23 Month Update

Wow!  Ragnar and Magnus are almost 2 years old!  They are so much fun!  They learn new things every single day!  (And teach us new things too!)  We love them so much!

 
Magnus
·         Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers
·         18 M pants, 18 M- 2T onesies/shirts, 18 M- 24 M sleepers
·         No new teeth this month
·         Words:  bus, leaves, meow, neigh, oink, go, Santa, puppy, happy
·         Is our singer/dancer.  He loves all types of music.  He loves to sing/do actions and hear others sing music.
·         Has favorite animals: Brip (his monster), Mortimer (his hippo) and Marcus (his baby doll)
·         Consistently does two feet jumps
 
Ragnar
·         Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers
·         18 M pants, 18 M- 2T onesies/shirts, 18 M-24 M sleepers
·         Words: onion, bus, leaves, belly, puppy, neigh, happy, go, Santa, jingle bells
·         No new teeth this month
·         Is our silly, goofy baby.  Loves to make others laugh and is generally in a happy mood.
·         Loves his baby doll, Klaus.  He cuddles him and “feeds” him all the time.
·         Really loves Little Gym and participates in most activities there.

 
Both
·         Had their first non-family babysitter, Beth.  They loved having her watch them.  They love their Miss Beth.
·         Are big helpers around the house: cleaning up their toys, pushing laundry baskets, “folding” laundry, cleaning the table after meals
·         LOVE the Christmas tree, Christmas lights and everything Christmas
·         Help to decorate and un-decorate the bottom 2/3 of the Christmas tree
·         Saw Santa for a visit and picture.  Ragnar was instantly upset/crying and Magnus was confused and started crying right at the end of the pictures.  Magnus then was happy when Santa gave him a candy cane.  Ragnar was not happy until we left.

22 Months Old Update

October was such a busy month for us!  We visited a pumpkin patch, did carving, hosted our carving party, joined the local children’s museum and celebrated Halloween with a church carnival and with trick-or-treating.  Ragnar has had a word explosion this month and is really talking now.  Magnus is doing a lot of imaginative play with his baby doll and stuffed animals.  It is so much fun to see their personalities grow.

Magnus

·         Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers

·         18 M pants, 18 M onesies/shirts, 18 M sleepers

·         No new teeth this month

·         Words:  amen, airplane, oatmeal, water, bye, baby, block, belly

·         Loves to sing and do actions to songs we’ve taught him and songs he has made up

·         Helps his baby doll play with toys (holds his hand to get blocks, read books, etc)

·         Can jump and get both feet off of the ground

Ragnar

·         Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers

·         18 M pants, 18 M onesies/shirts, 18 M sleepers

·         Words: amen, airplane, eyes, oatmeal, amazing, water, bee, pea, mole, bye-o, block, monorail, bat

·         No new teeth this month

·         Very cuddly and loving with his baby doll

·         Loves giving and getting “raspberries” on his belly

·         Very helpful with cleaning the table after meals

Both

·         Graduated from their highchairs to booster seats

·         LOVE the children’s museum and request to go there almost daily

·         Loved trick-or-treating and everything to do with Halloween

·         Do lots of imaginative (pretend) play throughout the day with each other and their stuffed animals/dolls

·         Can identify, point to and say the letters: M, R, O, B, P

·         Enjoy their weekly play dates with their friends Charles and Henry

 

Little Gym

I am so excited!  We enrolled the boys in a parent-child class at the Little Gym.  I love the Little Gym.  I had parent-child classes at the Little Gym with 3 of the 4 children I nannied.  I'm a firm believer in their program.  I love how it helps children gain self-confidence, build physical skills and gives them a place to grow and learn.  We are in the "Beast" class that meets every Saturday morning.  The class is for children ages 19 months- 3 years old.  It's wonderful going on the weekend because that allows Nate to participate in the classes with us.  Both boys have really been enjoying their class.

Magnus & Ragnar on their first day at The Little Gym

Minnesota Visitors

Nate's dad and his wife came to meet us and visit for a long weekend in September.  Ragnar and Magnus warmed up to them quickly.  We had a great time site seeing in Seattle and then spending time together at the house. 

Magnus & Grandpa Helgren

Ragnar & Grandma Helgren

Art

Ragnar and Magnus are starting to show interest in expressing themselves through artwork.  I have been trying to break out the crayons and paper more frequently.  We had a large section of the photo paper backdrop to play with and color on.  It was great!  Magnus still has a tendency to eat crayons, but he is also enjoying coloring with them too.

 

We also did finger painting for the first time.  They loved the colored paint on their papers and would move it around a bit and then sign "more" to have more paint on the paper.

Beach Day

Right before school started up for Auntie, we did a beach day on the Puget Sound.  We went to Golden Gardens in Seattle, and it was the perfect day for it.  We set up our umbrella, towels and gear and let the boys go for it.  They dug in the sand, collected rocks, walked on the beach and down to the water.  We had lunch and then packed up and headed home.  It was a fantastic outing.

Ball!

We went to the zoo with Auntie at the end of summer.  I figured that Magnus and Ragnar would enjoy seeing all of the animals.  Nope.  Their favorite thing about the zoo was all of the balls that the animals had in their areas to play with.  Each exhibit we came to I would point out the animal.  They would look around, see a ball and yell "BALL!"  At the elephant exhibit there was an actual ball to check out on the outside of the exhibit.  I think that may have been the highlight of their trip to the zoo.

Newspaper

Grumpa broke out the newspaper for the boys to play with.  They started out with gently pulling the pages apart.  Then the paper got crumpled, torn up, rolled in, thrown and eventually Ragnar tried to eat it.  It was a giant newspaper/newsprint mess, but Ragnar and Magnus loved every second of it. 

Papa's Helper

We stayed at a hotel for our trip to Utah and decided to nap the boys at my parent's house most days.  Because of that we had to bring our pack n' plays with us every morning and take them back every night.  Magnus loved helping Nate with the luggage cart each night.  He took his "job" very seriously and wasn't easily swayed from doing it.

Fry Sauce

Magnus is a fan of all dips.  There hasn't been a dip he has come across that he hasn't enjoyed.  While we were visiting in Utah, we indulged in fry sauce when we went out to eat.  Magnus immediately fell in love with fry sauce.  A couple of days into the trip we had stopped for dinner before heading to Katelyn's art show at her work.  We were finishing up dinner and cleaning up when I looked up, and Magnus had grabbed a cup of fry sauce and was drinking it.  All the adults grabbed cameras and snapped away.  This picture is my favorite of the ones I took.  It captures the bliss he had while "drinking" the fry sauce.

Swimming!

The hotel we stayed at in SLC had an indoor pool.  We were very excited to take Magnus and Ragnar into a big pool for the first time.  We took them after breakfast the second day we were there.  We had walked past the pool several times by that point and talked about it and how much fun it would be.  We got them all dressed in their swim gear after breakfast and headed down to the pool.

 

 Nate got in first with Ragnar.  He was very, very unhappy and wanted out almost immediately.  He then had Magnus in the pool with him.  Magnus was a bit unsure but did great. 

I then got in the pool with Magnus, and we bounced up and down in the water and walked back and forth in the pool.  He really liked it.  I then had Nate hand me Ragnar.  Once again, he was quite unhappy and got out very quickly. 

Hogle Zoo

On our first full day in Utah, we went to Hogle Zoo with Gramsie & Grumpa.  It was a warm day and very sunny.  We saw the new bear exhibit and rode the carousel.  It was a lot of fun. 

Papa & Ragnar @ elephant exhibit

Magnus @ bear exhibit

Magnus on carousel

Ragnar & Papa on carousel

After the zoo we grabbed lunch at Leatherbys.  Magnus and Ragnar were AMAZED at the huge ice cream sundaes we had after our lunch.  Magnus loved the ice cream, and Ragnar wasn't as much of a fan (too cold) but enjoyed the cookies from Grumpa's sundae.

First Airplane Trip

We went to visit family in Utah in August.  We decided to fly this time.  We were very prepared with snacks and activities for the boys as well as goodie bags for the passengers flying around us.  We had a small mix up at the airport (we forgot a bag) which resulted in us making a mad-dash home to get the bag and then going back to the airport.  This resulted in us missing our original non-stop flight.  We were able to get on the next flight out which was to Reno, NV that then connected to UT.  We had to scrap our plan of bringing the boys' car seat on the plane.  We were unsure of how they would do unrestrained, but they were great!  They loved looking out the windows, eating their snacks, playing with their toys and watching everyone around us.  When we landed in Reno we had a lot of turbulence, which Mama hates, but both Magnus and Ragnar were laughing and smiling.  Ragnar signed "more" when it stopped. 

Mama (tired!) & Ragnar

Papa & Magnus

We had a brief layover which allowed for diaper changes and some running time. 

Magnus & Ragnar running in Reno

Ragnar and Magnus loved all the airplanes and new things to see. 

Magnus & planes

Ragnar & planes

We then boarded our second flight.  The takeoff was turbulent again, and they loved it.  They were sleepy on the plane but didn't fuss.  We made it to SLC, and they both fell asleep as we rented our car and drove to the hotel. 

Papa & Ragnar

Mama & Magnus

They did a fantastic job for their first flights!

Concert

The boys went to their first concert over the summer.  It was right after their 18 months well baby check and they were in pretty good moods so I thought we should try.  It was an overcast and chilly day but warmed up quickly.  The concert was part of the Kirkland Outdoor Music series at the Kirkland Marina park.  Auntie came with us and it was a lot of fun.  We heard a band, Johnny Bregar, I hadn't heard and we really liked them.  Magnus loved dancing to the music.  Ragnar was much more interested in watching the musicians and the other kids around us.  They both loved pulling up grass and trying to eat it.

Auntie & Magnus dancing

Dancing joy

Laughing and dancing

 

Grassy snack

Bringing Mama some grass

21 months Old

Ragnar and Magnus are such big boys!  They are now twenty-one months old.  They are learning so much each day.

Magnus

·         Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers

·         18 M pants, 18 M onesies/shirts, 18 M sleepers

·         No new teeth this month

·         Words:  boo, pat, yes, eek!, yucky, mop

·         Makes up words and sings them or repeats them over and over and over

·         Sings to his toys and makes them dance

·         Helps his puppets “read” books

·         Likes to help with yard work, especially raking leaves/pulling weeds

·         Jumps in his crib

Ragnar

·         Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers

·         18 M pants, 18 M onesies/shirts, 18 M sleepers

·         Words: baby, yes, beep, mop, me

·         One new tooth.  Now has 16 teeth!

·         Likes to play in the yard and collect leaves, weeds and rocks

·         Will tickle and chase Magnus

·         Is a bit shy with new situations and people

Both

·         Request belly kisses and “omps”

·         Pick which animals to sleep with at night

·         Choose which pajamas they will wear

·         Make “forts” with their chairs

·         Pretend that their stuffed animals sleep (tell us “shhhh”)

·         Understand to wave and say “bye” when they leave or others leave

 

20 Month Update

Twenty months old!  WOW!  We are getting closer and closer to Ragnar’s and Magnus’ second birthday.  They are true toddlers and curious and into everything.

Magnus

·         Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers

·         12-18 M pants, 18 M onesies/shirts, 18 M sleepers

·         No new teeth this month

·         Words:  up, help, quack, meow, maaaa (goat/sheep), tot, stop

·         Uses his words to communicate rather than just to say them

·         Outdoor boy

·         Loves giving great big hugs

·         Throws tantrums when he is frustrated

·         Curious about everything

·         Obsessed with puzzles and the shape sorter

Ragnar

·         Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers

·         12-18 M pants, 18 M onesies/shirts, 18 M sleepers

·         Words: up, tot, maaaa (goat/sheep)

·         Two new teeth this month.  Now has 15 teeth!

·         Outdoor boy

·         Loves giving hugs and kisses to mama, papa and brother

·         Climbs on everything

 
Both

·         Proficient climbers at the playground

·         Adventurous and happy to try new things

·         First farm visit.  They were more impressed with the sticks and rocks around the farm than the animals.

·         Becoming attached to certain toys and claiming them as their own.  Magnus in particular loves his monster Brip, his puppy pillow pet and his Mortimer hippo.

·         LOVE rocking in the rocking chair

·         Really good at using their spoon and fork to eat

 

19 Month Update

Ragnar and Magnus are 19 months old.  We had a very busy month full of firsts and a family vacation to Utah.  This month also marked the boys both using “papa” and “mama” for us and not for everything.

Magnus

Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers

12 M pants, 12-18 M onesies/shirts, 18 M sleepers

16 teeth

Words: star, owl, eyes, pop, papa, mama (papa and mama actually used for us!)

Runs all over the place

Curious about how things work

Loves spending his days outside

Loving baby, starting to show empathy for others feelings

Went swimming in a big pool for the first time and liked it

Got his first ear infection

Ragnar

Size 4 diapers and size 4 overnight diapers

12 M pants, 12-18 M onesies/shirts, 18 M sleepers

Words: uh-oh, oh no, papa, mama (papa and mama used for papa and mama!)

Got two more teeth and now has 13 teeth!

Great walker, runner and climber

Can climb into his highchair on his own now 

Loving, sweet baby.  Empathetic towards others.

Went swimming in a big pool for the first time and HATED it

Both

First airplane ride!  They loved it.  They particularly enjoyed the turbulence and hard landing

when the plane bounced.

First kid concert at Kirkland Marina.  It was a lot of fun, and they enjoyed watching the other kids,

listening to the music and then dancing.

First beach day at Idylwood beach on Lake Sammamish.  They loved digging in the sand,

watching the boats and ducks on the lake, pouring water into the hole papa dug and poking with

their sticks.

Enjoyed their vacation in Utah.  They loved spending time with their family and loved all the new

experiences.

First time in a hotel.  The LOVED playing in the hotel room, in particular hiding in the curtains

and in the cupboard under the sink.

Doing a lot of imaginative play now.  They make their stuffed animals move, make sounds and

they feed us and each other and themselves imaginary food.

18 Month Well Baby Check Up

Ragnar and Magnus had their 18-month-old well baby check-up yesterday.  Auntie came with us to lend a hand since Papa couldn't make it.  Both boys did really well being examined and are right on track physically and developmentally. 

Ragnar's Stats:
Weight: 23 lbs. 2 oz 10-25%
Height: 33" 65%
Head Circumference: 19 1/4" 50-75%

Magnus' Stats:
Weight: 23 lbs. 12 oz 10-25%
Height: 33" 65%
Head Circumference: 19" 50-75%

Beach Day

We took the boys to Idylwood beach on Lake Sammamish for the first time.  It was a beautiful morning. 

We arrived before the crowds and found a great spot right by the water.

Magnus liked smashing the sand castles that Papa made. 

Ragnar liked throwing sand into the water. 

They both loved the seaplanes and boats that were on the lake. 

Nate dug a big hole and filled it with water.  They both liked pouring water into the hole and then splashing in it. 

It was a great time and a fun family memory.