There were definitely days early in my pregnancy when this moment seemed like a distant dream. Today (they are exactly 9 months old today) Molly and Clara have been here with us for as long as I was pregnant. Back when I was six weeks pregnant and petting water buffalo in upcountry Thailand (in hindsight, probably not my best decision), I couldn't picture what this time in my life would be like. And yet it feels like it snuck up on me so quickly.
It has been such a fun month with Molly and Clara. A week ago, I came home from work and I swear they had changed. Suddenly I saw little girls in their faces rather than babies. Seriously - it felt like it happened that fast. For the first time they seemed to both understand so much of what was happening around them. They seem more observant, more silly, more patient (ish..kind of). Though, still not terribly content with their lack of...ummm...mobility. No crawling, no standing. But man do they want to get themselves around! The frustration is palpable.
Last Thursday right before bed the girls were sitting in the living room with me and got the absolute giggles. The kind of can't-stop-don't-want-to-stop giggles that had nothing to do with me. They were just looking at one another, making squeaks and squawks, and giggling like their sister was the funniest thing there ever was. It turned my sappy momma-heart to mush.
This month we also discovered that when all else fails, we can stick them in a laundry basket for 10 minutes of peace and baby fun.
The big event of the month, of course, was Christmas in Madrid with our families. I was sad to see that vacation end, though the girls were not sad to say farewell to their despised winter coats. The flight home left me pining for the day in the future when they'll be entertained with a DVD player and some snacks, but there's no getting around the fact that long plane rides are crazy boring for 8-month-olds.
On the food front, I'm incorporating a lot more variety into their meals, especially since they ate everything from quiche to croquetas in Spain. It's definitely more challenging now that I don't just put a bunch of carrots in the blender. In the morning they'll have fruit, yogurt, or oatmeal. At lunch, vegetables and grains, beans or even a little pasta mashed up. Cheerios are a huge hit and they are getting better with small bits of finger foods. Even with a lot of variety in the flavors, I find this puree thing to be pretty boring, so I'm ready for the next step. I think Molly and Clara are too.
Miracle of all miracles, when we got back from Spain, the girls took about three days to sort themselves out and went right back to sleeping like champions through the night. Since we were already jet-lagged, I also took the opportunity to coax/prod/cajole the girls into a much better schedule involving two naps during the day. Turns out they were totally ready and now they sleep between 1 to 1.5 hours at 9am and 1pm and it. is. awesome. We also pushed their bedtime closer to 7pm which means a 7am wake-up. Sometimes they wake up a bit early and play around or "talk" to each other in their cribs until we come in. This has also been glorious because I now get ready for work before 7am without entertaining babies and my mornings feel way less chaotic.
I can see them learning so much every day. Their babbbababa, dadada, and mamamas are starting to sound more like real language. During the day with their nanny and the network of kids, nannies, and parents in our building they hear Thai, Burmese, and Nepali, so there might be some real words mixed in there that Frank and I don't understand! It's quite a linguistic melting pot for these Bangkok-born ladies.
After such a nice break away from Bangkok, we're appreciating the beautiful weather (it's been in the 70s many days!) and all the great things about this city. Frank and I are having so much fun with Molly and Clara, and loving all this time we have together as a family of four now that Frank is finished with business school!
For More Updates on Molly and Clara:
Liz
Oh Jessie, Molly and Clara are just so precious. I love them. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day.
Jess
Thans so much Liz - hope you're doing well!
MaggieFisher
Jess, again, such very wonderful pix of your twin girls. You and your husband must be overjoyed as they seem to grow up and become more active sometimes just overnight. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful family with all your on-line guests.
Maggie
Karista
Oh how completely adorable they are! What precious little girls! This was always my favorite baby age with my girls, right before they started crawling and scampering around. Such a fun age. Thank you so much Jess for sharing!
Jess
It really is, Karista - 9 months is SO fun - I'm trying to enjoy every minute.
Mary Ann
They are such beautiful babies!
Jess
You're so sweet - thank you Mary Ann!
Claire @ Claire K Creations
Jess they are just adorable. I can see their little girl faces now too. Don't they just grow up too quickly. I bet you had a few tears at them making each other laugh. It's just so much fun watching the little ones grow and develop and explore! I hope they learn to crawl together or one of them is going to be mighty annoyed!
Jess
It's amazing - I do suddenly feel like something flipped, and I'm totally like so many other mommas - saying that it all happens too fast! The crawling is going to be a real adventure, and you're right - really wild if/when one learns before the other one!
Ashley
My gosh, they are just too precious! Jess they seriously are so adorable! I can't believe how big they are - it feels like just yesterday they were little teeny tiny newborns!
MM
Rub-a-dub-dub two girls in a tub and don't they look happy 🙂
Carlayn @ glutenfreehappytummy
awwwww they are so so so precious!!