8 Months and Enjoying Socializing and Continual Exploring

• The past few weeks, Gavin and Wyatt have truly enjoyed and been very enthusiastic about getting to get out and socialize in different environments. The Thursday before Halloween, we had a party with our playgroup. The boys spent for the first 45 minutes with their mouths open in awe as they watched all the children dressed in their costumes run around and play. Before long, the boys were crawling everywhere and grabbing my fingers trying to ‘chase’/walk after the kids. They laughed and lit up when the kids would play with them. Wyatt so enjoyed one of them playing tug-o-war with him, hehe. Later that day when we got home, Gavin started to ‘talk’ up a storm. His brother soon joined him. Now the boys talk all the time.
  


• As time goes, they are interacting more and more with each other as well. They’ll make each other laugh and talk to each other sometimes. They are forever trying to touch each other’s face, etc… but… they just don’t understand how to be gentle yet. I’m forever trying to explain to them that they can’t poke their brother’s eye or yank on his ears or lips! It does warm my heart to see their interactions increase though!
  


• Last week we joined Gymboree; the boys had a blast!! They were nothing but smiles and giggles and EVERYWHERE! They loved to interact with the other children as well. They enjoyed crawling and climbing on everything, walking from one thing to another, and work on balancing their bodies as they went up and down inclines. Their abilities forever amaze us. We found out it’s not just us though, even the teachers there were amazed that they weren’t even 8 months yet. I LOVE to watch the pure joy and wonderment in their eyes and they try new things, explore the world and their abilities, and then watch them master what they set out to do!
  


• They continue to win records with their crawling speed, and often go in different directions ;) They both love to climb and pull up on everything and anything in every sort of position. Gavin is getting braver and braver about walking from one thing another, even things that require bigger steps, turns and perhaps a step on his own or fall towards it. Both boys are excellent at lowering themselves softer and softer these days instead of a big bang sit… They both are getting great at bending over and picking up a toy while standing as well.
  


• They are trying to stand up on their own as well (feet and hands on the on the floor, legs straight...) Gavin practices this the most these days. They still have a ways to go, but in just a week’s time, I’ve seen big improvements.
  


• Wyatt’s new thing is to be a ‘rollie pollie’! He loves to roll around the floor by himself or with mama. He loves to go from the standing position to an awkward position with his hinny in the air and head/shoulders on the floor, then flop as in a roll. Then away he goes rolling this way and that.
  


• The boys love to use the ‘push walker’ these days! They are great at learning to walk and balance on their own as they push it straight and turn it. Even when it starts to get away from them, they learn how to adjust their bodies to keep from falling. They are so proud of themselves.
  


• Gavin’s favorite thing is still walking around the house as he holds on to my fingers. He is great at just holding on to one finger now though, and will let go of one finger on his own. You can tell he loves to try to balancing while doing this because he just lights up and grins like crazy! Wyatt enjoys this too, but prefers to try things on his own more often than not. We’ll get several steps and then he sees something he wants to play with or somewhere else he wants to go and gets down and crawls there. It’s fun to see how Gavin loves to practice and think things through and Wyatt just tries things out as he goes. Such precious children!!
  


• Their new favorite game: standing! They LOVE for me to hold their fingers as they stand and then let go! They crack up as they try to balance and then finally fall and I catch them. They often stand straight for a good 4-5 seconds on their own then bend half way with their arms moving as trying to catch their balance and then I catch them as they fall. They can do this forever it seems. They both also are trying to stand up on their own when we aren’t there. The other day Wyatt was at his toy box in the living room, playing with his snuggle bear that was draped over the box, without holding on to anything. Because he was concentration so hard on the bear, he didn’t realize he was standing on his own! He must have done this for a good 15-20 seconds, then grabbed the box, a new toy and took off. It’s amazing watching them do things like this.
  


• Gavin and Wyatt LOVE cords and outlets… sigh… They are learning the word NO. They understand to stop when we say NO, but then try to do it again. There are some days, Wyatt thinks it’s absolutely hilarious when we say NO, DANGER, and HURT/OUCH! Sigh… But, they are learning and we are being consistent which is the important thing in teaching them. We do not smack their hands, but rather hold their hands firmly and have a stern voice to explain the importance of our words.
  


• The boys have wonderful attention spans; I’m actually amazed. They will spend 15-20-30 minutes on one activity. They enjoy their times of movements as I mentioned above which enjoys zero toys or the larger toys like the activity centers or their ‘house’. They enjoy reading time and looking at books. They enjoy playing with blocks, boxes, balls and cups. They enjoy playing with cars, and they enjoy their ‘box of toys’. They also love two Baby Einstein videos we put in every now and then; First Signs and First Movements. As I mentioned before they love the puppets and the children. These two videos capture their attention for 20-30 minutes.
  They also enjoy our daily activities like:
  -Flash cards (animals, shapes, colors right now which include lots of other fun discussions with this!)
  -Music time (using their keyboard, tambourine, drum, rattles, and other instruments in the set)
  -Art (playing with dough, writing, finger paints, bubbles, etc)
  Sensations (we explore different textures and temperature of things around the house and outside)
  -OUTSIDE (The boys LOVE to be outside. Walks, park, art activities, whatever… and their swing set is going up this week! We are so excited, they boys are going to love it!!!)
  


• Just as a brief update, we have started to feed the boys milk when they first wake up in the morning followed by breakfast an hour or so later. This has helped drastically with their daily milk intake; freeing me to not have to stress about it the rest of the day. They continue to eat great.
  


• The boys have gone through a growth spurt the past couple of weeks. They have increased in length drastically (not sure what they are now…) and now weigh 20 ½ lbs.
  


• They now have new carseats! We got them the Graco SmartSeat and love it! The other car seats should have been retired a long time ago because their legs were dangling out for a while… Anyways, getting out and about with the boys just keeps getting easier and easier! They love to be in their strollers and the carts at the store. They are great in the double buggies/cars attached to the carts and look really cute as we shop!
  


• Shortly after the boys recovered from their first cold, they caught a stomach bug which caused about 7-8 bowl movements a day each. This lasted about a week. Then just yesterday, Gavin gave us a very big scare. He had a low grade fever of 99.8 Friday night and Saturday morning. Then between 2:30 and 3:30 it rose quickly and drastically to 103.4 and he was very very lethargic. We took him to the pediatric emergency clinic. It took over 2 hours to get it to come down slightly. All tests came back fine. He went to bed with smiles and fever free, woke up fever free, but it has started to rise again to 100.3 by his first nap. I am praying it stabilized and goes away so he can feel much better. I am thankful he is playing and happy today though. I will write more on this later.
  
  

There are a million other things (and pictures, I promise…) I’ll have to write more about. For now, this is a good glimpse at our precious blessings at 8 months (tomorrow!)

7 1/2 Month 'Partial' Update

Much time has past since I last wrote an update on the boys and there have been a tremendous amount of development. I have been intending to give a 7 month update for weeks now, but the past few week have been so full as you’ll read about below. I didn’t want to wait until their 8 month update, so here is a little glimpse into what Gavin and Wyatt have been up to the past month and a half. It’s only a glimpse, because I don’t think I could possible capture EVERYTHING they are doing. They just continue to amaze us with their fast growth developmentally, mentally and emotionally. We are so thankful for our precious blessings. Each stage of your children’s lives is truly wonderful; but watching them embrace and explore the world these days leaves us laughing and smiling continually. They bring us so much joy and have allowed us to grow so much as parents, individuals and as a couple!

The best place to start is MOVEMENT!

• Wyatt started to really crawl all over the place late September. They were both pulling up on their toybox on their own at this point, along with going from the sitting to crawling and back to the sitting position. Gavin started to crawl all over the place with his brother on October 20th. It is so much fun watching the difference in their personalities. As I mentioned in my previous post a while back, Wyatt practiced crawling by just going for it. He face planted a lot and tried lots of different things and then finally he found the way he liked and became super fast and loving to go everywhere! During this time and for the next few weeks, Gavin spent lots of time on all fours concentrating and thinking. Then just one day he started crawling all over the place with his brother! (That’s why I have an exact date for Gavin and not for Wyatt…)


• Wyatt in the mean time learned how to pull up on everything from every position. He stands up on EVERYTHING ALL the time and walks from one thing to another, as does Gavin. Each wake period is FULL of exploring their world and their abilities.


• Wyatt also started to CLIMB on October 20th. Oh how scary! He doesn’t quite understand that once he’s climbed up somewhere, he will fall if not careful. But just the past few days, he’s really starting to understand I have to step down or crawl down a certain way in order not to roll! It’s great to watch his thinking process.


• Speaking of getting down, both boys are excellent at sitting themselves down after they pull themselves up. We are so thankful! I think one reason is because they’ve been standing at the toy box and other things for months now and learned then that they can sit down on their own from the standing position.


• Gavin’s favorite thing to do this past week is to take our fingers and walk ALL around the house all throughout the day. He is SO proud of himself when he does this and does excellent. Each day I’m giving less and less balance for him as he learns to do it on his own. Wyatt still thinks he can walk by himself as he just lets go of an object and moves forward. It always ends in falling though. He’s tough though and gets right back up after he falls or bumps his head. Wyatt’s already had some knots on his head, bruises, cuts, etc. Ugh, my heart is always going crazy as I watch my precious boys be such dare devils. They have NO fear… Oh boy, what is a mama to do?!?!?????


• We've childproofed the house in all the many ways the boys need at this stage (no door handles yet). For a week, they were so kind in showing us everything that we had not yet thought to childproof!
  
  

Development

• They boys are really learning how to coordinate their movements during play and interacting with us. Both boys love to give high fives, Wyatt tries to wave sometimes and just today Wyatt began clapping! He is SO proud of himself for clapping and even says ‘Yay’ sometimes when doing it just like I do!


• Gavin LOVES to open doors/cabinets, turn pages, spin things and press buttons. Just yesterday Gavin started to really play with cars the way they are meant to be played with; going around in circles, back and forth, and pressing buttons for the noises.


• Just the day before both boys discovered the wonderful world of rolling and chasing the ball everywhere! They have so much fun, especially since there is a brother there to join in on the fun!


• Gavin loves to give and receive hugs. He’ll be playing and then all of a sudden take a break for hug time and then get back to playing. It warms my heart; I just love this!


• Wyatt just started to give kisses (with mouth open of course) this past week! It’s so precious and again, warms my heart!


• They light up when they see Mama and Dada, and just recently Wyatt isn’t exactly thrilled when I leave the room for a second.


• While they've been making sounds and babbling for a while, it was today for the first time that Gavin just really started to take off. He was talking and talking and talking and using all sorts of sounds together in many differant patterns and tones. Wyatt was watching intently as he did this. It's only a matter of time until they are chatting with each other!!
  
  

Food

• The boys are excellent eaters and love food. They eat such a wide variety of foods these days and are enjoying many dinners that Dad and Mom eat too. I’m very careful to introduce a lot of foods that are acidic or will cause excessive gas right now though. I’ll start introducing these more within the next month or so.


• For a while we struggled with Wyatt having hysterical fits during meal time for no reason what so ever. We knew it wasn’t the food or sickness and couldn’t imagine it was the ‘teething’ excuse. After weeks of these random hysterical fits, we finally figured it out: Wyatt wanted to feed himself! Once we started giving him finger foods (which we thought he was way too early for during his 6 month) he was as happy as can be. They are doing great with finger foods, but I must say I am very paranoid of them choking. I am constantly fearful of this and it’s something I’m trying to overcome.


• They really are doing great at chewing though which makes me very happy. All snacks and fingerfoods are very soft or small still at this point. But veggies, fruits, meats, cheese, rice crispies, puffs, yogurt melts, etc make great finger foods. While they do feed themselves, there is no way they could get the amount of food they need in a timely manner all by themselves, so while they are eating finger foods, I’m giving them the main parts of their meals with the spoon.


• The boys are not drinking a lot of milk these days; especially Gavin. This is something that I’ve been wracking my brain over the past several weeks. The pediatrician is not concerned at all with the amount they are drinking and their overall nutrition. They are getting everything they need and more so I need to relax about it a little. We’ve had to change things up a little though to ease my mind during the day… I give them milk when they first wake up in the morning so ensure they get plenty at the start of the day. We then eat breakfast an hour or 1.5 hours later. Then the rest of the day, I just get them to drink as much as they will but not worry if they mainly eat solids.
  
  

First Cold

• The boys had their first cold last week. I’ll write a separate post on this later. Wyatt caught it first and two days later Gavin did. They were both teething at the same time; Gavin one tooth and Wyatt three. Watching my sons feel bad and have high fevers broke my heart. As a mom, I want to take away all their pain, and I hate it when I can’t. They are much better this week though; just still a little congested and a small cough.
  
  

There is so much more to write about, but I will try to do this at their 8 month update and other follow up posts, along with pictures…

Other 6 Month Highlights - Plus Farm Photo Shoot

Here are a few extra tidbits I wanted to share along with some of the photos taken this weekend at the farm:

Gavin said ‘Mom’ and ‘Mama’ today, along with a lot of Mmmmmmms.

The boys have started to mimic us. Just this weekend Wyatt learned how to high five from his Grandma French. Gavin started to do this today. Both boys pat the ground and other types of motions when we do.

As I’ve mentioned before, we are signing with the boys. This past weekend Wyatt is starting to sign ‘milk’ during meal time. It’s so cute. I don’t think he knows the difference between milk and eat yet, but he is learning that this is done during meal time. Gavin still says ‘Mmmmm’ when he’s hungry or during meal time to let me know he’s ready for food or more!

Wyatt is moving. He can takes a few official crawling steps off and on, but he always gets to where he wants to go no matter what; moving in circles, sideways, backwards and now forward! He’s real close to going from the crawling position to the sitting position too. Gavin started getting up on all fours, rocking and trying to crawl last night (09/25). He thinks a lot about his motions before trying it seems.

Gavin is pulling himself up from the sitting (on the floor) position to his knees these days. He loves to pull up the whole way when he’s sitting on our legs to begin with. He has great balance and focus when standing.

Wyatt began to take steps while holding on to my fingers late last week. He loves to practice walking now! Just today (09/26) he walked from the activity table, to the bookshelf (holding on of course) and then walked along the bookshelf. He then let go and just started walking to the next activity center; good thing I was there to catch him and give him support!

Parenting has defiantly changed the past couple of weeks now that they are very mobile. They love to stand and walk, but often want to go in different directions. This is very hard since they are both unbalanced and need me for support. I often end up as their very own human jungle gym!

Gavin and Wyatt have started to scream and squeal in excitement. Toys are very exciting these days. They are spending less and less time in their jumparoo and stationary activity center and more and more time at the activity tables, walkers and other mobile toys.

Gavin and Wyatt are still eating very well. They are eating more and more solids. They are also now eating puffs and other types of finger foods; practicing picking them up and putting them in their mouth. They are also starting to get a little table food here and there if I know they’ve tried all the ingredients in it already. They loved great-grandma’s biscuits and plum jelly this past weekend at the farm! Both boys are also doing great at using a sippy cup now.

Here is a great video of Gavin having fun with Daddy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjE4olrLFwI

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.