Curly Hair Don't Care
As long as I can remember I have had curly
hair, so basically my entire life. When I was baby I had little wispy curls and
it was mainly wavy curly until I got a little older. I think that was in part
due to the fact that as a kid I wore my hair in braids and pony tails most of
the time and then when I got to middle and high school I actually wanted to do
my hair and learned how to do it. I remember being on spring break my 7th grade
year and this older girl with gorgeous hair showed me how she used gel and a
diffuser to style her hair. I had no clue what she was talking about and I am
sure my mom tried to teach or tell me about styling my hair a million times
before this but since I thought this girl was SO cool I listened to her and
tried it. I remember being so shocked at how curly my hair was! From that point
on I began the love/hate relationship with my curly hair that most curly headed
people can relate to. Now, back to my children because that’s what this post
is supposed to be about. When we got pregnant I remember specifically one time
Matt and I were at the movies and there was a little boy in the movie with dark
curly/wavy hair and we both talked about how much we would love it if our kids
had curly hair. Hattie definitely has the best of both worlds right now, it can
get very curly but also can be pulled straight easily...I’m actually kinda
jealous of my 6 year olds hair, weird right? Rhett has a good head of hair, its
thick, curly when it’s longer and makes him awfully sweaty. So we got our boy with
dark curly hair that’s for sure! His can also appear to be straight sometimes,
especially when it’s cut short and he can also pull off the “Bama Bangs”. He is
pretty much destined to be an SEC baseball player at this point with his hair
alone. And now the twins are showing signs of curly locks. The curls really
started to pop out when the humidity got high in Florida and it was the most
adorable thing ever. I don’t know for sure, but I do think both of their hair
seems lighter and curlier than the older two did at this stage. They might be
close in color to Hattie’s hair at this point but the curls are definitely
coming out in full force. I do hope my kids have to suffer with the curls that
I have had to forever. People love curly hair, except the people who have it.
We always tend to want what we don’t have, so no matter what their hair ends up
looking like I am determined to make sure they love their hair no matter how it
ends up. And if that doesn’t work, I will find an older boy/girl who they look
up toward to help them style it because their mom I’m sure won’t know what’s
cool at that point anyway.
Pool Water Trumps Bath Water
So this is weird. The twins are still HATING
the tub. Like screaming, trying to climb out like slippery wet noodles being
scrubbed, washed and rinsed as fast as possible...YET they LOVE the pool. SAY
WHAT? Yeah, I thought for sure there was no way they would be okay with getting
in the pool. They would scream, try to jump out of our arms, cry and squeeze
onto us for dear life. After all, that is what Hattie and Rhett did at this age
in the pool. These two? Nope, no way. They LOVED it. In fact, they tried
pushing off of us, did not want to be held and wanted to just swim and splash
on their own. They did not really like being in floaties too much because they
couldn’t splash or move around as much maybe? Not sure on that one, but they
splashed and kicked and wanted to just take off swimming on their own which
took us for a total surprise. Every single time we go to the pool, they laugh, splash and have the
best time...every single time we attempt a bath they scream, cry and try and
climb out of the tub. It’s painful and I just hope that soon they will like
bath time again. I know I talked about this in the last monthly update, but the
fact they loved the pool and still hate the tub just boggles my mind!
Tricksters
Every month in the first year seems to bring
lots of new tricks and excitement. This month did not disappoint. Most of the
things the twins are learning are not the same as each other and I love it.
However, I do find myself trying to get the other twin to do the trick the
other one has been working on. For example, one of Harlow’s new things is to
stick her tongue out like a puppy dog. I find myself asking Ryne all of the
time to do this trick too and he just laughs at me. Ryne was doing “soooo big”
before Low and I kept asking her how big she was and she would just look at me
and clap. It’s exciting watching them look at you for feedback if they are doing
what you ask and then not really caring if they aren’t. It’s quite hilarious if
you think about it, I’m just sitting there saying “Low Low, where’s the puppy?”
and I am SO pumped when she sticks her tongue out and pants like a puppy and
then when Ryne puts his arms up in the air because he wants me to ask how big
he is and just smiles so happy when I do. I lead quite the exciting life let me
tell you. Back to comparing these tricks, I know they are two individual people
who will develop at different rates, have different interests and talents. If
there weren’t two of them I wouldn't think any differently about each new trick
I’m sure of it. A few tricks though they have mastered together and a few they
both are still in the dark on and honestly I can’t remember at what age the
other two mastered those so I don’t even worry about it. And let’s be real,
these aren’t major milestone tricks...so I’m not worrying about their
development at all. A few tricks I am excited to see them learn is blowing
kisses, a few baby sign language phrases, saying “Mama” (come on, enough with
this Dada stuff guys who was the one that carried you two for 9 months?) and of
course being able to walk. Even though I am sure I will regret that last one on
some days I am excited to see them do it. I will be going every which way when
we go anywhere following after them and it will be crazy, I know that. I do
think there will be positives about them walking though too...or so I think.
Stay tuned for an updated post on walking pros and cons!
Dun, Dun, Dun...Tantrums
And so it begins. These two sweet little ones
of ours are beginning to show they have an opinion and they don’t like it if
yours is not the same as theirs. Ryne throws a full on fit if a toy he has gets
taken away. Now, he only gets the toy taken away if it is something he should
not have or could be dangerous. He also gets very mad if he is told no about
something he is doing and then gets removed from that item. He looks at you,
screams, cries and throws his hands up and down really fast. Harlow on the
other hand isn’t quite as dramatic but when any of these same things happen to
her she tenses up, straightens her arms and legs straight out and clenches her
entire body and does some type of scream/shout noise and then moves on fairly quickly
after that. These fits are definitely not ones that are out of fear when I get
up and leave the room, they (mostly Low) still do that and cry and kinda flip
out but this is more them showing that they are not happy with what just
happened and they don’t understand what else to do. It’s hard as a parent to
see this happening but you also know that it’s a normal emotion to have and
they need to experience it. I of course just want to give them the toy they are
upset about or let them bang on the TV but the end result of those two things
could be so much worse if they choke or get hurt, plus what is that teaching
them? We have to learn to say “no” to our kids but hopefully we learn to say
“yes” and praise them more than we scold them. Raising kids is a learning
process every single day and none of us really know what we are doing, but
trusting your instincts has to be pretty right on.
Baby Proofing 101 or 201 or 301
(shouldn't we know this by the 3rd and 4th kids?)
Speaking of testing your limits and saying
“no” we have entered the attempting to climb the stairs, furniture, toys,
anything they can, opening drawers and cabinets, shutting drawers and cabinets,
sometimes on their fingers, pulling anything and everything down and out off
tables, inside boxes and baskets and who knows what else. When Rhett began
crawling my grandma and her friend made a piece of quilted fabric with loops on
all four ends that we attached to our stairs and the wall next to the stairs.
Our stairs are uneven and wouldn’t fit a traditional gate and we needed
something to keep him from climbing the stairs. We pulled that bad boy back out
again a couple of months ago and up until this last month they really didn’t
pay much attention to it. They have recently realized that the stairs are
behind that blue and white thing and that Hattie and Rhett go up there and
don’t come back but they hear them playing. The twins have begun to try and
figure out a way around the gate and get stuck trying to do so and then cry and
get upset. We also are seeing them try and climb up on top of the furniture,
they have not been successful just yet but I know in no time they will. When it
comes to opening and shutting drawers and cabinets I get a little worried about
smashing fingers, breaking things inside and getting something that could hurt
them. We have been able to keep our cabinets somewhat secured and they can pull
it open a little but it immediately shuts on them. As for the drawers, we have
not figured out a way to keep them from opening them. I am thinking we need to
invest in something to keep the drawers closed. In fact, while I typed this I
went to Google and looked it up and saw these. I just sent Matt a text to look while
he just so happened to be at Target and to grab some if he hasn’t already left.
Hopefully they will work, or I will keep searching for a possible
solution.Until then I will continue to just brush my teeth with my legs or feet
holding a drawer closed or washing dishes with my leg contorted behind me
keeping another drawer closed until they lose interest and move on to the next
thing.
Harlow and Ryne's 11 Months Old Milestone Pics
