Why do we buy toys again?...

...when they would much rather play in laundry baskets?







...and in their toy storage containers?

17 Month Old Couch Potatoes

17 months old today and busier by the minute (and into everything). Trying to say new words now and again (Mason still more than Ethan - Ethan is still loving his sign language more than being verbal). Still loving their books, balls, cars/trucks, climber, bounce and spin zebra, playing chase, and peek-a-"boo!", and anything involving music and dancing. Favorite songs are Itsy Bitsy Spider and Ants Go Marching, though Wheels on the Bus is still up there on the list. And loving their weekly music class, though they cry (Mason especially) every time they have to put one instrument away before the new instrument comes out.

They run over to me and immediately sit down every time I get their shoes out because they love to wear their shoes and they figure they must be going somewhere fun if the shoes are going on.

Though they are not successful every time, they have pretty well mastered the lever handle child safety lock (uh oh...I think having smart kids could be great and all, just not yet...)

And after waking up from a good nap, they sometimes find it good to ease back into the busy day with a good cup of water, some cuddly stuffed animals and blankies, a few favorite books...and for Mason...his beloved thumb...and a favorite TV show. Favorites include: Jack's Big Music Show, the Backyardigans, Yo Gabba Gabba, Wonder Pets and Curious George. Also, if they could jump into the TV and hang out with NickJr's Moose A. Moose and his little bird friend Zee, that would probably be their ultimate dream come true right now. What is it with that Moose that makes little kids stop in their tracks when they hear his voice and immediately gravitate towards the television?

Some post-nap couch potato photos at 17 months:

More Different Every Day

Most of the photos we take are inside and the light is not too great, so it's hard to actually tell from the photos, but the boys' hair color is really starting to change. It seems that Mason is getting blonder all the time and he still has very blue eyes. And Ethan's hair color is getting darker and more reddish every day and his eyes seem to be making a transition towards green, but still somewhat blue/grey. If you click on the photos to enlarge it's easier to see the difference in hair color. People still (even just last week) ask if they are identical (which I just don't see at ALL...), so maybe this will help?




And a photo with their Red Sox caps on as they swing

Shape Sorting Master

Uncle Nicu stopped in for a visit and got this video of Mason while Ethan was still napping. Mason loves the shape sorter! And Ethan likes to steal the shape sorter. Which makes it hard to get good video. Thank you Uncle Nicu for getting this on camera! :)

Austin Zoo

Our first trip to the zoo was this morning! Austin has a rescue zoo (so it's fairly small compared to other zoos and very rural/hilly/bumpy terrain, but still has stuff like cougars, tigers, bears, etc.) The boys' favorite thing were actually the birds - any and every kind of bird they had. They loved that the birds made loud obnoxious noises - the noisier and more obnoxious the better! They loved the monkeys too. And since they know what sound the monkeys make, every time they saw one they would say "ooo ooo eee eee aaa aaa."

We went to the zoo for a picnic with the moms of multiples group I belong to so the place was packed with twins and triplets everywhere you turned. And it was a HOT day for the zoo - the actual "real feel" temp for the day hit around 109. So we were sweating like crazy (the boys clothes were literally SOAKED with sweat by the time we left), but we still had fun!

Of course I forgot to pull the camera out except for a quick video clip of Mason laughing at the geese. Even though he was miserably hot at that point, he still had some giggles left for the geese! Notice at the end of the video clip right before I turned off the camera where Mason says "cheese!" - whenever he spots the camera pointed at him now he says "cheese!" There is another very short clip of him saying cheese again before we rolled off.

Bye-Bye Highchairs (?)

The boys have been less than thrilled with their highchairs lately. And normally, I'd just say "oh well, life's tough" :) But, Mason actually did not seem to be fitting comfortably in his anymore either - the straps were too short for the length of him even at the longest extension, and he kept pulling his legs up and out of it probably because those chunky little thighs of his were not too comfortable in the leg holes. So we decided to venture out into the world of eating at the big people table. They of course have eaten at the table before in restaurants, but we had never done it at home. So we got some great booster seats and tried it out. They LOVE it. And actually try to climb up in their chairs (not that we let them do it by themselves or anything) - but they never would have made such a move before with the high chairs. I think they are actually comfortable now. We have been doing this for 4 days in a row and knock on wood, it has gone REALLY well.

Mason busting out of his high chair before we made the transition:



Wasn't it just yesterday that they were so tiny in their highchairs?



The boys in their new boosters:

More Playroom Antics

I was in the kitchen cleaning up the afternoon snack when I heard silence. Silence is never a good thing because they are only silent when they are doing something they shouldn't be doing. So I went in to check on them and found them here (that container is supposed to hold their cars and trucks, but if there is a container present, they MUST sit in it - and if they can squeeze into it together, that's a bonus)!



The kangaroo climber is truly getting a workout lately. Not only have they easily mastered climbing up on the platform to slide down the slide (though climbing up the slide to slide down the slide is still the preferred method), they also have started scaling the outside walls of the climber. At first it made me nervous, now I just say go for it - that's what I got it for - to help save our poor furniture!

If you see some funny expressions on Mason's face in these photos, it's because he is saying "Cheese" - which he says over and over and over again when the camera is pointing in his direction.