Lots of Updates!

Sculpting

Caleb as a man of authority

Ice cream!

Potty Training Update

Eli and Thomas are pretty much over achievers and I'm almost ready to declare them potty trained! Eli pooped on day one and was accident free by day 2. He's been pooping consistently in the potty, can pretty much pee on command, is now comfortable with going in the big potty, and has stayed dry several times through nap time (limiting drinks bf naps is really helping everyone with this). Thomas is pretty much like Eli only it took him over a whole week to finally poop in the potty, he's done it twice now and I'm thinking we shouldn't have a problem there anymore. Neither has needed bribing : )

Caleb is still a little challenging, we've been going back in forth with accident free days and then 2/3 accidents on other days. He's finally starting to tell me (more like show me) that he needs to go potty. I can tell because I see him walk towards the bathroom but once he's in there he starts messing with things so I have to direct him towards the potty. He's a little resistant to sit down at home but bribing him with m&m's has really helped (for some reason he's more willing to sit when we are out and about). He actually pooped in the potty yesterday! Funny that it took him less time than Thomas, it must be because we made such a big deal about it with the other two. So relieved they have all pooped! I was really starting to stress out about it because the more I asked and talked to others the more I realize how common it is for kids to have a really hard time with pooping in the potty. I had no idea this was even an issue, I just always figured it was a package deal!

Even though potty training is going super well it's still a very stressful time, I'm willing to say the most stressful time I've been through with these guys! Phil and I took the boys to the children's museum this weekend and then out to ice cream to test the waters. We had one poop accident (Caleb) and Eli peed his pants because I didn't listen to him (I thought he could hold it a little longer). Very stressful, cleaning up accidents, multiple trips to the bathroom, constantly thinking about how long ago each of the boys went to the bathroom and when they'll need to go next in case they don't tell me they need to go. I think I'll need to give it at least another week before I feel comfortable going out by myself again with the boys for extended periods of time. And there goes spending entire mornings at the park, I can hold it for 3 hrs but I don't think the boys can so we'll have to keep it to 1 hr at the park until the bathrooms open up for the summer : (

Other Updates

The boys are talking a ton, I think their language is really blooming at this point and they are adding more and more words to their vocabulary. I wouldn't call it an explosion but slow and steady has been the pattern with everything they have done. It's funny what they choose to say because I honestly have never gotten them to say a word of my choice. I could ask them to try and say, for example, 'frog' all day long for weeks but I'd be wasting my time, these guys DO NOT like to perform. Everything they have ever said has been their choosing and has come as a surprise to me. I pretty much don't worry about their language development anymore, except for the other day when I heard a tiny 18mo old girl speaking in full sentences, what!? How is that possible...we girls are so awesome!

I continue to speak to the boys mostly in Spanish but many of the books I get from the library are in English (Spanish selection is skimpy), we read tons of books everyday. When Phil is home we speak to each other in English. Consequently, about 70% of their vocabulary is English! Oh well, I know it's all being stored in their brains for later so I'm not too worried. They have recently added 'ara~na' (Spanish for spider) to their vocab, yay! Please more Spanish! They pronounce it 'anya', it's so cute! They also call anything with a lid or a cap (including doors) a door only they say 'dooa.' And can't forget duck, which they say as 'guck.' So yes we are still at the stage where I'm probably the only one that understands what they are saying.

I haven't tested them extensively but I'm confident to say that the boys know most, if not all, of their abc's. They can't won't verbalize the letters but can point them out when I ask where such and such letter is. And many times they'll point to a letter of their choice and say a word that starts with that letter. For M they will say m&m, for A they will say 'agua,' etc. They love looking at my iPhone ABC's flashcards (it's our bath time entertainment). We talk about the letter and a word that starts with the letter and especially the sound the letter makes (this should help when we start to sound out words). We do it all in Spanish and sadly I can't seem to consistently sing the abc song in Spanish (the ending is always different) so I guess we'll just have to save that for when they are ready to learn the English abc's (thank goodness they are so similar). The boys amaze me at how easily they learn things, already they know more of their abc's than some kids entering kindergarten!

The boys appetite is way down but I think it's because they just had a little growth spurt and had been eating a lot. They are still shrimps since most people that meet them for the first time usually guess that they aren't even two yet. Today I got 18months, haha! The boys were weighed and measured recently:

Caleb weight 25lbs 6oz, height 32.75 in (2nd percentile)
Eli weight 24lbs 10oz, height 32.5 in (1st percentile)
Thomas 25lbs 6oz, height 32.25in (1st percentile)

For a point of reference, about another half inch and they will be half as tall as their dad (who is 5'7'', mama is 5'2'' )! So we are not expecting them to be tall, nor do I care or think tallness is in anyway a good or bad attribute, unless they end up really wanting to be professional basketball players, ha!