In the picture above they are definitely killin' it. In our house they are killin' me (see last picture below). The crying, the whining, the clingy-ness, the fits, the tantrums, the screaming -- yeah, it's getting to me. I love them both dearly but this age is harder than I imagined and I don't see it getting easier anytime soon. The lack of being able to communicate what they want at that exact moment makes it difficult for me to stay sane because instead of words, we cry, scream, throw ourselves down. In reality, Madilynn's actions are how I feel on the inside, but she shows it on the outside. If only I could throw myself down in the middle of a store because I wasn't getting my way. I know that as we learn more words and communication skills this will be alleviated and they won't be frustrated, too, but this in between stage is hard.
Their personalities continue to be night and day. Madilynn says words daily (duck, bubbles, dog, go, hi, yummmmmm, mama, daddy) and Mason really doesn't. He's repeated words (bubbles, dog, mama, dada) but he's not the talker like Madilynn is. Madilynn, though, is a little mama's girl to the extreme. She's moody, wants what she wants, and a serious lover when she wants to be. It's all on this girl's time. People keep insisting that it's just a phase that she's going through -- I'm doubtful but hopeful. Most of the time, if people even look at her, (including family members) when she hasn't "warmed up yet (which is normally right before we are wrapping things up)" she will completely melt down. I just can't even explain how sad I feel for other people... when they are just trying to be nice to her and she doesn't want to have anything to do with it. I constantly say and think about how how to help her. If she's shy, I want to help her with that, if she's scared, I want to help her... but I don't know how or if I even can. I'm raising two children at the same time and I revert to chalking it up to different personalities, because I'm raising both kids the same and they are both so different.
She is obsessed with her babies. She has to have both, her boy and her baby princess Anna doll. It's cute. It's even more adorable that she doesn't know life without two babies at once, she's already a good mommy.
Mason on the other hand, has learned very quickly that when he wants something all he needs to do is scream at the top of his lungs. No. This is not ok! I try to tell him to use his words. Say "more" Mason, do you want more? "Snack", Mason? Do you want a snack? Hasn't worked yet, but we're trying! Besides that, he's my go-with-the-flow (unless we're shopping, he's a typical non-shopper boy) kid. He's pretty easy going, loves people, and wants to go, go, go and play!
One example of how different their brains are: Madilynn got a 5 piece set of princesses from our last Disneyland trip (Mason got a 5 piece Mickey set but he could care less, LOL). She loves them. She sets them all in a row nicely on the TV stand and Mason comes right up from behind her and knocks every.single.one.of.them off. Bless her little heart she puts them all right back up there nicely and perfectly... and then the cycle continues.
They fight over toys. When they have in their minds that they are set on one particular thing, they try ripping it out of each other's hands and the both fall down intentionally on their bums and cry/scream/throw their fits. It is comical, but the hitting has borderline begun and we are trying to manage it and nip it in the bud now.
Eating has become a struggle. I struggle finding things they enjoy besides quesadillas, grilled cheese, and hot dogs. I'm constantly trying new things and more recently becoming more frustrated that I feel like they only want the same things over and over again. At least they are getting fed, right? I meal plan monthly and really feel like I do a lot to make sure I'm attempting to fed them a balanced diet, but they aren't digging it at the moment. All I can do is keep trying!!
They love to play outside. They love pushing and getting in and out of their cozy coupe trucks. Swinging. We love watching the birds eat the bird food we put in our bird feeder. They love air planes and helicopters. The water hose is a number one fave on our 95 plus degree weather days. Frozen obsessed, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Special Agent Oso, and Little Einsteins top our favorite shows to watch.
I think that hitting 18 months is a wake up call to change up our routine a bit. I want to be the best parent I can be to these two, some days, I feel like I don't know how. There are days where I feel like a rock star, but lately, they are few and far between. They are definitely growing out of the baby phase and into the toddler stage and I need to catch up with them. We have lots of fun planned for these summer months so let's hope we can keep on truckin', have lots of fun and maybe cut out a few trantrums here and there by learning a few new words!
