High Rollin' at Nine Months

Too bad lap children can't collect credits on Southwest Airlines. After Lucie and Ryan's latest adventures, they'd be well on their way to a free ticket.

Our recent trip began in Las Vegas for my cousin Molly's wedding. With all the noise, lights and people, the babies did quite well, or at least did a good job of hiding any sensory overstimulation. It's funny to think their first trip to Vegas was at such a young age -- personally, my inaugural visit was at 26 which is probably the ideal age to appreciate this city (unless you're a train lover like my 4 year old cousin Milo and can spend all day riding the monorail between the Luxor and Mandalay Bay).

Here's Lucie dressed up in her wedding finest and Ryan nodding off. Sleep came well before the bouquet toss, though they had a fun time with family during the early hours of the reception. Congratulations to Molly and Tony.

Playing Nice

Lots of questions about how Lucie and Ryan get along while playing. And despite the earlier post about toy stealing, our babies do play nicely together. Which is not to say that the most popular toy isn't always whatever sister or brother happens to be playing with at that moment, but most days they will happily share toys. Frankly, they are so easily distracted that even when there is some jealousy, it can be avoided by a well-timed change of direction.

Here they play with a recent addition to their growing toychest: My 1st Fishbowl from Lamaze. While the "real water" feature is of no interest, Lucie and Ryan do like chewing on the smiling residents of the fishbowl: Clammy, Crabby, Starfish, and Fishy.

First Father's Day

I had very simple wishes for Father's Day -- a picnic in the park and an afternoon swim. Good thing too since Lucie and Ryan aren't exactly up to making breakfast in bed just yet. Of course, being a father of twins, I didn't get the day off from diaper changes either...

Happy Father's Day to the dads of Lucie and Ryan's growing circle of friends: Mike (Cooper), Rick (Erick), Tim (Callie), Dave (Logan), Terry (Charlie and Brady), Jarrod (Natalie), Dave (Sammy and Rina) and future dads Darek (to-be-named this month) and Jason (to-be-named in October).

And One to Grow On

Lucie and Ryan had their 9 month checkup last week. We scheduled the appt a little earlier to monitor Skinnie Minnie's weight.

Good news all around as both babies are hitting the major development milestones: standing while holding onto something for support, forward-progress crawling (albeit Army crawling), banging toys together to make noise, and finger foods. The only surprise was answering a definitive no to 'waving bye-bye'. Being the concerned parents we are, every departure is now punctuated with a loud 'bye-bye' and exagerated wave.

Lucie (6 months): 13 lbs, 9 oz (10%) and 26 3/4 in (85%)
Lucie (9 months): 15 lbs, 1 oz (10%) and 27 1/2 in (75%)

Ryan (6 months): 15 lbs, 8 oz (20%) and 27 1/2 in (80%)
Ryan (9 months): 17 lbs, 2 oz (25%) and 28 1/2 (75%)

Your Crib or Mine?

A few weeks ago naptime was interrupted by a strange combination of screams and giggles. I sprinted into the room to find Lucie leaning over her previously snoozing brother, playing with his hair and smiling ear-to-ear. After eight months of peaceful co-sleeping, this event and other factors (mainly, these babies are getting big) meant it was time for everyone to have their own space.

The transition from one to two cribs has been easy for some (Ryan) and quite challenging for others (Lucie and her parents). When Ryan sleeps, he's out. Lucie, taking after her Dad, is a very light sleeper. The move to her own crib meant that she no longer had a cozy, warm brother to snuggle up against for comfort. At first we left the crib bumpers off thinking it would help if they could see each other. We didn't realize they would get their arms and legs stuck between the crib slats -- no fun for anyone. The bumpers are back on, though as Lucie demonstrates here, she's learned to peek a look at brother anytime she feels the need. Don't worry, he's still there, little Luce.

Hit and Run

Lucie started crawling about three weeks ago. She progressed quickly from a downward dog, hip-shaking move to actual forward movement. Ryan is quite the roller, but his crawling is currently limited to a backwards shuffle.

Unfortunately, Lucie has decided to put her new mobility advantage to criminal use as a toy-stealer. Most times, poor Ryan doesn't even know what hit him. Our survelliance camera recorded the following theft a few days ago.

Need for Speed (feeding, that is)

Alternating spoonfuls between two squealing, leg-kicking, 8 1/2 month olds can be a monster arm workout. (Those lucky few who have seen Ryan nearly hyperventilate with excitement over a bowl of peas know what I'm talking about.) Since I haven't had much time to hit the gym lately, good thing I have our babies to keep my biceps in shape for tank top season.

Taking some of the pressure off the speed-feeding is a cool product called the Fresh Food Feeder (thanks to L & R's buddy Logan!). These popsicle looking teethers allow you to give babies fresh foods without worrying about choking. Lucie and Ryan have tried avocado, banana, and warm apples, all while practicing chewing and feeding themselves. Once the self-feeding truly begins, then we'll really have to hose down these highchairs everyday. What a mess!

More on the highchairs later. As I'm sure you'd expect from the 20 fingers & 20 toes parents, due diligence was done before purchase...

Kill Your Television

This is one of those topics where opponents can't seem to find common ground. The "let them watch tv" side says Baby Einstein videos not only develop the yound mind, they are a life-saver for frazzled parents. The "don't use tv as a babysitter" camp says it sets early precedents for a host of bad habits (short-attention spans, obesity, etc.) and, most significantly, means less quality time for parents and babies.

While we're not militant, we are firmly in the no tv camp. Frankly, Lucie and Ryan are happier reading a book together (Squishy Turtle and Friends is their current favorite). However, like most guys, Ryan's interest does occasionally wander to the tv regardless of what's on.

Summertime...

and the living's easy. With the first warm weekend of summer, we hit the pool. Lucie and Ryan were decked out in their designer swimwear courtesy of Great Aunt Stephanie. Like many of our activities, swimming was a tale of two babies; Ryan tried in vain to lift his legs completely out of the water, while Lucie practically dove in headfirst.

Of course, the combination of direct sun and baby-fair skin meant we spent more time applying sunscreen than actually swimming. Megan's now searching for the equivalent of baby rash guards -- shirts meant for the water but with strong UV protection. Look for those in a future post.