Buh-rothers

B has started trying to say "consonant blends" (thanks Bunny!) recently...instead of bue, we've got buh-lue (blue), and cackers are now cuh-rackers, etc... This tiny advance in expressive language just makes him seem so much older all of a sudden. His speech is really close to normal adult English, besides the yewow (yellow) and the occasional "where was you, mommy?".

L is adding slowly but surely adding new words. My favorite is MA-KH (very gutteral KH at the end, means milk), which sounds remarkable like BAW-KH (book) and WA-KH (walk). He is very good at Hiiiii! and Byyyeee! and also MINE! He says daddy, and B, and Doggy, and...wait that's it. No mommy, mama, Ma, mother, madre, etc...

I have caught B & L actually playing together recently. Some ridic game B made up involving taking all the blankets out of their cribs and running with them down the hall (tripping on them along the way) to go to a "pic-uh-nic mommy, but there is NO FOOD, just a party, and oh, we'll take a nap so we need our buh-lankets". B runs down the hall and L chases him, and they come back, and repeat. When L tired and sits down, B grabs him by the hand because "you have to come to the pic-nic too, L! but not mommy, its only for kids".

L still idolizes and imitates everything B does. The cutest is when he tries to copy B counting to ten and playing hide-and-seek. L will lay face down right next to B and count "buh...guh...blah...". L also loves getting into the closet or in the stairwell and peeking out for us to find him. He still finds it necessary to cover his eyes when he hides. In truth, he's a much better hider than B, who simply stands in the middle of the room when its his turn to hide. The concept, he hasn't yet grasped it somehow.

At nearly 18 months old, L is a smiley-squealy-climbing-running-babbling delight. LOVE this age so much.
I feel like I'm really appreciating how simple it really is this time around, because I know things get more complicated soon enough.

At 3.25 years old, B is a mess of contradictions and bursting with emotions of all kinds. I love seeing his imagination develop, his brain start really processing things, for the purpose of both good (great stories & games) and evil (manipulation, lying). The development memory is also a mixed blessing. Its cool that he can relive & anticipate good things, but scary that he will also remember & can anticipate the not-so-good. I feel a bit of pressure to "create memories" now that I never did before.We are thinking seriously about school choices, including switching to pre-school when he's 4.75 so he won't be in the daycare preschool for three years straight.

L's favorite things: pumpernickel pretzel sticks from TJs, OUTSIDE, BAH (ball), strawberries (we've had to buy new packs every 2 days at $5 a pop because its just so cute)
B's favorite things: chewing on his blankie, mommy or daddy's Iphone ( a whole 'nother story), jumping off furniture or from the 4th step to the ground, swimming class (he grins ear to ear the whole 30 minutes and bonus! we don't have to go in the water with him anymore!)

My favorite things? All of it. And then getting a break. And then all of it again.