Conte Twins 8 Months

So we are about to finish up 9 months around the Conte household and I am JUST now starting our 8 month blog.  Truth be told, this has been a VERY tough and trying month for us.  Not because of the girls, but because I was laid off of a job that i loved very much.  As the territory manager for Alabama for Weight Watchers, I was able to work mainly from home and have a super flexible schedule.  This allowed me to spend lots of my days with my girls and I was so thankful.  Long story short: The company was performing poorly, layoffs happened, I was impacted. So our 8th month started off with this Mama becoming a Stay At Home Mom.  Something that I SWORE I could never do.....(Yes, God, I realize I am not in control of my life....Thank you for the reminder :) )

Back to what this blog is really about..... BABIES!  So this month the weather started to really clear up and get warmer.  I did not realize how much I had been LONGING for warmth and sunshine.  We took the girls to Veteran's Park for the first time to swing.  The weather was perfect and Mimi and Pops joined us.  I thought they might be too small but they ended up loving it!  They laughed and squealed and just filled us all with joy.  We also had lots of Al Fresco dining on the deck which they seemed to love.

Speaking of eating, I had been feeding them solid foods about once per day.  I have made all their food myself and so far we had tried sweet potatoes, peaches, peas, squash, carrots, I think that's all. The girls always lay on their boppies to take their bottles and so I would just also feed them the baby food on the boppy.  That worked well until this month when they decided to try gymnastics while eating.  We were getting food everywhere so Ren got the highchairs down from the attic and they were a HIT! SO much easier and the girls really seemed to love them.  I was afraid that it would be a lot more work for me but really it's just a tiny bit more work just toting them back and forth from their room to the chair and back.

When the temp climed into the 80's one day, I decided I was pulling out my trusty baby pool that got me through the whole summer last year while I was pregnant.  I would lay in that thing like a beached whale sunning myself and I loved every minute.  I was hoping the girls would too and true to form, they did!  I started to put a swimsuit on them but I was by myself and that seemed like a lot of effort so NAKED BABIES in the pool it was!  This was also the month we started baths in the big bathtub so they were used to playing in the water by this point.  These little cuties were having a blast but....(rookie mom mistake) I forgot the baby sunscreen!!!  WHOOPS.  Made a trip to the store that evening and we now lather up before swimming :)

The girls had a visit from their great-Granny and it was awesome.  Nothing better than seeing your parents or grandparents loving on your babies.

So like I said, they have been eating more and paying MUCH more attention to what we eat.  I may or may not have had to bust open a package of Puffs in Walmart because they saw me eating a granola bar and had a FIT.  Well Mom and I took them to Panera and they were reaching for everything.  We ended up letting them go to town on the bread and boy did they go to town!  From then on I have started feeding them more throughout the day and trying different foods within reason. They are doing so great and i'm so proud of them!!

Ok so I am now caught up and will get back on my normal post from here on out!

Conte Twins 7 Months

I am behind on writing this month's blog and I am literally scrolling back through pictures in my phone to remind myself what we did this month.  I hate that it's like that but time is just spinning away right now and our family has so much going on.  While looking through these pictures i'm realizing that i need to try and take some time to just enjoy life.  The good days and the bad days.

Speaking of good and bad days, we are at the point that our good days far outweigh the bad ones.  These girls are such a joy and are such good babies.  I never really thought about it until everyone kept saying what calm, sweet babies they were....then I thought to myself...Yeah, they REALLY are.  I am so thankful for that.

I guess our first big event this month was going to the Petting Farm at Oak Mountain!  Renan and I were trying to decide what we could do that would be fun because the weather was supposed to be sunny and in the 60's.  I am not prepared to go to the zoo on a sunny Saturday yet so off to Oak Mnt. we went!  The girls loved just being strolled around and looking at all the animals.  I think they were taken aback by some of them but overall really seemed intrigued!  It is SO MUCH FUN to see things through your children's eyes.  No one ever told me just how amazing it is.....well they may have but it's just something you have to experience I guess. :)

A couple days later was my 31st birthday which I spent at home with the girls while Renan was on shift.  I was feeling bummed about being alone ALL day on my birthday but we went up to visit him at the station and he surprised me with a Delicious Bakery Cake that said Happy Birthday Mommy!!  So sweet!!  That is literally all I wanted for my birthday (I am SUCH a fat kid at heart) so I was thrilled.  We fed the girls some icing and they went nuts....naturally...they are MY children.

After that was Valentine's Day and Renan and I took our little Valentine's to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch.  We had just listed our house a few weeks before and we had a showing so we were excited. Turns out BWW is a great place to take kids to eat.  Lots of visual stimulation with all the TVs and it's loud so if  they cry it's ok! We are ALWAYS a spectacle everywhere we go and it was no different here but it was still really fun to have a "family date"

Renan told us earlier in the month about a Fairy Tale Ball they were having at the Calera Library.  He was on shift that day but would be able to be there so I decided to bring the girls.  There were princesses and Disney Characters galore and even some superheros!  This is ridiculous but I was literally swallowing the lump rising in my throat and blinking back the tears that were coming to my eyes seeing my girls in awe over these princesses.  I was such a fan of all that growing up and knowing they were going to experience all of it.......OMG i was not prepared!!!

This month also marked the babies being OUT in the world as long as they were IN my tummy!! 34 weeks! I truly can't believe how fast it has gone.  There are times I long to feel them rolling around in my tummy again but then I can't imagine not having them here to giggle with either! 

These little sisters are the BEST! 

Conte Twins- 6 Months

Half a year.  HALF A YEAR has gone by since I gave birth to my sweet sister bears.  They have made me a better person inside and out.   So this month, just like all the others has flown by.  We started this month by trying solid foods!  Now at our 4 month appointment, Dr. Wright told us we could start solids if we wanted to.  The thought of it was honestly not appealing to me at all.  Selfishly, I knew that I could no longer prop bottles up and continue on with my tasks while they quietly drank.  NO this was going to have to be all hands on deck....and messy. It may be laziness but I just was not ready for that yet so we waited.  During about month 5 I noticed they were drinking more and more at feedings and would even sometimes cry for more after sucking down the bottle. They were also paying more attention to our foods we were eating so Renan and I decided to start simply with Rice Cereal.  This was the reaction we got the first time we tried to give it to them BEFORE the bottle.

Yeah, not a success.  We quickly learned to give them the precious bottle FIRST then offer the cereal.  Worked out a little better!  We then moved on to Oatmeal Cereal with Bananas which they enjoyed.  Saylor had a harder time than Everly trying to figure out the concept but eventually my little baby birds were opening those mouths wide to get some cereal!

In the meantime we had our 6 month doctor appointment.  Renan called me that morning to tell me he was being taken to the ER due to an allergic reaction he was having!! He was alright after an IV of benadryl, and Of course I was concerned for him, 

but my next thought was.....GREAT, single Mama at a Doc. appt with shots.  No Thank You.  I called Ma, and true to form, she jumped right in and met me at the Doc to help with the girls.  Thank goodnesss for Mimi because this was a particularly rough appointment.  Saylor was almost 16 lbs and Everly was almost 17lbs and they were absolutely perfect.  Duh, I didn't need them to tell ME that!  haha! Then came the shots.  We normally get 4 shots each and it generally doesnt bother me because I know that they need them and it's only going to make them healthier babies and protect them.  Well, Dr. Wright suggested the Flu Shot this time due to the high number of Flu cases he has seen.  I definitely agreed so FIVE shots each.  Normally they will bring in 2 nurses at once and we each take a baby and it's done in one fell swoop.  NOT TODAY.  One nurse.  10 shots.  It tore me up.  I had to swallow they lump in my throat and blink back the tears.  My poor babies.  They were champs....quit crying almost immediately and were alseep before we even got to the car. OH and to top it all off, it was literally the coldest day of the year.  10 degrees.  yeah. 

Dr. Wright suggested starting with Orange or Yellow Veggies with our solids so I went to Target to looked at baby food.  I started totaling up how much we would need and I decided it would be much more cost effective for me to make their food.  I went to Aldi and got a whole bag of sweet potatoes for .99 cents and went home and boiled them and pureed them in the food processor.  Spooned them into ice cube trays and froze.  We still have frozen sweet potatoes and we have also branched out to include Green Peas, Yellow Squash, and Oatmeal Cereal with Peaches and Apples. Starting solids is not as time consuming as I thought and although it is messier, we just wash alot more bibs. I love being able to make their food.  It's SO easy, and now that I am no longer nursing them, it gives me a similar feeling of being able to provide food for them in the best way possible.  Hey, I'm not saying I will never buy a jar of baby food, but for now, it's working for us and I feel proud.

We also got their ears pierced this month!! AHH!!  Renan and I have said from the beginning that we could get their ears done at 6 months.  That is when most Doctors will do it, so we figured that was good enough for us.  Well I asked on FB where most people go and found out it was going to be fairly expensive so we decided to wait for a bit.  Well 2 weeks later, I couldn't wait any longer so I called Claires and we headed up to get them done! It was an interesting experience to say the least.  We got there and it was ONE person working.  A young girl who spoke to us by backing away and turning her head to look out the window.  Maybe we smelled...or maybe she did, I'm not sure.  It was very weird. Renan was also in a very weird mood.  I could tell he was not happy with anything that morning and i was getting ticked off because we had agreed on this!! Well,  Come to find out, he was very nervous for his babies.  Bless him.  Anyway, I was hoping for 2 employees so we could do both ears at once. Nope, just the awkward talker girl. Well, my sweet Evie was first up.  She sat in Ren's lap and was still like a little doll while the girl marked her ears.  She was such an angel.  The gun pierced that first ear and that baby lost it.  We were able to quickly get the second ear done and she dried it up just as quick as she started crying and gave us a BIG SMILE.  Love her sweet spirit. 

Then it was Drama--oops, I mean Saylor's turn.  It was a mistake letting her watch sissy get it done.  The second she sat down and the girl came at her with the marker, she was twisting and turning trying to see what they were doing to her.  She wasn't upset, girlfriend was just not going to take this lying down.  She grunted, squirmed, yelled, spit, you name it.  The poor worker was scared to pull the trigger and we just kept saying, "you just gotta do it!" haha!! We finally did it and that girl screamed her fool head off for about 20 seconds, then she was done! I was literally sweating when we left Claire's after spending $118!!!  My gosh I think that is an insanely ridiculous price, but whatever. My angels now have gorgeous little crystals in their ears and hopefully now I won't CONSTANTLY get asked, "Is it a boy and a girl?"  No people.  They wear pink, they wear LOTS of pink.  Two.Girls. Get it straight.  

We have FINALLY gotten through sleep training and it is a glorious thing my friends!! I actually was a guest blogger for my favorite Blog Twin Talk on our adventures, or rather Mis-adventures in sleep training.  yes it was hard, and yes we had things that we would have done differently but we learned from it all.  I want to give a HUGE shout out to my wonderful and patient husband for going all in on this with me and committing to it full force.  We finally get sleep and the babies do too.  Thank you Jesus.  P.S.  If you are a mama, that is overwhelmed by this and feeling discouraged, just take it ONE step at a time.  "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  This was said to me by a Student Life Staff member when I was in high school and I still remember it to this day.  You just have to get started and you CAN do it.  I promise. 

Everly:  This girl is just sweet.  She is quiet, and content playing by herself, but then again she LOVES to laugh at her sissy.  She is still my best eater and my little chunky monkey.  We actually had to trim up her bangs this month because her hair was growing down past her eyes!  She has also learned that she can bang things with her hand so you better watch out or you will get a hand to the eye!!  (But after about 15 minutes your eye will stop burning and watering)  I love you my sweet Evie Grace. 

Saylor:  This girl is just fun.  She is a ball of energy, and it's no secret what kind of mood she is in.  It's either SQUEALS of laughter or SCREAMS of anger.  No in between for my fireball.  She smiles with her whole face and it lights up the world for me.  Her hair has grown enough that she actually has bedhead in the mornings and OH how cute it is.  I love you my Say Say.