Mobility, Communiction & Picky Eating, OH MY!

I think it's been about a month since my last post, and realistically, that may be the average going forward. The trio just turned 13 months yesterday, and wow, are we busy! I believe my Toddler 411 book calls this age "unstoppable" and my friend with twins and one on the way referred to it as "mobile without a brain." Both are true. :-) They operate at only two speeds: moving or sleeping. That's it.

Fully mobile! All three are basically walking. Charlotte is somewhat steady and walks about 80% of the time. Sean resembles a drunken sailor and walks about half the time. Luke just took off last week and can take a few steps, then falls headlong onto whatever surface he's on. He's undeterred however, and gets up right away to try again. There are lots of bruises, carpet burns and the like. We've also ramped up the babyproofing with additional gates and thanks to Luke, our future engineer, we've had to find ways to secure every door, drawer, television panel and knob within reach (and the reach gets higher every day!)

We have communication! There is definitely two-way communication going, which is SO fun. They will follow a few basic instructions such as "go get the ball!" and will sometimes sign "more" if I ask them if they would like more bananas at dinner. Charlotte is the leader in the sign language department, regularly signing more, all done, eat and milk. This communication is in NO way to be interpreted as cooperation, however. Each diaper change and/or change of clothing resembles either a wrestling match or battle in a small war. We've also entered the phase of willful disobedience. Frequently we enter a vicious cycle of one of them doing something they shouldn't, mommy saying "no" and redirecting them to another activity, only looking back to see Baby #2 doing the same thing! Redirect Baby #2, look back...you get the idea! The most maddening thing is that they smile this devilish little smile as they begin doing the "naughty" thing. On a positive note, we do have rousing games of "I'm going to get you!" that we play around the kitchen island or the family room chair. Sean has even learned how to look UNDER the chair to see which way you're coming and go the other way! I've never heard him laugh as hard as he does when we play that.

Picky eater emerging! Sean is the early developer here...usually the really picky eating doesn't begin until about 18 months. Unfortunately Sean has developed his taste buds early, and now very forcefully voices his displeasure if he's unhappy with the menu for that meal. He also displays this disappointment with an emphatic throwing of said food to the floor. We've learned to hide the preferred foods (usually bread or a banana) from sight until he has eaten the less popular (usually vegetable) item, because he can recognize them on the table and will then scream until they are served. Too smart!!!

That's all I can think of for now, plus Sean has decided that he did not require an afternoon nap today, so I'm off to entertain him until the others wake up. Hope to post again soon, but if not, we'll see ya at 14 months!