Months 4-6

These three months seemed to hold the most changes we'd seen yet. The boys became much more alert and interactive and even somewhat mobile by rolling. I feel like life finally began to settle into a pattern even though it changed somewhat frequently. The feedings were spreading out more and I began venture out with the boys alone. Although it was a little nerve-wracking to be out with two small babies, I was so ready to get out of the house and feel some sense of normalcy. I even attempted a couple of grocery trips alone with one in the car seat in the cart and one in the Baby Bjorn. It was doable, but I soon decided to just stick with weekend solo trips! Bedtime finally started moving back and our lives dramatically changed with this. We had become pretty devoted disciples of the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and it really seemed to work. We had finally gotten our evenings back- time to eat together and relax.

It was so exciting to see the boys begin to attempt and learn new things. I remember the first time Blaine rolled over from back to front. He'd been playing in his bed and I'd stepped out for a minute to go do something. When I came back he was on his tummy! And then he didn't do it again for days. Pierce waited another month or so and then began rolling too. It was such a sense of pride to see them do this! We also loved doing anything we could to make them smile and laugh. We know how stupid we probably looked but didn't care!

We ventured the farthest from home we'd been when we went to the Louisburg Cider Mill in October. It was so fun to get the boys out of the house and feel like a real family in a public setting. I had been so determined to get "the" photo in the pumpkin patch and it never really happened. But we still had fun! The boys were monkeys for Halloween and even though they missed out on all the Trick or Treat action, we got some adorable pics in their costumes. I knew their costumes were really for a photo memory for years to come.

The boys also started solids. We started with rice cereal which was not a hit, but once we moved to orange vegetables we were in business. They especially loved sweet potatoes. Pierce obediently opened his mouth every time he saw the spoon coming like a baby bird and Blaine would kick his legs in anticipation for the next bite. They became really great eaters (despite the couple of Blaine's short strikes on solids).

We celebrated their first Christmas and, I will admit, I got a little overstressed trying to achieve perfection. Ah, the story of my life. I did realize that I will have to be careful about expectations and putting pressure on their firsts and future family events. Anyway, Christmas morning was a special memory as just the 4 of us celebrated together initially. We set out cookies for Santa the night before and by the next morning, the gifts were laid beneath the tree and the stockings were filled. As we suspected the boys were more excited about the wrapping and bows, but it was a fun memory. We went over to Mom and Dad's for the rest of the day and had a low key celebration. BJ and I (but really BJ) built the boys a toy box and it turned out great and was put to use immediately. I'm so excited for future Christmases and holidays as a family.