Beth and Jake Turn 11 Months!

"Birth" - First night at home around 5 days old.

One Month Old - Wondering who this other person is.

Two Months Old - Looking like their own person now.

Three Months Old - Getting their own personalities.

Four Months Old - Beth poses for her picture while Jake is totally over the camera.

Five Months Old - I got them on the same side as before! Starting to really enjoy baby life.

And the official 6 month photo where they both refuse to smile at the same time no matter what I do. This was the best of the bunch! I do like how it shows the difference in body types between the two. You can see that Beth is just tiny compared to Jake, especially their chest and waist size differences.

They're so excited to be 7 months old. LOL.

They were so full of smiles that I had a tough time picking which picture I wanted to highlight this month.

Their nine month pictures were taken about a week after the actual ninth month and the day after we'd returned from our week long cruise. While on that cruise Jake developed a cold and didn't get as much sleep as he would have liked. Beth came home almost happier than she normally is. So this was honestly the best photo I could get of the both of them.

"Yay, Mom kept us alive for 10 months!"

11 Months means we don't have to cooperate for pictures anymore. Or so they think!

Beth kept stealing Jake's month sign, then Jake would steal it back prompting Beth to throw herself back in righteous anger at the horror of it all.

It wasn't until I gave Beth both stickers and Jake the paper that the stickers came on that they both sat still long enough for a photo to be taken that included both of them sitting still for 2.3 seconds.

The past month has seen a HUGE increase in movement for these kids. If I thought the army crawling was crazy movement that was before both kids learned to pull themselves up into standing positions, and then begin cruising around the furniture. Now, short tables have become danger zones and our coffee cups, remotes, and phones are no longer safe from small hands and drooling mouths. :-) "We" also sleep trained this month. I say we because while the babies were the ones doing the learning, I was the one doing the clock watching and pacing. It took a little less than a week to get nights down (where I could put them in the crib and they'd fall asleep 100% on their own and then sleep for at least four hours before waking up for a night feed) and roughly two weeks for naps to get to the same point (albeit sleeping for only an hour to an hour and a half at a time). Now I get at least three hours of sleep before their first wake-up, but more like five or six. I'm okay with up to twice a night for feeding because of how little Beth is especially. Jake just gets the added bonus of being fed when she does. :-)

Jake discovered how to shake his head "no" and they both learned to say "ahhh" when I put my hand against their mouth to make the Indian sound (I have no other PC way to describe it). Beth went one step farther and pats her own mouth to make the sound as well. She also has a sweet way of patting her chest whenever someone is crying as if to say "Mom, go pat them and make them feel better". Jake has discovered grunting and is too funny to be around when he gets in one of his grunting moods. It's this deep grrr from down in his chest and he just finds it hilarious. Lastly, while they are both still in size three diapers and Beth is still in 3-6 month clothes, Jake has finally grown up enough to need 6-9 months. Of course, all of my hand-me-downs are shorts and t-shirts (as he "should" have been in this size from June - August) so I'll be hitting up the consignment stores and Costco (as well, as Carter's if I'm being honest) to outfit him once again. Here's to hoping that when Beth finally sizes up I see more winter hand-me-downs than summer!