7 Months Old!

So what's new at seven months?  One word can describe it:  A LOT!  Both Abby and Jimmy are rolling around like crazy, they are eating all kinds of "solids," are quite vocal and are starting to show signs of separation anxiety.  And the sleep, well, it is inconsistent still. 

Abby is playing peek-a-boo and "waves" to us on occasion.  I am not sure if she is really waving or if she just now realizes that her hand makes that motion, but nevertheless, it is adorable.  Abby still screams when she "talks" and I am a little concerned that she doesn't really babble.  It is hard not to compare babies, but since Jimmy makes more sounds, I am feeling slightly anxious about Abby's lack of babbling. 

Check out this cute video of Abby playing peek-a-boo with her Grandpa from Texas.  I love it!

Jimmy still loves the jumper!  He will jump non-stop for 20 minutes or so - and does so with a huge smile on his face!  He is still impatient while eating and whines when tired.  He is starting to pull his legs up under him while on his belly, though he still is lazy and will flop his chest back down on the ground.  Jimmy also has mastered sitting in the bouncer.  Not good - as this may mean the bouncers need to be retired.  Boooo!  My babies are getting so big!

Check out Jimmy sitting up in the bouncer...he's so big!

Both Abby and Jimmy are starting to scream when Jim or I leave the room, or even just disappear from their sight for a just a stop in the kitchen.  They are so upset, but as soon as they see us again, the crying stops and they continue on with whatever they were doing.  According to the baby books, this is a great sign of development.  Nice to know, but really, I wish it didn't involve so much crying!  And from what I hear, this separation anxiety will continue for quite some time.  Yikes!

Coming up next - a post about our trip to Texas - one that involved many firsts for the babies!  Look for it soon!

Baby Arms...

Since we are so used to long sleeves, I had to do a quick post about their cute little chubby baby arms hanging out of their short sleeved onesies!  We finally had a couple nice days here so we took advantage of them and dressed Abby and Jimmy in some cute onesies from their Uncle Paul and Kelly.  But this post is mostly because I wanted to share these ardorable new pictures of them!

The end!

Saturday Mornings

I love the weekends.  The work week is long and boring and now I really have an appreciation for the weekends, as they are when I get to spend a lot of time with Abs and Jimmy.  When I get home from work during the week, I usually get only an hour and a half to spend with them, and they are pretty cranky at night after not napping well all day. So the weekends are the times I get to spend all day with them!  It's awesome.

Anyway - this is a quick post to show you what our Saturday mornings look like.  Playtime begins around 7am (too early in my opinion!)


The Paci.

The Paci.  Two words that seem so small, but are oh, so big in our house.  The pacifier is quite the addiction for Jimmy.  It is quite the toy for Abby.  It is quite the hassle for Jim and I; but also quite the lifesaver. 

Jimmy has been addicted to the pacifier from day one.  Well, maybe not day one, as when he was in the hospital we had to coax him to take it by adding a little sugar water to it.  That may have been a mistake.  Now he loves, loves, loves it.  He whines fairly often when tired or cranky, and the one thing that stops that whine, is his trusty ol' paci.  He still even gives a slight sigh of contentment when we give it to him.  It is cute, his cute little addiction (is that an oxymoron - can an addiction be cute?!) 

Abby on the other hand, pretty much could care less about the pacifier.  Yes, she will take it and suck it a bit, and it does help calm (or quiet) her down at times, but she isn't a huge fan.  She does take it when going to bed and sometimes will cry out in the middle of the night, and it will calm her and put her back to sleep, but the main thing she likes about it is, it is a toy.  Now that she (and Jimmy) knows how to take it out and put it back in her mouth, it has become an instant toy to play with.  Unfortunately, it is usually her entertainment when she is supposed to be sleeping.  She will pull it out and shake it around, which will keep her awake.  In the mornings (the oh, so early mornings) around 5:30am, when I am trying to get her back to sleep, I will give her her paci in hopes that it will relax her and make her return to a sleepy state.  Um, not so much.  Usually within a few minutes of giving it to her, we will usually her a light *thunk* on the wall, which of course is the paci going flying out of her hand and onto the wall, which is being used like a backboard for the basket, which is considered behind her crib.  Yes, that is right, one day last week, Jim and I went looking for the pacis since they pretty much were all missing, and we found eight pacifiers under her crib.  Ha!  Who knew?!

Now, Jim and I have already talked about it and decided that we won't let the paci be a life long friend for Abby or Jimmy.  Not sure what the time frame is, but Abby and Jimmy definitely won't be having a pacifier when they are this big:

 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the story of the Paci.  Who would have thought it would be important enough to get it's own post!

Our Likes - and a big Dislike

We like....
Our Winnie the Pooh mobiles - they were loved from day one!



Eating and playing in our high chairs!

Jumping in the jumper and playing in the exercauser:

Playing with toys on the ground!

We love Amigo and Leo - we wish they came around more!

And a huge dislike - PEAS.  See below:



Six Month Pictures are In (a Sneak Peek!)

I love them all - see the sneak peek here!  I can't wait to see the rest and to order some to hang in our home!

Let's Talk Personalities!

As each day goes by, Jim and I are really starting to see Abby and Jimmy's little personalities develop - and boy, they couldn't be any more different.

Let's start with Abby.  Abby is quiet (hold that thought) at times and thoughtful (it seems).  She is nosy and curious.  Abby always wants what you or her brother have - she constantly is trying to get the remote and is always grabbing at Jimmy's toys.  Abby is patient (as demonstrated when eating) and calm.  However, she is loud when she "talks" and screams.  And boy, she can scream.  Abby is very patient and relaxed, but man oh man, if she gets overtired, she loses it.  Big time.  You will have no idea it's coming either.  She won't whine or cry or prepare you at all; all of a sudden she will just SNAP and lose it.  At that point, it takes a long time to calm her down!

Abby usually falls asleep during her last bottle of the day and will sleep most of the night without awaking.  But when she does semi-wake from her slumber, she cries out (possibly still in her sleep) and she cries out LOUD.  So loud that Jim and/or I almost go rushing in her room to make sure she is ok, but we have learned to look at the monitor first, and in most cases, she is back to her peaceful sleep.  Ha! 

Now on to Jimmy! 
He is generally a very happy baby!  The the main thing we notice with Jimmy right now , other than his happiness, is that he whines - A LOT.  He is usually very happy, smiles easily and flirts with all the strangers that talk to him.  Even when he was in the hospital, after throwing up and having diarrhea for a couple days, he was flirting with the nurses.  He is quite cute!  But when he is tired or cranky, he whines.  I have noticed that Jimmy barely ever cries.  I don't think I have ever really heard him really cry.  He just will constantly whine.  Jimmy is also slightly dramatic!  For example, right now, while he has his cold and is coughing all the time, he coughs so loudly and dramatically.  Quite an overdone cough in my opinion.  He is kind of like his mom and is slightly dramatic when sick! 

At night, Jimmy still requires some help when going to sleep. He does great putting himself to sleep for naps (sometimes), but after his bottle at night, he will usually fight sleep.  There is just so much to see and do, he doesn't want to sleep.  We can really tell when he is tired as he will start to whine more and his eyes will start to roll back in his head, but he will do everything in his power to stay awake.  Usually, when we bust out the quiet "shhhing,"  he's in for it and passes out.  Jimmy wakes a lot at night still (even before the current cold) and he requires a lot of paci replacements to make it though the night.  And Jim and I have resorted back to using the rock and play for him to sleep in, since that's where he sleeps best right now.  Once the cold has passed, we will start working on getting him back to his crib.

So that's the latest.  Yesterday, we met with an awesome photographer and got their six month photos taken.  These were the first professional photos we've had taken. I am a little nervous about the results as Abby was not in the mood to smile (and instead was so curious and distracted by the camera to smile) and they both became tired quickly.  But I think we still got some great ones - we will see.  Look for an updated and/or link for the pictures soon!