post vacation lazy day

The majority of my days are busy.  I work 12 hour shifts three days a week and it feels like those other 4 days are spent grocery shopping, running errands, cleaning the house, and surviving being a mother of my almost Irish twins.  Very seldomly do I stop to just smell the roses and enjoy my little pumpkins.  Today, however, I made the choice to stop and just appreciate my two sweet cherubs in their “golden stages.” (In between laundry and cleaning my house ;) )

Jillian has recently learned she has a voice and insists on squealing at a very high pitch.  She can roll from back to tummy as well as tummy to back and enjoys her death grip on anything and everything she comes into contact with.  She wakes up from naps with a smile on her face and downs bottles like its no ones business. 

Bennett is back to his jibber jabbering self and spent all day “talking” to me while I only understood about 8%.  He is his daddy’s son.  Each time he went out back to “play” he wound up in the “paver construction area” or playing with the lawn mower instead of his toys.  He loves ketchup which is evident by his red beard/mustache. 

Winston and Ellie were even able to enjoy the beautiful sunny day. 

4 Months & 17 Months

How sweet it is to be loved by these two.

::Jillian::

coos up a storm

smiles like crazy

we've gotten a few giggles, but mostly silent laughs

drinks 4-6 oz bottles x5 a day

an amazing sleeper/napper

(we swaddle and lay her straight down in a dark room. within a few minutes she's asleep without any rocking, binkie, or bottle)

naps 3-4x a day each for 1-3 hours

bedtime between 8-9pm 

sleeps 10-12 hours straight @ night

wakes up between 7-8am

only likes being held facing out

likes to fall asleep vertically 

enjoys her play mat and vibrating bouncer

still squeezing into size 1 diapers

transitioning to 3-6 month clothes

hates her binkie

is very particular about the temperature of her water- not hot, not room temperature... 

still has blue eyes

still keeps her fists clenched tight

can propel her body so she turns 90 degrees or scoots over a foot or two from where I left her

typical schedule: 

7:30 wake. 4-6 oz bottle. play

9:00 nap

10:30 wake, 4-6 oz bottle. play

12:00 nap

2:00 wake, 4-6 oz bottle. play

3:30 nap

5:30 wake. 4-6 oz bottle. play

7:00-7:30 cat nap on occasion

8:00 4-6 oz bottle. 

9:00 bedtime

::Bennett::

has become quite the talker adding new words to his vocab weekly

"owwie" - sorry

"wee wee" - Winston

"eyyie" - Ellie

"ohhh" - uh-oh

we have finally gotten him to enjoy a movie that isn't princesses and singing! 

aka Monsters University

mimics everything we do: sweeping, shoveling, putting clothes in the washer, shutting doors behind us.

loves playing at the park and going down the big slides by himself... on his belly of course

started to step up steps holding onto a railing instead of crawling (at the park only. he hasn't tried it at home yet)

loves playing outside in the yard and could seriously run out there for hours

still takes two naps (thank heavens), however if we don't get him down for his first nap by 10:20 the two naps turn into one nap and a cranky Mr. Bennett in the evening

bedtime is between 7:30-8:15pm depending on naps and how crazy he is being

Lance & I finally think we've gotten the hang of these two little crazies.  Jillian is at a stage where she naps well and sleeps through the night and Bennett is starting to understand what we are telling him a little bit more.  I kind of wish I could freeze time and the terrible twos and teething/crawling/less napping won't start.  I'm sure these two will give us a run for our money when they are both mobile but for now we are enjoying the peace and sanity that comes with a 4 & a 17 month old. <3 p="">