8 Months

Not only is time flying and my girls are 8 months old already, but this is also my 400th post! I can't believe I'm still here writing and that people are still reading (I hope). It's amazing the transformation this blog has taken. I never felt like it was necessary to start a new blog when I got pregnant or when the girls got here. It's all part of our story. They wouldn't be here had I not gone through the 2 1/2 years prior. I'm so grateful I documented it all so closely. Looking back just makes it that much sweeter!

This past month was another great one. The girls love playing with toys and are super into each other. They babble and vocalize back and forth to each other throughout the day and especially before falling asleep when they are in their cribs. They roll all over the place and can sit for short amounts of time. This month was a huge one for sleep and both girls are now spending about 11-12 hours in their cribs each night. They've also started going down for naps without needing anything. We put them in their sleep sacks (we stopped swaddling) and give them their pacifiers. Some times they chat for a bit and other times they just fall right to sleep. It makes life much easier but also makes me a bit sad that they don't need me to rock them to sleep anymore. I'm still nursing about 5-6 times a day or every 3 hours during the day. The girls have fruit (apples, pears, mango, blueberry, prunes) in the morning and a veggie (sweet potato, green beans, carrots, peas) at night. We also give them some whole foods at times. We started swim lessons this month at the local YMCA. Both girls love it and they look so cute in their little bathing suits. There's even another set of twins in the class.

Lucy- You have been so relaxed since we got back from vacation. You've been eating well and really getting into solid foods. I think you'd rather feed yourself, but you aren't totally able to yet. You are so excited, but it led to you choking once and us slowing down on giving you whole foods. You are still very weary of strangers and have perfected giving dirty looks. You've also been working on a cheesy smile lately. It's like you know you should smile so give a fake smile instead. You love to do bridges, or as we call it, butt bumping. We have a song we sing and everything. You are rolling like crazy and have put a few rolls together a time or two. This prompted us to install a baby gate at the top of the stairs (right outside your bedroom) and to set up "baby jail" aka the play yard downstairs. Your cheeks have gotten so chubby and you are giggling more and more. You still mainly vocalize vowel sounds with occasional consonants thrown in. I think you recognize the sign for milk as your eyes light up and you smile when I do it. You love our animals and are so gentle with them. We've recently discovered you have a cry that means "Clara is touching me and I don't like it!" You are snuggly when you are tired and have been teething recently so you are a drool machine. You love the swings at the playground and the pool. You are very physical and active and I can't wait to do so many fun things with you outside. You still get up once a night to eat, but I honestly don't mind. I know soon enough you'll be sleeping all the way through the night. You love toys that dangle and hang, and especially love the strings.This past month has been another great one with you as my daughter.

Clara- You are our little social butterfly. You are so smiley and wiggly for strangers. You have the biggest, brightest eyes that are always looking around. You give away smiles and giggles so easily to almost anyone. You've also gotten quite physical this month and have started rolling both ways. You don't love to be on your stomach so as soon as you figured out how to roll, tummy time got a whole lot shorter. You'll even try to roll if I'm holding you against me and laying down. You are such a little nut! You've also gotten a bit grabby this month. If you see something you go for it without any sense of distance or danger. If I'm lowering you into your high chair and there's a toy on the tray, look out! You love eating and especially like fruits. I call you a little piranha when you go to nurse. You've even grabbed my boob with your hands a few times and pulled it into your mouth. You love your sister and light up every time you see her. You love to snuggle but also like to sneak some hair grabbing in there so we have to be careful. You've started babbling like crazy the past few weeks and we hear lots of "mamama, bababa, dadada, and nanana's". Once you figure something out there's generally no stopping you. You are getting stronger with your sitting but have to be in the right mood. You are so perfect and I feel so lucky to be your mama. 

It's so hard to believe my girls are 8 months old. They are just so much fun to be around and I'm so grateful I get to stay home with them every day. I've been trying to get together more with friends and have been very successful with the warmer weather. I have my friend Katie who has a son Jack who is 8 weeks younger than the girls. I also have a friend Natasha that I met through the local moms of multiples group. Her twin girls are 2 weeks older and our due dates were only 3 days apart. I have some other friends I've been trying to get together with but haven't been successful with so far. 

The other day W and I were talking about how amazing and great life is. I probably sound like a broken record, but I'll never fail to acknowledge how lucky we are.