Both kids continue to be excellent sleepers. Vaughan has given up naps completely and Rheya is down to one nap after lunch. They both go to bed easily and stay in bed all night (except for the occasional trip to the potty for Vaughan).

Rheya still doesn’t have many teeth. As far as we can tell, she only has the front eight teeth…four on top and four on bottom. She’s not very cooperative, so it’s hard to look in her mouth to see if there are any others. She’s been acting unusually grouchy, so maybe there are some more teeth on the way. She’ll be 18 months old next month and we’ll see how much she has grown since her 15-month appointment at the pediatrician’s office. Last time she was a pound lighter than she had been at her one-year appointment, so we’re hoping she has put on a good deal of weight to keep the doctor happy. She eats well and is learning and imitating all the time. She still doesn’t say any recognizable words, but she has been doing several signs for many months now, so she still can communicate very effectively.

Vaughan is a little chatterbox. He narrates his entire day…it’s like a running commentary of everything that’s happening. And, in case you missed anything, he’ll be happy to fill you in! His vocabulary is huge, but his pronunciation is not where it should be. So, he was attending speech therapy this past spring and will continue with it in the fall. He loves the computer and is very good at figuring out anything that has to do with technology. He has a very good memory for games and how to use any electronic gizmo you put in front of him. He can do mazes for an hour and then still want more! He also loves riding his bike with Daddy and going to breakfast with Daddy on Saturday mornings. It’s their special one-on-one time!

I take A LOT of pictures of the kids and here are a few of my recent faves.

It’s reversible with Batman on one side and Superman on the other. Once again, my machine embroidery skills are pretty pathetic, but from a distance it looks great and Vaughan thinks it’s pretty cool!

Vaughan was always so cautious and rarely took risks of any kind. It took him a long time to feel comfortable enough to leave my side when we went to public places like the library or the playground and he tried out new skills very slowly and with much encouragement.

Rheya, however, is a completely different story. She wanders off the second her feet hit the floor. She goes right up to other kids to play with them, and now…she has discovered climbing! The other day in the bathroom she got up on Vaughan’s little step stool and gave me the proudest look I’ve ever seen. It was cute, but terrifying all at the same time. Then, at the park, she climbed up four stairs on the playground equipment. Yikes! Then, today, she climbed up on the rocking chair in the bedroom and might have climbed up onto Vaughan’s bed if I had given her the opportunity. Will I survive this?