crazy, crazy eights

Double craziness. Double eights.
Two of our four children are 8 months old.
Two of our four children have been super sick.
They are two of the same.

And this crazy life...has gotten a little bit crazier.
I've been back and forth to the doctors 3 times this week.
Thaddeus currently is on an antibiotic and eyedrops for an eye infection, a suspected ear infection and a touch of pneumonia.
Shepherd is currently on an antibiotic for a double ear infection - one ruptured.
I hate having sick babies.
Sick, but still just so beautiful. 

Beautiful...and getting chunky!! 
At eight months, our two butterballs weigh 19.9 (T)...and 19.8 (S)

Watching them grow and develop really makes you realize how quickly that first year goes by.
I want to record in time some (more) special things with regards to their age:

Shepherd - He is such a special boy.  A true joy.  He is rarely frazzled by anything.  He is ELATED to wake up and see who peeks over his crib at him.  The arms go flapping and the happy squeals fill the room.  And he remains that way pretty much all day long.  Tim and I totally agree that he is/was our easiest baby.  Doesn't fuss about food or naps or getting changed.... In fact, had he not displayed the abnormal behavior of screaming so much one night (we are confident this was the night his eardrum burst) we wouldn't have really known he was sick.  When we found out how bad his ears we just couldn't believe it........ 
Honestly, we aren't bad parents, he's really is just that good of a baby.  

He sits happily anywhere we put him as long as he has something to put in his mouth. Sure, he prefers the company of others, but he's fine playing alone too. 
We hardly ever see him out of his quiet character...but it does occur once in awhile - when someone takes his chewing object away from him. 
Yesterday Tim witnessed both babies in their first "fight" - Shepherd was mindlessly chewing on a soft book when Thad came rolling (literally) over to him.  In one slinky motion he grabbed the book right out of Shepper's hands.  Shep stopped short, looked directly at T and started snarling at him. (I'm currently trying to capture a snarl on camera.) Sometimes it's a whine that transforms into a squeal that gets progressively more aggitated if the item is not returned....  Two days ago I had to grab my string cheese wrapper away from him, and he was not pleased....but fortunately at his age it's easy to distract him with something else.  Like I said, he's an easy baby. :)

Thaddeus - He is such a character.  There is NEVER a dull moment with him. T wakes up with energy level 10. (We actually could detect right away that he was sick because he was totally not himself.)  Thad is often found growling at people or obejcts...or making throaty noises as he sharpens his little teeth. His world is a happening place: He wants to be entertained, he wants to experience something new, he wants to be on the move!
Not there yet, but trying to crawl:
Arms extended? Check.
Legs tucked? Check.
Belly up? Check.
Head off the floor? Um, not so much. ;)
Soon though, because rolling around just isn't cutting it for him anymore....
((Tim and I often laugh at how we picture our sons as teens or young adults... Thad is always on the top of the athlete column.  I'll bet he's a gym rat.)) 
He's always clenched!! :)  When we found out that Shep only weighed a 1/10 of a pound less than Thad we were kinda shocked... T feels significantly heavier because his muscles are always tight.  When he's standing you can feel his lil abs.  And when he's on his tummy trying to crawl...you'd probably be able to bounce a quarter off his tush!  

Always yanking, pulling (not fun when it's your hair), pushing or BANGING!  We affectionately refer to him as "Bam-Bam." 

One day Cale came up from quiet time with a scared look on his face.... "Mommy!  I hear a loud noise.  It won't stop and it's scaring me!"  I wasn't sure what he was talking about...but I figured it was probably the washer with an uneven load. I went downstairs.  We listened.  I did hear it...but I couldn't quite tell where it was coming from?  .................I'll give you one guess.

We went upstairs to find that Thad flailing his arms up and down, just as happy as a clam because he found something new to slam on his tray.

Yep, T's banging sounds like an earthquake from a level below.... 

One more than one seperate occasion Tim or I have looked at the other and stated: "We have twins."

Obviously this is a "duh" statement.  But it's kind of a weird thing to be a parent of twins. 

It's like we're waiting for a gap in their ages that will never come...
Strange to even describe. I wonder if we're the only parents of multiples that think this.

Surely not.  We're never the only crazy ones. :)