Who They Are Now--9 Months

Everyday I tell Braxton and Brinkley that I have loved them my whole life. And I have. I dreamt of them, wished for them, and prayed for them a million times before they were ever even conceived and before I ever met their daddy, for that matter. I've tried to live my life deserving of them. I've tried to be the person they would be proud of. I'll never win a Nobel prize, I'll never acquire fame or fortune, but my contribution to this world will be them. Each day I am aware of my task, my duty, my honor--to love them and to teach them. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

It's official, they have now been outside of my body longer than they were inside of it! Such a crazy thought, because those were the loooooooongest 8 months of my life and now these have been the fastest 9 months of my life. I'm NOT saying my pregnancy was terrible, quite the opposite, it's just so hard, all the worries and milestones you have to get through to bring a baby (or two) into this world--any mom (or woman who desires to be a mom) knows what I'm saying.

They both crawl very proficiently. They stand up next to furniture and "try" to take steps. They both still only have two teeth and they both are sleeping through the night. But, they are also two very different people, unique and genuine...here's why:

Brinkley Jada

Between the baby yoga positions she constantly doing and her jovial, somewhat, ditsy personality, I'm surprised I don't spend my whole day laughing. She's hysterical. She loves to chew on anything she can, especially socks--and even David's toes, GROSS! She says "Hi," all the time and I'm confident that she knows it's a greeting. She has mastered making a snapping/popping sound with her tongue and she thinks it's so funny--it is! She loves spitting out her food...eating is play time for her. She claps her hands and her feet all the time, but if you try to sing "Patty-Cake," she'll stop. She loves to "check people out" before she gives them any emotion. We have this joke that she can beat anyone in a staring contest. She's soft and gentle and totally girly. The other day I found her holding one of Blossom's baby dolls like you hold a real baby and she was gently touching it's face--I thought I was going to tear up, maybe it's time we get her one of her own...and not the dog's. She hates wearing socks. Every day when I come home she gets overcome with excitement and laughs and pumps her arms and smiles from ear to ear, I know she loves me and I'm pretty sure I'm her favorite person on this whole Earth--sorry David! My heart could explode with the love that I have for her.

Braxton Reese

He such a tough guy with a soft heart. He's a tank. He's so big and sturdy. When he eyes something across the room and takes off crawling for it you can feel the ground move and he rarely even notices obstacles in his way, including Brinkley. He's so tender. He lets me hold him and sing to him before he goes to sleep. He loves to yodel and has mastered moving his finger back and forth between his lips to make a "fun" noise. He says, "Maaaaa, Maaaaa, Maaaa," constantly--I don't think he has a clue what he is saying, or that he melts my heart every time he does. He loves looking at pictures, especially framed pictures of our wedding, he can stare at them forever and he loves seeing pictures of himself and Brinkley on the computer. He loves TV and it doesn't matter if it's cartoons or the evening news, he's interested. He loves to eat and is passionate about food. Sometimes he just can't wait for Brinkley to get her spoonful before it's his turn again. He's a ham for the camera and will typically smile for me when there's a lens pointed his way. He loves the bathtub and can non-stop splash for half and hour or more. He'll be coughing up water and there will be water covering the floor and in his eyes and he still wants to splash some more! He's so precious, seriously, I never knew I could love a boy this much, besides his daddy!