* Tyler is THE. HAPPIEST. CHILD. EVER. Well, in the mornings at least :) It's like he is stoked to be awake, and he cannot wait to be brought into bed with mommy & daddy around 8am. This is when they both lay across our pillows and just play, while I sit in front of them and try to be entertaining. Caroline will laugh at me, but Tyler thinks every single thing I do or say is hilarious. In fact, he thinks the pictures are hilarious, the walls are hilarious, the ceiling fan... anything. He's just happy.
* Caroline has a favorite game, and it's been named Thump Thump. Nathan created it, and it's intense. He lightly taps her on her nose and says "thump thump!!," and at this point, you'd think she was Tyler in the morning. She giggles and does her sideways-grin, and it's absolutely adorable. I have been known to try "thump thump!!" all over her face, which she thinks is a riot as well. 
* They have finally realized that the other is there, and it's the most precious thing ever! Yesterday, after they finished nursing, Tyler would just stare at his sister and then smile so big when she'd look back at him. It also works with crying... if one starts, the other will immediately start. To be fraternal twins, they certainly have that bond! As I type, she is socking him in the mouth with her fist on the nursing pillow, and he's sucking on it as if it was his own... which leads me to:* The discovery of hands has taken place! I can hardly keep Tyler's fist out of his mouth, and if it were an apple, he'd take the red right off it. Seriously, I've never heard such loudness in my life... it must be good stuff.
* They've both learned how to really scream, and I almost fell in the floor laughing the other night when Tyler screamed bloody murder as he was faced with his bath. Caroline had gone first, and although she stayed calm during it, Tyler had been side-eyeing her there and knew he was up next. As I walked with his naked behind in my hand, face-out, toward the sink, he let out the most petrified yell I'd ever heard. I immediately turned around and went back to the nursery to see if Nathan had heard it, to which he said, "I thought you'd scalded his bath water." That's how loud it was. Caroline isn't much better, and we've dubbed her our little drama queen. (Nathan says he knows where she gets that from... I have no idea what that is supposed to mean). If we even think about laying her down when she's not ready, or do anything that she's not particularly fond of, she lets one out like we've trampled all over her feelings and she'll just never, ever, be the same. It's heartbreaking, truly.
As we're rounding out 2009 tonight, I just want to say that this has been an unexpectedly wonderful year and I couldn't feel more blessed. I was given the most precious two gifts in the world on October 15th, and I thank God every day that He chose me to be their mom. I can only hope that 2010 will be just as great, and I look forward to watching them grow every day. Happy New Year everyone!
Christmas this year was so much different, yet so much fun! I used to say that once I had children I was no longer living out "Four Christmases" (you've seen that movie, right?) and everyone was coming to me!!! But alas, that did not happen and we loaded up the babes and headed out. Have I mentioned yet what a happy baby Tyler is? He was super excited about our travels...
However, my dad did come over to our house on Christmas Eve, and this was by far the funniest picture we got that day:
Caroline really loves to play games with her hands... can you tell what gesture she unintentionally makes quite often? LOL! (We promise, Grandpa Tony, that she was not trying to tell you something :)
Once we were up, we had to get moving. We were due at Grammy & Paw Sims' house for a late breakfast at 11am, and everyone was looking forward to a homecooked spread! After spending a few hours there, we headed to the lake for our annual get-together with mom's side of the family. Tyler & Caroline were the stars of the show, of course, and everyone took turns holding them the entire night. They were so cute in their coordinating Osh Kosh B'Gosh cords! 
All in all, we had a fantastic holiday and Tyler & Caroline saw almost all of their family over a span of a few days. We are super blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives! 
My goodness, what happened to my pint-sized little babies? Are these 3-month-outfit & size-1-diaper-wearing heavyweights really those tiny little munchkins we brought home from the hospital? It's honestly shocking to see how fast they grow, especially our little man. I keep trying to weigh them on the bathroom scale while I hold them, and it looks like Tyler is somewhere in the 11-12 lb range. Caroline isn't quite up to 11 lbs yet nor is she completely in 3 months clothes, whereas Tyler fits in them perfectly. She's more in that "in between phase" around the 9 lb mark, but she seriously feels about 9 ounces after holding Tyler. He is a CHUNK. The most adorable, precious chunk in the entire world, but still a chunk. Maybe it's because he wants to eat all the darn time, and uses me as a pacifier half the time. Whatever, he's obviously a growin' boy!
They both gaze at you in your eyes when you talk to them, and they looooooove to be talked to. It's like their trying so hard to figure out what you're saying, and they'll scrunch up their brow in desperate attempt. We've started reading books, and hopefully I'll be able to add that to the bedtime routine soon. I just need to add to my collection, because right now, The Little Engine That Could is getting major face time. When we go to bed at night, I've started singing to them in lieu of their Rainforest Soother (dead batteries, must improvise). Jesus Loves Me is a hit, especially since I know all the words and don't have to make stupid things up... Everything else I try gets more ridiculous each night with my sorry excuse for ad-libbing. Oh, and if singing doesn't soothe, something about me rubbing their heads does. It puts them in a trance, so most nights I'll stand above their cosleeper and play with their hair as they suck on their soothies and stare at the stars. (They have this thing called the Constellation Turtle, and it projects stars in multi-colors all over the room). I'm also having to slowly get them out of being swaddled at night, mostly because they're outgrowing their blankets. Without fail, they both get their arms out like little Houdinis within ten minutes of being laid down and are bonking each other in the head. I'm sure I could move them away from each other, but they still love being side-by-side so we're just going to have to work it out.
Matter of fact, the bumbos came out a few days before the big 8 week birthday but they were just so stinkin cute sitting in them that I had to post these pictures. Tyler seems to love it, but we're still working on Caroline. She's not quite sure about anything where she sits all alone. In fact, I'd better watch it because she tries to maneuver herself into bed with me every night, too (shhhhh!). We have an Arms Reach Co-sleeper beside us, but there's something about resting on my arm instead that seems to lull her to the deepest sleep imaginable. While Nathan's been away in Columbia, my bed gets a little lonely so I often give in :)
*Below is my new favorite accessory, and I will be buying another stat. My babies loooooove being in it, and as you can see, Caroline is even enjoying her "soothie" pacifier (which is attached by the cutest flower of a soothie holder you've ever seen). They both took turns riding around with me tonight, and I was able to clean the kitchen, cook spaghetti, enjoy a glass of wine and deal with a precious little puggle who wants to go outside every time I turn around. Love it!!
