nine months

three months have flown right on by and the babies went in for their nine month check up friday. here's the latest...

zach is 25 lbs and 30 1/4 inches long...95th percentile for both weight and length.

zoe is 19 lbs 14 oz and 29 inches long...75th percentile for weight and 90th for length.

as you can tell, my babies are not deprived when it comes to food! what's crazy is zoe actually eats more than zachary...must be from all that crawling she's doing.

they are really starting to interact with one another which is so much fun to see. and they seem to "talk" to one another now...it's too cute! the doc warned us of what she called "twinspeak," but i guess we didn't really believe it until we saw it for ourselves.

on another note...i've officially begun the weaning process. it's pretty bittersweet...on the one hand, i am so ready to be done with nursing and pumping, but on the other hand, it's so hard to let go! i don't know what i'll do with all the free time that i'll get back from not having to pump! jason and i are going on holiday in about three weeks (to australia for dawn and simon's wedding!), so that's the whole reason i've started to wean. to be honest, i think the babies are more ready than i am. zoe has refused to nurse in the evenings for about a month now and zach just gets restless a lot quicker these days. that...and the fact that they both have six teeth a piece doesn't make nursing such a fun experience these days! :(

regardless, we are where we are, and although i'm rather sad about it now, i think it's time....at the end of the day, they will have nursed for about ten months. it was amazing while it lasted and i've got two healthy babies...so for that, i am extremely grateful.

random thoughts

i know i keep saying it over and over again, but it just really amazes me how quickly time goes by these days. it's just mind-boggling! i find myself thinking about zach and zoe's 1st birthday already...how does that work? i remember vividly the morning i was to be induced and jason and i locking up and leaving the house and coming home two days later with two babies in tow having no idea what was in store! then came two months or so of serious sleep deprivation, but after that's it's been somewhat "business as usual" around the lawless household as far as schedule/routine goes, but changes galore as far as development and growth goes. it amazes me to watch them change and grow each and every day, but saddens me so much at the same time. i can't just bottle up some of the things they say and do and keep them forever...you know??

so what have the babies been up to you may ask?

well, zachary is now able to sit unassisted, but still can't say he's mastered it yet...still a little wobbly at times, but almost he's learned how to clap and is just the cutest when he does something and proudly claps to acknowledge whatever it is he's just done. he's my little cuddle buddy and has such a sweet nature. as far as food goes, he seems to be pretty open to anything and everything. (that probably explains why he's almost 25 lbs. yes, you read that correctly...25 lbs! i'll get the official word when we go in for their 9 mth checkup, but i don't think it's going to be far off). his hands down fave is carrots...he seems to experience a "carrot high" after having them...it's really strange, but he sure is in a good mood as a result!

zoe on the other hand is a little pickier when it comes to food. she's not the biggest fan of banana and definitely does not like chicken at this point. she LOVES those little puffs. it is actually great bribery material to keep her occupied, happy and confined to one spot! and the reason for needing to keep her in one spot is because she is all over the place! she's crawling and now that she's gotten a taste of "freedom," she's all about experiencing it to the fullest. she's able to pull herself up and can actually stand on her own, if only for a few seconds. jason and i have a bet going to see how long it is before she walks. i'm not looking forward to that day...just having her crawling now is so much more exhausting!

the funniest thing zoe does now is if you ask her what a tiger says, she'll growl at you. at first i thought it was just a coincidence when my nanny told me, but she really does. the funniest though is if she's doing something she's not supposed to be, and i say no...she'll look at me and growl. i have to give her props for trying! :)

they both talk incessantly and seem to have grown an awareness of one another. they'll watch each other, smile and claw at one another with zoe being quite the bully. it never fails that she always wants whatever zach has and since she's mobile now, she always seems to get it! she might as well enjoy it now...i'm not sure how long that will last!

other than that, jason and i are doing well. we're looking forward to our big trip to australia in just a little over a month and my friend ingrid and her fiance darren just came from hong kong for a visit last week, so that was a lot of fun having them meet the babies and catching up!

seven months

zach and zoe have started on solids and seem to love it...some things noticeably more than others. we're introducing one new food a week, so thus far, they've had rice cereal, avocado, sweet potato and oatmeal. their hands down fave is sweet potato! i've got some carrots actually steaming as i write this, so that'll be the food of the week.

zach has sprouted two teeth and thankfully, doesn't seem to be terribly bothered by them. he's not quite sitting up yet as he has a lot of weight to support, but in due time! :) he is just the sweetest thing...always smiling and so patient! might i add he's our thumbsucker...the boy loves his thumb!

his sister on the other hand, is getting to be quite the handful...she's nonstop! as lin likes to call her, she's our "supergirl!" zoe naps maybe an hour total each day and goes just like the energizer bunny! she's always looking for what she can get into next and is such a curious little thing! she's so much fun to watch and play with, but there's just zero down time with her!

we're just starting to see a tooth coming in for her, and she just developed some congestion, so i'm thinking it's a result of her tooth, but can't be certain. poor thing is all snotty and stopped up, but can't say that it's slowed her down any!

work for me has been ridiculously busy, so i'm still trying to get this whole work/life balance thing figured out. i tell you what...it's not easy! i have a lot more respect for working moms now as a result! it's tough to be and give everything to both sides, but you just gotta do what you gotta do i suppose!

six months!!

my goodness...where has the time gone? zach and zoe are already six months old!! we went for their check-up on friday and got a big thumbs up! :) zachary is now 27 1/4" and 21 lbs 4 oz and zoe is 26" and 17 lbs. yes...i have big babies! just that much more to love, right?!!

in all seriousness though...they are doing great! zoe can now sit unassisted (although still a bit wobbly) and zachary is not far behind. he just has a little extra weight to balance, so he gets a bit longer! they are talking non-stop and are starting to really enjoy playing with toys and examining things.

i've been holding off on feeding them cereal until six months, and what do you know...the time is here! i'm anxious to see how they react to cereal, but i think they're both more than ready. they are constantly watching jason and i as we eat and want to put everything in their mouths these days.

nursing is still going great and so a part of me just wants to keep them on milk...it's me in denial that my babies are growing up! :( jason thinks i'm nuts, but it makes me sad seeing them grow so fast! they're getting to be more and more fun though...that's for sure! their personalities are starting to shine through and are starting to acknowledge that each other exists...it's so much fun to watch!

we went on our first road trip to dallas to visit the andiel's and for jason to play in his annual volleyball tournament. we were nervous as to how the babies would do, but they did wonderfully! the drive there and back couldn't have been any smoother and they still slept great away from home. not only that, they had a great time with leah and katarina (the andiel girls) and even did well with the dogs!

a few pics from dallas and the 4th of july...

back to work :(

well...as of monday, june 1st, i am officially back at work. :( i had always said i'd take off six months, but given the current work environment and shortages of jobs, i had a good opportunity come my way, so i took it.
i'm easing my way back in, so was still home for the morning feeding this week, but will start going in earlier next week. i just love the morning with them....they're in the best moods and are so excited to see you!
i must say...i was very apprehensive about going back to work, but surprisingly, it's good to be back. the week was insanely busy so it flew by, but nice to be challenged again and learn something new. don't get me wrong...it was extrmely rough being away from my babies, but they are in very good hands and seem to be just fine without me (much to my dismay!) i don't know how many times i called lin (our nanny), but you can only ask so many times how things are going and the responses don't typically vary too much! they either ate, napped or played or they didn't!
i'm still attempting to nurse even though i've gone back to work and so far so good. we have a great mother's room at the office which has hospital grade pumps and they provide all the attachments, so they make it relatively easy to do. i've learned though time management is going to be critical between trying to learn a new job, pumping and getting home at a reasonable time!
welcome to motherhood!!

4 months!

well...we went for zach and zoe's four month check up yesterday and we got a big thumbs up! :)

zachary is now in the 95th (yes, that's right...95th!) percentile for both length and weight (27" and 17 lbs, 11 oz) and zoe is in the 90th for length (25.5") and 50th-75th for weight (13 lbs 15 oz). can you believe??

it just blows my mind that zach is almost 4 lbs heavier than zoe! they both eat four times a day, about 7 oz each meal. the only major difference between the two is that zoe is constantly moving (she's literally nonstop!) whereas zachary prefers lounging and laying! :) i guess exercise really does do the body good?!

our doctor has told us we can start them on rice cereal if we'd like, but i think we might wait just a little bit longer. while i am still not back to work, i'd like to take full advantage of my time with them nursing. i'm quite nervous about how things are going to change once i do go back, but am going to try and continue nursing. it's looking it may be sooner than i was originally anticipating, so i'm holding on to every moment i have with these babies!

what else?? both babies are smiling and laughing nonstop and love to talk and to be talked to! zoe is still our high maintenance princess as she loves to be held and isn't much of a napper, so requires constant attention. zachary loves his naps, swinging on his swing and is usually perfectly content. just as of late he seems to like a little more attention!

summer seems to be here already, so taking walks is a bit more of a challenge. unless we go early in the morning or right before bed time, it's tough! we've just had to be more creative around the house, but we occasionally get a little stir crazy cooped up inside!

latest pic of my little chunky monkeys...

our nanny lin is just loving these two and they really love her as well. as much as i am going to hate when i go back to work leaving these two, i know they're in good hands. we

happy mother's day!!

not only was today my very first mother's day, but zach and zoe also turned four months today! obviously mother's day has taken on a completely different meaning for me this year. i still find myself in disbelief that i am the mother of these two beautiful human beings! words just cannot express how much love and adoration i have for them...in good times and in bad! it also makes me realize how wonderful my mother is in all that she did and does for us and how much i love and appreciate her!

i had a wonderful mother's day...my sweet husband surprised me with breakfast in bed and then we lounged with the babies for a while until it was time to go to church. after church, we went over to jason's parents house for lunch. to top that off, the rockets won game 4 and to end the day, my mom called as she just arrived back in the states after a month of travel in asia!! so...i couldn't have asked for a better day! the only regret i have is that i didn't take a single picture today!

i hope all of you mommies had as wonderful a day as i had! happy mother's day everyone!!!