Big Babies

Ahhh, the sound of peace and quiet. It is 8:00 and both girls have been asleep in bed for about 30-35 minutes. I have to say that I am very pleased with their night time schedule lately. We have cut out their last nap of the day, so from about 4-7 is kind of nightmarish, but in doing that most nights they are usually asleep by 7:30-7:45(if not much earlier) and don't wake up until 6:15-6:30. Most people I talk to about their sleeping habits have sort of an "awed" expression on their face. It isn't me people...it is Babywise. I stand firm with that book even though it was hard at first. Remember how I was trying to keep the girls awake more during the day in the beginning? Sleep, eat, wake, sleep, eat, wake....Over and over. Sheesh! What a task! It has paid off though, when I talk to other moms and dads and their one kiddo (who is old enough to be sleeping through the night) is still waking up to be fed a few times and my two kiddos sleep anywhere from 10-11 hours I feel kind of bad. Perhaps this is the time I should be KNOCKING ON WOOD! I would cry if I jinxed it. It seems though that once you have a schedule down it isn't long before it is changing again. I guess I should just enjoy what I have and roll with it. :)

Anyhoo, we all seem to be recovered from the bout of flu that went around. Thank goodness the girls didn't get it too terrible. The flu can be scary. Both Jilly and Jenna actually got better within a week or so and Jared didn't feel bad long either. Jared is lucky though in that he usually doesn't stay sick for long...two or three days and he seems to be back to normal. I think I had it the worst. On Friday I finally succumbed and went to see the doctor. I have asthma pretty bad and it seems to get worse with colds. I wasn't necessarily feeling badly but was having a hard time getting deep breaths, and the cough I had (still somewhat have) was nasty. I figured I had bronchitis and was right. At first the doctor was concerned about pneumonia, but chest x-rays ruled that possibility out, thank goodness. Just a nasty case of bronchitis. So he gave me three different shots, two different inhalers and a prescription for some meds. I feel much better and the congestion is definitely making its way out.

The girls are probably going to get their flu shot on Wednesday. We have our 9 month check up! Can you believe it? Nine months already, gosh! I am betting they are 16-16 1/2 pounds now. Maybe 26-27 inches long? They look like such big girls lately.

Jenna in red and Jillian in pink.

Funny girls, too. For whatever reason they like the "Achoo" sound of a sneeze. Of course it is much more fun when they are getting tickled too, but they get a kick out of it. Here is a video clip of the fun sneezes. :) Kazoontight!

Another new development: a sippy cup. The last two days we have been trying to introduce a sippy cup with absolutely no luck. Not only do both Jillian and Jenna have zero interest in holding the cup but neither can seem to get the suction right. They sit and bite at the tip. I tried using smaller bottles instead, the kind they can hold. They did better holding them but were unsure about the water that was in them, nor could they quite get the head tilt required for getting much liquid out. It seems that at 9 months (adjusted age is 6 1/2-7 months) they would be better with holding objects. Then again, I don't know when babies get really good at things like holding their own bottle. They are good at grabbing, shaking, picking up, switching toys from hand to hand....just not actually using their hands for tasks I guess.

But, what they can't do with their hands they make up for with their mouths. Today we had a merry chorus of "Ga," "Ba," and "Ma" sounds. No "Da" yet which is weird since that is usually one of the first ones. Also, spitting! Jillian spits all the time. She just sits there and makes "tthhpp" sounds. Usually it doesn't bother me. Except she has really started spitting a lot at eating time. I should probably admit that I am sitting here typing with Gerber Peaches on my shirt and spots of Gerber Sweet Potato and Turkey dinner sprinkled on my arm. Yup, I smell right fine! Anyone have any ideas on how to teach a baby not to spit? I don't think my no-no's are working.

On that note, I am going to get cleaned up leaving you with More To Come....

Jessica