21 Months

Landon and Elliot are now 21 months old. They are becoming quite independent and I am getting a small preview of the "terrible twos." Although they like to cause a little trouble every once in while, they are usually such sweet boys. When I give them something to eat or drink, I tell them to go share with their brother and they almost always do. They are great friends. The first word out of their mouth when they wake up is the other's name. One of their favorite games right now is to blow kisses to us and they laugh when we catch the kisses. It's the last thing we do before they go to bed each night. They are also showing more interest in singing. We have been going to a weekly music class for a while, and they are starting to participate in the songs more. They are learning the songs and even request certain songs at bedtime, especially "Wee Ooo" (interpreted as the fire truck song.) In the past few weeks, I have also noticed them humming their ABC's. They love to brush their teeth, especially since getting singing toothbrushes from Ian for Christmas. They also love to help me in the kitchen by throwing things in the garbage, "sweeping the floor", and unloading the dishwasher. Their favorite is helping with the dishes (a.k.a - playing in the water and making a big mess.)

Landon has become even more obsessed with cars in the past couple of months. He typically has five cars cradled in his arm, one or two in his other hand and one in his mouth. Although he is great friends with Elliot, he really enjoys his independent play time. Landon loves to line his cars up, but he keeps a constant look out for Elliot to come and take them away. He has gotten really good at gathering them all up before Elliot can get to him. Landon gives great hugs. I tell him to give me squeezes and he gives me a big hug with a little grunt. Since he was born, Landon has always been a mover and that hasn't changed. I often see him stop what he is doing and start swinging his arms around or moving his feet from side to side. Once Elliot notices, they both spend the next 15 minutes running in circles around the room, giggling the whole time. Landon is learning more words everyday and it is so fun to watch him enjoy life.

Elliot is talking so much and I am surprised each day at words he knows. When we read books, he will point out and say all the items he knows. In the past few weeks, he has started to develop his independence and says "no" to almost everything I ask him. The sound of the "no" is very sweet, but it is still a "no." Sometimes it is hard not to laugh. Elliot is very aware of when others are getting all the attention and he will often try to take over the spotlight. Sometimes, it is sweet and innocent, but other times it involves stealing toys or giving a little push. It is interesting to watch that independence emerge from him and realize it will never really leave.

I made Play dough for the first time and the boys didn't know what to think of it. They liked it, but may be a bit young for it still. Luckily, Dallin and Steven came over to play to show us how it's done.

Three Sundays ago, Elliot woke up with this crazy rash all over his arms and legs. It quickly got worse and after a trip to the Urgent Care, he was diagnosed with Chicken Pox. Because he had the vaccine, he had a mild case and it wasn't too painful for any of us. Elliot was happy and barely seemed to notice the sores unless I pointed them out. Luckily, Landon never got it.

We got a pass to the Mobius Children's Museum. It is very small, but their is plenty for them to do and explore. These plasma cars are a favorite. We usually go with their our friends, Amy and Abbie. It is a great indoor activity for these cold months. Elliot and Abbie are battling for a spot on the track in the picture above.

This is also another favorite. They love playing with the boats in the water.

And, because I know how much the grandparents love them, here are some more videos.

E wheely from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

L cars in a row from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

L & E acting crazy from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

words from book from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Snowboarding with the Priests

Brooks gets to work with the priests at church which he loves. He especially enjoys it when they go out to the snow for their activity and he can snowboard. They took some snowmobiles up to Mt. Spokane and used them to pull them up after each run down.

Videos

L soccer throw in from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Brooks was a proud father when he saw that Landon can do a proper soccer throw-in. Elliot tried as well, but his arms weren't long enough to get it over his head. Haha!

E puzzle from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Elliot likes to do puzzles and he getting pretty good at them. I love how proud he is after completing each piece and how he looks to me for praise. What a great little smile he has!

L lining up cars from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Landon loves cars! Elliot on the other hand likes bothering Landon while he is playing with cars. Landon will get his cars all lined up and then Elliot will come along to mess up all the work. When Landon sees Elliot coming, he tries to scoop everything up before Elliot can get to it. It is very normal to see Landon carrying two cars in one hand, five cars cradled in his other arm and one car in his mouth. He can even get up the stairs like that.

E words from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Elliot is saying so many words now. I took this video a couple weeks ago and he is saying way more words now. When we read books he will name the objects/animals he knows.

L words from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Landon is also learning a lot more words. He will try and repeat a lot of the words I say to him, but it usually sounds like the same word he said the time before. It is so fun to watch them learn.

L & E with trains from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

They got these GeoTrax for Christmas and they love them!

Uh-oh tracks from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

They love to push the trains around and occasionally even use the remote control feature. I love this video because it shows a typical event with the train tracks. Somebody messes up the tracks and gets frustrated because they can't quite fix it yet. I love the "uh-oh" from Landon when he realizes what he did.

R crawling from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Ryder is crawling all over the place now, even up stairs. One of the funniest parts of this video is Elliot in the background. He gets jealous of me recording Ryder, so he starts to crawl towards me. Then he has to start pulling on Ryder's ear to get my attention.

running on beach from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

They loved being able to run wherever they wanted while at the beach.

Seaside Beach House

Over MLK weekend we were invited to go to Seaside, Oregon. Samantha and Jeremiah have a family friend with a place there and we were able to enjoy a fun weekend away with them and Forrest and Kristi. It was chilly and rainy most of the time we were there, but we did have a few patches of sunshine. The place we stayed was a short walk from the beach, which was perfect. While we were there, we toured the Tillamook Cheese factory, drove up and down the coast a bit, checked out Cannon Beach, went to Astoria, drove on the beach, ate lots of yummy food and endured a few sleepless nights. This was the first road trip we have gone on where the DVD player came in handy. They were actually interested in watching it and it was a great way to fill some time when they got bored. Hurray for modern technology!

With the Stoddards at the beach in Seaside - Forrest and Kristi left right before we took this picture.

Landon playing with his new friend, HelenAnn

Tillamook Cheese Factory - I couldn't resist getting their first "face through the cut-outs" picture.

Landon trying to stay warm. It was cold this day.

Elliot has learned how useful pockets are to keep his hands warm.

Harrison, Landon and Elliot all loved digging in the sand and running around Cannon Beach. Harrison is our next door neighbor who refers to Landon and Elliot as "the Ballas." We don't know where the name came from, but he has called them that for at least 6 months. They have a lot of fun together.

On Sunday, we drove to Astoria and checked out the Astoria Column. We climbed 165 steps (or something like that) up a spiral staircase and got a great view. It was windy at the top and Landon hated it.

Part of The Goonies was filmed in Astoria. This is the Goonies house. They must get a lot of visitors because there is a sign welcoming Goonies fans.

The sleeping arrangements were a little tight and when our early risers got up in the morning we hung out in our bedroom to avoid waking up a sleeping house.

This is the beach house

One of their favorite things to do was find shells to show us.

I am not sure what he is pointing at, but it must be something good.

Before we headed back home, we spent the morning at the beach tempting the waves to come and get us and then running away at the last second. Elliot thought this was a great game, but Landon decided all the excitement was a little too much for him to handle and sat this one out. The weather was perfect and we were wishing we could stay just a bit longer.

We had a great view of Mt. Hood on the drive home.

On the drive back, we stopped at Multnomah Falls. Brooks took some pictures and we let the boys run around and stretch their legs.