"18 months and almost 4"

This is the response I give at least once a day as people inquire about the ages of my babies. These are precious days -

- Noelle is a little kissing machine. Today she repeatedly kissed my shoulder. If Isaiah's crying, she's quick to kiss him. She kisses her baby doll, her stuffed dog, the crying-baby page in her "Babies" board book, her spoon, my leg, etc.

- Isaiah's little mind is always going, and anything he hears, he remembers and applies. This morning I was telling him about how we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. We were talking about how mosquitoes (which have been more than a minor irritation lately!!) are attracted to carbon dioxide. Hours later, Isaiah piped up from the back seat, suggesting that lions must attract a lot of mosquitoes because they breathe out a lot of carbon dioxide in their big roar.

- Noelle has started putting words together and telling "stories." Today she said "up, please" for the first time. And her "story" today was about dropping her cup on daddy's foot this morning. As I was putting her in her crib, our conversation went like this:
N: Toe!
Me: Did you say toe?
N: Yeah. Daddy.
Me: Are you talking about dropping the cup on daddy's toe?
N: Yeah. Ouch!! (blow kisses)

- Isaiah is hovering between babyhood and boyhood. I'm not ready for babyhood to be past. But, although he's digging up snails, playing rougher, interested in transformers and playing Wii, he still sleeps with Pooh Bear, asks for kisses for any hurt (and trusts that there is healing power in my kiss), asks to be carried up the stairs at bedtime, and will still find great enjoyment in a baby einstein movie with Noelle.

- Noelle loves her "juice" (drink) and wants everyone else to have a "juice," too. If she finds Isaiah's drink and takes it to him and he refuses, she melts down in tears.

- Isaiah is learning to do all sorts of big boy things, and is so proud of the way he can use the bathroom, wash his hands, brush his teeth, shampoo his hair, buckle his carseat, and bus his dishes after meals. He loves growing up and declares often that he's not a toddler anymore - he's a preschooler!

- Noelle just got her own little red potty and she's very proud of it! She loves sitting on it, especially if her brother is using the one next to her. I don't know if she understands what it's for, but she's pretty excited about it.

- Isaiah is bursting with 4 year old energy these days, which sometimes comes out in unexpected ways, like a toy being thrown or kicked across the room. He's a pretty well-behaved little guy, so it always takes us by surprise! We've started realizing how much we need to give him physical outlets during the day, and we've been talking to him about how having a lot of energy is good, but we need to use it in positive ways!

- Noelle is a really good sleeper now. She goes down happily at about 6:30pm. We read a book, snuggle with her doggie and baby doll, I nurse her, we pray, and then we peek out the window and say goodnight to the moon and palm trees. I point the fan directly on her (to keep her comfortable and to keep the mosquitoes away), turn on her white noise machine, and say goodnight. She naps from 12:30 - 3:30.

- Although Isaiah is bursting with energy sometimes, the boy still needs his nap! He sleeps for 2-3 hours in the afternoon, and I always have to wake him up. I think the heat wears all of us out a bit.

- Noelle loves to click her tongue and get us to do it in response.

- Isaiah is really getting in to listening to cd's and trying to sing every single word of a song. He has a new cd from a woman at church, and he sits and 'sings' through the entire thing at least once a day.

- Noelle has really been wanting mommy these days, sometimes she doesn't even want me to put her down around the house. I'm pretty sure she's expecting a few more teeth. And, she only wants to be carried on my left side. She's crawled around to that side for the last few months.

- Isaiah loves watching Planet Earth, especially when he watches it with someone else, so he can talk about it. He talks so much, and people are often telling us how well he speaks. He practices a lot :) And we love to hear his voice.

- The kids like to take baths together (though it's starting to get tight!), they love to make each other laugh, they compete for the same toys or for a space on my lap, they like to feed each other, they play sleeping bunny, and they're still enjoying dance parties together. Tomorrow they are getting their 18 month and 4 years immunizations.

So many more things, but that's all I can think of right now. We're crazy about our babies! Although caring for an 18 month old and an almost-4 year old can be tiring, we cherish this time with them so much!!