7 Months Old!

Our miracle girls are 7 months old! Still hard to believe! They are growing like crazy and continue to surprise us with their constant changes and development.

No doctors appointments since their 6 month check up, so I am not completely sure of their current weights. However, I can tell you that they have definitely gained weight since their last "weigh-in." I can tell they are also growing longer seeing as all of their PJ's seem to be getting shorter and shorter. Both girls can easily wear 6 month clothing, and Hadley can even wear some 9 month clothing. The girls are now eating two "big girl" meals a day. They eat a serving of fruit in the morning and a serving of veggies at night. Both of these meals are followed by a small(er) bottle. They continue to eat 4 bottles a day (2 bigger bottles mid-day), but we hope to faze one of those bottles out as soon as we start feeding them 3 "big girl" meals a day. Both girls are doing EXCELLENT at eating their big girl meals. Last month, the girls (more so Ava James) would fuss while eating and often turned their head away from the food, refusing to open their mouth to eat. Now they get excited at the sight of ANY food and open their mouth immediately, waiting to be fed. My little birds :)

The girls also tried their new sippy cups for the first time this month!

Ava James took to her new cup a little better than Hadley. Mainly because Hadley thought it was a toy and kept banging it against her Bumbo seat! I'm sure they will get the hang of it. We are going to push the sippy cup a lot more over the next month. I am determined to have the girls off the bottle by their first birthday.

The girls also went on their first boat ride on Memorial Day!

Ava James seemed to enjoy the ride more than Hadley, but I think it was mostly because the life jackets seemed to be VERY uncomfortable for the girls. Towards the end of the ride, both girls were falling asleep!

The girls continue to amaze me each day. It seems like they change so much daily, or even hourly! Both girls can easily get around the living room- mainly by rolling, but Hadley can semi-crawl (more on that later). We were forced to baby proof the living room by clearing off the fire place, putting away TV/computer cords, putting away dog toys, and putting plugs in all of the electrical outlets. The girls reach for and grab objects constantly. Taking them out to eat at a resturant can be difficult seeing as they try to grab everything off of the table. Speaking of grabbing, both girls have developed a deep obsession with their sister's pacifier. The girls take different pacifiers- both the bulb and "handle" on them are different. However, the girls like to steal their sister's paci simply to have it. They don't want to suck on their sisters pacifier, because after all, that is not their specific pacifier, but they certainly don't want their sister to have it either. They often pop each other's bows as well. (Since neither girl has enough hair for a bow, they wear stretchy headbands with bows)  Both girls are also more vocal than they were last month. Where they were squealing and cooing before, they are now making more pronounced sounds (more like words). They laugh A LOT- especially when their Daddy gets home from work. Even if they are in the worst mood, they always smile and laugh as soon as they see their Daddy come in the front door. It is obvious that they love their family and that makes me so incredibly happy. It truly warms my heart. They also seem to love the nursery at church. They now reach for Ms. Libby when we drop them off Sunday mornings. They are currently out of "school" (Mother's Morning Out) for the summer, so they are home with me (Katie) everyday until school starts back in August. As far as sleep goes, both girls are easily sleeping through the night (and have been for a few months now) and very rarely wake up in the middle of the night for anything. Both girls like to sleep on their stomach now, and very rarely sleep on their back. They take 3 naps throughout the day but we hope to faze their last nap out fairly soon. One of the girls "milestones" that they have hit this past month makes my heart swell- both girls can now give hugs and kisses!!!! It started with Hadley, and Ava James soon followed. They like to grab faces and necks (hugs) and follow them up with a BIG kiss on the cheek (or nose, or eye, or wherever). There is no better feeling in the world!

Here is some more about the girls at 7 months...

Hadley is trouble our most active girl! She is basically crawling. In fact, on Memorial Day, she crawled for the very first time!!! It is definitely not a "pretty" crawl, but she is on the move. She was motivated by me sitting on the floor in front of her, eating broccoli. This makes sense seeing as she LOVES to eat- she is a bottomless pit! She crawls mostly on her forearms, like an army crawl, but she can slowing move to wherever she wants to go. I give it until the end of the week before she is crawling like a pro! She can also sit up fairly well on her own as long as she doesn't get too tired. Hadley also likes to jump. She continues to love her jumperoo and will jump for hours. Sometimes she doesn't even have to be in the jumperoo to jump- anyone's lap will do just fine. It has become much harder to hold/carry Hadley since she grabs/reaches for everything in sight. She is very curious and must check everything out. She seems to be fearless and this scares Mama (me) just a bit. She has no problem throwing herself backwards off the couch or out of your arms. The only thing that Hadley seems to fear is loud, sudden noises. She doesn't like be startled and often gets upset if she does. Something as simple as a sneeze can upset her. Talking is also something new that Hadley has accomplished this past month. Although she doesn't know the meaning/association, she can easily say "Da Da," "Da De," (Daddy) and "Bay Bee" (baby). Sometimes when saying "baby" it comes out more like "Eyyy Bay Bee." Very Fonzie from Happy Days. Although she has no clue what these words mean, she will say them when directed. She will watch your mouth, mock the movement, and then speak the word. Rusty was very proud that she first said "Da De."  Hadley has also developed a loud, and I mean LOUD, squeal over the past month. We have no idea where it comes from. It almost sounds like she is upset, but she is happy and often smiles while making the ear piercing noise. As I mentioned earlier, both girls like to steal each other's paci. Hadley takes it to another level by trying to steal every toy from Ava James that she tries to play with. Since Ava James is so laid back, she doesn't mind at all. Hadley also has an obsession with necklaces and hair. She is beginning to understand the meaning of "No No" and instead of pulling hair (and necklaces), she runs her fingers very gently through your hair and will even brush it out of your face in a better effort to see you.

Ava James is still our laid back, sweet girl. She very rarely gets upset about anything and can entertain herself easily. She is such a sweet and loving baby, but is still very cautious around the unknown. Ava James will get her feelings hurt easier than her sister, but mostly when she is tired. She is getting VERY close to crawling. I would say in a couple weeks she will be on the move. Especially since her sister is crawling- she will want to keep up with her! I often find AJ under the coffee table, bouncy seat, and jumperoo. I am still not sure if she enjoys being under things or if she just gets herself under stuff by accident? Either way she seems happy! Ava James has finally found her feet and likes to chew on them. She has also developed a love for jumping! She likes the jumperoo a lot more than she did last month. AJ also likes to stand in your lap and grab faces. Normally this is followed with a sweet kiss. :) Ava James has also began saying "Da Da" which makes her Daddy so proud. She has said a few other words as well, but isn't saying them consistently. She babbles a lot, especially in the car. We have also noticed that Ava James continues to "come out of her shell." She smiles more at strangers (compared to getting upset like she did in the past) and has become more interactive with people. She laughs more and  REALLY enjoys playing peak-a-boo. I often play peak-a-boo with a burp cloth, and she LOVES to pull the burp cloth down before I have a chance to. She likes to "slap" things (more like patty cake) and finds it extremely funny. Every woman has to watch their earrings around Ava James seeing as she likes to pull them. I painfully found this out one morning before church. She continues to stick her fingers/whole hand in peoples mouth. I guess we need to break her of that at some point, but it is so funny to see her face light up when you act like you are "eating" her fingers.

We will be going to the beach this month and I am so excited!!! I can't wait for the girls to experience one of my most favorite places on earth. Both girls really enjoy being outside, so I am sure they will love it. We are going to let them swim (in a float, of course) for the first time among other things. I am sure they will love having their cousin Harper around as well- they love to watch and laugh at her anytime she is around.

Now that the girls are semi-mobile, I am definitely busy. I was busy before, but this is a different busy! Where as before I was constantly washing bottles, wiping hinies, and wiping spit up, now I am grabbing babies before they roll/crawl into somewhere that they shouldn't be and trying to calm them down when they don't get their way. There are good day and bad days, but I wouldn't trade this life for the world. Both girls frustrate me at times, but I still find myself kneeling at their crib at night thanking God for these wonderful miracles that have forever changed my life.