13 Months- Pumpkin Patch

I was uploading these photos and realized that after Christmas of last year I don't have any pictures of  "events" we've done. And then I realized that's because we didn't really do a lot of big things. I was kind of sad about that because I felt like I *should* have been able to get out more and do stuff. Twinfancy is no joke. I was probably weaker than some out there, but I just did not have the energy or wherewithal to go do many big things, especially since sleep and feeding were so challenging. Only recently do I feel like I can go out and do more things, but we still battle nap schedule and limited time out. Anyway, all that to say I'm excited that the babies are getting big enough to enjoy an outing between naps. Watching them at the pumpkin patch was so fun. They're not used to walking around outside so they were very confused and unsure of everything. I sat them down for pictures and they just sat there unsure of everything, it was cute. They did warm up to it the longer we were there and they seemed to have fun! 

Eleanor is walking more and more. She's still a little wobbly on her feet, but is walking a lot more every day. She's really taking off with her motor skills too: she stacks two blocks on each other, she plays the toy drum we have correctly (i.e. using the stick to bang on the drum), puts rings on the stacking blocks, and will put toys in and out of the toy basket. Sleep is still a big battle. Lately she's been getting up at 9pm and if Brad goes in there to settle her she screams and screams until I go in there. Usually by the time I get in there I just nurse her because it's been a long time of screaming, but tonight I'm going to try going in there first and seeing if I can get her to go back down. It's been a frustrating couple of days, especially today because she was up from 9-12 last night. Boo! But until the past couple of nights sleep was going a bit better. Always about the time I get comfortable and say "Oh, sleep is getting a bit better, I might survive this!" it all falls apart, haha. Basically, never celebrate parenting wins. ;)

Amelia is practically running now. She loves to climb up the stairs (heavily supervised) when we go upstairs for a nap. She actually gets mad if I try to carry her. She's been sleeping a lot better lately-- usually sleeps all night! She might wake up at 5 or 5:30 but in general isn't waking at night except maybe once or twice a week. Brad has been able to actually get up early and do school work in the morning instead of fighting with her to go back down. She's also fully on whole milk. That transition was much easier than I thought it would be! She's started clapping (correctly), playing peek-a-boo, stacks items, and empties the laundry basket of diapers and then puts them all back.

As for me, I'm getting over a cold this week which was pretty brutal. The cold went through everyone starting with Brad and ending with me. The girls have been too snotty to go to church two weeks in a row, so we're all staying home tonight. Brad and I both managed a nap today so that improved my outlook on life a lot. Lately I've been trying to be more active with the girls. Too often I'm too focused on everything I "have to" get done or just messing around on Facebook and I just let them entertain themselves in our living room. I don't think there's anything wrong with free play, but too often I don't play *with* them. I just occupy the same room as them. That's not really engaging with them. If I want to foster a good relationship, I need to get into the habit of engaging them-- even if that means just throwing bibs around and playing peek-a-boo. It's just something I need to cultivate as a habit instead of automatically reaching my phone and messing around on FB.

I'm taking this opportunity to brag on my husband: Brad has been awesome. Brad is great with the girls. He's the primary bed time rocker,  he has picked up housework where I haven't been able to, and he gives me a break every single night when he gets home from work. He deals with my unfortunate attitudes and grumpiness. He is my sounding board, rant listener, and he gently reminds me of truth. He's up a lot at night and very early in the morning to work on school work. And he does it with way less complaining than I do. Actually, I don't think I've heard him complain about it. He does it all with a smile. A tired smile, but a smile nonetheless. :)