18 Months and 3 Years!

 A sweet moment captured on terrible phone picture. The boys were sharing iPod earphones.

After months of illnesses, we were finally able to attend well-check visits for Ian and Joseph in late June. (after canceling them because of illness 5 times in a month and a half!)

Here are the stats:

Ian
Weight: 32 1/2  lbs, 50%
Height: 38 1/2 inches, 60%

Joseph 
Weight: 26 lbs, 45%
Height: 33 1/2 inches, 70%
Head: 18 3/4 inches, 40%

It would appear that Ian is just about average and that Joseph is a little on the tall and lean side. We think they are just perfect.

Now for some funny stuff they have been saying....

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Today at swim lessons, the instructor showed the kids pictures of safe swim behavior and explained that life vests help you float and keep you safe. To which Ian replied "But if you mow the lawn, you will probably get sunburned."

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Joseph and Ian have been swapping booster seats lately, usually at Ian's request (read: demand) Joseph is usually will to give in but on one occasion he refused to give Ian back his booster seat after they had already switched once. So Ian said "Joseph, I am going to throw you in the lion's den and shut the door!" When I gave him a "look" he added "I am going to throw you in the lions den with your string cheese and then shut the door!"

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We put the side on Ian's crib at a lower level and now he loves to climb in by himself. Usually he asks us to leave the room so he can do it completely by himself which I guess means no one watching. 

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At Scott's encouragement I am now demanding privacy while using the restroom. The boys don't love being shut out and Ian has been known to bang his head on the door til he has a nose bleed. Joseph usually just sobs until I come out. But lately Ian will peek his head in the door and say either "can I leave you alone mom?" or "do you want privacy, mom?" and then lock and shut the door. Joseph loves to say "privacy" (pie-sissy).

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Joseph is becoming quite the contrarian. If we tell him it's not funny to scream at the table, he declares "It iiiiizzz sunny a skuh-weem a payble". If Ian tells Joseph that he loves Taylor Swift's song more, Joseph says "No it iiiiiizzz me a song." Sometimes a general "It iiiiizzzzz" is enough to get the boys arguing about nothing in particular for several loud minutes. UPDATE: Now Joseph says "It wiwy iiiiizzzzz!"

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Scott sent Ian upstairs to bring Joseph down for dinner. I was astonished when a few minutes later I saw Ian and Joseph holding hands and walking down the stairs, both grinning widely. Ian said "Look! Me and Joseph are like missionaries!"

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The boys had a nasty habit of fighting over food at the table. But during one peaceful meal, I realized what was really going on. Ian suddenly said, "Joseph! We forgot to do MINE!" and then he hugged his sippy cup tight to his chest and shouted "Mine!" Joseph copied it and they started shouting "mine!" back and forth at the top of their lungs. It was a game all along. How charming.

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Joseph still doesn't like it when I sing. But a few nights ago I was consciously trying to take my time with his nighttime routine and gave him an extra snuggle after we prayed and before I put him in bed. That's when he said "Sing a God a God." I knew he meant "I am a Child of God" and when I began singing he didn't interrupt with a slap! It was a special moment. 

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Joseph has begun praying at meal times. (I love that Scott always begins teaching the boys things so early -- he is always right that they can rise to the new challenge) We say the words and Joseph repeats them in wispers. It usually sounds something like "Father, sank-ooo a sood (food) Sank-ooo a Daddy. Sank-ooo a Eee-uh. Sank-ooo a Mommy. Name. Jesus Christ." Then he flings his arms out really wide and you know he is done. He pretty much refuses to say Amen anymore. Unless someone else is praying and he is ready to start eating mid-prayer.

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We attended a baptism recently and Ian has been thinking a lot about it. He has been saying things like "Did the water go over Mark's face and in his nose and mouth?" (It didn't but that doesn't seem to calm Ian's fears) "Where does the water go when he is all done?" "Did Mark feel very scared when he was under the water?" He has concluded (hopefully temporarily) "I don't think I want to be baptized".  
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Ian says this when he thinks someone has been unkind: "Ouch! That hurt my feelings!"
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When Ian wants Joseph to drive his ride-on hippo down the hall behind Ian and his dumptruck, Ian will says "Joseph! Come on! Let's go run and laugh!"
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The boys have become accustomed to being carried up and down the stairs. They are efficient at doing it themselves, but if I am with them, they expect it and they have even designated hips to sit on --Joseph on the rights, Ian on the left. It's ridiculous. And my thighs and biceps are growing tired of the extra 60 lbs. So when I left Joseph, crying at the top of stairs, to make his own way down, he wailed and carried on for at least 5 minutes. Ian got up from playing cars, disappeared and then reappeared at the bottom of the stairs a few minutes later. He was beaming and declared "I just gave Joseph a hug and then he stopped crying!" This might be the first hug he's ever given Joseph -- Ian usually sits on Joseph to show his affection. Again today "Joseph was feeling sad on the stairs" and Ian suddenly got an excited look on his face and raced up the stairs to hug Joseph. And again Joseph immediately stopped crying and followed Ian down the stairs, while they held hands.
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Joseph is stringing more words together all the time and it is so fun to watch his language skills evolve. A few nights ago Scott was tickling Joseph's feet during dinner. But since I was closer, Joseph mistakenly thought it was me, so he laughed and said "A mommy a kickle my sweet!" (Mommy's tickling my feet!) I love that he uses an article before nearly every word.
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Joseph hasn't mastered "F", "G" or "N" sounds. So some favorite words come out a little funny: Snack (swack) Ian (Eee-uh) Binkie (Ginkie)
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Ian and Joseph (mostly Joseph) like to remove the cushions on the armchairs and pretend the chairs are cars. It drives me nuts. Why do the cushions have to be removed for them to be cars?! When I hear Joseph shout "Cah!" I know what they are about to do.
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While in Utah we scored a nice big rental car (much nicer than we had reserved!) and so we put the carseats a little farther apart than they usually are in our Camry. When we got home and they were right next to each other again Ian noticed something new about his brother: "Mom! Joseph is growing hair on his arms!" Ian sounded really proud of his brother.
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Yesterday Ian left the cars he was playing with for a minute and walked over to me and stroking my arm said "I am so glad you are my Mommy."
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Ian said he didn't want to push his brother off a chair because it would hurt him. "I love my Joseph too much! I don't want him to get any bad ouchies because I just love him too much." It was sweet. Never mind the fact that he shoved Joseph anyway a few minutes later.

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Ian and Scott built a creepy-crawler that winds up and inches along. Ian loved having some one-on-one time with Dad.

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While in Utah Joseph met his Great grandma and Great grandpa Pope. Out of the blue Joseph will just start chanting "Gwampa Pope! Gwampa Pope!" He also met his Uncle Don for the first time too, and is rather fond of him. "Unka Don! Unka Don!" is another popular refrain this week.
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