Alex and Ari, Version 1.5

We really can't believe it, but Alex and Ari are 18 months old (that's a year and a half!) today. Someone once told us that we'd see a lot of changes in our kids at three-month increments-- at 3 months (when they started sleeping through the night), at 6 months (when they could sit on their own), at 9 months (around the time they started crawling and communicating), and so on. This prediction has been true, for the most part, and we have seen tremendous changes in Ari and Alex just in the past week or two as they approached their year and a half milestone. They definitely don't seem like babies or even toddlers any more- they are like little people!

Their 18-month birthday was a very busy day. Mommy left before sunrise this morning to work at the semi-annual clothing and equipment sale for our parents of multiples club. Because she volunteered so much of her time at the sale and throughout the year in her capacity as Vice President of the club, she had the opportunity to get her shopping done last night before the big rush today. Mommy scored big with some adorable Halloween costumes (see more below!), new "big kid" toys for the basement, a kid-sized table and chairs and other goodies. We're hiding some of the toys for when the new baby arrives so that Alex and Ari have some new and exciting diversions, but Mommy couldn't resist giving them some of their toys today.

Mommy came home for a brief break mid-morning so that Daddy could coach a soccer game, but then Nana came to watch Alex and Ari so that Mommy could head back to work at the sale for most of the day. With Mommy gone, Daddy continued his role as Superdad and took Alex and Ari to lunch at Miri and Opa's, followed by a visit to a local park that even Mommy hadn't made it to quite yet. When Mommy wrapped up her work for the day she met Daddy, Opa and the kids at the park for a ride on the train. The kids were SO excited to go on the "choo-choo." Here are some pictures from the park, including Ari venturing through the "great outdoors" with Opa and all of us on the train:



After we returned home from the park, we headed over to our friends' and neighbors' house for our monthly get-together/BBQ. Alex and Ari had fun playing with their buddies (we even noticed Ari and friend Andrew flirting quite a bit...) while Mommy and Daddy had a chance to hang out with their "grown up" friends.

OK...Mommy was going to try to keep from revealing the Halloween costumes until the actual holiday, but anyone who knows Mommy knows how excited she gets about Halloween. She can't contain her excitement and just can't resist showing some sneak preview pictures of the kids in their outfits. Unlike last year when Alex and Ari were just babies and didn't quite enjoy wearing costumes, this year they LOVE dressing up and were very excited to try on their costumes. So, without further ado, we introduce:

Ari the bunny rabbit

and

Alex the lion (he does a great roar):

Mommy already has them practicing "trick or treat."

Speaking of Halloween, and Mommy's love of the holiday, the new baby is currently scheduled to arrive via c-section the morning after Halloween on November 1. This was a specific request made by Mommy so that she didn't have to miss out on her favorite holiday this year. Instead, if all goes as planned we will be heading to the hospital a few hours AFTER Halloween is over and Mommy has had her fix for the year. For those of you counting, that is just four and a half weeks from now.

So what are Alex and Ari up to at 18 months?

Ari is now walking quite proficiently. Once she started a few weeks ago, she quickly advanced and is now almost keeping up to her brother. She says about 40 words, the newest being pretty, pretzel (although it sounds nothing like pretzel!) and paper (Miri discovered Ari's mastery of this word the other day). She knows all of her animal sounds and is very good at sorting shapes and putting puzzle pieces into the correct location. She's becoming a better eater, and has a new favorite food: pretzels (pronounced in Ari-ese as something like "we-wel.") She also loves hummus, and REALLY loves pretzels dipped in hummus. Ari is still very headstrong, and beats up her brother on a pretty regular basis. She's VERY good at untying her shoe laces, no matter how tightly Mommy and Daddy tie them. Just like when she was little and would weasel out of her swaddle blankets, she's quite the Houdini when it comes to her shoe laces. Good fine motor skills, we suppose...

Alex has developed by leaps and bounds in the language department in the past few weeks. Mommy and Daddy estimate he has about 75 words, and he repeats many words he hears. He is extremely articulate and pronounces the words with surprising accuracy. Alex is Mr. Personality- wherever he goes, he goes up to everyone and says "hi." He also loves to share his toys, and will often bring them to visitors, piling them up in their laps or at their feet. Alex is a lover, not a hater- he gives lots of hugs and kisses, and is very nice to his sister and his friends, even when they (in particular, Ari) aren't as sweet in return. Even though he's a sweetie, he is very impatient, especially when he is hungry. Hmmmm...wonder where he got that from (Mommy!)

We obviously have on our hands two burgeoning little people, both developing their own personalities, likes and dislikes. It's so much fun to see their personalities emerge, and it's especially neat to watch them side-by-side, as it's sometimes hard to understand how two kids brought up in the same household, the same environment, can develop such different personalities. If the first 18 months have been filled with so many changes and milestones, we can only imagine what the next year and a half will bring!