... and babies make four: Our life with twins. : 9 months and on the move...

9 months – where has the time gone?! It seems like only yesterday I was able to hold both of them on my chest at the same time for a nap and now they don’t really want to cuddle in at all. :) I do miss the cuddles, but they are a lot more fun to interact with now. The Hubby said it best, we no longer have to interact TO them, we know get to interact WITH them. I think one of my favorites to watch is how they interact with each other. I only wish I could understand the conversations!

There are so many “new” things going on with them, I am struggling to think of it all! I am going to try and focus on one of them at a time…

Riley: She finally let me in on her “secret” a few weeks ago and I got to see her crawl on all fours. The rumor had been that she was doing it at daycare for a few weeks, but she continued to army crawl at home until one day and then – BAM- she has been off like lightning ever since. Around that time I also receive the report from daycare that she pulled herself to standing by holding on to the couch! Again, it was a bit before I saw that “trick” at home, but now she isn’t happy unless she is crawling all over you. She loves to grab on to things and pull herself up and/or crawl over – this does include her brother and has become a point of contention in the home. She very much enjoys when you sit on the floor with her and she then uses you as a “human jungle gym.” She has not learned (yet) that she can pull herself to stand in her crib and we may just be lowering the crib before she figures it out. Her favorite toy is her duckie pacifier and anything that makes a crinkling sound. She is doing really well with drinking from a sippy cup and has only recently discovered the game of “mommy will pick it up” when she throws it to the ground during dinner. We haven’t really found a food that she will not eat and we even let them try a little sorbet a few weeks ago and they seemed to enjoy it. We did have a rough patch with her not wanting to go to sleep at night and she would be up for HOURS after her brother, but it only lasted about two weeks. She does fuss most nights when we put her down to bed, but it is over in about 20 minutes. She is very talkative and loves to smile – still no teeth. She loves to sit up and play and has almost mastered getting herself into a seated position, but still ends up sitting on a foot or leaning on you for support. She LOVES to explore the house and has been busy teaching me where/what I need to babyproof around here. I enjoy watching her when she “visits” her brother when he is in the swing or in the walker because she will pull herself right up to his face and they talk and laugh together.

"Coloring" eggs with mom and dad

Landon: The big news is that Landon started an army crawl this past weekend. :) He is proud of himself as well, especially since I cheer him on. He is able to go short distances – especially when motivated by a toy. Sometimes I feel a little guilty moving the toy further and further away from him, but I know it is for the best. We are still going to physical therapy every week. (HONEST MOMMY MOMENT: I still struggle with this often. I have been doing research, including talking to the Physical Therapist, and statistically Hypotonia is not a diagnosis, it is a symptom. If you know me, you know I am a very “worst case scenario” type personality, so sometimes I feel like I am just waiting for something else to go “wrong.” By no means do I think that there is something “wrong” with my child – I love him very much – I am just concerned with the bigger picture and the possible long term effects. As a side note though, the therapist said that she has worked with many children who were only “diagnosed” with Hypotonia and they seemed to catch up by age 2 with no other issues. :)) We are working with him on pulling up and playing on his knees. We play little games to try and strengthen his arms and legs so that he will be able to get up on all fours and crawl from there. He likes to be able to stand and play, he just needs a little extra support in case his legs give out. The other “new trick” of the weekend is actually a noise. A friend and I took the babies to an aquarium on Friday and Landon was in L-O-V-E and he demonstrated this by making an excited squeeling noise for the entire hour we were there. Needless to say I did not want to leave the aquarium because I liked listening to him. Well, that noise has continued. Let me tell you, I never knew a grocery store could be so exciting. :) It puts a whole new perspective on life when you see it through the eyes of a child. Landon still loves to eat, still doesn’t like carrots and recently does not seem to like pumpkin anymore either. He does love eating from a pouch- I have these spoons that attach right to the pouch and he likes to just keep the spoon in his mouth and suck out all the food like a straw! He gets upset when you take it away, so I just let him do it. Landon loves to play with any toy that can go in his mouth, that top tooth is still on it’s way through and it is driving both of us crazy. Landon goes to sleep pretty easily, even when she is fussing. He does sleep more or less face planted in the corner of his crib, which is kind of funny to see. Tonight I put him in the walker and he managed to play in there and watch the world go by for almost 40 minutes, without moving it an inch! :) Hopefully he gets the hang of moving it, but right now it is actually a little too tall for him.

Jellyfish!

We have had lots of visitors the past few weeks with more to come tomorrow. I enjoy having the extra help around here and am greatly appreciative of all the clothes that got folded – I hate that part! We have more visitors and trips planned this summer and I am most excited for DISNEY in SEPTEMBER! :)Here are some pictures to make up for the long reading…