A Road Well Traveled: 9 Months Old!

My two beautiful baby girls are 9 months old! They have changed so much from when they were born!! They are each about 3x their birth weights and are turning into such interesting little people.

How they measure up!
Charlotte
Height: 28 inches 62%
Weight: 19lbs 5oz 55%
Head: 45cm 80%

Evelyn:
Height: 28 inches 62%
Weight: 21lbs 9oz 89%
Head: 48.5cm 100+%

Charlotte is a little mover and a shaker. She is very comfortable pulling herself up on everything. She really likes to stand up and cry when its nap time but eventually sits herself back down and goes to sleep. Evy just literally started pulling herself up a couple days ago. I was sitting on the floor playing with them and she climbed up me. Immediately after, she fell on the floor and cried... but she was okay. Then, yesterday while in the bathtub Evy pulled herself up on the side of the tub! Charlotte will sit herself back down, but Evy just cried and waited for mama to rescue her. Charlotte has been crawling for a while now. (Since about 7.5 months) and until last week, Evy has just been rolling her way around the living room. Evy started with a very timid army crawl and is now making her way all around the house by crawling! She doesn't always get her tummy off the floor... she's still working on that, but she is definitely mobile now. Evy finally sits herself up now too!! Brian told me before that he'd seen her do it, but I hadn't seen it so it didn't count. Mommy has to see it for it to count :)

Both girls just love to chat up a storm. Charlotte is really starting to come out of her shell in the vocal department. She loves to crinkle up her face and say "Nyah Nyah Nyah," and "Ah! Ah!" and just look at you like, "Yeah, you heard me!." She also likes to yell just to hear her own voice. Evy likes to talk as well and make tons of cute little noises. She makes the sweetest sounds like she is talking to someone. I will have to find one of the videos that I took of her "talking." She also likes to make other funny noises by vibrating her lips (not sure what you'd call that) and smacking her lips together. They both also cry for their mama when they don't want to nap or fall and are sad little girls. They were on a roll with mama and dada for a while but we haven't heard it as much lately.

Both girls are wearing 12 month clothes and sometimes 18 month onesies! I just can't believe how big they are getting!! They both still wear size 3 diapers but the huggies size 3 are too small for Evy. The pampers work great though! They drink 3-4 8oz bottles per day and are eating 2-3 real meals. For breakfast they have been getting fruit such as blueberries, or bananas, scrambled eggs (sometimes with veggies or avocados mixed in), whole wheat pancakes, or french toast. They both absolutely loved the blueberries they got the other day and the french toast seems to be a big hit.

For lunch or dinner they have been getting a lot of zucchini, shredded cheddar cheese, all natural deli turkey, and whole wheat tortillas. I just cut up the zucchini really small, cook it, and put it in a Rubb.ermaid container. That way its all ready to go when I need it! I tried giving them red peppers, but it gave Evy a terrible diaper rash so that had to go. They also still get some baby "puffs" and random things to taste. I went with a friend to the Chees.ecake factory the other day and let the girls try the whipped cream that came on my cheesecake. I mean, who doesn't love whipped cream?? They sure loved it!

Its really nice now that they can feed themselves a little bit. I am doing more cooking for them, but while they are feeding themselves I also have more time to clean up the kitchen and do the dishes. Charlotte really is miss independent and likes to feed herself. I try to put something in her mouth and she turns her head away... but if I just offer the food, she will take it out of my hand and try it herself. I think that Evy is going to be right handed but I'm not sure about Charlotte yet. Charlotte will eat with both hands but has better control of her food with her left hand actually. She will just pick up a tiny piece of food and put it straight into her mouth where with her right hand she sometimes puts her whole hand in her mouth just to get the food in.

Charlotte is still a very observant little girl. I keep telling Brian that she's going to be our little scientist. She likes to put everything in her mouth to try and figure it out. Evy doesn't put as many things in her mouth (which is nice.)

Both girls are still very good sleepers! They fall asleep anywhere between 6:30-8:00pm. We usually put them down before 7:00 and sometimes they play with each other until they fall asleep. They wake up around 6:00-7:00am. I change their diapers, give them each a bottle and lay them back down. They will generally go back to sleep until about 8:00-8:30 and then get their "real" breakfast. After breakfast is over and cleaned up we play until they start rubbing their eyes at about 9:30-10:00. They will usually take a solid 2-2 1/2 hour nap which is great!! They wake up, play some more, sometimes eat lunch, and sometimes drink a bottle. It just depends on the day and what we have planned. Its much more challenging to try to feed them finger food on the go. They take another nap around 3:00-3:30 and sleep for an hour or hour and a half. After that, its dinner, bath, and bed time. They are usually so messy from dinner that they need a bath! Speaking of which, just this past week or so, we have started giving the girls baths in the "real" bathtub! They absolutely love it!

Evy loves to lay down on her back and splash with her legs as hard as she can! Charlotte likes to try and climb OUT of the tub! (And chew on the side of the tub... gross!) They both really like it when the doggie comes to visit them while they are taking their bath. The other day he came in and licked their hands and faces while they were in there and they thought it was the funniest thing on earth! They were both just laughing and laughing and couldn't stop! They love the dog so much! They also love to try and pet the kitty. I swear the other day Evy said something that sounded like "tee-ta" in reference to the kitty. It was probably a coincidence, but it sure was cute. They have been great about being gentle with both Urza and Luna. They haven't pulled out any fur in a while... which is a good thing :)

They are just growing up so fast! I love spending the summer with them and being able to be there for them every day. I am not afraid to take them places by myself and often do! They love sitting in the cart at the grocery store and in the special two kid carts at Targ.et or Sam's Cl.ub. They love rolling around the mall in their new stroller and pretty much just doing whatever! I took them to the pool for the first time although I did not dare do that by myself. That would just be scary. They loved the water! I got them some infant floaties with leg holes so that they won't just go right through. I think Charlotte enjoyed it more than Evy did, but I think she was just getting tired.

I am so nervous about going back to school in August. I just know how they react sometimes when I leave the house without them and they stay home with daddy for a bit. Sometimes they are okay and sometimes they just cry. :( They do love their daddy and love hanging out with Sherrie when we are both working but its still hard. Hopefully though, this pregnancy will go without a hitch and I will be back at home in late February and continue until the summer is over. I still haven't scheduled my ultrasound yet. I left two messages with the nurse last week and she never called me back. If she doesn't call back today, I guess I will just call and schedule the ultrasound for when I think it should be. :)

Oh, and my mom and sister are coming back out here on Thursday and staying until Tuesday! Can't wait!

And now for some pictures :)