I don’t do monthly updates on the twins anymore, but since I’m on this daily posting project and it happens to be the fourth of the month and I happen to have taken some photos of them today with The Good Camera, why not?

Twenty-three months, in case you are bad at math, is just one month away from turning TWO YEARS OLD. What even?! They’re so big and they’re learning so much and it’s so fun to be around them — most of the time, you know. They have a lot of emotions to express, which can be a bit overwhelming for everyone involved, but on balance, they’re generally sweet and charming and adorable.

Today we went to the library after their nap and the first thing they wanted to do was color. They love picking through the buckets of crayons and waving them around and coloring on the table and also occasionally on the coloring sheets the library provides. They also love running to the stacks of picture books, choosing one and bringing it to me or CW to read — then jumping back up two pages in when they decide they don’t like that book after all and running back for a new selection.

At 23 months, Jellybean:

• is learning new words all the time and makes some two-word sentences as well. Most adorably, the other night she was heading to the couch with her dad and L to watch TV after dinner and I was still in the kitchen doing something so she ran back in and grabbed my hand and said, earnestly, “Couchie, Mama!” and dragged me to the living room to snuggle. Sweet bear.
• is very interested in when her dad and I go to the bathroom and has recently learned all the bathroom vocabulary and, nope, I’m not ready for this, so never mind.
• is very opinionated about everything and often has a strong preference for her dad when it comes to getting up, getting dressed, and having her hair done. I think she knows how bad I want to get her dressed and do her hair and she is rejecting me out of spite? No. Of course not.
• loves her toddler-room teachers and knows their names and breaks into a cheesy grin when she talks about them at home.
• takes after her dad in that she is NOT a morning person. L can be up yelling at us for a good half hour and she’ll still be lying flat on her face, all “NOOOOOOO” when we gently ask if she’s ready to get up. Hashtag twin problems.

At 23 months, Blueberry:

• is catching up to his sister in vocabulary and is often better at pronunciation (he often takes great care to say the final consonant on words where she drops it, e.g. “cowwwCHHHH”)
• has taken a shine to building with his Mega Blocks and comes up with the most fun, wacky, creative, Dr. Seuss-esque structures that continue to impress me.
• is a big-time reader and will settle in and snuggle up in our laps for seemingly unlimited reading time. He’s so sweet and so engaged, his eyes locked into the book and one hand gently holding my wrist while I read.
• sometimes has a hard time with school drop-off but has a reputation among his teachers for being the sweetest and most laid-back little one in the class (and I can see why).
• takes after me in that he is absolutely a morning person and wakes up dialed to eleven and raring to go.

Some of their recent favorites:

• Foods: mac and cheese, fries, yogurt/kefir, avocado, eggs, all fresh fruit (L), cinnamon toast, butter
• Entertainment: Daniel Tiger, Moana, Sing
• Books: Sweet Pickles, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Eeek Halloween, Olivia

They’re in bed but now I miss them and want to snuggle their sweet little faces. Hashtag mom problems.