Happy SUPER be-lated 9month Birthday!

The babies 8th month was a very busy one filled with many new adventures, travel and the beginning of the Holiday Season (hence the VERY late b-day post).

They kicked off their 8-month birthday by sharing that day with their GramA and having their first bottle free night. We spent most of month 8 deep in the land of sleep training. It hasn't been easy and it isn't over, but we are all doing a lot better for it.

Some highlights of the month were attending Super Nannies bridal shower (see previous blog), spending some quality time with Aunt Avicia (see blog), traveling to NC on the airplane,
playing in the airport with Mommy and Daddy, meeting their new cousin, Baby G, celebrating their first Thanksgiving,(they were very thankful for their favorite toys...)meeting Santa Claus (and getting a picture taken), making gingerbread houses, and attending a round of Holiday parties. It was a busy busy month!

Cookie made some big strides during his 8th month. He loves to zoom about in his walker. It has given him such freedom and greatly expanded his range. He began to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. Crawling is in the very near future!! Cookie has also discovered a love of marshmallows, potatoes and toast! He is definitely taking after his GramA with his eating preferences. He has begun to feed himself (particularly his favorite foods) and remains a good, if somewhat selective eater. Nobody is wasting away in this house - he weighed in at 20lbs 8oz and was 28 1/4 inches long at his 9-month appointment. Wowza! He is a big boy. The Foldomatic Cookie seems to be on the way out. By the end of the 8th month Cookie was sitting strong and tall, rarely falling over backwards.
He continues to delight everyone around him with his big gummy grins and belly laughs. He is a mellow and delightful little boy, and such a charmer.

Kiss also made big strides this month. She is an expert 3-point crawler and is now pulling up on anything and everything. She loves to "cruise" around the furniture and will even let go and free stand for a second or two.

She loves the new ability to stand and prefers to spend her days searching for new adventures. She has the bruises to prove it! We even had to have them digitally remove a big bruise on her cheek (from a tumble into the door) from her 9-month photos! A favorite 8-month activity was to pull up on Cookie's walker and "push" him around. So cute.
Kiss is into everything and loves to experience new things. She has tried plants, dog food, wrapping paper, pine needles.... I think you get the picture. If you leave it- she will find it and put it into her mouth! She weighed in at 20lbs and 27.5 inches. Her 8th month was one of new exploration and new heights! We love to see her stand so tall and laugh with delight.

Month 8 in the adventures of Kiss and Cookie zoomed by. It was characterized by new mobility for the babies and a new schedule for everyone. We treasure each day with our precious babes and watch with bittersweet delight as they grow and achieve.

Thanks to our Fairy Godmother .....

The stockings are hungThe cookies and carrots are out for Santa and his reindeer
(Cookie likes carrots, Kiss went for the cookies!)There are presents under the tree

Happy Christmas Fairy Godmother we hope that Santa brings you HEALTH and happiness!

The Stockings are hung...

My favorite craft elf sent us amazing stockings to kick off the Babies first Christmas. They are gorgeousThe tree is up (and labeled). The presents are wrapped and Kiss and Cookie have given gift opening a trial run.

Kiss is pretty sure the wrapping paper would make a great snack!!We are ready for the Big Man to visit...we even have Gingerbread houses.....
Merry Christmas Eve. I hope to post more about all the happenings of December...as well as some Christmas Pics too!!

Snow Day!!

We woke up this morning to discover that it had SNOWED!!!!
Babies went out to investigate their first snow....
Cookie is checking out the snow on the ground.....
Kiss thinks that snow is funny
Off we are to go warm up inside and have some breakfast!!! Happy Day to everyone from snowy Texas!

I am THANKFULL!

First, I am thankful for all of the terrific comments that so many of you sent around the sleep issues. It was very helpful to hear the words of support, wisdom, and empathy. It is a difficult thing - this parent business, but it is made easier by the loving support of my friends and family. I am so very thankful for my "village".
Second, things are getting better. I think. Kiss, always a quick learner, has adapted fairly well to this new way of being around sleep. She has always been a pretty good sleeper and able to self soothe, so not overly surprising that she is now sleeping through the night. Going to sleep around 7pm and not waking until 6:30 or 7am, taking a decent nap at 9am and 1pm and over all getting closer to 15 hours of sleep than 13. A success!!
As for Cookie, we continue to work with him. Never a great sleeper or self soother it has been more difficult to teach him these important skills, however we have learned more about him during the process. We tend to think of Cookie as super laid back and easy going - and he is, but he is a bit of a squirrel too! He needs to toss and turn and move this way and that while trying to find his comfy spot. He also is very tactile. He likes to rub his hands and/or face on his blankie or play with a stuffed animal while he gets into his sleep groove. It takes him longer to settle in and longer to fall asleep, but he is learning and so are we.
Thank you all for your support. We survived week one of sleep training and are all the better for it!!!

What you learn about yourself ....

Before I get to blogging about our great trip to NC for Thanksgiving I need to take a minute to share about sleep and the lack there of.
As many of you know, the babes are not great sleepers. This might be a major understatement. So it is time, more than time, to sleep train. This is, hands down, one of the most difficult things I have had to do as a parent. I have made a few attempts and they have all failed due to user (mommy) error. But as I said earlier, it is time.
I know that I have reached my limit of sleeplessness. I know that Joe has reached his limit. I know that I will be a better parent and that I will teach my children important and vital skills by allowing them the opportunity to learn self soothing. I know this. I don't FEEL this. I feel lousy. I feel like I am abandoning these small fragile infants that I was so very very blessed to be entrusted with. I feel like I am not taking the best care that I can of these precious souls that chose ME to be their parent, that I am not treating this Gift of all gifts with the degree of caring and attention that I should.
And I read to much. Way too much. Seriously - too much!! I have read every book that I can find on sleep. I have a library of books on sleep, on children in general. I keep looking for one that I like, that feels right. I just realized that none of them ever will. That the issues that I have around letting the babes cry has nothing to do with them. It has to do with my feelings of "worthiness" as a parent. It all stems back to my underlining feeling that some how I tricked fate and "got away with" having these gorgeous babies. That I wasn't really "meant" to have children and that I had better treat this opportunity like the miracle it is. Some of that is true, but mostly it's fears that I have held too close to the heart for too long. They are fears that will never serve me or my children well and they, along with the martyrdom, need to be eradicated.
So that's what I am about these days, letting the babies cry and letting go of my feelings of unworthiness. Neither is easy, both are necessary.

My Big Sister Comes to Visit!

With great big snuggles for babies...
always a fitness buff...she figures nothin' like lifting 20lb babes to work those triceps
Kiss gets her great smile and dimples from her fellow "Big Sister"Cookie laughs and laughs with his Aunt


Bye Bye Big Sis...hurry back to Texas...we'll keep the light on!