9 months

The girls will be 9 months tomorrow, and we're still surviving. We have good days, we have bad days. All the kids, except G, hate sleeping now. V frequently wakes a few hours early and tries to get in bed with us. J has been waking up at 3-5a to nurse again, after refusing to go to sleep for the past couple weeks. V has been playing with them more. They're all mobile, and frequently get into shenanigans together. J is pulling up to stand on things. I'm still nursing, and the girls are eating more solids.

A's job is still rocky, and his job search has not been going well. Everything kept going back to him not finishing his degree. So... he has enrolled back in college. God help us. He's going to be working full time, going to school, and I am going to be even more on my own. If I had the money for a helper, I would hire one, but we don't. I really want V to be ready for pre-school this year, but it doesn't look like he'll be ready. So, we'll have to see how things go. A hasn't scheduled classes yet or anything, so we'll know more after he gets through that process... right now he's just been accepted. I won't lie, I'm scared of what this will mean for our home life. As scared as I am, I know we have no option- he needs a different job, and the only way he is going to do that is to finish his degree.

Ending on a more positive note... these exhausting yet adorable kids:

8 months out

The little misses are eight months. Life is still very full, with moments of intense crazy.

J is a mover. She wants to be mobile; she even started crawling full on the other day! She still prefers squealing, screaming, and whining, to attempts at vocalization. Lots of squealing.

G is a talker. She makes all sorts of noises, babbles, and mimics us. Her latest thing is to blow kisses, she is also trying to clap. She does a sort of lunge, plummet, crawl thing, the same Vincent did before he crawled.

They both are eating some solids (purees and puffs) now, but mostly nursing. Neither have teeth yet. Vincent got his first at 8 months, and according to my baby book I didn't get one until 9 months. The girls can take after me, I am FINE with that. J likes to bite.

Speaking of teething, V is cutting one of his last "two year" molars. Poor kid.

He is.... sigh. We have things to work on. He is awesome, but we have a lot of issues with disobedience and jealousy still. We are addressing it, but it's going to take time. He knows he's been able to get away with certain things because of the babies and my limitations, but we're working harder at consistency now.

I am still struggling a lot, in general. Even eight months out I am still in survival mode, and I'm starting to wonder if it will ever get "easier." Or manageable. I wish I had more help and support.