10 Months!!!

Yesterday our babies turned 10 months old!! We are in the double digits now, and just two short months away from being an ENTIRE YEAR old... I'm still not quite sure how this has happened...

Our 10 month photo session didn't start out great...

Note to self: do not attempt photo session directly after a nap, especially before proper cuddling and/or nursing has taken place.

Round two:



And then they got ahold of the sign...



Aren't they cute? =)

I think so.

And here's what we are up to around here at 10 months:

-Size 3 diaper
-12 month clothes for Lucas
-9 month clothes for Abigail
-Going to bed between 6:30pm-7:15pm at night
-Eating TONS of "real people" food, most recently chicken tenders, mac and cheese, and green beans
-Both scooting around on the floor with speed and grace...as soon you figure out how to get those knees get picked up you two are outta here!
-Both standing (assisted) really well


And now to you, my sweet babies...

Little Miss Abbey Mae...where do I even begin? You are in the process of getting your top two middle teeth, and it's making your little toothy grin all that more adorable, which Daddy and I did not think was possible! You have been smiling a lot these days (even in the midst of teething!) and we are getting to see more and more of your silly side! You are smiling and giggling and full on laughing more and more, and also just plain goofing around more often...it's such a joy to watch and be a part of. Your eyes have such spirit in them sweet girl, and when you are delighted they are alive.
Of course, when you are not-so-delighted, they are devastated. You have thrown us some full on fits lately when you don't immediately get what you want, or when your brother takes something away you were playing with. I honestly had no idea tantrums could start so young! Ha! But you toss your head back and stiffen your body and WAIL like you have been pinched or something. The first few times this happened I rushed to you to see what on earth had bitten you, or whatever. But then I'd give you whatever you were reaching for, and the tears would disappear on a instantly. Uh-oh. I think we are in trouble here.
You have such gumption baby girl, and I just adore that about you! You can pull yourself from sitting or even laying to a standing position, given you have a strong enough grab on something sturdy. It amazes me how strong your teeny tiny little body is. You are soooo close to crawling, but honestly I don't think you see the need in further developing your skills, because you army crawl yourself where ever you need to be with such precision and at such a rapid pace that it more than does the job. Your Daddy calls it "the inchworm" and even has a sound effect for when you do it =).
You have been sleeping through the night for the most part - although the last few nights you have been waking up chatting in the middle of the night. Not fussing, just jabbering away. Your Daddy -ever the linguist- pointed out that now that you are getting those top two teeth you are able to make new sounds that you couldn't make before. I wonder if you are just waking up to practice them? Whatever it is, it hasn't been too bad, and we are ever so grateful for that! You go down with ease and we usually don't hear from you until between 5:00-5:30am. For awhile that was both you and your brothers wake up time, but lately it's only been you raring to go at that time! Your Daddy goes in and gets you out of your crib and gets you a fresh diaper, and then he brings you to me and we go nurse on the couch and snuggle a bit. Since it's just been you waking up at this hour, I've been keeping the lights and TV off, and just having quiet play time after you nurse. Within about an hour you are usually ready to go back to sleep, so I take you in and lay you down in your crib, and you've been going back to bed for about an hour or so, waking up a little after 7:00am. I wouldn't mind if you cut out this 5am-hour-long wake up thing, but I WILL NOT complain, since you are going from about 7:00pm-5:00am most nights, and well, that is just glorious!!!! Besides, I don't even think you are waking for hunger at that time, as I tried a dream-feed type thing on you the other night at around 11pm, and you still were raring to go at 5:15 the next morning! We think it's just your natural wake time...all of a sudden we hear you chatting away through the monitor =). You haven't been the best napper lately, averaging about 45minutes each time, but again, your night sleep is going so well that I won't complain about that either. Besides, you are able to tolerate longer periods of wakefulness better than your brother, so we can still pretty much get you two down for naps at the same time, even if your previous one was much shorter than his.
You have been a great little eater lately and are so dainty with your food! You have an excellent pincher grasp and pick up even the smallest of bites with ease. You are such a sweet little sharer with your food =). You LOVE to feed Daddy and I, and are so proud of yourself when we reward your kindness with a "yum!".
You are loving books still, and will sit to listen to them for a long time. You are also great about laying on the floor and flipping through them yourself.
Even though you have the skills to get yourself pretty much anywhere you want to be, you are usually quite content to sit in one spot and play with some toys for long periods, especially if Momma or Daddy is sitting near you!
Your favorite toy right now is the play remote control that Lucas got for Christmas. You love it when we make it play music. As soon as you hear the first notes, a grin creeps across your face and you start bopping to the beat! Well, your favorite toy is either the remote, or whatever Lucas is playing with. You want whatever he has in his hands, always! Sometimes he just gives in and lets you have whatever it is, but other times he puts his foot down...but that does not deter you in the slightest!
Even though you two fight over toys sometimes, you sure do love your brother. You think he is soooo funny, and you are good about giving him kisses.
Your sweet little blond hair is pretty fine and straight as an arrow, but it's finally starting to grow a little bit! Your little eyelashes are becoming more prominent too, and you like to bat them at me while I nurse you...which melts me. When I see your little half grin and smiling eyes staring up at me while I feed you I can't help but thank God for making so many of my dreams come true.
You are such a joy, sweet baby girl, and we are so proud to call you our daughter.


My little man Lucas, I think I say this every month, but you are just the smiliest boy there ever was. You seriously grin at anything and everything! And you have one of the greatest laughs I have ever heard...and we get to hear it a lot around here! You crack up all the time at all kinds of things, especially your sister. You two just look at each other sometimes and bust out laughing. And honest to God, I don't think there is a better sound in all of Heaven and Earth.
You are a super affectionate little guy, always giving kisses, often even unsolicited.
You just adore your sister. You give her more kisses than you do Daddy and I, and you let her walk all over you, even though you outweigh her by 2+pounds! Such a sweet big brother =).
You have gone back to being the better sleeper between the two of you. You are averaging 11-12 hours each night, the night before last going a solid THIRTEEN hours!!!! I could not believe it. You went to sleep around 7pm, and at 8am I went in to make sure you were breathing! You woke up when I came in and started smiling and kicking your little legs...such a happy baby! You've been taking good naps for us too, usually going about 1.5 hours. You go down for bed at night and naps without any problems, which is great. I think you are starting to love sleep like your Momma does =). Hallelujah. You still LOVE your little teddy bear lovey, and we see you almost wrestle with him as you find a good position to sleep in, and then he usually ends up right next to your face.
For the last month or so when we rock with you and sing to you before naps and bedtime, you have been singing along with us...you have the best falsetto I have heard in a long time! You have also been known to randomly burst out in song while just playing with your toys too. You will look over at us with your eyebrows all raised and sing away! It's pretty dang adorable.
You have been a great little eater lately, always willing to try whatever we put in front of you. You are a becoming quite the foodie though, once you've tried something new and fallen in love with it, it's hard to get you back on the stuff you've had previously. I guess it's old hat to you by then. You've started to devour green beans, even somehow biting them in half with your gums...which brings me to your teeth - or lack there of! You still do not have a single tooth, and I joke that we are gonna have to buy you baby dentures =).
You have gotten quite adventurous this last month, and are loving much more "rough and tumble" play. One of your new favorite things is to be swung in our arms while we count to three, and then we toss you onto the couch. You dissolve into a fit of giggles. Just the other day I came out into the living room and your Daddy said "watch this!" and he sat you up on the couch, and then just pushed you over so you fell onto your back - and you belly laughed until you nearly coughed! You were having a blast!!
Your chubby little legs are getting so strong and you love it when we offer you an arm to old while you stand and rock back and forth.
You are also getting busier and busier. You want to explore everything and are often trying to leap out of our arms to grab something. You are scooting and army crawling so well, and you can often be found in the corner of the living room playing with the door stop.
You love dumping over toy bins and pulling everything out of them.
Another favorite thing of yours is when we walk you over to the fridge and show you pictures of all of us. You smile and point as we name off people in our family.
Just like Abbey, you love books and will sit so still when being read to. You also love throwing balls and will even play catch (kind of) with us!
Just the other week you started playing peek-a-boo! It is the cutest thing. You pull a blankie or something up over your face -sometimes even your entire head!- and wait for us to say "where's Lucas?" and then you pull it off and reveal the biggest smile known to man as we say "PEEKABOO!" and you laugh and beam with pride.
Such a silly little boy.
You are growing like a weed lately and filling out your 12 month clothes nicely. I couldn't believe it when I pulled them out and thought they would be SO BIG on you, only to dress you in them and instantly think it's a good thing I didn't wait much longer to get them all out! You are just getting so big. I look down at you laying across my lap as you are nursing and I can hardly believe you are the same 7 pound, 7 ounce boy we brought home from the hospital 10 months ago.
You are such a sweet little nurser, always playing with my hair or reaching up to touch my face as you lay there and eat.
We love you, sweet boy, and are so thankful we get to be your parents.

Happy 10 months my sweet babies, I simply adore you.
-Momma