Hi Grandma!!!

  We wanted to wish you the Best Birthday!!!! We wish we could be there for your birthday and eat some of your cake!!! Oh wait, our mean Mommy won’t let us eat cake yet.

Love,

  Shenzie, Heaten, Mommy and Daddy

Dear Shenzie and Heaten,

6 Months.

October

Half of a year.

November

One, two, three, four, five, six.

December

Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, seis.

January

Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six.

February

Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs.

March

Een, twee, drie, vier, vijf, zes.

HOLY SHIT! You babies are 6 months old. As I sit here typing I am still in shock by this. It feels like just yesterday you were tiny little clams and now you’re big! Six months big! Big clams!!!

So much has happened this past month. You both are sleeping! Through the night! And taking naps! Can I hear a Hallalujah! And how about more exclamation points!!!!!!!!! Not only are you sleeping…you are eating solids, laughing, rolling (kind of), and talking (of sorts).

This past month brought many, many changes. I am quite happy to say that the many changes were all good ones. The sleeping alone is enough for me to clap my hands and jump for joy like a little kid. While the first 5 months were so, so special - you were both so tiny and *said with love* kind of like a big sack of potatos. You didn’t really do much. Things are now starting to get fun. Your little personalities are coming out, you are laughing and get so excited to see me and your dada. You are starting to play with each other (I use the term play very loosely), and are learning so many new things…it is so fun and exciting to watch you.

Shenzie Weather,

My little serious baby. You are so calm and quiet…you just lay back and soak everything in. You LOVE your little (big) brother and stare at him all of the time. I always put you two down on the activity mat for playtime together and half of the time instead of playing you lay there and watch your brother play.

When we started solids at the beginning of the month you really did not like them. And I mean DID NOT like them. You refused to open your mouth and pushed out any food we managed to sneak in there. Now it is a completely different story. You LOVE your solids. You open your mouth as the spoon comes your way and suck on it till it is dry. So far you’ve had rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, sweet potatos, squash, peas, carrots, applesauce, peaches, bananas, and grapes in a bag. We also introduced sippy cups this month and the very first time I gave it to you, you pulled it up right to your mouth and started sucking. I don’t think you quite knew what to do when water came out….you coughed and sputtered, and then did it again!

At your 6 month pediatrician appointment you did really good. You had to get two shots that made you cry up a storm, poor girl. You weigh 15 pounds and are 23 1/2 inches long. You are in the 25th percentile for weight, the 10th percentile for head, and less than 3 percentile for height. So basically you’re a chunky midget! Today while we were shopping anytime a stranger looked at you it made you cry. You also cry if I am out of your line of vision. We are at the beginnings of seperation anxiety, oh yay!

This month marked a HUGE change for you. No more binky! Now when you read this you’re going to think we were horrible parents taking away the one thing that you loved, but trust me when I tell you….it was for your own good! Your binky was the devil! El Diablo! After much agonizing, worrying, and talking about it to death we decided it was in your (and our) best interest to get rid the the dreadful thing that was keeping you (and me) up all night. I am very happy to report that after 3 semi rough days you are now binky free and loving it! You did have to cry for a bit when we denied you your golden binky, but you quickly found your thumb and all was right again in your world. You now sleep 10 to 11 hours a night…..and you take naps…..and that means mommy can sleep at night too! Our house is a much happier, sleepier house and let me just say I am loving it!!!!

You are now rolling from front to back and back to front. It is pretty funny…you totally know how to do both and for days will do nothing but roll and then it is like you forget how. You won’t roll and just lay there and cry until I flip you. You tried to give your dad a heart attack this month by rolling to your belly in the middle of the night. All is well now and you are a happy little belly sleeper. It is the cutest thing in the world to watch you sleep…you squirm around and find that perfect spot….your little booty up in the air and your arms all bent at weird angles.

You are at the stage where everything is hand to mouth. Every toy, my hair, my hand, daddy’s fingers, end up in your mouth. And let me say little girl, you have a very strong suck. At night we tell you a good night story, cuddle you, and sing you two or three good night songs. As we sing I rock you as you suck furiously on my inner arm. You suck so hard I’m scared you’re going to give me an arm hickey.

You are going to be very independent. While Heaten is content to let us do everything you always try to do it yourself. You hold your bottle, try to stand when we hold you up, can sit up for a few seconds before toppling over. I told your dada that you’re going to be just like your cousin Alexee….”I do it” will be your favorite phrase.

It is getting summerlike outside which means I get to dress you up like my very own doll. I am not a “girly girl” but oh how I love me some baby dresses. They are just too cute to resist. You will be the girliest girl on the block until you learn how to dress yourself. Pink! Bows! Dresses! And just wait until you get hair….oh the things we will do!!!!!!

You are getting ticklish. If I give you kisses under your neck you start to laugh like crazy. It is so, so sweet and precious to hear you laugh. I can’t wait until you laugh all of the time. Last night I went to our local Mom’s of Multiples semi annual yard sale and left you home with dada. He said you were sitting in your bouncy and just started laughing out of nowhere. So sweet. I don’t know what I would do if I had to leave you everyday and go to work. I was only gone for an hour and I missed you both so much. I didn’t get to cuddle you during story time, I didn’t get to sing you goodnight songs, and I didn’t get to kiss you goodnight. I am so grateful that I am able to stay home with you….even if at times I think I many lose my mind.

I love you little girl, more and more everyday.

Heaten Grey,

My happy little Clam. You are such a happy, happy baby. You still wake (most times) with a big smile on your face. You laugh all of the time now, big belly laughs that make me laugh and then you laugh even harder. You like to play peek-a-boo and you like when I hang you upside down. You also “talk” all of the time. You have a very wide range of sounds…high pitched squeals, laughs, giggles, and now you make the helicopter noise with your lips. You constantly babble on and on….if only we knew what you were saying. At nap times you lay in your crib and talk to yourself until you finally get tired and doze off. You love your mobile (thank you Auntie Crystal) and watch it for hours….ok, not quite hours…but you know what I mean.

You also started solids and you took to them right away. So far you’ve had rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, prunes, peaches, pears, squash, peas, sweet potatos, applesauce, bananas, and grapes in a bag. You get giddy when we put you in your highchair for breakfast and dinner. Your little legs start “running” and you start to open your mouth before I even have the food ready. Your new thing is sucking your thumb after every bite which makes for very messy eating.

Speaking of sucking your thumb. Out of nowhere this month you started sucking your thumb. Now you suck it all of the time. I have a suspicion that you may be in the beginnings of growing your two bottom teeth so maybe the thumb sucking helps soothe your little gummy gums. I have to admit that the sight of you sucking your thumb always melts my heart. It is so sweet and cute.

While Shenzie is going to be the one who wants to do everything herself you are more content to sit back and let me or dada do it for you. You could care less about holding your bottle or rolling over. You can roll over from your belly to your back, but you only do it when you get good and tired of “tummy time”. I also have a sneaking suspicion you are going to be the bully of the bunch. You can pull hair like nobodies business, you pinch really, really hard for someone so small. I have to pry your hands off of things constantly…once you grab hold of something you DO NOT let go. You LOVE to play with Shenzie….or rather, eat her bib, eat her hand, hit her head, and take her toys. Ok, that is sort of an exaggeration…you don’t take her toys……yet. Whatever she is playing you want. Even if you are holding the EXACT same toy in your hands you look over at hers with that look in your eye. I just know when you are older you are going to steal all of her toys.

At your 6 month pediatrician appointment today you weighed in at 16.3 pounds and are 25 inches long. You are in the 25th percentile for weight, the 10th percentile for height, and the 75th percentile for head. You also get to start eating solids for lunch as well as breakfast and dinner….how happy you will be!!!!

At night I like to sneak in your room and watch you sleep. You are such a relaxed sleeper, your arms thrown wide, your legs spread open….just like your dada. You also LOVE your little doggy. You throw it around, eat it, pull on it and eventually it ends up sleeping next to you. In the mornings you lay in bed talking to yourself and your mobile until it’s time to get up. You don’t have to wear your mits anymore…you finally stopped scratching your face when you are tired. Now you rub your eyes, get really fussy, and arch your little back….mommy’s cue to get you to bed before meltdown mania happens.

I love you little boy, the most in the whole wide world.

Love,

Mama

We went on our first real family outing yesterday. I’ve been pestering Jeff to take the babies to lunch so we finally get us all dressed and ready to go only to have Heaten start throwing tired tantrums. We changed our lunch plans to something a little easier where we could get away quick if meltdown mania occurred. We ended up at Barnes & Noble….I took the babies here last week by myself so I knew it was doable. Pre-babies I read A LOT, now I read when I can….and since the babies are taking better naps I get more opportunity. I bought 4 books last week, 3 books on Amazon last week, and 3 books yesterday…..guess I better start reading faster! Of course the picky reader Jeff didn’t find one book for himself, but he did find a couple for the babies. I can’t wait until they are old enough to understand the stories we read them. Fun family times!!! And I only wanted to hurt Jeff one time for being SO INCREDIBLY SLOW…but what do you do, I knew he was a slow poke when I married him.

 Spring is here!