Fifteen Months Old...only for the next few days

 Before the twins turn 16 months old I realized I needed to get their 15 month milestones up because if I don't do it now everything will just blend together and they'll be 18 months before I know it!  

Twins Official Stats - 

Suzette - 24 lbs. 10 oz (75th %tile) / 31.25 inches (75th %tile)

Ian - 25 lbs. (60th %tile) / 32.75 inches (90th %tile)

Ian and Suzette turned 15 months old the day after Christmas and lucky for them it snowed that day!  We took them outside to see the snow up close and personal, but then it started to turn more from snow to sleet, boo.  We were able to snap a few quick pics though.

At first Ian wasn't too thrilled,

but then he started to smile and enjoy being outside.

Dave not looking and Suzie smiling.

Dave looking and Suzie not smiling...

Adella all bundled up for her first winter weather outing

This is the first time since birth that Ian has weighed more than Suzie.  Both of them have lengthened out a bit so Suzie's weight is now spread out which means her bountiful belly is no more.  It has been funny to see pants that were too tight on her all of a sudden start to fit pretty well now.  Ian has always been lanky, but with his new heavyweight status he has started to get some more chubs on him, mostly on his thighs.  Because of Suzie's newfound "skinny" state she has been able to figure out how to do some things she couldn't before --

Like squeeze in between the fridge and wall to emerge victorious with the dust pan and swiffer.

Ian promptly swiped the dust pan from her to enjoy the moment to it's fullest.

Yes, that is Ian's tongue on the dust pan

Speaking of Ian's thighs they are doing some pretty exciting things these days -- we now have two walkers on our hands!  Ian took his first steps on December 5th and within just a few days he was walking all over the place.  Suzie started walking at 11 months and Ian was perfectly content to crawl everywhere until he was 14 months old.  It has been so fun to see the proud smile on his face as he toddles all over the place.  He has a pretty wide gait to help with stability and when he thinks he's about to fall he'll quickly squat down, wait, then stand up again all without his bum touching the floor once.  When Ian does fall it's not a big deal, but it's interesting that he tries to avoid it at all costs.  I'm thinking down the road when hindsight is 20/20 I'll understand better what it was foreshadowing about his personality.

Suzie has become quite the talker.  Words starting with B are easiest for her to say - baby, ball, blue, book and bye-bye.  She has continued to say mom and dad as well (maybe she'll say mommy and daddy when she's talking more or did she just skip that and go straight to mom and dad?) and has added, "peas please" to her meal time vocabulary.  Suzie also says nose while pointing at Adella's.  As for her health status we received the official diagnosis of asthma from a pediatric pulmonologist in October and have been doing nebulizer treatments of an inhaled steroid twice a day since then.  The dosage was doubled after her hospital stay when Adella was born.  Her follow-up with the pulmonologist went well, but Suzie didn't get past the end of December without getting sick again.

Dave and I gave in on our "no tv before 2 years old" rule to make the time Suzie has to sit still for her treatments bearable for everyone.  So Signing Time and Baby Einstein it is.  At least with Signing Time their signing vocabulary has improved a ton!

This time it started with a cold she got a few days after Christmas which lead to her first ear infection, but luckily her asthma has remained under control.  Ian actually went a few days without catching it, but then finally did and despite all our efforts Adella caught the cold as well.  Three sick children was no fun, but the silver lining was that I never caught the cold so in my sane moments (they are in short supply these days) I was able to take care of all my sick babies during the day.  Once Dave got home from work he jumped right in and would grab hold of the reins to help with whatever was needed until he'd go to work the next morning.  Bless his heart.

Ian & Suzie truly are toddlers in every way.  Curious and very mobile.  These days it's all about figuring out any way they can climb up onto or over things - chairs, couches, dressers, tables and any sort of barrier these days don't seem to stand a chance.  This has lead to some heart attack moments for me.  It seems they know when I'm sitting down nursing Adella is the time to strike.  That is when I saw them first figure out how to climb over our make-shift stair barrier (a coffee table turned on its side) and make their way upstairs to wreak havoc on any and everything they could get their hands onto.  I do have to say their methods for climbing over the barrier were pretty interesting so I recorded it the next time it happened.  If you have a few spare minutes you can see the difference in how Ian does it at the beginning and then Suzie at the end.

Hmm, need to check out why my video isn't uploading.  Hopefully I'll get it figured out and posted soon.

I think problem solving is great and secretly part of me so interested to see how their little minds and bodies figure out how to maneuver onto and around things, BUT I enjoy my sanity too and not having my heart skip a beat wondering if they'll break their neck falling down a flight of stairs or get a concussion while falling off the back of the couch would be nice.  I know each of their strengths and trust their abilities for the most part, but the twins like to follow each other in these escapades.  So while it may not be such a big deal for one toddler to be climbing/jumping/running on the couch, when two are doing it while your holding a baby in your arms it puts this mommy's nerves on edge just waiting for the moment when one falls, trips or gets pushed by the other and tumbles down.  I can certainly say I've never been so grateful for having carpet in my life!

 

**UPDATE**
I typed this up yesterday during their afternoon nap.  Upon walking into their room to get them up I found Suzie and Ian both sitting up IN THE SAME CRIB!!!  Suzie somehow managed to climb out of her crib and into Ian's!  Oh my.  Dave figured out how to drop the crib mattress even lower (it was already on it's lowest setting, but his fabulous engineering mind came up with another solution), but it may be time to look into getting a crib tent as well.

All in all fifteen months is pretty awesome, but once they turn eighteen months and can be dropped off in nursery for the last 2 hours of church will be even more awesome!

Onward and Upward

Since completing his Masters in Sustainable Energy Engineering Dave has been focused more than ever on the path that will lead him to having a rewarding and meaningful career.  Part of that has been preparing for and taking some critical credentialing exams.  In Febrary of 2012 he passed his Leadership in Energy Engineering Accredited Professional (LEED AP) exam.  Here is a little blurb from Engineering Daily about what that means:

A LEED AP is looked upon as an engineer with a high level of knowledge in integrated design. Many companies look up to LEED AP to facilitate the LEED certification process.

The LEED accreditation is the highest valued environmental accreditation and its importance cannot be undervalued in the coming years. Today most companies are audited for compliance to green initiatives. There are stringent rules to comply with the green regulations and any failure can lead to huge fines. With more and more companies resorting to go green, the LEED accreditation will only gain further importance.

Most recently at the end of October (less than 2 weeks before Adella was born) Dave took the Professional Engineer exam.  He'd been preparing for it by studying for months almost every moment he wasn't at work or sleeping.  When I'd glance at the problems he'd be working on from his textbooks I'd be intimidated within seconds.  There wasn't anything simple or easy about it.  Lots of dedication, time, fasting and prayer helped to guide Dave in the best way to study and prepare for the exam.  This is what the National Society of Professional Engineers has to say about the it:

To a client, it means you've got the credentials to earn their trust. To an employer, it signals your ability to take on a higher level of responsibility.  Among your colleagues, it demands respect. To yourself, it's a symbol pride and measure of your own hard-won achievement. 

To become licensed, engineers must complete a four-year college degree, work under a Professional Engineer for at least four years, pass two intensive competency exams and earn a license from their state's licensure board. Then, to retain their licenses, PEs must continually maintain and improve their skills throughout their careers.

 Yet the results are well worth the effort. By combining their specialized skills with their high standards for ethics and quality assurance, PEs help make us healthier, keep us safer and allow all of us to live better lives than ever before.

When explaining it to my family and friends I'd always equate it to someone who went to law school, but never took the bar and how that would limit what they could achieve and how far they could go in their career.  So the PE exam to engineers is like what the bar is to lawyers = it's a BIG deal!  Dave had been running into a glass ceiling of sorts with just his Masters and not being a PE.  The test is only offered 2 times a year and if Dave didn't pass in October it'd mean more studying and paying the not-so-small fee to take it again in April.  Not to mention we'd have a newborn on our hands and study time would be limited.  So the day before he took the exam he left work early, drove to the city where the test was being administered and checked into a hotel.  No distractions, plenty of sleep and some last minute study time would set him up well to be as focused as possible on passing the test.  As for me, I just kept my fingers crossed I didn't go into early labor while he was gone.

After the 8 hour exam was over Dave called me on his way home and said, "I feel good about it."  I was glad to hear that, but knowing my husband is always optimistic (not by nature, but by choice) I had a feeling he'd say that.  Official confirmation came just a few days before Christmas, DAVE PASSED!!!

Only a licensed engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit engineering plans and drawings to a public authority for approval, or seal engineering work for public and private clients.

Dave's Christmas present to himself was ordering the stamp he'll use on drawings that he approves.   

To say I'm incredibly proud would be an understatement.