Andrew and Kate 9 Months

9 months old, 6 months adjusted, 3/4 of the way to the first birthday. I cannot believe it!!!

Andrew: 20 pounds, 12 ounces, 28 inches long

Kate: 18 pounds, 2 ounces, 26 1/2 inches long

It was time for an official check up with the dr, and we were happy to hear that both babies are officially on the growth chart for their real age in height, weight, and head circumference! Developmentally they haven't quite caught up but they are making great progress, and the doctor is very pleased. I say it all the time but it truly is amazing how far they have come from those tiny fragile babies that they were!

Andrew, you have been changing so fast this past month! You can now roll both ways and you can get to a sitting position from laying down.  Every time I go in to get you you are sitting up in your crib like a big boy.  Also I am writing this post a week late and in the past few days you have started crawling!!!!  Your mom is not ready for you and your sister to be mobile but ready or not here it comes!  You have the biggest, gummy smile.  You and your sister both love bath time and have almost outgrown the baby bath tub.  You have continued to give us a run for a money at bedtime and you have developed a bad habit of waking up WAY too early (as in 5 a.m. some days)

Kate you have been my rock star sleeper lately.  You go down so easily. One night you slept 13 hours- that is unheard of in this house!  Andrew was waking you up with all his crying at bedtime so you have been temporarily moved into the laundry room in a pack n play.  Seems a little unfair but since you are the only girl you will one day get a whole room to yourself while the boys share so it will even out. :)  One of your favorite things to do is eat. You get SO excited about food.  Neither you or Andrew is really into baby food so we have started tiny finger foods and y'all love them.  I wish I could write your favorite foods but honestly you both eat whatever I can find at that moment and you always seem happy with it! I am looking forward to when you both can feed yourselves because meal time is very stressful trying to feed you both at the same time.  One of your latest tricks is saying "bah bah."  You love to say it over and over and the boys get SO excited thinking you are talking lol.

A few other things that have happened this past month:  Both babies recently have developed a lot of mommy attachment which is sweet but very frustrating at times for me.  We have officially cut out all milk in the middle of the night and they are sleeping through the night "sometimes."  They both adore James and Harrison and the big boys do a great job of entertaining them for me.  Still no teeth for either.  We also discovered this past month that neither baby is a fan of the beach or the pool.

For the monthly pictures this month I chose two special outfits. Kate is wearing a dress that my mom got in Nicaragua way before I knew I would ever have a daughter.  Andrew is wearing one of Ryan's first outfits that his grandparents gave him.  I'm a little biased but they both looked so cute to me!

Harrison REALLY wanted his picture taken too

The pictures in the crib with the card didn't go so well this month 

We also forgot to buy cupcakes so a muffin had to fill in. We don't sweat the small stuff these days!!!

Earlier this month a friend's nanny stopped by our house and shared with me her story of her daughter who was born at 25 weeks this past winter and who died after a month in the NICU.  My heart felt so burdened for her. As we talked about various NICU experiences we both had experienced a flood of emotions came over me as I relieved those months and experiences with her.  It is really hard for me to think back to that time in our lives. The reason I even bring this up is that each month on the babies' birthday yes I take pictures and celebrate and feel grateful for where they are today but it is also always a really hard day for me because it is also a reminder of the day they were born and the circumstances that surrounded us. It is hard for me for me to think about the reality that our outcome could have easily been very different and that many babies I have met, even born after ours, fared much worse. The statistics and possible complications that were presented to us when these babies were born were very intimidating and overwhelming.  I will never understand why our babies have done so well while others unfortunately have not but I am so so grateful.  Happy 9 months Andrew and Kate!  You are a daily reminder in this family that miracles still happen, and we love you so so much!