Almost On The Move...

These photos were taken yesterday. They have really been enjoying discovering each other by touching and small talk the past couple of days! It's so precious!!! I keep telling them how lucky they are that God gave them a very special brother to share life with!

As I mentioned in my previous post, the boys are doing great standing and love working on their balance! The activity table, our fingers and the toybox downstairs are their favorite things to hold on to...

Until now... Gavin can move from the toybox to the ottoman, and now Wyatt has official moved from the activity table to the couch by taking steps!

Here are two clips taken today of Wyatt trying to crawl. He's getting so close and is so proud of himself! Today was the first day both boys made me realize feeding them on the couch in the Boppy will no longer be in our future! They are rolling over in them, sitting up and crawling out! Enjoy these videos. I remember watching my sister and brother during this stage; and now I'm watching my own sons! Thank You Lord for such blessings!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGFnOWdclZM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EooY5kp4oYU

Happy 1/2 Year Birthday Wyatt and Gavin!!

Six months. Our boys are six months. Wow, I just can’t believe a half a year has past already since their birthday! What an amazing and beautiful half year this has been! I am so thankful for our beautiful blessings from God. Here are some things I want to remember about Gavin and Wyatt this past month.

• Their personalities are really starting to blossom and we are continuing to see differences between Gavin and Wyatt already. Although both love to study the world around them and practice their movement, Gavin spends a lot of time study everything and Wyatt spends his time practicing his movements.
• Gavin and Wyatt are taking baths together now. They are both sitting in the seats still for safety. I’ve been putting more water in the tub these days and they just love to splash with their feet and hands and run their hands under the running water.




• The boys love the dogs and the dogs love them. They love to not only watch them, but pet them as well.






• Both boys are sitting on their own real well. They do tumble over though when they try to look up or behind them while sitting. We either keep the boppy behind them when we walk away for a second, or make sure there are no hard toys around for them to hit their heads on. Gavin has excellent posture and sits for very long periods of time, content as can be playing and studying his toys. Wyatt does not ‘enjoy’ sitting quite as long though, but rather prefers to be moving instead.
• Gavin and Wyatt had their first restaurant highchair experience the other day! They did great and thoroughly enjoyed throwing every toy on the ground at least 5 times and chewing on the package of crackers and trying to drink from their sippy cup. It was a great success and we honestly really enjoyed this milestone!

• Just this past week or so, Gavin and Wyatt get so excited about toys. They show so much wonder and enthusiasm as they play and explore. They are also starting to play with the toys more instead of just putting them in their mouth (but they do this plenty still as well!).
• When the boys get really excited they start to move their arms around and ‘pant’, blow bubbles, 'spit' and become very chatty and loud. It’s so cute to watch. They seem to get very excited a lot these days! Gavin also loves buttons right now. They both have really enjoyed the 'spinning' toys the past couple of months as well.
• Both boys love their Daddy. They light up when they see him and they get to play with him! They especially love it when Daddy ‘tosses’ them in the air and turns them into airplanes!
• Gavin and Wyatt are very ticklish. Both boys are ticklish on their lower back, inside thighs, tummy and feet. Wyatt is also ticklish around his neck. They giggle just as much when I give them ‘Mommy Kisses’ on their neck and tummy.
• Gavin started to ‘hug’ me the past couple of weeks. He’ll pull his body into mine and put his arms out and his head on my chest. Oh my… how it melts my heart! He’s also started to snuggle in and put his head on your chest when sitting on your lap. He’ll do this to both Jason and me.
• Gavin and Wyatt love everything they are not supposed to have: the remote, our phones, and my iPad… They also now want my food and drinks when it’s my turn to eat!

• Wyatt wants to stand a large majority of his day. He is most content standing up holding on to my finger with one hand and a toy with the other, or holding on to the toy box and pulling toys out.
• Both boys are standing excellent when holding on to something; our fingers, the toy box, activity table, etc. They will pull themselves up when sitting on our laps using the toybox, but can not do so while sitting on the floor as it is too high for them. They are starting to understand how to move from one object to another by moving sideways, but they do not have the ‘stepping motion’ down yet, nor the balance. They love their new activity table we bought them.

• Both boys are trying so hard to crawl, but just don’t have it quite figured out yet. They can roll across the floor, they can move in circles and side to side, and push backwards real well. They get around well, but get so frustrated when trying to move forward. They bring their knees up, but just don’t understand to move the arms forward yet. It’s so cute to watch them rock back and forth on all fours! Just yesterday Wyatt actually moved forward doing the army crawl! Today he actually took two real crawling steps, but because he was so frustrated, he never really understood that the got it. We don't lay a blanket down for them to lay on much any more during playtime. They prefer to just move all over the living room or gameroom floors!
• Oh how they love to hear and make noises! They have mastered the art of spitting, blowing bubbles and making all sorts of sounds. They both talk a lot, but no ‘words’ yet. We are working on trying to get them to say Dada and Mama, but no luck yet!
• They giggle all the time. What a beautiful sound and warms my heart!!!
• They are wearing size 12 months these days. They can fit into some 9 month clothes and a few 18 months, but the majority of their outfits are 12 months. They have not had their 6 month check up, but our scales at home say they are over 18 lbs right now. Both boys have really grown a lot in length as well just this past month. We’ve had to move all their activity centers up to the next stage.
• Wyatt does not enjoy the jumparoos much any more these days. He will play in them every now and then, but never for more than 5 minutes. He does enjoy the activity saucer a little more, but even that he just isn’t happy in any more. He does however still really enjoy the activity center upstairs where he can not only spin around in his chair, but walk around the table as well. He loves to move and walk around, so this is still great for him. Gavin still enjoys all of these. He is very content jumping and/or playing with all the toys.
• They can no longer safely sit in their bouncers and thus we have retired them. They sit straight up in them and then lean side to side and just about flip the seats over. I am sure there is a weight limit on these anyways that they might be boarder lining.

• Although Gavin and Wyatt LOVE to move, they are also very content with just sitting and playing with their toys for 20-30 minute stretches with nothing else going on. They are very content and joyful little boys. They also are now starting to enjoy Baby Einstein and can watch it for 15-20 minutes without losing interest. Giggles can be heard while watching the show and lots of smiles seen!

• Our evening routines were not going smooth for a while and so we decided to take bath time out of it and instead I bathe them in the mornings now before their first nap. This change has worked wonderfully.
• Gavin and Wyatt sleep about 9-10 hours at night. They are still waking up sometime between 4 and 5 AM each morning; averaging between 4:20 and 4:40. We have tried everything to get them to sleep until at least 5:30, but nothing works. (On occation they do sleep until 5:30 or 6 though, but rarely do both of them do this together!) It does not matter what their bed time is, what their naps are like, when dinner is, etc… They wake up each morning between 4 and 5! We don’t get them out of bed though until 5:30. I then feed them breakfast at 6:30. Here is a typical schedule for us these days:
5:30 AM out of bed
6:30 breakfast
8:30 first nap
10:30 ‘Lunch’
12 or 12:30 second nap
2:30 Milk Feeding
4:30 third nap
6 Dinner (if poor naps) or 6:30 Dinner (if napped well)
Bedtime between 7 and 8PM
• Naps still range between 30 minutes and 2+hours. On average they are napping about 2.5 hours to 3.5 hours a day.
• Gavin and Wyatt are wonderful eaters. To date they are eating: carrots, butternut squash, acorn squash, parsnips, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, pears, peaches, plums, avocado, chicken, as well as rice and oatmeal cereals. I love making all their food. They are doing great with all the different textures and flavors. They get so excited when eating solids. Their least favorite is plums and chicken. I am assuming it’s because the plums are slightly tart. I always end up combining it with bananas and oatmeal to balance out the flavor. They just didn't seem to enjoy the texture of the chicken. They get a small couple of bites just plain chicken to get used to the different textures and taste, then I combine it with a veggie or fruit. Gavin ate it mixed pretty well, but Wyatt... he was a trooper and ate it all, but it looked like he was going to gag at every bite. Their daily eating routine is to eat oatmeal and fruit at breakfast, a fruit and veggie at lunch and then a veggie and cereal or a veggie and chicken at dinner. During meals that they have solids, they also drink about 6 oz of milk (they’d drink more, but I stop them because that’s plenty!) and 8-9oz when only milk. Gavin and Wyatt love to eat.

• They boys don’t pay much attention to TV until recently. Both boys enjoyed 20 minutes of Baby Einstein recently and Wyatt also gets so excited when football is on. That’s the extent of their TV watching though! Wyatt first showed his football excitement during the Aggie's first game!
• After going through a slew of Aggie outfits, we finally were able to get these great family shots on the boys’ first Aggie football day. To get these pictures, Gavin went through 2 shirts and shorts, Jason and I both went through two shirts and shorts and Wyatt went through 3 outfits and 2 bibs.

• I recently joined a local playgroup that I am very excited about for both the boys and myself. We went to our first playdate this week and had fun. The boys loved watching the children walking around. Wyatt thought watching them play cars was the greatest! They are really loving watching children who walk around. I will post about our new group after I attend a few more get togethers.




• I'm working on child-proofing the house as this will be a necessity very soon.

These past six months have been such a beautiful gift; a great time of growth in so many areas for myself as a mother and wife. I thank God for continuing to mold me into the woman He wants me to be and am thankful that He has allowed our sweet Gavin and Wyatt to teach me so much about myself, life and God. Oh how I love our little boys... I love watching them grow into the young boys God made them to be... and I'm thankful that God has entrusted us to care for, love and guide them on their journey.

A World In Motion - 5 Month Update

I am amazed at how fast time is flying by. I sit and look back at these past five months and feel so thankful for these great months we've been able to spend with our precious sons and watch them grow into the young boys God made them to be! Oh how fast they are growing; physically, mentally, developmentally and I hope spiritually as well (for I know that the Word does not return empty; even at their young age, the Spirit is working in their lives). The boys are in almost constant motion these days. I have to break this concept up into pieces so you can try to visually see how active they really are! Below is a list of things I want to capture about this time in their lives (in no particular order):

• Gavin rolled over for the first time from his back to his tummy on 08/01/11; so we now have two rolly-pollies! They roll from their backs to their tummies and back to their backs all the time... although they roll more from their backs to tummy than anything. (For some reason, Wyatt will not roll from his tummy to his back while in his crib though.)
  
  


• They love tummy time and would spend a large portion of their days on their tummy if it wasn't for spitting up (I try to let their food digest a little before they play on their tummy, but this is a huge challenge!) and for eventual frustration that they can't crawl yet. As a side note, Wyatt has not been spitting up much lately (it lasted about 3 weeks).




• Although they have not mastered the idea of letting their arms and legs work together to move somewhere, they have realized that by moving their legs they can scoot forward and by moving their arms the can rotate their bodies. If there is a toy that they want, they will find a way to get it! Gavin loves to press up as high as he can go with his arms. Wyatt loves to pull his legs up under him and press upwards.



• Sitting... Oh how strong they are getting. As they've been doing for months now, they will go from the reclined position in our laps to the sitting up position. But these days they have a lot more balance while in that position. When I'm sitting on the floor with them, they sit wonderfully in the center of my legs, but when on their own 100%, they lean forward way too much. They haven't fully learned to use their arms as a tripod yet, although both boys have started to try this out this past week. They use the two seats we have for them excellent; the Bumbo is pretty secure, but the other chair gives them a lot more opportunities to sit more on their own than supported.



• Because of their ability to sit up is improving, they have decided that sitting in a reclined position just will not do (unless it's time for a nap and I'm reading them stories). Meal times can be a major challenge as they try to sit up continually instead of resting into the high chair. It's mighty difficult to feed an open mouth pointing down as they do non-stop crunches! Bath time was also the same way. A while back we switched to an infant tub (A Whale of a Tub) because they were getting just too big for the Puj Tub. This worked great for a while until recently; they will not recline in the tub and thus spend almost the entire bath trying to do crunches and sit up. I tried putting them at the other end so they can actually sit up the whole time, but they aren't quite there yet either. So last night I ordered the Hug Tub which is like a Bath Boppy to use in our tubs. So no more baths in the kitchen... But exciting news is they get to take baths together now and oh what fun that will be when they start to interact!!! Plus... they get to really spash now which they are learning to love to do! In the meantime I am bathing them in a seat in the tub which is working great. They really seem to enjoy the big boy bath time!









• Wyatt has learned that he can 'flail' his arms widely now instead of just moving his hands. He gets so excited he'll pump his arms up and down and sadly ends up hitting his face a lot. Because of this he has learned that he can throw toys now as well. He finds it great fun to throw a toy.



• Both boys have learned that they can drop toys these days which proves great fun while their in the high-chair ;)



• While in your arms or lap, Gavin loves to wiggle and scrunch himself down over and over again. The best word for Wyatt's movements is wiggle, wiggle, wiggle! Wyatt tries to get out of your lap or the bouncy seat. Since he can't crawl or sit up yet though, he ends up scooting himself on his tummy and then onto the floor.



• They still love the jump-a-roos. Wyatt has started a new 'marching' motion that looks like he is trying to walk with side to side steps. Gavin has started to bounce forward, backward and side to side. He'll jump, jump, jump and then stop himself by standing straight up stiff as a board!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brLE9k0O6t4




• They love the activity centers as well. We have a sationary saucer in which they can rotate the seat and play with all the toys around them. We have a walker with a muscial keyboard they love to play with and we just bought a new one where the center is stationary and they seat roates around it. The boys love this new toy and are discovering how to move around from one toy to the next. They often love to just spin around and look down at the floor as they move. They are discovering the world of 'walking'.



• Wyatt has now learned that it's fun to try to stand up when in my lap and will pull himself up using the play center in front of him. He can stand holding on to it for a few seconds at a time.






• Both boys have excellent strength standing whether on our legs or in the activity centers. Rarely do they 'sit' in the seats in a relax manner. They stand and use the seat as balance rather. You can see them exploring their sense of balance each time they are in it.



• Wyatt has taken a fancy to cups these days. He loves watching me drink from a cup and reaches out his hands. I can not try to take a drink when holding either boy because both of them try to grab it from me. So I gave Wyatt a cup with water in it the other day to see what he'd do and he put it to his mouth. I lifted it slowly to give him some of the water and he thought it was great fun; half the water in his mouth, the other half on me! Wyatt also likes playing with the sippy cups and puts them to his mouth and sucks, but I haven't yet tried to put anything in them yet. I don't think he has the lean back and suck motions down yet, so I'll wait a little longer. Perhaps I'll give them some water in sippy cups this month and see if they take an interest in learning this new concept.
  


• Wyatt loves to hold his bottle when he eats. If I let go, he'll hold it for a while. He is so very kind and often helps me put the bottle in his mouth if it's not nearing him fast enough!



• Gavin just loved cereal so much, brown rice is his favorite followed by oatmeal and white rice. It has to be thick though. Wyatt still wasn't interested in spoon feeding though... until...
  


• We fed them carrots for the first time on 08/06/11. I cooked them and put them in the food processor and the boys thought that was the greatest thing! Gavin couldn't get enough and... Wyatt loved them! He now likes to eat from a spoon; carrots and cereal alike. Since then the boys have tried butternut squash and loved it. I plan to let them try avacados, peas, bananas, green beans, sweet potatoes (order might change...) in the weeks to come. I am so excited and happy to make our own baby food!



• Gavin and Wyatt are sleeping through the night consistantly. They've decided that between 5 and 5:15 is their new wake up time though... I've heard that this is common for this age and praying it's not something that will last throughout their childhood! If the sun is still sleeping we should be too! We can get up when the sun is up... So Gavin and Wyatt stay in their bed until 6am and then we eat breakfast at 6:30. Bath is still at 6:30 and then we eat and get ready for bed. They are asleep by 7:15-8pm each night. They are still taking 3 naps a day from 30 minutes to 2 hours with no set patterns each week. Gavin still enjoys sleep a little more than Wyatt, but they are pretty similar in this area; probably because they are twins and in the same room.



• This past week Gavin and Wyatt have discovered that there are 'things behind them' at all times. They are constantly look over their sholders and 'upside down-like' trying to see the world behind them too.



• Gavin and Wyatt love singing times. Their faces light up when we begin to sing. Their favorite song has been: sung to the notes of London Bridges: 'Jesus loves to hear me sing, see me smile, laugh and play. Hear me praise Him every day. I love Jesus.' Just now as I sang it to them they began to smile and move like always! They love music throughout the day. I have some old VHS tapes for children that are full of fun silly songs and the boys seem to really be captivated by these. They don't get to watch them much, but it's a little treat every now and then for them. Soon they'll be able to watch Veggie Tales and other fun wholesome and educational shows from time to time.



• As I mentioned in my previous post, we are starting to try to sign with the boys. It's becoming a habbit for me here at home (not in public yet though) and I pray it helps the boys as they grow.
  


• Gavin and Wyatt cut their first teeth this week, 08/08/11; two bottom teeth each. They are trying to be troopers, but you can really tell it's bothering both of them. I find it interesting that they are cutting them on the same day! (The pediatrician said the 'tooth' Gavin cut last month was actually a cyst that has gone away. So this is his real first tooth, no mistaking it this time.) They each have two other teeth getting ready to come out, but they have not broken the skin yet.



• Tickle time and lots of kisses on the neck will get the boys into laughing fits! They are very tickelish on their lower backs and sides and Gavin's neck is also tickelish. Games of peek-a-boo, silly songs and random sneezing will also creat lots of belly laughs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx4n7TWF-xY

• The boys are wearing size 9 and 12 months right now. This means they can now wear big boy pjs which is just way too cute on them! They are growing by leaps and bounds. Just about 17 lbs right now.



• The boys roll and scoot all over their bed these days. Wyatt is EVERYWHERE in it. I had to put the bumpers back on the bed this past week because he was kicking his legs out between the bars and then trying to roll over... not good at all. So now they are safe and free to roll around as much as they want... (just please make peace with your beds and sleep past 5AM!).



• The boys love it when we make all sorts of sounds. In addition to laughing at the sounds we make, they are making a bunch of their own these days. They seem to try new sounds every few days.



• Wyatt gives his huge smile to everyone these days all the time. He has new friends the first second he meets people and entertains them from then on out. Gavin studies people the first few moments and then makes friends and flirts. Both boys love to talk and share their laughter. They are such joyful boys it warms my heart.

Even though they are very active these days, Gavin and Wyatt are still wonderful snugglers as I've mentioned in other posts. I love my time as I hold each one of them in my arms, stroke their hair, hold their little hands, and kiss their cheeks. I love it when they nestle into my body and I sing to them softly and whisper how much I love them and how special God made them. I love how Gavin still melts into me and Wyatt snuggles so tight. I love my little wiggly snuggle worms!

Signing - A Better Focus On My Words

Communication is vital in our lives; without it the very core of ourselves and society will crumble. Communication with our family, friends, our community, the world and most importantly our God. I could go on for many hours about how important I believe communication is in our lives and how fascinating I think this subject is; but this isn't the point of this short post. Instead I want to share about a new way of communication we've been exploring in our home; signing.

Our boys just turned 5 months today and each day we see their awareness of the world and their communication growing drastically. So often young children become extremely frustrated daily because they are unable to communicate their needs, thoughts and desires with their parents and those around them. It is because of this and our desire for increased communication, that Jason and I have started to 'sign' with Gavin and Wyatt. Our goal is not to learn the entire language of signing, but rather learn and teach the boys words that they will want and need to communicate with us on a daily basis. We've learned from others that this can benefit many children and parents. We started a couple of weeks ago in order for signing to become the norm for us; especially at home. We know that the boys understand and are aware of a lot more than we realize. Although they are unable to sign developmentally for a while, we can already see them focusing on our hands and even look back and forth between our moving hands and theirs.

So here is a list of words that we've learned so far:

• Jesus


• Daddy


• Grandma


• Brother


• Good


• Boy


• Happy


• Milk


• Eat


• Drink


• More


• All Done


• Dog


• Cat


• Potty


• Hi


• Sorry


• Please


• Thank You


• I Love You


• And they Love singing and signing Jesus Loves Me!

Other Things Will Learn Soon:

• Pain/Hurt (and they can then point to what hurts)

Worship
As I've been signing these past couple of weeks, I realize that I truly pay attention to the actual words I am saying and signing. Have you ever been reading or speaking and really only the words are coming out, but you never embrace the meaning? I realize just how often that happens. This past week I realize how often this can happen in my communication and worship with my God. I've learned through the years just how important full communication with God is; not just talking, but listening and genuine time each day. How often I fall short though and allow this beautiful gift He has given us to be minimized. So why not learn to sign during my daily worship to my God? Why not truly embrace and linger on each word I speak to God? Why not internalize what His name means to me as I let my body speak to Him and not just the words from my mouth?

Signs are often very symbolic of the words true meaning. The sign for Jesus embraces the nails in His hands and thus I focus on His sacrifice and gift each time I speak His name. I've learned to sign 'Father' before pointing up when speaking about Him. Lord is the shape of an 'L' moving as if a seat belt across your chest; what a great symbol of His protection and the armor of God!

In addition to singing/signing Jesus Loves Me with the boys and further explaining that He loves Gavin, Wyatt, Daddy, Mommy, and everyone and we love Him, I am learning how to sing/sign the song 'All in All' through videos on YouTube. I can not tell you how great this has been this week. Being able to focus on each word in the song brings my worship and thankfulness to a new level. I thank God for teaching me new ways to communicate and commune with Him each day. May the words of my mouth and hands be pleasing to You oh God.

'Speaking of Expectations'... Yesterday's Thoughts for Today

I just reread my post from March 5th; right before the boys were born. In it I wrote, "Speaking of expectations... Jason and I are trying not to have any expectations about anything the next several months. I've read many books, have ideas on how we want to do things, but realize that each baby is different as is each family. We will take one day at a time and figure out what works best for Gavin, Wyatt, Dad and Mom. Without having expectations, we free ourselves to enjoy each stage without becoming disappointed or irritable at how things are or are not going."

What great words I needed to hear and to refocus on right now! No expectations on sleeping, eating, moods, etc. I need to keep focusing on each day at a time (actually more like every wake period). I need not be afraid to try new things, even if it doesn't work for our two boys. One thing that I do many times throughout the day is to ask my self 'What is God wanting me to teach or do for His children right now?'. This helps me get myself out of the equation and remember I am God's instrument for Gavin and Wyatt's lives. I so often keep trying to put myself back in the equation by thinking about rest, chores, etc.; which is why I say I ask myself this question many times throughout each day.

My focus for this week... Zero Expectations! Thank You God for these reminders and Your unfailing love and grace!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

'Inching' Forward Quickly

This past week has been huge in development for both boys! I am amazed at how much has occurred these past several days. Here is a glimpse as well as some other things I want to record about the boys:

• As I mentioned in my last post, Gavin and Wyatt have discovered that they have a brother to laugh and smile at. They have also discovered that their brother always has the 'cooler' toy! Both boys reach for the toy the other one is playing with; both boys have actually taken the toys from each other at times. I'm lucky though, there are no tears yet.



• 
  Gavin's hair is much lighter than when he was first born; it's' almost the same color as Wyatt's right now.



• 
  Gavin is no longer showing signs of a temper that I mentioned a couple of posts back. Wyatt has become more 'clingy' and 'wiggly' this past week. He's also become a lot more vocal. He is exploring just how high pitched his voice can get. Trust me, he can get pretty high! I'm hoping this doesn't last too long.



• The boys have been belly laughing so much these days. They get truly 'tickled' and are just so joyful. It warms my heart to see and hear such joy from them!



• 
  Both boys love story time. Gavin gets so excited and often begins to talk and laugh!



• 
  Gavin and Wyatt started to kick their legs and wiggle a lot when on their tummies. On Jul 22, 2011 Wyatt moved about 6 inches towards a toy by doing the 'worm'; or modified army crawl. He did it again later that day, the next and now wiggles all the time! He won't stay on his back. Rolls on his tummy back and forth, and honestly, just LOVES to move ALL the time. He even moves all the time when he sleeps. He turns 180 degrees one way, then back, then 360, then 360 the other way. He then scoots his butt up against the crib and falls asleep with his legs up in the air against the rails. He then scoots and sleeps on his tummy. If you get what I'm trying to get at, he moves ALL the time now. As far as 'crawling' is concerned, he is getting great at the leg motion, but not quite there with the arms yet. He's still moving across the floor though. Gavin on the other hand is doing excellent pushing up with his arms and moving himself around in a circle while on his tummy (and back). He's really enjoying tummy time too. Both boys reach for toys, pull them towards them or scoot towards them and plays while on their tummy. If you combined Gavin's arm movements with Wyatt's leg motions, you'd have a crawling 4.5 month old! I can just see the fun they will start to have once they are in motion (and continual motion I believe it will be).
  



• The boys love peek-a-boo now. They belly laugh continuously as we play; even for about 5-10 minutes sometimes.



• Gavin still loves cereal; rice is great but he loves oatmeal the best you can tell. Wyatt has really been enjoying it again the past few days! If Wyatt continues to enjoy it and eat more the next couple of weeks, we'll start introducing real foods! Veggies first and then fruits.



• The boys were sleeping through the night very well for about a week. They started waking up once a night though several days ago. Some nights they'll sleep through the whole night, others they will wake up and cry for 30 minutes then back to bed; other nights it can be 1-2+ hours. They are back in the same room now 100% of the time, so we've had many nights of back and forth yelling. They eventually ignore the other one though and stay asleep. Last night they slept all night though, so we know they are heading in the right direction. Honestly, I think the 'set back' is the fact that they are developing so much so fast this past week or so. They love to be awake and play. When they wake up at night, they aren't hungry, but you can tell just want to play.



• Anyways, because of the huge variance in sleep patterns their 'first morning meal' has been somewhat more of a variant than normal. We used to eat between 7 and 7:30 am, but now it's anywhere from 6:15 - 7:45 it seems. I feel it's okay for now because it seems necessary depending on the day/night. I am 'saddened' however because it seems like both boys (Wyatt more so) are early birds and like to wake up on average about 6am... Sigh. Once they sleep consistently all through the night though, 6 am will not be a big problem. We will see how the next couple of weeks go.



• Naps are still variant. They take 3 naps a day; ranging in time from about 30 min to 2 hours. As long as they have one 1.5 hour nap a day I'm very pleased; this doesn't always happen though. Gavin is a 'better napper', but neither boys have a 'pattern' yet. If one does not develop in the next month once nights become more regular, then I will start to sleep train them for naps too. My hope is that this occurs naturally this next month though as it often does in 5-6 month olds. All in all though, our boys seem to sleep about 10 hours at night and 3-4 hours during the day.



• Gavin's tooth still hasn't poked out further; I guess it's stuck (jk!). Wyatt has two new white dots on the top of his gums, but you can't feel anything yet. Both boys have their fingers or toys in their mouth about 90% of the time it seems. Wyatt actually 'gums' very aggressively. He's actually sucked/gummed blister like caluses on 4 of his fingers (two on each hand).



• The boys seem to show frustration when toys aren't doing what they want them to do. If they can't get a toy to their mouth correctly or moving the way they want, they seem to become agitated.



• Gavin and Wyatt love to be moving all the time. They typically only like their bouncers now right before nap time when I read them stories, or a random play time for about 10 minutes. Other than that they are on the floor playing (Wyatt on his tummy most of the time), in the jump-a-roos which they LOVE and BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE in, or in the activity centers upstairs. They love to sit up; mostly in your lap or using you to help balance them a little, but the Bumbo seats are good too. My days are getting a little more interesting as I'm learning to balance both boys activity and needs. Loving it though and so very thankful!!!

Anyways, I think I captured most of what I wanted to for now.

'I Have a Brother!' - Learning to 'Parent' Twins

Gavin and Wyatt are four and a half months now; and up until this past week, I really haven’t seen me as ‘mothering’ twins. Perhaps it’s because they really haven’t interacted with each other until recently. (This is so beautiful to watch!! They are starting to touch, laugh, smile and talk to each other a lot more these days!) Please do not misunderstand what I mean by 'mothering'! I remember seeing the ultrasound for the first time and crying with such excitement and love. I remember what it felt like carrying two very healthy and big boys not too long ago! I remember the first time I saw them and held them in my arms!! I remember all the beautiful times we’ve shared the past several months as they’ve grown. And yes… I remember all the extra ‘work’ involved with having two versus one. When you have twins, your parenting doesn’t increase by one, but rather exponentially. Simple tasks such as wanting to sit outside takes about 5-10 minutes of prep work before you can actually get out there and by that time, they are ready for bed! Feedings, sleeping, and just about every activity takes a lot of planning and organization. Just these past couple of weeks I have become elated that I can now go to the grocery store with the boys ‘all by myself’! So yes, I have ‘noticed’ that we have two wonderful blessings from God, but up until this past week, I really haven’t understood what ‘parenting’ them together will be like.

When you have one baby, ‘everything’ is about them. They get what they want, when they want it, etc. Yes, even if you teach your children life doesn’t ‘revolve around them’ as many of us try to do, they still never have to adjust to another tiny individual who demands everything they do at the same time that they do! The difference I’ve seen this week is found in Gavin’s and Wyatt’s different personalities and abilities developing very quickly. One week, Gavin will be more clingy and high strung, the other week, Wyatt will take his turn. Some times they both need my complete attention at the same time; and yet others they are both completely content in entertaining themselves and exploring the world. This was easier before they were ‘as mobile’ as they are now. Even though they aren’t crawling yet, they are still moving around and are very very active! (Even the pediatrician said they are very active and strong 4 month olds!)

Gavin is really enjoying cereal where as Wyatt is not as enthusiastic right now. This has made meal times even more challenging (as if it wasn’t already!). I now have mastered feeding Wyatt the bottle with my left hand while spoon feeding Gavin with my right (all in high chairs now). And mom of course isn’t fast enough when they both use the spoon or when I have to burp one.

Just this past week, they have discovered that their brother always has the ‘cooler toy’. No matter what toy they have at the moment, they eye their brother’s toy and begin to reach for it. Gavin has actually taken the toys out of Wyatt’s hands. I’m lucky now though, because Wyatt just laughs.

So my thoughts this week have been more about ‘parenting’ twins instead of just the ‘logistics of two’. What many parents face a couple of years after their first is born, we’ll soon be facing ourselves. We’ll have to teach Gavin and Wyatt patience, sharing, love, forgiveness, etc; all at a very early age. I pray that God provides the right words and direction each step of the way. I pray Gavin and Wyatt develop a very special bond that will keep them close their whole lives. I pray God is the center of their relationship; as we as parents try to make sure He is the center of our house and lives.

With all this said, I want to reiterate just how thankful I am for our two blessings God has entrusted us with. I am forever thankful for such beautiful little boys; beautiful on the outside yes, but so fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator!!! I am so excited to watch as they begin to reveal who God made them to be. May we help them to learn who they are, Whose they are, and how He wants to use them. Thank You God for our twins!!! Please help us be the parents You call us to be.