Two crawling babies?!

They've been SO close for the last month but today both of them actually crawled!  I love watching them learn new skills.  Luke and Amelia are changing so much every day.  I couldn't love them any more.

Don't-turn-your-back-for-a-second!

I think we've entered the don't-turn-your-back-for-a-second stage of parenting which I'm thinking lasts for many more years!  No more are the days of leaving the babies on a blanket so I can do a few quick chores :)  They are everywhere!  The picture of Amelia is where I often find her -- she loves to scoot herself underneath things -- the couch (she gets stuck with her legs under the couch and then gets frustrated and cries) or the table.  I was sure that in their car seats the babes would be fine while I ran things back and forth to the car (we were heading to brunch at a friend's house and Scott was working) but Luke managed to grab the loaf of pumpkin bread and had it halfway unwrapped in the 10 seconds I was gone!

Amelia's on the move!

"But mom, I'm hungry ... ALWAYS!"

A beautiful tree on our block just because I love fall colors!

Happy Birthday to our Auntie!!!

Happy birthday to my little sister!!  Thanks for being such a wonderful person, aunt, mom, friend and sister.  We love you!!

A beautiful day for a hike!

Big babies!

Luke and Amelia went in today for their 9-month appointments -- Luke weighed in at 22lbs (69%) and was almost 29 inches long (62%).  Amelia was 19lbs, 6 oz (57%) and 27 inches long.  No wonder my arms are always tired :)  It's hard to believe that they started out at 3.9 and 4.2 pounds!  This was the first appointment where there were no extra labs or specialist appointments due to their prematurity -- a huge milestone!  Pretty great that our biggest concern was the fact that both babies are getting over colds (which I gave them ... ugh).
The babies have started scooting everywhere -- but in reverse.  They're very good and very quick at moving backwards though.  They haven't quite coordinated the crawling motion but they both scoot all over the house.  We've put a gate up between the dining area and kitchen and one between the living room and closet area so our whole living/dining area is fair game.  We've definitely learned to be creative with space -- 4 people in 700 square feet sometimes makes me feel like I'm living in an IKEA commercial :)  Thankfully we have great storage space in the basement.
I've gotten much more adventurous recently with taking the babies out by myself to run errands or for fun outings.  There's a great coffee shop near our house that's all set up for kids and the babies love going to story time or going to play and watching the other kids.  I braved church yesterday alone (okay, so I texted Ally when I had parked so she could help me carry one of the babies!).  That's one tricky thing for me right now, the babies have gotten so heavy that it's really hard for me to carry them both along with the diaper bag.  I can use the stroller but I've realized that many places have stairs with no ramp which is obviously a problem.  So if I can't park within a block of where I'm going it's too hard for me to carry both car seats.  Soon enough though they'll be walking (yikes!)
Tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny and 70 (amazing for Oregon in late October!) so Scott and I are taking Luke and Amelia hiking in the gorge.  They've seen Mt. Hood and the coast ... but since they're true Oregonians -- the gorge is next on the list.  Thinking about hiking with kids has reminded me recently of the "trail fairy" (aka my parents most clever bribing tool!).  They got my brother, sister and I to hike MILES ... one of them would get ahead of us on the trail and then come back to meet us.  Shortly we'd come across three pieces of candy in the middle of the trail, left there by the trail fairy of course!  Amazing.  The trail fairy will definitely have to show up again in a few short years.  Now for a few pictures ...

Okay, so maybe I staged this one in hopes that she'll get interested in soccer!

Double saucers :)  These are amazing to buy me 10 minutes to get ready in the morning and 10 minutes to prep dinner!  Thank you to whoever invented exersaucers!

Luke's new favorite ride!  (Scott barely approved this pic but Luke was so cute he had to!)

9 months old at the pumpkin patch!

Luke and Amelia turned nine months old this weekend and we spent the day with their cousin Caroline and Auntie Michala, Uncle Joe and Grandmama at the pumpkin patch!  To be totally honest, Amelia had been teething for several days so Scott and I were quite weary from sleep deprivation (these top two have just caused so much pain, much more so than the bottom 4 she has), but despite the fatigue, it was a fun day.  It's hard not to enjoy the pumpkin patch ... autumn at it's best!  Corn mazes, apple cider, hayrides, pumpkins, crisp air, kids having fun ... And Luke and Amelia are so curious and interested these days that they love outings like this one.  Caroline too was taking in all the excitement.  What a doll she is!  The first several visits with Miss Caroline she was quite colicky (poor thing, and poor parents) but this trip we really got to enjoy her -- she was full of giggles and personality.  Plus we had to dress the kids in their costumes for a few pictures before they headed back to Boise ...

"Let me tell you a secret sister, next year we'll get candy!"

Amelia: "Who's great idea was this?!  I wanted to be a monkey, not a ladybug!"

This boy LOVES to smile and laugh!

Enough said!

Who doesn't love a ride on the cow-barrel tractor?!

My amazing mama, not sure what I would have done without her help this year!

The family

Nine months old ... definitely time for a ponytail!

"Look mama, six teeth!"

Love it!

This was circulating on facebook and I definitely got a kick out of it!  I ran into a friend at the gym the other day and was laughing because I had gone out in public with Amelia's breakfast all over my shirt and hadn't even realized it until halfway through my class.  She said that meant I'd truly "arrived" in motherhood :)  Guess it's a good thing we live in Portland where the dress code is always casual!

Molly ... and other random thoughts ...

Poor little Molly.  She has been majorly neglected since the twins arrived.  But she was great company for me during my weeks of bed rest at home (and for pet therapy visits in the hospital) and is now our constant companion around the house.  She is very protective of the babes and very loving towards them.   There have been a few moments where I thought we should have her stuffed (when her barking wakes up the babies -- grrr ...) but I think we'll keep her!

My big girl! ... sitting up these days :)  And Molly standing guard.

I have a huge mix of emotions thinking about where we were this time last year ... Some sort of mix between nostalgia and PTSD.  The last time the leaves were changing I was watching it from bed.  The beginning of last October we found out that we were having a boy and a girl -- what a sweet day that was!  Both babes looked healthy and Scott and I couldn't have been happier.  But a few weeks later I went into preterm labor, at only 21 weeks along, and we were so scared of what that could mean.  So much has changed in a year and we are so thankful we are to be where we're at.