Year 1, Month 1, Week 1

Ok, so maybe the post titles are getting a little silly, but I haven't been able to figure out a better way.  hehe

If you would have asked me a few months ago, I would have said I thought the boys would be walking by now.  Everything I've read pretty much says that once a baby starts on the path towards walking, it becomes their sole focus until they achieve it.

That doesn't seem to be the case with Alex and Zach.  This week they're continuing to work on other skills.    I've been working with both boys on how to go from their belly to a sitting position.  If they had learned to crawl, this would be second nature, but since they're scooters they bypassed this step.  Every time they end up on their bellies, I help them pull their knees up under neath, then rock back onto their behinds.  Today Alex started doing it all on his own.  Zach will take a bit longer because he tends not to be on his belly as much.

Alex is obsessed with being upside down.  He'll fall over backwards on purpose, hitting his head on the floor, because he thinks it'll make him see the world in this new way.  I'll carry him around with his legs sticking in the air and he just loves it.  He's also started trying to mimic us.  He can say "hat", "hot", and "ouch".  What amazes me is how well he pronounces the "t" and "ch".  Maybe I'm biased, but it sounds perfect to me.

The fight for naps in their cribs continues.  The boys have worked up to sleeping about 1hr per nap most days.  Yesterday Zach wouldn't sleep at all unless I held him.  Today it was Alex, but he was happy just babbling away in his crib for the most part.  It amazes me every day how different the boys are.  Zach will instantly cry when put down for a nap.  If I'm lucky, the cries will slowly slow down until he passes out.  If I'm unlucky, his cries will escalate into hoarse screaming.  Alex, on the other hand, will look around, wiggle until he's sideways, then put his feet up on the wall.  He'll grunt a little until he either falls asleep or doesn't.

I've really been enjoying this age.  I can just sit on the floor and before I know it, two little boys are driving their cars over me, playing with my hair, and peeking around my shoulder to give me a smile.  We read books, snuggle, and chase each other around.

Their eating has really picked up.  They split a large bowl of Cheerios with a whole cut up banana, plus half a PB&J for breakfast.  They shared 7 pieces of cheese pizza when some of Jim's family came over to swim.  They'll finish most of a kid's meal at restaurants.  And, on top of that, they're drinking well over a gallon of milk a week.  I don't know where it's all going but they're not starving.  My arm gets tired of feeding them long before they get full.  Luckily they're good at popping cheddar crackers in their mouths.