My baby girls are nine months old now. I feel like every month that goes by I say, “This is definitely my favorite age”. I wonder if there will be a point in which I’ll wish they were still a previous age over the current one, but at this point they are learning and doing new things everyday. It’s so fun to learn more about them and watch as they become more active, more expressive, more opinionated and just so very different. The best thing has been watching them play together. Wherever Emmie goes, Ainsley is not far behind. Whatever Ainsley has Emmie is sure to be interested in it. Emmie is far more adventurous and active, seeking to destroy anything in her path. Ainsley is more focused and aware of those around her. She likes to focus on one object and examine how it works. Emmie is far to busy for such things.
During the first few weeks after the girls began crawling, it was relatively easy to build a barricade that kept them in and out of places. However, now they are much to strong and smart to be fooled by such things, they either go through it or over it, so we invested in the Ultimate Baby Jail. So far it has been great. It allows them freedom to roam around, make a mess, and I don’t have to worry if they are into something they shouldn’t be or if they’re attempting to climb into the fireplace. Now if only I could keep them from pulling each other’s hair and using the other as a stepping stool.
We love our Aunt Maddy! She came to spend Christmas with us. She brought us lots of fun gifts. New puzzles, blocks, books and clothes. We looked so cute in our first pair of trousers!
She is lots of fun and lets us do things Mom says no to. We get to fly in the air, pull the dogs tail and chase the Cat! We hope she comes to visit more often.

…… and a Happy New Year!!!
It’s been a long month recovering from colds, stuffy noses and ear infections, but I’m happy to report everyone is finally on the mend. The past few weeks have been full of some exciting times. Both girls are beginning to crawl. Emberlyn has her army crawl down pat and apparently has many places she needs to be ASAP. That girl is FAST. She is also mischievous and is only interested in the things that are a. Not baby proofed and b. Dangerous. But if you’ve ever spent ten minutes with Emmie, that should not surprise you. She finds just about everything hilarious and will always take a brief pause from her very busy life to pose for a picture.
Ainsley is also exploring the world from all fours. However she is content to inspect one location or object for more than .005 seconds, unlike her counterpart. She is a Mommas girl and does not appreciate it when I vanish into thin air (a.k.a. leave the room.) She enjoys being held and would rather I not have any other objectives in life. She is not as generous with her smiles or laughs, but when they make an appearance, they melt your heart.
Both girls are very chatty. Emberlyn is often heard squealing with excitement at the sight of the cat or dog and sings a little song to herself as she falls asleep. Ainsley loves to be part of the conversation and interjects with “EEaahh?? Eaaaahh!!” It’s quite cute.
Cheerios are a new obsession. I came home from a workout the other morning and was greeted by Mike asking if you could either overdose on cheerios or be sent into some kind of Cheerio comatose.
So all is well here. We look forward to the first Christmas. Although it is guaranteed that the boxes and wrapping paper will be a far bigger hit than whatever is hidden inside.
I look forward to the New Year and cannot even begin to imagine the fun and excitement that lies ahead. Each new day is truly a treasure.
For the first three months of her life Ainsley spent most of her days crying. She was a cranky little bugger. One day I was off on a (rare) shopping trip alone. I stopped into Nordstrom’s and stubble upon a fur Little Giraffe blankie. I picked it up, and could not put it down. It was the softest thing ever! I immediately thought of my poor suffering Ainsley at home and how much she’d love a snuggly blanket. So in a weak moment “the budget” went out the window and the blankie made it’s way into my shopping bag.When I arrived home Ainsley was in her swing, crying. Mike said she’d been upset the whole time I was gone. The poor girl. I told Mike that I made a little purchase but that I’d be returning it soon. When I told him the price, he said, “Um, yeah I think you’ll be returning that.”
As Ainsley continued to cry, I went over and handed her the new blanket. She immediately took it, rubbed it on her face and fell asleep.
Mike’s immediate response was “ I don’t care how much that blanket cost. This silence is priceless.”
The blanket has not left Ainsley’s side since. It comforts her any circumstance. It’s by far the best over indulgent purchase I’ve ever made.
Mike works Sundays, so He gets Mondays off. We usually wake up late (well, as late as the girls let us.) Eat breakfast together and put the girls down for naps. Then I get to steal away to the gym for a nice break. We spend the rest of the day around the house. Completing some chores here and there but mostly just being a family.
Today, however, was not particularly enjoyable. Both girls woke up barley able to breathe. mucous pouring from their noses and spent most the day on the verge of miserable. As well as Mike and I both began the day complaining of sore throats which only worsened as the day progressed.
I’m still thankful today was Monday. Being outnumbered by two sick 7 months old doesn’t sound fun at all. At least Daddy was here to lend an extra hand or two. Here’s hoping they wake-up in a better mood tomorrow.
In years past I’ve always looked forward to “falling back” It means an extra hour of sleep before Church, well that is what it meant last year anyway. This year we have babies. Babies are not enlightened about the extra hour of sleep given to us this one night a year. And of course on this longest day of the year, Emberlyn is sick. She has spent a majority of the day whining or screaming and has not slept longer than an hour at a time. This means that extra hour, will now make what promises to be a very looong night, the quite possibly the longest sleepless night of my life.
* Update- Very Little Sleep from 9:00pm to 2:30am. She then slept from 2:30 till 6:30am (7:30 am without accounting for the time change.) That’s a new record of 5 hours!! Way to go Emmie!!
Seeing as how we are terrible at updating our blog I’ve decided to participate in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month)
I’m going to post an entry everyday of November! (better late than never: )
Today I took the girls to the park to meet up with some of our friends in our twin group. We were the youngest of the four sets ( the others were around 9 months) I could see the girls being inspired to crawl as they watched the other kids roam from blanket to blanket. This is a milestone I’m not quite sure how I feel about yet. With each one they’ve reached so far it’s only enhanced our relationship, the first smile, first laugh, rolling over. But CRAWLING!! YIKES!!! I’m excited for them to be able to explore the world in a new way, to be able to get to things they want to see. However, this will mean that when I put them down and walk away, they will not necessarily be there when I return! It means baby proofing and worrying if there are choking hazards. I suppose it also means one step closer to Toddler-hood, which I can not wait for! Do you have any idea how fun it will be to watch these two little beings grow into little people with thoughts and dreams and questions.. oh no so many questions to come.. the “whys” times two!
Sidenote: Emmie’s first tooth popped up yesterday!