My dearest little babies –

Today you are six months old!  I can’t believe how big you are.  I can’t believe how much you’ve changed in these few weeks.  I can’t believe I’ve survived on the (very small) amount of sleep you’ve allowed me!

Alex, you are the cutest little guy.  You are cheery and smiley, and you laugh so easily.  You are drooling all the time, and you love to chew on fabrics (washcloths, Mommy’s shirts, your clothes, blankets, whatever!).  You can roll like a champ now, but it freaks you out when you wake up on your belly.  It’s made for some screaming crises in the middle of the night recently.  We hope you adjust quickly!  You still love your cereal, but you have this funny “that’s-not-cereal” face that you make when we put something different in your mouth.  Of course, you still swallow it, but you make it abundantly clear that you know it isn’t oatmeal! 

You’ve started to talk more and work on grasping things more.  And you love your Daddy.  Your whole face lights up when you see him!  And just between us, he thinks you’re pretty spectacular, too!  You have such a fun personality, and you’re already such a boy.  I think you’ll be very adventurous and will get frustrated when you can’t figure out how to accomplish what you’ve decided you want to do.  And from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think you’ll ever stop moving.  Mommy’s going to be very tired from chasing after you once you get mobile (which will be very soon, I’m sure!).

Sweet Erin, you are Mommy’s pretty girl.  You are so similar to your brother and yet are totally different, too.  You love to grab things.  When you strain for objects just out of your reach, your little knees come up underneath you.  That’s the beginning of a crawl, my lady baby, and I’m excited to watch you inch (literally) toward moving on your own.  You jabber all the time!  The ladies in the nursery commented over and over how much they love listening you talk.  You like blowing raspberries, and you have successfully learned your first consonant (“da-da-da” of course!).  Daddy loves pretending that you mean him when you say that!  You are still my snuggly baby, and it makes Mommy’s day when I get a few minutes to cuddle with you, especially when you’re tired.

You did not take to solid food as well as your brother, at least until this week.  This week, Mommy tried making your oatmeal with apple juice instead of water.  And now you can’t get enough!  But you seem to like flavors more than Alex.  You love applesauce, prunes, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  It’s so fun to watch each new flavor adventure!  You are rolling over all the time now, too.  And last night, for the first time, you slept all night on your tummy.  You are such an amazing little sweetheart!

Erin and Alex, how strange it is to think back to the Monday morning you were born (at 7:52 and 7:54) and remember the scrawny, wrinkly little wonder-bundles that invaded our lives.  And you were an invasion!  You totally took over our lives.  You make Mommy and Daddy’s world so full, so exciting, and yes, so tiring, but we love that you’re here!  Because all of that is part of the bond we have.  We became a family in name when you joined us, but we’ve become a family in reality because we’ve all survived together.  You won’t even remember these first months of fighting together towards the next goal (creating a schedule, sleeping through the night, rolling over, eating cereal), but they’ve bonded us all the same.  I can’t wait to see what we can overcome together!

So, my babies, until the next milestone month (or whenever Mommy next has time to write you a letter like this), just keep on growing, trying new things, and taking up more and more of my heart.  I love you, little ones.  Daddy loves you.  Jesus loves you.  You are amazing, wonderful little people, and I can’t wait to see where we go in the next six months!

Love,
Mommy