Sometimes I’ll hear Buba yell, “Stop grapplin’ me!” and I can’t help but laugh. Other times, he says it and I just want to scream out of frustration.

It’s most likely a phase- here today, gone tomorrow. But who knows, maybe it will catch on and will end up in the Urban Dictionary one of these days.

This was all several weeks (maybe even months) ago. Fast forward to today…

We spent the morning at a birthday party for Tiny’s and Buba’s twin friends, G&E. At the end of the party, goodie bags were passed out. Inside Tiny’s there was a small, pink pig, and inside Buba’s was a small, furry, brown monkey. They were both really cute, but Buba instantly decided that he wanted the pink pig. Tiny was not up for sharing, so I explained how G&E must have picked that monkey just for Buba and how lucky he was to have it. That worked. For a while.

Fast forward to bedtime tonight…

I sent Tiny to the bathroom for her last potty break of the day, and she decided she needed to take her pink pig with her. I allowed it, but placed it up on the counter to wait for her. Then I went to clean up the living room/playroom. Not more than a minute later, I heard Buba yell, “And I TAKE it away! (a new game of his that is no fun for the rest of us) as he came running from the bathroom into the living room with the pink pig. Then I heard Tiny shriek. I looked up to see her running, as best as she could, after him with her pants and undies around her ankles and her tiny fists clenched underneath her chin. “I’m heartbroken! I’m heartbroken!” she cried. It was a hysterical sight- Buba with his devilish little grin, and Tiny with her woe-is-me cry. I fought back the laughter, but I couldn’t contain the smile. In the end, Tiny was sent back to the bathroom to finish her business, and pink piggy went back with her.

It was so exciting when Buba and Tiny first started to talk, but I’m really loving this stage now where they’re trying out new, “big kid” vocabulary words. It’s just amazing, and often funny, to hear what comes out of their mouths.

Shortly after Christmas, Tiny parked some new toy cars on a rug we have that depicts a town (you know, the kind that has roads and houses, firehouses, and stores.). She then informed Buba and me:

Tiny: Don’t touch my cars! They’re very fragile!

Me: Really? What does fragile mean?

Tiny: It mean DON’T TOUCH IT!

Just a couple of days ago, Buba decided to try out the word.

Buba: Mommy, those berries (on a bush in our yard) are fragile. Mommy, they’re fragile.

Tiny: No, they not fragile.

Me: No, I suppose they’re not. Can you tell me what fragile means?

Tiny: (with her head to one side and her face all scrunched up) I do not know what it mean. But I know the berries are not fragile.

Now, who knows what exactly either kid thinks fragile means. Based on Tiny’s and Buba’s use of the word, I would have guessed that they thought it was another way to say “don’t touch”. But given that Tiny thinks the berries are not fragile (and we mentioned many times that the berries are not to be touched), makes me wonder if her understanding goes a bit further.

I suppose, next time, I should do a little explaining about the real meaning of fragile. But right now, it’s kind of fun just to watch Buba and Tiny play around with new words and try to make sense of them on their own.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m so proud of Buba and all that he accomplished while working with EI. But lately, it just feels like he’s talking all. the. time. Seriously, his chattering is endless and the volume is just way too loud. Even when he’s standing right next to me and has my full attention.

Most of his talking is commanding (Sit down and read the book! Watch me jump! Milk please!) or questioning (Are you going to work today? What are you making for me?). By far, we seem to hear “What’s that?” the most often, and most of the time, he already knows the answer to his question. For example, he’ll point to a picture of a monkey and say, “What’s that?” Are you kidding me?

Interestingly, Tiny has been a Miss Chatterbox for months, and is equally demanding and full of questions. But speaking at a volume that’s more appropriate for human ears, it just doesn’t seem as bad. If only there was a magical remote control that allowed parents to control the volume of their children’s voices. Oh, how wonderful that would be. I promise that I would never push the mute button. But I wouldn’t think twice about turning Buba’s voice down a few notches. Especially at 6:30am.

Tiny: It’s all gone.

Buba: I lika mo (more) cars peese (please)!

Tiny: No, it’s all gone. See? (showing Buba the empty bag)

Buba: It’s empee (empty). No mo.

Buba sings: It’s all gone. No mo. It’s all gone. No mo…

It was such a simple conversation, but so nice to hear them using their words with each other- something I  feel like I often have to remind them to do, as there is often a lot of pushing, grabbing, grunting, and screaming involved in their playing these days. It’s just nice to know that they have it in them to play together nicely. And I’m quite proud of how their language is developing. Just this past fall, they were speaking mostly one word (Buba) and  two word (Tiny) phrases. And a lot of what they were saying was just repeating what T and I were saying. But now they can express complete thoughts and even hold conversations entirely on their own. I know this is the normal way things progress, but it’s still amazing to me.

However, when the EI team evaluated Buba, they also found a significant fine motor delay. Buba was not yet clapping and almost never used his left hand. While I was aware of these things, the news that he would also need occupational therapy (OT) on top of speech and language services (SP/LA) caught me off guard, and it took some time for me to come to terms with it.

Buba started working with an EI educator (for SP/LA services) and an occupational therapist in July of 2009 after we’d returned from our family vacation. Within just a few weeks, his speech improved dramatically, but his motor skills were not improving as quickly, and it was really tough for me to take in all the information his therapist was giving me about his difficulties with balance, sensory integration, and motor planning. There were several times when I would break down into tears after his sessions, because I just felt that I wasn’t doing enough to help him practice in those areas when we were at home on our own. At the same time, I just couldn’t believe that he was as impaired in those areas as his therapist was saying. Yes, he had trouble getting clothing on and off, but He’s just a little boy! I would think to myself. It also bothered me that the therapist didn’t often acknowledge when he had made gains. And if she did, it was often followed by something new that she’d noticed he now needed to work on.

So, I was kind of excited when I found out that a completely new team of EI staff members would be taking on Buba’s one-year evaluation (which was yesterday). I just wanted to see how he would be viewed by different therapists who’d had no previous experiences with him. The way I see it, Buba has made huge gains in both SP/LA and OT, but I wondered how the evaluation team would seem him.

It turns out that they saw what I see. In fact, he did so well with all the tasks and activities used to assess his skills that they found him to be ineligible for EI services. He has 45 more days to be phased out of the program, and then that’s it. Needless to say, this news was quite exciting! I mean, what parent doesn’t want to hear that their child no longer has any significant developmental delays?

But the sad thing is that our playgroup is through EI, and that may have to come to an end as well. We’ll try working with EI to see if Buba and Tiny can remain in the group as community kids (kids without delays who attend playgroup- technically, Tiny already is one), but it all depends on the numbers, and I have a feeling that there are already quite a few community kids in the group. We’ll continue going at least through July (which is part of our 45 days) and then just see what happens from there.

All in all, I can’t say enough good things about EI. Even with my issues with Buba’s occupational therapist, I still felt like everyone who has worked with my kids has been excellent and has had my kids’ best interests in mind (Tiny worked briefly with an EI nutritionist last summer). And while I do think there were other factors involved, I don’t doubt that the EI staff has played a huge role in helping Buba to be the amazing kid that he is today.

A while back, I was thinking about introducing my kids to a few children’s television programs, but shortly after, I found that my kids were just as entertained by their CD of nursery rhymes. I can put the music on in the kitchen and they’ll sit on the floor acting out the rhymes or dancing with their baby dolls to the music. This activity easily buys me 20-30 minutes of time to prepare a meal, clean up the kitchen, or even just enjoy my own breakfast or lunch in peace (which means that we are still TV free). And the best part is, not only do they find these rhymes entertaining, but these nursery rhymes are actually helping them build early literacy skills.

We have several different nursery rhyme CDs, but the current favorite is Humpty Who? that come with a book (with the same title) by Jennifer Griffin. And we’d love to send you and your little one(s) a copy too!

To enter to win your own copy of the book and CD Humpty Who? all you have to do is one (or all) of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your child’s (or your) favorite nursery rhyme.

2. Leave another comment on this post telling me what other children’s CDs your kids enjoy listening to. (Yes, I enjoy the nursery rhymes, but I’d like them to have exposure to other genres of music too!)

3. Mention my giveaway in your own blog post (be sure to provide a link to this giveaway post), and then post the link to your blog as another comment on this post.

All comments must be left on this post to be eligible to win a copy of Humpty Who?, and all entries must be posted by 9pm (Eastern Stanard Time) on Tuesday, May 4th. Thanks for entering and good luck!

The one area where I think we’re making some serious progress, though, is with requests at mealtimes. When Tiny and Buba were first learning to talk, it was enough just to say more. Over time, we encouraged them to say more plus what they wanted more of (i.e. more milk, more noodles, etc.). But now, they know they have to add the please if they want me to comply. And it just melts my heart when Tiny turns to me with her toothy grin and says, “I lika mo pees, Mama.” (That’s I’d like more please.)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two months since my last toddler update. The past couple of months have been filled with lots of learning, growing, and experiencing new things.

The thing that amazes me the most these days is listening to you sing. You both have learned to sing quite a collection of songs (including The Wheels on the Bus, If You’re Happy and You Know It, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and more!). Although it’s not uncommon for either of you to burst into song while playing or riding in the minivan, I still find myself pausing to pay extra attention to your sweet, little voices. I especially love listening to you sing our version of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. I’ve been singing it to you guys since you were infants, singing your own names instead of Bonnie, and now you are singing it yourselves. You insert each other’s names, Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, and Paw Paw and laugh and laugh as you sing. You also love to sing the songs you’ve learned through Early Intervention (Hiding Hiding and All the Little Ducks), as well as a song we made up at home (Bye-Bye Mr. Cry).

You’ve both discovered the fun of pretend play. You like to use the Laugh & Learn Learning Home as you pretend to go off to work in the white car (our Corolla).You come to me and give me kisses as you announce that you are going to work. Then you wave bye-bye as you crawl through the door of the house and close it behind you. But only moments later, you burst through the door announcing that you are home and then the fun begins all over again.

The play kitchen you received as a Christmas present has also provided hours of fun. You both love to prepare meals with the plastic food and bring them to me for a tasting. The smiles on your faces when I say, “Yum! Yum!” are just priceless. And you love to use the phone from the play kitchen to call relatives and friends to chat about your day. You say, “Hello? Mmmhmmm, Mmmhmmm. Sit down and read books. Love you! B-bye!”

We’ve had several fun adventures at new places these last couple of months. We bought a multi-pass at a toddler gym, and you both enjoy climbing, running, and jumping in this playspace just for toddlers.

You also had a ton of fun at the gymnastics birthday party for your friends, and you especially enjoyed running and bouncing on the long trampoline and jumping into the pool of foam blocks.

Tiny, you are all about asserting your independence these days. You want to dress yourself, put on your own socks and shoes, and put away the toys you’ve claimed as yours. This can sometimes be a problem if we need any of these tasks to be done quickly, but your determination served us very well during our potty training weekend. At 22.5 months old, you decided, “No more diapers.” We devoted an entire weekend to helping you learn to use the potty, but you pretty much had it down in 5.5 hours. And it’s been smooth sailing ever since. What can I say? When you’re ready, you’re ready.

And finally, it is probably your language development that has continued to wow me the most. You’re constantly rehearsing and repeating the new words and phrases that you hear, and it’s usually not until I hear you say them that I realize you were listening when I thought you were ignoring me. And although we don’t have 100% accuracy, you’re getting pretty good at remembering events from our days and telling Daddy about the things we’ve done when we sit down for dinner. I know he enjoys this part of the evening very much.

Buba, you continue to make tons and tons of progress with both gross and fine motor skills. Although I don’t like to see it, you are building lots of strength as you practice climbing up and down our couches. You love to climb so much now, that we decided to move our Kangaroo Climber into the living room so you and Tiny would have something inside that is appropriate to climb. This climber keeps you busy for hours each day. You love to climb the steps on the outside of one side, and you climb through the big, round opening on the opposite side while hoisting yourself up to the platform at the top of the slide.

And your fine motor skill have improved dramatically. Just a few months ago, the Busy Poppin’ Pals toy was a major source of frustration. You wanted to make all those animals pop up, but you were only able to get the panda by pushing the big button in. Now you can slide, flip, turn, or push to make all the animals come up. It is so nice to watch you enjoy playing with that toy. And I love, love, love to hear you sing. You pick up new songs after hearing them just once, and I know if we could find a sing-along that lasted all day, you’d be in heaven.

It’s hard to believe that you’ll be turning two in just two more weeks (March 7th). The old expression is definitely true: The days are long, but the years are short.

Love you!

Mommy

And you’re starting to learn and point out the colors of things you see, like purple cup and green bowl. I’m not quite sure when or how this got started, but it’s now another form of entertainment when we are out and about. If you start to get fussy in the stroller I just point to something and ask what color it is. You both think this is a great new game.

I’ve also been very impressed with all the things you can do. You both continue to learn new signs (including bear and friend), and you love copying the gestures you see when we sing songs a the library (including The Itsy Bitsy Spider and If You’re Happy And You Know It). You’ve both recently become pros at working the shape sorter on the Laugh & Learn Leaning Home. This task, that had previously been very challenging and the source of great frustration, now almost appears to be too easy. And it seems you mastered this skill in just the blink of an eye. One day you couldn’t, and the next day you could. I clapped and cheered for both of you when you fit all four shapes into their rightful places, and you beamed and giggled with pride.

You are getting much better at helping, and it is so nice that I am no longer cleaning all the toys by myself. You attempt to sing the clean up song (Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere…) when we clean up toys before mealtimes. You are best at getting your bedroom toys into the toy bin, but are getting better at putting your toys in the proper places in the room used to be our living room. And you love, love, LOVE when I let you help put the groceries away. As soon as I bring the first bags into the kitchen you both run in and Tiny starts saying and signing help. You race each other to empty the bags, and you hand me each thing you pull out so I can put it away. When the last bag is empty, you smile and shout, “All done! All done!” as you run back to the living room to play with your toys.

My dear, sweet Buba, you have grown so much in the last few weeks. You are communicating much more and much better, which means less screeching and screaming. You still love to spend quite moments playing on your own, but have also become more interested in playing with Tiny. You’ll see her doing something silly and join right in- this includes walking around with a rectangular bin on your head and laying on your back on the kitchen floor so you can bang your heels on the dishwasher.

You like to make up  your own songs (Noni, noni, ah, ah, ah) and get so excited when I sing them back to you. And I love the precious little kisses you give me when I find the time to sit down on the floor with you. They remind me why it’s necessary to put off housework every now and then.

Sweet baby girl, you watch everything I do and want to do it too. Lately, you want to clean all the time. You have your own little wash cloths and you walk around the house saying, “Mess, mess, mess!” as you wipe the cloth across cabinets and window sills.

You’re becoming more and more independent each day, and get angry with me when I try to help or do something for you. I am no longer allowed to take off your coat or hat (unless I feel like listening to you scream). And as soon as you get your own hat and coat off, you rush to help your brother. You can be a little bossy with Buba (“No, no, no Brabra!), but there is no doubt that you love him very much. When he wakes up unhappy from a nap, you rush to get his koala and give him a kiss on the cheek. You know just what he needs to feel happy again.

You love music and have recently started to sing parts of The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The ABCs, The Wheels on the Bus, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat on your own. I love to hear your sweet, little voice and know that it won’t be long before you’ve learned an entire song.

I am greatly enjoying the Christmas season this year, as you’re both watching and learning about the holiday traditions I cherish. I can’t wait to see your faces on Christmas morning.

Love you!

Mommy