10 Months Old!

I have great plans to post more than the boys' monthly birthdays every month, but alas, time evades me.  Anyway, here we are at another milestone. TEN MONTHS.  I keep saying that in just 2 months the boys will be ONE!  I can't believe it.  Really.

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!

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!

                    

                        

9 months old!

Is this for real?  Have we really been a family of 4 for 9 months?  This is crazy.  Before I know it these babies are going to be little boys!  Month 8 has been full of growth.  I feel like I say that every month, but really.  Both are extremely mobile and verbal and are expressing their unique and fun personalities more with each passing day.  Andy and I say that they are our best friends.  We are so in love with these little guys!

Benji

• 75th%ile for weight, weighing in at 22 lbs, 2 oz
• 90th%ile for height, measuring in at 29 ins
• He has 2 bottom teeth and has a third coming in on the top.
• In the past week and a half, Benji has advanced by leaps and bounds in many ways--especially in mobility.  He can get where he needs to go pretty quickly by crawling in his fish-flop kind of way.  He LOVES to stand at their new play table, and he has master pulling up to stand almost anywhere.  His pincer grasp is pretty good, too.  
• He is also quite verbal and loves to babble, especially during mealtime.  Sometimes he's mid-sentence when eating and the spoonful come right back out!  
• We think he will be detail-oriented because he notices the smallest little things and picks them up, or plays with them, or stares at them.  He notices if you're wearing earrings or a necklace or rings or a zipper or drawstrings... and he will most definitely zero in on it until it's into his mouth!
• He has grown to take in more textured purees, too, when he used to completely reject them.  He still gags and spits out things that are too lumpy, but he's gotten better and will continue to.  He loves teething biscuits and can get quite messy.
• He is generally an extremely happy, contented, social baby.  He is happy to be held by pretty much anyone, which is wonderful.  We love his personality.  Such a lovie.  When he is cranky, it's because he's tired.
• He is a daddy's boy.

Zachary

• 50th%ile for weight and height:  20 lbs 2 oz and 28 ins long
• He has FOUR teeth!  The 2 top teeth fully came in a few weeks ago, and they are really cute.  I'm sure all babies' top teeth have a big space in between them, but it just looks so funny and cute.
• He is so fast when he crawls.  We put up a baby gate to separate the playroom from the kitchen (kitchen is tiled), but I will open the gate up sometimes because he can't stand to be locked in.  I can turn around for 5 seconds, and there he is, right at my heels!  He can crawl up the one step easily.  I am so impressed!
• He started pulling up before Benji and continues to do so all over the place.  He is a very busy bear... toys don't entertain him for very long... he is so active.  
• He talks a lot, too!  He says "mama" and "dada" at times, and it is too cute.  He has reached for me several times.  It is heartwarming!!!  
• He can clap!  When he claps, we make sure to say, "Yayyy!" so he can associate clapping with exclamation and happiness.  Very fun.  
• He's a good eater, but he still doesn't eat a ton.  It's a good day if I can get him to eat 20 oz of formula in the day.  But his pincer grasp is great and eats puffs like a champ, as well as textured solids.
• He is very funny, and we can tell he might be a class clown or something like that.  He's also a bruiser!  He got his first fat lip last night :( so sad. Blood on my shoulder and everything.  Also, when he crawls over to the back door, he head butts it one or two times.  Crazy man.  
• He's a mama's boy!

Sleeping...

So, sleep has been tough, but we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  But let me say that for the past month, we have been extremely sleep deprived. The boys hit a rough spell, as I said in my 8 month post, and had been waking up 2-4 times per night EACH!  What the heck.  We got into a bad habit of resorting to a bottle to getting them back to sleep, which was not helping.  We finally got some amazing help from www.babysleepsite.com and the boys are sleeping way better.  The sleep plan is personalized and easy to follow.  They are now only waking up to eat 1-2 times at night and are learning to fall back to sleep on their own when they wake other times.  The plan helped me to implement cry it out, and it is working.  

They typically nap very well.  They take a 90 minute nap in the morning and a 1-2 hr nap in the afternoon.  Here's their schedule:

7 am :  wake up (we're training them, too, on not waking up for the day before 7...)

7:15 : bottles

7:45: breakfast (yogurt, oats, and pureed fruit)

8-9:15:  playtime til Naptime

9:15 : Nap #1

10:30/11:  Wake up

11:30:  Bottles

12:00 : solids lunch (fruits and veggies)

1:45 : Nap # 2

3:30 : Wake up and Bottles

5/5:30:  Solids Dinner (protein and veggies)

6:30: get ready for bed and Bottles

7pm:  lights out!

3-5 am: Wake for a feeding

What We Eat!

yogurt, baby oatmeal, lots of fruits, lots of veggies, chicken/turkey/beef baby food, puffs, bite-sized pieces of banana and cheese stick and mandarin oranges... we still have lots of foods to explore, and hopefully they'll start taking to finger foods more

We love our table!  

We especially love the part of the table that our brother is playing at :)

Getting up from naps is so fun!

                    

Being crazy and somehow got a line of dirt on his face?

 Being babysat by our friend Amy!

 Get us out of here!

Benji being a daredevil and taking one hand off of the table!

At Emmy's Birthday party

 Benji can be held by anyone and not complain!  This is our friend Hannah.  A mom of three.

Getting them up in the morning is even more fun than after a nap!  

They are so funny and happy.

Wrestling over a binky.

Best buds.

Having a teething biscuit and a chat with the windows open.

Zachary doing typical Zachary things!

Christmas Reflections

I wanted to share a thought God downloaded to me the week of Christmas.

I intentionally tried to meditate on Jesus coming to earth as a baby this year, now that I have my own babies and know more about what that truly means.

To me, it is incredible that my Savior--the Creator of the earth and Savior to all mankind--would come to us in the form of a helpless, completely dependent, fragile, needy baby!  It blows my mind!  How did he nurse?  Did He have colic?  When did He start sleeping through the night?  Did He take His first solids ok?  I mean, seriously!  He was fully God, but also fully man... so He wasn't exempt from all of the milestones and developmental markers that babies  go through  and sometimes struggle through.  I pray that I don't let Christmases come and go any longer without taking time to meditate on this amazing yet often overlooked fact of the Christmas story because I came away from these times more in awe of and more thankful for Jesus than before.  

He subjected Himself to infancy!  

Infancy ain't easy!

Then that got me thinking about Mary.  Infancy ain't easy on mommas, either... more so, even.  

Wow.  Mary.  

Mary birthed the Savior.

Often times our recount of the Christmas story ends there in the stable, 

with Sweet Baby Jesus in His manger.

But Mary also raised Him.  

She nursed Him.  

Changed Him.  

Learned His cries.  

Fed Him.  

Cared for Him.   

Rocked Him to sleep.  

Kissed His sweet cheeks.  (I'm sure they were super sweet, too!)

Stroked His head.  

Patted His bottom.

Wiped away His tears.

Burped Him.

Got spit up on by Him.  

I mean, think about it! It's incredible to me.  A miracle.

To think... the Savior, the Messiah:

He had the whole world in His hands, 

all of our lives on His shoulders, 

His destiny was written about in the heavens...

yet, God saw it fitting for Him to need a mommy.

This was where I stayed for awhile a few mornings after Christmas.

God spoke to me about the significance of motherhood.

If Moms should ever question their importance or significance...

just remember that Jesus--the Lord of all the universe--

needed a mommy!

God saw it necessary for Jesus to be raised into Who He would become, essentially...

or at least being raised by a mom (and a dad, of course) was important to the Gospel.

He was already great,

already God;

yet He needed a mom!

So this led me to think on my own babies.

I believe that they already have a destiny spoken over them by God.

God knows their identities even before we fully know them.

He knows the good works He has already set aside for them.  

But even though they already have a destiny, 

my role as their mother is still, and maybe even more so, important. 

I already know this, but the impossibility and miracle of Christmas got me thinking more about the significance of my role as mommy to my sons.

I am thankful that God creates babies with purpose and identity, 

and then sees it necessary to place them in families, 

under the care and direction of a mom and dad.  

What an awesome privilege!

And still crazy to me to think that the God of all the earth 

was placed under the care of earthly parents.

The Boys' 1st Christmas

This post is a couple of weeks late, but the boys have been going through a major sleep regression, so it's a win if I can have a few moments to myself before they wake up each morning!  

"Babies' First Christmas" was so nice.  Andy's mom and stepdad came into town for the whole week of Christmas, and it was great to spend that time with them.  The last time they saw the boys was back in August, and of course we all know how much babies change each month.  The boys were happy and playful (as usual), so it was a fun visit.  We all went to ZooLights with my brother, sister, and mom on Monday before Christmas, which is a big beautiful light display the Phoenix Zoo puts on each year.  Apparently zoos across the country do it, too!  It was fun.  Probably something we'll not revisit until the boys are older, but I've been dying to check it out, so I'm glad we went.

We all went up to Paradise Valley on Christmas Eve and stayed a couple nights at my parents' house so we could all be together on Christmas morning.  My grandparents are in town for an extended winter stay, and my older sister was able to come in town for a couple days.  She brought a friend who couldn't get home to NY for the holiday, so we had a full house!  

Of course, the boys are so little, it wasn't a big deal for them.  We got them a few (I thought few, but when all was said and done, they got a lot of toys) new toys, and they got a couple bigger toys from Grammy and Poppy (Andy's parents).  Other than that they got lots of pajamas (yay!), outfits, and books.  I love children's books, so even though they're not into stories yet, I'm all about stocking their library.  

I'm so glad we got to spend their first Christmas with so much family around.  It's just a sweet memory that I know we'll all have for years to come.  They did well and didn't seem too overwhelmed by all of the people or all of the gifts.  (Because there was definitely an explosion of packages under the 12-foot tree!)  I'm kind of hyper-vigilant about overstimulation with them... maybe it's because I don't like to be overstimulated myself!  Ha.  Or just that I like to prevent meltdowns if possible and if they are avoidable.  For the boys' sakes. 

Here are some pictures I got from the few days:

Grammy and Poppy's arrival!  

Then we quickly packed up the cars and headed to ZooLights!

                 

                     

Andy Claus driving up all of our gifts to my parents' house!

 Babies' first bites of orange--Zachary loved it!  Benji made lots of funny faces but overall enjoyed it.

And can we just talk about these sweater vests?

Getting our sillies out before bedtime!

Family Photo

B+Z and their great-grandparents, Nanny and Bo!

I snuck out to take this pic when all was quiet in the house.  There's just something "magical" about the Christmas tree and presents on Christmas Eve.

 Beautiful quilted stockings made by my talented mother!

Christmas morning!

Xmas morning selfie! 

 This is the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Puppy and Friends Learning Table that we got the boys, and it has been a hit with them... and I know even more so when they can pull themselves up and down by themselves.

                         

Zachary is obsessed with opening and closing this laptop.  I realized yesterday that there are 2 knobs in the plastic that prevents the laptop from closing flush to itself, which then prevents little fingers from getting crushed.  So smart!

Benji and Auntie C!

                

Baby's First Christmas booty!

8 Months Old!

How have two thirds of the year already gone by?  

Our little babies are growing so fast, 

and their personalities are continuing to emerge with each passing day.

Month 7 brought another set of challenges with a seemingly month-long cold, accompanied by horrible coughs and some throwing up and refusing to eat.  Andy and I have also been sick, too.

We are getting by ok... although some days I have no idea what I'm doing!  :)

Sleeping has been difficult, too.  Naps are pretty good, but nights can be up in the air.

But, almost every morning--no matter what the night was like--my babies wake up smiley and giggly.

Benji

*You still only have 2 little bottom teeth and look SO cute when you talk to us.  You're not showing any acute signs of any other teeth growing soon.

*You are still learning to crawl but have your own special crawl down.  You can get up on your knees and make one crawl forward but then do an army crawl/reach kind of move after that.  You've mastered rolling, for sure,  if all else fails :)  You definitely get to where you need to go, though!

*You're still a good eater, but the both of you are taking in less milk overall during the day. Mommy still hasn't figured you out...what you need and when :(

*You have 3 solid meals a day, and you like breakfast the most... yogurt and oatmeal with a fruit.  We've discovered that you do NOT like textures and have a tough time getting past anything that's not super pureed.  So... you don't like puffs yet.  You have thrown up a couple times from gagging because of a food being too textured.  Hopefully practice will make perfect with this.

*You have a new sound that you love to make, especially when you're having fun with a toy.  It sounds like the "ahhh" someone makes when they taste something yummy or are satisfied with something.  You repeat it over and over.  Very funny and VERY cute.  

*You're pretty content and are good at playing by yourself and a toy or in your exersaucer.

*Like I said above, sleeping has been tough, but we have learned that you are very sensitive and when you wake up overnight, so just need to know we're there.  So we rub your back and neck and let you know we're there, and you typically fall back to sleep.

*Zachary is still the tough guy, but you have been caught stealing his toys time and again :)

Zachary

*Your bottom two teeth are soon going to be joined by your top 2 teeth. You are currently teething and they are about to break through.  (8.5 months old)  Because of this you have bright red, chapped cheeks and a bit of a diaper rash.  Not to mention constant drool.

*You have mastered crawling, and I can hardly leave you alone for long because you of course are into everything.  Unlike Benji, you seem to be very busy all the time and are not entertained with one single toy for long.  ;)

*Your vocabulary is building, and your new favorite sound/word is dada-gaga-dada-gaga.  You wake up talking and very happy.

*You love yogurt and oatmeal with fruit, too, but you are also pretty good at eating other meals.  Both you and your brother don't have the biggest appetites around, though.  BUT you LOVE Puffs, which we started this month.  Your pincer grasp is so good, though you're still learning.  If you get a puff in the palm of your hand, it's hard for you to find it again.  

*As far as bottles and milk--you're going on a hunger strike of sorts.  You'll take your morning bottle great, but I can't seem to get many more ounces in you throughout the day.  And you're waking up famished overnight.  I'm hoping we can get over this hump soon.

*You still are so smiley and funny and goofy and love to play and wrestle with us.  

I love my Benji Bear and Zachy Poo!