have (usually something in the kitchen).  He really needs a lot of direction in his play, or at least someone near him.  I've noticed that he plays a lot better on his own when I'm sitting in the living room, even if I don't interact with him.  He's very curious, and wants to get into everything he can get his hands on.  This means that nothing holds his attention for very long, and he bounces from one thing to the next.

Brooklyn has gotten more interested in her baby dolls this month (we have these twin ones) and likes to cuddle one while Tyson or I cuddle the other, and then she will trade for more cuddles.  She's generally pretty happy, and will often follow me around while I do things, content to walk around smiling and babbling as we go from one room to another.  She babbles a LOT...things that sound almost like words, like maybe she's speaking a different language or something, and she's pretty good at copying sounds.

One thing that is new is their interaction with each other.  If you tell them "Go get Brooklyn/Caden!" they chase the other one down to give them hugs and kisses, or grab each others hands in what looks like the most awkward and adorable slow dance ever.  These frequently end with one accidentally tackling the other, though they think that is pretty hilarious.  Brooklyn will squeal with laughter as Caden chases her around, and sometimes all it takes is her seeing him to make her run away, whether he's actually chasing her or not.  Since they can sometimes get pretty aggressive, I've taught them "nice touches", and if we tell them to use "nice touches" they start patting each other (or sometimes themselves!) on the head like a petting a dog.

(The Dictator.)

(P.s.  Caden 20 pounds 12.5 ounces, 30.2 inches, and added two teeth (for a grand total of eight).  Brooklyn 20 pounds 7 ounces, 30.94 inches, and holding steady at eight teeth.)