Six Months

Today, Thanksgiving Day 2009, our boys turned six months old! (HOW DID THAT HAPPEN???) We had a WONDERFUL day with the Loews and I will recap more of their visit and today's festivities in a later post, but I wanted to devote this one to the boys being SIX MONTHS OLD. WOW.

As Ainslie was landing at RDU on Tuesday, Henry and Matt were at the doctor for their their 6 month checkup. Here are the stats:

Henry

• Height: 26 1/4" (50%), a 2 1/4" growth spurt in the last 2 months!
• Weight: 16 pounds (25%), a 1 lb 14 oz gain from last time
• Head: 18 1/4" (90%)
  

Matt

• Height: 26 3/4" (50), a 1 3/4" change from last time
• Weight: 17 pounds (50%), a 1 lb 13 oz gain
• Head: 18 1/2" (97%)

So, for now our doctor is happy with how they looked. Their heads are still big, but she's not wanting an ultrasound yet. The boys got a bunch of shots, including their seasonal and H1N1 shots, so that was great. Now I just need to get a flu shot and we'll be all set!

This past month has been fantastic. My favorite age so far. The boys are so fun and have been in such great moods almost every day. We've gotten into a regular nap routine (yay for me!) and are getting better with food every day.

A typical day looks like this:

• 7-7:30am: wake up and we have our bottles on the couch. Henry takes for-ever lately to finish his bottle, so sometimes we aren't done until close to 8:30. We get changed and dressed for the day, then they sit in their booster seat/high chairs in the kitchen for breakfast. By the time I'm done with that, it's almost time for the morning nap!

• 9am: read a story and go down for a nap. They usually sleep until 10:30 or 11am. This is when I take out the dogs, get a shower, wash bottles, fold laundry and check my email. :-)

• 11 to 11:30: wake up and have lunch! Play time afterward and by...

• 1pm: read a story and go down for our afternoon nap. This is my time to play, usually doing photo stuff on the computer until they wake up. Matt usually sleeps a long time in the afternoon, and sometimes he doesn't wake up until 3:30.

• 3 to 3:30pm: afternoon bottle and then party time! We often do tummy time upstairs until John gets home. Then I take the dogs out and one of us gets dinner started. Boys sometimes take a short nap at this point, sometimes not. So, meltdowns happen, but I can't blame them.

• 6:30pm: they're in their pjs and ready for the last bottle of the day. Bed time no later than 7:30pm and then it starts all over again the next day!

Really, this is an ideal schedule. Not every day looks like this and sometimes the naps are short and we've got cranky all day. But when it's good, it's great. The boys are happy and we have a great time, and then I love knowing the are sleeping and getting rest. One of my favorite things is to get them up from a nap. They're still tired but so smiley and happy, it's just adorable. :-)

My friend Lisa suggested I make notes of my favorite things the boys are doing right now. There are so many, but here are a few:

Henry (aka, Little Sweetie #1)

• When he smiles, it's like the BIGGEST SMILE EVER SMILED IN THE HISTORY OF TIME.
• He's rolling over almost immediately when I put him down for a nap or for the night. When I get him up from a nap, he is on his belly and pushes up to peer over the edge of the crib, smiling this groggy smile, with his bedhead - it's ridiculous.
• He can take up to an hour to drink a bottle, which is insane. He also cannot stand not to be facing the room while he's eating. He doesn't want to be left out for a second. Just in the last few days he's starting to like the solids (oatmeal and carrots, so far). Can occasionally hold his bottle on his own.
  
• Chatty McChatterson. He loves to talk.
• This kid is active. Kicking, grabbing, moving.
  
• Has been and continues to be a HUGE spitter-upper. And now with food added to the mix, it's really gross.
• He likes it when I read books, but wait, can I put that in my mouth?
  
• He only uses a pacifier for naps.
• Gives really good snuggles.

Matt (aka, Little Sweetie #2)

• He doesn't smile quite as often as Henry, but it's the cutest, happiest smile!
• Oh, Matt knows how to roll over (I think both directions), but he's all, "Yeah? So what? Why would I want to do that when I can just lay here and hang out?"
• He is a GREAT eater. Great with the bottle (although sometimes he does just fart around) and great with oatmeal and carrots. Can occasionally hold his bottle on his own.
  
• Matt makes my favorite sound - it's this soft, little sigh when he's relaxed and content. "Whew!" SO CUTE!!!
• Reasonable amount of spit up. Did I mention it's grosser (yes, I know that's not a word) when they've been eating orange food?)
• LOVES the Jumperoo.
• He loves it when I read books.
  
• He only uses a pacifier for naps.
• Gives really good snuggles.
  

More to come about Thanksgiving, Ainslie (I mean, all the Loews...) and how well the triplets have been getting along, but here's a photo from today to tide you over. Hope everyone had as great of a day as we did! xoxo!