Barney... Really?

Little Bug has been a bit behind Tyler in the amount of words she has, but when she says something it is usually clearer and obvious that she is really trying to say that particular word. Last night in the bathtub as she was trying to help me wash Tyler's hair she grabbed some bubbles and looked at me and said "bubble" very well. Obviously, though I didn't understand what she wanted because she then put the bubbles on my hand and then took my hand and put it on her head. She didn't realize that she had bubbles on her head too and wanted to be like Tyler!

Trying to figure out what they are attempting to tell us has become a challenge! Tyler will still look at you so earnestly and intently and just talk and talk and it frustrates him to no end that often we have no clue what he is trying to say (even though we try to say the right things like yeah, and oh, really, and you are right!). Oh, sometimes we do know exactly what they want like when he tries to do a pull-up on the table while yelling doodoo - that means he wants a cookie or when they both run at you with their empty cups in hand and proceed to bang on the fridge it is pretty obvious that they want more "mi" (Milk). Other times though, like yesterday, they are forced to use their words if they really want something. Katie was doing her crazy babble thing and motioning toward the television. I tried to figure out what she wanted since Lance was switching back and forth between Hockey and Basketball and Golf (!) so I said things that I thought she knew like ball, tree, ice, etc. to no avail. Finally, she climbs up in my lap, points to the tv, looks at me and says very clearly - "Barney." Yep, that's right, she wanted to watch the big purple dinosaur and she wanted it right then. There was no way we were going to usurp Lance's tv shows so me and the kids went upstairs to watch and Katie just sat there mesmerized and happy as a clam sitting with me on the couch. Barney is so old, and I think the newer shows like Jack's Music Show and Yo Gabba Gabba are much better, but I am beginning to agree with Lance that they might be putting subliminal messages or something in Barney shows because it is like crack to kids! Nana Pam says that Katie found an old Barney doll in the toy bin over there and carries it around all day and that at the end of the day she goes and stands in front of the tv waiting for Barney time. It is insane, but the lessons are pretty good and there are worse things for her to want to watch (like one movie that doesn't change), so I guess we will deal with the (hopefully short-lived) Barney obsession. Tyler likes it, but just like when they were little bitty, he would rather play and have it in the background than sit and watch.

Their 18 month appointment is Wednesday so we'll know soon how big the munchkins are getting. We will talk to the doctor about their speech and general development (we let them color yesterday because they will ask if they can scribble - answer is big YES and they had fun), but I think things are going great!