8 Month Pictures

I took Ella & Evan in to get their 8 month pictures taken on Friday. My plan was to only buy one sheet, BUT they had my FAVORITE frame on sale and it the deal came with 5 sheets of prints so I couldn't resist. It's always difficult too, because everyone always thinks that all their babies' pictures are cute as can be... so it's hard to pick only a select few!


Here's the picture frame... I took outside so that I wouldn't have to use a flash... still didn't turn out that great, but look at how sweet they are! =)

Finally...

I finally put up some other type of decoration in the babies' room! I haven't ever had pictures hanging up (except for a couple of little things, such as the cross that a good friend gave me). I wasn't ever successful at finding anything (that wasn't cheesy) while I was pregnant and then, of course, I haven't had much time to look since! =) So here they are... finally! I thought they turned out pretty cute! =)

Up Close & Personal

Now that the babies are mobile they LOVE to come right up to the camera when I'm trying to get a shot. So many of my pictures are like the ones you see below... =)

My Helper, Buddy

Evan has shown some strong interest in helping unload the dishwasher-- here's the proof! =)

I wanted an "action" picture, but everytime I turned on the camera he would turn quickly and smile!

He found some water here and was splashin' away!

Crazy Hair

Auntie Kristi took this picture of little Bean. She has such a sweet face, but whoa-- look at that crazy hair! I see some gel in this girl's future... haha =)

Our Weekend Away!

Greg and I went away this weekend-- WITHOUT the babies!!! It was VERY, VERY, VERY hard, and there were some tears as we went about, but we had a great time together... it seemed like old times! =) It helped that I talked about them the WHOLE time and shopped for them. We had some great help from Grandma Kim, Grandma Carmen, and Grandpa Bob making sure our little ones got plenty of love while we were away. We left late Friday morning and got back around 12:30 p.m. today. I'm pretty sure we sped the whole way home, in hopes of catching them before they went down for their afternoon nap-- and we barely made it-- phew! Our first day we decided to head out toward the Bay Area and do some shopping (love the Valley Fair Mall in San Jose! =) And then we made our way over to Carmel and stayed at a really cute little Inn. We shopped, ate dinner out, walked around, went to bookstores... ahhh, just relaxed. We loved the time we were able to spend with each other and laugh, but we were both very anxious and excited to get back to our babies!

We really didn't get too many pictures on this trip. It seems like taking pictures of us is pretty boring these days... it's all about the babies! =) Here's a few though...

One of my "one-handed" shots, but cut off Greg's head...

...that's better!

Here's our room... The babies were always just a thought away...
And we couldn't wait to get back to these precious faces, even if covered in peas! =)

UPDATE!

I have a few updates to make on the babies... it's all happened since I last posted about them turning 8 months.

Evan:

1.) He's a maniac and crawls ALL OVER THE PLACE! He's like a puppy following me all around (baby gates-- when are you coming in!?!?).

2.) He now has a THIRD tooth-- right on top, on his right side!

3.) AND Evan has decided that he would like to attempt climbing out of his crib!!! I came in to get them from nap time and found him pulled up on the side rail of the crib, head over the rail, smiling very happily at me as if to say, "Look what I've done Mom!" I about had a heart attack! I've read that you should lower the mattress when they're able to push themselves up to a sitting position. To my knowledge, Evan isn't doing that, but in this case he doesn't have to do that for me to lower it down! After I realized he was okay, I had an urge (a short one) to go and grab the camera and get a shot, but then the sane part of my brain decided to get him down! So Grandma and Grandpa came over before their 3rd nap and lowered both Ella and Evan's mattresses (I figure Ella wouldn't be too far behind with these crazy acts!).

Trying very hard to get to the camera...

Ella:

1.) Little Miss Bean has decided to join the "Crawling World". It took her a few days to decide that watching Buddy move all around was no fun and that getting into everything too would be more fun! She's not as adventurous (yet, anyway) as Evan and sticks pretty close to the "toy nucleus". She's been known to chase a ball toward the couch, but she doesn't seem too interested in getting into things. Little girl isn't as quick or polished as Buddy, but she'll be up to speed soon enough!

2.) And FINALLY, Ella-Bean has a tooth coming in on her bottom right (same tooth that Evan got in first!)-- yay, Bean! We've felt so bad for this little girl and have known that her gums have been bothering her for some time now. :( Let's just hope everything about her is a "late bloomer"! =)

And here's my Two Little Monkeys playing on the floor... they just adore each other and laugh at each other constantly. It's so funny to overhear them as I walk away... I really think that twins (multiples) have a special bond and maybe even a language that they share! Boy, do I love them!

Awww... kisses!

Eating Buddy's nose...

Evan chewing on the burp cloth! I'm telling you--- this little boy is more and more like a puppy each day! haha =)

I HEART My Blankie!

My little Bean just LOVES her blankie! It's pretty much attached to her hip anymore... it's always right by her side even while she's playing. The other day she wanted to pick it up as we were going down for our nap. I let her hold it as we walked up the stairs and after I took it away from her while laying in her crib, she started crying. I gave another smaller blankie to distract her as I walked out of the room. It's so cute to watch her snuggle up against it and she's as happy as can be if you're holding her while she holds her blankie at the same time! So Grandma Kim-- you need to get going on making little Ella a smaller version of her blankie so she can take it with her during naps and bedtime!!! =)

Just rollin' around having fun...Going after it...Got it!I love you blankie! XOXOXO

8 Months Old!

My sweet little ones are 8 months old-- WOW! How does it goes by so fast? It seems like a lot has changed over the past month. Here's a little bit of information about what's new with them...

Ella (aka Bean, Miss Bean, Tiny girl, Bean Girl... you see where I'm going with this)
Adjectives to describe her: Loud, Funny, Snugly, Wiggly, Beautiful, Sweet

My little Bean girl. She's such a fun, sweet little thing. I love her personality and see a little of me in her. I highly anticipate a sarcastic sense of humor from this one. She still continues to "scream" loud with excitement and "talk". When she wakes up from her naps, she enjoys "talking" very loud and squealing. Every once in a while you'll hear Evan chime in as if to tell her to be quiet! It's so funny to listen to her over the monitor. It's nice to know she wakes up a happy little girl though.

She loves to throw her arms up and down in excitement almost toppling over. I haven't seen her do it, but she has been able to push herself back up into a sitting position after laying on the floor. Unfortunately, she cries quite often when you walk away from her. I could just be turning around to "find" Evan and her eyes will well up with big tears! It's very sad. She'll cry and hang her head. :(

For some reason she loves baby wipes. It's odd to me because they're cold and she reacts to them, acknowledging that they're cold, but she loves them anyway. She loves them wiped all over her face. One time she grabbed one and put it on her bare belly. She did her "sniff" thing, but with one long one, breathing in very slowly. It was hilarious! What's wrong with this girl!? =)

She's still toothless, but her day will come soon I'm sure. She enjoys "dancing" to the music her toys make and likes to jump. She's in absolute heaven if you sit next to her on the floor allowing her to keep one hand on you for comfort, looking up occasionally to make sure you're still there. She's extremely cuddly and enjoys just sitting on your lap being held with her blankie. She'll then reach over and rub her head up against yours to cuddle from time to time. She's seriously the sweetest thing ever!

Evan (aka Buddy, Moose, Big-Big Moose, Chunk-- from Auntie Squeazle)
Adjectives to describe him: Busy, Fun, Smiley, Heavy, Handsome, Snugly)

Evan is ALL boy. There's no other way to describe him. He loves to jump, slap, stomp, climb, and move all the time. He has no fear and likes to figure out new things. He is full of excitement and let's us know by his squeals and yells. We love that he smiles all the time and loves to give you big giant snuggles. He'll grab the hairs on the sides of your face and bring your face right up against his as he coos in comfort. He'll laugh when you rub your nose up against his. Evan's a big boy too, weighing over 21 lbs and possibly closer to 22 now, but I haven't weighed him in close to 2 weeks. He was 21 lbs. 2 oz. at the doctor's 2 weeks ago; he's just a solid boy. He's unable to sit still anymore while you hold him, moving all around and reaching for things while climbing over you. Everything is of interest to him and deserves (so he thinks) his inspection.

His two bottom teeth are coming in really well and are quite sharp! And we're thinking he's working on a top one. For just starting to crawl, he does amazingly well, taking off and going pretty much anywhere he wants to. There are a few new things that he likes to do. Out of nowhere (usually while he's eating solids) he'll begin to clap. He likes to hold things up really high up over his head, usually with something in each hand. And the newest, messiest thing is that he likes to do is blow food out with his lips should there be any left over. He'll look at me and smile while raising one eyebrow. As cute as it is, I just tell him no and move on to Ella. For obvious reasons, it's not something I'm encouraging! haha =)

They both love solids, but don't want their milk as much anymore. Their doctor said that it's very common for milk intake to decrease as solids increase. I'm very happy if I can get 5 oz down Ella every feeding! Stinkers. I've been known to add a couple ounces of milk in to their solids to make sure they're getting more fluids. I've tried the sippy cup, but it still seems pretty difficult to suck out of. Perhaps I need one of the ones where it flows a little easier and not worry so much about the spills.

Our schedule is still pretty much the same, although we tend to play "catch-up" at times in the morning because they'll sleep up until 9 a.m. sometimes. Bad thing is that I don't wake up until I hear them awake so I don't realize how late it is. I've been setting my alarm the past week just to stick to my schedule. I'm so thankful that my babies will sleep 12 - 14 hours at night, plus their daytime naps (although things were a little off when they were sick!) Good little babies!

Ella and Evan are both incredibly ticklish and have learned to expect it when I change their diapers and/or clothes. They'll usually brace themselves and start to smile even before I tickle them. Very funny. It's so sweet to watch them reach for you, especially when they are upset or hurting. I saw a lot of that the past two weeks when they were sick.

We have so much fun with them! They keeps us VERY busy (even more so now with crawling in the mix), but wouldn't trade it for the world! We love them so much and are so thankful to be their parents! We love you Ella and Evan... you mean everything to us!

Why am I unable to get a smile from them both sitting together?! Hmph.Silly. Look at that drool!
What you're not hearing: "AAARGH"
Just precious.

They LOVE this jingle ball. It came as a "bonus" with a toy we purchased for them. This definitely gets more use that the actual toy we bought. Evan's evil eye.

Follow closely for the "toy swap".

Evan: "That looks good."

Ella: "Don't even think about it!"

And the "swap" was made.

Getting into something...

Playing together...

... but, no for long!

Sweet Bean.

Evan deciding he wants to be held...

... and very dramatically throws his head down in utter saddness. How do you say, "MAMA'S BOY"?

Busy, busy, busy...

Having a great time as a family...

Found something to hold on to...

And love having Daddy push them in their swings!