A little bit about my boys July 2012 15 months

The boys are now 15 months old and I am terrible for not posting since September, almost a year ago.  I have missed posting important moments of the past year, but I have instead spent my time loving my boys, playing, singing, dancing, feeding, bathing, sleeping, and teaching my brilliant and beautiful boys.   Am I that Mom that thinks her kids are amazing...you betcha!  A little review...

TJ:

15 month stats:

height: 31.5 inches

weight: 26 lb 10 oz

talking:  10 months (first word Mama) Mama, Dada, Maa Moo (Matthew), Raa Raa (Roger), ball, bay-ball (baseball), baa-ball (basketball), oofff (barking), meow, moo, Nana, Pop

Walking: February (10 months)

Teeth - 1st - November 1, the other bottom an top 2 - by January, the other top two, March, the other front bottom teeth - July 12..along with 4 molars- 6 teeth in one week, and we were on a plane to NY.

What a trooper.

Funny things:

Loves baseball....when he is crusty or can't sleep we turn on a baseball game and he immediately calms down..He watched (and i mean carefully watched) a UNC baseball game in person at Carolina in March and then watched 5 innings of their playoff game (My student was pitching) with Pop on the couch until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.  TJ loves golf - watches the majors with Daddy and/or Pop and practices his swing.  He walks around all day swinging his baseball bat or his golf club.  Can we say obsessed?  TJ also loves to dance.  We often turn up the music and dance before and after dinner...current favorite song "Call Me Maybe".  He goes crazy.  TJ loves to climb. I had to take the furniture off of the back deck as he was climbing on it trying to climb out of the deck. Scary.

Matthew:
Height:  31.5 inches
Weight:  26.8 oz
Talking:  10 months - Mama, Moo, Woof....that's about all then around 12 months..."Jay" for TJ and Daaaa For dad.  He can say Nana and Pop.  Matthew can do baby sign language for Please and More.
Walking: 10.5 months..he tends to do things a little bit after TJ...watching and learning.
Teeth:  1st tooth cam in on Halloween (bottom right) with the bottom left 3 days later.  The boys were completely in sync with each other on the teething.  Top teeth were in before his first birthday.  Molars came in July 2012.  He took teething completely in stride.
Funny things:
Matthew is hilarious without even trying to be funny.  I could sit around all day and watch him.  He has been "spinning" since March....He stands in living room, bottle in his mouth, spinning in circles until he falls.  Matthew LOVES music and loves to dance.  The second a song he likes comes on his butt starts moving.  He can "drop it like its hot", back it up, and do his dancey dance...these are all of his special moves.  He loves to climb, can't stand to watch his brother take a nap, loves to poke Roger and adores his trucks.  He loves to touch trucks and wheels...basically anything with an engine and gets super excited when he sees a truck in the parking lot.

Matthew and TJ July 2012 - hanging out in Roger's bed

This lasted approximately 30 seconds before they both thought their "snack table" would make a great surface for dancing.  It was promptly removed from the living room.

TJ enjoying a little sun this summer....very happy little guy.

Matthew loves to be naked....beginning his stripping career early.

These boys continue to light up my life and make me laugh on a daily basis.  They love to fight with each other and play near each other...not quite playing with each other yet!!

Pictures from July 2011

Matthew - 4th of July -10 weeks old

TJ - 4th of July - 10 weeks old

Pictures of the boys at 10 weeks old

Christening Pictures...June 2011



Matthew Paul Henson



Thomas John Henson

Paul, Ellen, Matthew, TJ, Margaret, and Glenn
The God Parents

The Henson's

Me, Richard, Ashley, TJ, & Scott
The God Parents

Shawn, Matthew, and Kristi
The God Parents

The most delicious cakes ever!

Banana and chocolate ganache with butter cream frosting...holy cow!
http://www.sugar-sugarcakes.com/  in Canton..so good and so reasonable!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

First Father's Day for Scott!

So these pictures are obviously from June...but better late than never.  The Christening was wonderful. We had loads of friends and family attend and it was such a special day for us and the boys.  The following day was Father's Day so we were able to have a wonderful weekend.  We were so happy that we could share this with everyone.

Sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As my summer vacation/maternity leave comes to a close, I am so thankful that I was able to spend the first 14 weeks of TJ and Matthew's lives with them.  Every day has been both a challenge and an absolute joy.  I have never worked so hard, laughed so much, and felt so much love.  I am so fortunate that I have two amazing little boys....for about a month these two little angels have really stepped up their game and have worked hard to sleep through the night.
I am still in shock that they are sleeping as well as they do...I know a lot of new parents have babies that do not sleep well and are up all night.  I'm not sure what we have done right or wrong, but for the moment the sleep pattern is working out great.  Every night at about 8:15 we can see the boys getting cranky and sleepy.  we try our best to push them to 9, so that they will sleep later in the morning.  So far this has worked pretty well.Our evening routine is to try to keep the boys awake until 9pm and then bring them to the nursery, swaddle them, and top them off with a little feeding.  By 9:30 Scott puts two little sleeping angels in the crib and Mommy gets ready for bed.  
Matthew, or Matty Moo as we like to call him, is a STUD!  He sleeps through the night almost every single night.  I'm talking between 8-10 hours from one feeding to the next.  Matthew typically wakes up between 7 and 7:30....God Bless him!
T.J. on the other hand typically wakes up between 3 and 3:30..he is not really hungry, he will just nurse for a few minutes, but he really likes to cuddle.  T.J. is very much a Mama's Boy at this stage (I love it) and just wants to be near me.  Whether I sleep with him in my arms in the chair in the nursery or with him in my arms in bed, he sleeps like a champion when he is with me.  I do not hate this at all.....I love this special little time with him.  He will then wake up for good around 7 or 7:30.
Now that I am about to start back to work I am going to miss out on my favorite time of the day.  Since the boys get up around 7, Scott will bring Matthew and TJ into our bed and the four of us will lay there and talk...and boy can these kids talk.  For about 4 weeks now they just chat away.  T.J. likes to mimic the sounds we make.  He really studies our faces and lips and tries to copy it.  It is adorable.  Matthew is LOUD...and he just laughs and laughs and smiles and talks away.  I would love to know what was going through their minds at this time.  This is by far the best time of the day for them....no fussing, no crying, just hanging out.  They tend to stay this way until about 10 or so....just enough time for Mommy to get showered, and ready for the day.

Time Flies

So I have been back to work for over a month now and I'm not sure where the time has gone.  I am out of the house at 7:15 every morning and I don't get home until after 6 most nights, so updating this blog has not been my priority....but I feel so stressed about not updating, that I am going to try to get back in the swing of things.  I have several posts that are in draft form...I just have to add pictures. These are old, but I wrote them in June, July, and August.  Hopefully in the next week I will be able to get up to speed on here and let everyone know what my guys are up to!

11 weeks old....July 2011

These boys are getting so big....so big infact that Mommy hadd to have a little surgery today to repair her busted belly button.  Right now TJ and Matthew are cooing a lot and they are smiling.  TJ is not a big fan of Matthew and gets very jealouse if I hold Matthew. 

We celebrated the 4th of July by cooking out, going for a nice long walk in the neighborhood, and all four of us taking some serious naps.  All in all a great holiday.

11 Weeks old...getting really big!   Matthew on the left and TJ on the right.

 

What the boys have been up to.....

I began this post on July 15th....and I thought I posted it.  Sleep deprived..perhaps.

Since I last wrote the boys have done A LOT!!!  They have traveled to South Carolina, been Christened, been swimming just to name a few.  Mostly though, they have grown...tons!  As of today Matthew is 14lbs 8 oz and TJ is 14 lbs.  They have outgrown all of their 3 month clothes and fit comfortable in 6 and 6-9 month outfits.  I am amazed at the rate at which they are growing.  It is insane.

5am...first Road Trip - off to Myrtle Beach to visit Uncle Paul, Aunt Alli, and Decky!

Hanging out with Aunt Alli

Breast feeding....
Let me start by saying that I am not one of those people that is on a crusade to get everyone they know to breastfeed exclusively.  I have tried my best to just do breast milk, but as much as we are on the go, there is no way I could breast feed for every feeding.  Perhaps if there was just one of them...but with two...it is a sight to see me with the two boys trying to nurse.  It is certainly doable at the house, but there is no chance I will ever attempt that feat in public, especially since they are getting huge!!  Anyway, I love breast feeding..yes, it does but a damper on things sometimes, like when TJ refuses to eat and basically goes on a hunger strike if I can't nurse him...he will actually miss a feeding or two...talk about stubborn. Trust me, there are times when I have wanted to pull the car over and nurse him on the spot, but it is just not possible.
When I first decided to do the breast feeding thing my thoughts were based on how incredibly good the breast milk is for the baby.  The financial aspect didn't hurt either.  At $25 a jar for formula, multiplied by two babies.....we would be broke!  I never expected to have a rewarding feeling with each feeding.  Even in the middle of the night, while I HATE waking up, I love the quality time I spend with my boys. 
I love that the three of us spend quiet time in the middle of the night and I see expressions on their faces that melt my heart.  When Matthew is flipping out and then the instant he realizes what is about to happen, a sudden calm washes over him and he settles in for a good feeding.  TJ will often look up into my eyes and give me the biggest smile I have ever seen...as if he is saying "Thanks Mommy".  I will treasure these moments forever.  I look forward to doing this for a few more months so that I can hopefully provide these boys with a good, healthy start to their lives.  Additionally, I had no idea how amazing the breast feeding thing was for losing baby weight...so ladies that are pregnant...if you are on the fence, I would encourage you to try the breast feeding for a least a few weeks.....it could change your life...I know it has mine. I have never felt better and I feel that there is a connection with my sons that is just between us.