Nine Months

I'm blogging again today from the land of Denial. If you're a parent, I'm sure you've heard of this far away place filled with sweet babies who stay small forever and never, ever grow up without your permission.

The boys turned 9 months last week and I'm just now getting a moment to sit down and get some stats typed up.

I was hoping to do a little block of pictures showing the progression of the boys over the past 9 months, but realized I uploaded them as "centered" and would have to re-upload all of them to change the format. So, yeah, you're just going to have to scroll down; sorry.

This is Thing 1.

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

It's hard to believe the change he's made from about 4 months to now. He just always looked frail and didn't have an ounce of meat on him to spare. He still doesn't have much to spare, but look at those cheeks! I never thought I'd be so happy to see chubby cheeks!!

Stats:

Weight: 16 lb. 2 oz.

Height: 28 inches

Head: 17.5

We are finally on the chart for weight (3%); that's the first time since birth.

Thing 1 is my mover and shaker. He started crawling about 2 weeks ago and hasn't stopped since. He can zip across a room in just under 2 minutes and get to exactly what he wants. He still enjoys tormenting his brother and will sometimes seek him out, I think, just to pounce on him and hear him cry. He's also becoming a squealer, so we're working on that. Neither S or I are big fans of squealers. But O is such a happy baby and has a smile for anyone that needs one.

Thing 1 has two bottom teeth.

He babbles all day and his first word is "pat." He pats to the music on command and then says "pa- pa-pa." It's pretty dang adorable.

Thing 1 is very good at entertaining himself and can roll around/crawl around on the floor with one item for a good 20-30 minutes before he gets bored. Those 10 days in the isolette after birth must have prepared him for entertaining himself (he used to lay awake starting at the nurses walking by instead of sleeping like normal newborns do).

I mean, come on, look at those cheeks and the double chin! Who would have guessed 9 months ago?

He still adores his dog and attempts to pet/love on him whenever he can.

My big handsome boy!

Thing 2

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

The biggest change Thing 2 has made is his personality. His colic was so extreme and severe for the first 4 months, that it's hard to remember when he was ever happy. His smiles were few and far between and were hard earned by anyone who managed to eek one out. Then as the colic subsided, an entirely new baby emerged (thank goodness!!!). Now B is a happy baby, who's quick to smile and always has a twinkle in his eye. He also has the best belly laugh I've ever heard - well since his big brother Bub, who had the same laugh.

Stats:

Weight: 18 lbs. 1 oz.

Height: 27.5 in

Head: 18

Thing 2 is about two weeks away from crawling, as he's doing what Thing 1 did just before he started scooting. But he's quickly learning he can roll to get just about anywhere he needs to be - and he's quick. He is his momma's boy and wants to be within eye sight of me most of the time. He has become a little bit wary of others holding him and usually lets them know by diving towards me and my arms. It can get a bit tiresome, but since I've never had a momma's boy, it's also sweet.

Thing 2 finally popped a bottom tooth a few days ago.

He does get irritated by his brother mauling him, but I've noticed in the past few days, he's starting to dish it out himself. He'll roll over to Thing 1 and try to climb on his back; all's fair in love and war boys.

He went through a phase where he said "hi" to everyone. Now he's moved on to "da-da-da-da." Why, oh why, can't their first word be a tribute to the person who cares for them 24/7? Thank goodness for him, it's absolutely adorable when he says it.

Both boys love being outside and immediately start to giggle when we head out of the house. They eat three solid meals a day, and when given the chance, they eat, and eat, and eat. Our grocery bill is already taking a hit from these two. They much prefer feeding themselves table food over baby food, so we have to shovel the baby food down first when they're really hungry and before they get bored with it. Then they can spend the rest of meal time feeding themselves "real food." Some of their faves are, grilled cheese, pizza - minus the sauce, mac and cheese, beans, avocado, banana, cheerios, graham crackers, yogurt. Okay, so really baby food broccoli is the only thing we've found they don't like.

They nurse every 4 hours during the day, go to bed around 6:45-7 and sleep until about 5:15 when they want to eat again. Then it's back to bed until 6:45/7. We're working to cut out that early morning feed, but they're pretty adamant at this point.

This gives you a pretty good idea of what most of our days look like - someone's always tackling someone else. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to have my own WWF team in a few years.

I love you boys.