22 months

Henry and Norah are becoming more and more fun every day. I am loving this age so much and seeing what they'll learn to do next. Here's what they were up to at 22 months.

Henry:

• Weighs 28 pounds and continues to get taller (now tall enough to look out our front window without tiptoeing)
• Loves to say "EIEIO" (the chorus of "Old McDonald") over and over
• Has been talking and listening so much better since getting his ear tubes and says "chee" (for cheese), "sna" (for snack), "bobble" (bottle), hi and bye, "Jay" (for Jake and the Neverland Pirates) and "Ba-dah" (for grandpa)
• Is very snuggly currently and cries when I leave the daycare after visiting him and Norah
• Absolutely loves cutie oranges and snarfed down three by himself the other day
• Has begun to fold his arms, close his eyes and bow his head during prayers
• Loves to carry his blanket around and wrap it around his shoulders after he wakes up
• Hates to wear socks and pulls them off every chance he gets
• Got his first haircut the Sunday before Easter and now looks much older
• Wears 24-month and 2T shirts and pajamas but still drowns in 18-month pants
• Loves to go outside and wander around the neighborhood with us
• Is still terrified of dogs and, we discovered at their Easter pictures, now bunnies
• Has to push the button on the stereo to turn on music before he goes to sleep
• Is still obsessed with shutting doors but now likes to play in the pantry and try to shut himself in there
• Says "bye" along with Norah whenever I'm talking on the phone and about to hang up
• Likes to unzip things, especially his jacket when we're going outside
• Has learned to climb up the changing table and will soon be climbing out of his crib
• Loves watching Little Baby Bum singalong videos with Norah and dancing to them
• Holds his toy cell phone up to his ear all the time so he can hear the music and dance to it
• Likes to play with our old keyboard and mouse and gets mad whenever Norah has it
  

Norah:

• Weighs 23 pounds and is nearly as tall as Henry
• Wears 18- and 24-month clothes, but some 24-month clothes are way too big
• Loves to stomp around the house in her shoes when we're getting ready to go in the morning
• Anxiously waits for Andrew to get home so she can run in and say "Hi!" when he opens the door (and "It's dada!")
• Loves stuffed animals, dolls and her gloworm, all of which she calls "babies"
• Has learned to say "no" to everything, including wearing headbands or bows, eating more food, having her diaper changed and putting on pajamas
• Comes to us and says "poop" when she poops in her diaper (and also likes to say it when she isn't poopy)
• Puts her sunglasses on immediately when we get in the car and then pulls them down on her nose when we talk to her
• Loves bananas and asks for a "nana" whenever she sees one on the counter
• Has very fine, straight hair and unfortunately pulls her little pigtails out because she doesn't like them (which means it's usually messy)
• Loves to shut doors like Henry does and play with the closet doors
• Is completely obsessed with buckles and has to snap the buckle together on her booster seat and Henry's multiple times whenever they're done eating (and then says "Mama!" until I unbuckle it for her to do it again)
• Has been chatting nonstop, saying "guy" (referring to her favorite Little People figures), "ball," "chee" (for cheese), "peas" (for please) and "cow" in addition to telling everyone hi and bye
• Likes to call Andrew "daddo" and has gotten Henry to say it, too
• Is a daredevil and loves climbing up steps and going down the slide
• Picks up hairs, threads and crumbs all the time from the floor and hands them to me
• Also likes to take her socks off and stuff them in the phone holder of their little play kitchen
• Still loves necklaces and puts them on whenever she finds them
• Really likes going swimming and even went down the water slide all by herself, then twice with me holding her
• Says "wa?" every time we open the car door so she can get down and walk into a store or into daycare

We're already planning a party for Henry and Norah next month. It's hard to believe they've been ours for nearly two years now -- and at the same time, it's hard to believe they weren't always with us.