15 Month Update

We're actually at 15 and a half months already, but close enough! :)

I can't believe how much they are developing mentally lately. When babies are younger, all the changes you notice (for the most part) are related to their physical development. There are always new things with rolling, sitting, crawling, reaching, etc. Now that they are walking and have all their motor skills in full force, it sometimes seems that there aren't as many milestones. But when I stop and think about how much they are changing with their understanding of the world and talking, it's amazing! I've really seen a huge difference starting at 14 months. They suddenly became true toddlers and now at 15 months, toddlerhood looks to be in full force.

Exhibit A: They have mastered the word NO. Nathan has fun shaking his head back and forth and saying "no no no no no", but doesn't really use it yet to answer questions. Kenna, however...Oh, Kenna. She LOVES to say NO! A lot of times she will just shake her head, but more and more she will respond to something she doesn't want by waving her hand in the hair, shaking her head and saying "No!" Amazingly, I still think it's cute. :) It's so clear when she says it that it cracks me up - she has lots of other words, but they aren't clear like this. So when she suddenly has such a firm stance with "no" it makes me laugh. She says it with such certainty! I ask her questions all the time now because she knows yes also, but only with a nod and not the word. Generally speaking, if she doesn't know what you are asking, she nods. But if she does know what you are asking, you can get a very reliable answer either way. This has helped with meal time a lot because she has been so picky in the past and spit her food out. Now, I ask her with each piece, "do you want more ____ ?" and she will say yes or no. Almost always now she says yes. I think that she feels in control by being asked and has stopped fighting. (Oh no, another control freak in the house!) I told Bryan the other day that she is like a Magic 8 ball right now. You can ask her any question, and regardless of her understanding she will answer yes or no. "Kenna, will it rain today?" (Answer: big shaking of the head, waving of the hand and "no!") Nathan is still trying to coordinate the nodding motion of yes but he is trying really hard. :)

In related news, Kenna technically made her first two word sentence. She was standing at the bottom of the staircase and looked up at all the stairs. Rather than climb, she looked up at me and said, "Mama no!" Then she got a huge smile and climbed anyway. It made me laugh out loud!

Both Nathan and Kenna have had a major word explosion, in terms of their understanding. I can't even count how many words they understand, I'm constantly amazed by it. For example, they can point to their hands, arms, head, hair, ear, feet, knees, nose, eyes, tummy, and shoulders when asked. They follow a lot of instructions really well without any hand gesturing. They are like little sponges at this age! They follow several instructions in French too.

In the last month Kenna has really started talking a ton too. She went from having a couple of words a month ago to having all kinds! She has words for:

mama
dada
no
clock
play
bib
shirt
bread
cup
down
Pooh (as in Winnie the Pooh)
Bye bye
book ("boo")
bunny ("bu")
duck ("kuh")
bath ("ba")
go
Nathan (but she calls him "dee"! I have no idea why?!)
chat (cat in French)
donne (give in French)

Nathan is much less verbal, but I'm seeing him pick up interest in words lately. He says:

mama
dada
bath ("ba")
bye bye
chat
no
clock
duck
go

They both now understand what I'm asking when I say, "can you say ____ ". That's helped a lot in encouraging them to talk because now they know I'm asking them to verbally respond. You can see Kenna actually studying my lips when I ask her that question and then she tries really hard to repeat. She seems very interested in talking. Nathan doesn't seem to care much, but thinks some words are funny. If you ask them, "what sound does a bear make?" Nathan immediately lights up and says "GRRRR!" It's SO cute. And Kenna makes a tiny little "grrrr" that makes my heart melt every time. It's my favorite thing right now. I wish I could make them grrr all day because it's just adorable. :)

Two weeks ago we started going to a French class. It's not exactly a "class" at this age but more like a playroom where you play in French with the teacher. I'm so excited about it. After one session, Kenna was handing me things and saying "donne" (give). I was one proud mama! My mom is from France but I wasn't raised to speak it fluently. I have taught myself a lot over time and am intermediate level (advanced with reading) but it's so hard to learn as an adult compared to as a kid. I am thrilled to give them this opportunity to learn another language very early. Since I can speak with them at home, I can reinforce it and it's good for me too!

Aside from that, here are a few random tidbits:

--We just took away the morning nap last week. I still put them down for quiet time for half an hour because *I* need the time to shower, etc. and don't want to get up super early to do that before they wake up first thing! But it's not enough for them to fall asleep now, so it doesn't ruin their big lunch nap and that was the problem. Now they sleep 12-2:30.

--We are going to Hawaii for two weeks at the beginning of May! yes, we may be insane to attempt such a flight with two kids their age but we are really feeling the need to go somewhere. If anyone has flight tips for young kids, would love to hear!

--Nathan has his first molar - Kenna already has all four!

That's about it. They have their 15 month appointment tomorrow and I'll post a brief one with their latest "stats"...I weighed Nathan on my own and he is about 26 pounds! I have some Easter pictures we had done that I will post soon.