8 Month Birthday!

The babies turned 8 months old this past Saturday!  I was running the Hood to Coast Relay, so their monthly birthday pics didn't get taken until yesterday.  I dropped them off at daycare Friday morning at 7:00am and didn't get home until Saturday night at almost 11:00pm.  I basically didn't get to see them for 2 days!  I'll write more about that later.

The babies have been changing at a pretty rapid rate this past month!  We are knocking one milestone off after another.  They need to slow down!  I'm not sure we are ready for this.  haha!  I have LOTS of pictures to share with you from this past month.

They both can now hold their own bottles.  This is a very good thing because they are very impatient when it is time to eat!  We also can't feed one without feeding the other anymore.  If one of them is getting a bottle and the other isn't, they think it's highly unfair!  Ayden likes to hold the bottle with his hands right next to his mouth, so he does drop his sometimes.  I just keep adjusting where he puts his hands so hopefully he'll figure it out one of these days.  If Tony and I are both home, we do try to hold them for their bottles so that we still get that bonding time.

We've got crawlers!  Rylee is now full on crawling.  She has not figured out that she is restricted to the blanket area in the living room.  lol  The blankets and towels now cover the majority of our living room floor, yet she seems to really like the carpet.  I keep trying to tell her that if she would just stop spitting up everywhere, then she can have full reign of the house.  She doesn't seem to care about that.  Sigh.  This morning I left her on the far side of the living room, left to get Ayden changed and dressed for the day, came back, and she had made it clear to the other side of the room.  Ayden is a pro at rocking on his hands and knees, but has his own version of crawling.  He rocks, falls forward onto his belly, moves his hands, gets back up again, and repeat.  It's like a modified worm.  He's pretty good at it and can get places pretty quickly when he wants to.

Baby Planking

Rylee is a sweet little thing with a big temper!  If she's not happy, she is definitely not afraid to let you know it, and loudly too!  She now smiles quite often and I can even manage to catch it on camera every once in awhile.  She looooooves her Mama and gives me a great big goofy grin whenever she sees me.  Rylee sticks her tongue out all. the. time.  She has the pointiest tongue I have ever seen! Unfortunately, this also causes her chin to be chapped.  She has really started jibber jabbering and not just screeching.  It's like she is really trying to talk now.  If only we knew what she was saying....

Rylee is still in size 2 diapers and wearing 3 month clothes.  I have gotten her into a few 3-6 month outfits here recently, but pants/skirts in that size just fall off her waste.  However, 3 month pants are getting pretty short on her now!  She needs to grow a little bit for when the weather changes so we have pants that will actually fit her!  I don't have current weight or measurements for either baby, as we don't see our home visit nurse for a few more weeks and their next doctor appointment isn't for another month.  Rylee did see her Pediatric Dermatologist 2 weeks ago and she was 14 lbs, 13 oz.  She's still our little peanut.

Rylee is a MOVER!  Seriously cannot keep the girl still.  Very rarely will you find her just laying on her back. She rolls over almost as soon as you lay her down.  She's got places to go!  We call her our little acrobat. She loves to be on all fours, hands and toes, with one leg up in the air.  I haven't managed to get a picture of it yet.  Changing her diaper has become a challenge because she wants to roll over and go.  Rylee can sit up without much assistance at this point, although she does occasionally still lose her balance.  She can even almost get herself into a seated position.

There's that pointy tongue!

Cruisin' in the car

Rylee is our little lady already.  She crosses her legs at the ankle almost always while taking a bottle and quite often when she is sleeping.  I think it's pretty cute!

Ayden is our little love bug.  He is so happy and smiles and laughs all the time (unless he's hungry, tired, or growing teeth!).  He has a great big smile that is contagious to any adult that is around him.  He is very ticklish and will laugh hysterically sometimes over the simplest things, like changing his diaper.  He loves playing Patty Cake, This Little Piggy, and Peek-a-Boo.

He is still pretty content just laying on the floor where we put him at times.  He CAN move and get himself around, but he is not quite as motivated as Rylee at this point.  He gets himself where he wants to if there is something he is after though.  Ayden still needs help with sitting up, although he is very close to getting himself into a seated position from his hands and knees, so I'm sure it won't be long before he figures out how to balance himself on his little bottom.

I know Ayden is over 20 lbs based on his last weigh in a month ago, but I have no idea how much he officially weighs now.  He is in size 3 diapers and wears anything from 6 month to 9 month clothing.  He's almost out of all the 6 month clothes though.

Ayden has his first two teeth!  They came one right after the other.  He still sleeps through the night for the most part, but has woken up anywhere between 10:00 and midnight, needing some consoling a few times.  I attribute this to the teething.

Ayden loves driving the car too

The babies have really started interacting with each other.  It is amazing!  They always need to know what the other is doing and love to look at each other if they are in the same room.  It is so fun to listen to them talk and giggle at each other.  They also have started fighting over toys!  Rylee sometimes thinks that she really needs whatever it is that Ayden has.  They love to touch, but unfortunately that turns into scratching and pulling at each other a lot of times.  They don't know how to be gentle!

This makes my heart melt into a giant puddle

On your mark, get set, GO!

We put them in their cribs both facing the opposite direction than what you see here.  Lately they have been falling asleep like this, as if they need to get as close to each other as they can.

More Pictures!  Here are their 8 month pics.

You can't help but smile at HIS smile!

See his two bottom teeth?

Such a happy girl!

My favorite

I love that he put his hand on her shoulder

And then she reached up to hold his hand!  Be still my heart!

Outtakes!

Goofy girl!

Ayden was more interested in his toes than having his picture taken

Remember I mentioned scratching and pulling?  Sibling cat fight, right here!

Rylee says "I'm outta here!"

"Bye bye!"