Happy 1/2 Birthday!…a month ago

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I must apologize for my absence. I have gotten so lazy about posting. I actually wrote this blog not long after the boys' 6 month "birthday" but at the time Zach was using our computer for work and by the time he got home in the evening I wasn't in the mood to upload pictures so I never got around to adding pictures and finishing my post. Soooo in other words, its Zach's fault! lol I will be posting this post as well as what I got done of their 7 month post around the same time. I never got around to completely finishing their 7 month post but I'll post what I did get. Enjoy!

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Happy 1/2 Birthday!!! 

We're SIX. MONTHS. OLD!

This last month has been full of fun activities and lots of growing.

(We weren't too keen on having our pictures taken)

Sanford Tate

Nickname: "Sannn-fuuuuuuuuuhd", "Brudder" or "Brotherrrr"
Weight: 17lbs 4oz at their 6 month check up.
Height/Length: 26in (I think)

What have I been up to lately?
- I've got TWO teeth! I started teething at 3 months old and have been a little extra fussy the last month or so but now that these two teeth have cut through, I feel much better.
- I have decided that I don't really like to go to bed immediately (even if I'm really sleepy) so Mommy or Daddy have to come in a love on me a time or two before I finally relax and pass out. Thankfully this only lasts about 10-15 min max.
- I squirm around a lot when I'm asleep and do laps around my crib
- I loooove to stand up
- I like to "plank"
- I'm learning to scoot backwards
- I am really close to sitting up
- When I'm really sleepy, I like to play with my hair
- I like to nap with a blanket up by my face
- I am fascinated with my "junk". I am always grabbing at it. Typical boy!
- I smile all the time
- I like to talk
- I am usually really happy but I know how to work Mommy to get some extra cuddles. I just blame it on the teething.
- I don't care for a Wubbanub (paci) except to chew on its legs.
- I am a daredevil and love to play rough but don't startle me because I become super sensitive in 2 seconds flat.

Smith Taylor

Nickname: "Smiffy", "Brother"
Weight: 19lbs 10oz (that's about a 2 1/2 lb difference)
Height/Length: 26in (I think)

What have I been up to lately?
- I am a super happy baby but I can be stingy on my smiles. While my brother smiles constantly and at anyone, I usually just let a little smirk out every now and then. Well, unless I see my Mommy or my puppies.
- I LOVE my puppies. When I see them I get really giddy and start bouncing around and giggling. Charli is favorite but don't tell BooBoo and Chief.
- I have grown-man gas. It's pretty impressive if I do say so myself.
- I also talk….a LOT.
- I don't really move around much when I sleep. I usually wake up pretty much in the same spot as when I went to sleep.
- Although I'm not dependent on it, I do like my Wubbanub when its nap time or bedtime.
- I am learning to be a little more patient.
- I love to rub my face on your shoulder when I'm sleepy.
- I don't have any teeth yet but I'm chewing (and drooling) on everything.
- I don't really care to do much standing up but I'm working on the whole sitting up thing.

What have we been up to?
- We love jumping in our jumperoo and playing in our walker.
- We are interacting more and more every day. Nowadays, we like to check each other out and smile and giggle at each other. Every now and then we'll even "talk" to each other.
- We are both very ticklish. One of our favorite things is when Mommy and/or Daddy chew, yes, chew, on us. Our feet, legs, arms, hands, belly, anything. We get to cackling and can't stop.
- We don't really like rice cereal but we like real food.
- Lolli and Poppi came to visit. We went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and got to see lots of cool stuff. Dinosaur bones, fossils, mummies, etc. 
-While Lolli and Poppi were here, Mommy and Daddy took advantage of the help and got to have a date night to a Texans vs. Colts game.
- Every Monday, Daddy plays softball with some guys from church so Mommy brings us to the field so we can cheer him on. We think he's the best player on the team. Go Daddy!!!
-Mommy and Daddy met a nice couple from our church who have twin girls. They are a part of a group called the Bay Area Mothers of Multiples and invited us to come to a Halloween get-together. Mommy didn't have our costumes ready quite yet (which we were glad of because it was really hot) but we had fun making lots of friends.
-Our church has Mom & Me play dates about once a month on a Friday morning where moms and their kids meet at someone's house and hang out for a couple of hours. We went for the first time and met lots of other mommies and kids. It was a lot of fun.

Here's some pictures from the last month…

On our date night to a Texans game. Zach went to the restroom and I waited outside. The door of the bathroom was literally right in front of me and somehow he still snuck out without me seeing him. Sneaky sneaky! Can we say #selfie?

We had awesome seats.

JJ Watt was like 40 feet in front of us. We sat directly behind his place on the sideline so we stared at the back of his head every time he wasn't on the field. The guy is MASSIVE!

I had a pretty good lookin' date.

Our awkward picture. #photobomb

The only picture we got from the Museum of Natural Science. But hey, that's a T-Rex behind us. Cool right?

Smiffy boy and his shy grin.

Sanford and his goofy grin.

This child managed to almost get completely out of his diaper before I even realized it.

Yeeeeeaaaaa, so this definitely happened. Just stocking up for the next month or so.

Mommy had to go to the doctor so Daddy watched the boys. When I got back to pick them up, this is what I walked into the job trailer to. I am so thankful that the boys and I have this wonderful man who loves being a daddy and is pretty darn good at it to boot. Be still my heart.

Smiffy just loves his daddy.

Smithy wasn't feeling too good so we got some good cuddles in. I cherish these cuddles.

5 Months Update!

5. Months. Old.

I know I say [type] it every month but seriously, can they really be 5 months old!?!?! I was holding Sanford the other day and he was standing up in my lap and all I could think was "where did my babies go?" Their little personalities have really begun to take shape over the last month or so and even though it makes me a little sad that they're growing so quickly, I just love watching them grow into little men. I am so crazy about these boys! Their smiles, giggles, sweet voices, sticky hands, drool soaked clothes, even stinky diapers just put the biggest smile on my face. Even though I get a little antsy being at home all of the time, I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband who works his tail off so that I can stay at home with them day in and day out. I know so many mommies who would love to be able to do what I do and I hope to never take that for granted. Being a mommy is everything I hoped it would be and so much more. 

Sanford Tate

Nickname: "Sannnn-fuuuuuhd", "Brotherrrr"

Weight: At our 4 month check up (3 weeks ago) I was 15lbs 13oz.

Height/Length: 25 inches

What have I been up to lately?

- I am always smiling.

- I am usually very patient. So much so that Brother usually get's to start his bottle first, gets a clean diaper first, gets tended to first, etc.

- Even though I used to hate doing tummy time, I now prefer to be on my belly. I even prefer to sleep on my belly.

- I am rolling and scooting everywhere. I like to do laps around my crib and pack-n-play.

- I pull everything into my mouth and drool constantly.

- I love to "plank" or "Superman".

- I am VERY strong. I can stand all the way up from lying down if you hold my hands and give me a little pull. I will also stand for several minutes at a time with very little help.

- I am really really close to sitting up on my own.

- I haven't taken a Wubbanub (paci) in weeks.

- Sometimes I have a little trouble winding down to go to sleep at bedtime but once I'm asleep, I can sleep 12+ hours easy. I get it from my Mommy. She usually has to wake me up to eat in the morning because Brother (still) almost always wakes up first. 

- I am reaching and grabbing at anything and everything. I try to hold my own bottle and help Mommy spoon feed me my cereal and fruit too. 

- I wasn't too sure what to think about plain cereal but when mommy adds a little fruit to it I like it a little better. Its still not my favorite but I'm getting there. 

- I almost always spit up after I eat. And it is usually a good bit. I'm just making sure Mommy doesn't forget how to do laundry.

Smith Taylor

Nickname: "Smiffy", "Brother", "Tubby", "Tubba-Tub"

Weight: At our 4 month check-up I weighed 17 lbs. 

Height/Length: 25 inches

What have I been up to lately:

- Although I learned how to roll over about a month ago, I didn't actually start doing it regularly until this last week. I still don't do it a whole lot but I am becoming more and more mobile with each passing day.

- I still looooove my mommy. I am a momma's boy through and through.

- I am still the more impatient one of the two of us. Mommy knows that as soon as she sits me down to feed me, I'm going to get upset quick. She's got it down to a science though. She can sit me down on my Boppy, tuck a burp cloth under my chin, stick my bottle through my handy dandy bottle pillow thing, and get the bottle to my mouth in about 5 seconds. Pretty impressive even though I still give her a hard time. What can I say? I like to eat.

- I am a very happy baby, smiling and giggling more and more, but I am still bossy.

- I love the sound of my own voice. I love to squeal, especially in the evening.

- I used to love my Wubbanub (paci) but recently I have lost interest and only take it occasionally.

What have we been up to lately?

- We set up our other crib so now we have lots of room to ourselves. We were sleeping 10-12 hours a night at 3 months old but as we got older (and bigger) we started waking each other up during the night and really early in the morning. As soon as Mommy and Daddy separated us we started sleeping through the night again and have been since. We love having all that room!

- We have started eating cereal and fruit this month. We started out eating just cereal and eventually moved to bananas. Now we're eating applesauce mixed with cereal too. Mommy bought us some pears but hasn't had a chance to cook them up for us yet. (Hopefully they don't go bad before she gets around to it :) )

- Daddy says both boys are just like Mommy; Sanford is Mommy's goofy side and Smith is Mommy's stubborn, demanding side. She agrees even though she won't admit it to Daddy.

- We are interacting more and more with each other these days. Sometimes we talk to each other and giggle at each other. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever.

- We have really started to take an interest in our toys lately.

- We love our puppies. They make us laugh! Especially when they give us kisses.

- We took our first trip to Auburn a few weeks ago. We met up with Mommy and Daddy's friends Jim and Kendell and their little girl, Ella. Daddy and Jim went to the game while us kids stayed with our mommies and spent the day at our Uncle Kevin and Aunt Julie's house in Auburn. There were lots of other kids there and everyone wanted to hold us. We didn't mind but were worn out by the end of the day. It was a really quick trip but we had fun visiting our future alma mater. War Eagle!

- We got to spend the night with Lolli & Poppi the first couple of nights and then went to Momma Rose & HeDaddy's lake house before we came back to Texas. We can't wait to go back!

It was really hot but we had to get some pictures in front of the Auburn University sign.

The whole group.

In front of Samford Hall.

Our sweet little family in front of Samford.

Zach and Jim in their seats not long before the storm rolled in.

Their view. Not too shabby.

Our cousin Caroline is going to be a big sister pretty soon so she was getting some practice.

At the Lake before we headed to the airport.

Group picture on the dock. We were sad to be leaving.

Our first time trying cereal. The pictures on the left are their first reactions and the pictures on the right are what they thought after a few bites. Obviously one enjoyed it more than the other.

This boy always has to be doing something with his hands. He kept either grabbing his feet or trying to help me spoon feed him so I gave him his own spoon to hold. It did the trick for a little while.

This boy loves to eat.

Such big boys.

Sanford may not be a huge fan of cereal but he loves to smile.

That cereal must have had Benadryl in it because this boy passed out in the middle of his lunch.

Smith is enjoying having lots of room in his own bed.

Sanford doesn't seem to mind either. Afterall, he is the wiggle worm.

That darn arm just wouldn't stay in his PJs.

Smithy playing in his bed.

Wearing our red, white, and blue in honor of Patriot Day. We may not be old enough to remember but we will never forget.

Enjoying the Houston heat.

After church with Mommy.

Smithy says its nap time.

Sleepy boy.

Having fun playing in our room.

15 minutes later and Smith is still going strong but Sanford is down for the count.

Typical.

Sanford "planking" - He can, and does, hold this position for 5+ minutes at time. 

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In the last month, the boys have both grown so much. We have quickly moved into that "fun age". Not that before this last month they weren't fun, but they interact soooo much more nowadays and that makes it more and more fun. I can't believe that in less than a month, I will have two SIX MONTH OLDS! It just doesn't seem real. Until then...