Aiden has been talking more and more. He’ll sing “Clean Up Clean Up” when I start singing it too, but the only part he says is “Clean up, Clean Up”. What’s fun is they all start looking around for something to clean up. Aiden is doing awesome with repeating words, but we still have some work to do on the screaming. I’m telling you if Aiden isn’t screaming then he must be sleeping. He is doing much better, but I think that is because we’ve started trying to help him with words. Also we’ve started putting him in time out on a more consistent basis especially when he hits. He started hitting a lot more, and even hitting us so that’s when I said “WHOA!” and put him sitting in a corner for time out. Now we’ll try to get up and get in my lap for love, but I sit him back down, and sometimes we do that the entire minute, but sometimes he sits and just cries. Sometimes he starts laughing when he goes in time out. Plus we have three other kiddos that like to come hang out around the time out corner so sometimes I have to get them to go away because they’ll start crying when he is crying. Yesterday Aiden spent about five minutes in time out because every time he’d get out he’d go back and hit someone else right away so it was back to the corner we’d go. Aiden likes to climb up on the sofa, but that isn’t surprising since he was the only one so far to climb out of his crib. We’re working on not throwing food as well. Aiden and Carolyn are our two worst at throwing food. Well Max too I guess. They’re all bad at food throwing except Alexis. Anyway when they start throwing food I try to take all the food off their tray, and when they start to throw the sippy cup I tell them no and to put it down. 40% of the time they listen, which isn’t great, but it’s better than the 0% we were at. Small blessings. I count them. Recently we had hearing checks and Aiden passed his with flying colors. Then we had to take him to the Urgent care because he was coughing again. He has croup and an ear infection so we’re treating him with antibiotics and an oral steroid. The steroid must be disgusting because he spits it out every single time. We’re on day 3 of giving it and we have yet to be able to get him to take the entire dose. He even gets it from way in the back of his cheek and spits it. Aiden weighed 25 lbs when he was weighed at his appointment on Thursday.
Maxwell is still not talking much at home. He gives the very best hugs though. He wraps his arms around my neck and just squeezes tight. Love those hugs. He is still a huge fan of Mickey Mouse, and will smile when we point out MM to him. He still enjoys the choo choo wagon, and loves going to daycare. In the daycare newsletter I read Max is saying please and thank you. I’ve yet to be able to get him to say it. I don’t know how they do it! Max likes to play where he runs off and you go catch him. During his appointment to have his ears tested (he passed all hearing exams even with an ear infection) he ran faster than I was expecting and I really had to run to catch him. He laughs and laughs when he is playing keep away. He enjoys collecting things, and will sometimes have a problem fitting everything he wants to carry in his hands. He doesn’t take things from the others as much as Aiden, and I think that’s because when things are taken from him he is devastated. He’s been pulling hair less, and I haven’t noticed him pulling his hair at all in the recent weeks. I’m hoping it is a phase he has grown out of. At the 18 month appointment Max was the heaviest, and had the largest head. 
The nurse wasn’t sure how accurate that was so she re-measured Aiden’s head. Aiden’s head is wide so everyone things his is the biggest, but Max’s is longer so his actually ends up being the biggest. Max is also our guy that likes to take things and move them. He will fill the stairs behind the gate with toys so when you open it a flood of toys falls down. Sometimes it’s clothes that we’ve piled up in the corner to be washed and he’ll move it from one pile to another. It’s cute til you look up and there is a giant mess all over the place. I pick my battles and that’s not one of them so I just let him play and clean it up later.
Alexis was 22 lbs at her 18 month check up and is doing the best developmentally. She is also the tallest. She hasn’t been speaking much at home so we’ve been taking away her paci more at home to get her to talk more. She especially likes to “read” books, and for us to point out things in the book to tell her what they are. She’ll watch our mouths and listen to the words. Sometimes she tries to repeat the word, and sometimes she just talks quadanese. She’s our most helpful out of everyone. She brings us diapers, she takes the crying baby their favorite toy or sippy cup, and she even finds everyone’s shoes in the morning and brings them to us when we’re getting socks on. She still loves her Cattie, and enjoys listening to singing. She’ll often dance when music is on or when I’m singing she’ll sway back and forth. She’s not a big fan of getting dressed at night and will sometimes fight us. She’d much rather run around in just a diaper. She still takes things from everyone, but is doing great at giving them back. She sometimes will try and trade something for what she wants. She is usually not very successful with the trade though since whatever she wants is being played with. Andy was playing with them downstairs one day when Max had a washcloth. Alexis took it, and of course Andy made her give it back. Andy went into another room for something and when he came back in Alexis had the washcloth. She looked right and Andy and screamed “MINE!”. We’re in a bit of trouble with that little one. Bossy and sassy. Oh joy.
Carolyn is still the little peanut of the family. She is the shortest, and weighs the least. She is also the one with the most attitude. That hasn’t changed, and I don’t see it changing anytime in her lifetime. She is still the one that cries the most because she gets bullied the most. Being the smallest it’s easy to steal things from her, push her down, and lay on top of her. She’s running and climbing and repeating more words at home. She says please and thank you. She also says hi, bye, and weeeee! Yesterday She was sitting in a box when Andy started pushing it around she was having so much fun until he pushed it too hard and she fell over. She cried and he had to take her and comfort her. Poor little. She scrambles up the steps and tries to walk up them too, but she also tries to go down them. I’m not ready for that though so usually I just carry her down. She likes to dance and play peek a boo. She also still cries in her sleep from time to time. She passed some of her hearing tests, but also failed some as well. She can hear, but due to the fluid in her ears she hears muffled sounds. She is scheduled to have tubes placed in her ears on Thursday. We’re praying for a quick painless recovery. Everyone knows the beast isn’t shy about speaking her complaints. Last week at her ENT appointment she laid on the floor and screamed because I took her bag of fruit snacks to hand her one. Never fails to embarrass me at least once in public when I take her some where.
The Boys Fighting
The Girls Shopping
