With all the craziness going on in my life lately I have neglected writing about how much the twins are changing, and boy have they been! Both of them began walking before they turned one, which I was so excited about, but it definitely made life much crazier! I envy those moms who can let their child loose in the house because they know they can keep a close on on them. Not so for me. With two they run in different directions! So very rarely are the twins allowed to just roam around in the house. They are restricted to either their play room (gated in with a baby gate), or the living room and play room (hallway and kitchen blocked by long baby gates). I see so many cute pictures of people I know whose baby is playing in the kitchen while they cook but that will never be a possibility for me and boy do I envy you moms who can do that! Fortunately the twins have each other to play with so although I still feel a teeny bit guilty when I have to gate them in their play room while I do the dishes or some other task, I feel better knowing they aren't alone and have each other.
So now that the twins have mastered walking they have moved on to climbing. They are getting close to being able to climb up on the couch by themselves, but are still having difficulties pulling themselves up without a little help. They can, however, climb on to most hard chairs and sit. Elijah has even figured out he can climb up on my mothers coffee table and sit on it, much to my dismay. While I know this is a necessary developmental milestone, it definitely makes me more on guard. Thankfully for now they have not figured out how to climb out of their cribs. If and when they do, please be sure you pray for me as I will quickly lose my mind I am sure.
The twins also started saying words around the time they turned one. My favorite thing they say of course is "Mama" (Elijah), and "Mommy" (Kathryn). But the most precious thing I think is that Kathryn's very first word was actually "Elijah", or more like "YiYa", but it is definitely what she calls him consistently, that and "Bubba", which is my nickname for Elijah. Kathryn is definitely the talker and has many words. She can say: Elijah, Bubba, Mommy, Daddy, Shoe, Dog, Hi, Bye, Paci, Papa, Tege (my cousin's daughter's name is Tegan and we all call her Tege), hot, more, baby, night night, Zoe, Chad, Chadie, outside, no no no no, nini (our word for nursing) and probably a few more but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. She tries to say most words, and seems to catch on to names very quickly, names tend to make up the majority of the words she knows. She seems to understand most of what I say to her, but whether or not she chooses to listen is a whole other story. Now my baby boy tends to be a little mor eon the pokey side when it comes to talking. But my understanding is that most boys tend to be a little slower than girls. Elijah can say: Mama, Dada, Papa, Elijah, Hi, Bye, Bubba, More, nini, Mawmaw (grandma we think), and he may have a few more that we just aren't completely sure of yet. Both twins make animal sounds when asked about a cow they say "Booo" (lol, they haven't quite figured out it is moo yet), as well as grunting when asked about a pig, and meowing for cat. They know several body parts and can identify them such as hair, nose, eye, ear, mouth, and toes. Kathryn does a little bit better at this test than Elijah, but I think that is because when Elijah points to his nose he sticks his finger up his nostril and I laugh, so he likes to focus on the nose a lot because he thinks it is funny. Elijah also seems to understand most of what I say and is a little bit better about listening and following direction, but still tends to do what he wants, when he wants, and if you try and stop him he is a fit thrower!
That's right my sweet baby faced little boy will throw himself on the ground and start crying and screaming if he gets in trouble, scolded, or something taken away. This behavior definitely keeps me on my toes as I have to ensure he is safe when he throws these temper tantrums and not in the middle of a concrete driveway. I sure hope he outgrows them soon, but my pediatrician did say some children keep doing them until they are 5 or older! Boy do I hope my son isn't one of those as they are getting old. Kathryn on the other hand is a biter!!! From day one my mother told me she was an oral child. She was born and immediately began mouthing her hands and acting hungry, she had no problems latching and nursing, and I could always count on her to help clear up a clogged duct if need be. But from that first day my mother said "Mark my words, she will be a biter." (Does my mom know kids or what?!) So now I am blessed with a biter who acts out of frustration, which can be frequently since Elijah is a toy snatcher, of course most children are at this age. And she is strong willed this one and won't take crap from anyone, so she bites. How do I address it? I flick her in her mouth and say "No bite!" Sometimes she cries, sometimes she smiles, and sometimes she acts like "whatever". Oh boy am I in trouble in the future!
Speaking of teeth both twins have eight of their front teeth. Kathryn has one of her first year molars and is working on a second. Elijah has one first year molar on the top that has almost erupted, I can feel the tip, it just hasn't broken through yet. The twins have never struggled with teething, in fact when people would talk about their infants having a hard time because they were teething I always thought, "Really?" because teething never phased the twins. Now however, they are having some difficulties from these molars. Aside from just plain irritability, it has disrupted their sleep a little. As for sleeping both babies I am glad to report typically sleep through the night. They go to bed between 7-7:30 with just me saying prayers with them, showing them a picture of daddy to say good night to, and kissing them goodnight and then laying them in their beds awake. They go to sleep with usually no crying and typically wake up between 6-6:30. However, since cutting these molars Elijah almost always wakes up at least once, usually twice, and Kathryn occasionally wakes up once. But at least all I have to do is give them their paci and lay them back down and they go back to sleep. As for naps I struggled to break the twins of their morning nap, I mean my kids like to sleep! But within the past several weeks I have finally been able to push them through the morning until 12:30 and put them down for one afternoon nap and they typically sleep until 2:30. But I think if I still offered them a nap in the morning, they would take it without complaint.
As for eating, what don't the twins eat! I have to brag and say I have the absolute best eaters! They will eat pretty much anything and everything I offer them. There are a few things they have turned their nose up to, but they say a baby may try an item 12 times before acquiring a taste for it, so I just keep offering it to them. I am sad to say I have completely weaned the twins from nursing. I nursed up to 15 months old, which I think is pretty darn good for nursing twins, and while part of me would have liked to continue until they were two, Kathryn began to lose interest and without my star nurser my supply really began to go down to the point when Elijah nursed I wasn't sure if he was even getting more than a swallow, and at that point it seemed pretty unnecessary and a little weird to continue offering. It is pretty sad as I am pretty positive I will never experience nursing another baby as Adam and I are pretty sure that rather than have another child we would like to adopt a child that needs a home, but I am glad for the experience and will always treasure those special moments I have shared with the twins while nursing them. The twins now drink whole milk and no longer take bottles. I weaned them pretty quickly after they turned one from the bottle, and they now get all their liquids from a sippy cup. It is my goal to have them drinking from a cup without a lid by the time they are two, yeah I'm crazy, but wish me luck! I have graduated them from their high chairs to booster seats with straps at the table. So in the evening the three of us eat at the table together as a family, and always missing our fourth.
So I think I have pretty well updated you on all the big changes the twins have been going through and I know I probably have tons of videos and pictures I need to post so I will try to do that soon, but now I wanted to give a quick update on Adam.
When Adam left for basic training his first few days were spent doing in processing, basically medical stuff, paperwork, insurance stuff, getting uniforms and gear etc. After that he would go to the actual boot camp. I spoke to him today and originally he was supposed to go today to the actual boot camp, however for one reason or another they only sent some of the new recruits today and will be sending the rest next week. So Adam has not actually started his actual basic training yet and will hopefully do so early next week. The downside to this is that it pushes his graduation date further away, so it is looking like he probably won't be graduating until the first week of December sometime. But not to worry, they are still putting him through he** lol. He is running on little sleep and being yelled at and punished as a group for others mistakes, sounds just about right. With this delay it at least gives me hopefully a few more days to be able to talk to him before our contact gets cut off completely. I miss him as do the twins, but at least we have each other as well as an amazing family and support system in place.
Thanks again for all your well wishes and support during these crazy times, we all appreciate it. I will try and post some recent pictures and videos very soon, I promise ;)
