Decisions, Decisions

"Evie, I can't decide which of these toys to chew on."


"You should stick with the blue octopus - that's one of your favorites," replied Evie


"While you do that, I'm going to munch on this red block here," she added.
"Hmm, that looks good, too," said Gavin.


"OK," Gavin announced," I've decided on my blue toy, but I'm not ready to let go of the other one just yet!"


"Actually, forget both of them. These blocks taste pretty good, Sis!"
"I'll give you advice anytime, little brother!"

Softball Silliness

The twins are enjoying their big stuffed softball from Nana & Grandpa Cermak! Here's Evie... well, she's under there somewhere!



...and Gavin:


Gavin is full of giggles:



Daddy got Gavin a new "hat" at the County Fair:



"Can I try it on next?"


"Never mind, I'd rather play with my fishbowl!"

A Visit from Misty

Last week my very good friend Misty was in town from Texas and she managed to find a way to come and see us. It wasn't easy, because she was in downtown Chicago for meetings, then putting out work fires, and then there was some convention going on and she almost didn't get a rental car. Luckily, Misty is very resouceful and determined (or as she would say, "I'm nuts!")

She finally got to meet the twins after following their adventures on the blog:




We had a lot of fun catching up on stuff and talking about babies. Misty has a 5 month old son, Landon, and a 2 1/2 year old daughter, Leigh-Ann, that she had to hurry home to. We can't wait til you're in town again, my friend!

In which both kids are fussy for no apparent reason.

This weekend the kids were both fussy for no apparent reason - I guess that's just part of being 9 months old! Gavin has another tooth that is very close to popping through, so I think that was bugging him.

Evie starting sitting up and rolling onto her tummy in her crib (at night only). Francis thinks she is practicing until she is ready to do it in front of us (becuase most of the day she just sits on her playmat). When I do tummy time with her now, she sits up right away. She is so close to crawling!

Evie can usually reach her nose with that tongue of hers:


The kids both love my cell phone, and whenever I use it they try to grab it. I know some of you are probably saying, "how old is that phone?" I got it in the fall of 2003, but I don't have to have the latest gadgets and it still works!


This weekend we stocked up on baby food - this shelf is full all the way back to the wall. Both kids are eating more now! The checkout guy at the grocery store asked Francis how long all this baby food was going to last? When Francis told him it was for twins, the clerk nodded his head sagely.


Gavin loves being mobile, but he also still loves his jumper:


When the kids are in their pack-n-play, I try to get them to touch hands and give kisses with me through the mesh sides. Here they are doing this on their own:

Silly Uncle David, Part 2

Here Uncle David decided to help Gavin dance...

"Look Evie! I'm dancin', I'm dancin'!"

Grandma Cordes stopped by for a short visit:

Uncle David helped Evie with some "table time"

...then helped Gavin settle down for a nap:

Silly Uncle David

The twins love when Uncle David comes over! He has lots of fun, silly ideas that Mommy & Daddy would never have thought up. For example, he thought it would be cute to have the twins wear Starbucks coffee lids on their heads (and they loved playing with the lids too!):

Here's Gavin doing his best Walk Like An Egyptian dance:





Uncle David was all ears for Evie's piano recital:



And here is our own, suburban version of "This Little Piggy" (watch how much Evie cracks up at the song):

Gavin's First Tooth!

Gavin's first tooth popped through his gum on July 8 (9 months exactly), but it took me awhile to get a picture of it. I had to wait until he smiled wide enough! You can see it along his lower-center gumline (you can also click on any picture to see a larger view):



"Can I have a cheeseburger now that I have a tooth?"


No cheeseburgers yet, Gavin. Instead he tried to taste Daddy's vanilla latte:


Then it was time to get Evie and double-team Daddy with blocks!

"Daddy, you're going to eat this block for breakfast!", said Gavin. Evie just cracks up.

Evie doesn't have teeth yet. Maybe she is taking after me, and Grandma tells me I didn't have teeth until I was 12 months old! Here Evie is playing with a Tonka school bus:


Gavin cuddles with Nana & Grandpa Cermak while Evie naps:


Then when Gavin napped, Evie got to spend some undivided time with her grandparents and the new stuffed softball they brought over:

Uncle David & Uncle Brad's House!

This past Sunday, the twins had their first visit to Uncle David & Uncle Brad's house. Nana & Grandpa Cermak came along too - we all wanted to see David & Brad's beautiful new landscaping. I put Gavin in his new muscle hoodie from Uncle David, and put Evie in a new skort, and off we went!

The twins in the car - Gavin is in his new convertible seat, and Evie is still in her infant carrier (I think she will be in it until she's at least 1 year):



When we arrived, the first thing we did was introduce the twins to one of their cat "cousins," Phoebe. Their other cousin, Phantom, was hiding way under the bed upstairs! This was the first time the twins had seen a cat! We hope the kids don't develop cat allergies like Daddy.




Evie was very interested in Phoebe, who seemed to get a little scared by all the excitement.



Gavin was more interested in Uncle Brad's superhereo statue collection! (That's just one of seven full cabinets! Daddy's jealous!)



We walked around outside and admired all the new trees and bushes.



It was pretty hot in the sun, so we relaxed on the new patio for a bit. Here is Francis with Evie, Nana Cermak and Uncle David.



Gavin & Grandpa Cermak



Princess Evie in her SJP skort:




Evie & Uncle Brad



Evie with Uncle Brad's gigantic Sentinel statue from Marvel Comics:




Evie and Uncle David



Gavin & Grandpa Cermak


Gavin & Uncle David

Bath Time!

Some of you have been wondering how I give the kids their baths. I like to do both baths one right after the other. So I moved Gavin's Bumbo seat upstairs to the hall bathroom, and one of them sits in it while the other is in the tub. Gavin barely fits in it now, so I guess soon I will have to start putting him in his crib while I bathe Evie. He will hate that! They both want to be where the action is and don't want to miss a thing!

Here's Evie in the tub. At 13 lb 10 oz, I guess it's time to stop using the "newborn" hammock in their baby tub (it's the green thing in the picture below):


Evie is all done - fresh and clean! - and playing in the Bumbo while I bathe Gavin:


Gavin just loves the water - I think he'd like to stay in as long as I'd let him (he loves his "pirate" rubber ducky , too):


But he loves to splash, and after each bath, the bathroom floor has more water on it than the last time (and I do too)!


Wrapped up and ready for a new outfit!

All About Evie

Evie has been spending a lot of time on her tummy. She almost always rolls over or sits up from lying on her tummy. She scoots backward and pivots on her belly, but so far no forward motion yet. Here is a sequence of her rolling over:

"I'm trying, Mom!"


"Halfway there..."


"Made it!"


Evie has been sticking her tongue out like crazy this week:



She does this ALL day!

Here she is just playing around:

Here she is rolling over: