18 months!

It is pretty hard to believe that the kids are a year and a half old! Lance says it seems like 5 years, but really it is going by so fast. I must admit that I much prefer this stage and age, but it makes me sad that this one will be gone before we know it, too, and we'll have big kids sooner than we think.

They had their 18 month appointment today - wow, that is difficult with two 18 month olds! They were great, but waiting in a room with nothing to do only to have some stranger come in and dig around in your ears and give you shots is not my idea of fun and definitely isn't for the kids. We asked lots of questions like first time parents of toddlers will of course do, and I'm pretty happy that the kids seem to be doing great. With our little gymnast's (Katie) supreme flexibility we may have to move to toddler beds sooner than they suggest - she almost made it over the edge a couple of days ago and when she figures it out not only will she do it but her brother will realize he can too (he is much stronger so I have no doubt that he will figure it out if he sees her). The only areas they were behind on is our fault - they are supposed to solely be using utensils at this point and we haven't really forced that issue and at Nana Pam's they aren't allowed :) and they are supposed to be able to go up and down stairs which we try to make them stay away from our dangerous stairs so I don't know if they can go down (they can definitely go up)! They are supposed to have 6 - 20 words now and they are right in the middle of that range, so that's good - still not really referring to us as mom and dad consistently but we won't mention that because it is getting better and again I think that is partly our fault because we still don't remember to refer to ourselves like that all the time. They are ahead, actually, in their mobility since both of them can run and jump and maneuver really well. So, overall pretty pleased.

Now for the stats! They adjusted for prematurity and have them down as 34 weekers (born at 34 weeks, 5 days) so the numbers are a bit skewed but they are finally registering in percentiles. Katie is 30.75 inches (39th percentile!) and Tyler is 31 inches and in the 28th percentile adjusted (16th percentile compared to other 18 month olds). Tyler is 23 pounds, 7 ounces (25th percentile) and Katie is a pound smaller at 22.5 - but she is in the 30th percentile because she is a girl. They both have tiny heads, Tyler is in the 16th percentile adjusted and Katie is in the 9th! Hats for their age (particularly winter ones that I needed them to wear) are still huge on them and I guess we may have a hat issue for a while. Their BMI's are great (probably the only time in their life that we will be happy that they are high) with Tyler in the 53rd percentile and Katie in the 40th. They are still, as we expected, pretty small for their age even when adjusted for prematurity, but growing on track, eating good, and developing well! Just for fun I entered their stats into a height calculator and it predicts anywhere from 4' 11" - 5" 2" for Katie and 5" 6" - 5" 8" for Tyler - basketball probably won't be their sport!