13 Months

I really cannot believe my babies are thirteen months!

Here's what Garrett and Rhys are up to these days...

Rhys is our little investigator. He is extremely curious, and MUST know what is happening at all times. When you pick him up, he immediately twists his body so he is facing out because heaven forbid you impede his view by facing him towards you.

Rhys was the first to crawl, and as a result he is very speedy. This is not good news for Garrett, because when a toy catches their eyes, Rhys is always the first to get there (and of course, even though we have a million toys, they are always both after the same one!) Rhys can be a bit of a bully actually. He is known to attack Garrett, grabbing toys out of his hands, climb over him and knock him over. To be honest, it's quite hilarious to watch although I'm sure Garrett would not agree.

Rhys is our "anomaly". We call him that because his personality is quite a bit different than Garrett and Rylen who are like two peas in a pod. Rhys is the definition of "easy baby". He sleeps well (not through the night yet, but MUCH better than his brother), can put himself to sleep with no bells and whistles (unlike Garrett who needs you to rock him, sing to him, do the YMCA and stand on your head in order to fall asleep) and is a really good eater. If all babies were like Rhys, the world population would skyrocket!

We also call Rhys "Tank" since he's about 3 pounds heavier than Garrett and very stocky. He eats like a horse and so enjoys his food: "num num num num num num" he says enthusiastically while wolfing down his meals. He is a very vocal eater. I often wonder if that is a result of his days of being NPO (not allowed to eat) in the NICU...it makes him much more appreciative of food.

Rhys is a bit of a "mama's boy". I'm not complaining, I think it's super adorable. He often follows me around saying "mum mum mum mum".

Garrett, is our little "Tiny". He is the cutest, most cuddliest little monster ever. And it's a good thing too! Cause, this little man doesn't sleep or eat well and can be a very challenging little boy! He does make up for it by being ultra adorable though. This guy is 18 lbs full of smiles, cuddles and laughs. He's pretty much smiling all the time (unless he is mad, in which case he can scream the house down in a matter of seconds). As an example, recently we all had the stomach flu (what fun). Immediately after projectile vomitting, Garrett would just look at us with a huge grin on his face as if stomach flu was the funnest thing ever. I love that kid.

Garrett is about a month or two behind Rhys as far as "milestones". But that doesn't stop him. He finds a way to keep up as best as he can. He is definitely strong willed and determined. About a month ago he learned to crawl on all fours (previously he was doing the army crawl thing) and he thinks its the greatest thing ever. He also loves to crawl under things and over things... in fact, before he even knew how to crawl, I caught him on top of a diaper box. No clue how he got up there, but he was super proud of himself. He has also just learned to pull himself into standing position, another milestone he is just so thrilled with.

Garrett is quite entertained by Rylen. Those two have such similar personalities it's almost uncanny. Parenting Garrett is like parenting Rylen all over again (which kind of scares me sometimes!)

Garrett often reminds me of a little puppy. He kind of wiggles when he crawls with itty bitty steps, and he is always carrying stuff in his mouth...socks are his favorite.

We are noticing more and more every day that Garrett and Rhys like to do things together. It's rare that they are off in different directions. Usually, one is following the other...to the window to look out, to the toys, under the table, to the dishwasher... these guys like to travel in pairs. It's pretty cute.

I have to say that I love this age. Garrett and Rhys are so much fun and it's so entertaining to watch them explore and interact with eachother. I could seriously watch them all day long!