12 Months!

How old? 12 months (10 adjusted)

Our weights: 
Alexis: 16 lbs 14 oz (+ 11.5 oz from last month)  
Jack: 16 lbs 3 oz (+ 3 oz from last month) 
Faith: 16 lbs 11 oz (+ 13 oz from last month)

Jack has had a tough time eating enough to gain weight this month due to two colds and a new tooth. Hopefully he starts catching back up to his sisters soon!

Size clothes: Pretty much the same as last month - 9 and 12 month size clothes.

Eating schedule: We have adjusted our schedule a little bit so that the babes start their day later which means they are up later. Micah doesn't get home from work until 5:30 or 6:00, so when the babes went to bed around 7:00 he didn't get to see them much. Plus, it feels like a shorter day to me with the later schedule since we have two parents for an extra hour or so during the day. They are now drinking bottles around 8:00, 12:00, 4:00, 7:45, and 10:45, and eating meals around 9:00, 1:00, and 6:00. The meal times vary a bit depending on if we are going somewhere during an awake period. They get 5-6 oz in their bottles. Luckily, Jack has begun drinking a bottle at 10:45 p.m. when we had been getting the girls up as he really needs to gain more weight and this helps get in some extra calories for the day. Plus, I think the late night bottle helps all three sleep through the night.

Naps: Naps are still going great and they generally nap from 10-12 and 2-4, plus or minus 30 minutes on the start times. I am still so thankful for great nappers!

Bedtime: Night time in Michigan was rough for me as I had at least one, maybe two, babies awake in the middle of every night for about an hour and almost every night one baby had trouble going to bed (Jack had the most trouble but sometimes Alexis would take a turn). I'm not sure if it was the change in environment, the fact that we jam packed a lot of activity into each day and the babes were possibly overstimulated, or what caused it, but I felt very sleep deprived because of it. Luckily my mom got up most nights with me to help since Micah was not with us for most of our trip. Now that we are back home, though, sleep has been going MUCH better. In fact, we have been sleeping through the night most nights and the last three nights we moved Faith back into the girls room! Sleeping through the night and the girls sharing a room feels like a huge accomplishment! Granted, we are getting all three up for a bottle before we go to bed, but at least that is on our terms and is not disrupting our night sleep. I hope this continues!!

Favorite foods:  We have been trying more finger foods since the babes need to start learning to feed themselves and they need to get used to real solids instead of purees. Some current favorites are toast with cream cheese, grilled cheese, organic mac n cheese, cheese (do we see a theme here?!), and any kind of soft fruit like banana, peach, and strawberry. All three do a pretty good job eating finger foods, but it takes a lot of patience from me since it seems to take forever and it makes quite a mess. 

Food dislikes: Although they don't eat much sometimes, which can be quite frustrating, for the most part they like everything we offer them.

Likes: In addition to the things they've liked in past months, they now LOVE to stand when they play (at the couch, a stand-up toy, a plastic bin, a chair, a gate, or anything else they can hold on to). They also like whatever they shouldn't have, such as shoes, rugs, dirty diapers, wipes, garbage, and the dishwasher. This keeps me on my toes and makes the baby gates necessary!

Dislikes: Getting cleaned up after meals and getting diapers changed are still on the top of their dislikes. For those that think our babes are always happy, just watch us clean them or change them and you will see a different side of them!

Our milestones: 

Faith is crawling on all fours 100% of the time now. She pulls herself to standing on everything available, and just yesterday she got herself up on the couch twice! Faith is clapping all of the time, and she also seems to be waving.

Lexi gets on all fours and rocks all of the time, and sometimes she moves an arm or two. She has no problem getting out of the seated position onto her belly now and she recently started pulling herself up to standing on anything available. She isn't quite getting into the sitting position on her own, but she is really close. She seems to be waving.

Jack is now getting out of the seated position onto his belly easily and he recently started getting into the seated position on his own! He can get himself into tall knees and he sometimes pulls himself into the standing position, but it's more out of sheer determination and strength than skill at this point. I'm sure he'll get it very soon though. Jack loves to clap. He got his fourth tooth this past month (still none for the girls!).

Things we do to make Mom and Dad smile? We love it when they crawl all over us and use us as a jungle gym and they make a lot of funny sounds and noises. This past week they have been in swimming lessons and it's a lot of fun to see them having fun in the water now that they are getting used to it. Jack loves it so much that he seems to enjoy being dunked under water and even shuts his eyes in anticipation when we count to three! Every new milestone makes us smile, but so do the cute expressions and everything else they do!


Our 12 Month Pictures

ALEXIS

JACK

FAITH

ALL TOGETHER