Instagram Love

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5 Months!

So technically the boys are 5 1/2 months as I write this but who's counting? Wait. That's supposed to be me.

The boys are hilarious this month! They're so happy and fun. Words can not express how much easier they are to manage too! They don't seem (or look!) so much like infants anymore. They are so content to play with toys and they're really interested in everything around them. They sleep a solid 12 hours every night and they's both SO happy when we come get them in the mornings! (Dex smiles like crazy and Davis starts panting and kicking his legs.) They have started napping (hallelujah!) and they've been trying some solids. So far, apples are a fan favorite and green beans are a definite no. They have incredibly different personalities and it's fun to see them emerging. 

At five months, Davis might possibly be the sweetest human being on the planet. I don't know what it is about him but I swear he really looks at you so lovingly. He has the biggest, bluest eyes I've ever seen with long, dark lashes. His hair is starting to fill in a little bit and he's still our chunky monkey. He weighed in at 20 pounds a couple weeks ago! Davis loves to cuddle and every day when I'm giving Dex his afternoon bottle, I lay Davis on the Boppy next to me and he rests his little hand on my knee and strokes it with as much coordination as he can muster. Have you ever heard of anything sweeter? Davis loves, loves, loves kids. Our friends' 4-year old was sitting behind us at church on Sunday and Davis was belly laughing so loud at her everyone in our section was chuckling. Then we had dinner with some friends the other night and Davis laughed at their 5-year old all through dinner.  Davis can be shy with Preston and it's the cutest thing you've ever seen. He'll smile at Preston and then turn his head away and look at him out of the corner of his eye. I melt. Davis rolled over for the first time a couple weeks ago from tummy to back and on his back he rolls to his side. He likes to hold my hands and stand and he tries so hard to hold his own bottle. (If it's not very full, he can do it!) He loves eating solids and he can sit up with his Boppy as his safety net. He shocked me the first time he did it! He loves Roxy and if she's anywhere close, he reaches for her with both hands. Today, I put her on my lap with him and he was truly petting her head! So cute. Davis has started doing the best fake cry when he wants something. It is so, so, so funny. He furrows his brow and makes this funny coughing sound and we die laughing every time. Look at him trying to manipulate us already! It's only happened once so far but I swear he saw us playing with Dex one day and he looked over and started his fake cry! The minute I put Dex down he stopped. Stinker! Davis charms the pants off everyone (us included!) 

Dex is such a good, special boy. He's spunky as all get out and I love it! He has such a fun, fiery personality.  Preston always says Dex has a zest for life and it's true. When he likes something, he REALLY likes something but when he doesn't, watch out! Dex talks and talks and talks some more. He's always trying to get someone's attention by talking to them. When you have two babies, strangers constantly approach you and Dex really turns on the charm! He talks and smiles at everyone. He's such a little performer. Dex tries so hard to communicate. He imitates sounds we make and just today, we went to lunch with Jaimi's mom and when she said "uh-oh" he totally tried to repeat it! Dex doesn't laugh quite as much as Davis (he has a more sophisticated sense of humor ;) so when he does laugh at you, you feel like the funniest person alive. His laugh is so funny. I wish I could accurately describe it. Dex has super freakish strength. He can stand and balance himself on the ottoman in our living room. In fact, he loves to stand so much that when he's fussy, I stand him on my lap and he calms right down. He also loves when we wiggle his feet and pant like a dog (don't ask how that came to be.) He can be in the middle of a crying fit and when I wiggle his feet, he stops crying and starts laughing! Dexter tries to hold his own bottle too and he's so strong-willed that he rips the bottle out of my hands. That has resulted in more than one jab to the eye! He loves when I blow on his belly and he has recently discovered that he can squeal at a pitch only dogs can hear. It was funny until he started doing it all the time and everywhere! He loves to hear himself squeal because A) I think he's pretty impressed with his new skill and B) It makes everyone stop and look at him! Dex also has a new trick I'm sure he would like recorded for his posterity. Like I said, he's big on imitating people so one day he was sitting in his Bumbo and my dad stood in front of him with his arms open wide telling Dex about a fish that was "this big." Dex immediately threw his arms out. We all laughed and figured it was a coincidence until he did it over and over. Now all we have to do is throw our arms out and say "this big!" and he does it too! Genius? I think so. 

I am so obsessed with these little boys. There could never be words to accurately describe just how much I love them. How did I live before them? In the dark, that's for sure! I decided that the Lord must protect you by not letting you fathom how much love you could have for these little spirits because if you knew, you wouldn't have been able to live a single day without them. We went to a Suns game the other night for Preston's birthday and as we were driving down the road Preston looked over at me in the passenger seat and said, "Are you really already looking at pictures of them on your phone? We've been gone 12 minutes!" Guilty as charged. I can't even believe how blessed I am to get to be their mom. I cant believe the Lord would trust me with them! I never thought I could feel stress being a stay at home mom but I fret and worry every day about keeping them safe, teaching them the things they need to know, and making them feel loved. Is it normal to feel like you're not good enough for these perfect little beings? I can't believe how fast it's going. It's exciting to see them growing and changing but I panic that the days are passing too quickly! 

Time with Daddy

Looks like Daddy is as camera shy as Mommy. What is our deal? These boys are gonna think they didn't have parents. Or that they had parents with partial faces.  Preston was holding Davis while we were eating Sunday dinner and when you have a face like Davis you're basically asking to have your picture taken all the time. (Dex escaped photo torture this time by napping on the living room floor.)

Firecracker

This kid cracks. me. up. Spirited doesn't even begin to describe him. He's got his mama's feisty streak fo sho. You can literally watch him go from sweet as pie to Pistol Pete in a matter of seconds. He's keeping me on my toes these days but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my spunky boy. 

Excuse me?

Who gave them permission to start sitting up today?

Life Changers

I have some new favorites that you should probably know about too. 

My Fitness Pal should be renamed My Fitness BFF forever and ever and ever! Eva introduced me to it and now I'm completely obsessed. It's like Facebook for fatties. Best thing ever. I have had the hardest time motivating myself to lose the baby weight and MFP gave me the kick in the butt I need. It's so fun to interact with friends on it and I love seeing how many calories I have left throughout the day. I've never done anything except EXTREME diets so it feels crazy to be able to eat whatever I want. I'm free! I've only been doing it for 6 days but I've lost 5.1 pounds. My favorite part is that at the end of every day, it predicts what you will weigh in 5 weeks based on what you ate that day. Talk about lighting a fire under your butt! Preston joined too and so did both of my parents. We love it. Preston kills me though. I swear he just thinks about losing weight and his brain convinces his body to do it. Men. Oh, and I also love looking at people's before and afters on the message boards. How nerdy do I sound? I can truly spend an hour looking at the pics and getting motivated! So...seriously....join. And add me as your friend!

 And speaking of dieting, have you tried Trader joe's Cookie Butter? Stop the bus. It's the best thing ever. It's the consistency of peanut butter but gingerbready, nutty cookie deliciousness. It has 90 calories per tablespoon so I break out my little measuring spoons and eat it with some carrots. I know what you're thinking but I would eat anything with cookie butter on it. 

For a girl who used to spend $42 on foundation (true story,) this stuff is Heaven sent! It's so smooth and looks so natural. My skin is naturally super pink and this has the perfect amount of coverage. 

Proof

I have been teaching online classes again and sometimes it requires bouncing a fussy baby on my lap while I try to work on my laptop. (Obviously effective.) Dex's witching hour is 5 o'clock so today in an attempt to console him and provide photographic proof the boys actually have a mother, we busted out the photo booth. Surprise, he really liked it. He was seriously fascinated with photo booth. Who knew?

People give me a hard time about taking so many pictures of the boys with Preston, but let's be honest, when pictures of you turn out like the one below, it's not super encouraging. I think the boys might be better off thinking Preston was a single father than thinking their mom was mentally handicapped. And yes, that is corn starch on Davis's head from his helmet. The jury is still out on what he is less thrilled about, sitting on my lap or the corn starch mixed with sweat forming gravy on his head. Poor baby. Crossing our fingers for just a few more weeks in that clunky mess of a helmet. 

Presidents Day at the Park

Aren't federal holidays the best? We walked to the park this morning, let the boys swing for the first time, and then hit Cafe Rio for lunch. That might be version of a perfect day. 

Dexter learned to give Preston "bones."

(I promise we love Davis just as much! He was just sleeping through most of our park day!)

A visit from the Langfords!

Allyn and Sabrina and the kids were in town for Ben's basketball tournament this weekend and we were so lucky they spent a day with us! We talked, ate too many treats, and played with babies. So fun. Plus, having Sabrina, Sydney, and Megan around is like having nannies. I could get used to that. I think the boys miss them even more. Davis was so completely enamored with Sydney. He truly stared and stared at her like she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. True love!

Batter Up!

Davis has been wearing his helmet for a week. It's true what they say. It's much harder on us than him. He's such a good boy. He doesn't even care. I, on the other hand, have to talk myself out of ripping it off his head every second of the day. Ugh. I just feel so bad for doing this to him. His flat spot is so slight, it's really up for debate whether or not he even needs it. You honestly can't even see it. But insurance would cover most of it and I couldn't live with myself if my perfect little boy ended up having a seriously deformed head. So my little trooper is being so tough and this morning at his appointment, we already saw some serious improvement!! The doctor is looking for 9mm of correction overall and he had 5mm in just the first week!! Hooray! The orthotist said that was record-breaking improvement. Hopefully, he'll only need it a couple more weeks!

My Boys

Just love them.

Four months!

All my life I have wanted a four-month old baby. There is something magical to me about four-month old babies. Smiley and round, I love them. My entire pregnancy I daydreamed about the twins at four-months old and I am happy to report that four months has come and it does not disappoint.

The boys at four months old is officially the happiest time of my entire life. I can't even believe they're like real babies now with distinct personalities! It's crazy to see them change so much from week to week. You really can see them learning and discovering new things all the time. They are so chunky and delicious and they're a WHOLE lot easier to manage now! The best part about this milestone is that the boys are officially aware of one another now and they REALLY like each other! Preston and I sit the boys on our knees and face each other and as soon as they make eye contact, it's all smiles and giggles. The first time they really paid attention to each other, we were having a fro-yo at Pinkberry and Preston and I were literally crying we were laughing so hard. The next day, we tried it again and as the boys were staring at each other Dexter burped and Davis totally belly laughed! We died. Then Davis burped and Dexter laughed. Pretty soon, they were both laughing and Davis thought it was so funny he was throwing his head back laughing! Preston and I said it was truly the best ten minutes of our lives. We were so, so happy!

I'm beginning to realize that Davis's personality hasn't changed much since the day Preston put him in my arms. He is still so content and easy-going. He's just a good, special boy. He's super easily pleased and he melts your heart when he smiles at you. I know he's just a baby but the kid can make you feel like a million bucks. Davis gets so excited when we talk to him, he kicks his legs like he's an olympic swimmer. I've never seen anything like it. He literally propels himself off the changing table. Speaking of the changing table, he loves the mobile I made that hangs above the table so much that he squeals at it and kicks his legs so fast Preston says he's galloping like a horse. You can't see it and not laugh! He still sticks his tongue out when we stick our tongues out at him and since it always gets a reaction, he's now learned to do it to everyone he sees. We caught him doing it to a lady across the aisle at Stake Conference last week! He does it to his doctor, the checker at Costco, and even the dog! Davis flirts with everyone. I swear he's figured out he's cute and totally panders. He tilts his head down and smiles up at you with his gigantic blue eyes. Completely effective. Davis loves him jumparoo, even though he can't touch the floor quite yet. He just loves to sit in it and work at grabbing all the toys on it. I think his favorite thing to do, though, is to sit on my knee and push off on the floor with his feet. Davis is a pretty big boy now. He's bigger than most of our friends babies who are older than him. He's not really chubby though, just broad and really solid. People always tell me he's built like a football player. (Music to Preston's ears.) He likes to try to eat the bubbles in his bath and he's so strong, I seriously have to wrestle his hands away from his mouth. He grabs everything and tries to put it in his mouth and he LOVES his blankie that Christi made him. It's satin on one side and minky on the other and he holds it next to his cheek in his car seat. Is that sweet or what? The nurse weighed Davis when we went in for shots the other day and he weighed 16.8 pounds. We'll find out his length at his official four month appointment next week.

Dexter has made so many changes in the last four months. There's no word to describe him other than fun. He is hilarious. I've never seen a baby as chatty as he is. He truly tries to communicate and I'm pretty sure he assumes we understand him. He talks and talks and talks. When he cries, he repeats "mama mama mama," or "moooooooom" over and over. I know what you're thinking. Obviously he is not really speaking real words (he's four months old!) and he clearly doesn't connect those sounds to their meanings but I am not exaggerating when I say it sounds exactly like it. We literally stop in our tracks sometimes when we hear him. It's pretty uncanny. He also imitates sounds we make and he does it pretty well! Preston always says the word "Hi" to him in a sing-songy voice, and Dex will repeat it back to him over and over. It's insane. I'm quite certain he's a genius. Dex thinks it's so funny when I coo to him from across the room and he'll wrinkle his nose and smile. I can't believe he was ever colicky. He's such a happy, easy baby these days. He loves people, just like his brother, and he smiles at strangers too. He still loves his daddy but he's got a pretty soft spot for his mama now. He is such a sweet boy. When I pick him up, he always puts his left arm around me and I melt every time. He splashes like a wild man in the bath tub and he grabs everything. If there is a burp cloth anywhere near him he'll find it and press it against his cheek. He loves to bury his head into my shoulder and when he naps on his tummy (supervised, of course,) he always tries to go face first. Dex also loves his blankie Christi made him and I always find him trying to put it over his head. Come to think of it, he's always trying to put something over his head! When Dex got weighed at his appointment for shots the other day, he weighed 15.8 pounds. I'm anxious to find out his length too!

Adios, Think Pink!

Do you like my new blog design? I am obsessed! Heather-Rita from Milkglass and Honey designed it and I have crowned her my new bff. Seriously, I love her. She's a mind reader (only her mind is a lot more creative than mine,) and the nicest ever.  She was so fast and thorough and made sure it was just like I wanted it. Would it be too much to name our next child after her?

No mas!

Stop! Seriously, no more growing. No getting older. Let's freeze time and stay exactly like this forever.

I was changing the boys' diapers on the living room floor today (after they'd been stripped of their spit-up covered clothes- see pictures below,) and started to tear up as they babbled to each other and Davis cracked up at Dexter's funny noises. I mean, this is the life. We sleep till 8, laze around in our pj's, go on long walks, smile at mama, laugh at each other, play in the bath, eat our hands, and wait for Daddy to get home. I seriously panic when I realize how quickly time is passing. I need to take more pictures, take more video, and squeeze them every second of the day.