And he's off!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a walker!

The boys turned one and things have been happening rapidly around here on the development front ever since. Most notably: the day they were officially one year and one day, Brady stood up in the middle of the room - without pulling himself on anything - and took his first tentative step. For that day, that was all. But every day since then he's increased the number of steps until this evening when he walked clear across the room. Several times. Great job, Brady!

He still looks like a little peanut who is too small to walk which makes it even more cute. What makes it hysterical, however, is the look on Aaron's face every time he spots Brady walking. It's a look that is a combination of "What the....?" and "How the....?" You'll do it soon too, buddy, don't worry.

There's no turning back now!

Party Pictures

Aaron and Brady celebrated their 1st birthday today.
It was hot but the kids stayed cool in the pool
and the sprinkler
Aaron has been feeling under the weather (new teeth and resulting fever) but managed to be a good sport.
Brady, as always, was happy to have everyone's attention.
Alaina was a super helpful big sister.
Mommy made her first attempt at cake decorating two "banana" cakes for her little monkeys.
Sure they could have looked nicer but they tasted delicious.
While the boys enjoyed cake, the party guests enjoyed ice cream sundaes
Post-cake sugar crash resulted in some good snuggles for Gammy and Brady...
Aaron and Caroline...
And Pepere and Alaina...
Happy Birthday little boys!!

Happy Birthday Brady!

Dear Brady,

Unlike your brother, I think you never wanted to leave my body! You spent 34 weeks trying to climb as far up into my rib cage as you possibly could. You only ventured down when you were trying to snuggle up against Aaron, leaving me quite lopsided and ridiculous looking! But one year ago from this minute, you made your entrance. Yours was a quiet entrance and for a moment, you made me very anxious. Thankfully after only a moment, I heard you give a quiet cry and I knew that you were alright.

Brady, my "Baby B"...I like to think the "B" is for "Bonus". In my wildest dreams when I took that first home pregnancy test, I never, ever imagined there would be two babies in there. My complete joy at finding out I was going to be getting double the pleasure is something I can never describe to you. I just know that you were a reward from God from something I must have done right at some point.

During your first few weeks, you reaped the benefit of Aaron's confinement in the NICU. Since you had no issues to speak of, you were held all the time. When we got you home, you seemed to enjoy getting a break from the constant attention but only for a little while! It wasn't long before you showed that you love to be held, you love to be cuddled, you love to be loved (and give love). While your two best friends are Aaron and Alaina, it is obvious that you will be friends with anyone who smiles in your direction.

At this moment you have two whole teeth which you love to use when you bite my toes. Why that amuses you, I have no idea, but it sure does. You seem to be much more interested in listening than speaking but you do love to say "Dada". You are also working on "up", "down" and signing "all done". You are ready to take off and walk at any second. You've taken a few steps but you always lower yourself to the ground when you realize no one is holding on to you. I give this a few more days and then there will be no stopping you.

Brady, my sensitive, sweet boy. I cherish every moment I have with you. I love watching you with your sister and of course, the way you interact with such awe with Aaron. I can't wait to watch you grow and find out all this world has to offer you.

I love you,
Mommy

Brady Then:



Brady Now:

When Alaina is Away...

The boys will play, with all of her stuff. They sneak into her room, they chew on her shoes (gross, I know). This last time they had the most fun sharing her "running stick"...

First Haircut!

After much hemming and hawing we finally decided to take the boys for a haircut. They had been rocking the mullet (bad) but with super cute curls (good) that we were afraid to lose. But once we had two different people refer to the boys as girls...we knew it was time for a little clean up. Unfortunately we went straight from daycare without stopping home first (aka DINNER time) so the boys were as tolerant as they could be at feeding time.

Aaron enjoyed watching himself in the mirror.


Brady preferred to cling with all his might to his Daddy for protection from the crazy lady with scissors.
And then the camera battery died so there is no "final product" shot. Just believe me when I say no one will mistake them for girls again - they are too handsome for that!

Bath time is fun

The boys like to watch each other take baths. Recently Brady wanted to "help" Aaron take a bath. He kept getting closer and closer. Before I realized it, Daddy had him in the sink with Aaron.
At that point we realized "why not?", took his diaper off and let him in together.

Just too much fun.

Until we took Aaron out. At that point Brady spotted Pepere in the backyard and tried to climb out the window.
Good times. And you can't beat the wild hair that comes with bath night.

Happy Father's Day

Hi Daddy,

Happy Father's Day!

This year you have taken such good care of us. We love all the playing, cuddling, teaching, and comforting you have done. You get up in the middle of the night (most of the time without complaining or being asked by Mommy), you try to teach us through play, you don't let us watch junkie TV, and you are not afraid to show your affection. Most of all, you take really good care of Mommy so she gets to do the fun stuff with us too, not just the "work".

We are so lucky to have you. We love you. And when we are better at expressing ourselves, we'll type these types of things ourselves instead of just "dictating" to Mommy who interprets our words for us!

Love you!
Alaina, Aaron & Brady (oh, and Kayla)

PS - Mommy really loves you too...

Teeth!

Before bed last night, Brady had his first tooth break the gum - bottom left. This morning Aaron woke up with his first - bottom right.

My father wanted to know: what are the odds that they would each get their first tooth on the same day? Well, Dad, since they are, in fact, identical twins, I think the odds were pretty good!

(I'll post a picture once the teeth grow enough to be visible!)

Favorite Brother

Alaina and Aaron were wrestling last night and she kept repeating - to his delight - you're my favorite brother.



To be fair, she said the same thing to Brady later in the night. And she also told me she loved the baby in my tummy. Good girl, don't play favorites!

Women troubles

Recently Aaron picked out his "girlfriend" at daycare and sealed the deal with a kiss.
Today Brady tried to move in on his brother's woman and was quickly put in his place - by her.

The Ladies' Man

While his brother and sister were napping, I scooped up Aaron for some one-on-one Mommy time at one of my favorite places...the mall. I was in need of some (more) maternity clothes for work and I appreciated his opinion. Well, his company anyway.

While standing in line to make a purchase, he attracted the attention of a rather adorable 2-year old girl. She made her way over to him and started rubbing his bare foot. Her father followed quickly and told me that "she loves babies". She sure did because she quickly moved from a foot rub to a head pat to a kiss on the cheek. Aaron was appreciative of the attention until she touched his bottle. Eek - hands off lady!

This is two older women Aaron has either made his move on or who have made a move on him. Brady has not been so lucky. So far, his biggest score has been with a little female named Kayla.




Keep tryin' buddy. Your day will come too.

Wait. Who are you?

My sons are identical. There are days when they look more like each other than other days. Lately, those days are coming more and more frequently. But even on their most identical days, I can tell them apart. I don't think it's mother's intuition; I really think there are the tiniest, subtlest differences between them that anyone who spends any significant amount of time with them would be able to distinguish. That being said, every once in a while, there are times where I have to stop and question: Who the hell am I holding?

This morning was one of those times.

Over the past few days I've noticed a funny line - like a crack - across the toenail on Aaron's right big toe. This morning, I was giving a bottle and cuddling Brady only to look down and notice his right big toenail. Same. Exact. Crack.

It was such a crazy coincidence that I had to stop and go back over the course of events of the last 12 hours to reassure myself I hadn't switched them at any point. Really, are identical twins supposed to be THAT identical? Maybe I'm in trouble. I guess we should go back to painting toenails just to be triple sure we always know which kid is which.

Bed time is the most fun time

First Words! (sort of)

Brady is barely using "mama" in context, however, he makes my day (and night) with his correct use of the word "up". Yes, up. He crawls over, pulls himself up on my legs, puts his arms up and says "up". Okay, it's more like "uh" but still, it's the right sounds in the right context. I'll take it.

Aaron on the other hand, has chosen his favorite person in the household. He has still not even attempted "mama" but has full command of "Nay-na". That would be his word for "Alaina". It's about the cutest thing I've ever heard.

Until one of them starts calling for Mommy. Then THAT will be the cutest thing.

We Did It!

In yesterday's post over on HDYDI, I made big confession: I NEVER take the children anywhere alone.

I know, I know. The boys have been around for 10-months; how is that possible? Trust me, it just is. I've never been in the position to HAVE to go anywhere without another adult so I just haven't done it. Also, I'm terrified. And the work involved just packing everyone up and loading them into the car (while herding the dog off to her crate) is enough to deter anyone.

But that has all changed now my friends. I am happy to announce that for the first time last night, I successfully managed to be out of the house - alone - with all three children! We accepted a dinner invitation from Katie and her brood. Dinner time is about the worst time of day for my children. They are tired, they are hungry, they want their mommy and they will fight each other to get to their food/me. But, Katie and her kids are the only people I would feel comfortable accepting this invitation from - at least the first invitation. I knew that if the kids (or I) did lose it, she wouldn't be totally appalled and may, in fact, even invite us to do something else with them again. So, I decided it was time to just go for it.

I am happy to report that even though we all ate about a third of our normal dinner portions, we did ALL eat (myself included!). There were no meltdowns. In fact, there was laughter. My normally stranger-shy toddler was (gasp!) playing without keeping me within her direct line of vision. My sons allowed me to PUT THEM DOWN and WALK AWAY.

This was a great confidence boost. Now that the summer months are here, I am looking forward to finally getting out and about. So many things await: summer concerts on the town green, the park, the zoo. Now, if they'd only contribute to filling the gas tank, we'd be unstoppable.

MOOOOOOOOOO

It's official: we are off formula! Woo-hoo!

Aaron and Brady are drinking milk like nobody's business. This is so nice for Mommy's wallet. Although, I am a little bummed that, unlike with formula, I cannot buy milk by the case on Diapers.com and have it shipped directly to my doorstep. Oh well. I guess a little planning ahead never killed anyone.

For Just $2 a Day...

I often sigh and whine at Daddy for his choices of outfits when he dresses Alaina in the morning. I do not appreciate coming home to find that he has taken her out looking like a homeless person. So I was humbled walking in the door at the end of the day with these two:

I swear, they do own shirts.

But this was a particularly rough day of drooling, messy eating, sweating and peeing at day care. The boys ran through their entire supply of back-up clothing. When I arrived to pick them up at 5:15, they looked like they had just gotten off the courts from a shirts vs. skins pick-up game.

They looked so cute, we let them go topless the rest of the night. They seemed to enjoy it. I believe Aaron even flexed at one point....

Just curious

How long does it usually take for a tooth to come in? My poor sons are chewing on everything. They are whining, drool machines. Aaron has one corner of one tooth poked through his lower gums. And that's it. It's been there for two days. When will the suffering (their and ours) finally end?

The Race to Walk

Recently Brady has started pulling up to the standing position using…anything*. Couch, body parts of people nearby and especially, the toy chest. He will then cruise around, occasionally moving from one piece of furniture to another.

Aaron…not so much.

So, here's the question: will Brady – who is so clearly TRYING to be upright and walk – actually take off first? Or will Aaron repeat his earlier strategy of letting his brother take the trouble to figure out how it all works…only to get up and beat him to the punch?

Time will tell.

Side note: *Brady also likes to pull up using the sliding glass doors to the former-porch-now-family-room. Occasionally at dinner we close those so we can keep them contained (and quiet) while we attempt to have a meal and conversation with Alaina. They're glass doors, people, we can see the kids. Don't judge. Anyway, when he pulls up, he resembles a mime acting like he's pulling up on something. Hysterical.

9-Month Well (and unwell) Baby Checkup

This morning we took the boys to Dr. P for their 9-month well baby visit. The timing was good as they have both been battling congestion for a few weeks (please, please, please, not another ear infection) and haven't slept well in three nights. Here's the recap:

Growth Checks: They are both still in the 25th percentile for both height and weight (actual age) with Aaron weighing 18 lbs and Brady weighing 17.5. Aaron also checked in at a 1/2 inch taller than Brady.

Motor Skills: Basically the boys are both right on track. Currently Brady is "parachuting" better than Aaron and seems more ready to balance himself (i.e. start walking). But since Brady also expressed interest in crawling WELL in advance of Aaron and Aaron actually crawled first, no one is concerned about Aaron being behind in this area.

Vaccinations: None today. Yippee!

Hearing Test: Skipped due to congestion. We need to come back next month and try again.

Blood Work: They both had their fingers pricked today to do a quick check of iron levels. Apparently both are perfect. Aaron screamed for the prick and Brady didn't even seem to notice it had happened. Both were trying to get their band-aids off when we put them in their car seats. I'm sure they both ate them by the time they got to day care.

Diet: Hallelujah! We were told that they can start having half & half bottles of whole milk and formula next week. Once we've gone through the formula we have on hand, it's on to whole milk full-time. With Alaina we were told not to introduce cow's milk until 12 months. But since I drank milk while I nursed the boys, and they are on a milk-based formula, Dr. P assured us that it is perfectly fine to make the switch now. Awesome! Everyone knows how expensive formula is. And when you're buying for two....Let's just say this is the best (financial) news I've gotten in a while!

Issues: The boys have both been congested for some time now. Runny noses, coughing, etc. Since we are treating said congestion with saline rinses of the nose, we buy saline...all the time. Today we were finally given the (not so) secret formula to making our own saline flush system at home. Appreciated as paying $4 for a bottle of salt water seemed ridiculous. And when we pay that every day, it's sort of insane.

We also addressed the issue of the recent sleepless nights and it was confirmed that we are, in fact, dealing with night terrors. I thought the only way to deal with night terrors was to just let them pass; don't wake the baby and let them work it out on their own. Torture for the parent and also, there is the fear that the second baby will be scared awake from the screaming. But Dr. P told us we could hopefully intervene before it happens. We should wake the boys up (WHAT?!?) in advance of it happening and then when they go back to sleep, they will sleep more peacefully. I don't like the idea of waking them up but I do like the idea of sleeping more peacefully. And when we wake them, we can give their noses one more rinse (did I mention the congestion?) so hopefully they won't wake up gagging from congestion either. I'll let you know how this turns out.

All in all a very happy visit. I can't believe they are 9 months old.