8 Months and moving!!!--the boys not us...

The boys are 8 months and both commando crawling forward!! This is definitely the biggest change for us this month, especially since they're not even really fast yet and they're into everything, certainly NOT like Abigail....Justin enjoys the TV and cabinets with the DVDs, while Ryan really likes the computer cords. I'm constantly telling the boys "not for babies", redirecting them and handing out appropriate baby toys to no avail. When I tell the boys, Ryan will whip his head around and listen to me, then go back to doing it till I physically remove him, but Justin, not so much he will turn slightly and smile or pretend as if he didn't hear me at all--who knew that started so young.

The movement is not contained to just the floor, while trying to get this months chair pics, Justin was just about jumping out of the chair. Based on the pictures you'd never know they really can sit up by themselves. I took a video, because it more accurately depicted the photo session.

Milestone Updates: Both boys are commando crawling. Justin can get to a sitting position by himself. Justin finally got his first tooth, his bottom left.

Nursing/Feeding: The boys again got new food this month although probably not as many as they should have because I just didn't seem to have the time to make it. They have had peaches, summer squash, yogurt and cottage cheese the day they turned 8 months old. Ryan likes the peaches better than Justin, neither like the summer squash--but both will eat it and the cottage cheese was given in hopes of them starting to "chew". Justin is able to do so but Ryan still seems to just swallow and causes himself to gag, oh well he'll get the hang of it soon enough, I'm sure. They also started using sippy cups and love chewing on the the soft spout. Ryan loves his water and is a better "drinker" than Justin but both boys do really well with sippy cups and drinking in general. They boys are still nursing every 3-4 (sometimes longer) hours during the day.

Sleeping/Napping: The boys are sleeping through the night, with a few minor exceptions. They are also napping generally twice a day. Ryan tends to be my better sleeper, both at night and for naps. Justin is usually the first up in the morning and will nap half as long as Ryan generally speaking.

Likes/Dislikes: Nobody likes teething. Nobody likes being sick or getting noses wiped. Ryan really dislikes when I leave the room.The boys generally don't like summer squash by itself but it's ok when mixed with something else. Green beans are getting easier to eat for both boys. Likes..the boys much like all kiddos enjoy getting new toys. We have many toys that we got at Christmas that were for when the boys got "older" and the time has come. They love it and crawl towards the new toys to inspect. Both boys enjoy playing with Abigail's house and she has been a real trooper with sharing many of her toys!! Seeing them explore the house is so neat because Abigail didn't get it until she was 15 months old and her exploration was much different than the boys at 8 months. Ryan really likes playing with this big green ball that we have.

Sounds: The boys laugh is fantastic and oh so different, Ryan cackles and Justin's is so sweet. Even better than their individual laughs is when they laugh at each other or with Abigail. Justin loves to screech and squeal, especially when he is so proud of himself for getting a toy that he's worked so hard to get to.

This month the boys have also enjoyed getting their new swings hung up under the deck, like their big sister. The five of us also took a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo with Nana and Pop-pop. The boys didn't see many of the animals but I think they enjoyed looking at all the kids running around them. They are also starting to interact with each other more. They keep each other entertained in the morning in their cribs. Also for as much as they play in opposites corners of room they are starting to play next to each other as well, and that is very neat to see!!

A Great way to wake up

We have video monitors in the kiddos rooms and always "check-in" on them before bed. The other morning they slept in really late...yay boys and I said to Guy just check and see if they're awake-- and we saw the cutest thing ever!! Ryan was reaching his hand into Justin's crib and they were playing, eating and holding each others hand. It was so precious and melted my heart!!

A BUNCH of FIRSTS!!!

Justin FINALLY got his first tooth!!!

Justin sat up ALL MY HIMSELF!!



Ryan is starting to "crawl"... he's not crawling on hands and knees but he's getting forward and that's all that matters!!




We went to the Philadelphia zoo, all five of us plus Nana and Pop-pop and that was A LOT of fun! Just watching Abigail makes it all worth it!!

A few new things...

I haven't blogged in a while and thought I'd give a quick update on what's new with us. We've been trying to get outside as much as the weather allows..going for quick walks or just playing with sidewalk chalk with Abigail.

Justin has gotten the bumper taken off of his crib because he was pulling at it to see Ryan and chewing on it and undoing the strings so off it came!! Ryan still has his breatheable bumber on his and they love looking at each other.

The boys are always up on their hands and knees--especially Justin, it won't be long before they're crawling.

Some firsts......it was really funny because Guy took Ryan out for the first time by himself the other night--I think it was Thursday. It was funny because I specifically remember the first time he took Abigail out to the store, it was such a big deal, we have a picture and all...Ryan's first outing was no big deal other than it gave me a chance to finally shower and get out of pajamas and yes it was like 5:15pm...(while the other two kiddos were sleeping). Not only was it his first time out with Guy by himself but we think it was the first time he's ever been out without his siblings. Justin goes out all the time because of PT and Abigail gets out for lots of reasons all the time with various people!! The other thing we did was took our first outing to the grocery store with all FIVE of us--Abigail sat in the car and "drove" and the boys sat like big boys in the double cart--they probably aren't ready to ride in a cart by themselves but together they "held" each other up, somewhat!!

An Update on the helmet...

Justin continues to do VERY well with his helmet. He tolerates it like a champ even with the heat that we've been having and with his teeth. They say that when the kiddos are teething there is a lot of change and growth. This has certainly been true with Justin and his head is changing all the time and continually progressing. For the next few weeks we'll have to be there weekly instead of everyother week. At today's visit we asked what the thoughts were on whether he'd have to wear it all day during the summer and the hope is that he WON'T!!!! His orthotist said that he will probably only be in it 23 hours a day for another month or so and then just at nights!! This is super exciting for us!! The other good news was that after having Ryan scanned again the thought is that he too has made really nice progress without a helmet and that he will most likely not need one!!

Once you have two kids a third's not a big deal

I've often heard people say that once you have two a third is not a big deal....my guess is they weren't talking about going from one to three in one shot.....who knows. What I DO know is that when we have two kids on our hands and not all three, life seems like a piece of cake...
This morning Abigail and I went out to run a few errands and had a good time. I got home and suggested that we go out to lunch with everyone, including Nana, to a restaurant that I can't stop talking about : The Casual Gormet--great food, large portions!! but anyway --WHAT was I thinking. Abigail was difficult from the minute we got in the restaurant which then got me jazzed. Then while eating she was the WORST she has ever been in a restaurant ( it wasn't a new place) she had a miserable time and I felt so bad for the other patrons as she just screamed, not once but three times, all because parts of her sandwich fell on the floor and she spilled her milk. Which then of course not only got me upset, mad, embarrassed but the boys also could feel the tension and started getting cranky. That was just the beginning of our rough afternoon. We then got home and the boys wouldn't calm down for naps. Justin is teething and me going in to deal with him, disrupted Ryan and he started screaming. Abigail also chose not to take a nap, but Nana had the joy of dealing with her because Justin and I were out at PT.
I guess my point to all of this is that as I've mentioned before things go down hill so quickly and snowball out of control. Often it feels like it happens out of no where for no reason. When there are two kiddos, life seems manageable even easy on most days, (even if two are screaming-but adding the third in just seems to put it over the edge) This isn't to say we don't have good days--we DO lots of them, with lots of hugs and kisses and sounds of laughter. However today was NOT one of those days..today was tough, today was trying and it really made me wonder who thought that if you have two kids adding a third is no big deal...my guess is they weren't talking about one plus twins!!