Ten/Eleven Months - Quick And Dirty Version

Ten/Eleven Months - Quick And Dirty Version

Wait a minute...I was supposed to give you a Ten/Eleven-Month Update, right? Oops. The pictures have been uploaded and waiting for me to write a post...I simply forgot. I'm not so good at this monthly update business.
It seems almost not worth it to even do this post but then I remember how I will be so glad I got all of this down. I love looking back at how they've grown and changed.

Let's keep this one shorter than the others (which says NOTHING) since their FIRST BIRTHDAY is actually TOMORROW. SIGH. When did my babies grow up? I'm just going to give you some quick facts rather than the usual updates told from their perspective. They've just been way too busy to write their blurbs. :)

In the past couple of months the babies quickly went from sitting up to crawling to standing and now Jackson is toddling his way to full blown walking! He is wobbly but determined. It hurts the part of me that knows those chubby baby thighs will be gone in the blink of an eye as he becomes more mobile. Zachary and Alexis may have beat him to crawling but he has moved very quickly to catch up with them and trample them with his big steps. And I am not speaking figuratively...he TRAMPLES anyone and anything in his way!
Problem is, he is very aware of his audience so he is reluctant to show off his talents when others are around. As soon as he realized that Brian and I are watching him, he plops right onto his diaper butt, as if to say "OOPS, you weren't supposed to see that!" That's not to say that he is shy. In fact, he is by far the most social baby I've known. He has practically no anxieties about strangers.
The three of them LOVE when I sing songs -particularly, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". Jackson will copy my hand motions and Alexis and Zachary will stare at me and smile as they bob to the rythymn. I sing lots of made-up songs with made-up words and it seems to entertain them just as well as the well known children's songs. And its way more entertaining for ME to sing those ridiculous songs from whatever comes to my head.

They all love tofu (I KNOW, right???), cheerios (who doesn't love cheerios?), ritz crackers, sweet potatoes, plain yogurt, scrambled eggs, licking the cream cheese off of my bagels, small curd cottage cheese, oatmeal, all fruits (including guava) and COLD PEAS.
They don't love steamed frozen mixed veggies, large curd cottage cheese, and zucchini.

One major development has been fighting. These guys are BRUTAL! They fight over toys, books, position at the table toy thingy, a sippy cup, a plastic water bottle...whatever there seems to be only ONE of. And WOW, do they SCREAM in protest at each other. They will play a screaming/whining version of tug-o-war over a plastic ring toy. They will even chase each other to get the toy out of the other's hand. It gets loud and each party ends up crying and looking to me to fix it. I DO NOT look forward to the bigger toddler version of these fights. Although, I can't seem to help chuckling at the DRAMA under my breath. Don't worry, I don't let them see me laughing at their shenanigans.

All three of them do not EVER STOP MOVING. EVER. They are always in motion and I am drained by the time nap-time comes around. They are keeping me young!

About Alexis:
Miss Alexis is still my tiny preemie girl. She is tall for her weight so in some things she wears 6 month clothes (pants - though the waist can be too loose!) but in all others she is still wearing 3 month clothes. Although she is quickly growing out of them. She also just finally grew out of size 1 diapers. I had her transition through size 1-2's and she is now wearing size 2, although to tell the truth, she could have continued wearing the smaller size, and would have, if I had any more.
She was the first to stand but is nowhere near walking yet. She is quite content with standing around. She also loves climbing the 'walls' of the baby-jail. She uses her toes, like a monkey. Just one of the reasons her halloween costume was just perfect for her personality.
Alexis LOVES yogurt more than anything. She is the picky one when it comes to food (remember the peas?), but she is coming around. Persistence on my part? Maybe. Or maybe she is just growing into her tastes. Either way, she is rapidly becoming a better eater.
She is still the stunt woman and loves to be swung around. She laughs like Ernie from Sesame Street. Its really funny. She LOVES to be Bjorned and go ANYWHERE. In fact, she knows when its time to take her out of the Bjorn and as soon as she realizes it, she will arch her back and start whining and hang on as tight as she can to the carrier. The problem is that Mommy is no longer wearing the carrier - or her - so she FUH-REAKS out. Its funny NOW, but wait until that turns into something not so cute. Time to nip it in the bud, sister!
She loves when you blow in her face and loves to climb all over Daddy when he is laying in the baby jail. Funny thing is, she will crawl all over you but the minute you grab her to hold her, she wants to get away. I tell Brian that she wants to be in control of the affection. Already a bossy girl!
She is still the best sleeper -about sixteen hours a day. That's twelve hours a night and two 2-hour naps. She is patient in the morning if she wakes up before us and always goes down without a fuss. A dream sleeper! ONLY PROBLEM with this is that she really needs the sleep - every minute of it - and is not flexible about it. She displayed it this weekend during her birthday party -whining and fussing throughout the whole thing. Poor baby was tired! Basically if she gets her bottom line of sleep, she is sweet and as good as gold. Sounds like her Daddy. :)

About Zachary:
Zachary is my giggly, jumpy boy! He loves to eat everything. Including his crib. Brian had to put that chewy guard rail stuff on but Zachary has now found a way to chew on the sides of his crib. The thing is, his crib is black. So sometimes when I come in, he'll have black dots all over his mouth and in his teeth! I haven't yet figured out how to guard that part of the crib. Sneaky little thing.
Sneaky is actually a good word. He will always try to find a way around me or Brian to get to something he is not supposed to be touching. Like the blinds. Now, he knows he is not supposed to touch them so we will look left and right BEFORE touching them anyway...just to see if we are watching! When we catch him, he jumps and just gives the puppy dog eyes. He does not like to be told "No". He will try this lip-quivering thing and then realize that Mommy's not buying any of it, so he quickly moves on to the next thing. I swear, his brain is always thinking up a plan to get those blinds!
Anyhow, besides his crib, he really loves all food. He eats everything I give him. EVERYTHING. He especially loves croissants. I think the flakiness is particularly interesting to him. He seems so comfortable with whatever I give him, I think that he would even eat a steak if I actually gave him one with a fork and knife, and would do just fine.
He has the MOST teeth - EIGHT so far! My big boy loves to use those teeth on everything. He will bite into anything so I have to be careful.
Zachary is the shyest around strangers but is VERY easy-going once he is comfortable.
He is still the most aware of his surroundings, including sounds. He HATES the sound of a plastic bag - more specifically, the sound of Brian changing the Diaper Champ bag. He freaks out, so we have to do it when he is not around.
Zachary is wearing size 3 diapers and is wearing mostly 12 month clothes. Actually he wears clothes that are the same length as Jackson does, but since he is thinner he can get away with wearing smaller sizes lots of times.

About Jackson:
Jackson LOVES most foods I give him but he seems to get too eager sometimes and forgets to chew. That unfortunately means that he sometimes ends up PUKING up the contents of his stomach. This makes for interesting mealtime clean-up. He just wants all of it so badly that he'll try and shove it in as quickly as possible. I have rationed him out but he still eats with the same intensity. Like he's storing the food for a long winter or something, making sure he gets enough before it runs out. Hopefully, he'll figure this out soon. I am not so into cleaning up the puke!
He also loves to roll around and wrestle with his brother and sister. Thing is, they are not always interested in his wrestling matches. I totally understand because I know what a bulldozer he can be. It hurts!
Mr. Jackson also has two teeth - both at the bottom - and I think he'll be popping some more soon. I really have no idea but I can tell when their gums are swolen and they are particularly fussy/needy.
Jackson is in Size 4 diapers and is growing into his 18 month clothes. He even wears 24 month size pajamas, but I think that's just because that company (Gerber) runs small.
He's still a total Daddy's boy and he makes no bones about it. That's OK. He and I have special snuggly time when I am putting him in his crib for the night. I can't get enough of his newly bathed bedtime smell and he loves the sniffies so its a win-win.
He LOVES when we play "I'm gonna get you!" with him. He will crawl/waddle around in circles trying to get away, and then collapse in defeat, giggling uncontrollably. I think his favorite part is actually getting caught!
Jackson is the least patient and the most DRAMATIC of the three. He is the loudest and the most demanding. Thing is, he really puts on a show for strangers. He loves people so much that he is always on his best behavior when we are out and about. People think HE is the calm one. HA! You gotta see him at home!

Have some pictures from the last couple of months:



I LOVE this one:

This is a 3-month Carter's onesie. She STILL fits into it. SO TINY!


She LOVES those rings. AND she loves when Daddy picks her up like this!
You got some sleepy/bed marks on your face, buddy!
Zachary LOVES when Daddy comes home!

Snorty boy!




He LOVES this!"Snort"DRAMABut wait...look at that smile!So this didn't actually turn out to be much shorter, did it?