Steven, Sammy and Amaya are 18 months old today! 18 months! It’s crazy. They were just born. And they’ve also been part of our family foreeeeeever.

Their 18 month well check is next week but here’s some of what they’re up to:

Steven: Steven is just about to take off walking! He’s taking steps around the house regularly and doing great. He still wears his ankle SMO braces for stability and they seem to have made a difference with his ankle pronation. Steven’s biggest opportunity is with core strength. He’s still using support to pull to stand. So we’ll work on that! Steven says “uh oh” (all the time!) and “hi” and also, sometimes “mama” and “bye.” He has 4 teeth.

Sammy: Sammy is walking pretty much everywhere. He says “neigh” and “quack.” Also, “hi”, “up,” “bye bye,” “car,” and “dada” and lots of “mamamamama.” Sammy is very good with anything mechanical. He can buckle the high chair straps and loves to figure out how to put stuff together. His focus is amazing.

Amaya: Amaya has been walking for a couple of months now so that’s old news. But she sure can move fast these days! She’s having a word explosion. Hi, bye, ball, car, cock-a-doodle-do, moo, mama, dada. Every day she seems to have new words. Amaya is also a great helper. If her brothers don’t have their stuffed animals in the nursery, she’ll bring them to the boys and it’s the cutest thing to see. Amaya is still the sassiest girl I know.

But back in time…

Nana was still here on Monday. In these photos, Steven, Sammy and Amaya were on the phone with Aunt Sara. See how they’re holding their ears? That’s because they were talking about hearing. Smart kids.

My mom & Megan took our van to the fire station for some adjustments on the car seats. There was time to kill while the tech was called away so everyone stopped to smell the flowers. I’m pretty sure these were their first flowers!

Fudgie, our whale, also arrived this past week. We’re still a little unsure about Fudgie but he seats THREE so I think he’ll be a favorite pretty soon.

Megan had her own adventure with Steven, Sammy and Amaya at the Detroit Zoo! I’m so glad for our season pass. What a great way to spend a cool summer morning.

Once again, the Sam Man is asleep before he even gets back to the car.

And an interlude: Here’s what the playroom looks like after my kids get some time to play. D-i-s-a-s-t-e-r.

The big fun for the week is that I’m back at my travels with the kids! This past weekend was Steven’s turn! We had a Friday afternoon flight to NY so we got to the airport in time to get some lunch. Steven said “hi” to everyone in the restaurant. Everyone. It was so cute. And he enjoyed mac & cheese and cheese burger but didn’t really enjoy pickles.

About 40 seconds in, Steven busts out his signature dance moves.

Steven also charmed everyone at the gate!

And on the plane!

In the vein of “anything to keep them happy on a plane,” Steven had my potato chips to eat and, it seems, play with on the flight. What a mess. Crunchy potato chips end up crumbled potato chips. But it did keep him happy so it worked for me!

I also busted out Mortimer and Monkey. Mortimer and Monkey are just for naps and bedtime but, since it was nap time on the plane, he got in some cuddles.

Meanwhile, back in Michigan, Sammy and Amaya were having a great time with Megan!

When we got to New York, Steven was so happy to see his Nana!

When we got home, we had enough time to play outside for a short while. More time to stop and smell some flowers.

And back at home, Amaya and Sammy buddied up for dinner. Cutest ever!

Saturday morning was breakfast & playtime at home in MI and in NY.

Thanks to Auntie for coming to hang out with us!

After naps, we headed out to get lunch with everyone, including cousin Joey and his kids, Eli and Dalia. It was such a nice treat to get to see them while we were in town! It seemed to take forever for our food to arrive. Near the end there, I was relying on butter and jelly packets to try to keep Steven focused on anything but his desire to eat, eat, eat.

In the afternoon, the weather cleared enough that we were able to go the beach. So much fun! Steven was able to play in the sand, go in the pool and eat dinner outside. It’s amazing to see the difference between last year and this year. Last August, the kids weren’t even crawling yet. This year, Steven is exploring the sand and playing in the pool. It’s so much fun to watch!

Watermelon with Savta

Pool time! Steven did ultimately have some pool toys to play with and seemed to have a great time.

Dinner outdoors! Steven grabbed hold of a red shovel and would not let go. Would. not. let. go. It was such a nice night for dinner at the beach.

Mommy and Bobo.

The bonus of my trip was a sleepover with Chase. While we watched tv, I got to cuddle with Chase, Big Teddy, Big Teddy’s teddy, and Big Teddy’s teddy’s stuffed snake.

On Sunday morning, Grandma Sunshine make sure I knew everyone was having a good morning in Michigan.

We all had more time to play before it was time to go to the airport.

The flight home was an easier flight in some ways because it was a bigger plane. On the way out to NY, we had a tiny plane with 2 seats in each row which meant I needed to take Steven out of his car seat to get him down the aisle. That leaves me with 2 bags, a car seat and a baby to carry. Not easy, not fun. This was a standard plane so I was able to wheel Steven right to our row and install his car seat.

Steven didn’t nap in the morning so I was prepped with snacks, Mortimer and Monkey and a hope that Steven would nap on the plane. Didn’t happen but he did great, once again, and charmed everyone around us.

And, soon enough, we were back home together again. Team Cline, complete!

While I was gone, Jason made the move to try out our travel high chairs on our kitchen table. It works great! Our regular high chairs have been perfect for us for the past year but I think we’re ready to transition to sitting at the big table together. Big kids, big table. 🙂

Here’s a look at one of the first big kid meals with Sammy and Amaya

A few more of Steven this week!

Steven and “uh oh”

Sammy Whammy!

Slo-mo Sammy

Miss Amaya!

In an awesome tank top from her daddy.