someone came over today to pick up some items that she purchased off of me for her own little one. in some ways i find it so hard to let go of the girls 'stuff' and in other ways … i love the idea of moving on to bigger and better things.
don't get me wrong, i kind of love sitting there and remembering when the wore the onesie or slept in the swing or whatever, but i also can't help but imagine all the great things that are to come. their first bike and their first soccer jersey, their favourite doll and the blanket they love to cuddle up with on the couch. i know it'll all be hard, but i kind of can't wait for what's next.
i try my hardest to live in the moment - but that's so hard. not only does that mean you can't look to the future (and all that it holds) but that you shouldn't be looking to the past either.
either way … i'm happy that new babies will get to create memories with the swings, and jammies and toys that my girls did. i think that's kind of a neat thing to be able to spread memories around …
Well, where do i begin? Nora & Amelia are truly growing up before my very eyes. Everyday seems like they are learning something new and it feels like they aren't little babies anymore. They understand so much (except 'no' of course!) and really mimic what we are doing like crazy. I can't even believe that i have 11 month old twins, i seriously sometimes think i am living someone else's life! In one month they will be 1 year old. now THAT is truly unbelievable. I love being their Momma, sometimes it's a test of patience and strength and will, but mostly it's fun and adoration and just plain love.
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| Nora - 10.5 months old |
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| Amelia - 10.5 months old |
STATS:
. we just went a few days ago to get them weighed and check their height so these are pretty accurate this month
AMELIA:
weight: 22lbs 12oz
length: 2ft. 4.7in otherwise known as 73cm or 28.7in
wears: mostly 12 month clothing (6-12mth or 9-12mth) and size 3 diapers still
NORA:
weight: 21lbs 15oz
length: 2ft. 4.1in otherwise known as 71.5cm or 28.1in
wears: mostly 12 month clothing (6-12mth or 9-12mth) and size 3 diapers.
EAT
. these girls are seriously great eaters! i feel like we go through a ton of fruit and veg every week. they both love finger food, and we have officially tried every new food - except for shellfish and pork and of course tofu (but that's not exactly a regular in our diet anyway so i'm not too concerned about it). They do so good with the finger foods - amazing how different they are though with their eating. Amelia double-fists it, shovelling foods into her mouth like she's starving and Nora picks up one tiny piece at a time with her index finger and thumb (great fine-motor skills she has!) and places it neatly in her mouth. They both do really good with their sippy cup (they use a straw one which i'm really happy with because it's supposed to be good for future speech development)
Nora's fav's: avocado, eggs, eggs, eggs, cheese, bread (bagels), broccoli, blueberries, fish.
Amelia's fav's: ummm, the only thing she hasn't loved right off the bat is mandarin oranges but after another try or two, she now loves those too. i don't know if she ever even looks at the foods she's eating, she just likes to eat. especially loves eggs, avocado, banana, strawberries, blueberries and chicken.
. right now they eat breakfast at about 9am: cereal, 2 different cut up fruits and 1 pouch.
lunch is at 1pm: 2 different finger foods (usually a fruit and a veg or eggs), 2 pouches and sometimes yogurt (greek).
dinner is at 6:15pm: 2-3 finger foods (again, fruit, veg, maybe eggs, maybe bread, maybe meat depending on what we're having), 2 pouches, sometimes yogurt.
i try my hardest to make sure they are getting well rounded meals each meal. at least fruit and vegetables and hopefully at least 1-2 other food groups. So either eggs or meat or some yogurt or cheese. they do really good with a variety of foods so i'm starting to plan meals for us that work for them as well. for example the other day we had stir fry and i just had Paul take out some chicken and veggies for the girls before he added the sauce (too much salt i think)
. we still do 4 bottles of formula a day - currently 8am, 12pm, 4pm and 8pm. They range from 6oz at 8 and noon, 4oz at 4 and then 8oz at 8. We're looking into starting them on whole milk soon so i'm trying to figure out what feed that will replace - i'm thinking probably the 4pm one, but i feel like i've got some researching to do before we get there.
SLEEP
. we've definitely had our ups and downs with sleep - especially lately. but honestly, compared to some horror stories i've heard, they are AMAZING sleepers. Things are slowly becoming more consistent again, even naps (which never really have been).
currently: sleep 8pm - 7:45ish am
naps at 10am - 11:30ish am and 2pm - 3:30ish pm
we are finally more consistent with 1.5 hr naps - and they show it when they only end up sleeping for 45 min, which still happens the odd morning, but seldom in the afternoons. fingers crossed this is the new norm!
. they have finally gotten good at sleeping through the other one fussing - especially at night time. Nora often wakes up once or twice before i go to bed and Amelia is amazing at sleeping through it (usually!). Unfortunately if Amelia wakes up earlier than Nora at naps, more often than not she wakes her up.
PLAY
. They are starting to play more together which is truly amazing! the other day we were finishing up dinner and i just heard giggling coming from the living room (they usually play quietly after they've eaten so that Paul and i can eat). i was over quietly to see if everything was ok - often one will sit there laughing while pulling the others hair and the other is hating every second of it. but this time the were sitting around the corner from each other by the couch and were playing peek-a-boo together! oh my goodness, the cutest thing ever! they just would lean forward so they could peek around the corner and then giggle uncontrollably when the other would peek around as well! so adorable. i wish i got a video of it, but it was just too cute to run away and get my camera. i just LOVE that this is the kind of relationship they will have.
. as for other things, they currently love music and listening to toys that play music. we have this dancing toy that they love dancing along to. they also love their little table that has a funnel for balls. they stand there and throw balls down the funnel for a long time. they are also loving things like the balls that shake and jingle, the lids to puffs containers (?! i know!), their little 'iPad' music player, and really chewing on anything and everything and also BOOKS! they love looking at books during the day - especially good at that 5:30 grumpy time when they are getting a little stir crazy.
. they love to chat and laugh at each other - especially before naps and when they wake in the morning. i love listening to them on the monitor and like to let them chat and 'connect' before i run in and get them in the morning. i've also started this past month to put them down at the same time for naps and just let them chat until they get sleepy enough to lay down and fall asleep. they pull themselves up on the crib and chat with each other until one lays down!
. they are both so curious - love to explore and get into trouble!! Amelia only ever wants to get out of the living room, but 9 times out of 10 she just wants to bee-line it for the stairs. the second she sees the gate open she won't even hesitate she'll just make a run for it. i've often found myself running over to her because she's already on the third stair. Nora on the other hand seems to be afraid of the stairs. she's made it up about 2, but that was 2 weeks ago and barely goes near them since. instead she prefers to go and search for tiny little rocks or pieces of dust that she can pick up and try and put in her mouth. this girl has crazy fine motor skills - she can pick up the tiniest of rocks! between watching Amelia on the stairs and making sure Nora isn't eating dust and rocks - it's a busy day!
. Amelia especially is chatting all. the. time. She is a chatty one, maybe a little like me!! Lately she's been making these sounds like 'ticka, ticka, ticka' it's so funny, and when i copy her she just laughs. Nora is getting chattier, but not as much for sure. She take a while to warm up to people - sometimes even Daddy when he gets home from work. But if you can get her laughing, usually by tickling or playing peek-a-boo, she has the best laugh! So far both girls say 'mama' and 'dada' and Amelia can say 'hi'.
. Both are starting to love bath time more and more. Amelia gets in and starts splashing right away. i have to take off my glasses because she gets them so wet with her splashing. Nora is getting more comfortable too, finally she's not trying to pull up on the tub the entire time. Bath time is slowly getting less stressful!
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| Easter 2014 |
MILESTONES
. 1st Easter - April, 2014
. 1st backyard swing
. 1st Mother's Day
. Furniture walking
Nora:
. Tooth #5, #6, #7
. climbed 2 stairs
. wave
. signed 'milk'
Amelia:
. tooth #3, #4, #5
. said 'hi'
. climbed all the stairs
. let's go when she's standing and can stand alone for probably 20-30 seconds.
. somewhat figured out the walker - can go about 5-6 steps
shawna
I've written blogs in the past - 2 actually. both were of my adventures when i lived overseas teaching in Poland for a year. that was 9 years ago. let's pause for a minute while i hyperventilate that it was 9 years ago that i started my career. yipes! anyway, while i was there i kept a blog. mostly for me, but also for my family back home to keep up with my many adventures. i haven't gone back and read it too many times, but i'd love to make it into a book of some sort one day.
anyway - on to today. I had a plan late one night (more realistically early one morning) while i was feeling the little bees. I thought - i need to start writing things down for them, for myself! i take a million pictures, i try my best to write things down, but honesty they're on post-its and they get scattered around the house, often thrown out by a certain husband. i love the idea of having photos and words and milestones and letters to my girls all in one place. and hey, what better place than the internet!
so today i begin. tomorrow they turn 11 months old. i feel like i'm behind already but i'm not going to let it stop me. they've been through so much these last 11 months - oh goodness, so have we - but i know there is so much to come. i want to savour it all.
