The Twins and the Bouncers

Tracy and Will were playing with the twins today. We haven't really used the bouncers in a while, but it turns out they liked being in them today. Will turned on the music and the vibration for them and they both seemed to really enjoy it.
Both Kate and Connor had a good ol' time trying to eat their toes and were, in a word, PRECIOUS!


Kate is sure a girly-girl. She loves playing with earings, necklaces, shoes and painted toe nails. Connor, on the other hand, is happy jumping in the jumper. There you go - the difference in the sexes summed up!

We're 9 months old

Kate and Connor are now 9 months old. They seem to be growing by leaps and bounds these days.

Kate is more petite, but more mobile. She pulls up on anything and everything and is cruising around the house holding on to furniture, legs, cabinets - anything she thinks she can grab. She likes to "sing" different sounds, but still mostly says "blah, blah, blah." She certainly understands "no no," as she is always getting in to things she shouldn't (books on a bookshelf, diapers in the diaper pail, etc). She's quite the schemer and you can see the little cogs working before she goes and does something. She still doesn't like snuggles for too long, but tolerates them when she's tired. Kate loves "people food" - more so than her bottle. She'll eat pretty much anything I put in front of her (especially if she can pick it up with her fingers). So far, she's looking like she'll be a righty.

Connor is longer and bigger - so he is off to a slower start on his mobility. He is just now pulling up on things (his crib, the furniture, etc), and only cruises a few steps before he thinks he should sit right back down (or whimper for Mom to pick him up and snuggle him). Connor mostly says "bah bah" and then also makes this very strange clucking sound with his tongue. One of his favorite tricks is when Hugh hold his arms up high and says "tah dah!" Connor laughs like it's the funniest thing. Connor would rather snuggle and giggle than scurry about. He's pretty content to sit in your lap and watch TV (preferably tennis). He prefers his bottle over people food, but will certainly eat most things. So far, he is preferring to eat with his left hand - so maybe he'll end up being a Southpaw?

Now, about these monthly pictures where I sit in the chair with both Kate and Connor. These pictures are starting to get much harder to take! The babies want to do their own thing, look their own way, be in their own good or bad mood, etc. Thought you might like to see a few "out takes" that it takes to finally get the ONE shot I love.





Hugh has pretty good patience to take the 90 pictures (no joke) that it took to finally get the one official picture for the month.

Kelly shares her slide

Kelly came over tonight to drop off a play slide for the twins. We were able to convince her to stay for a while and play with the babies. Boy did we have fun!

Kelly entertained the twins while Hugh, Jane and I ate dinner. Thanks Aunt Kelly!

Grandmother Jane comes to visit

Hugh's Mom came to visit the twins and to let us visit with Noisey. I'm glad she's able to come at least once a month - since Kate and Connor grow like weeds!

Noisey is slowing down these days (heck, he's about 18 years old), but he's in good hands with Jane. No one could give him more TLC than her.

Meat and Potatoes

Do you think these kids like dinner time???


It wasn't EXACTLY meat and potatoes, but we had chicken, green beans and whole wheat noodles for dinner tonight. Tonight was the first night we've tried chicken or any meat in about 6 or 8 weeks. It was NOT a hit back then, but, the twins didn't have 6 teeth to chew it with back then either.

Shelby comes to visit

Shelby came to see the twins today since she hasn't seen them in months! They have grown so much! Shelby also experienced first hand what a snuggle-bunny Connor is, as he chose to hang out with her on the couch for a long time enjoying snuggles.

Playing after dinner

Kate and Connor have come to hate getting ready for bed (getting undressed, fresh diaper, and then putting on PJs). Thought I would "trick" them tonight by getting them undressed, and then playing for a while before getting ready for bed.

They had a BLAST playing and scurrying around the family room, but they still hated putting on their PJs later on. I guess it's just too much fun being awake!

Heather is in the 'hood

Heather was in the 'hood at Vinings Estates tonight with her pet business. I'm so glad she called to be able to come by and see how much Kate and Connor have grown.

This time, Connor decided to have stranger anxiety, while Kate was "Happy as Larry" (it's a long story on that phrase, but ask a Kiwi or an Australian). After settling in for a while, Heather got Connor to warm up to her with one very simple trick : FOOD! Heather gave Connor a few Cheerios and then she was his new best friend.

Lynn and Aunt Anne come to visit

Aunt Anne hadn't seen the twins since Mother's Day, so she came on over with her dear friend Lynn. I've never met Lynn before, but I feel like I know her since Anne has spoken so fondly about her over these past 22 years since Hugh has last seen her! Wow.
Connor was in a great mood and was ok with Anne and Lynn holding him. Heck - I think he was actually flirting with them. Kate, on the other hand, is still having some stranger anxiety. She wasn't warming up too much to anyone - but it seems like Daddy had her number.

Pulling up and Cruising

Kate is pulling up on EVERYTHING (even things that aren't still or stationary). She sometimes goes to the back door and pulls up on it just to get a look outside. Maybe she's thinking about taking a swim in the "pool." Today, Kate officially started cruising too. She took 3 steps to her left on the old coffee table.

Connor is very happy just standing up, but still needs an assist to pull all the way up.

Will comes to visit

Will is out of school for the Summer and wanted to come see how much the babies have grown since he last saw them.
Will is such a nice TEENAGER (he just turned 13 earlier this week) and he was terrific playing with the twins. He let them "fly" over his head (although after Kate lost a good bit of her breakfast on the floor, I think he was a little spooked about jostling them too much).

260 days old

Why is 260 days old meaningful? And who on earth counts babies ages by weeks at this point, let alone days? Well - today was a special day. Today, the twins have now been alive on this planet for as long as I was pregnant with them. 260 days on the inside - 260 days on the outside!

Family Dinner

It was nice to have Nanna and Poppa here this past week to help so much with the kids. Tonight, we were able to get Uncle Chris, Aunt Shirley, Uncle Michael, Cousin Kevin and Cousin Lauren to join us for dinner. Only wish the air conditioning wouldn't have gone on the blink earlier today!

Anyway, we had a good visit - but Kate and Connor were really fussy. I think they are starting to get "stranger" anxiety - and having so many faces over at once seemed to put them in a fussy mood. We saw lot's of tears - most of them for no apparent purpose.



A few tears made sense, since Kate is pulling up all by herself - and then falling over.



Connor is trying to "walk" when you hold his hands - but loses his balance pretty easily. All attempts look like good fun until a baby lands on their tushy and we get tears.