The Frenches: 17 Months Old

Last week my sweet little boys turned 17 months old. I guess in part because our little Luke will be arriving soon, I've been watching lots of videos of the boys as they have grown these past 17 months. I'm just amazed to say the least. I'm so thankful God has blessed us and entrusted us with Gavin and Wyatt. I love watching their personalities take shape and learn who God made them each to be!

Some things to remember from this past month:

The boys love playing with hats this past month or two. They still really love all the same toys from last month. They've found a new joy of flashcards this month (shapes, colors and animals). They have enjoyed playing with the 'groceries' (play food) every day too. Let's just say the Frenches have been getting full on lots of imaginary food that they serve us!
They are also very much into tee-ball, golf and lacrosse; especially Gavin. Almost everything you can think of is turned into a bat, golf club, lax stick or ball. Outside we have the real tee-ball stand, balls and bats and golf clubs that they practice with and are really getting quite good at! And they of course have their own lax sticks and balls! Inside they use shovels as lacrosse sticks and drum sticks as bats (along with anything else they can think of). We recently went to a friend's house with a 9 month old little boy who had a tiny indoor baby tee-ball set. Gavin got so excited, found a ball, placed it on the stand and started to look for a bat. When he didn't find one, he picked up a tiny rattle, wiggled it around in the air and then hit the ball off the stand! Wyatt quickly found the real little bat and joined in. Just yesterday, Gavin, on his own, turned their toy giraffe that you drop little boys through into a stand using bigger balls. Using the drum sticks, the two boys have been having lots of fun practicing their swing! Gavin has also made a tee-ball stand out of his straw sippy cup, used a cheerio as a ball, and the spoon as a bat. Now that's creative! A note about lacrosse: Gavin always throws the balls behind him when playing lax. He swings and out goes the ball behind him! We went to a lax tournament with Jason this past weekend, and Gavin had so much fun with his own equipment and getting to play with daddy when daddy was all dressed up in his gear! (Wyatt's cough was too bad for him to really enjoy like he wanted to.)
Wyatt has been more of a picky eater the past couple of weeks. More than being picky, I can tell he's just learning to express that he isn't in the mood for whatever it is that he's not wanting that meal. He's discovering he has an opinion, and we're working on how to express it! It seems some days all Wyatt wants is cereal, nutrigrain bars or peanut butter with crackers. Gavin's been a hearty eater lately, or at least more than Wyatt has been. They are still too young to 'send them to bed hungry' which makes it harder in my opinion. I've be more stern during the day about them having to eat what I serve or wait to eat it until the next meal, but by dinner time, I need to make sure they have food in their bellies no matter what. We are working on this area though and not giving in to his demands for certain foods when I provide something else.
The boys are eating great with plates, bowls, spoons and forks. They aren't wanting to use their bibs any more which is fine except when they eat cereal because of some of the milk that drips off the spoon, or things like rice which also falls off easily. They are testing and picking up their plates though which they know needs to be left on the tray. They are also learning to use a real cup. They get so excited to drink like big boys. Wyatt is actually doing very well drinking from the cup!
A huge milestone... the boys are FINALLY taking better bites of things! I thought they'd be 18 years old and trying to shove the whole banana in their mouth! They still have their mouths too full in my opinion, but I know that's kind of a boy thing. But I can now hand them whole things without worrying they'd figure out how to stick it all in their mouth. Sounds simple, but I'm beyond excited! They also are doing excellent about eating snacks from an open bowl without dumping it everywhere! I can give them each a bowl of Cheerios on the floor and they will hold the bowl and eat the snacks. On top of that, they also will pick them out one at a time (sometimes) instead of always grabbing 20 and putting them in their mouth (but this is more often the case still!).
The boys have gone through a small phase of testing for a couple of weeks, but are now coming out of it again. For a while there, they would do something they wouldn't all while looking at you to see what you were going to do about it. Or they'd do it and then run off and hide around the corner. Consistency was our biggest thing this past month, and this phase seems to have passed for the moment again.
The boys are always amazing snuggles which I just love! Many times throughout the day, you could find both boys snuggled up on my lap, and always wanting/getting hugs and kisses. The past week or so though, the boys have been super snuggly and clingy. Being near me is no longer enough, they both have to be on my lap or in my arms at the same time most of the day. I'm convinced they sense some big change is about to happen!
The boys are still fascinated by letters/phonics. Each week they are learning new sounds and combinations, but still no major jumps in talking to speak of (although, they will say some new things very clearly, but then won't repeat it). Wyatt especially has taken to repeating the words he does over and over these days. I know he's wanting to carry on a conversation, so this is his only way of doing so. Throughout the day you'll hear him say things like: 'caw, caw, caw, caw, caw, caw... (for car)', 'dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog', 'mow, mow, mow, mow, mow... (for more)', etc.
We've been learning a lot about doctors this past month in preparation for my upcoming hospital visit when Luke arrives. Wyatt cries every time a doctor touches his Mama, even though he's fine when he sees the doctor. Because of this, I thought it would be a good idea to play up the doctor idea for the boys. They have doctor kits and books and love to watch 'Doc McStuffins' on Disney Jr. Wyatt is always asking to play 'docta, docta, docta'.
The boys are enjoying learning their shapes and coming along very well in differentiating them. Gavin is also trying to say a lot of their names and is doing very well. His favorite shapes to try to say are circle, oval, diamond, star and heart.
The boys are wonderful about walking with Mama hand and hand anywhere. When we go somewhere I can simply get them out of the carseat, hold their hands and we walk across the parking lot to the store, library, etc. There are many days we practice this, especially at places like Walmart or Petsmart (aka the zoo). I'll take them to the toy isle and the garden section and we'll practice the art of looking at toys and listening to Mama at the same time. Same is true at Petsmart. The boys love watching all the animals and fish for sell as well as watching the dogs get groomed. We'll go for walks around our neighborhood doing the same thing (when I'm brave enough to bare this heat/humidity).
This past month, Wyatt has been sleeping a lot during nap time unless Gavin wakes him up early. He ranges from being able to sleep 1.5-3 hours during the day (most of the time it's about 1.5 hours - 2 though). Gavin however has not been napping well; about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours max. He's completely happy throughout the day no matter what his nap schedule was that day. They are both sleeping very well at night still. Bed time is typically at 7pm these days, but sometimes if they napped well, it's more like 7:30. They sleep soundly until 5:30-6. They slowly begin to stir and are up by 6:30AM. Naps were about 11 each day, but about 2 weeks ago after they were showing signs of not being ready at 11, we've pushed naps back to 12 or 1 depending on the day (what we are doing or how they are feeling).
A couple of weeks ago we brought down all the baby equipment for Luke. The boys have enjoyed keeping it all warm and making sure it works properly!
The boys imagination continues to come alive when they play; from eating pretend food, playing cars, playing with all their 'Little People' sets, turning everything into sports equipment, etc. There are days they can entertain themselves for literally hours as they build and imagine.
Both boys have been trying to figure out how my iPad plays music and Gavin has been trying to figure out how the TV works. They look behind it, in front, behind it, in front... The looks on their faces are so cute!
They are learning some excellent dance moves these days! They practice using their feet and legs now instead of just their hips, arms and head. Also, they LOVE to sing, especially Gavin. It's the sweetest thing! I just love listening to their little voices as they get all high pitched and draw out the sounds. Gavin really loves to sing in the car.

The boys still love animals. Their favorites are still:

Both - Dogs, cows, birds and now elephants
Gavin - Sheep and now zebras
Wyatt - Ducks and monkeys
They say the words 'dog and duck' all the time and zebra is missing the z, but for the other animals, they typically call them by the sounds they make instead. Baabaas, tweet tweet, elephant sound inserted here, guack guack, eee eee, etc.

The boys love to color and draw these days. Their favorite thing to do at the library is sit at the little tables and color. This past month, they've made huge improvements in this area as well; both in coloring and learning to SIT in the little chairs, pull out only a FEW crayons and color. They see other children still sit on the table and throw crayons out and look at me like 'isn't that a no no?'. They also LOVE their Magnadoodles. Gavin especially can play with his all throughout the day. They draw, erase, draw, erase, draw, erase. We have little ones downstairs for them to use and their big ones upstairs. They love them that much!

I know I'm missing some things, but I will have to capture them another time. In a few days the boys will meet their little brother Luke! I'm so excited to see all three of my precious sons together! I'm praying for Gavin and Wyatt's heart and mind as we begin this beautiful transition. I pray they never doubt how much they are loved and cherished. My sweet little boys are soon to be big brothers!