9 months old!

I know I'm a bit late with the boys 9 month post, but we had to push back their appointment with the pediatrician and I wanted to wait for official stats.  Judging from their doctor's office measurements, it seems like I wasn't too far off with my unofficial measurements last month.  They're growing and changing so fast.  Today when the pediatrician said, "Well, looks like they're all set until one year" I nearly died.  How can we be talking about that already?  Weren't they just born?!

The twins'  9 month pictures are hilarious and very indicative of life these days.  They do not sit still well at all!  Now that both boys are moving, life is getting a bit more hectic.  It's a blessing and a curse as while they get into more trouble, all 3 of the boys entertain each other very well.  Between eating table foods 3 times a day, giving them bottles before they go down for naps, and chasing them around between naps, I don't have much down time during the day.  I like to spend time with Brennan during the twins' morning nap and when all 3 are napping in the afternoon, I either run around like a madwoman trying to get things done, or I take a nap J

Beckett

Weight: 20 lbs 15 oz - 50th percentile

Height: 29.5 inches - 75-90th percentile

Mr. Beckett has had a big month -- he's now on the move and has 2 teeth!  As I wrote in the 8 month update, in April he became very good at rocking back and forth on his hands and knees.  On May 21, he started creeping.  It was a cross between the "inchworm" that Kiernan perfected not so long ago and a  "bunny hop"-ish move.  It took less than a week of this weird combo before he started full-blown crawling on May 26.  A big part of what Beckett is working on in physical therapy is transitions from sitting to all-fours and vice versa.  By the end of May, he was moving from crawling to sitting very well.  He's doing much better at moving from sitting to crawling, but still continues to face smash every once in awhile.  I'm confident that a little more physical therapy will do the trick.  I'm so proud of him for how far he's come.  He works very hard at learning how to move and it's so much fun to see him come alive when he can move along with his brothers.  Sometimes Kiernan plays a little more roughly than Beckett would like, but he's pretty good at getting his little jabs in too.   On June 4, I walked into their room to find him pulled up on his knees in his crib.  Needless to say, his crib was lowered by bedtime that night!  Speaking of his crib, Beckett has been sleeping BEAUTIFULLY lately.  He's still Mr. Social and won't fall asleep when there are a bunch of people around (EXACTLY like his big brother used to be).  But he's been pretty good about falling asleep and staying asleep for naps and all night long!  And when he's not sleeping, he's still the happiest baby ever, always flashing us his famous "hammy smile". 

Beckett had a big month on the mouth front too.  His first tooth, the lower right front, popped through on May 21 and the second one, the lower left front, popped through on May 27.  After lots of practice saying "ma-ma", he started saying "ba-ba" and "va-va" on May 31.  He's still as calm and patient as ever, but it's nice to see Beckett come out of shell a little bit as he learns to move and make noises.  He has always been most chatty when his brothers aren't around, but he's starting to chatter more with Kiernan and exert his voice above both of his brothers'.    The boys have both been trying new foods as well.  They both love to eat finger foods.  Beckett is getting pretty good at using his pincer grip to pick up foods, but if I'm sitting in front of him, he'd rather me feed him.  He'll eat pretty much anything and rarely makes funny faces when trying new things.  This is a major relief after battling with Brennan's picky ways for 2 years! 

Kiernan

Weight: 21 lbs 11 oz - 50-75th percentile

Height: 30 inches - 90th percentile

Kiernan is still moving like a wild man.  In fact, he rarely stops moving.  On May 17 he started cruising along the couch and now marches up and down every piece of furniture like he owns the place.  He is also able to let go of furniture for a few seconds at a time and stand on his own.  Such a big boy!  Miss Leslie has declared Kiernan all caught up (if not a bit ahead of the game) and nice and strong so he has officially graduated from physical therapy.  I'm so proud of him.  It's amazing to think that when we started physical therapy, he had a hard time holding his head up.  And now he's so close to walking.  Prayers and hard work pay off!  I think Kiernan enjoys having Beckett on the move now too.  They chase each other around and follow Brennan wherever he goes.  He just adores his brothers.  However sometimes this adoration appears as abuse.  Brennan or Beckett are constantly crying because Kiernan has hit, kicked, clawed, pushed, pulled hair, or crawled over one of them.  He's going to be trouble!

Kiernan was the first to get a tooth.  His lower left front tooth popped through on May 8.  That one had awhile to inch its way up before his second tooth, the lower right front, popped through on May 29.  These uneven teeth gave him a jack'o'lantern smile and made his grin even cuter.  On May 28 he started clapping his hands and hasn't stopped since.  He claps all.the.time.  It's so cute.  As always, when Kiernan is happy, he's blissfully happy.  His wide mouth, drooly smile is contagious.  But of course, when he's mad, he's furious.  And he's very quick tempered.  Lately I've seen this temper a lot when it comes to sleep.  He's been a bit inconsistent with naps, sometimes waking up after only 45 minutes.  And if I try to let him sit in there and let him go back to sleep, he lets me know that he doesn't like that plan very much! 

He still primarily says "Da-da-da" all day long, but a few days ago he started sneaking in the occasional "ba-ba" too.  Kiernan is not a very adventurous eater.  He usually makes faces when trying new things, but I think it's usually because of the temperature or texture because he continues to eat most things.  He isn't as adept at the pincer grip as his brother, but he's still very effective at getting things into his mouth with his little fists.  Kiernan would much rather feed himself than have someone feed him, but will rarely turn down the opportunity to eat.  He still sits with his mouth open like a little bird when waiting for food.