Steadier Every Day

Both Evie & Gavin have gotten more confident and steady on their feet. Evie is pulling herself up on everything, especially the musical table. She even pushed it part way down the hallway! (Taking a page out of Gavin's book!)




Here she goes!

She also holds onto furniture and walks along - here she is at he pack-n-play:

Gavin is steady enough on his feet that I don't always have to hold onto the chairs that he pushes around the house:

Don't worry, folks - despite how the video ends, Gavin did not run over his sister. I scooped her up just in time!

Gavin has learned how to manuever the chair in whatever direction he wants to go:

All this mobility is starting to make for a lot of bumps & bruises, but so far nothing that can't be fixed with a hug & a kiss!

Why Childproofing Is Important

I'll let this video speak for itself (and just remember, I have to keep an eye on Evie, too!):



Gavin is trying his hardest to reach all the door handles in the house - he can almost do it if he stands on his tip-toes!

Lil Peanut at Grandpa's Birthday

Evie was all smiles the other day, playing in her pink bouncer and wearing her "Lil Peanut" shirt from Nana & Grandpa Cermak, while we celebrated Grandpa's birthday.

Evie was listening to a story with Nana, but she got distracted by Mom's cell phone:

Evie helped Grandpa unwrap a birthday present:

Evie & Grandpa:

Winding down for bedtime (with the blue seahorse that she first seemed to love, then got scared of):

Gavin examines the seahorse. "This guy isn't scary, Evie. You're bigger than him - you can put him in his place!"

Thursday Cuteness

Evie woke up from her nap the other day with quite a case of bed-head (you can click on the picture for a larger view):





Luckily, Uncle David was here. "Uncle David, I need your phone to make a hair appointment!"




The twins played with Grandma Cordes:


Evie practiced on her piano:



Then they started to read Click Clack Moo, but the kids got distracted:



Here's Gavin holding his bottle all by himself! (Francis says he looks huge in my arms!)


Here's one more high chair video. Evie sings and Gavin adds percussion:

New High Chairs!

The twins LOVE their new Rainforest high chairs from Aunt Sassy. They love the music & the toys that snap onto the tray, and I love the height, the wheels, the shoulder straps, and the wipe-off seats.



Now that they are at the same height, they can hold hands! Awwww.... best friends!


Evie really enjoys her sweet potatoes:


Evie's favorite song right now is Frere Jacques... watch her bounce to the music; she does it every time the song plays!:

She throws her whole body into the groove here:

The large toys can detach from the tray and the kids like to play with them on the floor:

Little Rock Stars

Gavin is down to one nap a day. I didn't expect this to happen for a few more months, but I have learned that a certain percentage of babies take just one nap at 11 months. Evie still takes 2 naps...lucky for me, her second nap overlaps with his nap, so I can at least manage to eat lunch and have a little bit of time to do something while they sleep!

Last weekend we spent some time ouside in the front yard with the kids. Gavin crawled all around on the sidewalk and our driveway, which I thought would hurt his baby-soft knees, but he was fine! What they loved most was playing with the rocks in the landscaping.

"See Evie, you can bang the rocks together like this."


"I'd rather try to eat mine, Gavin."


Happy Gavin...




Happy Evie... at age 11 months, when the twins are happy, so are Mom & Dad!


Monkey see, monkey do.

Friday Cuteness

Here are the twins playing with their new C3PO sandals (which Daddy bought years ago):


"OK, Evie, here's the plan. Daddy's already on the floor, so you tackle his tummy and I'll drool on his head!"


"Hmm, what's this?"



Evie & Nana Cermak



Gavin & Grandpa Cermak



Evie & Grandpa

Reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar:


On Monday, Evie liked holding toys up in the air and pivoting around:


Twirl Girl:

Baptism Day (Again)!

Last Sunday, the twins were baptized at our church, St. Thomas the Apostle (where we were married 9 years ago)! You may remember that the kids were baptized in the NICU at Edward Hospital 10 days after they were born...that is the day that is listed on their baptismal certificates. The church told us that we could also have a ceremony at church later, because of our situation in October.

So we waited until Evie was healthy and had a longer break in between surgeries. We had a great day and all of the family and godparents were able to attend. The kids did really well during the ceremony, especially Evie.

Gavin missed a nap and got a little restless, but I used the tried-and-true Cheerio trick and he was just fine. (In our case it was actually Beech Nut Sweet Potato Puffs, but whatever works, right?) Other babies were crying, but ours were little angels. Gavin even high-fived the deacon after getting oil on his forehead!

Evie and Daddy

Evie with her uncles: Kevin, David, & Brad

Gavin on Grandpa's lap



Evie receives the holy water (luckily it was warm) while Gavin looks on:

Gavin receives the holy water:

Evie's godfathers: Brad & David; and Gavin's godparents: Mark & Robin:

All the grandparents:

Evie with Daddy and Aunt Sassy:

Yummy cake when we all got back home!

Silly Uncle David

Uncle David stopped by last week to help us get the Saturn out of the shop, and while he was here, silliness ensued. This time he decided it would be funny to balance the twins' soft bouncy blocks on their heads:



"You sure are funny, Uncle David!"


Then Gavin grabbed Daddy's nose:


Evie was more interested in watching the blocks than having them on her head:


"See, Uncle David, you have to sqeeze Elmo's hand here and then he talks!"



Evie performed another piano recital for her Uncle: "Symphony in B Major With Star-Shaped Toy.":

Baby Schadenfreude

The twins had a busy Labor Day weekend... more on that in a future post! Right now we are still catching up with last week's silliness, including these photos below. The kids had just eaten lunch and were very playful.

Still one of Evie's favorite things - touching her nose with her tongue!


"It was her idea, Mom!" said Gavin
"Who, me?" said Evie


"Evie, let's go over our ABC's again!"


"I love peach yogurt!" (Evie really loves her yogurt. and didn't mean to throw it all up when Auntie Di and Uncle Kevin were here on Saturday!)



Evie discovered the squeaker in the activity mat, and can't stop kicking it!



More playing in the hallway led to infant schadenfreude. Gavin stumbles a bit and falls onto his belly/face, which Evie thinks is hilarious. After a brief pouty face, Gavin says, "oh yeah?!", then he tries to charge past her, but she cuts him off! to a round of giggles.