7 Months Old!

I think I say it every month, but this is crazy. 7 months old already? CRAZY.

Matthew weighs 16lb 4 oz

Kayla weighs 17lb 1 oz

Big news for this week: Kayla learned to creep (on Sunday, Oct 16)! YAY! For the past couple of weeks or so she had figured out how to turn in circles and could move backwards (much to her frustration because she would be trying to move forwards), but she finally figured it out. I'm hoping as she gains confidence in her new ability to move around that her whining for someone to help her will come to an end. Her whining was definitely starting to drive me nuts! I can't be with her 24-7 when she has a sibling that deserves an equal portion of my attention. It's great that Matthew is so easy going, but now I really have to be conscious of splitting my one-on-one time with them as equally as I can.

I tried to get some decent (read: smiling) 7-month pictures of them today...this is the best I got:

Seriously, how hard is it to smile for the camera? I even had Jon and my Mom there trying to be funny!

As I look back over the past 7 months, I've come to the following realizations:

• By three months, I felt like the worst (not that it was bad, just the busy-ness) of it was over.
• By six months, we were starting to get a routine going.
• By seven months, we definitely have a routine going.

I don't have either of them on a strict schedule (ie. meal times vary, nap times vary, etc), but we definitely have a routine. Bed/Nap times are seldom a struggle, which is so nice! A typical day is like this (you can totally skip reading this part...it's totally boring...but just wanted to have it 'recorded' somewhere!):

7:45am Matthew and Kayla wake up. They eat rice cereal for breakfast (approx 1.5 Tbsp each), followed by their bottle (approx 3 oz).

8:15am Bath times. Typically the child that was up first or the one that is the least content to play toys is bathed first. In the baby tub in the kitchen sink. Still. I know...too lazy to keep the bathroom clean.

8:45am Play time with Mommy.

9:00am More bottle (approx 3 oz).

9:15am Nap time. During this time I: pump (if I hadn't done it before they woke up in the morning), and/or shower, and/or clean up bath stuff, and/or work.

10:15am Wake up & bottle.

The rest of the day typically follows a 2 hours up/1 hour sleep schedule.

1:00pm Lunch time & bottle. Either apples, pears, or banana, along with prunes. They definitely don't have Jon's digestive system (yet!). Prunes daily are a must. They typically eat a 1/4 baby food jar each.

2:00pm I pump and work.

3:00pm Snack & bottle. Either yogourt (25 grams each) or a Baby Mum-Mum.

6:00pm Dinner & bottle. Either squash, sweet potatoes, peas, or carrots. No carrots for Matthew though - he hates them. Although, I mixed some in his sweet potatoes today and he didn't notice :) Usually 1/4 baby food jar each.

7:00pm Off to Grandma & Grandpa's house for a cup of coffee, play time, and cuddles.

8:30pm Home. Last bottle of the evening.

9:00pm Bedtime.

9:15pm I pump, tidy the house, and make Jon's lunch.

10:15pm Bedtime for me :)

That's our typical day.

Now, for some pictures!

Playing in the play pen while Mommy pumps in the morning. They have set toys that stay in here, and they are only in the play pen during my morning pump (if I didn't get up before them). *Like Kayla's wild outfit? LOL*

They've learned how to hold their own bottles (for the most part). Definitely convenient!

I took Matthew and Kayla for a ride around the living room in the laundry basket the other morning. I think I had more fun than they did :)

My mom decided to try and teach Matthew and Kayla how to stand up in their cribs (well, just in Kayla's crib...Matthew's hasn't been lowered yet).

When Jon and I first set up the cribs we had put the plastic rail guard at the bottom of the crib because we thought it was ugly and had no idea why it was on the crib. My mom explained that it was to protect both the crib/baby for when they start chomping on the crib. Now I believe her :)

Play (?) fighting.

Playing together. It's hard to give them opportunities to stand and play together when it's just me (let alone take a picture of it!). The risk of one of them falling and hurting themselves is to high.

Playing toys. It was overalls and solid long-sleeve shirt day.

First time eating a Baby Mum-Mum. They quite enjoy them!

This is what happened once I cleaned them up after that Mum-Mum...Kayla attacked Matthew and started to suck his head.

Hanging out with Daddy.

With her new-found freedom, she's starting to get into things. At least she's choosing books wisely...we're proud of our good Christian girl.

Good morning cuddles with Mommy. She actually fell asleep on me for another 30 minutes after waking up in the morning. Like my Simpsons pj pants? LOL

Bibs are a must for Matthew if you want him to wear the same shirt for more than 5 minutes. Although Kayla is a drooler too, Matthew has her beat by far! If he's not wearing a bib his shirt gets a huge 'v' of drool.

See, Kayla's a drooler too. See the 'matching' outfits again?

Auntie Melissa was playing with Matthew and Kayla by the sliding door at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Every time Lacey barked (at our command) Matthew burst out in laughter. It was pretty cute.

Watching the hockey game with Daddy on Thanksgiving, while the girls (less Kayla) played cards.

I finally used some of my birthday money from my parents (I know, 8 months late) and bought myself a bread maker. I've been wanting one since last Christmas, but wanted to make sure I really wanted one before I went out and bought one. Wal-Mart's sale (regular $88 for $38) was too irresistible! This was my very first loaf, using my brother David's recipe. I've made two loaves of it now, and both have caved at the top so I have to do a slight modification of the ingredient amounts.

I also made buns for tonight's dinner. Those were a success! Jon's pretty proud of his pulled pork sandwiches (with homemade onion rings). It was tasty!

Before-bed cuddles with Daddy.

After having Matthew and Kayla weighed I went to Sears to buy a baby gate (which they didn't have in stock so I had to order from the catalogue), and then to Superstore for some groceries. This was the first time that I left their car seats in the car and had both Matthew and Kayla sitting in the front of the shopping cart. I think within 5 minutes Kayla had turned around and was caught sucking on the end of the celery. I took that away from her, and then a few minutes later my Mom caught her sucking on the end of the bananas. And then on the lid of the mayo jar. Crazy girl.

Matthew and Kayla enjoyed their first cookie from Superstore today (if you're under 10 you can stop by the bakery for a free cookie while you're grocery shopping). I totally took advantage of having kids. It was lunch time, and I was hungry! Matthew did quite enjoy it though. Shopping took a little longer as I had to keep stopping to give them nibbles.

Kayla's starting to pull herself up on objects. Scary thought, I know. That would mean she would be even more mobile. My house is definitely not ready for this. I'm not ready for this.

Matthew's still content to just sit on the floor. I still use a pillow behind him because I can't trust 100% that he won't fall. At least I only have one mover at a time. If Matthew's anything like I was as a child then it will be a while still before he moves :)

ANYWAYS, sorry this was a mumble-jumble of thoughts - I wanted to quickly get this post up. And hopefully there aren't too many spelling/grammar errors in this entry, although I'm sure someone in my family (read: Melissa or my Mom) will let me know so that I can correct them before anyone else notices. Good night, it's bed time for me :)