30 MONTHS OLD! Really???

***About 17 days late, but better than never!***

Back in the day when the babies were just true "babies", I would post monthly updates. I've long since given that up since now we are in the upward count of months and quite honestly, I lose track - to me, they are just TWO. And frankly, I would like for them to just remain JUST TWO until the day they turn three. Aghhhh, someone hold me!

But 30 months is a pretty big milestone so I thought I'd catch you up on a little bit about what 30 months is like in our house.

2 and 1/2 years.

How is that even possible?

It seems that I can't recall a time of them not being here, yet 30 months just seems so old. And well, not so much "baby". But in my heart, they are still my little babies - and always will be. The other day, I picked each one of them up (they both happened to be in cuddly moods) and held their little 26 to 28lb bodies in the cradle position that used to be so easy to maintain for hours. Not so much anymore. These guys are heavy!

But I rocked each one of the, slow and steady, trying not to let the tears fall as I looked into their eyes and remember when they were just these little tiny things, dependent on us for everything. Now, they don't need us quite as much, as their independence builds and their confidence grows. It is both heartwarming and heartwrenching at the same time. I just want time to stop. (Well, most days - some days I would gladly ask for a fast-forward button - but that's totally normal right??? : ) )

As 30 month old toddlers go, I'm pretty sure that Matt and I hit the jackpot. They are such good kids. Really. Sometimes as I am climbing into bed after a long, exhausting day, I can still turn to Matt and say "Wow. How did we ever get so lucky?". I am sure every parent feels the same way about their children, but I would be remiss if I didn't write it - and it's really so incredibly true.

So, here's a little bit about RYAN at THIRTY MONTHS:

 - The basics: It's been a little while since his last weigh in, but pretty sure he is somewhere around 28 to 29lbs. Hard to tell and I've learned that clothing & weight estimates mean pretty much zilch at most clothing stores. That being said, the child wears 2T in most shirts (they are a little long but seem more comfortable for him), and somewhere in between 18-24 months in jeans/pants, as long as they have those little buttons to expand the waist. My little guy still has shorter legs, but needs the girth. It's challenging to find just the right pair. And then freakishly, some 12-18 months work for him. Who knows anymore? He wears about a 7 shoe and lord almighty, they have to be of the WIDE variety. The child has some thick, flat feet, which means that I can't just buy off the rack at Gymboree, Old Navy, etc - they must be Stride Rites that come in a variety of widths. Thank you, God, that we have a Stride Rite outlet at at local mall, so I hit them up once a season and he gets 2 pairs of shoes - one dress and one casual. He wears his tennis shoes to the sole and seems most comfortable with those. (Ok, I know not the most exciting facts but I want to remember!)

- The personality: Oh, how I love this little man child. He is definitely still my super sensitive one and loves cuddles. I think I've pretty much determined that his primary love languages (yes, children have love languages too!) is touch and time. He loves to just sit in my lap, play on the computer or on my phone, or just sit and read books with him. If he has a lap and your attention, he is a happy guy. It breaks my heart on the occasions where I know he just wants to be held and I can't do it right at that moment. :(  He wakes up every morning happy as can be and still wants to be carried downstairs, grabbing his last cuddling opportunity before breakfast. He has to tell everyone "Good Morning" and not even Max the dog is exempt : ) He is incredibly friendly and says "Hello" to virtually anyone who makes eye contact with him, whether it be on the way into school, at the grocery, or at church.

- The looks: Ry continues to be 150% a total Clanahan clone. The only thing that he may get from me is larger eyes, but everything else is all Matt, his dad, brother, etc. And he looks so darned grown up. These last set of family pictures almost put me over the edge. If he looks like that at 2, what will he look like in Kindergarten??? EEEK! No "baby" left in that baby for sure!

- The likes: He loves anything to do with cars, trains, balls, books, music, letters, numbers, the works. He is definitely all boy in his preference for toys, but he also astounds me with the way that he loves to read and learn. The amount of knowledge that he has in that head kinda blows me away sometimes. Often he will say something that catches me off guard and I'll turn to Matt, and say "where did he get that???" and we both just shrug. He just picks things up really well. He is especially good at memorizing --- he has multiple books that he can almost do on auto pilot (of course, about trains, cars, roads, dump trucks, and his still all time favorite - Chicka Chicka Boom Boom). He loves to play outside, especially basketball (or bball as he calls it) and he's pretty darned good!

- The Dislikes: This part is truly ironic. As much as my man-child loves to play with any sort of large truck, ambulance, trains, etc --- out of the safety of the book or the car, he is SCARED TO DEATH of them. Like the day they had the fire truck at school. I had talked it up big time because I just knew he would love it --- what a shocker when I got home and read the teacher's notes that while he was happy to look at it through the window, he would not stick one pinky outside to explore the truck. So funny! This is the child who goes to bed with a mass assortment of at least 5-8 vehicles - and of course, the ever-favorite lovey. He is also getting a little picky on the shirt side - he only likes to wear particular types of shirts, and OMG if you even try to layer him up with a short sleeve under a long sleeve, the boy freaks out. Layering in Houston is about all you can do in the winter time, since we may start out at 45 degrees in the morning and get up to 80 by the end of the day. So I am the mom who just sends him in a polo almost every day. And no jacket. He hates jackets. Again, mom of the year, trooping him into school with no coat.

- The food: It's a day to day thing. I suppose it is for most toddlers this age. One day he loves something, the next day it is YUCK. Warms my heart to work on dinner just to hear "Yucky, yucky" all around : ) Staples pretty much consist of waffles, pancakes, banana (or "neenas"), tons of milk and water, chicken nuggets, pasta, rice, corn, sometimes brocolli & cheese, bread, toast, and crackers. Basically, he is a walking carb. He is not a fan of many fruits, although I still put them out there to keep him exposed. One day he'll realize what he's been missing out on. He does not have the sweet tooth of his sister for sure --- it took him about 3 or 4 tries to get him to eat a darned cookie! Still won't touch donuts on the special occasion we may have them. Whose child is this??? : )

- The overall: Ryan is such a light and a joy. I love his sweet, sensitive little heart, I love how he wants to sing with me and our favorite thing is to turn the radio up and dance like maniacs, I love how he just loves. Oh and how he LOVES his daddy. His daddy is just about the coolest around and comes up with the most fun games to play with Ry Guy. I guess it takes a "boy" to know exactly how to play with a boy - I never would dream up half of the stuff they do together.

Ryan, you make me smile every.single.day. My mornings are not complete until I get that big grin from you, showing off all your creases or your sleepy "G'morning, Mommy". And the random "I love yous" that just pop out? Melt me. I hope you know how proud I am to have you as my son. The world is your oyster, my little man. You are destined to do great things --- and yes, I know that at 30 months : ) Keep loving on your family, looking out for your sister, and keep Jesus number one. You can't go wrong with that path. Whatever your dreams are, we are here to support you and love you. 2 1/2 or not, you are still my baby boy and I love you to the moon and back.

QUINN at 30 MONTHS





 -The Basics: Guesstimating that Quinn is somewhere in the 26lb ballpark. She's still my petite girl for sure but growing steadily! She wears mostly 2T shirts and dresses and then like Ryan, sizes in jeans vary. I have almost given up trying to find the perfect jeans for her --- it's almost as elusive as the "perfect" jean for most women. Either they fit in the length but even with adjustable buttons will not snap, at least comfortably, or if they snap, they sag big time in the butt and swallow her whole in the length. Ughhh! The only ones I have found so far that work well consistently are some jegging-type skinny jeans which she wears at least twice a week. The rest of the time I have abandoned ship for tunics, dresses, and leggings. I refuse to get alterations for toddler jeans! She wears about a size 6 shoe and is still obsessed with all things shoe-related. Very rarely does she prance around barefoot -- she must have shoes on at all times, starting from the moment she gets out of bed in the morning. Her current favorite is a pair of Old Navy boots that she has about worn into the ground - and of course, they aren't selling them anymore. My biggest struggle with shoes for her is her narrow little feet and ankles, plus everything girl toddler has to be "blinged" out now. Why can't they just sell normal shoes without all the glitter and sparkles? My goodness.

-The Personality: Oh my sweet Quinn! She cracks me up on a daily basis. She is SUCH a drama queen at times and is definitely not afraid to show her displeasure, especially if it involves the word "No, ma'am". But most of the time, she is just such a fun little person with just joy and zeal for life. She loves to giggle, tease her brother (mostly gently), talk very loudly, gesture wildly - she's just a hoot. She also has a servant's heart - she's definitely Mommy's helper and will do almost anything I ask, whether it's to put up her shoes, get herself a diaper, or put away her toys. Then almost daily, she will do her random act of kindness, like running up to her brother with his water in hand or helping to get his shoes. I walked in one morning to find Ryan howling, and Quinn had his pajamas completely unzipped but was struggling to get his feet out, so instead was dragging him across the floor! When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "Time for Bubba to get dressed". ha! What a little love she is and even after I've put her in timeout, she will come up to me and wrap her chubby little arms around my legs and give me a squeeze. Melt my heart.

- The Looks: We've mostly determined that Q is still a Clanahan clone as well. Actually, Matt's sister texted me some pictures from when she was young and whoa, she looks soooo similar to Aunt Emmy at that age. But there are times when you can definitely see a little bit of my side of the family (Toledano) in her - in a few pictures my cousin's young daughter looks eerily similar to Q. So who knows? Her hair continues to grow - it's been a long road after we did the big cut post-surgery but now we can do actual "piggies" when she stands still  long enough for me to do them : )

- The Likes: This girl LOVES learning. I mean, loves it. She's always asking "What is it? What is that?". And she's so proud of herself when she knows. The other night we were reading our big picture book of animals and she was nailing things like "parrot" (not just bird) and "seal" and other randomness. She would get so excited and dance around saying "right there!". She loves playing outside and can never decide what she wants to play with, so she just zooms around from one thing to another. (Her attention span for anything is very, very short). She loves craft time at school, and from what I hear from her teachers, she quite loves being the center of attention and attempting to be first on every activity. Fearless would be a word. She still loves Mickey Mouse and a new found favorite is Bubble Guppies. She loves to dance and she loves to run around the house while humming/singing songs to herself. She loves her baby dolls, shoes, anything pink, bows --- what a princess! But she's not a "girly girl" who's afraid to get down and dirty. She'll hang with the boys and loves to play cars as much as her brother. 

- The Dislikes: So we recently learned that this child HATES the sound of actual trains. Her "Ma" lives near a railroad track, so for Thanksgiving she spent all three nights in our bed, shaking with terror anytime one would pass. It threw me for such a loop because up until now, this child has been completely without fear. Almost to the point where her lack of fear scared me! But now we know she's human : ) and does get frightened by some things --- if you saw her on the playground, you would understand why I wish she had a little more fear. She does not like being told what to do when she's not in the mood. It's a meltdown waiting to happen - and I mean complete and total meltdown. It's happened in restaurants, stores, in a parking lot, friend's houses. I just have to laugh. She must pick out her own clothes now and does not like when I just hand her an outfit, especially if it doesn't have pink. I've also recently learned she's not a huge fan of jeans, which is unfortunate since I just stocked up at Old Navy for her.

-The Food: Well, there are some days when I wonder how little Quinnie survives, almost eating next to nothing all day after a huge breakfast. But then she will rebound and have a few days of good meals. I guess that's toddlerhood? She loves pancakes, waffles, pasta (lately, it's bound to change), corn, rice, yogurt, beans, and then random things like cherry tomatoes, avocado, bell peppers, pickles, and sucking on limes. She absolutely LOVES any type of fruit and would eat it morning, noon, and night. She got her mother's massive sweet tooth but none of the allergies, thank the lord. So usually when asked what she would like for a snack, the first response would be "COOKIES!". (No, no, we don't have cookies each snack. It's reserved as a once a week treat, as are donuts on the weekend)

The Overall: Quinn is such a character! She has two speeds, off or wayyyy on (and if my mom is reading this, she's shaking her head and thinking of little "Meggie" when I was little). There's no in between for her. I love how she cares for others and is always checking on her brother to make sure he's ok. She has such a loving heart. And my, oh my, she is so funny! And her expressions crack me up. She can roll her eyes like a teenager (lord, help me) and then one minute later blow me the sweetest kisses with an "I love you, Momma". She picks up the most random things to say and then exclaims them with such gusto. Lately it has been "OHHHH Gorgeous!!!" Everything is "Ohhhh, Gorgeous!!!" If you ask her if she's smart, she'll so "No, I adorable!". Oh my. That child. And she is a total daddy's girl. She melts his heart on a daily basis and she adores him.

Quinn, you are my heart. I simply cannot imagine life without you. I love the way you live. Without fear (mostly), loving life, loving on others, and finding ways to laugh. I learn so much from you every day. Some days are challenging but no matter what, your momma always loves you and I am always here for you. I am in awe of all you have overcome in 30 months of life - God's Hands have surely been on you. You still have a little bit of a bumpy road in front of you, health-wise, but if the previous months are any indication, I have a feeling it will barely slow you down. Keep fighting, my little Quinnie. Always know how much you are loved by your daddy and I. I pray you always love Jesus and keep Him close to your heart. You are my precious baby girl and always will be, no matter 30 months or 30 years of age. I love you to the moon and back.

 Love,
Mommy