9 Months!

The twins are 9 months old now! Well, they were 9 months like two weeks ago, but we just had their nine month appointment this week so I'm doing the update now (ok, the real reason is that as a stay at home mom, I literally have no concept of time).

Lots of new stuff this month! The boys are both growing and learning everyday and it's so fun to watch. One of my favorite developments of the month is dancing! They both "can't stop the feeeeeling" (but prefer the "Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo" song over Justin Timberlake). It's so stinkin' cute. Also new this month is a real strong clapping effort and some serious kisses. I'm quite confident Mav is saying "momma" but then again he jabbers all day long so I can't be sure.

The BIGGEST development, however, came about this past weekend. THEY ARE TAKING STEPS! Like actual walking. Maverick took one little step Friday night, then by Saturday morning it turned into two. He caught wind that it was fun and within an hour he had taken 10 steps at a time. I was so proud...I shrieked, I think I almost cried, it was magical. THEN... the very next day, Tuck, out of nowhere, just took two steps. Then three at a time, then four at a time. WOAH. They always seem to do things at such different paces but this feat they decided to do at the same time and I'm sooooo happy!!!

A lot of moms would sit here and say "slow down, babies!" but having two babies is very hard. And every new development and step in the growing process is a welcomed relief for me. A little bit more independence means a little less trying to console two jealous momma's boys. So go, go, go, boys! Go walk, go explore, go unravel the toilet paper if it means you are content and happy for a few more minutes while I try and load a dishwasher or something. I'm all for love and affection, but for goodness sake, I could use a little space every once in a while. Ya feel me, moms?

All right, where was I? Lets skip to their doctors appointment.

I will start with this... NEVER AGAIN will I go to the pediatrician with both babies and no help. Usually if my hubby is working, I grab a Grandma or one of the many Aunts to help me. This time I attempted to do it alone but I forgot how mobile they are right now. I got them undressed and then realized there was no place to put them while we waited for the doc. Either I had to hold them, put them back in their carseats, or let them play on the floor (ewwww). Unfortunately, they ended up on the floor. What was I supposed to do? Contain them and make them scream? Ugh. Oh well.

It went pretty well though... except for when Tuck flipped over the carseat and faceplanted in front of the doctor. Nice job, mom. They were a little nervous this time when they got weighed or the doc examined them. I hate that they are old enough to have fear. We knew Maverick was starting to catch up with Tuck so we were very curious about weights and height. They have been consistently about two pounds and an inch and a half apart. But we were right, my little Maverick is catching up! He now weighs 17 pounds, 12 ounces and was 23 inches long. He's jumped up in percentile too, going from 8% to 15% in 3 months. Tucker weighed an even 19 pounds and was 23 and 3/4 inches.  I'm glad to see they are getting closer in size. I didn't want Maverick to be a little shrimp, his brothers would pick on him for sure. Nothing much else to report from the appointment. They are healthy boys, praise God!

I won't bore you with much more. They are eating well, still nursing, and not sleeping through the night. I just don't even know anymore. I'm convinced they will never sleep through the night. Whatever, they win. Moving on... I just got out all the 12 month clothes for summer so that's exciting I guess. Mav can still fit into 3-6 month clothes but I'm so sick of looking at those clothes that I finally put them away. It's nice to finally put short sleeves and shorts on them!

That's about all. Here are a few of the latest pics. Now I'm going to go eat my toast that I put in the toaster before I started writing this and then forgot about. Who am I kidding, it's not toast... it's toaster strudels. They were on sale, don't judge.

And here's a few of Easton. I can't leave him out! My sweet boy is all about the sports lately. I LOVE it!

Shortcomings of a Mother...

Do you ever feel like a train wreck of mother? Like, you love your children and protect them and all that, but you pale in comparison to the mothers on Pinterest doing crafts with their toddler while baby wearing their other child? Or the mom on Facebook who takes her kids to the park 3 times a week and does baby-and-me yoga every Saturday? I mean, good for her, but I'm just struggling to take a daily shower and keep 3 rambunctious boys alive and fed.

Yesterday, I put the twins to sleep and came out to my 2 year old who had taken an entire package of wipes and spread them across the living room floor. Later, one of the twins got a hold of a half eaten bag of Doritos, dumped them on the living room carpet, and ate a bunch before I caught wind. Both the twins have found the toilet and both have eaten a bug in the past two months. I swear, I watch them! But there are three, who insist on going in different directions. And no matter how many times I vacuum, they still manage to find something gross to eat. "Here's a ladybug, wonder what that tastes like!" Or "Mmmmm, mom's flip flop. Seems like a good teething toy!"  It's embarrassing to even type it all out, but I know for a fact that I'm not the only mom who has this issue. I mean, I've perfected the mouth sweep with my finger and I've found that a syringe of water will help rinse out a mouth full of dirt. That's gotta count for something, right?

It can be frustrating. And scary. If those things could happen in two seconds when I look way, what else could happen?! I know for a fact that I can do my absolute best at supervising and something could still go wrong. That's why I'm grateful to believe in a God that has my back, that watches over my children daily and has a plan for their lives. A God that sends his angels to guard them and a Holy Spirit to prompt me when something doesn't seem right. You know that split second where you decide to push the cup of hot coffee back a few inches further or out of the corner of your eye you notice some sort of choking hazard on the ground. Or when it gets way too quiet and you decide to go check on those little trouble makers. Some like to call it gut feelings or maternal instinct, but sometimes I think God has a lot more to do with it than we think. I think He is the one behind that little nudge to check and make sure you shut the propane tank off on the grill or didn't leave the basement door open.

Being a parent is tough, and there are a lot of ways to mess up. But I think leaning on God is the best way to go about it. He is to me what I am to my toddler... I go behind Easton cleaning up his mess, watching over him, and keeping him safe without him ever being aware of it. Like a child without a care in the world, we are unknowingly being watched, cared for, and protected by an Almighty God. That truth gives me such a sense of peace in this crazy journey of motherhood, which I feel like I fail at everyday.  He's got me.

8 Months

Tomorrow, the twins turn 8 months! I can't believe it. I have survived 8 months with twins! Go me.

Today, we are celebrating. I just put 2 wide awake boys in their cribs, and within 1 minute... ONE minute... they were laying down going to sleep. Let me tell you, this is a victory. So, I put the 3rd boy down for nap time and I actually have some time to update my blog. I have a cup of coffee next to me, Jesus Culture Pandora playing in the background, and some time to focus long enough to write a post. 

Where do I start?

Since I already brought it up, we'll start with sleeping. How are they sleeping? Well, not great but not terrible either. Last night they were up twice but I'm blaming stuffy noses. We are teaching them to fall asleep on their own, which is hard when you've literally nursed them to sleep every night and nap for most of their lives. I don't regret it though, it's one of the wonderful things that goes with breastfeeding. It's a tough habit to break, but today's nap proved that we're making big steps in the right direction! They sleep from 8-8:30pm to 7-8am (with a wake up or two in there) and they take 2-3 naps a day. I try my darndest to keep them on a schedule but they prove to me over and over that they are two completely different kids. One will sleep a half hour, the other an hour and a half. Then usually by next nap one is overtired and one isn't quite tired yet. I'll be glad when their naps are more consistent. 

Eating next. Oh man, these boys love their food! We went a completely different route with the twins than we did Easton. Easton we did strictly purees for a long time and he turned out to be THE PICKIEST eater ever. His parents are picky, so there's that, but this kid lives off of cereal, peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, and yogurt. Anyway, with the twins I wanted to do it differently. Right from the start we did more chunky purees and chunks of food. Maverick still doesn't have teeth, and Tucker has two, but they do really good with different types of food. They like chicken, meatballs, pasta, banana, applesauce, sweet potato chunks, squash, dry wheat toast, heck... they've tried pizza and ice cream too! Pretty much anything we try, Maverick will eat. Tuck is a little pickier but eats waaaaay more than Easton ever did. It's so much fun letting them try new stuff. They also still nurse (8 months and counting, go me!) a lot. Their new thing is what I'm calling "territorial nursing." They fight over me. If one is nursing, the other gets mad and even if I fed them 10 minutes ago, they will demand more milk to prove that Mom is their territory. It's entertaining for a minute, until I feel like a piece of meat. 

Watching them play is getting more fun every day. Now that they can crawl, the whole house is fair game. They love to explore and get into trouble. They love to pull each other's hair or crawl on top of each other. But a lot of times they will sit there and play like big boys in the living room. Easton is chomping at the bit to be able to play with them more. He has a pop up tent that he insists on putting over their heads and crawling in with them. Give it another year and these three will be inseparable I bet! 

Maverick is our silly boy. He's loud. Laughs at everything. Talks all the time. Constantly crawls to the bathroom to yank at the shower curtain. He rubs his feet together and is always missing a sock. He's short and so little, but eats like a horse. Blueberries are a favorite. He can drink from a straw! We still call him Mavy or Mavy J. He's a sweetheart. He stands well and crawls super quick. 

Tucker, we fittingly call Meatball. He's a big boy. He's sensitive, but strong. He is a new kid now that he can crawl and stand. He even will let go for a few seconds. He claps! He is Tuck Tuck. He is a snuggler. Tucker loves Tucker... he loves looking in the mirror! He is also a sweetheart... he gives the best slobbery kisses. He's a little stubborn, and he's much quieter than Mav. Everyone swear he is Easton's look-a-like but I look at him and see myself. 

While I'm at it, let's do Easton. There are so many things about him right now that I never want to forget. He's sweet. He will kiss me for no reason and demands hugs all day. He brings the babies toys when they cry. He still can't talk very well, so he has his own language. The way he says purple makes me melt. He loves playdough, which he calls "pee-ka". He loves to paint, too...he's creative. He can build super impressive towers with this one set of blocks he has.  I can see him becoming an engineer like his grandpa... he can be really methodical and particular with tower-building. He loves Toy Story and Cars, he's kind of over his Despicable Me obsession. He goes on the potty like a pro and has for months now. Jer and I love all our kids equally, but Easton has a special place in our hearts being our first. I say all the time that God gave him that personality because he was planning for us having twins. He doesn't get jealous or throw huge temper tantrums. He's such a good big brother. He loves youtube videos and can somehow get Netflix to pop up on our TV... it's kind of impressive. Once it's on he demands to watch "trucks" which is DinoTrux. He loves technology but will play outside for hours and cry when he has to go in. His favorite time of the day is right before bed, when the twins are asleep and he gets to hang out on Mom and Dad's bed for a while. 

Our boys are just amazing. They are hard work, let me tell ya, but they are so worth it. Being their Momma is so stinking awesome. 

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures right now: