8 months

January 25-February 25, 2011

Sometimes the boys' clothes are a little big in the chest or the legs are too long on their sleepers. During a nap, Eli wiggled his arm out of the sleeper and was sleeping soundly. Until I got the camera and he looked at me like, "What? I'm fine. This is how I wanted to wear it today."
Pops celebrated a birthday in Texas so we decided to celebrate with him! Happy Birthday Pops!
Oh the water bottle. They love my water bottle. Well this is what happened when my army crawler noticed I left it unattended and went to the living room. It started out by the by the toy with the toys hanging off of it and rolled. Eli continued to chase it and once he grabbed it, it made a turn for the mat instead of towards the window. What a fun game!
I have learned that Eli is okay to hold in the air but Porter is not. Porter is our spitter-upper. Evan learned this lesson today.
What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine.
Another Mommy mishap. I make lists in the morning while we sit and play. I ran to get something and put down the pen and paper. I would be right back. I was not quick enough. Eli sees me with the pen and paper everyday and took advantage of the opportunity to see what the fuss is all about. I heard the banging noise and thought, "okay, he's banging a toy on the ground. Wait. NO, that's the PEN on the ground!" He's not in pain, he's blinking because of the flash. No more pens or paper on the play mat!
I watched this particular escapade from the dining room table. Since we moved the play area to the hallway, I sit and eat breakfast while watching them from afar. They play by themselves and I get to enjoy my breakfast (and People magazine) while peering up now and then to check that everybody is okay. Hollie left us Ceci's exersaucer and we have enjoyed having a new toy to play with. I watched Eli approach and then turn in circles while trying to get out of the saucer part. He was very proud of himself.
This is, in my opinion, Porter's favorite part of the day. We finally captured it on camera. This is his spot to sit and wait while I put on my magic pillow. He squeals and giggles and those chubby cheeks--SO cute! He just cannot contain his excitement.
Thanks to Nana and Grandpa, they have their first big boy clothes. First time to wear clothes that don't snap or zip.
We take walks about 3 afternoons a week. It's usually around the 4:45 p.m. time until 6 p.m. so the boys can get outside and they usually take cat-naps. I also treat myself to a coffee on the way home if they are both asleep at the same time. There has been a carousel in the center since the Christmas markets began in November. Everything else is gone but the carousel stuck around. I walk up to it and point to the animals and talk about the colors, and if it's running we sit and watch it go 'round and 'round. The man in the booth saw me a lot and I would wave to him. The last week of the carousel being there we got a fun Italian surprise. Even when no one was on the ride, he ran the carousel for the boys each day. I was shocked the first time, but I guess after seeing me for almost 2 months he knew I was going to stand there even if it wasn't moving. I really hope it comes back next year because Porter and Eli will be old enough to ride.

Eli started clicking his tongue this month. It's really cute and he will do it back and forth with Evan and me. Once again our army crawler is on the prowl. He sees the way towards the cords and is on a mission.
Porter! Come on! He was supposed to alert me if Eli strayed from the "normal" play area. My spy was too busy with his buzzing bee. He really is my yoga baby sitting up straight in butterfly position.
We had a doctor's appointment on Valentine's Day so I decided to get their shots on the same day to save me a trip. They each got 4 shots! What was I thinking? The shots have not affected them until now. We went through 1.5 days of fussiness, tired babies, and cuddly bugs before they were back to their normal personalities. They really were troopers with the shots considering they got 4 pokes each!
My little Valentine.
We started eating yogurt this week. The doctor thinks we need to gain some more weight so bring on the protein! We are so over those shots--back to normal. They were playing so cute today in their coordinating onesies from Steph, I had to snap a pic.
Other new foods: Strawberries, cherries, and turkey. The boys hit their trays while I prepare their food. It's like a concert with all their grunts and groans and tray-hitting that goes on in the dining room. It's directly above Lino the Landlord's bedroom--I'm sure he is pleased.

This is what we look like every night before bath time. I corral them in Eli's crib and strip them down. They seem to wait more patiently when they are almost naked. I bathe one and the other one waits.
We ventured out, with some friends from the office, to Gemma's for some yummy Italian food. Evan got cannelloni and I ate spinach ravioli with pears. The boys did great--Eli sat in the only high chair and Porter was passed around the table. At the end of the night, Evan let Eli taste his tiramisu. What a sweet treat for our lip smacking Eli! I guess we could say it was in celebration of him turning 8 months old.