18 months old!

I can't believe that the girls are this old. 18 months sounds like a kid, not a baby, to me. I struggle with that lately. I still call them my babies a lot, then realize every now and then that they are not really babies anymore.

Saoirse is still a bad sleeper. She's still cosleeping, despite numerous attempts to wean her of that. She's more stubborn than Chris and I, apparently, and that can only terrify us for the future. (It's good, right? I wanted strong girls, I named her "freedom" for God's sake) But as time has gone on, I've settled into an ok routine with her at night, lying in bed cuddling while she falls asleep. I didn't expect to spend this many evenings in bed at 8 pm, but I know I'll miss it when she finally grows out of it. When she's awake, she's a really sweet kid. She adores her sister, and is very affectionate. She hugs and kisses and cuddles all of us a lot, more than Rowan really wants usually. She loves books, and organizing her toys. She loves taking things apart, then putting them together. She loves putting things in, then taking things out. Or transferring things from one pile to another. If I had a dollar for every time someone has suggested she's going to be an engineer, I could start her MIT college fund. (Just kidding, she's going to U of M, of course) She loves music, dancing any time she hears music. In music class, she observed from my lap for weeks, but now has really warmed up and follows along with the movements, she's learned most of the elements of class that are repeated. She's not quick to get upset, but when she does, look out. Lately she's been doing a full body flail when she throws a tantrum, followed by her classic move, throwing herself on the floor. She also looks away from you, sometimes just her head, sometimes she turns her back on you, these days if you upset her. She chatters a lot, uses about 50 words. Her latest new words are "coat" and "ear." It seems like she's adding new words almost every day now. Also, probably the most characteristic thing about Saoirse is her sense of humor. She loves being silly. She is a little slow to warm up to people she's unfamiliar with. But when she's comfortable, she's a clown. She will do just about anything to get people to laugh, and once she's found something that works, she'll do it endlessly. She gets more and more wound up. She's silly.

Rowan has been a great sleeper for the last 8 months, and the last couple weeks she's been regressing, crying again when we leave the room. (she does sleep in her crib) We're hoping it's a phase, and a short one. Rowan, at 18 months, is our social butterfly. Everywhere we go, she makes friends. She flirts with people at the grocery store, at the dr's office, bookstores, libraries. Honestly, she just loves people. She'll go to people and raise her arms to be picked up immediately, within minutes of meeting them. Chris and I joke that she's like a golden retriever puppy, that she'd go home with anyone. She's also very interested in being independent, and mimicking us. She wants to eat with silverware, drink out of our cups. She "brushes" her hair, tries to put on her own clothes, tries to open the car door for herself. She pays a lot of attention to what we do, even when we don't realize it. She only has to see us do something once and she'll try it out. She uses about 50 words too, although a few less than Saoirse. Her favorite word these days is "No." She usually drags it out so it sounds more like..."Noooo.." She's got quite a temper. She's frustrated easily, and will scream, flail, and scratch to get her point across. She also is more likely to mind, though, even though you can see it on her face that she's not happy about it. She's pretty sophisticated, socially, for her age. And she gives me this dirty look, chin lowered, eyebrows furrowed that I totally recognize as my own. She loves reading, her stuffed animals, especially froggie, and blankets. She loves wrapping things around herself like a cloak and cuddling in it. She loves Saoirse, and will wake her up if Rowan wakes up first. But she needs her space, and gets very frustrated that Saoirse has to share her books, her toys, her mommy. Although I keep telling them that Mommy can hold two babies, there's room for two, both girls seem convinced that whoever's closest to my head wins. It makes for some interesting wrestling matches.

So that's pretty much them. Rowan's a smart little charmer with a fiery temper, Saoirse's a sweet, funny girl who's a bit of a drama queen. The first 6 months were rough with these two, but the last year (especially the last 6 months) have more than made up for it. They are so fun at this age. I laugh more than I have in my life. (I sleep less, unfortunately)

18 month picture tomorrow, my camera battery died. Yay Rowan and Saoirse for a great 18 months!!