We are quickly approaching 18 months old!

Where does the time go anyway? I was horrified when I saw our last post was early Feb! Life goes by so quickly and I just wish sometimes we could hit the slow motion button once in a while...especially since these little guys are just so cuddly, cute, adorable, loving, full of laughter and smiles, and love to give kisses. Hopefully that never changes...even in the teenage years.

We are just right on the brink of hearing some words from these little guys and then look out...we will be those parents repeating "just because" over and over and over as the boys ask "why?" to everything under the sun. The boys are currently babbling and singing all day long. Christopher has mastered "apple" (along with mamma and dadda of course) but he does not like to perform...everything has to be his idea so when we want him to say it he just will give us his shy look and refuse to do it. Nathan is working on words but has not really mastered anything other than mamma and dadda. Nathan seems to prefer sign language and has learned a few more words to sign and uses them more regularly than Christopher. In fact, Nathan loves to sign thank you whenever he takes something from Christopher...as if that makes it ok. Christopher has a tendency to use his sign language only when he really wants something. We have been having a great time teaching them new little tricks such as signing for TOUCHDOWN (compliments of his Uncle Brian during their recent visit to Florida), I have taught them to "knock on wood" so they will start knocking on their head. Our nanny, Valerie has really started to enjoy her IPhone applications, including a sign language application which has been very helpful in improving the boys' "vocabulary" in this area.

Another not so fun issue is the fighting between these two boys. My goodness!! They seem to fight over EVERYTHING!! Most of the time they will just scream and cry at each other but they have sometimes started to either bite or push each other which leads to a very quick time out. The double time out is a little challenging since I only have 1 pack n play (aka Jail) downstairs. The other day during a double time out following a round of fighting I had to get a little creative. As many parents have told me in the past....corners are the best time out places ever since you can always find a corner anywhere you are. Well, Nathan was sent to Jail since he was the biter in this round and Christopher was placed in the corner since he retaliated by pushing Nathan straight down to the ground. Nathan crys immediately when he is in trouble. Christopher is more inclined to test to see just how much trouble he is in. Christopher learned very quickly he was in big trouble since he tried to get up and I had to turn on the "mean mommy voice" which convinced him very quickly it was time to sit right back down. :-) Of course, it is so hard for me not to laugh but I am starting to get a little stronger in this area since I know I have to master the discipline so the boys do not learn how to master me. Personally, I think they are sitting in their cribs discussing the ways to manipulate little situations so they can master me so I have my work cut out for me.

Christopher currently looks like he is a member of baby fight club. He must sneak out during the night to meet up with the neighborhood fighters and lately, he has not been winning. Since Christopher has two speeds: extra fast and sleep mode....he tends to get hurt quite often. We were at the gym the other day and he found a way to fall on a ramp leading to a nasty bruise on his cheek. The following day he and his little car had a small argument and the result was Christopher laying on the ground with the car on top of him. During this time he managed to hit his head on the pavement which left a huge goose egg and subsequent buise on his forehead and one above his left eyebrow. I am sure people look at me and think I am beating the poor child but I just shower him with kisses...he just finds every way to injure himself. Hopefully his tendency for accidents will decrease as he gets older. I am crossing every finger and toe as I type (I am very talented) since I am terrified he will eventually break something...probably from jumping off the roof (God would have a great sense of humor with this since Brian and I both did this when we were kids but never had any serious injuries) or from playing airplane out of a tree. Time to start cutting down the trees now or just putting him in a padded bubble to keep him safe.

The other big news in the Li household is that we have now enrolled the boys in preschool. We received a recommendation from a friend and completed the tour this last week. I was not only way impressed with the entire program but I also felt old as dirt. No more chalk boards, they are using the smart boards which are electronically driven. Kindergartners are now using computers. I just wish I could have all the time I spent learning the darn Dewey Decimal System in school back since that could buy me some great time. I think poor the poor Dewey cards have been shredded for years. The teachers at St. Marks seem to be very caring and it is quite obvious they love their jobs. The boys will start in August and go three half days a week. I will probably cry the entire first week since my babies are growing up too fast.

Have a great weekend and we will post pictures soon!
Love
Robin, Will, Christopher, and Nathan