8 months: Voices Carry

 

I think month 7 to 8 time lapse was the fastest yet!  It seems like it went by in a blink of an eye.  Please don't let the other months go by this fast, I want to be able to take all of these new milestones in!

 Worst picture of them together!  It is getting harder to get both of them to smile in pictures. The outtakes are so much better!

We were lucky to have a visit with Barry, Jane and Samson in Golden Gate Park on their 8 month birthday.  Such a great way to spend the afternoon.The boys loved sitting in the grass and trying to eat the grass. . . 

Feeding is still a terrifying and somewhat daunting experience.  Seating, feeding, and cleaning up after two babies is really hard.  Introducing new foods and watching for possible allergic reactions is scary and annoying.  The fear of choking, especially when I am feeding them by myself is unpleasant.  To this point, we have them eating once a day but sometime soon, I need to increase meal time to twice a day.  Send reinforcements.  Good thing they look cute with food on their faces!

 Probably the most fun thing that happened this month is that the boys started talking.  Both boys  mastered "Dada" and "Mama" and nothing could sound sweeter than these words coming out of their mouths.  Brady has always been very vocal so his transition from babbling to actually saying "Dada" (yes, that was first word, much to my chagrin, thankfully Mama followed soon after) seemed seamless.  Brody's first words, however, were more startling.  Up until the moment he yelled out  "Dada" and "Maaaaaama", I had not realized that I had never actually heard his voice. I guess his grunts and closed mouth mmmmmmmmm's translated into words in my head, but when the actually said a real word for the first time, it was startling.  It's hard to describe how amazing it was finally hear what Brody's voice sounds like.
 

The second thing that was so much fun this month was seeing the boys start to playing together.  Granted, playing consists mainly of biting hands and/or feet or stealing the toy that the other one has, but I consider it playing nonetheless.  They are so funny.  No matter where you put them on the floor they migrate to each other and end up intertwined and when you say hi to them, they look up a you like thy were doing something wrong.  As you can see in the pictures below, they like tochew on feet and hands, preferably someone elses.  I particularly like the picture series where you can see Brady reaching for Sophie the Giraffe and Brody rolls away to keep it from him.  Classic brotherly love. 

I have witnessed two funny occurrences..  First, I have seen Brody roll over to Brady and proceed to hold Brady's arm down while he takes a toy with his free hand.  I have also witnessed the boys master the "around the corner grab" where one pulls a toy away from his brother while sitting in the Bob stroller even though they can't see each others faces.  And parents wonder why my guys don't react when a kid crawls up to them and takes something during play time at the library.  It's because it happens all the time at home!  The boys are now too active and too wiggly to be put in the same crib or pack n play.  If I do leave them together, I always find one is covered in spit from his brother's mouth, a gross but cute find!  

Rolling is still their main form of transportation and they are very effective at it.  It is amazing to watch them roll, pivot, and roll again to get to where they want to go.  They can also scoot on their butts, though Brady does this more than Brody. Brady gets so excited about something the starts to flap his arms and lift this butt off the ground and the next thing I know, he is 10 or 20 feet from where he started! 

I feel that there will be many milestones in the next few months, and not just because I am 6 weeks late in posting this update!  :)