eight months

This past month has been a crazy busy one for us! Each week was full of activities, and I'm feeling pretty exhausted, but July is always my favorite... this year was no exception.

The babies were troopers and did really well through all the fun, despite missing naps, going to bed late, or getting bustled around everywhere. It seems like they really love to be out doing activities, and I love seeing them experience new things. Seriously, Charlotte and Grady are the best! They are so well behaved, and we feel pretty lucky!

Because of all the business, I'm a little late getting this post written up....

The twins hit their 8 month mark over two weeks ago, already! (The days are going by too quickly!) I wish I could freeze time, right where we are, for a few more months. We can't get enough of Charlotte and Grady and all their cute antics. We're in that perfect phase where the babies are rolling around and active and showing their personalities, but they haven't started crawling yet, so they're not quite into everything. We definitely still need to keep an eye on them- it's surprising how far they can roll- but it's manageable. I'm just trying to soak in all these fun moments!

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Things to remember:

..Charlotte and Grady are both still rocking the 6 month clothes.. 

..Wearing size 3 diapers..

..They're both doing great with eating solids. Charlotte is a little picky with texture, and does take longer to eat than Grady, but she's getting the hang of it. Grady will eat pretty much anything that comes in contact with his lips haha. That kid is our dense one for a reason! The only thing I've found that he's not a fan of is peas... which, I don't blame him. I won't touch the things either!..

..We're working on their fine motor skills during meal time. They haven't gotten the idea of grabbing food and bringing it to their mouths. They just tend to pick it up and and keep it there or drop it right away. For now, I'm having to help them with the finger foods..

..Nights with the babies are a little iffy. They started sleeping through the night pretty early, but they've kind of regressed the past month or so. One or the other or both will usually wake up at least once. We'd let them cry it out, but then the other is sure to wake up... it's tricky business..

..Now that they've mastered rolling, they've discovered that their favorite way to sleep is on their bellies. I think it's adorable..

..Also, because of their active/rolling obsession, it's getting difficult to change their clothes or diapers. They don't want to sit still with so much to look at and do!..

..They're starting to do really well with sitting up on their own. There have been a handful of head-bonks and topples to the ground, but they're getting stronger with that every day..

..We're still bathing them in their infant bath, because I just love having them within reach on the counter. But they refuse to lay back in it anymore, always have to be sitting. Plus, they're getting pretty big in it, so we need to start thinking about moving them to the actual bathtub..

..Charlotte and Grady are obsessed with their cousins. They love to watch Jonah, Everett, and Evalyn running around! And the cousins are always so sweet with C&G, playing with them and trying to get them to laugh. It's one of my favorite things. I'm grateful that our kids will be able to grow up having a good friendship with their cousins..

..I'm happy that our babies still let us snuggle them to sleep. That's actually how they fall asleep the best. We don't always do this, because we don't want them to be dependent on it, but I definitely like to get my snuggles in whenever I can!..

..They love to discover new ways to use their voice, and when they see it gets a reaction out of us, they do it over and over. Little hams..

..We've been lucky that the babies still haven't had any problems with stranger wariness. They're always getting exposed to new people, and they're quick to warm up to everyone, which I think is great..

..I catch Charlotte and Grady giggling at each other a lot, and it never gets old! Probably one of my very favorite things. I was slightly scared (okay, maybe very scared) when I found out we were having twins, but it's the moments that I see them interacting that I know I wouldn't trade having them both for anything..

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:: Fun things about our Grady ::

-His squeaky voice is gone! G had that sad sound for a long time, but we discovered it was probably from his reflux, and would go away. Sure enough, it did, so he has his usual voice back. And boy does he know how to use it! That kid has a serious pair of lungs on him.

-He has the cutest little curly eyelashes. I remember when C&G were first born, you could barely see their tiny, barely-visable lashes. It's little reminders like that that make me realize how far they've come. And Grady's are so cute. It's not fair that boys always seem to be blessed by having great eyelashes.

-Grades is Mr. Personality, and when he gets excited, he starts kicking those legs and his whole body spazzes out. It gets a good laugh out of anyone he's reacting to. He just can't contain his joy.
-He is beginning to live up to all the expectations I had for him while I was pregnant. He was my super active one... I was constantly feeling him squirming around in my belly, and Charlotte was just as calm as can be. Well, that's just how it is now. Grady's favorite thing to do it jump! It's rare that you find that kid sitting still... he always has to be jumping and moving.

-Also, when you hold him up in the air, he automatically starts kicking his legs like he's swimming. Every time. It cracks us up.

-He has this weird fake cough thing that he does just to make noise. It's kind of like a laugh/cough.

-He is always knawing on his hands, and when he's really going for it, can pretty much fit his entire fist in his mouth.
-He really likes those hands, because we also find him inspecting them a lot too. He likes to hold them out, look at them, and roll his wrist all around. 

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:: Fun things about our Charlotte ::

-She has recently started this new faint squeaky thing when she breathes/sucks in air... It took us a little bit to figure out what she was doing, but it's pretty funny.

-I think she's thinning out a little bit. She's taller, but not putting on a lot of weight, so her cute baby chub rolls aren't as prominent as they used to be.

-She's not quite as whiny anymore, thank goodness!

-Charlotte likes to play with my hair. She does her fair share of grabbing and pulling, but also can be surprisingly gentle. Sometimes when I bring her into bed in the morning, I'll roll over and be talking to Bryce, and I can feel her behind me running her hands through my hair. I sorta love it.

-She has completely mastered the scrunchy face/cheesy smile. She can get anything she wants with that smile.
-C likes to fall asleep with a blanket or stuffed animal by her face. She is our little snuggler, and there's nothing like nuzzling into something soft that helps her relax more.

-We tried the solid foods with her again this month and she did much better, but she still struggles a little bit here and there. It gets kind of frustrating, but she is the sweetest thing in every other way, so we can't hold it against her.
-I just love to get giggles out of Charlotte. She is most ticklish on her neck, and she loves when we snuggle in and give her lots of raspberries and kisses in that spot.

-Charlotte is quite chatty at home and loves to laugh and play, but then gets shy when she's out of the house. She's still her content and pleasant self, but she just becomes very quiet and observant.

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Every night before I go to bed, I sneak into the nursery and peek at our sweet, sleeping babes. There's just nothing better than that. No matter how long and tiring of a day it was, the view of those two cribs and two little ones is what makes it all worth it. Overwhelms my heart.

Here are a few more of my favorite pics from the past month:

 

 

  

 

 

Peek-a-boo from Lauren Hoffman on Vimeo.