21 Months Old

A big shift in the daily routine happened this month. For the last few weeks, the boys have been going to daycare four days a week. It’s a big adjustment to their lives since they are roughly there from 8:45 until 4:00 in the afternoon.

Children under two (or for that matter any age!) are not generally known for their ability to handle adjustments well, but these guys are giving it their best shot. Their parents (one of whom dislikes change about as much as them…not naming names though) are also adjusting to the fact that their little boys are “off in the world” everyday. It’s been an interesting few weeks that’s for sure, but for the most part everyone is starting to get used to the idea.

Each of them is handling the situation in their own way as well. Jake, for instance, does not like the initial drop-off experience. He has cried almost every day when it comes time for Age to leave. All reports have come back that after a few minutes he calms down and enjoys the rest of the day there. In fact, we know he is starting to become really comfortable there because the teacher reported yesterday that Jake was being quite the character. So we know that once he moves from quiet, shy Jake and into dancing, yelling Jake that he has become comfortable in his surroundings.

Colin, on the other hand, takes off into the room the second they are dropped off with barely an acknowledgment when Age says she is leaving. According to all the reports from the teachers is having a good time throughout the day lately, but has struggled with napping there. Colin is a big sleeper and not sleeping in his darkened room on his own bed isn’t sitting too well with him. The interesting thing about him though is when the day is done and Age is there to pick them up, he is ready to go. He tugs at her while she is trying to get the daily report from the teacher, whines and keeps repeating “Bye-bye, Bye-bye.”

For the amount of worry that we put into this decision, things have been better than expected. They seem to be getting a lot out of it and come home most days in better moods that when they left! Every time we drive past the school the boys’ wave and Jake says “Stella” (who is his teacher) and points. We think he believes she lives there!

We’ll leave you with this story from last week that Teacher Stella relayed. Jake was starting to cause a minor ruckus and had his hand raised about to throw a toy. Stella sternly looked at him and with a questioning tone said “Jake?” stringing out the “a” to let him know he was caught and she meant business. Jake looked at her and lowered his hand and with his cute smile returned the elongated questioning tone and said, “Stella?”

I can’t for the life of me understand where my son learned to be a smart-aleck?!

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ed. note: Sorry, but there aren't any new photos this month. Promise to break out the camera more in September! Take a look at past photos here.

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Video Post: Tahoe Vacation

You've seen the photos, now SEE THE VIDEO! It really was a fun trip and great to see the boys having so much fun (most of the time!). It's really a video montage of the two of them. There isn't a ton of footage of me and Age! It's just when they are dancing around, it's kind of hard to take the camera off them!

20 Months Old

“Looks like they started ‘The Two’s’ early.”

The above exclamation recently came from the woman at the front desk of our condo in Tahoe as Colin bolted out of the elevator with an emphatic “Go!” and Jake chased after him only pausing to point out that there was indeed a “phone” on the wall and could he have it. I’m not sure whether the comment from the woman was a compliment on our two boys advanced “life skills” or if she was wearily anticipating the wave of destruction that was to follow over the course of the next six days.

The “Terrible Two’s” obviously has its negative connotations. I still believe that they are not in the midst of them yet, but they are becoming more of a handful these days! They have begun to understand that the power of their words and actions can provide them the results they are looking for. This is basically a roundabout way of saying they understand now that if they scream and stomp around they have a better chance of getting what they want!

They are going to start daycare this month when Age goes back to work. The plan is for them to be there four days a week from 8:00 – 4:00 with Fridays at home. They have been visiting a few days a week with Adrianne to start getting used to it, but it’s going to be interesting to see how they react without the safety net of mommy around. We think that experiencing new people and things in a controlled environment will be good for them, but we shall see!

As mentioned earlier, we just got back from Tahoe for a week vacation up there (a big reason their monthly blog is 10 days late!). It was certainly a different trip than the one we took with them last summer when they were seven months old. It was great to watch them experience new things and see things through their eyes, but it was exhausting (see opening paragraph) and not much of a vacation for the parents! They kept us jumping the entire time we were there. Luckily we had help with Grandpa Spencer and Nana Kathy for a few days at the beginning and Grammie all day on Friday to shoulder some of the load. We took them hiking in backpacks to a nice alpine lake up off Carson Pass, visited the beach a few times, went bike riding towing them behind us, took a lunchtime paddleboat to Emerald Bay and went up on the gondola overlooking the entire lake.

There is a ton of video from this summer and this last trip. I’m trying to find the time to put something together soon! Take a look at the Tahoe photo gallery or some of the individual pictures from the last month.