Gavin, Brady and Aidan - 9 months 
Aidan:
I was thinking the other day as curt was feeding him and Aidan was trying to touch curt's face, his hand, whatever he could get his little hands on that he was the first kid to really use his hands. Even at 6 weeks old, he would eat his bottles while holding his hands on his chest/belly. It was so sweet and cute and he is DEFINITELY the first one to figure out that hands are for grabbing! Aidan is still squirrely about eating his bottle, but he LOVES solid food. He loves how it feels on his hands, how it feels in his mouth, how it tastes, everything. He will reach out and grab on to the edge of the (suctioned cupped) bowl and just hold on until he gets another bite/the bowl's suction breaks free - bringing his beloved food nearer to him. Aidan was also the most vocal in the beginning. In fact, he was such a loud sleeper (random loud noises at weird intervals) that often we would rush to the room to see who was awake only to see Aidan making these noisy sounds asleep. at 9 months he is finally getting his first set of teeth peeking through and he is using his voice at all levels. He and Gavin LOVE to talk to one another through squeals and giggles and shreiks.
He is our first crawler and also has been the first one to truly LOVE standing and trying to walk. It's a pretty difficult system he has going on for crawling (he basically drags his lower body forward while up on his hands and knees) but he can get where he wants to go. And he NEEDS his sleep. When he was just a few months old and I would get up in the middle of the night to pump, I would hear him making noises and would want to try to delay the others from being woken up, so I would bring him out to the couch with me (still fully swaddled) and pump until it was closer to the time they needed to get up to eat. Sometimes I would sleep out on the couch with him because he was being SOOO loud so early - just me and my oldest boy snoozing away at 3 AM. Since his brothers are on a slightly different schedule from him (they don't get cranky if they sleep a little less than he does) we moved his crib into the guest room this week. Aidan's bags under his eyes are disappearing (finally) and he is WAY less whiny than he has been in recent weeks. He may move into the closet permanently . . . :) It does make the nursery room feel empty without his crib in there, but to see him obviously feeling better makes it worthwhile.
Brady:
Brady was the first to give us some social smiles around 3 months, but he has become REALLY shy of new people. Yesterday a LC named Inge came to buy some baby stuff and she just walked into the kitchen with me and while Aidan and Gavin just looked at her from their high chairs, Brady immediately began a high pitched cry and turned bright red until I picked him up. Then he was fine, but he was grasping me tightly until she left. He BTW, is the ONLY boy who will actually hold on/snuggle with us. Both Aidan and Gavin leave their arms straight out to the side while we carry them and they are rarely still enough to snuggle with. Brady on the other hand loves just lounging in mom or dad's lap. He is definitely the watcher. he is also our first clapper - the nannies have taught him rudimentary clapping and "giving 5". Brady practically refused to put any weight on his legs when we would lift him to try to stand, but when he decided to do it, he can stand with the best of them! He looks so proud of himself as he looks out over his play mat too! Adorable. When it comes to food, Brady is an excited eater - he laughs and giggles after every mouthful, but also let's you know when he "can't beleive you put that nasty stuff on his tongue and it will stay there until you take it off of his tongue mom".
Brady Boy is still the most chill of the three and while he CAN sit up or roll over, he seems to be most content wherever you put him last. He also has been having giggling fits lately where he just looks at you and just gets himself going like crazy! Adorable at any time, but more challenging when it's bedtime for the night. He has seemed to be the child who will dig his heels in the most - whereas Aidan and Gavin will eventually succumb to a nap, or the car ride, if Brady is unhappy, he lets you know THE WHOLE WAY HOME/TIL YOU GET HIM UP. and for someone who is so rarely unhappy, it's hard not to respond more immediately (for your sanity and his).
Gavin:
I will say Gavin's personality is like a fine wine - it has just gotten better with age. When he was home just a few weeks is when he first began doing some crying and it is a TOUGH cry to listen to. I read once that babies whose cry is staccato and stops and starts again was most often rated as a "difficult" child by parents, even if they cry less or equal to a baby with a less chafing cry. Gavin's cry is DISTINCT and was at times really hard for both of us to deal with, especially when Gavin decided to cry every time we would change his diaper. that was NO FUN at all. Gavin has definitely mellowed from his early months and his giggle is heard way more often than his cry. Gavin will probably enter a World's Strongest Baby competition one of these days - he is SO muscular! We can see his little shoulder muscles and when we tickle his tummy he tenses up and has abs of steel! He also LOVES food (see Baby Kong video) and has been our best sleeper for some time now. He still tries to stand on his tiptoes when we hold him to stand, but he can do that for a long time. Maybe he will be on pointe? He seems to be just a few steps behind Aidan's exploring, but he likes to do lots of the same things so far.
Each of the boys is so yummy in so many ways, it's hard to believe they are all ours. I was gone for the weekend in Dubai with my friend Slabas and in just the 3 nights I was gone, I couldn't BELIEVE how much they had changed! Even though I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Dubai I was so happy to see them and Curt this morning! It is such a good feeling for home to be your happiest place on earth.
And now for the obligatory pics: :)
Aidan hits the road . . .
Gavin loves his new hat and onesie from the Slabas's - Thank You!
Aunt Jenny gets people ready for bed!
I keep thinking about how there are so many little things about the boys I remember now, but hadn't taken the time to write down, that makes them so unique from one another. they were already showing their little (well, now quite big) personalities developing, even at just a few months old. I decided I should take some time to write some of those things down so I can look back on this in ten years and say "yep, you always DID need more sleep than your brothers" or "yep, you always were the social butterfly!".
Aidan:
I was thinking the other day as curt was feeding him and Aidan was trying to touch curt's face, his hand, whatever he could get his little hands on that he was the first kid to really use his hands. Even at 6 weeks old, he would eat his bottles while holding his hands on his chest/belly. It was so sweet and cute and he is DEFINITELY the first one to figure out that hands are for grabbing! Aidan is still squirrely about eating his bottle, but he LOVES solid food. He loves how it feels on his hands, how it feels in his mouth, how it tastes, everything. He will reach out and grab on to the edge of the (suctioned cupped) bowl and just hold on until he gets another bite/the bowl's suction breaks free - bringing his beloved food nearer to him. Aidan was also the most vocal in the beginning. In fact, he was such a loud sleeper (random loud noises at weird intervals) that often we would rush to the room to see who was awake only to see Aidan making these noisy sounds asleep. at 9 months he is finally getting his first set of teeth peeking through and he is using his voice at all levels. He and Gavin LOVE to talk to one another through squeals and giggles and shreiks.
He is our first crawler and also has been the first one to truly LOVE standing and trying to walk. It's a pretty difficult system he has going on for crawling (he basically drags his lower body forward while up on his hands and knees) but he can get where he wants to go. And he NEEDS his sleep. When he was just a few months old and I would get up in the middle of the night to pump, I would hear him making noises and would want to try to delay the others from being woken up, so I would bring him out to the couch with me (still fully swaddled) and pump until it was closer to the time they needed to get up to eat. Sometimes I would sleep out on the couch with him because he was being SOOO loud so early - just me and my oldest boy snoozing away at 3 AM. Since his brothers are on a slightly different schedule from him (they don't get cranky if they sleep a little less than he does) we moved his crib into the guest room this week. Aidan's bags under his eyes are disappearing (finally) and he is WAY less whiny than he has been in recent weeks. He may move into the closet permanently . . . :) It does make the nursery room feel empty without his crib in there, but to see him obviously feeling better makes it worthwhile.
Brady:
Brady was the first to give us some social smiles around 3 months, but he has become REALLY shy of new people. Yesterday a LC named Inge came to buy some baby stuff and she just walked into the kitchen with me and while Aidan and Gavin just looked at her from their high chairs, Brady immediately began a high pitched cry and turned bright red until I picked him up. Then he was fine, but he was grasping me tightly until she left. He BTW, is the ONLY boy who will actually hold on/snuggle with us. Both Aidan and Gavin leave their arms straight out to the side while we carry them and they are rarely still enough to snuggle with. Brady on the other hand loves just lounging in mom or dad's lap. He is definitely the watcher. he is also our first clapper - the nannies have taught him rudimentary clapping and "giving 5". Brady practically refused to put any weight on his legs when we would lift him to try to stand, but when he decided to do it, he can stand with the best of them! He looks so proud of himself as he looks out over his play mat too! Adorable. When it comes to food, Brady is an excited eater - he laughs and giggles after every mouthful, but also let's you know when he "can't beleive you put that nasty stuff on his tongue and it will stay there until you take it off of his tongue mom".
Brady Boy is still the most chill of the three and while he CAN sit up or roll over, he seems to be most content wherever you put him last. He also has been having giggling fits lately where he just looks at you and just gets himself going like crazy! Adorable at any time, but more challenging when it's bedtime for the night. He has seemed to be the child who will dig his heels in the most - whereas Aidan and Gavin will eventually succumb to a nap, or the car ride, if Brady is unhappy, he lets you know THE WHOLE WAY HOME/TIL YOU GET HIM UP. and for someone who is so rarely unhappy, it's hard not to respond more immediately (for your sanity and his).
Gavin:
I will say Gavin's personality is like a fine wine - it has just gotten better with age. When he was home just a few weeks is when he first began doing some crying and it is a TOUGH cry to listen to. I read once that babies whose cry is staccato and stops and starts again was most often rated as a "difficult" child by parents, even if they cry less or equal to a baby with a less chafing cry. Gavin's cry is DISTINCT and was at times really hard for both of us to deal with, especially when Gavin decided to cry every time we would change his diaper. that was NO FUN at all. Gavin has definitely mellowed from his early months and his giggle is heard way more often than his cry. Gavin will probably enter a World's Strongest Baby competition one of these days - he is SO muscular! We can see his little shoulder muscles and when we tickle his tummy he tenses up and has abs of steel! He also LOVES food (see Baby Kong video) and has been our best sleeper for some time now. He still tries to stand on his tiptoes when we hold him to stand, but he can do that for a long time. Maybe he will be on pointe? He seems to be just a few steps behind Aidan's exploring, but he likes to do lots of the same things so far.
Each of the boys is so yummy in so many ways, it's hard to believe they are all ours. I was gone for the weekend in Dubai with my friend Slabas and in just the 3 nights I was gone, I couldn't BELIEVE how much they had changed! Even though I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Dubai I was so happy to see them and Curt this morning! It is such a good feeling for home to be your happiest place on earth.
And now for the obligatory pics: :)
Aidan has an abundance of love for Gavin . . .
Gavin has an abundance of patience for Aidan . . .
Brady loves his chew toy . . .Gavin has an abundance of patience for Aidan . . .Aidan hits the road . . .
Gavin loves his new hat and onesie from the Slabas's - Thank You!Aunt Jenny gets people ready for bed!
