11 months...REALLY?!?!

Here I am again posting about another month that has passed us. I cannot believe that I am posting about my little beans 11th month! None the less, here's where we are...

There's clearly no shortage of personality and tempers in the Hatcher home

Weight

A: ?

G: ?

I’ve got to weigh the babies. I have no idea but I would assume we are nearing or just over the 20 pound mark. Kevin and I were also wondering if Avery has surpassed her brother. She has a bit more of a belly but he is a lot taller…we shall see?

Height-

A: ?

G: ?

Clothing size- They are both still wearing 6-12 months. They fit best in the clothes from places that make 9 month sizes.

Diapers-

Still wearing size 2’s but should probably move to size 3 very soon.

Feeding-

It’s bittersweet but I have officially ended nursing my sweet little beans. I’m pretty sure that I cared more about giving it up than they did. They didn’t exactly have the attention span for it the last few weeks. I had planned on trying to nurse for at least 3 months and made it so my next goal was 6 months. I made that and figured I would try for 9 months and made it just past 10 months. All in all I feel so fortunate that I had that special time with my little ones. But it’s time to say good bye to the twins nursing pillow…hopefully for good!

They have cut back a bit on the ounces they drink from a bottle. I am assuming that is because they are eating so much more food these days. I have amazing little eaters and am so thankful for that. You name it, they eat it. One of the new meats they tried this month is venison. They love it! However, they are primarily eating fruits, veggies, cheese, and beans,. We don’t give them a ton of meat. They also had ravioli and mac n cheese for the first. They LOVE both. I don’t think they will be lactose intolerant like their daddy. They continue to love their puffs but also got to taste animal crackers, alphabet cookies and goldfish for the first time this past month.  

Hair/Eyes-

Eyes are still the same. Grayson's hair is continuing to get longer and longer. The mullet is getting closer every day J Avery's hair is just long enough in the front that I can use a little mini pony tail holder/rubber band with a bow.

Sleep-

We all got the flu the first week in January which set us back a little on sleep habits, but we are finally back in the groove. They still go to sleep around 7:30 most nights and wake between 6:30-7:30. Grayson is always awake about an hour before his sister. They take about a two hour nap in the mornings and an hour and a half to two hour nap in the afternoon.

Personality-

Grayson is a mess these days. He loves to laugh and giggle. He even fake laughs sometime because he knows he will get a reaction out of us. He is still my cuddly little man that needs his mommy for a few minutes when he wakes up before he’s ready to play. This month he has decided to get into everything. He knows when he shouldn’t be doing something because he’ll look up at you like he’s not doing anything. We’re in for it with this one.

Avery is my sweet little girl that sits back and watches her brother get into trouble. She knows what she wants and has begun to let out a little screech when she wants something and can’t get to it or doesn’t want something. She’s not as cuddly as her brother but sure is sweet as can be. She continues to give the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen. Any where we go that’s the comment we get about her…what a smile!

Both babies are talking more and more every day. They definitely know what they’re saying. Whenever they do something they shouldn’t be and I try to scold them they look up and laugh or smile. It’s as if they think me being stern is funny or something. I guess I need a little more practice with that.

Fun Stuff-

The biggest milestone we reached this month was going mobile. Grayson officially began crawling on the 14^th of January. It only took him a day to figure out he could get into EVERYTHING. We have to be super careful. I’m a little behind because I just ordered cabinet locks as he spent Sunday opening every cabinet in our kitchen. Even with all the added precautions seeing him crawl is so much fun. He also pulls up on anything and everything to a standing position. It’s only a matter of time until his balance improves and he’s walking.

Avery on the other hand has absolutely no interest in crawling whatsoever. She sees her brother crawl but could care less. When we place her on her belly and help her to the position she gets mad and flattens to the ground. I think this little girl might skip crawling and go straight to walking…when she so chooses. She seems to have a bit of my personality in her as I did not walk until 18 months. She is almost pulling up on her own but will stand and hold on to things if you put her up against something such as the ottoman coffee table.

The beans got lots of fun Christmas toys. They love their play table, musical instruments, little tykes cars, anything that makes noise. Grayson is exceptional at pulling anything down and making a mess.

Avery loves anything that plays music. She began dancing this month. She bobs her head no matter where we are when she hears music. Even if it is quiet background music, as soon as she hears it her head starts bobbing. She often bounces her arms up and down as well.

Both babies will high five and Avery has begun to wave when she feels like it. We are still working on waving and our sign language. I can’t wait until they will sign back. They definitely understand what I’m signing to them at this point.

It’s been quite a busy month with lots of firsts and new experiences. We also had out new nanny Carla start this month. She has been wonderful and we are so happy to have her. She is from Brazil and has been speaking some Portuguese to the babies!

I am knee deep in planning the babies first birthday but it’s all bittersweet. I absolutely cannot believe that my nest post will be about my one year olds. I don’t think I prepared for that. I’ve been looking back at their month by month pictures and it is amazing to see how incredibly tiny and fragile they were and now how active and outgoing they are. I wouldn’t change a thing but I sure do wish I could slow down time just a tad.

Stay tuned for everything Thing One and Thing Two

I don't like when mommy makes me sit down

Uh oh! Watch out mommy...don't look away!

I don't want to sit down :(

Personalities are a MESS!

Love these sweet cheeks

And 'the look' begins

We are officially on the move!

I kept saying Grayson was so close to crawling but little did I know how very close he was. I guess I just didn’t realize they go from not getting it to getting it in a moment’s time and it’s all over from there. Grayson had been getting up on all fours and doing the rocking motion until he laid out flat for weeks now. Well, last night (1/14/13) Kevin and I were getting the babies ready for bed after their bath time. We both looked at Grayson and noticed this time he was up on all fours and was shakily moving his hands forward as though he wanted to crawl and or get to one of his toys. Kevin decides he’s going to get some reinforcements and encourage this. He grabbed a few mini graham crackers (Grayson’s favorite) and placed them just beyond Grayson’s reach. Sure enough he put it together and crawled to the graham cracker. I couldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t believe Kevin was using graham crackers to entice our son. He is now crawling to anything and everything he wants. He’s a little wobbly but on the go none the less. I have a feeling walking isn’t too far into our future either. He can easily pull himself up on things such as the coffee table ottoman, his high chair, toys, or anything that isn’t too tall for his reach. He can even go from one thing to another if he can reach for it and it doesn’t require steps. Watch our world, our boy is on the loose! Avery will stand and hold onto things but currently doesn’t have an interest in pulling herself up or even trying to get up on all fours to begin crawling. She is perfectly content sitting back and watching her brother get into all of the mischief.

Babies First Christmas...a little late

Yet again I am way behind on blogging what the babies have been up to.   We had a very eventful couple of weeks surrounding Christmas. We were fortunate in that we got to see lots of family and friends over the holidays. We kicked off Christmas Eve by heading to the Fishers where we picked up Aunt Devin from the airport. We got to stay for dinner and the babies met Jeff and Gina for the very first time! We headed home so as not to be late for Santa. Later that night my parents (Nana and Granddady) arrived. We had a house full with Kevin, the babies, me, Devin, mom, dad and the two pups but it was nice and cozy.  Thankfully our basement renovations were complete just in time. Kevin, Devin, and I eagerly began our first Christmas Eve of putting toys together for the babies. Aunt Devin spoiled them with cozy coup cars, which actually require a lot more piecing together than I had expected. Once we were done and the tree was full we all tucked away in bed in anticipation of the babies first Christmas. It was probably one of the last few Christmas’ where we didn’t have to be up at the crack of dawn but we were all so excited to start the babies first Christmas that we woke pretty early. In sum the babies had a very special day. They loved their cozy coup cars, boxes, paper and ribbons. They didn’t care quite as much about each gift but we had expected that and didn’t get them very much anyways. We stayed in our PJs all day and enjoyed spending the day together.

Devin stayed with us for two weeks, one of which was spent stuck at home as we were all sick. Mom and dad could only stay a couple of days due to work. Kevin’s dad and step mom (Poppy and Nana) had a wedding to attend over New Year’s up in Pennsylvania so they stopped off in Annapolis to spend a day with us. We had a nice dinner out and met them for breakfast the next morning before they were off to the wedding.  

We had a nice, quiet New Year’s Eve spent at the house. Devin was sick and little did we realize, Kevin, the babies and I were all beginning to come down with it too. Our friends Chris and Brooke came over to enjoy a few appetizers and drinks. The next morning I thought I couldn’t handle a couple of glasses of wine when in reality I wasn’t hung over, it was the beginning of the death sickness.  I tried denying it was the flu as the babies and I had the flu shot. Little did I know there was a horrible strain going around that the flu shot did not protect against. We had horrible fevers, chills, pains, coughs, you name it and we had it. I’d  have to say this was one of the worst ‘sicknesses’ I’ve ever had. Feeling awful while trying to care for two babies who also feel miserable made for a rough couple of days. It took well over a week for this nasty germ to leave our house. My poor sister comes to visit and we can barely leave the house for almost a week. As soon as we started feeling better we tried to get out and do a few fun things.

Sure enough two weeks passed way too quickly and we had to take her to the airport and say goodbye. It never gets easier saying goodbye. We always miss her so much. I literally go through a mini depression when she leaves. She helps me SO much with the babies and we just have the best time. The good thing is this time we don’t have to say goodbye for too long as she booked a flight to come back for the babies first birthday! We couldn’t be more excited. For now we are headed back to work and we have a new nanny starting with us.

Babies First Snow!

Santa butts!

Cheers to a happy and healthy 2013!



10 Months Old!

Weight

A: ?
G: ?

Height-

A: ?
G: ?
Clothing size- Grayson can still fit in some 6 month but really wears 9 month if I can find it or 6-12 month. Avery is still good to go in 6 month clothes but can wear the 9 month or 6-12 month.

Diapers-

We are definitely in size 2 diapers but I HAD to get the Santa diapers and the smallest size they came in are 3's (which are WAY to big haha).

Feeding-

I'm only nursing in the morning when they wake up and at night right before they go to bed. They would probably be fine without nursing at this point. I guess it's a mama thing. I'll probably let it go after the holidays. The best part about this month is that their doctor gave us the all clear to feed them pretty much anything in little pieces (excluding allergy foods). This has been amazing! It may be more of a mess but it's SO much easier to place a bunch of little pieces of food on their high chair tray and let them go at it then spoon feeding two babies at one time. I could tell they were pretty much over the puree thing and LOVED feeding themselves. A few firsts this month include, mac n cheese, cheese, deli turkey and ham, chicken, taco meat, spaghetti, and venison (daddy was so excited they loved this),

Hair/Eyes-

Eyes are still the same. Grayson's hair is continuing to get longer and longer. I so need to take him for a little snip before he has a mullet. Avery's hair is slowly growing. Can't wait for a little more length so she can have little bows!

Sleep-

The last two months were a little rough in this department with Grayson's teeth, the time change, and maybe a growth spurt. However, I am extremely happy to say they have finally settled back into their groove. They are sleeping a little later in the morning until about 7 or so most morning and they are taking two pretty decent naps. The morning nap seems to be the longer of the two. Rarely do they throw in the evening snooze anymore. We did learn at our last appointment that it was time to stop rocking them to sleep. I was so sad to have to give this up but it was definitely becoming quite a bit of work with two little ones. Our doctor said it would probably take about a week of tough love and they would then be able to self sooth. A few days after we found this out we left for Charlotte and the babies got sick. I wasn't tough enough to start. I waited until we got home. Sure enough these babies shocked me and showed that the rocking was all about me. After about a night or two of hearing them cry they were good to go and didn't make a peep. As much as I miss rocking my little ones bedtime is SO much easier.

Personality-

Avery and Grayson's very different personalities emerge more and more every day! I can't get over how sweet and cuddly my little man is. However, he is still a feisty little guy with a huge set of lungs. He continues to scream when he's mad or doesn't want to do something and he is constantly babbling, giggling, and laughing. Avery remains my calm, sweet little girl that sits back and takes note of everything going on around her...especially her brother. She doesn't talk quite as loud as her brother but she too babbles, coes, and laughs and it's just the sweetest sound. She has her daddy wrapped around her finger already!

Fun Stuff-

Grayson has a new obsession with grabbing his sister and sucking her head. It's so sweet..sort of. Avery's not such a big fan.

I think Avery is going to be a cleaner just like her mama.

Both babies still have an obsession and true love with being in the Johnny Jump Up. Grayson literally swing from the kitchen to the Christmas tree giggling like crazy.

Grayson loves sitting in things like a big boy such as this car Colson shared with him...

and this ride on toy...

He also gives the sweetest little hugs!

And he's learning how to pull up...UH OH!

Avery is obsessed with swinging.

This month they both really started standing solidly while holding on to things. They love the play table, coffee table, and anything that's just the right height for them to hold on to and play. Grayson became a dare devil and will let go with one arm turn around and then go back.

Our doctor things Avery might skip crawling and go straight to walking. She scoots on her back and our doctor said it's really hard for a baby to completely reverse that and learn to do it on their belly. Grayson shows signs by getting up on all fours but has yet to take the plunge and make a move. He usually just rocks for a moment and then flattens to the floor. It's only a matter of time.

They don't quite fit but I had to get these cute little Santa Diapers...just look at those bums!

Sibling identification and annoyance is in full affect. I'd say they definitely have a true love for each other already...

And here's the traditional monthly sticker shots! It's getting interesting trying to pull off these photos with two active little beans!

Ugh leave me ALONE

Okay, I'll take kisses

WHAT?!?! I'm 10 months old!

YaYYYY

All I can say is WOW, we sure are having a ton of fun in the Hatcher household these days!

Where Have We Been?!?!

So...my last post was the babies 9 month update and today they are 10 months old. Where has the time gone? With Thanksgiving, two trips to NC, visitors, parties, construction on the house, and preparing for the holidays our blog has taken a back seat. I am exhausted just thinking about all that has happened in the last month. I'll do my best to catch up on where we've been and what we've been up to. I'll start by saying I am LOVING this age. They still aren't mobile which I dare not push after spending a week with our buddy Colson running circles. I have no idea what I will do with two on the loose.

We spent Thanksgiving week bobbing all over North Carolina. We started with a few days visiting my parents in Raleigh, then we headed to Madison to spend Thanksgiving day with my dads family. Then we headed to Winston to see Kevin's  parents, followed by a trip to Lake Ewharrie to celebrate a belated Thanksgiving with his dads family. By the time we were back in Maryland we were exhausted but so thankful to have spent such quality time with those we love most.

We were home a few days before the babies and I took off for a solo trip to Charlotte. We spent just over a week while I was in a training. At the end of the week Kevin met us as it was his birthday and we didn't want to miss out on celebrating with him. Anna, Travis, and Colson were such great hosts. We got our first cold while we were there which didn't make for the best house guests...sorry Anna! However, the babies had SO much fun together. Colson loved the babies and was nice enough to share all of his toys and even sent us home with a few. The Crawfords are way too good to us when we visit them.

We're finally back home and after two really long and exhausting trip have decided to stay put for Christmas. My family will be coming Christmas Eve for a few days followed by Kevin's dad and step mom. The best part is Aunt Devin will be here in less than a week to spend two whole weeks with us. We absolutely cannot wait and have had a countdown going since she booked her flight.

The babies have loved the Christmas tree, lights, paper and all that comes with Christmas. I'm pretty sure all we would have to give them is a box and paper and they'd be happy. Playing Santa for the first time has brought a whole new meaning to the Christmas season. I am loving every minute of it.

Below is a recap of where we've ventured over the past month!

Someone was the first to the table and the last to leave on Thanksgiving...this little girl LOVES to eat!

This little guy loves to stand lately. And how cute is that little sweater my sister made him for Thanksgiving?!?! My little stud

All 3 of my babies on the farm

The babies with Nana and Granddady

I will be so sad when my lil man doesn't fall asleep on me anymore.

A & G even got to go on their first pony ride on Thanksgiving! Avery loved it but boy did my little man. He was feeding the horses carrots and squealing with joy.

Look how excited he got!

Pat, Grayson, Marie, Mom, Me, Avery and Kevin

As soon as Thanksgiving passed us we were off to pick our very first Christmas tree as a family of four. It really was that much more exciting to do this with little ones in tow. Even though I doubt they knew what it was all about.

Next we were off to Charlotte, NC

Here the babies had their first Bojangles experience...I'd say it was a hit! How funny is it to see 3 high chairs in a row...thank goodness it wasn't triplets!

This was the best shot I could get of all 3 rug rats in the tub

Grayson was in love with Colson's cool car!

Anna took us to see this beautiful tree. Avery was loving it!

Love my little family!

I mean how cute is Colson with his hands wrapped around the babies!

Travis gave my lil man the cutest TC shirt!

We even took a trip to visit Santa for the very first time while we were in Charlotte. Daddy arrived in time for this. The babies did so well. We'll see what next year brings!

Last but not least, Daddy arrived just in time to celebrate his first birthday with his favorite little ones. The babies were overjoyed with excitement to finally see their daddy after missing him SO much. We made a yummy dinner, gave him cards signed by his little ones and a few fun gifts. There might have been a few slobbery kisses as well.

 Upon arriving back home there were presents awaiting the babies from Aunt Devin. She spoiled them with their first advent calendar of goodies. They opened two books on their first day. They loved their books, but as you can see, the box and paper were pretty cool too!

How cute are we wearing Ellie's reindeer antlers?!?!

Precious little peanuts in their Christmas jammies

 

We are SO ready for SANTA and all our family that will be visiting...hurry up Christmas!