11 months old! (May 22)

Or as we like to call it.. T minus one more month to NO MORE FORMULA and BOTTLES!! YAY!
What's going on NOW?

Nate is a mover and a shaker. He follows me around the house now, still doing a lot of the army crawling but today I noticed he is mixing in some big boy crawling too! Lilly just keeps us guessing. We always think she's right there about to go and then.. nothing! They can both go from their belly to sitting up and they both pull up to standing by themselves in the crib. Nate and Lilly are so happy in the mornings. It definitely helps to cheer me up when I am not feeling very awake myself. They love books! Not only being read to, but when I have books on the floor they immediately want to grab them, open them and look at all the colorful pages. Sometimes this keeps them occupied for a long time! Nate is learning what "no" means, and the reason I know that is because he makes a little noise back at me whenever I say it. It's just a little grunt, but I know it is just the beginning of his protesting! On the other hand he also knows what "give me sugars" means and he opens wide for a big wet smooch! So sweet- melts my heart every time. They both love to shriek, when they are bored, excited, any time! When they shriek back and forth at each other is the best! They do this from their cribs a lot. They both have major "stranger danger" anxiety. We had quite an experience at my friend's little boy's birthday party when I took them by myself last weekend (I'm honestly so glad we went though-post and pictures for that coming next)! They are starting to take toys from each other. Sometimes it gets them upset, but usually they just go with the flow and move on to the next toy. Lilly still loves to take the pacifier away from Nate, but the other night she was in a generous mood and decided to give it back to him by putting it back in his mouth. It was so sweet! They love music- anything that sings a song, plays an instrumental tune, and lights up is IN around this house! Those toys are keeping them the most entertained and happy these days. More and more they want to be down playing instead of being held. It is a little sad for me, but it makes those middle of the nights rocking sessions more special for me. Those nights are very rare anymore and that's a good thing, but I love holding and rocking them when they are so sweet and sleepy and clingy to me!

One more note- one year ago (May 21) was the day I was put on bed rest at 31 weeks. I'll never forget that day! I went to my normal weekly appointment and Nate had flipped over and was head down. I know exactly when he did it. It was in the middle of the night and it was such a huge movement it actually woke me up and made me laugh out loud! I knew he had flipped over! And his head was far down- ready to come out! They gave me the steroid shot to help speed up the babies' lung development and I went on strict bed rest. I remember asking the doctor "I can't even go back to work and get my stuff?" and she told me I was not to go anywhere except to the bathroom and to shower! That was a scary and exciting and BORING time! Thank God these babies were able to bake another month. I made it to 35 weeks and the rest is history! What I wouldn't give for a few days of bed rest these days!! :)

Some more fun pictures from the last month:

Lilly loves this "gummy" old lady smile! (Nope, still no teeth!)

Silly boy!

Still just the bottom two teeth for Nate!

Yeah, we're cute, so what?

This doesn't look like it is going to end well!

Look at her little toes sticking out under the bumper!

11 months old today- May 22!

Who doesn't love a happy baby in the morning??

Standing!

Why haven't I posted this yet? I thought I had (I have several posts to catch up on)! Anyway, last Thursday night we had the babies in their cribs getting them ready for bottle and bed time. I sat Lilly down in the crib so I could go make their bottles. When Brian walked into the room Lilly was standing back up! She pulled up from sitting to standing all by herself! So we look over at Nate, who is up but only on his knees, and I said "Stand up!" and he did! Just like that. I guess he was just waiting for me to tell him to do it! I tried it with "Sleep 12 hours!", but that one didn't work. Here are some shots from that night. We could tell they were proud of themselves.

Oh yeah- and the next morning I had them both in Lilly's crib and Nate did the inevitable..

Oh well, the pictures were cute while they lasted! Almost a year, which was longer than I thought!

Good Morning!

These pictures are not very good quality as I was in a hurry, but they are so cute when they first wake up I had to try. Since Brian goes in early this week, I have been waiting until the babies wake up around 6:30, then they drink their bottles in their cribs while I change them and get them ready. Then they play in their own cribs or in both in one crib for a few minutes until I'm ready to go. That's been our morning routine.. this week, anyway!

Lilly has some good looking hair this morning- I can relate!

Lilly looking a little drunk after rolling over onto her tummy (not quite getting the concept of gravity)Nope, it's not gonna work that way!There ya go!!

Let me out of here!
He was chatting it up with this little horsey like they were best friends!

First Mother's Day!!

And a great first Mother's Day it was! It was just a lazy Sunday, other than a trip out to the park in the 150 degree weather. H.O.T., but nice. No matter what we were doing, I was just so thankful to be a mom on Mother's Day.. finally! After the park, Brian grilled some hot dogs and brats and mom came over. We fed the babies hot dogs for the first time and they were a hit, of course (hot dogs aren't healthy, so naturally..). They also had some potato salad- how 'bout my big kids eating big kid food?!?

Check out these Mother's Day gift from our awesome babysitter Donna!!!! She did such a good job and I will always cherish these keepsakes from my very first Mother's Day! Love, love, love them. Thanks again Donna!

A few pictures from Mother's Day.

I have already said Happy Mother's Day for every mother out there. Now, to every woman out there for whom yesterday was yet another reminder that you do not have the baby your heart desires, I understand your hurt and you are in my thoughts and prayers. I believe God put the desire in your heart to be a mother and He will bless your life as He has blessed mine.

This one's for the girls.

I have been working on this post (in my head) for a long time, and am finally going to get it down in writing, in honor of Mother's Day this Sunday.

NOTE: I will write a post about the men I love on Father's Day, but they are not mentioned here- not because I don't love them but because this one is for the girls!!

I have been extremely blessed with strong, smart, nurturing women in my life since the day I was born. There is a long list, so I will go about this chronologically.

My Mother:

She is the most patient, loving, hard-working, positive woman I have ever known. She raised my sisters and me by herself and did not waste time blaming or complaining. She loves unconditionally and forgives unequivocally. She gives with no expectation of getting anything back in return. She talks the talk and walks the walk. She has always tried to understand my point of view which I know was especially trying in my weirdo teenage years (and still is at times). I don't know what I would have done the last year without her help with the babies on the weeks when Brian has to work late. I cherish those times. Words can not explain how grateful I am for and to my mother, but I do like this quote-

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." ~Washington Irving


My two sisters:

I am the baby. I didn't always see it when I was younger. "Stop telling me everything that will happen and what to do and let me live my own life and make my own mistakes", I would say. Oh how grateful I am now that I have their experience and advice to learn from. They were my teachers, my protectors, my shoulders to cry on. They are a place to go where I fear no judgement. My counselors, my confidants. They have seen me at my worst and best. Shared in my darkest and brightest moments. I wish we could talk and see each other more, but with eight kids between the three of us, life is busy and before we know it every month our calendars are full. No one will ever know me like my sisters, and I don't think anyone knows them like I do. We are each so different, but inside we share our own perceptions of the same childhood experiences, good and bad. "I could never love anyone as I love my sisters!" (Little Women).


My mother-in-law:

I am so thankful for my mother-in-law. She helped raise my husband to be the honorable man he is today and for that I am truly grateful. She is loving, truly genuine, strong, hard working and persevering (and a good cook!). She accepts me as part of the family and I love her for that.

My sisters-in-law:

I have three wonderful sisters-in-law, all of whom have welcomed me into the family from day one. I see and know my husband better through their eyes, through their hi-larious childhood stories. They shed light on why he is they way he is. We have the best talks, and I can joke around and I feel free to be myself. I am so glad to have the relationship I have with each one of them.

Last but not least, my daughter:

I always dreamed that I would have a little girl and I knew exactly what she would look like. I pictured a beautiful little girl with dark dark brown hair and green eyes (I pictured her looking exactly like Brian and she does!). I even knew what her name would be- that was my Lilly Kate. When I was pregnant the doctor saw cysts in her brain which is one "marker" for a genetic disorder that is incompatible with life. I was devastated, "not my little girl". Thank God the cysts went away as they often do, but even in the womb I thought of her as more delicate, more fragile than Nate. She is her daddy through and through, and she is anything but fragile. She is independent and serious, tough as nails. Her smile and laughter are absolutely contagious. I want to be someone she is proud of, someone she can depend on always. She has taught me so many valuable lessons already. She makes me want to be better for her (and of course for Nate too)!

See? I told you I was lucky!! I love all of you so much.

"My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune." ~Graycie Harmon

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Still here- Same ol' , Same ol'!

We're still here! Just the same stuff going on around our house. The babies' sleeping patterns have been a little messed up and they have been a little fussier and more high maintenance than usual. I think new teeth may be the culprit for the moodiness in both of them. Nate already has the bottom two, but Lilly is still all gums! So I know she will be getting some and Nate will be adding to his collection any day!

The weather has been BLAH so we hung around the house a lot last weekend and we haven't done a whole lot on the weeknights either. Brian and I both got a jog in around the neighborhood Monday night after we put the babies to bed, so that felt great (of course we took turns- not at the same time!). I LOVE LOVE LOVE the longer days!

Nate and Lilly are having a lot of fun sitting up in their cribs and gabbing at each other from across the room. It' so neat to watch. Nate is crawling all over the place. but Lilly just isn't getting it yet. She just HATES being on her tummy, so naturally she is not thrilled about learning to crawl. She is so content on the floor with her toys and entertains herself, but Nate is always on the lookout for me or Brian. If he sees us, he is headed for us and wants to be picked up, or to crawl up in our laps. I love that he wants to cuddle, but I want him to learn to be happy and play with Lilly too!

Some cute pictures from the past week-

Talking to each other and playing very nicely together this morning in Lilly's crib.

Lilly loves her stuffed animals now!! She hugs and cuddles with them.

Notice Lilly loving on her dog and Nate waiting for a chance to crawl back in my lap.

Here he comes!

Get this monkey off my back (or head?)!

Okay, that's enough! I think they were talking about what they were going to get me for Mother's Day.