Thirteen Months

Micah in the whale chair, Noah in the teepee recliner

I was debating whether or not to continue with monthly updates, but since time is passing so quickly and I don't want to forget the joy that each new development brings or the laughs from new tricks, I'll keep these updates up for now. Definitely not keeping up with the monthly photo on their monogrammed towels though!

It's hard to believe that the boys turned one year already a month ago. Man, what a month it has been! Shortly after their first birthday, we, of course, moved out of our house in Oakland and spent two weeks on the road before settling into our new home in Davidson. In those two weeks, we stayed in Palo Alto, Northern Virginia, and Virginia Beach, and used three different rental minivans/SUVs. More on the move in a later post. In short, the boys were great at handling all of the change in that crazy few weeks. There was perhaps some extra clinginess here or there, but they remained happy, calm babies who ate and slept very well. In fact, there weren't any night wake-ups at all! This was especially a relief as I decided to wean during the move. First, I dropped my day time pumps, then after my body adjusted to that, I dropped the bedtime feed (I was most nervous about dropping this, but it went fine), and a few days after that, I dropped the morning feed.

The boys are now drinking organic whole cow's milk with DHA, which we offer at meal time, and plenty of water. They eat breakfast a little earlier than before (8 instead of 8:30), then get a little mid-morning snack, have lunch after their late morning nap, an afternoon snack, and dinner a little after 6. Bedtime has been a little varied, as we adjusted from Pacific Time to Eastern Time, but we generally put them down a little before 8 now, and they sleep until about 7. They've been transitioning to one nap, and so now their morning nap usually starts around 11 or 11:30 and lasts 2 hours. Since it's a transition, there are still two nap days, but I think they're definitely ready for one nap. For now, I think we'll let them try to take one long nap, and in place of the second nap, we'll go on a relaxing walk where they can rest and recharge. If they happen to fall asleep, that's fine too. We'll just make sure they don't sleep too long or late so we don't mess with bedtime.

Now that they're always on the move with crawling, cruising, and the occasional unassisted step, the boys are enjoying the new places and spaces to explore. Noah started being able to stand without holding on to anything for a few seconds in early June, and Micah started doing the same later in the month. Noah loves to take unassisted steps, and will walk toward you with a huge grin on his face before he lands in your arms. Micah wasn't as interested at first in trying out walking, but once he decided it was fun, he's been loving it. In fact, he has taken 8 unassisted steps on his own, and walks very steadily when only holding one hand. We've noticed both boys stand on their own for many seconds at a time now, and Noah can even stand up on his own without using anything as support (like, in the middle of a room instead of by a table or sofa).

Our new nanny, Monica, started this week on Wednesday, and the boys have been good with her so far. I think in another week or so, they'll really start to get into a rhythm and won't need me or Mitch to help with anything. :) It had been so hard to say good-bye to Norma, and for Norma to say good-bye to the boys and our family. We're hoping that we will have Monica in our house for the next few years, and this seems to be something she is interested in as well.