What's New?

As I was taking Jenna and Rachel's 10 month pictures yesterday, I was thinking about how they are not really babies anymore. They are growing and changing, soon to be toddlers! It's getting to get a picture of them smiling at the camera at the same time.  They were so interested in the bears and ready to climb right off the couch any second.  I was able to get a couple good shots.

Jenna: 10 months old

Jenna's New Milestones:

• Has 2 teeth
• Sits and play with toys 
• Can get out of sitting and army crawls across the floor
• Has started waving "Hi" and "Bye Bye"
• Babbles and repeats what I say, mostly "ba ba ba"
• Squeals with excitement
• Lifts her arms to be picked up
• Sometimes says "Mama" (when she's upset!)
• Has started pulling up to kneeling
• Loves to take books off the shelf and read them

Rachel: 10 months old

Rachel's New Milestones:

• Has 3 teeth
• Sits and play with toys. She has started putting toys back into the box and then gets them out again.
• Can get out of sitting and army crawls quickly across the floor.  She chases the cat.
• Waves back when we wave to her
• Babbles and repeats what I say, mostly "ba ba ba" She and Jenna babble to each other in their cribs
• Has started pulling up to kneeling and can climb onto cushions on the floor
• Can stand supported for short amounts of time.
• Giggles all the time

Here's some other recent pictures I wanted to add. 

We were lucky to get some clothes from the girls' cousin.  These dresses were so cute!  

We visited a friend last week and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  She took some photos of me and the girls.  I realized that I don't have very many pictures of me.  I'm always the one taking the pictures.

Fun Weekend!

My sister, Sandra, and her husband, Steve, came to visit last weekend.  They got here Thursday and left on Monday morning.  It was second time for Sandra to see the girls but Steve was meeting them for the first time.  We did something fun everyday.  The girls did great during our outings, even if we messed with their nap schedule! Jenna and Rachel loved having their Aunt Sandra and Uncle Steve her visiting with them.

Sandra and Steve loved feeding Jenna and Rachel.  They thought it was cute when the girls got messy.

Jenna loves reading.  She pulls all the books off the shelf and then chooses one to look at.

 Sandra and I loved playing piano with the girls.  I think we're singing in this picture.

 My mom sent some clothes that were mine and Sandra's when we were little.  Sandra and I dressed the girls in these sweaters. Cute!

 Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton has a little train to ride.  We didn't get a smiling picture of the babies, but they loved it!

Ha!  At least I'm smiling! 

 The park also has a pond where you can feed the ducks and swans (and the humongous fish)!

Rachel was dancing with her Uncle Steve!

Babies in Overalls

Just some pictures from today:

Pickin' Pumpkins

The weather forecast for the weekend was gorgeous so I knew we had to do something outdoors.  A friend of mine mentioned that there was a Fall Day at a local country store with a hay ride and a pumpkin patch.  This sounded like something fun to do with the girls so off we went.  While I was hoping for a great picture of two smiling babies, the sun was bright and the girls didn't want to cooperate (even with me singing "Itsy, Bitsy, Spider).  But, we found 2 cute pumpkins and I did get some good pictures. 

Jenna's inpecting her pumpkin

9 Month Stats

The girls had their nine month appointment today.  I always get excited to see how much they weigh and to hear how well they are doing.  Today's appointment was great!
Jenna:
Weight: 18 lbs, 12 oz.
Height: 27 1/2 inches
Rachel:
Weight: 17 lbs, 8 oz.
Height: 27 1/4 inches
I was looking at a growth chart and when the girls were born, they were below the lines on weight and height, because they were so tiny.  Now both girls are right around the 50th percentile!  Yay for healthy babies!

Happy Nine Months!

I can't believe there are only 3 more months and the girls will be one year old!  Wow!  We have been busy going places and meeting new people.  I'm feeling more and more confident about taking them places and getting out of the house.  They love to ride in the car and are well-behaved when we go somewhere.  I've met some moms from MOPS and hope to have some play-dates soon.  I found another local mom's group on Meetup.com and look forward to more get-togethers.

Here's some recent pictures:

Jenna trying to drink from a stacking cup

Rachel scooted over to see Jenna

We had a little photo shoot with the wicker rocker:

I tried to see if they could both still fit...they couldn't!

 It's getting harder and harder to get the monthly pictures.  They don't want to look or smile at the camera at the same time.  It's fun to see them with the bears, especially when I compare how big (or small) they were several months ago. 

Happy Nine Months, Beautiful Girls!

Halfway through September

I've sat down several times to write a blog entry and usually one of the babies woke up from a nap earlier than I expected.  It's been 3 weeks since I last updated and so much has happened since then!
What happened at the end of August:

• I attended a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting and met lots of nice moms.  It was the first time I left the girls in a childcare setting.  Rachel did great!  Jenna fussed and cried and they had to come get me.
• My 31st birthday was quite memorable.  On August 23rd, we had an earthquake with the epicenter about 60 miles from here.  It was a 5.9 earthquake and did quite a lot of damage in Louisa, VA.

• Rachel had her first cold and ear infection.  Two antibiotics and 2 weeks later, she is much better!  

• The girls turned 8 months old!  They are getting so big! 

• Back to the doctor's office we went. It was our 3rd time in 2 weeks. Jenna had an awful case of conjunctivitis (pink eye). The doctor even commented that he hadn't seen one that bad in a while!

  

What's new with the girls?
Jenna:

She has 2 teeth poking out.

She babbles all the time. I think Rachel taught her how to scream and squeal!

She loves her sippy cup and little puff snacks.

She loves her blankie and goes to sleep without crying.

She's not crawling yet, but on her belly, she turns herself in a circle.  

She'll roll to get what she wants.

Rachel:

She has one tooth all the way out and another poking out.

She still screams, squeals, and grunts.

She has started babbling.

She hums and makes noise when she's eating something she likes.

She has some separation anxiety with me which has made naps difficult.  

Some days are better than others!

She has started scooting/army crawling across the floor.  

She pulls with her arms and pushes with her legs.