A Long Overdue Update

It's been so long since I've written about the boys. I don't even know where to begin. They are 13 1/2 months old now (10 months corrected in 3 days). We went to the doctor today because of allergies. Alex is 18 lbs. 13 oz. and Spencer is 15 lbs. 7 oz. He is really taking off with growth now, getting chubbier every day. He loves to eat, and eats just about anything I offer. Alex is a pickier eater, but it doesn't seem to be hurting his growth.

We've been living with family since the boys came home from the hospital. On May 1st we moved out on our own, into a little two bedroom house in a quiet village. We are still getting settled, but it's coming together. It's wonderful to have our own space, and so much of it. I even have my own washer and dryer in the basement. How lucky am I?!!

On May 2nd my father passed away of congestive heart failure. It was a shock and I still can't believe he's gone. He was Alex's and Spencer's Bhapu (that's Sanskrit for father). He was so loving with them. I have a picture of him down on the floor laying side by side with Spencer, playing. I'm so thankful that he knew them, but it makes me very, very sad that they're too young to be able to remember him when they're older. My father loved his grandchildren so much, and it showed. I hope that wherever he is, in spirit, he is watching them and smiling.

We celebrated Mother's Day by taking my mom out for a big brunch. My sister, her husband, four of their children, myself, and Alex and Spencer all went together. My mother is a wonderful mom and grandmother. She gives so much of herself, so much love, so much positive energy. We are blessed to have this bright, beautiful, spiritual, intelligent, loving woman as our matriarch. A lot of what I do as a mother to Alex and Spencer comes directly from what I learned from my mom. I get a lot of compliments on being a good mother, so thanks Mom for teaching me how to love.

Alex now has four teeth. He got his first one the six days after his first birthday. Spencer got his first tooth the weekend we moved into our house. They are both feeding themselves things like Cheerios and bread cubes. We are working on getting switched to whole milk. They eat a lot of vegetables, fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, and chicken, among many other things. I'm trying to instill good eating habits in them early on so they'll have them for life.

Alex and Spencer both babble a lot, primarily saying "da da da da da" to which I respond "ma ma." Alex just laughs at me when I do that. They have conversations with each other. They've become such good buddies. I love watching them play together, even when they're playing tug of war with a toy. Why is the toy Spencer has never as good as the one Alex has? I have finally separated them into two beds. They are rolling around so much that they were disturbing each others' sleep. I can't believe how much they've grown. They've come so far. One year ago Spencer weighed 2 lbs. 8.5 oz. and Alex was 3 lbs. 1 oz. What miracles they are!