July 2014 - 18 months old

7-1-14 Lily loves Elmo from Sesame Street! She's always saying, “Emmo, Emmo, Emmo!" We bought them each a small Elmo doll and now we hear Emmo even more! Haha!

Last weekend we went to Gordman's looking for one thing and left with two new toys. Lily got a little choo choo train with a little conductor. She loves that thing! Choo choo, choo choo! We put up their kitchen last week too and she puts her choo choo and Elmo in the cabinet on the left. It's her spot. When she wakes up from nap before Violet, I'll bring the monitor down with us. She wants to hold it and then put it on the shelf in their kitchen. I'll ask her if Violet is awake yet and she'll get it out look at it and show me, then put it back in the cabinet. First she usually gives Violet a kiss through the monitor though!

I was watching the weather forecast and I said, “It's going to be hot, hot, hot!" Lily ran into the kitchen and pointed to the stove and said, “Hot, hot, hot!"

We usually walk up and down the street after dinner and tonight Violet was walking without holding my hand! We always have the girls walk for a few houses then they get a little tired so we'll carry them for a few houses. They like to look at the flowers, bugs, rocks, and see the doggy barking at the window.

7-2-14 The girls and I went to Book Baby/ToddlerTime at the library today. Lily is so funny. She gets so excited to sing and listen to stories that she claps her hands, smiles, and says “yeah” or giggles a little. The librarian said, “Well you can just stay with me all day!" This time we played with a parachute at the end. They loved that! I bought a water table today and we tried it out after nap time! They loved it! They were splashing around and giggling! It's a great way to cool off on these hot summer days!

Lily's been saying, “no no no." It's so funny because her little lips go in a round little o and her voice is a little deeper. Now we use it on her when we want her to stop doing something.

7-3-14 My girls are 18 months old today! It’s hard to believe a year ago they were only 6 months old and starting solid foods! Now they eat pretty much everything! They’re working on using a spoon on their own. It’s fun, but messy!! When we pull out any fruit for dessert, they get so excited! They scream and Violet waves her arms around. They are such good eaters!

7-4-14 Lily is an escape artist! She was having a hard time falling asleep at nap time. I walked back in to check on her and she was standing at the rocker footrest reading Goodnight Moon! I looked for Ryan, but he was outside washing Bella, so Lily must have climbed out on her own! I didn't want to put her back in without lowering her crib all the way (it was on the second lowest), but since Ryan was outside I decided to rock her and then put her back down when she was sleepy. She was pretty much asleep when I put her in the crib. Five minutes later, I hear a loud bump/crash and scream. That nerd! I ran in and she was fine. It scared us both so much! Ryan came up and lowered the crib. It was a surprise she could even get out of it because the top rail was up to her armpits! Now her mattress is lower and we have a pillow on the floor. She's quite determined sometimes!

Violet is so funny! Lately, she's been blowing raspberries when she's mad or irritated or doesn't want to do something, like wash her hair. Imagine her in the tub blowing raspberries while daddy is washing her hair!

7-8-14 The girls are getting some attitude! Lily whines a lot, “ah noooo, ah noooo,” especially when something doesn't go her way. They'll pull toys out of each other's hands then Violet hits. Mostly they are really sweet, but these attitude moments are tough on me. They really wear me out some days.

7-11-14 Lily peed in the toilet twice today!! We're not really starting potty training, but we have their froggy potties in the bathroom. They usually sit on them fully clothed. Today Lily told me, “I poop.” I said, “Do you want to go to the bathroom?” and she said, “Yeah.” She already pooped in her diaper, but I thought I'd put it in the toilet so she sees where it goes. I took off her pants and diaper and she peed! She was happy to dump it in the big toilet and flush her peepee and poopy and wave bye-bye. At bedtime, Ryan was putting on her jammies and noticed that she was dry and didn't need a new diaper. It had been a few hours since we changed her. I suggested that they go in the bathroom and sit on the toilet. He said as soon as she sat down, she peed! Wow! Maybe we should start potty training this girl!

I bought a little cloth thumb-guard bracelet for Violet to stop her from sucking her thumb all the time. Already in the few days we've had it I think she's talking more! She actually likes it because it has pretty butterflies on it. We mostly use it in the car and stroller. It's funny because she'll be sucking her thumb and I'll show her the bracelet, and she pops her thumb out for me to put it on. I want to use it for naps and bedtime too, but I think I'll wait and increase the amount of time she wears it slowly.

7-13-14 Lily pooped on her potty!!!!!!!! She told daddy that she had to poop so he asked if she wanted to go to the bathroom and go on the toilet. She said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah," as she ran down the hall. She sat down and went right away! Wow!!! We are so proud of her! She's so adorable. When she flushes, she always waves bye-bye as it goes down. In the tub, she waves to the bath water too!

7-14-14 I bought some kitchen stuff for the girls at IKEA and they love it! Violet stirs in the pots and pans and Lily tells us all about the banana and kiwi (kiwi is her new word). She still loves her little train and the “duc-dor” (conductor). They both love Choo Choo Soul and get so excited when we put it on!

7-17-14 Now Lily says “kwiwi" for kiwi! She thought the limes at dinner were kiwis. Violet has the cutest sound she makes when she's concentrating! It's hard to describe, but it's part grunt and part total cuteness! She loves flowers and rocks. It's hard to get her to walk when we go out after dinner! Today a neighbor had a sprinkler on and Lily went right up to it and was giggling and having a great time getting wet!

I'm in the process of weaning the girls from nursing. For the past week we've been doing every other night and it's going well. I think I'll nurse just once or twice more and then we'll be done. It's definitely bittersweet.

7-19-14 We went to Brighton for Kris' wedding tonight. It was so nice to go up to the mountains and get out of the heat! (Our AC broke on Friday night! New one comes on Monday!) Violet is such a great walker now! They were both going around and around, through the kitchen and dining/dance area, outside one door and through the outdoor patio, and then back into the kitchen. Ken was having a great time chasing Lily around! They had yummy Greek food and the girls loved it! They especially loved the falafel! Violet is walking so confidently now! What a big girl!

7-22-14 We went to Red Butte Garden for the Tedeschi Trucks Band concert! We went with Grandpa Doug and Mindy, Demi and Danny, and Liz, Rusty, and Jack. The girls had a great time! They were dancing and running around, getting lots of attention. We almost made it to the end and left at 9:30.

7-23-14 Violet has only been down the little slide on her own a few times. She'll sit at the top looking nervous, and then go down the stairs or down the slide with help. Tonight we were playing and she was holding my fingers as she went down the slide. After 4 or 5 times she'd go down by herself. I'd pick her up and plop her at the top again. She was laughing and being so silly! She probably went down the slide another 25 times! At first her legs would be stiff and she'd plunk head first into my lap! Then she got the hang of it and landed on her bum. Her laugh is so contagious!

Sometimes when I'm holding Violet, we'll hum together, always in the same breath. It's kind of a cool connection we have!

Lily's been somewhat of a stinker with all the No's and attitude, but then she'll run up and hug you! She is so good at sharing and taking turns! She's always looking out for Violet and sharing her water out getting her shoes. They've both fed each other a few times. It's so sweet! Have some bread, sissy! I'm so glad they are sharing and not fighting over things (too much)!

7-24-14 We went to Red Butte Garden this morning. It was a free day at the garden! 

Tonight was my last night of nursing. I had them on for about 5 minutes and I just knew that this was it! It was easier than I thought it would be! I guess we were all ready to be done! I made it to 18 months. That’s crazy!

7-25-14 We have a fun midday routine to get the girls down for nap. We eat lunch and I always serve veggies first, followed by their protein and starch, and then fruit for dessert. I get them washed up and down to play while I clean up. Then I change diapers and open the gate to the stairs. Once I see them give signs that they’re ready for nap I sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and they head straight for the stairs! It works every time! They know that song means nap time!

7-28-14 Sometimes Lily's hair goes in three long ringlets down her back. Boing! They both have such long hair! People can't believe how long it is for their age. Violet's will curl and flip out to the side when it's a little wet or she's sweating. It's been so hot, we've all been sweating!

Violet says “Uh-oh” now instead of “Uh-uh!”

The girls still go in to the bathroom and sit on the toilet, but Lily hasn’t been going on it too much lately.

7-29-14 Lily grabbed a wipe and washed her hands and face, which is pretty much licking the wipe! Then she wiped her feet with it, then right to her mouth again before I could stop her! Then she wiped Violet's feet! I tried to grab her, but she's too quick! Back to her mouth again! Ew! Then I said, “All done! Take it to the trash!" and she said, “Ah done!" and put the wipe in the trash!

When Violet is tired, like she was today after Mary's, her favorite spot to rest is in my arms with her head on my right shoulder. I could hold her there all day!

7-31-14 Violet put the sock to her foot and said, “Sock, sock!” Her favorite spot is at the lion pillow chair. She leans back and then puts her right ankle up on her left knee. We got a play set last week and they love going out back to swing. They don’t want to come back in! They could swing all day!