Dear Elliott & Mason, Happy 16 months! At this time in your lives you are starting to show unbelievable amounts of comprehension and pick up on things so quickly. You understand when we say things like “can you give that … Continue reading
Dear Elliott & Mason, As you can probably see, I skipped a month. I think that your letters will now be marked more by major milestones than by each month. And we hit two major milestones in the past two … Continue reading
Dear Elliott and Mason, One year! We did it! And by “we” I mean your dad and me. I think the first birthday is more of a celebration for the parents since we can officially say we made it a … Continue reading
Dear Elliott & Mason,
We are officially less than a month a way from your 1st birthday. The day after you were born, the hospital pediatrician came into the hospital room to update us on everyone’s status. He also had twins and he told us that we just had to make it to your 1st birthday and then everything would be easier. He never said that the 1st year was something to get over, but rather that after the first year you would really start to interact and play with each other. And we are definitely starting to see what he was saying. You two now chase each other around the house, talk and laugh to each other, try and steal the other one’s Cheerios (Elliott), and just love having each around. Ben and I love watching you interact with each other and with us. You are also starting to take some risks by letting go of furniture and hovering for a moment before you plop on your tushes. Although you enjoy playing with your toys in the penned off area of the living room, you really just love to scoot all around the house closing doors (only one finger incident so far), picking up the heat grates (nothing or no one has fallen down yet), pulling up on everything, diving on Abby’s bed, and just being the cutest little troublemakers. We now get you naked after dinner and let you crawl down the hall to the bathroom. You two high tail it down there and start putting your toys in while the water is filling up. Seeing your little tushes shimmy down makes us laugh every time and I just cannot believe how much you have changed from when we brought you home…almost 1 year ago.
Elliott: My big man, you are very interested in Mason, or rather anything that Mason has. You want just about any toy he is playing with or any food we give him. Ben has even tested putting a ton of Cheerios in front of you and only one in front of Mason and you still try and go for his one. My thought is that you want to make sure that everything is equal and that we are not giving Mason something cooler. We try to stop it, but really, Mason has learned to hold his own so we’re not worried. You’re just toughening him up. You are very clever. You can figure out puzzles, stacking, etc. You also are a little Houdini. You can sneak out of the penned off area so quietly and quickly–and where do you head? Right to the fire….still. It just amazes you. You know it’s wrong, but no matter how mean of a “no” voice I try to make, you just smile and laugh at me. You have already figured out that momma loves you no matter what…stinker.
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| Eating Spaghetti | Escaping to the fireplace | Just being cute |
Mason: Man, if we could bubble wrap you or put a helmet on you we would. Somehow you seem to always bang your big noggin on something–typically the floor. Your little legs and arms just get going sometimes and the rest of you can’t keep up. You cry and then keep right on going. I am just amazed at how fast you bounce back, but I really wish you would stop hitting that sweet head. One of my favorite things to have you do now is dance. I’ll say to you “Dancin’ dancin’ dancin’ ” and you will shake your booty and your head at the same time. It is hysterical. You are still more interested in tearing things apart rather than stacking rings or building things, but you catch on very very quick. Clapping is our new thing, along with keeping you from climbing. You just shuffle those little legs up onto anything now. Sometimes it’s good (you get the toy you couldn’t reach), sometimes disastrous (when you fell over the toy bin, bashing your mouth into the hardwood, and bleeding everywhere). Also, you are getting more inquisitive. You will squish every blueberry on your tray before you eat them–almost like you’re testing them all, and verifying firmness–or as your grandpa says, “tenderizing them.”
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| Happy boy | Eating Spaghetti | Helping with Thanksgiving |
We are almost to your first Christmas, and then as previously mentioned, the big first birthday. I’m not sure if you two will be walking by Christmas as once predicted, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened. You two never cease to amaze me.
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| New sweaters | Making the shopping list for Black Friday |
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| Riding the rocking horses grandpa made for Xmas | Superheroes |
Love,
Momma
Dear Elliott & Mason,
10 months! I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere in the last month you both decided that you needed to learn something new every day. Every day you change. There must be something about this time period for babies. You now both stand, walk along the furniture, crawl EVERYWHERE, eat on your own, mimic us, and are interacting with each other. I came home from work on Monday and watched you two stand across the room from each other and have a conversation, and it wasn’t just “ba ba baing” to each other, you were actually laughing at times to what the other one said. You chase each other around and love to put your heads close together. This is funny to you most of the time, except we got a little too excited the other day, and Elliott you got your first bloody nose when Mason head-butted you. You also understand so much more. No matter where you are in the house, when I turn on the bath water you come crawling to the bathroom. This past month you had your first Halloween and were the most adorable monkey and elephant, and you also had your first swimming class this week. That “big bath” is a little daunting, but you two loved splashing and floating around. To be honest, your dad and I had a lot of fun too.
Elliott: Your shyness is back, but once you warm up to someone, it’s like you’re old friends. You also have discovered that you don’t like hearing “no” and get a little embarrassed when you do something silly (like fall on your face this morning). You lay down and put your head on your hands…it’s ridiculously pathetic, and sadly cute. You have four teeth, and I’m pretty sure you take after your momma because we think cheese is your favorite food. You are getting much more adventurous in walking along the furniture and I guarantee you and Mason will be walking by Christmas, if not sooner. You have started throwing your food on the floor, which is funny, because you do want to eat it. I love watching you try new things, and even though you seem to be like “The Hulk” and smash and squeeze everything that goes into your mouth, you still eat it all the same. You love any light and giggle like crazy when we turn it off, on, off, on.
Mason: You are still the flirt you’ve always been, smiling and showing off your six teeth to whomever looks your way. Like your brother, you too are walking along the furniture and taking more risks than I would like. You seem to bump your head everyday, but bounce right back up and keep going. You’ve said “momma” a few times when I have walked into the room, which makes my heart melt. I keep trying to get you to say it more and more, but as always, you will do things on your own time schedule. You are pointing and chattering to just about everything now, always taking everything in with thoughtful consideration. We’ve had to ban a few toys in the house now, because you have quite the arm on you and I’m pretty sure you’re going to throw stuff right into Elliott’s head. You are showing signs of dad’s baseball player already.
This post was started when you turned 10 months old exactly, and finished now (7 days later). In one week things have changed, so I will make sure to get the 11 month post out a little more promptly. I just want to have a record of it all, because it all goes by so fast.
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| Elliott the Elephant | Mason the Monkey |
The whole family
Checking out our swimsuits
Love, Momma
Love, Momma
9 month appointment yesterday:
Both hitting all the 9 month marks, even though they are technically (or rather gestationally) 8 months.
Dear Elliott & Mason,
Yesterday you turned four months old. Four months! I am still in awe at both how fast the time goes (yes, I might say that every post), but also at how much you change, develop, and grow each week. Although you still haven’t kicked your last night feeding, you’re pushing it to 6:15 a.m. Yes, one of you (or both) typically wants to come snuggle with momma around 4 or 5 a.m., but you are basically enjoying snoozing all night long. You are both talking (coos, ahs, and other gibber gabber), laughing, and have even rolled over from your tummies to your backs. Although you have always had different personalities, they are becoming more distinct and pronounced. Yet at times, you make the same facial expressions, do the exact same thing at the same time, or reach out and hold each other’s hands; which reminds me that you have a bond that no one else who is not a twin will fully understand.
The amazement that we had two babies has never worn off, and even though at times you challenge our tired, small amount of sanity we have right now, all one of you has to do is, well basically anything, and we immediately come right back to la, la, baby-land, and realize that we couldn’t imagine a better life. I’m constantly amazed at how much I love you. Everyone always says that there is no type of love like the way you love your child, and they are all right. Right when I think I’ve reached my love capacity–meaning I couldn’t imagine I could love you more–I wake up the next day and I do….I love you even more.
Elliott: My dear, sweet baby. You are not only smiling, but you smile with your whole body, and no one who has seen that smile can do anything but smile back. You also have started to find your voice. You’ve known your lungs have worked all along (and boy do they ever sometimes), but you’ve been shy and uncertain about your little voice. For the longest time (and even still now), when we coo at you, you pucker your lips and try so hard to coo back. Then you either fake cough, or my favorite, smile and turn your head down as if to say “you’re being silly momma.” When you do get the courage to talk, your voice is surprising very soft-spoken, and sweet beyond belief. You are getting so big and strong, and are now starting to fall asleep with two to three fingers in your mouth–something your mom and dad did when they were small too. You love to face out into the world, and play with your little taggies blankets. You can grab everything on the jungle gym mat, and are tracking everything that goes by you…even the Abby dog. We put you in the high chair for the first time the other day, and you loved being higher up in the world…something I hope will continue.
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| The apple doesn’t fall too far | High chair! |
Mason: My sweet, sweet, boy. We have started calling you Mase-man and you especially like it when I run your legs to the Batman theme, but insert Mase-man in….”na na na na na na na…Mase-man!” It makes you smile every time. And smile…what a smile. You not only have dimples, but your little cheeks have grown and now show off a dimple you have at the very top of your left cheek. I never knew someone could have a dimple so high, but it only makes sense that you have three dimples…because you are just that cute. You love snuggling with Tigger, and even though you still like your binky, you are becoming more interested in your hands. Although we will eventually limit your screen time, you have decided that you like to watch Jeopardy–so we’re pretty sure you’re going to be a smarty pants (we’re also sure that Elliott will be one too since he has such a large head). Ben and I love to get you chattering, because you not only make sounds, you make loud sounds, and will go on an on and on, like we are actually having a conversation. Your lungs are also starting to get more powerful, and at times you now produce real tears…something that breaks momma’s heart every time. But in general, you are a very happy boy, and we will do everything in our power to help keep you that way.
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| Happy boy! | Watching Jeopardy with daddy |
Ben and I get so excited thinking about what you two will do next, but we always remind ourselves to enjoy the present, and soak you up as much as we can.
Love,
Momma
So time definitely goes by fast. As I (and everyone else) get older, it seems like we say this more often–that times seems to go by faster. There is at least one point every month where I say something such as “it’s February, but it will be Christmas tomorrow.” I cannot believe the boys (or the dudes as we call them-see labor story) are now seven weeks old. The past seven weeks have honestly been a blur. The first three were pretty delirious and I’m not sure what even happened other than feeding or changing–there definitely was no sleep involved. The next two were spent enjoying the beauty of the dudes, along with the trivial and mundane aspects of life. Ben and I had serious discussions about who would do what just to get out of the house. Mind you, this was not to get away from the dudes, but rather just to literally get out of the house. How trivial? We spent at least ten minutes going back and forth about who would take Abby to the vet to get her shots, and one day I decided that I would take the car to get an oil change. Not sexy stuff, but normal enough stuff that makes you feel normal, and part of society again. There have also been a few trips to Target to get a latte and randomly walk down aisles.
The boys are doing amazing. This week they weighed in at 9#1oz (Elliott) and 8#4oz (Mason) respectively. They also got their first round of shots (so sad), and are tempting to sleep longer during their night feedings (yay for mom!). Elliott is flirting with smiling and is more focused and attentive. Mason is even more serious and quizzical. You always wonder what he is thinking with his furrowed brow. Ben and I have decided that next week will be their first road trip and we are headed to the beach. They are not big enough for kite flying or waffle cone eating yet, but I’m sure like Christmas, that will be here tomorrow.
Waiting for shots
After shots
Elliott
Mason thinking
7 weeks
So small
And not to forget our third child
lylabel 