Month 9 has been full of FUN! Seriously, Benji and Zachary have become our very best friends. Is it weird to be best friends with 2 boys under the age of 1? Don't answer that :)
As I always say, their personalities are emerging more and more. Zachary is definitely our class clown who likes to make you laugh. That's not to say that Benji isn't a goofball himself! He is just more in his own little world doing funny things that causes me to crack up... like carry this toy truck around in his mouth or talk to himself in his high-pitched singsong voice. Zachary is more in your face, I'm going to make you laugh. He loves to open his mouth WIDE and smile at you. Just in the past couple of weeks he has started to crawl over to me fast, try to tackle me, and when I laugh, he sticks his face in mine, with his mouth open wide and says, "ahhh!" Adorable.
I may have noted in my last post that we definitely think Benji is an Introvert and Zachary is an Extrovert--when going by Myers-Briggs personality testing. Not to say that Benji isn't still a love and cuddle bug and a sweet boy with people, but he definitely is in his own little world. He is content to play by himself, and when I step out of the room, he could care less. Zachary loves to be where the action (read: me) is. When I need to step out of the family room (I mean, I can't play on the carpet with these babies all day, everyday!), I try to do it when Zachary is busy or else he will throw a fit.
Oh yes, throwing fits. Zachary is becoming quite adept at this :) Well, I'm not sure if they are full out tantrums just yet, but he definitely knows what he wants and is upset when he doesn't get it. Hm... So this happens a lot if I leave his presence, or if I take the receipt paper wad out of his mouth, or remove the diaper cream tube out of his hands... so on and so forth! He has a strong will. Benji can get upset or frustrated with things like that, but he seems to be more like, "Hm, that makes me sad! Ok I'll find something else." Benji gets cranky and sensitive, though, when his personal space is being invaded... by his "little" brother... which happens a lot! A few months ago, when Zachary first started to be more mobile, he started to crawl underneath the two exersaucer/jumperoos we have and play there. Now Benji has started to do it, and sometimes the space gets a little crowded! Benji gets upset when Zachary is all up in his grill. But Benji seems to take toys out of Zachary's hands more than the other way aroTheund. Silly boys!
Play
Both boys are extremely mobile. Like I said above, they love to pull up, and especially Benji, who also loves to cruise. Benji likes to take one hand off of the furniture he is holding onto and it's almost like he's daring himself to fully let go, but he never does. I have started to try to get them to stand on her own by holding their hands and then letting go. They both have stood for about 3 seconds before sitting down (Benji) or falling forward (Zachary). I think they're pretty close to standing alone. And soon after that will be walking, I'm sure! Their play table that we got them for Christmas is still entertaining, but not quite as much as it used to be. Ugh. Now they like to pull up to the toy box and fish around for things as well as pull up to our bookshelf and pull lots of books off :)
Zachary has mastered waving (it's incredibly precious) and clapping. He is a people pleaser and loves to clap and wave when you ask him to. Benji is not as coordinated with his hands, but he has given me a quick wave once or twice. Benji is more of a master teether :) Zachary is also a very fast crawler. Man, he's quick! Benji has finally progressed from his fish flop to crawling. Very cute.
They LOVE to go in our swings, which is a nice break when they're getting tired of their toys. I usually run one errand each day, and they also enjoy going out. But my boys get tired pretty quickly. The best time of day to do errands is between their am and pm nap, around the lunch hours.
Talk
Both say "dada" quite well. Zachary also says "mama". I'm pretty sure he knows that's me, too! He also babbles, as well as Benji.
Teeth
Zachary has 2 on the bottom, 2 on the top, and 1 top incisor breaking through. Benji has 2 on the bottom, 1 on the top, and the other top tooth is taking it's sweet time but on its way. When they teeth, they are definitely cranky during the day and snottier than usual, and they get looser stools, too. But other than that, they are pretty good through the teething process! Nothing a little Tylenol can't help.
Eat
They continue to have 4 bottles/day with one in the early am before the day begins as well as 3 solid meals. Despite their good weights, they're not big eaters. I can barely get them to take the four 6 oz bottles, with Zachary recently only taking 3-5 oz. Ugh. They should be getting at least 24 oz a day with a more realistic goal being 28-32 oz. I can only get them to take 24 max. And with solids, they still don't eat a ton. They still split everything, where I feel like some babies may eat 2 whole 3-4oz pouches at a meal, they maybe consume 2 divided. They always have about 1/4 c plain yogurt mixed with 2 oz pureed fruit and maybe 2 tsp oatmeal for breakfast. Lunch is 1-2 oz fruit and 1-2 oz veggie, and I also give them some cheerios and maybe 1/4 of a cheese stick broken up into little pieces. For dinner they have about 2 oz of meat/protein and 1-2 oz veggie. If they're still hungry they can have 2 oz fruit. I am trying to do more finger foods, but they're not huge fans. So far they can eat and enjoy cheerios, puffs, Sargento colby jack cheese sticks :), avocado, bananas, and strawberries. I made spinach and chicken stuffed shells the other night, and I gave them spoonfuls of that, broken up really small. They liked it ok, but they're not huge fans of chunky. Benji definitley prefers purees.
Sleep
I have some great nappers! They take a 1.5-2 hr nap in the morning at 9 or 9:15 and a 1.5 hr nap in the afternoon, around 1:30/2 depending on the day. They have gotten much better overnight, too, but with all of our travels this month, I feel like we're going a bit backwards. They are now waking up around 1-3 am for their overnight bottle, which I know is just crazy that they're almost 1 and still getting a bottle overnight... but that's what we're doing now, and I'm ok with that. Once this crazy month is over (2 trips for the family, 1 trip for Andy, and 2 guests staying with us at the beginning and end of the month), we will start to night wean them. They only get 3-4 oz in that bottle, so I know it might be more for just comfort. It's also mentally (and physically) exhausting to do the cry it out process with 2 babies in the same room. Ugh. But I know it needs to happen. So, bedtime is at 7/7:15 and they get up for the day at 7. Often someone is up before 7, but they stay in the crib. If it's Zachary, he is totally fine to just chill and talk quietly to his Tigger. If it's Benji, he typically cries... I wonder if my boys just only can do 11 hours overnight, but I still am sticking to the 7-7 schedule.
These next two photos show how they're beginning to look more alike, I think!
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| The boys were dedicated at church in January! So sweet that my mom and brother could be there. |
Loving to pull up and stand! Especially if mommy put Puffs in the snack tray :)
Benji enjoying some light reading.
Caught mid-clap!
Sweet, silly Zachary.
Goofball Benjer Wenjer.
My boys loving the swings and the beautiful weather!
