June Milestones

Gabe, Ari & Mommy at the Tempe spash park Ari & Gabe pretending to be in a cage.

This month, my twins didn't have as much going on in the way of milestones, but we still had fun! Gabe and Ari turned 28 months old, and Isabella turned 9 months old.

Ariana has been working on improving her army crawl all the time. When she is extra excited, she has the best form -- utilizing her knees as well as her arms to kick and pull at the same time. I am so proud of her (obviously) as this is the biggest milestone that she's ccomplished quite a while.

Ariana has been trying to feed herself using her spoon and fork more than ever. When she is eating, she frequently scoops and takes bites all on her own.

Ariana has been opening the drawers in the coffee table and in her dresser quite a lot. Although this isn't entirely new (she's been capable of doing this for a couple months), it feels like I suddenly can't seem to keep the drawers closed and their contents inside anymore. While I'm proud of her for being so resourceful and for having the fine motor coordination to be able to accomplish this, it's a little frustrating how much she enjoys tearing pages out of the books and scattering the diapers she finds!

This month, Ariana's favorite song is "We are a Family", from the soundtrack of the Disney movie 'Air Buddies'. Every time it comes on, she starts dancing (flailing her arms, kicking her legs, and shaking her head) like a tazmanian devil. It's adorable.

Ari swung on the swing for special needs children at Chuparosa Park & loved it!Playing at Chandler Fashion Center Mall play centerWith Geewon at a free Anat Baniel Method clinic for children with special needsBeing a silly girlPretty princessAt Tempe Town Lake splash park

Of course, Gabe's main accomplishment this month as been becoming potty trained. This is a big deal. HUGE. He has even been stying dry all night long, which is great. We're so proud of our little guy.

This month, Gabe's favorite movies has also been 'Air Buddies', which he refers to as "Dog Party". It all started when we were at the San Tan Mall one weekend afternoon. It was time to go home, so Jake kept telling Gabe that we were going to a dog party (as in the book 'Go Dog Go') to get Gabe to happily follow us to the parking lot. When we arrived at the car, Gabe was devastated to realize that Jake had tricked him. Where was the dog party he had been promised?! Gabe cried all the way home, begging to go to the dog party the entire way. When we got home, we realized that we had to do something to mend this boy's broken trust in us. So, Jake popped in the DVD, 'Air Buddies' which is about a bunch of puppies who love sports. Gabe was overjoyed, and he and Daddy were once again friends. So began the story of why he ceaselessly refers to that movies as "Dog Party".

Gabe has also acquired an interest in sports. Don't ask me how -- he definitely didn't get it from us. He loves watching people play sports and pretending he's playing himself. He has a red plastic baseball bat that he swings around. He loves to hit balls off his toy t-ball stand, play catch, and throw his blow-up basketball. He knows the name to every type of sports ball around. We were at the park for a birthday party, and there was a basketball game going on there. Gabe stood on the sidelines the entire time, shouting "Go, Go! He shoots, he scores!" following the players up and down the court. His little personality is coming out more every day.

Unfortunately, Gabe has gotten a little fearful of the water recently. The past two years, he was such a water baby. I hope it's just a stage. We are on the waiting list for swimming lessons through the town, so I hope more exposure will help him, but it feels like every time he gets some water in his face, it's like taking a big step backwards in his water confidence. Gabe swimming with his new floatation device that doesn't tip him over and is US Coast Guard certified.I love you this much!Sun bathing with cousins Brayden & TrevorAt Tempe splash park

Isabella had her 9 month well-check this month. She weighs 20 lbs. 9 oz. (80th %tile), and measures 27 3/4 in. long (60th %tile). She is still a little plump thing, but she seems to be slimming out (tear*). Isabella also cut her first two teeth this month (bottom center).

This month, Isabella's gross motor milestones include pulling to tall kneel, pulling to stand, getting from prone (tummy) to sitting, climbing on us and beginning to climb up stairs. She is busy to say the least. That, and she's super fast. She is notorious for getting into trouble. Yes, my little precious is a trouble finder (unless eating handfuls of dog food, playing with the toilet brush, chewing shoes, trying to stick her fingers in electric sockets, and pulling on Chewy's tail don't qualify as trouble in your book).

Socially, Bella has started waving. I love it. She has a variety of different waves, including her little hand wave, big full arm wave, & folding fingers wave. She is very excited about saying "hi" when she waves too. She really just loves to copy whatever Ariana does, and waving is no exception. Dancing is no exception either, although I think she'd be a dancer even if she were the only one. Bella has recently learned a new "dance move". Gabe calls it the "no face", and he is always demanding that she perform it. Basically, she just shakes her head as if she were saying 'no', just way more vigorously. She does this while trying to sing along to the music. Very fun to watch.

Isabella has started saying two new words this month. In addition to "mama", "dada", and "hi", she now says "no" and "ball". I can't wait for her language to start taking off.

Looking concerned, "Dude, where's my arm?"Oh, here it is!Swinging at Chuparosa Park -- this baby's all about the thrillsChandler Mall play areaTempe Town Lake splash park