9 Months

 

Nine months have flown by and I am wishing desperately for time to slow down so that I can truly enjoy every second.  I want to remember so many little things...the sound of your belly laughs...the feel of your fluttery little fingers exploring my earrings...your distinct, delicious and indescribable smell...the sight of your blonde heads bent over the same toy.  At the same time, every uncharted moment brings us something new, and I am loving all of the discoveries, accomplishments and firsts that arrive with each new day.  

We are both goofy, crazy, head over heals in love with you.  The silly words, rhymes, wiggles, peek-a-boo sessions, songs and dance fests are part of our every day routine.  Now that we know how to earn a giggle, we are performing every chance we get.  Currently, eating your belly and tickling your feet do the trick.  However, the cats are fast becoming a favorite amusement.  Yesterday I sneezed and it was worthy of a good chuckle.  In short, you are happy babies until the lack of sleep or food makes you cranky.

Speaking of food, you love everything that I make for you (except carrots).  The "mmmmm" noise that you both make when you are hungry is still hilarious to me. Alex, you greet every spoonful with a look of disgust no matter what it is.  Of course, if it is something you like, your attitude changes after the first bite.  Will, you eat anything in sight until a cat wanders by and then I have to stand on my head and make sputtering biplane loop-de-loops to get the spoon in your mouth again. The craziest thing that I have made you eat so far is an asparagus, leek and sweet potato stew.  I am looking forward to sharing more yummy fruits and veggies with you as the summer season progresses. 

William...

 

You often keep quiet and wait until you are around familiar people before you open up with your chatter and smiles.  The last few times we went out to visit family or friends, you were overwhelmed and cried.  Just when I started telling people you were shy, you changed your colors and become the social butterfly.  Not even the latest challenge, large dogs with their slobbery tongues, could stir up a whimper or a frown.

Besides crowds, sudden or new noises make you nervous and beach balls flat out terrify you.  Whenever I leave the room or your sight, you start whimpering or crying immediately.  During every bath you spent the entire time splashing up a storm, literally soaking everything within a 10 foot radius (including me).  When you eat you shove your right fist in your mouth after every bite. You LOVE the cats and want help walking over to them so that you can charm them with your "doddammmmamma" babble while you grab a fistful of fur.  I put you in the walker today and you stood up and started moving right away.  You were incredibly pleased with yourself and I was a proud puddle on the floor.  Those little feet of yours have always been kicking and I have a feeling that you are going to hit the floor running as soon as you master the moves.
 
Alexander...

 

You are one happy and gregarious little boy.  Everyone gets a grin from you and when you are really fired up, you squeal and shout.  We love the sounds that you make and are constantly impressed by the range and pitch and volume that you achieve.  You are always on the move.  Stealing toys from your brother or others is your favorite activity right now.  It's pretty amazing watching how fast you will move across the room if you see someone having fun without you.  When I am out of sight you crawl until you find me, complaining loudly during the entire trek.

  
You LOVE the bouncy chair and when you are in it the whole house shakes.  Now you are bouncing in our laps, the high chair and the walker (the last two don't work out so well).  Sleep is clearly a waste of time for you.  Naps and bed time are greeted with tears.  Lately, you will even wake up out of a sound sleep crying hysterically.  This pattern of crying until I come in, gather you up and sleep with you is starting to make us wonder just how good you are at manipulating know-it-all adults.  You are inches away from flat out crawling.  Every chance you get, you are doing push-ups and rocking back and forth on your hands and knees.  We are in trouble when all the pieces click into place. 

  

We love you...
                    xoxo,
                                       Daddy & Mommy

 

Lazy Boys

These two will pretend that they don't know how their hands work whenever it's time to eat.  They will not hesitate to take advantage of anyone that will hold the bottle for them, including their very own loving Grandma.  As you can see, they clearly know how everything works.  Let's hope that they stop with the shenanigans now that we are on to their game...

Thanks for another great day Grandma Terry!

Messy Monday

Thanks a million for watching us all day Grandma Terry!  We apologize for making such a mess, we promise to be much better tomorrow...
                                                                                             xoxoxo, Will & Alex

Cheerios

The little hands in our house are great at grabbing all sorts of things...hair, cats, toys, toes, did I mention hair?  I figured that we should put all of the fine motor skills to good use.

 

Will's concentration and "serious about food" face 

led to immediate (and soggy) success.

Alex is still working on perfecting the technique.  

(Clearly he hasn't realized that the little circles he is 

bashing to bits are actually consumable).

I LOVE that he always has a smile ready...no matter what.

P.S. Your mama thinks that you both are scrumptious...

Father's Day

 

Where do I even begin? 

There will never be a way to explain the love and pride that I feel whenever I see you with the boys.  I would have never made it this far in the journey of parenthood without you.  Every day is your best day and yet you wake up and find a new way to make our world shine that much brighter.

We are all so lucky to have you in our lives.  The boys are growing into amazing  little men because of you.  They light up when they see you and snuggle in when you hold them.  They giggle when you make faces and listen when you read stories.    

I will forever be in awe at your ability to slip effortlessly into the role of fatherhood.  Thank you for showing me yet another beautiful layer of "you"...

 Happy Father's Day!

Family

There is nothing better than a trip home to visit with family.  Memorial Day weekend was spent talking, hugging and laughing with our loved ones.

Gramma Kat spoiled us rotten and showered the boys with love.  We enjoyed home cooked meals, coffee in the morning and a brand new murphy bed made up with fresh sheets and one of my mama's famous quilts...

The boys loved meeting their cousins and I loved swapping stories with my favorite big sister.

Cousin Aiden claimed Alex as his own (left) and we kept dressing Will in red so Liam could recognize his favorite (right)...

Alex and Will were mesmerized by their "big boy" cousins.  Other favorites included the fancy high chair, floors with carpet (practicing sitting up was much more fun with padding) and bunking with Gramma Kat in the comfy pack 'n' play...

 Things to remember about our first trip home...

-The Journey-
On the way, Will started crying after 3 hours of driving (their food demands are very organized).  On the drive back, the boys took turns crying from Dillard to Salem (in case you don't know, that's about 144 miles of solid crying).

Aaron came to a complete stop on I-5 for a family of Canada Geese trying to cross the road at a not so clever spot.

-The Visit-
I loved seeing home and all of the family that I have dearly missed. We need to head south more often!

Staying up all night with a wiggling, fussy boy (Will) who refused to share his bed with his brother.  The boys will definitely need their own sleeping arrangements for the big trip to the coast this summer.

-Favorite Bits-
Watching Aiden and Liam investigate their little cousins.  They were curious and the boys absolutely LOVED the attention and the excitement.

Catching my Mama and Alex snuggling one morning. Absolutely priceless...
 

Look Out

Last night, this little man started in the middle of his cozy quilt "roller baby" area and quickly ended up on the edge...

He knew right where the toys were and used his fine finger work and fondness for strings to pull them within reach...

Will REALLY enjoys using the slick wood floors to slither and spin.

 

Currently, all of Alex's attempts to move remind me of a frantic skydiver.  After waving his arms and kicking his legs in the air for a bit, he often gives up and rolls onto his back to blow bubbles and make his favorite "mmmmbfff" sound...

Tonight, he did manage to move quite a distance in reverse using just his arms to push him along.  We are now preparing for "active exploration" since it appears that crawling might be just around the corner.