15 Months of Life for Beth and Jake

Holy development, Batman!

These past three months have been C.R.A.Z.Y. in terms of development. The months have seen both babies go from crawling only to taking tentative first steps to walking all over the house (or in Jake's case running as fast as his chubby, little legs can carry him). They've started to interact even more with each other by "playing" with toys together. Also known as ripping toys out of each other's hands and then screaming when the same is done to them. Beth loves to sit in things (baskets, drawers, boxes, etc) while Jake prefers to climb up on whatever he can reach. They are both great helpers with emptying the dishwasher (and my kitchen drawers and cabinets. :-)). They've started to dance when music is on and watching their tiny heinies bounce up and down is just adorable if I do say so myself.

Night time has been going really well as they fall asleep great and typically only wake up one time per night. And lately it's been between 4-5am, so I know that the day of zero wake-ups is on the horizon. However, naps are a tough spot right now. They're in that rough spot of transitioning from two to one nap a day and they fight, fight, fight to stay awake. Particularly Beth. There are days when I put her down for a nap only to have her play and talk to herself in bed for over an hour. By the time she finally settles down to sleep it's just about the time that Jake decides to wake up. Those days are not fun Mama days. But they make up for it when they wake up and start playing with each other (their cribs are side by side) instead of simply screaming for me to come and get them. Watching on the monitor is a sweet peek into their twin life.

As far as other life milestones, Jake currently has 7 teeth while Beth has 3. They both are in 6-9 month clothing but that's mostly because I refuse to buy the next size up in the current season as the next season is so close in coming. So they're high-watering their pants right now. Hee! Jake definitely fits in the few 12 month clothes we have but Beth swims in hers. As they are both still in the 1st percentile for height/weight I'm not surprised. Jake's in size 5 diapers and Beth is in size 4 and I early await the day that they're in the same size again. We've given Jake his first haircut, but I'm holding off on cutting Beth's for as long as possible. Abby was not quite 2.5 when I cut hers the first time so Beth has a ways to go before I start thinking of cutting her stick straight, no curl whatsoever, hair. I also want to remember how completely opposite they are when I put them down in the middle of the night or when they're simply exhausted. Jake leans forward and snuggles into my neck. Beth leans completely back and trusts that my arms will support her head. I love how they daily remind me that they are their own little people with their own preferences and styles.

My days are filled with trying to keep up with the two of them as they love getting into pretty much everything. I've had to resort to shutting the doors to rooms that I don't want them to go into because I was tired of finding toilet paper unrolled and random items in the toilet itself. Abby's room, Nate's and my room, and the office also tend to get closed off as well. I figure if I keep the mess to the living, dining, kitchen, and their rooms then that's still enough space for them to run without having to pick up the entire house multiple times every day.

Beth and Jake are two wonderful little people and I'm so excited to see them grow and develop and laugh and play. Even their temper tantrums are pretty stinkin' cute. Thankfully they don't have too many of those. :-)

This picture was taken on Easter after we'd started transitioning from Easter clothes to play clothes. He fell in love with the helmet that the big kids were wearing and had a blast putting it on and taking it off. All the while walking around showing off his awesome walking skills. He's the best at giving hugs and just has such a sweet smile.

Miss Beth LOVES her dirt and rocks. I've given up on trying to keep her out of the planter buckets and instead have focused on trying to keep the rocks out of her mouth. I'm mostly unsuccessful but I keep trying. LOL. She has the most contagious laugh and since her hugs aren't as frequent they are extra special when she gives them.

Here are Elizabeth's stats:

                 Height          Weight               Head CM
Birth           17.5 in.         5 lbs. 8 oz.
2 Weeks      18.0 in.         5 lbs. 7 oz.          33.0 cm
1 Month      19.2 in.         7 lbs. 9 oz.          36.8 cm
2 Months     21.0 in.         9 lbs. 7 oz.          38.7 cm
4 Months     22.5 in.         11 lbs. 6 oz.        41.0 cm
6 Months     24.1 in.         13 lbs. 0 oz.        43.0 cm
9 Months     25.3 in.         14 lbs. 6 oz.        44.7 cm
12 Months   26.6 in.         15 lbs. 9 oz.        46.0 cm
15 Months   28.4 in.         16 lbs. 15 oz.      47.0 cm



Here are Jacob's stats:

                 Height          Weight               Head CM
Birth           17.5 in.        5 lbs. 10 oz.
2 Weeks      18.0 in.        5 lbs. 7 oz.          33.5 cm
1 Month      19.0 in.        8 lbs. 2 oz.          36.8 cm
2 Months     21.1 in.       10 lbs. 2 oz.         38.3 cm
4 Months     23.0 in.       12 lbs. 14 oz.       41.0 cm
6 Months     24.8 in.       14 lbs. 3 oz.         43.6 cm
9 Months     26.0 in.       16 lbs. 8 oz.         45.6 cm
12 Months    27.2 in.      17 lbs. 12 oz.       46.3 cm
15 Months    29 in.          19 lbs. 0 oz.        47.3 cm

Jake Gets a Haircut

So marriage is all about compromise, right. And sometimes when one person really feels one way about something and the other person feels another way but not as strongly you compromise towards the person's stronger feelings. Well, in a nutshell that's how Jacob got a hair cut today. :-) I loved, loved, loved Jake's curls. They were curls that any girl would be envious of (and in fact many, many comments from women were made about his adorable curls). But Nate didn't feel the same way. He thought the curls made Jake look like a little girl instead of a little boy. And...he was kind of right. I'd been asked more and more frequently if my twins were two girls. Even though Jake gets dressed in typically boy clothes the hair was throwing people. Nate and I have been joking back and forth about Nate taking Jake in for a buzz cut but slowly the joking started becoming more realistic. After asking point blank if this was a big deal for Nate, and him replying that it was, I made an appointment for a haircut two days later.

Jake's hair prior to his first haircut. The front was now so long that I had to sweep it to the side during mealtimes as otherwise it got into his eyes and he'd use his messy hands to brush it away getting food everywhere.

 

His curls in all their glory.

He looks so sweet to me. My beautiful baby boy. But I can also admit he's starting to look a little scraggly.

While I didn't cry at his haircut I did get a little emotional. As his curls were being cut away it was another milestone of him getting bigger. And I really don't expect those beautiful curls to come back so, in a way, it was saying good-bye to a part of his babyhood. But I thought he looked so handsome with his big boy haircut.

The last picture of his curls before his first haircut.

And the first snip occurs. Jake was actually really good about what was going on. He tried to watch the movie so kept decently still for quite some time (not the whole time, but enough that we didn't have to hold him still too long).

Cutting off as much of the back as possible.

And starting on the top.

He tried touching his feet to the pedals but alas they were just too far away.

Here's where we had to hold him down a little bit to get the clippers to cut straight in the back.

He kept trying to turn to see what was going on behind him.

And started to shake his head no signaling he was all done.

Then a few tears escaped letting us know this was no longer a super fun experience.

But once the clippers and cape were put away he seemed to do okay with some last minute styling.

And with snack in hand all was right with the world again.

And here's my boy with his handsome big boy haircut. :-)