17 Months!

17 months! almost a year and a half!? Are you kidding me?? The girls have really grown this past month. All of a sudden - besides being TODDLERS and not babies, ever moreso - they've just filled out a bit, perhaps the only babies on the proverbial block to be (slightly) chubbier as toddlers than they were were as infants. According to the scale at the St. Louis children's museum, they are about 19.5 and 20.5 lbs now - a huge jump on the growth chart - but they won't get "officially" weighed for a few more weeks.

And tall! They're getting so tall. I think theyre close to 31 inches  I think 12 month might be our shortest lived size. Just 2 (ok, maybe 3) months after outgrowing their snug-fit cotton 9 mo pjs, we're starting to reach the ends of the 12 mo ones. Still plenty of room in their fleece pjs, but wow! I think it is safe to say they're a solid 12 mo size right now, but we cheat in baggy 18 mo shirts from small brands like the Kohl's Sonoma and Jumping Beans and Target's Circo because they're seasonally appropriate hand-me-downs (& they need the length). They can still squeeze into a lot of 9 mo onsies, but we really don't bother. I don't like to work to get the kids snapped in; a little baggy is easier.

They're SO clearly learning new words every day - elbow, knee, toe, and Emily in the week before Christmas. And they suddenly are taking interest in the TV. I guess it is time to turn it off when we don't, uh, need it for entertainment (the whole no-screen-time thing? went out the window when we both needed to get ready for work and they were no longer happy wacking rattles on the floor).

Amusingly, they still love the jumper (probably because unlike a few months ago, they're heavy enough now to really make it bounce) and will sometimes bounce "together" (one in it, one outside of it). Quinn in particular loves to dance, and while they both like books and frequently "read" to themselves or demand you read to them, Avery is particularly obsessed.

They're eating is improving (though I admit they're suckers for baked goods, especially Avery), but they still get a lot of their calories from milk, probably 20+ oz a day most days. We probably need to offer a more varied diet, but that's a project for all of us for the new year. They eat better at daycare than at home a lot of the time....power of peer pressure.

Sleep has been good, knock on wood and all. They sleep 7:30-6:30, give or take 30 min on either end, most of the time (unless sick, then it all goes to hell), and usually nap 11:45-1:45, give or take 30 minutes.