18 Month Checkup

The boys had their 18-month checkup a couple of weeks ago, and I’d been meaning to post their stats.

Ace (AKA Baby A), who was born at just 3 pounds 11 ounces, is now 21 pounds 5 ounces (5th percentile) and 31″ tall (10th percentile).  In true Cronck fashion, his head is 48.5 cm and in the 75th percentile.  Ha ha!!

Nate (AKA Baby B), who weighed in at a mere 4 pounds 7 ounces at birth, is now 25 pounds 9 ounces (50th percentile) and 31.5″ tall (25th percentile).  And again, true to Cronck form, his head is a whopping 49.5 cm (90th percentile).  Gotta have a place to keep all those brains!

They are at or above average in all of their milestones.  They really have never been delayed in any of their development.  Seeing as they were born 9 weeks premature, it’s incredible that they have done so well in their progress.

They are both so smart.  They have tons of “baby signs” that they use, including:

• eat
• drink
• milk
• more
• please
• thank you
• dog
• flower
• fish
• elephant
• horse
• help
• frog
• bird
• diaper
• book
• no
• yes
• different

They also have a lot of words now.  Between the two of them, they say things like:

• mama
• dada
• tata (for Calista)
• hi
• bye
• nice
• bath
• ball
• outside
• uh-oh
• bum
• up
• no
• meow
• moo
• book

I know they have a lot more, that’s just off the top of my head.

Ace is really silly.  He likes to make funny sounds.  He often quacks, clucks or makes kissy noises.  He will irritate Nate by poking him with one finger while making a clucking noise — it’s hilarious!  He also likes to bat his eyelashes at me, or make what we call a stinkface, which is just a cute face with his eyes and nose scrunched up.  He loves to climb and do head stands (I have actually seen him walk his feet up the wall to do a complete head stand) and you’ve got to keep an eye on him because he loves to take off running when he gets the chance (like if the front door is open — yikes!).  He also really enjoys reading books and having you read books to him.  He’s a bit of a sports fan already, and he throws his hands in the air and yells, “Score!” when he sees sports on TV or when he is throwing a ball.

Nate is a giggler.  A friend of ours watching him recently and said he giggles like a girl, and it’s true.  He has a deeper voice, but a high-pitched giggle and he’s so ticklish!  He is so funny when he says, “No”.  I can’t really describe it…  I will have to get a video.  It’s kind of a long, drawn out, deep “Nooooooooo?” and it’s very cute.  He also likes to say, “nice” but when he does it, he does this funny head/upper body wiggle and draws it out like, “niiiiiiiiiiiiice”.  He often says it when you’re changing his diaper, which is pretty hilarious.  He loves his bear blanket and I have seen him hugging and kissing his bear on many occasion.  He is my snuggly baby and he likes to cuddle with me.  He also LOVES game shows — especially Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud.  He guesses letters and claps when Wheel of Fortune is on, and he laughs and claps at Family Feud.  Occasionally, he also yells, “Oooh!” like “I can’t believe it!” when he’s watching.  It’s extremely cute.

They are a challenge to keep up with and out of trouble, but a complete blessing and a joy, too.  I don’t think there’s anything more incredible than being a mom of twins, and knowing how long we waited for these little guys and how much we went through to get them here and safe makes it all that much more amazing.  It’s so exciting to see them grow and change, but a little bittersweet, too.