Life in Paradis: Nine is Fine!

Actually, it is better and so much more than just fine! It is totally active, non-stop movement, into everything, pure craziness, full of laughter, down right silliness, new foods, bigger clothes, new adventures, obvious personalities, and absolutely full of the greatest blessings ever! It is 3 months shy of two of the sweetest, most beautiful little girls' 1st birthdays...ahem, I'm not quite ready to talk about that one yet. It is ups and downs, good days and bad ones, frustration and happiness. It is a reminder than 9 months ago, God blessed us with two of His sweet angels and made the dream that we had dreamt for so very long, come amazingly true. So to me, 9 months isn't simply another notch in the count down to a year, it is 9 of the most amazing, sweetest months of my entire life! I will savor each moment and cherish them always.

At 9 months you girls:

Are wearing size 6-9 and 9 month clothing (12's in swimsuits).
Are wearing size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night.
Are eating 6-9 ounces of formula at a time, usually 3-4 times a day. You have also started eating table foods (breakfast, lunch, and dinner with snacks in between) which have made things so much more fun...and a lot more messy ;) Some of your favorites so far are: sandwiches, eggs, mac n cheese, pancakes, goldfish, chicken & veggies, and cheese & crackers. You are not big fans of broccoli and cauliflower pureed but seem to like it much better steamed/sauteed.
Are still taking 2 naps a day, one in the morning from 10am-11am and one in the evening from 2pm-5pm (this is give or take on any given day).
Have celebrated your daddy's 29th birthday and even surprised him with a gift (we NEVER surprise him).
LOVE to crawl all over the end tables...this has become one of your new favorite hangouts :)
Are fascinated with the doggy door. I don't doubt that you are very close to crawling out of it!
Are now sitting in your big girl car seats. I can't believe how grown up you look now!
Have now decided that you much prefer to play with the excersaucer and the jumperoo from the outside rather than the inside ;)
Have now experienced riding side by side in a double grocery cart...thank you SAMs and HEB for making this possible :)
Are starting to develop your own little language with one another....we just love this!!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to play peekaboo in between the bars of your cribs...this brings out two very giggly little girls :)
Have been to good 'ol Aggie Land again...this time to celebrate our good friend, Cayson's, 2nd birthday!
Have been promoted to the crawler class (*tear) at church and get so excited when we pick you up. This has been a hard transition and we miss our old teachers ;(
Are still champs at army crawling and have even added in some REAL crawling at times!
Are pulling up on EVERYTHING therefore causing us to lower your cribs to the lowest setting, remove your mobiles, AND secure the cameras for the monitor :(
Are now sleeping with blankets, lovies, and teddy's during nap time only and lovies at bedtime (we are still a little paranoid about suffocation).
Are attempting to climb stairs (including the dogs stairs leading to our bed) causing us to install the second baby gate at the bottom of the stairs.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE bath time now that you guys are able to take one together AND play with your fun bath time toys :)
Are trying to wave which is the cutest thing ever....you wave both to us and yourselves :)
Have a much better fist and pincer grasp....we now like puffs because we can actually pick the little things up :)
Still love to sing Wheels on the Bus and our new favorite, This Little Light of Mine! You especially like these songs when you are upset, being changed, or getting your eyes/face cleaned.
Although we got off to a rough start (actually it really didn't take that long), you are now drinking out of sippy cups!! You still need help holding them but are definitely making attempts at independence in this area as well.
LOVE to look at yourself in the car mirrors...as soon as we put you guys in your carseats, you start laughing and making faces & hand signals.
Are officially holding your own bottle!!! Granted, you do it really well laying down and not as well sitting up. but I'll take what I can get :)
Have discovered that you can open drawers...requiring that much more baby proofing!
LOVE seeing each other first thing in the morning!! I love to see your reaction when I take you to see your sister :)
Avari~You got your first tooth on July 7th and Emeri~You got your first tooth on July 26. You have both since gotten one more tooth each!
Since getting said teeth, have started to chew on your cribs and even bite (ouch!) at times (especially you, Emeri). I don't think you understand what you are doing...I think you guys just like to chew on everything!!!
Are constantly dropping your paci's out of your cribs. This is due to the above mentioned crib lowering and pulling up.
Are both so ticklish and we get the best giggles from you when tickling your feet and your tummy!
Now that your hair is getting a little longer, it's kind of crazy...but still super adorable :)
Avari~You still do your cute little laugh/cry thing...are you happy or are you sad, girlfriend?! ;)
Because you are now pulling up, there have unfortunately been a lot of falls and even a few bumps and bruises. This hurts mommy's heart :( And of course, you guys typically get these bruises in the same spot....you take this twin thing very seriously, I tell ya!
Have officially been on your first family mini-vacation which included a trip to the Texas State Aquarium! This was mentioned in the last monthly post as well since it overlapped your monthly birthday :)
Avari~You get very distracted and want to be included in everything that is going on! You are our funny, outgoing girl who loves to laugh and also craves a lot of attention! You are a little more timid when it comes to trying new things but if you see your sister getting into something, you are never far behind ;)
Emeri~You are our more serious child who requires a little more craziness from mom and dad to get you to laugh and although you may try, you can't always keep that sweet smile from us! You are miss independent and love to explore everything around you. You are very much the leader of the two of you.
Still enjoy a good walk and have recently made a new discovery...you love to listen to your voices as we are making our way over bumps :)
Still have an obsession with shoes and shoelaces....and cords of ANY kind!
Avari~You started "talking" recently (August 3rd to be exact) and of course, despite mommies best efforts, your first "word" was dada (dadadadadada). I claim that you don't put the word with the actual person but I think you do. If it wasn't so darn cute, I'd probably actually be upset since it is I who takes care of you all day, every day ;)
Your wonderful sleep habits got a little off while working so hard on those two teeth so we've had to retrain you to go to sleep easily and not wake back up...mommy had to leave the house a few times because this hurt my heart so bad :(
Avari~You tend to like to ~~crawl~~ waller all over your sister...she does NOT like this!
Now that you have started pulling up, you have started to "cruise" a little while holding on to furniture.
Avari~You still love to play your little growling game...you growl and we growl back and you think this is hilarious!
Emeri~We have caught you sucking your thumb on a few different occasions...is this a sign of things to come?
Are starting to clap and it is the cutest.thing.ever.
Make your mommy and daddy laugh so much which is exactly as it should be...love the sounds that fill my house and my heart these days!
Still love when I clap! This can stop you in an instant, whether you are crying or laughing!
Are without a doubt, the single most important people in your mommy's and daddy's life and we feel truly blessed and honored that God chose us to be your parents! We love you baby girls, forever and always!