1 Year, 5 Months

A Christmas family portrait to start (me with Henry, Jack with Steve):

The boys are working toward talking, Jack regularly issuing utterances approximating "up" and "ball" while Henry's most common words are "more" and "yum!" (yes, with the exclamation at the end). Their comprehension seems really good and they can follow increasingly complex directions, such as retrieving a particular named book or toy, pointing to named body parts on themselves and others, and mimicking behaviors of the adults around them (like rubbing their hands together when someone else is washing their hands).

Toddler Gymnastics

The boys took a toddler gymnastics class, which consisted of exploring a fun little obstacle course set up by the instructor. 

Jack shows off his parallel bar skills:

Henry, lord of the rings:

Jack was pretty excited about the whole thing:

Henry was also a fan (shown here with the instructor):

Parks!

The boys have the run of the local parks, visiting one nearly every afternoon to get some exercise since our yard is quite modest. 

Twin problems, only one drinking fountain. Jack attempts to jump the line: 

Jack gets a little tickle from nanny Kasey:

Jack has his eyes on the slide prize:

Me, you want me to slide too? asks coy Henry.

Henry and Mom prepare to slide:

Look, it's Brother! Jack points out Henry's ascension. 

Around the House
There's a lot of attitude sprouting up around our home. I shudder to think of the forthcoming terrible twos.

Jack, plotting his corporate takeover:

Patronizing Henry:

This picture didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but hopefully it still sort of shows what was going on. Henry got his toy hung up on the edge of our foam floor tiles and, all on his own, Jack came up to help push. Awwwww...

Jack has some hugs for a stuffed penguin friend:

Jack shows off his new slippers:

"Helping" put away the dishes (Jack with bowl, Henry with cups):

Jack finds a new way to access things since I told him there would be no climbing on the kitchen cart: 

Jack hides the TV remote in the couch cushions, just like Mom and Dad (they really are watching our every move... scary...): 

Fun in the toy box (Jack left, Henry right): 

A very special picture courtesy of friend Cassy:

Every night, we get the boys ready for bed, lower the lights, and then sit on the couch with two goodnight-themed books. We read one book, then we put the boys in their wearable blankets (or "sleepsuits" as we call them) and then read the second book before putting them to bed. It's a simple but comforting routine for all of us. No matter how persistently the boys just attempted to brush their hair with their toothbrushes, or how many tears were shed over unfamiliar food at dinner, or how inadequate the day's nap was, we all unwind, get quiet and spend some time together.

Christmas Visiting
We spent Christmas at my parents' house, along with my brother and his wife. The boys also had some visitors. As usual, we were too busy chasing the boys to get great pictures of the visitors (or actually, you know, visit with them), but thank you to Lee's family, Natalie's family, Eric and Gail, Scott, Kristi and Alexa for at least attempting to spend some time with us.

Jack with Aunt Brooke, playing a fun new game of bang-the-measuring-cup-on-the-flour-canister:

Visiting new and exotic Southern California parks, Jack and Dad prepare to slide:

Jack and Henry do some Christmas Eve reading with Daddy:

Jack is contemplative, perched in a rocking chair which belonged to me as a child:

The Jack-of-many-noses (a.k.a. Bane Jack) strikes again:

Curiously, upon acquiring some wipes from the diaper bag, both Jack and Henry began "cleaning" their toys. We have no clue where they got the idea to do this as we rarely hand wash dishes.

Jack demonstrates:

Can you tell everyone was a little sick? (Henry learned to "blow" his nose):

Henry without pacifier!

Mischievous Jack with Grandma and sprinkle containers: 

Henry, after a long day, used the remote to recline and now settles in to admire his feet:

The littlest dudes somehow end up in the most comfy chairs in the room. We thought about asking them to move, but one look at the expression on Henry's face convinced us to rethink that course of action.

Jack discovers the joy of raspberry fingers:

Still gotta get in time with their books... can't really call it a day until the Curious George books have had their twentieth dramatic reading.

Henry and Jack with Grandma: 

Jack with Grandpa: 

Christmas
The boys still don't really understand all the fuss around Christmas, so things were fairly low key.

Jack's puppy sleeping bag from Grandma and Grandpa was love at first unwrapping:

Jack is obsessed with dogs, and quite obviously knew which animal was on his sleeping bag.

Jack also seemed jazzed about his play drill from Mom and Dad:

Henry admires the tree:

Pulling off wrapping paper, yay! (Jack left, Henry right)

Henry opens a gift with Dad and Mom:

Jack implores the photographer to hand over the cell phone:

Happy boys, hands full of sprinkles, feet tucked in Mom's shoes (Henry in hightops, Jack in slip-ons):

Christmas Aftermath
Back home, the boys have been enjoying their loot.

Henry is just a little happy about his new koala sleeping bag:

Seriously, they're really excited about the sleeping bags, it's pretty funny:

Henry explores career options in dentistry: 

Jack shows off some new old toys from Grandma and Grandpa: 

My parents' next door neighbor Andy came over to say hi to the boys. Andy's an avid collector of Ty toys, and brought a dog and a monkey to pass on to the boys. It was incredibly sweet and the boys absolutely adore their new friends.

Henry with Tracker the dog: 

Monkey hugs comfort Jack on a tough day:

Jack cuddles Tracker while Mom reads to him and Henry:

Steve and I are every bit as exhausted and stressed as one would expect from the parents of two toddlers. Though frustratingly stubborn and dramatic, fortunately the boys are also inquisitive and entertaining. Both of them can absolutely light up the room with a smile and their laughter is infectious.