I'm having a really tough time not calling Avery and Grayson "the babies". I have referred to them as the babies since they were born. It's kind of hard to break the habit but they really aren't babies anymore. Part of me can't believe it and part of me just doesn't want to face the fact that they are getting so big so fast. I do however feel incredibly fortunate that those tiny little preemies that decided to surprise me with such an early entrance are thriving, healthy little two year olds!
We had their two year check up on Wednesday . Avery insisted on bringing Minnie Mouse in with her and Grayson insisted he must bring his flash light (Yiy-Yite). We have definitely entered the persistent toddler stage.
Avery:
23.2 Pounds
32 1/2 inches
Grayson:
23.0 pounds
33 1/2 inches
Their vocabulary has exploded over the past month or so. I cannot believe some of the things they say these days. We have definitely entered the parrot stage and need to watch what we say (or maybe we should have been doing this for awhile now).
Avery is a constant chatter box that loves to go on and on about things we don't always understand. Sometimes we understand exactly what she is saying. and other times it's kind of a puzzle to see if she is saying something intentional or just blabbing on about nothing just to talk. She also loves to sing and dance, play with her baby dolls and read books.
Grayson has a bigger vocabulary than he wishes to consistently use. We've noticed he will spit a word out on his own time but doesn't choose to blab on and on like his sister.
Grayson loves to dance as well. When music comes on they literally start
bouncing and swaying. It is so darn cute. He also has a slight obsession with
balloons, balls, his new trains and train table and really just anything boy
and destructive. It is insane to see how very different Avery and Grayson are.
Every time I turn around he is trying to ram Ellie or any one in his way with
whatever push toy he can find. The boy also has a pretty decent arm for his
age. Watch out if he has a ball in his hands because he hasn’t quite learned
when it’s appropriate to throw and when not. Avery prefers the calm pretend
play. She is constantly rocking her baby, trying to feed her baby, dressing and
un-dressing her baby and so on. I’ll even find her talking to her baby.
I love watching the clear bond these two already share. If one wakes up before the
other they ask where the other is. In the rare occasion (which I need to do
more often) that we take or do something with them separately they ask for the
other. They now call each other by name. Avery has (finally)dropped calling
Grayson “Sissy” and calls him “Esson”. Grayson still calls Avery “Sissy”
occasionally but mostly calls her “Abey”. It is by far one of the sweetest
things I’ve heard. Avery can even say her own name when you ask her what it is.
Which is also “Abey”. They play together all the time which I believe is one
huge benefit to having twins as they keep each other entertained. They love to hug each other and hold hands. Avery is constantly patting Grayson on the back over something.
However, we also see the other end of the spectrum. We are currently working on eliminating
hitting and/or biting as a reaction to something they do not like. They
definitely know how to set each other off, but even their fighting can be a bit
cute sometimes.
We are slowly beginning to work on potty training, more so with Avery as she
is acting ready. We hope Grayson will take note and jump on the bandwagon. I am
ready to get rid of double diapers!
They still eat pretty much everything we offer. Avery has decided to be
pickier when it comes to vegetables and doesn’t want to eat them when other,
more interesting items are on her plate (aka carbs). However, we’ve learned to hold back
the bread and offer it as a treat if she eats her vegetables. My carb loving
daughter usually obeys. Their absolute favorites are yogurt covered raisins and pops (vitamin lollipops) that we take advantage of and use as treats when they do something like clean up their own toys or use the potty.
It’s hard to remember all of the words they are saying these days but I’d
like to remember where they were when I read back so here goes my best shot at
their current vocabulary:
Dada
Mama
Mom
Abey – Avery
Esson – Grayson
Eh-eee – Ellie
Nana – Banana and Nana Hatcher and Nana Gurley
Da-Daddy – Grandaddy (one of my favorite renderings)
Poppy
ShiShi - GiGi
Eh-in – Devin
Book – Book and Brooke
Ba-boon – Baloon
Ball
Duck
Cow
Pig
Seebra- Zebra
(Countless animal sounds)
Shish – fish/ goldfish crackers
Shag – Jag
Oatmeal – Camile
Andy
RoRo – Rosemarie
More
Please
Doo Doo – Thank you
All Done
Night Night
Yiy-yight – Flash Light
Buhsh- Brush
Potty
PeePee
PooPoo
PeeYew
Tuck – truck
Baby
Chain or choo choo – Train
Buh Bye
No (wish I could stop this one)
Yes
Mine (really wish I could stop this one)
Onj- Orange
Apple
Meelk- Milk
Shuice – Juice
Pees – Peas
Tees – Tree and Brocolli
Feef - leaf
Wawa – Water (everyone confuses this for the convenient store wawa).
Keys
Eat
Snack
Teet – Treat
BooBoo (at which point whoever is around MUST kiss the boo boo and more so
than not they create booboos).
NeeNee – Mickey and Minnie
Daisey
Foofey – Goofey
One (even though Avery refuses to start counting with 1 and always begins
with 2).
Two
Tee – Three
Foh - Four
The more words I sit here and try to remember has me realizing these kids will pretty much say anything now. My favorites are some of their interpretations of peoples names like Oatmeal for Camille.
We are beginning to work on numbers, letters and colors. They amaze me every day with where they are and all they are learning. Avery refuses to start with number one and usually repeats "two, free, two, free" when counting things on her own. When she counts with someone she will count along with you beginning with two. She also loves to call everything pink when she can't remember what color it is. I think she may have a favorite color already. If you can keep Grayson interested long enough he will count with you as well. However, he usually runs off mid counting or color naming to throw a ball at someone or jump on something.
They are showing their true toddler colors through their strong will and typical two year old temper tantrums. We get the all out, throw yourself on the floor, flail your arms and legs and shout at the top of your lungs two year old every now and then. Sometimes it makes us want to pull our hair out. Other times we kind of laugh and move about trying to figure out what exactly they are trying to express. None the less we are making it through this stage trying to enforce rules and how to handle feelings the right way. I'm sure by the time we tackle this phase we'll enter another one.
They are showing their true toddler colors through their strong will and typical two year old temper tantrums. We get the all out, throw yourself on the floor, flail your arms and legs and shout at the top of your lungs two year old every now and then. Sometimes it makes us want to pull our hair out. Other times we kind of laugh and move about trying to figure out what exactly they are trying to express. None the less we are making it through this stage trying to enforce rules and how to handle feelings the right way. I'm sure by the time we tackle this phase we'll enter another one.
Every day with these two munchkins is a new adventure. They literally make us laugh every single day. The past two years have without a doubt been the most interesting, exhausting, exciting and life changing years in Kevin and I's 10 years together. We could not possibly imagine our lives without both of these two crazy little monkey's. Considering all we've done in the past year I have no doubt the year ahead will be full of adventures. Happy 2's Avery and Grayson! We love you to the moon and back!
