9 Months!

Oh, how time has flown by. The kids will be 9 months old tomorrow!

B is standing up with the help of something sturdy. He'll even side-step to get from one place to another. I won't be surprised if he starts walking before he is a year old. I'll get in shape this summer, I'm sure. He's crawling on his knees now, too. He'll crawl over to K and I, and then hold out his arms or try to pull himself up onto our laps. He is a very determined little boy and he is quite the inquisitive one. He's funny, too. He'll grunt and wave his arms up and down in what seems to be a moment of frustration. He loves to get into anything he's not supposed to. He'll grab things from our side tables so I've had to clean those off to make sure nothing disappears or becomes soggy from slobber. He's in size 3 diapers (probably could still fit into size 2 though) and 6-9 month clothes with some 0-3 and 3-6 month stuff still fitting.  He loves to eat apples (especially with cinnamon, but he has had a rash on his face the last few tmes we gave him cinnamon), sweet potatoes, squash, blueberries, coconut milk yogurt (vanilla), pears, cantaloupe, and turkey apple cranberry mixture. He doesn't seem to like chicken, peas, or green beans that are homemade. He'll eat them from the jar, though.

K2 has reached her own milestones. She is scooting along the floor using the inside of her knees and feet. She loves to untie shoes. She has two teeth coming in on the bottom gums (#24 and 25 for my own records). She has gotten up on her knees a couple of times and she's tried to pull herself up to standing, but hasn't quite figured out how to do it yet. She is smiling a lot more, too. I've waited so long for that. She was very unhappy for a while, so it's a very nice change. She seems to need Mommy quite a bit more than B. She is very much a Momma's girl and occasionally needs to be in our bed in order to go back to sleep. K1 argued with me on this at first because he was worried about the safety hazards. We talked it over and now when he has trouble getting them to go back to sleep in their room, he'll put them in bed with us. My Grams kept them one Friday after not keeping them for a while and K2 cried and cried when I walked out the door. I felt awful. :( K2 is pulling herself up to the sitting position. Sometimes, she pulls her own hair...or her brother's hair...or anyone around her for that matter. She loves pulling on Daddy's leg hair. :) She is wearing size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes.

Mother's Day has come and gone. K1 let me sleep in. Although, I didn't know that was his plan until after I got up and dressed at 8:30. I fed the kids while he made breakfast. He couldn't find a good card, so he wrote me a note. Around 11:30, my Mom called to let me know that my Dad was in the hospital. Apparently, he had a heart attack the night before. We went up to the hospital; he was in ICU so he couldn't see the babies. He was in a good mood - still joking like normal. My stomach started hurting at the hospital so I went to bed early. A few days later, Dad got out of the hospital. He can't work for about two weeks, nor can he lift anything over 10 lbs. - including the kids. He is doing better, though. God is great!

This past week, I have been able to really reflect on life. K1 is a wonderful husband and a great dad. We usually think on the same wavelength. A lot of times, he has stuff done before I even mention it. We watch the same nerdy science educational shows and we usually have discussions about them. I love how he questions scientists' theories and doesn't just accept what they have to say. He seeks evidence or sensible explanations and then makes his own judgements. I knew that I loved him when we were sitting in my apartment and we were talking about snakes (yep...snakes). He knew something about them that I was sure that quite a few people didn't. At that moment, I knew that I would have someone who would challenge me intellectually and who would stand for what he believed in. I also knew that I found someone who had great deductive reasoning skills. I know, I know...I'm a nerd. :)

Since the kids were born, I admit that I've been a little (fine, a lot) uptight and controlling about how the kids are raised. It's hard not to be when you're an educator. I had this idea that I had to be the perfect mom, wife, and teacher. Well, guess what? They don't exist. It's easy for people to tell you that blah, blah, blah parenting style is best and why. That's great. I'm not getting caught up into what my pareting type is. Fine, my parenting type shall be called "We'll do whatever it takes to ensure that our children are loving, respectful, honest, sympathetic, hardworking, and responsible citizens." (It's a little long, but it gets my point across.) We will do whatever works for us. Parenting is a learning process. If there were a right parenting style, we would have had a manual that came along with the kids when they were born. Every family is different with different schedules, ideas, parent personalities, and so on. I expect to make plenty of mistakes and I also expect to learn from them. I do hear some good ideas from other moms and I try to incorporate those ideas into my parenting. If they don't work, I throw them out and try something else until we find something that works. I'm a borrower from different methods.

*Kayla, darling, you are in your swing and you are spitting. You have been doing it all night and it cracks me up. I wonder what you are thinking when you do this. Also, please tell those two teeth of yours to come on through! Oh, and it's 10:37 at night. You need to go to sleep! I love you little butterfly! :) Love, Mommy

*Bryce, little man, you fell asleep in my arms tonight after your bottle. Daddy put you in your crib and you did not wake up once on the way to your room. You are such a sound sleeper, just like Mommy. I love you snooger boogers. :) Love, Mommy