Ali and Sammy are 11 months old! One more month until they are a year old. Yes, once again I can't believe time has gone by so quickly. Sometimes these monthly updates are frustrating to write. They are something else on my to-do list that is always growing. But then I think about how not writing them means my girls are growing too fast and I am a little sad. Normal mom feelings though, right? Right. On to the update.
Sammy and Ali are still army crawling. I think they have given up and the traditional crawl. Sometimes they get up on their hands and knees, but then they realize they can get where they want to go and just go for it. Sammy is still super fast. Seriously, she can cross a room in a blink. Ali is still our slow and steady girl. She gets where she wants and will figure out the best path to get to what she wants. The two of them together can be trouble. They have managed to knock the gate down a few times! If I don't have it super tight they can tilt it and scoot underneath. Sneaky girls! They for sure keep me busy making sure they stay safe.
Both are sitting much better now! Sammy can get herself into a sitting position on her own, while Ali kneels more. Ali has been busy pulling herself up into a kneeling position to reach things for a while now. In the girls usual style, Ali worked hard at it and we could see her practicing to reach this skill. After that Sammy just did it one day. It is interesting to see how different the girls can be sometimes! But they do hit physical milestones around the same time, as expected from identical twins. The path to those points is just a little different. Ali tends to kneel more than sit, but she can sit when placed in that position. They don't do it very long, they tend to take off after the next thing that catches their fancy. I think they are really just too busy to be bothered holding still sitting for very long. They are learning they can have hands free upright playing by sitting though. Oh, and they have learned shelves have fun things on them. They can't reach anything unsafe, but they can get into a lot more toys now. One of Ali's favorite activities is pulling all the board books off of shelves. We keep a big bin of baby toys on a low shelf, and they can pull it over to get to the toys. It's messy, but it is actually nice they can do this now. When just Ali was pulling up she would work so hard to grab a toy out of the bin, and Sammy would wait and steal it. Sisters, huh.
The girls are pretty good eaters. They've had some more teeth coming in, and that makes them picky about what they eat. Ali likes softer foods while Sammy prefers hard things to grind into her gums. Overall I think they are doing pretty well. Both of them can drink from a straw now! This is awesome because it means they can drink the smoothies I make. Sometimes it is the only way I can get veggies in Ben, and I love that I can sneak healthy food into the girls now too. It took Sammy a little longer to figure it out, which was hard for her because she saw her sister and brother drinking something she wanted too. But she got it and now all three happily drink down my secretly healthy concoctions. :) The girls love bananas, guaca-hummus, peanut butter toast, quesadillas, crackers, apples, yogurt, raisins, and apricots. They really like having whatever the rest of us are eating. I am happy that they dig into whatever dinner I make for the family. I am betting that won't last too long. They'll find their pickiness like most kids do, but for now it is pretty nice. And it is helping Ben be less picky too! Yay! They adore meal time and are so happy to be at the table with everyone, which is super fun.
Nursing is still going well. Teething makes them a little fussy when nursing. Sammy tends to bite a little when her teeth hurt. She gets put down and has to wait until Ali is done when she does that. Fortunately she has learned and doesn't do it very often. It does let me know that her mouth is sore though. Ali likes to nurse more during teething. Funny how different they can be! I just make sure to have her switch sides at feedings when Sammy doesn't want to nurse much to make sure both sides produce evenly. The girls are getting pretty fast too! They get to business and want to get back to playing.
Sleep is going well. Sammy took her turn having some naps and bedtimes she wasn't happy about. But it was just a handful of times though. Both girls are happy to get to nap time and crash hard at bedtime. They occasionally cry out at night, but giving them their pacifier solves any problems. Sometimes we hear a cry and when we get into the room both girls are sound asleep. So who knows who is doing that. They did have a hard time sleeping when we had Gramma and Grampa with us for Thanksgiving. I seriously think they just didn't want to miss out on fun. Nothing was wrong. They would stop crying as soon as I went into the room. If I picked one of them up they would be straining to see into the hallway. I think they just wanted to go play. Other than that no real complaints though!
This month we celebrated the girls first Thanksgiving. The girls enjoyed themselves. I thought they would like more of the food, but they were still fussy from teething and didn't eat a ton. They very much enjoyed having Gramma and Grampa here to visit and dote on them. They loved the play time and cuddles. They loved getting out and visiting parks. When it is just me and the three kids the girls usually stay in the stroller. They tend to take off in opposite directions, which is hard with just one adult. And since they are still army crawling I don't want them getting hurt or dirty pulling their bellies along the ground. With Gramma and Grampa the girls could get out and play at the park! They loved the swings!! I have to say while it is very strange to have such warm weather at the holidays, it is nice we can still go to the park!! The girls enjoy the Christmas decorations that are up, and they have liked Christmas shopping with me. I like this stage when I can buy their gifts with them present. :)
These girls are just the best. Oh, they can be a handful sometimes. They get into everything! Seriously, I don't remember Ben getting into as much as a baby. Maybe it seems that way because I had just one kid so I could prevent more from happening? Or perhaps because Ben didn't crawl until he was almost a year old, so he didn't have the opportunity to get into things before he knew better. Ali and Sammy are smart and learning. They know what they are not allowed to do. They are starting to leave the outlets alone thank goodness! They love to get into the toys. They are, well, sometimes kind of jerks to each other. They are constantly stealing toys from each other. They pull pacifiers out of each others' mouths. Sometimes to put into their own mouth, sometimes just to have two. They love to crawl around and explore. They pull up to kneeling to try to see everything. They already think it is super fun to try to get into their brother's room. Luckily Ben doesn't mind right now, but he will. ;) The girls have learned if they pull up to kneel by the couch they can reach Ben while he sits. This is a super fun game for the girls. Ben does not seem as impressed with it. So far he handles it well, just scooting out of the way. He is going to have to adjust to a lot of love once Ali and Sammy figure out how to get on the couch too. Both girls crawl all over each other and wrestle around a bit. It sounds like they are fighting, but when I say anything to them they just look up and smile. Silly babies. Sammy is more likely to be on top. She tends to take direct routes to where she is going. Ali takes the time to go around and find the best path that way. Sammy is still happier to play on her own. She loves to use her feet to hold one toy while she plays with another. Ali likes to pull toys and books off shelves. She has been very happy to play on her own now that she can kneel at things. Both girls have been obsessed with the baby keys we have. We do have two sets, but of course they want the one their sister has. (Oh, and that usually means Ben wants them too.) They love the kids nativity we have out for them to play with. They are into rings and balls too. They have created a new game for themselves. We have a tiny area by the front door that is tile, and the balls from the ball factory bounce and roll really well on it. They crowd into this space and knock the balls around in a little hockey game of some sort and just laugh. Pat has been warned to open the front door slowly when he gets home. Of course the best time to play this game is when someone needs to use the door.
Both girls are just little giggle monsters. They laugh and smile! They are still so loud. Seriously, so loud all the time. Sammy is the shy one. She took a day to get used to Gramma and Grampa. Once she is used to people she opens up. Ali still loves most everyone. Sammy is the speedster. Ali likes to take winding ways to get places. Ali is still a little freer with her feelings. She has easy laughs, and will quickly let you know when she is upset. Sammy takes a beat longer to let loose the big giggles, but get her in a silly mood and there is no holding it back! She will let you know when she is unhappy too. Both girls are determined. They remember things they aren't supposed to get into and lie in wait to get at them. They keep me busy for sure. Sammy is into playing with socks for some reason. Hers or Ali's. Seriously, she has pulled Ali's socks off to play with them. For her part Ali doesn't seem to care. Ali has a specific book she really loves. It is fun to see their preferences develop. Both are little sweeties and so much fun.
No major schedule changes right now. Sometimes they do wake up early from first nap, but they are pretty happy to play in their cribs and giggle together so I just leave them. Afternoon nap has been bumped a few minutes forward. We got a little lax and it was creeping back a bit, but they really need to be in nap on time. As they get older meal times can be a little more flexible, which is super helpful. They will eat cheerios on the go if we must be out during a normal meal time. Not ideal, but it tides them over until I can get a proper meal in them. Here is the usual day this month:
7:15am: Wake up
7:30am: Nurse
7:50am: Solids breakfast
9-11am: Nap
11am: Nurse
11:45am: Solids lunch
1:50-4:15pm: Nurse and Nap
4:30pm: Nurse
5:30pm: Solids dinner
6:45pm: Nurse
7pm: Bed
The one meal that must be on time is dinner. I start them on their dinner if Pat isn't home yet. I think it is just that time of day, they are fussy and need to get their dinner. After that they are usually happy as can be!
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| Sammy! The sign only lasted through about 2 pictures. Oh well. |
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| Ali! |
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| My girls!!! Samantha and Alison and their lovies. They adore those lovies! |
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| Ben wanted in on the pictures! I think this is one of the best one I have of all three. I adore these three kids. How did I get so lucky? |
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| Always happy when it is time to eat! (Ali L, Sam R) |
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| Double trouble! (Sam L, Ali R) These two get into mischief, but I love watching them together. |
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| Yay smoothies! Happy, quiet babies. :) |
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| Sammy, caught int he act! Stealing her sister's socks. Ali was too busy getting into things she wasn't supposed to to care. |
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| Sammy and Ali- Best little girls!!! |
These are just the sweetest little ladies. Oh, they can be feisty. They let you know when they are not happy. But they are quickly happy again. Teething has been tough on them, and that is a time when I hate having twins. Both girls need to be held and loved on, and I am only one mommy. We make it through though. Ali and Sammy love to explore and play. They like to be a part of the action. They love to giggle and snuggle. They are just little loves and bring so much happiness to our lives. Life is busy when you have two babies on the go, but it is so much fun. I am so blessed to have these sweet girls as my daughters. They are delights. I love them so much.
-Kim
