4 Months of Amazing

On Thursday, Gavin and Aiden celebrated their four month birthday. I, of course, subjected them to more pictures with the monkey (we use a stuffed animal monkey to show their month to month growth). You'll notice that the monkey is not looking very big. When the boys were two weeks old the monkey looked huge! In fact, I am confident that it was almost bigger than them.

Reaching four months meant that the boys also got to go in for another well baby check-up on Friday. Something funny happened while we were in the waiting room before the boys' appt. There was a mother leaving with her baby. It was a baby girl, and it appeared to be her first appt. after coming home from the hospital. Compared to Gavin and Aiden, the baby looked tiny. This made me realize two things, 1) This was the first time that Gavin and Aiden looked big compared to other babies, and 2) Gavin and Aiden not only used to be that small, but they were even smaller. People always tell me that you never quite remember how small your babies used to be. It has only been a couple months and I have already forgotten (and am perfectly okay with that). Looking at those early pictures of Gavin and Aiden is so hard now, but also an incredible reminder of how far they have come. They are truly amazing little guys, and we couldn't love them more. Okay, enough sappy stuff.

Since we have been working hard at fattening our boys up, I was really excited about our appt. I couldn't wait to hear what the doctor had to say about their weight gains. At their last check-up, two months ago, Gavin weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz and Aiden weighed 6 lbs, 2 oz. On Friday, Gavin weighed 11 lbs, 10 oz and Aiden weighed 11 lbs, 6 oz. [I am sure you noticed that Gavin reclaimed his title of "Bigger Baby." He let Aiden keep the title for about a week, but day by day he slowly chipped away at the lead. Don't worry, he didn't gloat.] The doctor was recording their new statistics and said that Aiden's length (21 1/8") was good. Then he saw Aiden's weight gain and described it as "impressive." I was a very proud mommy. He was also very pleased with Gavin's growth (he is now 22" long). Since the boys' weight gain is not a problem, we can continue to let them have their new found 7-9 hour nightly sleeping stretch. The doctor saw no reason to wake sleeping babies, and we support his decision 100%.

The two pictures show Aiden (top) and Gavin (bottom) in their car seats before we left for their appt. Notice how excited they are to go to the doctor...are those looks of apprehension or just sheer terror?

Littler No More!

Aiden has some big news to smile about, which is totally possible since both boys are social smilers now. While he is still, and will always be, the younger brother, he is no longer the "little brother." That's right folks, Aiden has passed Gavin in the weight category. At last night's weigh in Aiden was 10 lbs, 7 oz while Gavin was 10 lbs, 5oz. This is quite an accomplishment for Aiden because he has been working to catch his brother since birth. Aiden is being quite modest about the whole thing, "It is just nice to be the same size as Gavin, and for Mom and Dad to call me 'Big Boy' now too."

Gavin is proud of of his younger brother, and has been rooting for him to match weights from the beginning. When asked to comment on their new sizes Gavin said last night, "I think it is cool that he is finally bigger, but I have a feeling this is not the end of the story. I plan to catch him and retake my title as the bigger baby."

In a related story, Steve the cat miraculously lost 2 oz and is now 17 lbs even. How that possibly happened no one knows.

Sooooo Big!

As the boys continue to get bigger, their personalities are really starting to show more. For those of you who have been reading about the boys from the beginning, I think you may be surprised to read that they seem to have swapped some of their earlier personality traits. Here is a recent picture of Gavin and Aiden sporting their Thing 1 and Thing 2 onesies. Aside from the twin factor, these onesies seem appropriate because you just know that one day Gavin and Aiden are going to get into all kinds of mischief like the characters Thing 1 and Thing 2. If Steve somehow acquires a hat, then I will really be concerned.

In the hospital Gavin seemed very laid back, which was probably our perception because for the longest time all he seemed to do was sleep. Gavin is no longer Mr. Chill and has taken to being quite a crybaby (an absolutely adorable and sweet crybaby). In his defense, Gavin also seems to be a very gassy baby which leads to a lot of discomfort [Feel free to insert your own joke about how gassy his parents are here]. Gavin by no means cries all the time and is quite a happy and content baby much of the time. He does seem to tire easily though and once he gets overtired or overstimulated then he gets upset. Gavin fights going to sleep because now that he is awake more he doesn't want to miss anything. In addition to crying, Gavin makes a great wookie noise. Imagine what Chewbacca would sound like as a baby and that is the noise Gavin makes. Although both boys are getting very good at lifting up their heads, Gavin appears to have better control of his head and can be quite impressive during tummy time. The picture above shows Gavin exercising his lungs while Aiden considers joining in.

Aiden is not innocent in the gas or noise making categories. In fact, he is gassier and much more vocal than his brother. Both boys have earned nicknames such as Stinks, Mr. Stinks, Stinker, Stinky, you get the picture. As far as noises, Aiden still grunts, chirps, and squawks, but has added to his repertoire snorts, squeaks, coos, and squeals. He is particularly loud at night when he makes all sorts of noises in his sleep. You can only imagine what kinds of dreams he must be having. Gavin probably wonders how he ended up with such a chatty bedfellow. Thankfully both boys are still able to sleep through the other's noises. Aiden is still a very curious little guy and particularly enjoys looking at light fixtures and drapes (perhaps I should curb my HGTV watching). Sometimes he will be looking at something, but we have no idea what (like in the picture above). Unlike Gavin, Aiden easily falls asleep on his own in a number of different, sometimes strange, places.

Current Statistics:
Gavin: 9 lbs, 13.5 oz, 21" long
Aiden: 9 lbs, 12 oz, 20.75" long