Mack: John Kyle, I am telling you it's true! In seven months, we will look nothing alike! Strangers will stop Mom in the store to comment on how we look close enough in age to be twins! Doesn't this upset you?
John Kyle: Not really. Because I don't believe you.
John Kyle: Well. would you look at that. You were right! We DON'T look alike!
Mack: Yep. I was right.
John Kyle: I find this to be amusing.
Mack. Me, not so much. I'm tired. I need a nap. I find nothing amusing at this moment even though I am generally the jovial, good-natured twin.
John Kyle: Welp, good chat. I gotta go get into something now.
Mack: Later, bro.
Aannnddd scene!
Fellow twin moms prepared me from the start that when I looked back at newborn pictures, I would have a hard time remembering who was who. I brushed that aside because these two have looked so different to me from the start.
But I'll be honest: I had to look for a long time at that first picture of them as three months old in that rocking chair.
Another often-repeated phrase I've heard from other twin moms is "it gets easier." I've heard it so many times and I've ignored it so many times because I just couldn't imagine this would ever be easier.
And yet.
Here we are at ten months in, and by golly, IT IS GETTING EASIER!
This is mostly because older infants are, in general, easier. They don't have to be fed every few minutes. They can sit up and stand up and crawl and DO STUFF. They aren't puking everywhere all the time. They don't constantly have upset tummies. They don't poop out of their diapers every three seconds.
This older infancy part is such a sweet spot. Mobile, but not running into the street yet. So big, but still such little babies. I can truly say we are having FUN these days.
And with each passing day, we find out more and more about who these little dudes are, and that is seriously the most fun of all.
John Kyle, who was the sweetest, most gentle, quiet newborn has fully stepped into bossy big brother role. He is SO SO SO busy. If he is awake, he is on the move. And he is loud. GOOD LORD, that child is loud. Like, I've been shopping for noise-blocking headphones kind of loud.
He is like having AJ as a baby all over again. One minute sweet and charming, the next minute in the throes of a "I need that and I need it NOW" meltdown.
He has also turned into a total Daddy's Guy. When I bring him down in the morning or from naps, as soon as he sees Kyle, it's all "Da Da." "DA!" "A DA!" He never says that any other time except when his much-adored Daddy is in the room. Wherever Dad is, JK is ALL up in his business. It is a much-welcome change from the all-Mommy-all-the-time phase he was just in.
And then there's Mackers.
Oh my goodness, you guys. He is the best baby ever. BEST BEST BEST. I cannot even BELIEVE he was the high-needs, often-fussy, highly-opinionated of the two as a newborn because now he is just so chill. He is silly and smiles easily and often (unless he's tired or hungry, as pictured above). He's (mostly) happy to go along with big brother's plans, and he adores his sisters. And his mom. And his dad. And the sweet older couple standing next to us in line at the grocery store.
Never one to be rushed into developmental milestones, he is finally now pulling up and kinda cruising. He will randomly say what sounds like real words, like "Hi!" and "DAY-DEE!" for Dacey, but then he'll go days where it's just baby babble.
What else do I want to record about ten months with the twins?
Oh! We finally had to put gates on our stairs after I discovered that Mack had quietly climbed up four stairs to the landing. This was before he was even pulling up. My heart raced for an hour after I found him there! ACK! So now we are all nice and safely gated.
They love: eating (!!!) (SO MUCH FOOD!), their ball boat (a hand-me-down from neighbors which arrived minus the mallet for which I am grateful!), grocery shopping with mom, playing with sisters, watching Yo Gabba Gabba when mom can't handle the crankies, crawling laps around the downstairs, bathtime, playing "guess what I just put in my mouth?!" and shrieking as loudly as possible.
John Kyle still loves riding on my back in the Ergo. Mack still resists being worn in any way.
The both hate: waiting to be fed, napping, one-piece pajamas, footed pajamas, socks, teething, 4:00 PM, having their hair pulled by the other one, being in a moving vehicle after dark.
They are both still in their bucket car seats which *I* hate, and I was just on the cusp of moving them to their convertible seats (still rear-facing OF COURSE) (I always feel like I have to clarify that because I live in a state where it is an all-too-common occurence to see babies less than a year old facing-forward in covertible seats), BUT then it got so very very very cold, and I remembered that it is actually kind of convenient to get them all snuggled in their car seats and carry them directly out to the van and into stores in their Snap N Go that way. Hmph. Dumb winter.
I think that's it for this month's update!
Thanks for letting me continue the chronicles of raising up our little dudes!
