9 Months: Sitting and hoping

 9 month fist pump. (Brady may be pumping his arms because that shirt is too small and he needs to keep the circulation going, but I squeezed him into it for. . . well, for me!)

 How aMOOSING are these shirts.  Thanks Auntie T, mom makes us wear them all the time!

 Babies + flannel = adorable

Month 9 came and went way to easily around here partially, I think, because we were coming off the high of my mom visiting, we were enjoying the summer to fall transition in the Bay Area and we were looking forward to celebrating my 34th birthday as a new mom.  One thing became abundantly clear this month, my babies are not babies anymore.  They are little boys with minds of their own who want to explore their world!

We have a couple of fun things to highlight this month! Top on the list was that we made our first attempt at having the boys sit in high chairs at a restaurant.  Up until this point, we have either avoided going out to eat or, if just me and the boys, I leave them in their stroller and sit at an outdoor table.  Now that they are sitting and eating solid food, they are more comfortable sitting with the grownups  One of the very first times I had the boys out to eat I was with a mom's group.  We had gone for a long walk and then stopped at a cafe to eat.  My boys were amongst the older kids in the gathering, so for space, it seemed to make sense for me to seat them at the table.  What a dibocale.  Within 3 seconds of them sitting down, I had hot coffee pouring down my lap and my food was on the floor.  Four hands verses my two won handily (he he)-no contest.  They won that round and I totally felt like the other moms were looking at me with pity and a little smirk.  Practice makes perfect  though, and after a few family breakfasts out,  the boys were ready to sit at the table while my mom, Aunt and I enjoyed a light lunch! It looks like they enjoyed themselves too!

 Here is Brody going in for the steal.  Tricky baby.  How can they take their time at everything else, but they can pull food off a table in nanoseconds?  Ninjas. 

Another highlight for this month was the start of college football season.  Chris was very happy to have his boys to watch the season opener with.  Shockingly, we had no Michigan gear in this size so we quikly make these onsies in honor of the first game.  #craftsy

The boys started doing this funny thing we call "dolphin calling".  It started with Chris kind of mocking the boys when they grunted.  Not to be outdone, the boys would repeat his grunt in what turned out to be a game that could go on forever.  This game morphed into a round robin sort of song where all four of us would "grunt" in sequence.  The boys totally get that it is a game and that we are all playing together.  Now they dolphin call to each other when they are in their cribs and to us when they are not quite sure where we are.  It is so fun to see them start to understand their world and how to interact with it.

Bath time is so fun with these guys.  We bathe them in an inflatable insert so they are kind of corralled and more manageable.  A few weeks ago Brady and Brody learned how to splash each other in the bath.  One starts slapping the water and the other twin follows and soon Chris and I are soaked beyond belief!  They love the water and we are really looking forward to getting them some swimming lessons.

Brady
Brady's tricks for this month include waving, saying Mama, Dada, hi, and rolling like a champ.  This cute guy is still super vocal and really sweet.  He giggles when his brother comes toward him, even if it is just to steal his toy or bite his head!  Brady is parts tough guy and part sweetie. Sometime when I am walking around his room so he can go back to sleep, he finds my hand and slips his tiny paw
into mine.  No matter how tired or cranky I am, my heart melts and my eyes well up when he does this. It is like his own silent text message saying that he is happy I am there.  When Brady smiles, his little checks puff out and become even more kissable than I thought possible. 

Brody
I say that Brody has spent a large amount of this month frustrated!  This boy wants to be mobile and wants to crawl!  He has learned how to roll out of his room and into the hall but once there, this is often the face I see!

Distant toys frustrate him and he often screeches in annoyance that he is not able to get someplace he wants to go.  He is able to say Mama and Dada, but he speaks less than his brother.  He is interested in smashing, thrashings and playing and once he can crawl, he will be so happy!  Brody gave me a very personal gift on my birthday, he sat up for the first time on his own.  This skill has made him very happy and put him one step closer to freedom! He is still the master of the flat line smile, one eye brow raise and super cute giggle.  He likes to rub noses and still, on occasion, does the Brody bite.  It is takes restraint everyday not to kiss his checks raw.

Taking a good picture of these guys together is a thing of the past.  Now, I just enjoy the funny moments captured "on film" while I am acting like an idiot trying to get them to look the same direction and smile!