9 Months Old!

Well, we all survived my weekend away! I had a great time in LA and Mandy's wedding was gorgeous. She was a beautiful bride and the wedding was such a neat reflection of Mandy and Dustin as a couple. I got to spend a lot of time with my mom and with my dad's side of the family. It was really lovely. I enjoyed my book on CD (A Wedding in December by Anita Shr.eve), reading leisurely in the morning when I woke up and before I fell asleep (19 minutes by Jodi Picou.lt), eating out with the family, and sleeping in a lovely big bed all to myself. (Thanks to Aunt Nancy who insisted that I have a reservation for a room with a kind sized bed, so that I could spread out and enjoy my two nights away to their fullest!) But, I missed the babies and Penny tremendously and I still felt exhausted when I got home. I was happy to get back home and back to the routine that I was surprised to realize I actually enjoy and relish on a daily basis. Sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees! (Oh, and many, many thanks for the amazing Penny who was such a rock star in her ability to care for the babies on her own for most of the weekend. And whose selflessness allowed me to attend the wedding of my ONLY cousin! Thanks, Pen! You continue to amaze me both as a parent, a wife, and a person. We are all so lucky to have you in our lives!)

The babies are 9 months old now. Seriously, they are 3/4 of a year old? How is that even possible? It will be their birthday in the blink of an eye.

Jordan enjoys pulling himself up to a standing position whenever humanly possible. Then he cries because he gets tired and does not know how to lower himself back down to sitting. Jordan also loves crawling like a little wild man, eating as much as he can by shoving food into his pie hole (oh, how he would love some pie!), and sticking his cute tongue out when he is doing just about everything. Jordan also loves to be naked, to turn over on the changing table when you are trying to change him, and attempt to throw himself off of anything that he can. If he is naked when attempting such acrobatics...even better! Jordan also enjoys stealing whatever toy Taylor is playing with and knocking Taylor down when he is crawling around. Clearly, Jordan needs to be taught a few manners!

Taylor is getting so good at holding her own bottle. She makes the cutest faces when she is trying new foods. Taylor is getting much better at eating, and no longer pushes all her food out by thrusting her tongue when trying to eat. Taylor loves to cuddle when she is tired and is able to let her very active body rest. She is learning to pull herself up, she loves to crawl, and she loves to pull hair and blow raspberries at everyone. Taylor loves, loves, loves to splash in the bath. She also loves to touch/pet the dog and cats. Taylor is learning to hold her own against her bully little (Younger by 1 minute...yes, but little? Not so much!) brother. Go girlfriend!

We love you so much Jordan and Taylor. We can't believe that you have been in our lives for 9 months already. You have now been with us on the outside (36 weeks) just about as long as you were growing in Mama Chris' belly (37 weeks). You have taught us so much about ourselves as people, as parents, and as a couple. Thank you for all your love and for teaching us patience on a daily basis. You have made our lives so very, very rich and we look forward to many more milestones to come. We waited a long time for you to come into our lives, but the wait was so, so worth it. And, just as the acupuncturist told us when we were trying to get pregnant with you, everything works out just the way it is supposed to, at just the right time, in just the right way. I think I finally believe her!

Love,
Your mamas