8 months

My sweet babies turned 8 months old yesterday.

Getting their 8 month picture was very challenging this month.

But they finally held still with a little bit of daddy distraction.
At 8 months Carson and Avery:
-are both crawling (very fast and in different directions!!)
-are pulling up on everything.
-have added bananas, peaches, turkey, and oatmeal to their diets.
-are sitting in highchairs (I finally bought them highchairs so they could graduate from eating in their bouncyseats)
-have started practicing drinking from a sippy cup
-started eating finger foods like puffs (which I have come to realize are basically just expensive, flavored cheerios so now we just buy cheerios and they don't know the difference) chopped bananas, and cooked carrots. They love being able to feed themselves.
Some of their favorite things these days are:
-playing with the dog bowls

-emptying out their basket of "baby stuff" (lotion, butt cream, q-tips etc.)

-pulling wipes out the wipe package

-anything electronic (phones, remotes, and cords are thier favorite)

-their new activity table. they love that thing!!

Carson:
Carson has become a very curious boy. He is in that "grab anything in site" stage. Very busy boy! Carson started babbling this past month. He says: baba, dada, and mama. Sometimes he'll say, "mamadada" together, it's like he's calling both of us. It's so cute. The babbling isn't directed towards anything yet, I think it's just sounds at this point, but I can pretend right? He has also started making the extremely cute motorboat sound. Carson loves that he can stand up now. He has decided that pulling up on the fireplace is his most favorite thing to do. And no matter how many pillows and toys I put in front of it, he always finds a way through to the fireplace. He is getting more steady on his feet, but has still hit his head just about everyday this past week on different toys from falling down from the standing position. Poor guy, he's had a rough week of injuries. Carson loves his sister and has started laughing when she looks at him and smiles at him. It is so sweet! He has also become clingy to mommy lately and climbs all over me when I sit on the floor with them. Carson is still eating 6oz five times a day and I finally can say that he is sleeping through the night (most nights). He every once in a while will get up during the night, but not too often anymore.
Avery:

Avery has become very resourceful lately. I have created a play area in our living room using furniture and baby gates so that they can't get to the kitchen or stairs, and she has found a way out of it multiple times this past week. She has figured out how to crawl between the rocking chair and the wall and under this very short kiddie table to get into the kitchen and on to her ultimate goal: the dog bowls. She has also started crawling faster when she hears you coming for her, it's pretty funny. Then the other day I look over and she is coming out from under the kiddie table and there is Carson right behind her. She is teaching her brother how to be an escape artist too. Avery is making lots of new sounds. She says: baba, dada, yaya, and has started growling. She is also starting to copy some words we are saying. She says,"puh-puh" (puppy) and, "duh-duh" (all done). Smart girl!! Avery has her two bottom front teeth, and man they are sharp. No more toothless grins for Avery. She has only had one fussy day with the teething, so not too bad!! Avery is eating 4-6oz five times a day and is doing SO much better with her sleeping. She has slept through her usual middle of the night feeding every night this past week, but now she is waking up between 5:30-6:30 every morning, and is up for the day! Fun times! But I am so excited that she has dropped that middle of the night feeding! Yay Avery!

It's hard to believe that they are already 8 months. I love this stage though. They are somewhat independent, yet still want to be held. Sweet babies, I love them so much!!