8 months old!

I probably say this with each passing month, but I really CAN'T BELIEVE the twins are 8 months old already!  In just four months, they will be turning one!  This is so sad to me in a way because I feel like, of all my children, the twins' "babyhood" has been passing the most quickly.  I have never been one to get very emotional about my kids growing up.  Each new stage has just seemed exciting and fun (and hard, in a lot of ways too!).  But with these babies, the next stage is no longer as mysterious since I know more what to expect.  I just love this sweet innocent time and want them to stay here forever!  I also know that as babies grow, the independence they gain through potty training, eating on their own, learning to communicate, etc. (all things I could NOT wait for when the older two were babies) is really not as great as I had thought it would be in my mind.  I mean, yes, some things are nice, but now that they can feed themselves, I pour just as much energy into telling them to: stay seated, eat their food and not play with it, don't get up and play until you are done, don't smash your sandwich up all over the table!, etc.  And don't even get me started on potty training.  That was just a year long nightmare.  Oh my goodness.  There was just no logic to why they did what they did.  It was like they were trying to make me go crazy.  And now that they can talk and communicate well what they want, need, etc., they can ALSO argue, speak disrespectfully, completely defy us, and whine incessantly.  So, you folks with babies who dream of the days of toddlerhood, believe me when I tell you that you only continue to trade the current difficulties you have for different ones as your child gets older.  I don't mean to be entirely negative though.  Sophie and Sally are SUCH a joy, and watching them grow and have their own distinct personalities, likes, and dislikes has been so rewarding.

Well, at eight months old the twins:

-have teeth!  Elise got one first.  Now they both have two on the bottom.

-still don't crawl, but seem to be heading in that direction.  Especially Erin who gets up on her hands and knees sometimes.  Elise still is less of a fan of being on her tummy.  They do scoot backwards really well when on their tummies and never stay in the same place that they are left.

-sit very well unassisted.  We still put boppies behind them for the occasional loss of balance.

-continue to sleep through the night.  They sleep from 8pm-8am.  Yes!

-babble lots of precious sounds.  I think they have started saying mama when they are crying sometimes.  Still hard to be sure completely, but I think it is what I am hearing.

-have started to take toys from each other and get upset when they don't have a toy they were wanting.  It is so cute.  This is the only age when fighting over toys is cute.

-eat solids twice a day.  I am doing less purees than I did with S and S at this age.  I am not in such a hurry for them to transition to more solids.  Also, I am letting them experiment more with non-pureed soft foods in hopes that they will be able to do more finger foods sooner.  They had a hard time at first with things like banana pieces, avocado pieces, dissolvable crackers, and little pieces of bread, but now they are doing really well with them.

-take an 8 oz. bottle 4 times a day

-continue to have their own little personalities.  Erin is more vocal, a toy hog, and more mobile.  Elise is still so chill and relaxed.  She also seems very sensitive and is startled/scared easily.  She has this horrible heartbreaking cry when she actually does cry about something.  It just makes me so sad!  She sounds so desperate.  I can never ignore her when she is crying like that.  There is a difference between that cry and the slightly fussy cry she has on occasion when she goes down for a nap or to bed at night.

-are such great babies!  I really have no complaints at all.

For those of you who are interested, here is our current routine:

8am wake

8:30am eat 8 oz. breastmilk

10am nap

12pm wake and eat 8 oz. breastmilk

1:30pm eat solids

2pm nap

4pm wake and eat 8 oz. breastmilk

5:30 or 6pm eat solids

7-7:30 pm eat 8 oz. breastmilk

8pm bed

Here is just one picture of them, but I plan to upload more soon for a picture post.  Sally wanted to be included :)