Two and a Half years old – DeLuca Doubles

I can’t believe the boys are two and a half years old! They have changed so much in the last couple months and are so much fun to be around. Here are a few of the highlights:

Similarities

They are potty trained! At least during the day. There are still a few accidents at night but it’s super easy to throw the sheets in the washer in the morning. If I tell them they’ll get candy in the morning if they’re dry then they typically are. So they can do it, just need the right motivation.
They both love to help daddy cook. They pretend with some fake food or real pots and pans to make us things like pancakes and blueberry muffins.
They love to help me put lotion on the “babies” and use the doppler to listen to the heart beats. If you ask them what is in mommy’s belly they say “babies” and if you ask how many they say “one two!”. Nathan and Anthony also think they have babies in their bellies though.
It must be their age but neither boy listens very well. Going to bed every night has turned into a fight. It’s even tougher now that I’m pregnant because I can’t really wrestle them into their pj’s or pick them up and put them into their room. I hope this passes…
Speaking of, the terrible two’s are in full swing. Lots of whining, crying, and fighting. That being said it balances out with a lot of smiles, laughter, and hugs. Each night the boys make us give them a hug, a kiss, and an Eskimo kiss.
We don’t take baths anymore, instead they invade the previously peaceful alone time Steve and I used to have taking showers. They love to sit on the ground and play.
They love and hate each other. They’re definitely brothers. They are very aware of each other and play, get jealous, laugh, cry, and fight. Everything any close siblings would do…
They both can count. At least to 3, then they skip 4 and 5 and say “6,7,8,9.10” pretty fast. Somedays they’ll get all 10 digits correctly. Very smart boys.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/isn1fXfo2Yc[/youtube]

Anthony

Unofficially weighs about 32 lbs. He’ll step on my scale and wait for the readings.
Anthony is a lot bigger than his brother. I’d say he’s got about 4 inches on him and over 4 pounds.
So particular! He is a little obsessive. It’s so strange to see. He has his Aunt Sara’s conniption about tags. He’ll cry and fight to get a tshirt off if it has a tag, until someone cuts it off. He refused to try on shoes the other day because of the price tag on the shoes.
Anthony will yell at Nathan is Nathan is doing something that would make Steve or I upset.
favorite song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Anthony loves to sing.
Theme Song: “Knee Knee Knee Knee Anthony”
Anthony is an awesome eater. He’ll eat almost anything we put in front of him. He likes salads (even arugula and kale)
He’s a stuffed animal guy still. Loves his “teddy” the most followed by “puppy” and “donkey”
Anthony is so caring. He worries about Nathan. If Nathan cries Anthony will give him whatever the thing was to make him happy again (toy, drink, food). And he thinks about him when Anthony is cold he’ll ask for a shirt for Nathan too.

Nathan

He weighs in at a whopping 28 lbs (according to our scale). He is a little one but so strong. Probably still not on the growth charts.
Nathan is talking, not just in complete sentences, but in complete stories. He streams a number of sentences together to tell us what is going on in his little life. He is non-stop talking. He’ll also use words like “I”, “me”, “my”, “this”, “that” which is amazing to me.
His joke-ster personality is coming out in full force. He loves to tease Anthony. Check out the video of Nathan telling Anthony that his name was Nate. Anthony gets so upset and Nathan keeps egging him on. I think it’s a sign of things to come.
Favorite Song: Humpty Dumpty, any excuse to fall down on purpose.
Theme song: Na-Na-Na Nathan
Favorite color: blue, to the point where he’ll cry if he doesnt get the blue cup or plates.
Nathan definitely got my sweet tooth. He’s more particular when it comes to what he eats than Anthony. He’s still a pretty good eater though and his favorite meal is breakfast.
Nathan loves to be naked. Most of the time when we’re playing in the backyard he’ll find some excuse to run around naked… our poor neighbors.
Still obsessed with his “B B”, a blue blanket he’s had since hew as a baby. He’s not attached to any stuffed animals.
I don’t know where this boy finds his energy. He’s always running at full speed. Luckily he’s not as fast as Anthony.
Nathan got my sweet tooth. He will do almost anything for a little sugar.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/uZosCrBfFik[/youtube]

… did I mention they’re going to be the BEST big brothers?!?

Steve and I are holding in there but borderline nerve breakdowns every few days. We’re so nervous about having another set of twins. I’m also pretty worried about my ever growing belly. The boys are already faster than me and in combination with their inability to listen… is scary.
I got a new job at IBM and am loving it within the Commerce organization. The days so by so fast. I got a few external recognitions lately, most recently being named one of Fast Companies 100 Most Creative People of 2015.
We’re slowly crossing things off our things to do around the house and getting ready for the next wave of kiddos. We plan on putting them in the basement (along with us) so they’re far enough away from the boys that they don’t wake them up in the night. We gave away our huge tv and put our couch in the attic. Lots of room for cribs now.