"The Boys"

P & B are growing so fast I can hardly believe it. They're already 4 and a half months old. Cooing, laughing, and holding those heads up are among their many "tricks." Brooks is even rolling over (and shows off to Parker quite a bit). It's so nice that Brooks is not the least bit behind Parker because it eases our minds and lets us know that the time he spent in the NICU didn't phase him developmentally. If anything, Parker is a little lazier about making those milestones. It could just be that Parker is two pounds heavier, though. I mean, that's 2 whole more pounds to get rolled over! Quite a job...haha.

Just like I knew I would end up doing, I refer to them as "the boys" all the time. I know they'll probably hate that, but there's just no getting around it. Hopefully they will forgive me over the years for all the times I make them dress alike, call them by each other's names, and refer to them collectively. I mean well.

In all seriousness, though, my boys are so very different already. It's crazy.

Brooks weighed in at 14 pounds 11 ounces at the last appointment. He is so STRONG. He squirms all day, can't stop rolling over, and literally looks like he's trying to do "the worm" most of the time. We call him "Brooksie String Bean" because he seems so skinny to us (compared to Parker and Laney). Nothing gets past him. He's alert and aware and always on-the-go. He's been out shopping with me several times because he's always the one who is awake when I head out. I don't know if it was his stay in the hospital that toughened him up or if it's just his personality, but he's rough and tumble. Brooks has always been our fighter. And he likes to save his smiles for Mommy & Daddy, which makes us feel special.

Parker is such a sweetie. He's a big teddy bear. And he seems HUGE. Weighing in at 16 pounds 11 ounces at the last appointment, he dwarfs Brooks in baby chubbiness. We lovingly call him "Chunky Parker Man." He's in no hurry to roll over, sit up, or do anything for that matter. He's perfectly happy just sitting back and taking it all in. His personality is sensitive and he'll break into a smile for anyone who simply looks at him. Pure sweetness. People eat him up because of his smiley-ness and CHUB.

Neither of the boys are consistently sleeping through the night, yet. Laney slept through the night from about 3 weeks old, so this is new to us. Our schedule usually looks something like this: hope to be in bed by 9 pm; each of us wakes up with a baby once during the night to feed; we both wake up for good by around 4:45 or 5 am. It's not awful, but it's crazy to me that this has become "normal" to us. For two people that love sleep so much, we don't get very much of it at all. I keep reminding myself that this won't last forever. The boys keep us up during the night, but have no problem going to sleep once we're up and taking our morning showers, of course. :) Here's a picture I snuck of them the other morning while getting ready for the day. Both conked out. Why, again, can't they do this during the night?

And just like it always has been with Laney, bath time is special. We usually don't bathe the boys at the same time. We do more of a tag team approach. When we do bathe them together, one has to sit in the pink hand-me-down bath seat. I try to make them switch off. Ha. As you can see in this picture, they are almost acknowledging that each other are there. I cannot wait for them to really start interacting. It won't be long at all! It's going to be so neat. I can't believe I get to experience these two miracles and all the neat "twin" things that come with them.

I. Love. Them. So. Much.