18 months

I'm squeezing these posts in RIGHT before Henry and Norah get one month older, but at least I'm cranking them out. Eighteen months has been such a fun age. Here's what they're doing now:

Henry:

• Weighed 27 pounds at his 18-month checkup (the 84th percentile) and was in the 48th percentile for height, which surprised me
• Loves to play on the stairs and try to walk down them using the handrail, scaring his parents to death
• Has started grabbing his blanket when he wakes up and dragging it all over the house
• Says "bye-bye," "uh oh," "hi," "mama" and "dada" all the time now, but his favorite is "bye-bye" (said while waving wildly)
• Wears 18-month clothes and some 24-month onesies and pants (though some 12-month jeans still fit)
• Likes to pat Norah's back or rub her head and loves grabbing her a sippy cup when she isn't feeling well
• Is obsessed with opening and closing doors and likes to shut himself into bedrooms by himself to play
• Loves playing with his new kitchen with Norah and carrying around play food and utensils
• Unfortunately still has really bad eczema that has taken a turn for the worse and turned into dyshidrosis
• Picks up remotes, thermometers, play phones and our cell phones, holds them to his ear and says "Hi!" over and over
• Loves bath time, except when Dad pours water over his head to wash out the shampoo
• Sleeps through the night most of the time and has learned to sleep through Norah's cries most of the time
• Still eats really well but no longer likes bananas and string cheese (probably because he's had them too often)
• Loves pushing a plastic bin around the house and starts screaming if we take it away
• Has thick, wavy strawberry blond hair that's starting to curl around his ears
• Is getting more and more teeth and doesn't seem to be teething and chewing on things as much
• Loves opening the door to the laundry/storage room (which unfortunately doesn't lock) and sneaking in before I can stop him

Norah:

• Weighed 22 pounds at her 18-month check-up and was in the 48th percentile for weight and 52nd for height
• Loves pizza, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and bread but eats most everything else sporadically
• Wears mostly 18-month clothes, but 18-month pants are usually too big around the waist
• Says "no, no no" all the time (especially when Henry has a toy she wants), "hi," "bye," "mama" and "dada" and is finally starting to open up and talk more
• Loves to carry her shoes around the house but hates having them put on (especially her Sunday shoes)
• Has crazy straight hair that sticks straight up no matter how much I try to flatten it
• Does not like bedtime and has begun screaming in her crib again until she can snuggle with me or play with toys (so we're trying to break that habit)
• Starts crying in the bathtub once she knows it's time for a scrub
• Is obsessed with a green barrel of monkeys, which means I find little monkeys throughout the house
• Has begun to be more attentive to Henry and hand him his sippy cup or toys
• Loves playing with balls and throwing them or kicking them around the house -- and she's got a pretty good arm
• Likes toy (and real) phones just like Henry does and says "Hi!" while holding them to her ear
• Has quite a few teeth and likes to give us toothy grins
• Carries play food and dishes throughout the house and loves playing with the toy kitchen with Henry
• Loves to look at books and is loving the pile of Christmas books we're reading throughout December
• Still likes to wear her necklaces everywhere and gets mad when she sees Henry wearing one
• Likes to dance to music still but has stopped shaking her booty and just bobs her head instead

I can hardly wait until Christmas comes so I can see Henry and Norah's reaction to the gifts (since they're already enamored with the tree, lights and nativity). They make life much more fun.