Gabe's language has gotten much more proficient this month, and he seems to be using new words and combinations of words each day. Every time he's introduced to a word, he at least makes an attempt at pronouncing it, even if it comes out sounding a lot like his other words. I've been trying to encourage this practice by asking him to use his words when he starts whining like a cretin :). And what a cute little cretin he is too.
Gabe has mastered the upper case alphabet this month, and he likes "reading" the letters off of everything he sees. He loves playing fill in the blank when we sing the alphabet song too. He has a real passion for books, which is so fun for me to see. Gabe's latest accomplishment is having learned his numbers by sight and also how to count up to ten. The other day, he happened to have ten Cheerios on his highchair tray, and he pointed to and counted each one by one, coming up with the right number. This is such a fun learning age. I wish that I could expose him to more, because I think that this critical window for absorbing knowledge can't last forever. Pretty soon, he's bound to get distracted with more interesting things like friends and the pursuit of sweets and video games, and sitting around playing flashcards is going to be the last thing on his agenda.
This month, Gabe has also started feeling more comfortable climbing, walking up and down steps, and kicking balls. He loves to throw balls, and everyone seems to comment that he has a great arm. Now, if only I could get him to refrain from throwing non-ball type objects in the viscinity of his sisters. Over the last several months, Gabe has been too antsy and impatient for his stroller. Recently, we started letting him walk behind the stroller and "push" Ari in the stroller. I've told him that he either needs to hold onto the rubber handhold or the bars on the stroller whenever he gets to walk on his own, and so far, he's heeded that requirement.
Gabe is still going through somewhat of a moody stage. Although I wish that it would pass, I think that, in large part, it's just a part of his personality. He also has to compete for attention and for being held with a new baby and his twin sister with special needs, so I can't say that I blame him for throwing a tantrum or two every day. As much as he wants to be a big boy at certain times, he's still a baby at others. Sometimes even I need a reminder of that.
This month, Gabe's likes include: blocks, cars, trains, trucks, the park, the mall play area, pushing the stroller, his DVDs, his favorite song: a hip hop remix of 'mary had a little lamb', flashcards, throwing balls, playing rough, being read books, looking out windows and waving 'bye' to visitors, pointing at cars and naming their colors ("red car", "yellow car"), bananas, apples (and most other foods), Infant Tylenol, and bath time.
This month, Gabe's dislikes include: sharing, vegetables, being confined to the stroller (especially in the grocery store), having a shirt pulled over his head, getting his teeth brushed, having to share Mama with his sisters, time out, and when Daddy leaves or puts him down... sounds pretty typical.
This month has been eventful for Ariana as well. Big news on Ari: she has learned how to actually suck the liquid out of a sippy cup spout! Whereas before, Ari could only hold the sippy cup and chew the spout to release the liquid, Ari has finally acquired the oral motor coordination to suck from the spout. She can also hold the cup on her own. Of course, she still dribbles a lot and sometimes sucks out more than she can swallow, so I don't use the cup as her main method of fluid intake. But, still! She demands the cup whenever she sees Gabe with one, so I often give in. She is so motivated to master it, that it definitely is only a matter of time before she does.
Gross motor wise, Ari is still using rolling as her primary mode of transport, earning her the nickname "steamroller." Although she hasn't made too many gains in her sitting, I can tell that she's getting stronger, because when I've been putting her in a four-point crawl position, she is often able to hold herself there for a minute or two. This is revolutionary for her... and she knows it -- you can tell by her grin.
Lately, Ari has become an even more terrible eater than before. And she was terrible then too. I am seriously to the point where I think I'm going to take her in for feeding therapy, in addition to her speech therapy, because this is just too much. You know, I never believed it myself when other moms would tell me the same thing, but this is the absolute hardest part of having a special needs child so far. When your child doesn't eat, I think that there is something in a mother that instinctively panics. Ariana is adamant about refusing food. And I'm not talking about just her veggies either. Tell me what child hates noodles, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, rice, pizza, bread, and hot dogs? She'll eat cereal, yogurt, fruit, and sometimes veggies. That's it. Sometimes, I get lucky and she'll eat a bite of this or that, but not really. And it's not normal food refusal either. It's screaming like I have her hand in a vice, turning blue, getting so mad that she chokes. I sweat just thinking about the next meal.
Ari is saying a new word this month. It's "dada"! And yes, she definitely knows who she's talking about. Her receptive language has always far surpassed her expressive language, meaning that she can pretty much understand whatever we say, take directions, answer questions, etc. But a new word is always a great gain. This makes her expressive vocabulary three words: hi, mama, & dada.
In therapy, Ariana has made major gains with purposeful release of an object. In other words, she doesn't always throw or lose control of an object once in her hands. She is able to softly and purposefully hand it off to someone else, or place it into a container. Go Ari!
This month, Ari's likes include: fruits, snack foods (Cheerios, Kix, Goldfish crackers), sing along songs, phones, cameras, books, magazines, paper to shred, sippy cups, her DVDs, Isabella, Gabe, being a big girl, throwing things, sitting at her table, being the center of attention, and toys that Gabe wants.
This month, Ari's dislikes include: most foods (especially savory foods or foods with chewy textures), sharing, when someone leaves the room, being hit by Gabe, when Gabe screams, going to bed, and getting her teeth brushed.
Gabe loves building with his new blocks.
Ariana can't get enough of the Creepseter Crawler that her Occupational Therapist, Becky, lent to us. We hope to get her one of her own if she shows progress in it and continues to enjoy it.
It's always a good time when Aunt Marci comes to visit.
At the Fountain Hills Festival of the Arts.
Chandler mall play area = hours of fun.
Ariana can't get enough of the Creepseter Crawler that her Occupational Therapist, Becky, lent to us. We hope to get her one of her own if she shows progress in it and continues to enjoy it.It's always a good time when Aunt Marci comes to visit.At the Fountain Hills Festival of the Arts.Chandler mall play area = hours of fun. 
Gabriel Pierce - 20 months old
Just the girls
Daddy and the twins
Our kids
Last Wednesday afternoon, all five of us packed into a minivan nearly busting at the seams and made the four hour trek over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house. This year was a Taylor Thanksgiving, as last year we spent it with the Starr family. The kids were surprisingly good on the drive up. They slept and stared out the window most of the way, and only threatened to get cranky on the last 45 minute stretch. When that happened, I played my last card and turned on their Baby Einstein sign language movie, and it worked like a charm. Once we got there, the twins were a little overwhelmed by all the action at first, but within an hour or two were ready to join in on a three day non-stop stretch of playtime. 
Grandpa and Grammy made Ariana a beautiful table out of wood that is just her size. She was so happy just to play at her table and sit in the middle of all the action. When she wasn't sitting in her chair being a social butterfly and being called "a princess" by all of her cousins :), she was showing off her rolling skills on the blankets. She was quite the charmer as usual, and she made a lot of friends.
Isabella was such a good baby the whole time we were there. She slept a lot during the day(typical), ate a lot in the evenings (typical), and smiled a lot at everyone (new!). I was so grateful that she adjusted well to the new surroundings. Here she is sharing some smiles and coos with grandpa.
On Saturday, everyone was starting to feel a little under the weather, so we decided it was a good time to say our goodbyes. It was sad to leave, and we kept debating whether or not to stay another day, but it was a good thing that we headed out when we did. We all came down hard with colds that night, and we've been trying to muddle through with them ever since. 
Sick or not, we decided that Sunday was the day that we were going to pick up our Christmas tree. As you can see, I tried to make an event of the whole thing by taking a couple pictures, but ultimately, we were so tired that we bought the first tree that they showed us! I have to say, it was definitely an in-and-out kind of deal. Jake worked hard on putting up our Christmas lights all afternoon Sunday, and we decorated the tree late into the night. I'm so glad we did it -- it's really starting to sink in that it's that wonderful season again.
