Months 9 & 10

9 months

 Remember when I told you that Jack was never going to crawl?  Well, I was wrong!  Jack is a crawling fool, and he and Molly race around the house like it's the Baby Grand-Prix.  Chasing behind two crazy little ones and working part time gives me very little downtime to do other things that I love (like blogging, for instance). 

When M & J were born, I tried to peer into the future and imagine a time when they would hold their own bottles, snack from our plates, and learn to walk, but I just couldn't picture it.  10 months ago, I found that it was impossible to even make-believe that this day would come.  Now I know why-  if my exhausted, newly post-partum self had begun to realize how insane life would be, I might have tried to return them!  In all my prophesying, I didn't even come close to how much fun we'd have, either, which more than makes up for the craziness most of the time.  Every day one of the twins is doing something new.  New sounds, new skills, new likes and dislikes...  I am constantly amazed by how fast they are changing.

10 Months- They look like toddlers!!

We've started letting them loose with supervision in the kitchen/living room/playroom areas of the house, and they love it.  They've only eaten dog food once (Molly's idea), but constantly try to pull the night light out of it's socket in the hall (Jack's daily mission).  Both of them say Mama and Dada with intent, and I love it!  There is nothing I'd rather be than Molly & Jack's Mama.

Goodness, Gracious!

It's been 2 and a half months since I've updated this blog.  I'm having such a hard time finding the spare minutes to type even a short blurb about what's been going on in the Pierce house!  There's no way I can catch up on my monthly updates, which is terribly depressing because this is the main way in which I am cataloging our life.  Molly & Jack's baby books are completely empty, but my goal is to have them up to date by their birthday. 

Oh well.  Enough of the poor-me, I-have-no-time whining.  I've effectively wasted about 5 minutes during which I could have been telling you about the babies!

Over the past few months, we have gotten 5 more teeth, Molly has started to crawl, and both little ones can pull up and cruise around in the playyard.  Jack has decided that crawling is really not his thing, so he is skipping that milestone altogether for the time being.  Neither one is really talking, though Jack will say Dada and Mama occasionally- mostly when he's upset.  Molly is ridiculously independent, observative and loves to explore, while Jack is more reserved, sensitive and eager to please.  I never would have guessed that this is how their little personalities would turn out, but I am loving the contrast in them!

We are officially leaving "baby-baby" territory, and have our feet firmly planted in the "big-baby" zone.  It seems like time is flying even faster than I'd imagined it might, and I'm trying so hard to hold on to these moments.  When I think about all of the stages we've been through, it's hard to recall the details of them without looking back at pictures or reading my blog entries.  Surely it's like this for everyone, right?  I just hope that I can find more time to dedicate to chronicling the adventures of Jack and Molly, so that I'll have blog posts to look back on!

(5 and) 6 Months!!

Hello out there... Is anyone still reading? I am so terribly sorry for being MIA for so long. It's inexcusable really, but things have been so incredibly hectic at my house. Forgive me?

Month 5 was exhausting. The babies were sick with croup for weeks and had a pitiful cough-y Christmas, so we're going to focus on the good stuff: they made it safely into 2013, and are back on track!

 The highlight of our December was learning to roll over from backs to tummies. Now that tummy time is voluntary, it's so much more fun! It does make nighttime more interesting for Molly, though. She spends ALL night, EVERY night practicing her new skills. It would be much cuter if she didn't wake up every single time- getting up every 30 minutes to replace a dislodged pacifier is insane.

Molly and Jack both have 2 teeth, and they are the cutest, sweetest, sharpest teeth ever. Seriously- those suckers are like little Ginsu knives. Now I know why they call it "cutting" teeth! Molly had no problems at all. She woke up one morning with a tooth and that was that. Jack, however, screamed for 2 months. He drooled, chewed, and sweated them out. He's a typical man already!

We started oatmeal this month and have moved on to (mostly) homemade veggies and fruits. They are starting to get the hang of the spoon-mouth relationship, and have liked most of the foods they've tried. Avocado was our least favorite, but it took their Daddy 25 years to realize how awesome guacamole is, so I'm not giving up!

Jack has become the most loving, laid back baby over the past month. He smiles all the time. I think he's trying to make up for the early months when he didn't grin at all. While Molly is a little mover and shaker, he is content to lay back, relax, and chill out.  When he's eating, he'll reach up and rub your face.  It's so sweet!  This little guy is always up for cuddling and I love it.

Molly is a baby monster. She is always on the move, scooting backwards on her belly and shimmying everywhere. The floor is no longer a "safe" place to let her play.  If we turn our back for a few moments, she'll disappear under a chair or table.  It's a good thing that she's super adorable, because she is stubborn and sassy already, which is a B-A-D combination.  I am semi-terrified of raising her!

 M & J have been complete opposites since the day they were born, and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon.  Molly is a biting, scratching, grinning wild child.  Jack is a snuggling, laughing, sensitive Mama's boy.  This age is my absolute favorite yet, and I am so lucky that I get to share it with them. 

4 Months

It just doesn't seem possible. I cannot believe that my tiny little babies are 4 months old.  Also unbelievable?  It's been 2 weeks since I've blogged!  I've not even been able to keep up with reading them, much less sit down to write anything.  My twins are busy, you guys.  Oh well.  On to the update!

Molly has learned to blow raspberries.   That's a really sweet way of putting it, since what she's actually doing is spitting all over anything that comes within a foot of her face.  It's all my fault.  I though it would be so cute, and she is a great mimic, so I spent hours one day blowing kisses and sputtering at her.  As predicted, she picked it up really quickly and the rest is history:

We definitely have our hands full with this little comedian- she smiles/laughs freely and often, and is pretty laid back.  If the television is on, she will do everything in her power to turn and watch it (note to self- leave the channel on Sprout, not TLC!).  Tummy time is getting harder, because she will roll over to her back once she's had enough.  She has also discovered that she has fingers, and that they are delicious, so full body swaddling is out of the question for sleep.  If those little hands are tucked away, she fights and wiggles until they're free.  It's made our bedtime routine slightly more challenging, but she is much happier.  I really love this little girl!

Jack is also a champion at getting his slobber all over EVERYTHING, because he's teething and drools non-stop.  I'm praying that his hurting gums are the reason for his hair-trigger temper.  We jokingly call him Dr. Jackyll (like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but Jackyll?  Because his name is Jack?  Nevermind...).  One minute you have the smiling Jack that I adore and the next instant, he is shrieking like a little girl.  Only little girls don't even sound this pitiful!  These fits only happen when he is hungry or extremely tired.  At least he's predictable.

When he's not throwing a full-fledged temper tantrum, he is such a loving baby.  Our little stoic won't dole out easy smiles and laughs, but he can cuddle with the best of them.  Those hard won giggles are so completely worth it, because this face melts my heart:

The sweetest moments with Jack are at night right before bed.  Once he is swaddled (arms out, of course), we rock for a bit and he just laughs.  I think that he might be laughing at me, thinking "You really think I'm ready to go to sleep?  No way!".  Regardless of the reason, it's easily my favorite time with him.

Molly and Jack could not be any less alike if they tried.  Where one is funny and calm, the other is contemplative and temperamental.  Molly is high-energy and low-maintenance, while Jack is the complete opposite.  I think they complement each other just perfectly.  Happy 4 months, little ones.  They've been the best, most challenging 4 months of my life!

***Edited to add:  I re-read my 3 month update, and realized that Molly and Jack have completely reversed roles over the past month.  Molly has gone from being my difficult child to the reliably "good" one and Jack went from generally calm to bipolar.  How do they change so fast?

Routines Rock!

Houston, we have a sleep routine.  It's not perfect and it's not always pretty, but it is predictable.  That's a score in my book.

I posted few weeks ago about out nap/bedtime failures, but I am pleased to report that we've made a fair bit of progress.  It's 11pm and I am watching the babies sleep on the video monitor.  To celebrate this small victory, I'll let you peek in on a typical day at our house:

7ish am-  Wake up, get dressed and start the day with the breakfast of (baby) champions.  Bottle time!  After eating, we spit up, play, have tummy time and spit up some more. 

8:30 am- Down for our first nap.  Molly in her bouncer and Jack in the MamaRoo.  Jack generally needs to be swaddled, and Molly is about 50:50 on needing to be wrapped for this nap.  We're using SwaddleDesigns blankets during their daytime naps.  I love, love, love these blankets!

9:15-10:30 am- Awake again.  Depending on how long this nap runs, we might read or play until it's time to eat again.

10:30ish am- Eat, then play and catnap!

2 pm- Yep, you guessed it.  Another bottle.

2:30-3 pm-  Make baby burritos and lay them down for a nap in their cribs.  They usually sleep 2-2.5 hours in the afternoon.  This is my chunk of time to wash dishes, fold laundry and make bottles.  If I'm lucky, I might get a nap, too!

5 pm- Stretch, coo and smile!  We play in the nursery for a few minutes while their bottles are heating up, then it's time for more milk.  After this feeding, we play and fuss in equal measures.  One minute we are all happy on the floor and before you can get comfortable, it's time to pace and shush because they are screaming.  Definitely the toughest part of the day!

8 pm- Start our bedtime routine:  Bathe the babies, get into our pajamas, and eat again.  Molly is zipped into her Woombie and Jack slips into a sleep sack or gets swaddled with his arms out.  Finally, it's time for bed.  Around 8:45 or 9pm, we read a book or sing lullabies, say our prayers and go to sleep!

3-4 am-  One of the babies (generally Molly) wakes up to eat, so they both get changed and fed before going back to sleep.

7 am- Start the whole shebang all over again!

Now that we've started paying attention to these patterns, the babies' moods make so much more sense!  A lot of their daytime fussy spells were caused by being terribly overtired.  I was completely missing their sleep cues.  Jack still fights sleep, but once he is wrapped he is down for the count.  Molly has adjusted well to a few longer naps instead of catnapping constantly.  We are all happier when we know what to expect from the day.  Routines rock.

I Need Rehab

I've fallen of the "Thankful" wagon. Please forgive me! Today, I'm grateful for second (and third, and fourth...) chances. I will try harder to post everyday. Happy Thursday!

Day 5 (and a half)

Day 5.5- I am so thankful that I live in a country that prides itself on freedom of mind. Regardless of which candidate you vote for today, please exercise your right!