Large and In Charge

I guess it is hitting me that the boys are growing up really fast because I can't get over how big they are these days! Not only size-wise (see more comparison pictures below), but they are doing new things every day. Remember how they were refusing to eat foods with new textures only a week ago? Well all of a sudden they will eat just about anything -- grilled cheese, soft pretzels, deli chicken, cheese. It was literally overnight that they decided they were ready for grown-up foods and now they are starting to refuse being spoon-fed too. Where have our babies gone??

One thing I have learned this year is that it's a waste of energy to worry and stress about the exact moment your child hits developmental milestones. Obviously we have been very conscious of the boys' development because of their prematurity, and of course there is always a point at which you should be concerned about delayed development, but in general I think kids will do something when they are ready. Tyler was army crawling for a good three weeks while Max showed no interested whatsoever. I started to get stressed and was thinking "Poor Max is going to start crawling so much later than Tyler," when in fact Max ended up being the first to crawl on his hands and knees (only one day before Tyler). Turns out Max skipped the whole army crawling phase and went straight to real crawling -- and my worries about it were pointless. The same thing happened with eating finger foods and pulling up on furniture and cruising. One day they just did it -- when they decided they were ready. All babies are unique and there is a much bigger time frame of what's considered "normal" than most of us realize (or are comfortable with). Although it is common to associate walking with a child's first birthday, it is actually considered "normal" to begin walking anytime before 16-18 months. I think all parents want their children to excel and be ahead of the curve (understandably), but it is important to remember that children are unique individuals and could care less about our time frame. The best we can do is provide them with a safe, loving, stimulating environment -- and then sit back and enjoy watching them learn and grow.

Tyler and Max on their boppys at 10 weeks old and 4 1/2 pounds

Still on their boppys for bottle time at 12 months old and 18 pounds. Ha!

Their very first micro-preemie sized diaper and their current size 4 diaper

Max in the micro preemie diaper

Max in the size 4 diaper