It's a Twin's Life: 16 Months

16 months old!

The picture above is R&R having a picnic at the park...Rhett put his finger on his nose and we started laughing, so he kept doing it. And that just about sums up life at 16 months old.

Rhys is really interested in books right now. She likes to read first thing in the morning...

sitting in a basket...

on a box...

or standing up.

And of course she points as she "reads."

One morning I couldn't find Rhys, and walked into the dining room to find her sitting here...

And Rhett, well he is too busy to read books right now. He is practicing learning to stand! We see him in all kinds of interesting positions...

The twins continue to be good eaters, and amaze us at how much they can eat in a day! R&R eat three meals a day (with milk) and a snack in the afternoon. They are especially enjoying watermelon this summer!

Our schedule has stayed pretty much the same over the past couple of months. I had thought the twins would have dropped to one nap by now, but they are still taking 2 naps a day and still needing both naps! I do think that every month the twins (and me too!) are more flexible and can adjust to changes in the schedule a little bit better. We are out late more frequently, or miss a nap here and there for special activities, appointments, etc and they usually do just fine.

7ish Wake

7:30 Breakfast

9:00-10:30 Nap (I usually have to wake them at 10:30....and I wake them so that they will be able to sleep for the afternoon nap)

11:30-12:00 Independent play in rooms

12:00 Lunch

1:30 Nap

3:30/4:00 Wake on their own

5:30 Dinner

6:30 Bath

7:00/7:30 Bedtime

Rhett at 16 Months:

*size 12-18 month clothing

*size 4-5 shoe

*size 4 diaper

*weighs about 25 pounds

*says "ball" and "dada"

*can sign please, more, thank you, milk, water, eat and hat

*points to body parts: eyes, nose, mouth, head, hands

*snorts when he laughs

*loves to be chased, tickled, snuggled

*makes the funniest facial expressions

*loves to close doors and doesn't like them to be left open

*favorite toy: balls (crawling with balls, chasing balls, throwing balls, hiding balls)

Rhett still loves his milk, actually he loves all drinks, especially those that belong to Rhys. We like to call him "the milk theif." He is usually found sipping on a couple of drinks...

3 drinks: his milk, Rhys' milk, and the water sippy

Rhett really loves water! He loves to swim, take a bath, and especially play at the water table (which is really him just pouring water on himself.) Look how wet he is here...

Rhett's occupational therapist thought it might be a good sensory experience for him to play in a ball pit. Since Tim wouldn't let me spend $250 on a ball pit, we made one out of our plastic swimming pool and some plastic balls from Target. The OT thought he might not like it, and that we would have to encourage Rhett to spend 5 minutes in the pit one day, 10 minutes the next day, etc. To our surprise, he LOVED it from the very first day! He loves to relax in the balls, throw all the balls out, and "hide" from Rhys in the balls.

just relaxing

using the ball pit to practice my standing

Rhett makes some of the funniest faces! When he hears a noise, he opens his eyes really wide and looks around in a super dramatic fashion. It is so funny. Of course every time I try to take a picture he stops doing it, but here is one of the faces we sometimes get to see...

This boy is so happy most of the time! He really loves to sit in the recliner (by himself) and he really loves my cell phone. I think he looks like such a big boy in this picture!

Rhett desperately needs a haircut, but Tim is not wanting to cut it yet. It is so long in the back that after a bath, Rhett's wet hair trails past his shoulders. It was easy to disguise when he was wearing the helmet, but now it just curls up. I love the little curls, but it is getting out of control. I know that first haircut is going to make him look like such a little boy.

Rhys at 16 Months:

*size 12-18 month clothes

*size 4 shoe

*size 4 diaper

*weighs about 22 pounds

*doesn't say any words yet, but can sign: please, more, thank you, eat, all done, cracker, milk, water, brush teeth, sleep, shoes, book, dog, bird, ball, banana, wash hands, baby)

*points to body parts: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, head, hair, hands, toes, belly button

*still sleeps with her bear lovey

*still sucks her thumb when she is tired or sleeping

*favorite toy: pink poodle stuffed animal

*loves for Rhett to follow her around

*new trick: spinning in circles

Rhys and Rhett both have a keychain that makes noises. One of the sets of keys has a little plastic car attached to it. Rhys thinks it is her cell phone. She will hold it up to her ear and talk as if she is on the phone. At first, she would only use these keys as a phone, but now she will hold up almost any toy and use it as her phone.

Just making an afternoon call...

Another favorite right now is playing in the kitchen cabinets. And I mean in the cabinets, as in getting in.

Rhys likes to close herself in and then wants me to say "Where's Rhys?" She will laugh hysterically and then throw the door open. We do this over and over, at least 100 times a day. Here is Rhys signing "more" because she wants to keep playing this game.

Rhys really likes for Rhett to be the one to shut the cabinet door on her. They will play like this for a while until Rhett decides it is his turn to get in the cabinet. That game doesn't always work out quite as well.

Rhys loves her daddy, and I love watching them together. Here is Rhys kissing her daddy goodbye through the front window.

This girl loves her accessories....sunglasses and shoes! She will bring me her shoes several times a day to help her put on. Sometimes she will only bring one shoe, and will play all day wearing just one. Sometimes she will bring Rhett's shoes to wear, and will laugh when we put them on and then point to Rhett. She really loves finding my shoes and will just carry them around with her.

Oh, and the little helper Rhys can be....she loves to empty a bag, box, cabinet, basket, anything at all. I turned away for 5 seconds, and Rhys had decided to go ahead and empty this box of clothes for me.

Rhys likes to do her own thing. Instead of sitting at the table on the bench, she chooses to sit on the top...

Instead of drinking the dirty, contaminated water from the bucket like Rhett, she chooses to put her whole face in the table.

Rhys is a pro at walking these days, and really runs everywhere she goes. She does like to hold my hand when we are out in public. And she wants to walk instead of ride in the stroller. Sometimes this is a good thing, and sometimes it is not. :) Here is Rhys walking at the park holding on to her new rock she found.

This month, more than ever, we have seen the twins really start to "play" together. They look for the other when they come into a room, and usually end up sitting/playing right next to each other. Rhys loves for Rhett to chase her and will laugh hysterically when he does. If Rhett fusses or cries, Rhys will bring him a toy or pat him on the back. She gladly hands Rhett her sippy cup of milk when she is finished at meals, and saves her cheerios just for him. She just adores her big brother!

We love to play in the laundry basket together...