Luke and Ella turned 16 months this August. They're running, talking up a storm, trying to eat with utensils (not going so well), and getting into lots of trouble. And we're enjoying every minute of it. It's so entertaining to watch them grow and development. They learn new things every day, it seems.

Luke is so curious and inquisitive. He loves to take things apart, open drawers, doors, and cabinets. He also loves to screw the handles and knobs off drawers and dressers. If he can get into the bathroom, he goes straight for the baby shampoo and toothpaste. I was just thinking the other day that if he has a few seconds, he could really do a number on our carpet armed with those two items. And what do you know, the very next day as I was changing Ella's diaper, he had about 30 seconds and put them to good use. He opened the bathroom door (problem #1 to fix), climbed on the toilet (climbing is scary), grabbed the baby shampoo (I know, it could have been something much worse), found a nice hidden corner so as not to be noticed, unscrewed the lid on the shampoo (darn those newly dexterous fingers) and started dumping the shampoo on the carpet. All done with a great amount of stealth and craftiness. Honestly, he didn't make a peep. But, that's usually my first clue that he's up to something. I noticed the alarming silence and immediately began the hunt. I found him hiding behind the guest bed, not visible from the hall (he's too smart.) He knew he was in trouble, but I could tell he was so pleased to get away with it for a few seconds. And it is the first really naughty thing he's done. I couldn't get too upset. We just took the shampoo back to the bathroom and closed the door, again.

Luke loves to do the actions for "Patty-Cake" and "Itsy-Bitsy Spider." He loves his blanket that Mimi gave him and always sleeps with it. He still loves books. Luke still loves his "Signing Time" videos. He really picks it up quickly these days.

He signs: duck, dog, cat, giraffe, lion, tiger, horse, bird, cheese, milk, water, outside, bean, melon, apple, cereal, more, cracker, grapes, rain, thunder, wind, sky, bug, flower, bath, wash hands, brush teeth, rock, train, bike, car, airplane, please, thank you.

He says: duck, quack, kitty, meow, moo, hello, milk, juice (juuuuuu), outside (side-side), shoes, go, Mimi, Papa, momma, dada, all done (ah-don), truck, tractor, airplane (hair-pay), cracker, moon, sun, sky, bug, apple, peach, grapes, nose, eyes, mouth, teeth, knee, night-night (nigh-nigh), rock, Amen (men-men), share, turn (as in "my turn"), ball, baby, bike, slide, no, diaper.

He's a very good eater. Both Luke and Ella like to try to eat with a spoon or fork. But, often can't get anything on the spoon. And if they do, they can't get a good aim at their mouth. It's a pretty messy process still. They often revert back to fingers, while holding the utensil in the other hand. But, I try to let them try at least one meal a day. Luke loves peaches, bananas, cantaloupe, grapes, green beans, yogurt and peas. And when I say "loves", I mean, he'd eat them all day every day if I let him.

He has all his teeth. His molars and eye teeth (that's 8 teeth total) all came in at the same time. Poor kid. It was not fun. So he had all his teeth before he turned 16 months. The dentist was impressed.

His favorite thing is to be outside. His new favorite fascination is with tractors, trucks, trains, computers, and the slides at the park. He climbs up the stairs and goes down the slide all by himself and gets such a kick out of it. Such a boy!

Ella is our girly-girl. She is a talker, we just aren't sure what language she speaks. She jabbers and giggles all day. She's a very expressive girl. Really happy, or really sad. She also loves to do the actions for "Patty-Cake" and "Itsy-Bitsy Spider." She loves to dance in circles and surprisingly, doesn't seem to get too dizzy. She runs to grab her shoes when I say, "outside." She loves to walk outside and go up and down the stairs at the playground. However, she does not like to swing or go down the slides, just likes to climb stairs and walk around at the park. Not a high-adventure girl. But that's more than okay with mom and dad. She does love to be chased. Ever since she's been a tiny baby and aware that there's another baby around. She's always gotten a thrill out of him moving toward her, whether he meant to or not. Now, he can send her screaming giddily down the hall with one step in her direction. And he doesn't even have to follow. She never looks back. She just loves the idea that someone is after her.

She is also a good eater. She loves strawberries, grapes, raspberries, cheese, yogurt and green beans. Although cheese is the all-time fave. She's my little mouse. They both love oatmeal and yogurt mixed together. They've eaten this every day for breakfast for the past 5 or 6 months. And they never get tired of it. Every morning they whine for it until the spoon hits their tongue. And then again if I don't shovel it in fast enough. (I haven't let them try the spoon on their own at breakfast time yet; maybe soon.)

Ella loves Signing Time too. However, not quite as obsessed with it as Luke is.

She can sign: dog, cat, giraffe, horse, bird, cheese, grapes, milk, water, bean, cereal, more, cracker, wash hands, rock, please, thank you, flower, bug, wind.

She can say: duck, quack, kitty, meow, moo, hi, outside (side), upstairs (ushare) shoes, go, Mimi, Papa, momma, dada, all done (ah-don), nose, eyes, mouth, teeth, knee, Amen (Ehhhhh), ball, car, baby, bug, cheese, grapes, juice (juuuuu), no, yes.

Although, I'm sure she's completely fluent in some language I'm not familiar with. I just haven't figured it out yet. Her favorite word these days is "Hi." Every time she or someone else walks into the room she has to say, "Hiiiiii!" It's pretty cute. One day she got stuck on "Hi kitty". But it was more like, "Hiiiii keeeey. Hiiiii keeeeey. Hiiiiii keeeeey," for about 5 minutes.

This month she had a high fever one day and didn't feel well at all. She just wanted to sit on our lap all day and refused to be dressed. We could hardly get her to eat anything but a few grapes, some cheese (of course) and water. She finally let me put her down on the couch (she was so hot to hold, both of us were sweaty) and she finally fell asleep with her grapes and water. Poor girl, it was a pretty dramatic show of lethargy.

When she was born and in the NICU, the nurses all called her "the princess" and "drama queen" because she could get so upset so quickly, but then settle down pretty quickly too. Any little thing could cause an upset Ella, especially her feeding tube. She pulled it out several times a day in the NICU and so also earned the nickname "Crafty." Little did I know, the drama queen part would stick with her. Thankfully up to this point, it's only her brother that's "crafty." (This picture is not so cute, but it demonstrates her dramatic, "wo is me" face she has pulled since the very beginning.)

Ella is a bit behind in the teeth department. She had only 6 for a long time, and then the beginning of August got one upper molar. Then a week or two later got a third bottom tooth in the front. The last week of August another top molar popped through. So, she has a total of nine. But the fourth bottom front tooth should be in any day now. Her lack of teeth doesn't slow her down. She eats everything Luke eats.

We don't want summer to end. Although, sadly, we know it must. So, to ease the pain, I went bargain shopping for snowsuits and boots and found these cute little numbers at Kid to Kid. Aren't they so great? (I couldn't get Luke to stay in his snowsuit. It was 90 degrees outside.) It's the only reason I can stand the thought of winter coming, I'll get to see them dressed cute and cozy—barely able to walk and adorably squishy.

We've had so much fun going to the Zoo, working in the yard, and playing at the playground this month.

Let's hear it for Summer and being 16 months! It only happens once.