7 Months

The girls and I can hardly wait for this Texas Summer heat to hit the road so we can start enjoying more daily walks together.  Since we are trying to solidify our nap schedule and make them more consistently timed (and in their cribs, when possible) getting to the gym... or really getting anywhere is pretty tough. So, when I can take them on a mid day walk after lunch and before their nap, or even a late afternoon walk after their nap.. it's GREAT.

I think we're in a fuzzy nap zone. After talking to other moms, especially twin moms.. many agree that around 7/8 months their babies went through this "fuzzy" zone when their babies went from 3 naps, to 2 naps. Since I've never really had us on an exact nap schedule, it's been hard for me to really know when nap "time" is.. but we're getting there.

A typical day for us 

7AM: Both babies wake up in cribs, ready for the day.  I change them out of pj's, into clean diapers.

7:30AM: Girls are in their Bumbo or High Chair playing as I make coffee/unload dishwasher/clean dishes/feed dogs and make the girls breakfast

7:45/8AM: Girls eat breakfast of pureed fruit and oatmeal 

8:30: Playtime- girls play in jumper/excersaucer while I drink coffee/eat breakfast/clean up kitchen

9:30: Girls are ready for their bottles and their morning nap. Typically one naps in the swing while I put the other in her crib upstairs. 

11:30 Both girls are awake and ready to play. We play on the floor or in our jumpers/walker

12:30 Dad comes home for lunch and Mom feeds girls puree of veggies

1:30 Afternoon nap

2:30 Playtime/walk/errands with Mom

4:00 we start to get FUSSY!! Both girls want to fall asleep for nap, but I try to keep them up so they will sleep well at night. We often go outside and swing for 20-30 minutes if its nice.

5:30 Dinner Puree of Veggie/oatmeal or Veggie/meat

6:00 Bathtime, bottle, then bed. 

7:30 Both girls are asleep in their crib.

Dr Terwelp

We had our 7 month visit at 7 months 2 weeks where both girls got their 2nd flu shot and had their measurements checked. 

Lyla:

Weight: 20.9 LBS

Height: 26.2 inches

Nixon:

Weight: 20.2 LBS

Height: 26"

We have some HEALTHY babies!! 

Dr Terwelp had previously sent us home with a list of foods he wanted me to offer the girls before their 9 month appt.  I make all the girls' purees and have been trying to introduce 2-3 new food items a week, slowly checking off his list.  Both girls LOVE to eat purees and have liked almost everything I've given them.  Except avocado.. neither of them likes avocado. I'm hoping that will change in the future as guacamole holds it's own food group title in this house. We LOVE it.

We haven't run into any allergies yet and we're all having fun experimenting with different flavor/consistency combinations.  I was a little worried about pureeing meat.. just the sound of it sounded nasty and I was worried Lyla and Nixon wouldn't like it or would have tummy troubles with it. I made green beans and chicken and both girls gobbled it down as if it was their last supper ever. They LOVED it!! So, I'm on a mission to make more meat combos this month!

Lyla and Nixon are still not sleeping completely through the night, but Nixon seems to wake up less often at night. It's not uncommon for Lyla to wake up at midnight for a bottle, then 4, then 7. If I could just kick that 4 AM bottle!! Nixon tends to need a small bottle around midnight, but will then typically sleep until 8 AM.

This month I bought a used excersaucer so that we would have 2 activity centers for the girls to bounce around in. What a life saver it's been!! Both girls want to be standing all the time, so this gives them the ability to work on their core strength while playing with each other right next to one another. It's been so great to have- a SOLID $15 investment. Also, this taught me that used items are phenomenal. I plan to buy many more used items in their childhood.

Another new addition to our routine are high chairs. Until this month we were using the Bumbo seats to eat in and my healthy little girl's legs were getting stuck in them, so it was time to graduate to high chairs. I bought the OXO Sprout chairs that matched our kitchen the best (and they came highly recommended from friends) and the girls LOVE them. It's so helpful to know I can put them somewhere safe while preparing their food or even running around the house getting things done. Lyla and Nixon like to interact with each other in them, which is fun to watch.  They will hold hands or laugh at one another while playing with their toys.

My little Pumpkins!

Nixon is a master sitter at this point. She rarely falls down anymore and when she does she can usually fall safely by putting her hand out. Lyla is still fairly wobbly in a sitting position, but can sit by herself for several minutes. She is so expressive with her hands and face that she tends to get overly excited, which causes her to fall more often.  When I'm by myself with them, I tend to put pillows all around Lyla to ensure she will have a safe place to land when she falls, to avoid any head "bonks" on the ground.

Lyla, however is officially starting to crawl. She hasn't figured out how to move forward yet, but she can get on her hands and knees and rock. She also ends up pushing herself backwards, which I hear is a last step before actual crawling. It's so fun to see her rock back and forth, testing her strength. She grins so widely and looks so proud of herself. (It probably helps that Mama is so proud of her as well and is cheering her along every step of the way)

Nixon has gotten up on her knees and hands, but no movement yet. I wonder how quickly that will change when her sister is on the move around the house and Mama has to run to chase her!!

ALSO new to our little world (can you tell we've been getting bored with our set up?) are outdoor SWINGS!! Lyla and Nixon LOVE to be outside and so do I, so  I KNEW swings would be a big hit.  I wasn't sure if they were big enough for them yet, so I asked our neighbor if we could borrow theirs one day while we were on a walk and tried Nixon, my smaller baby, in it. She LOVED it. It was giggles-galore, so I knew we had to get 2 for them to play in immediately.  Boy, was I right! We swing everyday around 4:00, when the girls are starting to wind down and get bored/impatient with their toys.  Swings buy me as much time as I need.. We've swung for upwards of 40 minutes before and never has either girl started whining or crying on me- just big grins and euphoric stares into the trees. Horaay for swinging!

As the girls grow out of their clothes and newborn equipment, I am starting to realize its time for us to pass them down and sell them. I've sold a few items here and there but will have a large haul to do soon.  While another baby would be a huge blessing in our lives, I don't see it feasibly being in our cards and can't STAND clutter. So out with the old, in with the new!

The girls have been enjoying their UT tailgates this season, so far. What's better than to be given undivided attention and to be played with by a whole group of new faces?

This month was our annual trip to Dallas to see the Longhorns beat play OU at the Cotton Bowl. While we were excited to see our friends and show the girls the Texas State Fair, I had some anxiety about how badly the trip would interrupt their schedules and sleep.  Ensuring we would be able to see all our friends while in Dallas and the girls would be able to stick to their schedule, we picked up the girl's summer nanny and our good friend, Claire from Baylor on our way up to Dallas. We all LOVE Claire and we were so glad she could spend the weekend with us.

Claire feeding the girls dinner- they LOOOVE Claire!

Claire and I being silly outside the Pig show at the State Fair

Standing with Big Tex!

On Friday we all braved the State Fair heat and spent a few hours taking in all the sights and sounds, including a stop in to see the UT locker room, before making our way over to our good friends, The Ratliffs' house.

Every year we stay with our good friends, Stephen and Diana Ratliff, while in Dallas. Trae and Stephen have been best friends for over 15 years and I adore his wife, Diana.  We're a pretty inseparable couple-duo.

Diana & Stephen

Diana was kind enough to set Lyla and Nixon up their own little room with 2 pack-n-plays ready to go for their bed time! It made traveling SO much easier to have Diana's help with bedtime and bath- time supplies.

Watching the game with Trae's parents

It was a GREAT weekend! The girls slept extremely well for being in a new environment, only waking up once or twice in the night! I was shocked!! Trae and I were able to go out to dinner with our friends on Friday night, go to the game all day on Saturday and leave Sunday.  A really nice getaway.

Our annual TX/OU dinner crew! Ole!!