Twenty Month Old Stinkers

Twins – Most kids at this age aren’t too aware of other kids. They tend to parallel play, but don’t have a lot of interaction with kids their age. But Cannon and Cruiz play all day with each other. That part makes life easier, they don’t tend to get bored and follow me around. I love that they are usually genuinely happy for one another. They are starting to share without me coaxing them to do so. They love giving each other kisses and hugs (along with punches) And when an adult makes the other laugh, the other is incredibly happy for their brother and then will line up thinking it’s his turn. Don’t get me wrong, they fight, quite a bit, but they certainly love each other. Just today I caught them holding hands while in their cribs :)

Schedule
Wake up 7:30 – 8:30 AM,
Play/destroy,
Lunch at 12:00 PM,
Afternoon nap
Wake up 2:30-3:00 PM
Dinner at 5:30 PM (They fall apart at 5:00 without food, I’m slowly moving dinner back)
Bathtime after dinner when dad can help
Bedtime 7:00 PM

These boys are by far the neediest in the morning. There’s just not enough of me to go three ways. So I’ve started throwing them into bed with me, turning on a show and cuddling for a few minutes. Seems to help.

Sleep – Bedtime in our home is 7:00 PM. (Usually sleep until 7:30 – 8:00) We have three boys sleeping in one room and it’s usually a party for about an hour after being put to bed. (It’s annoying, but I secretly love it, being the only girl I never shared a room) Ledger usually falls asleep first, and then the boys tend to switch off. One boy will usually fall asleep quite quickly, and then the other will stay up and let out a scream that means, “Wake up brother!” Last week it was Cannon staying up, and this week it’s Cruiz, they usually tend to switch.  Cannon is a crazy wild sleeper and wakes himself up multiple times a night, due to sleeping horizontally in his bed, and can’t stretch out. He cries until we come flip him the other way. Cruiz on the other hand is a champ, pulls his blanket over his head every single night and sleeps about 13-14 hours straight.

Teeth – Both boys have their four front top and bottom, and molars. It seems like the rest are breaking through together which will finish off their teeth.

Big Boys – They still haven’t been in for their 18 month check up, it’s scheduled at the end of this week. But the last time we checked, they both weighed 25 pounds. They are wearing 2T clothing, and 3T shirts aren’t all that big. They are solid boys, and have the biggest, thickest feet. I have trouble getting their chubby feet into most of their shoes, where Ledger’s feet are so narrow they rarely stay on. We keep telling Ledger he needs to be nice, because two big boys against one skinny little thing might be rough. Good thing Ledge is fast :)

 Discipline—I remember being a kid and getting in trouble with my brothers was always sooo much better than getting in trouble by myself. Having my brothers next to me, taking 1/2 or even 2/3’s of my mother’s wrath always made it seem less scary. Can you relate? Well this is why I’ve decided Cannon and Cruiz are so naughty! Haha We love them, but they love to push us to our limits. Think about it, since day one, they have done everything together and always get in trouble together. So I’ve been doing my best to discipline them by themselves, but lets be honest, disciplining one, and letting the other one wait doesn’t work too well. So recently, while they go to timeout, I’ve been putting one in their crib and the other in my room in their booster. Cannon looks thrilled up above, doesn’t he?

 
Cruiz, Cannon 

Diapers – They’ve been in size 5 diapers for nearly a year now, and will usually fill their diaper within 10 minutes of each other. When I change a messy diaper, the boys hate it. So the other brother (the one not getting his diaper changed) runs to find a toy to give to the other, hands it to them, then slaps their belly and tries to say the word, “Belly button!” which comes out more like “ba ba.”  I love it. After trying all the diapers out there, my favorite brand after the newborn stage is Target, a question I’m asked quite frequently.

Clockwise, Ledger, Cruiz, Cannon
My attempt to have them take their energy out on my kitchenware, rather than each other!

Destructive Human Beings – I’ve been told having twins is like having 5 kids at a time, I didn’t understand until a few months ago. but they are so destructive! They work together to destroy whatever is in sight in a total of about two minutes. It took about one minute for them to find a grocery bag filled with toiletry items. One boy shredded the toothpaste box and squeezed it all over the kitchen, while the other was opening the shampoo as I walked in. They climb book shelves, one grabs the books throws them to the other, and that kid bends them at the spine, then puts his teeth on it and tears the spine right off. (It’s the weirdest thing, and makes me incredibly made :) They’ve broken more items that have been placed “Out of reach” than you can imagine. The moral of the story, nothing is safe in our home.

Ledger and Cruiz.
Ledger is soo nice to both his brothers, we’ve had to tell him it’s okay to give it back to them every once in awhile :)

Personalities

Cannon – Is by far my most independent child and likes to push the limits. He is curious, and has taken on the term “seek and destroy” all by himself. Cannon loves to eat! He loves food, eats almost anything, and loves being in the kitchen while I cook. He struggles being in public by himself without his brothers, he doesn’t like when people focus on him (He lets Cruiz play it up). He’s always on the go, but at least one time each day, he’ll climb on my lap and grab my hands and place them around his little belly. If I move them, he grabs them again, and puts them back where they were. He doesn’t usually sit very long, but those few minutes have easily become my favorite of every day.

Cannon currently says: Mama, Dada, yes, no-no! banana, hi, bye, and vroom-vroom.

Cruiz – Has recently decided he likes TV, though it isn’t usually for very long, it helps!  He went through a stage where didn’t eat very well, unless I fed him, but he’s starting to come out of that. He gets major anxiety in public right now, especially when he is without his brother. (I’m trying to separate them more, to help them become more of an individual). He started out the slower speaker, which was normal due to have tubes put in his ears, but suddenly has taken off.

Cruiz currently says: Mama, Dada, Ledger, Can Can, Grandma, car, night night, kitty, tree, banana.

 

Boys, we sure do love you!
Thank you for keeping us on our toes.