More Teeth!

Yesterday Evie went to her pediatrician for a check-up. She now weighs 14 lb, 13 oz, and is 26" long...and she is still not on the chart for either height or weight! But she is gaining and growing, and her cardiologist says "she is following her own curve." He feels that she is on track to triple her birth weight (5 lb 1 oz) by her 1st birthday. Her pediatrician agrees, and they both say that she looks great.

After her checkup, we chatted with the nurses at the front desk. They always fuss over Evie, and yesterday they gave her some notepads to play with:





More big news...Evie has a tooth! It just popped through on the bottom gumline yesterday. And Gavin has 3 more teeth that came through yesterday also! No wonder he has been a bit whiney lately. I am so thankful that he is sleeping right now, because on Wednesday & Thursday he completely refused to take his morning nap.

Here are 2 videos from the weekend. The kids like to race up and down this hallway...they play the "bullfighting game" here too!






Evie & Gavin also want to tell their twin buddies Pierre & Felix that they hope they feel better really soon, and get over that nasty throat virus so we can all play together next month!

Hanging Out With Daddy

I am happy to report that Evie stood up today for the first time on her own! She wasn't content to do it just once - she did it 5 times! She pulled herself on me, on Francis, and on Uncle David. Then, when Gavin tried to sit on her (which he does every day) she gave him a shove in the back.

Here are some photos from the weekend - the kids love to climb all over Francis when he lays on the floor.

First, a latte to get the morning started!



Next item on the twins' agenda: tackle Daddy!








Time for a cuddle after all that horse-play:

Little Sluggers

When you're 10 months old, anything is a toy. Today it's Gavin's baseball cap, which almost fits him. You can see in these pictures that he still has just one tooth (you can click on any picture for a larger view), but there is another one next to it that is ready to break through. I feel like I have been saying that for a month now, but this time it is really close! His gum is kind of red and puffy too. Poor little guy!

On another note, Gavin started saying "Mom!" But he only says it when he's upset, not when I just walk into the room or anything. Francis says this is because he needs me to comfort him. Evie made the "M" sound for the first time this week also. The only sounds they used to make were da-da-da and ba-ba-ba, so they are slowly expanding their vocabulary!










Evie thought she wanted to try it on, but now she's not so sure.



"I think I like this cap better backwards, Mom!"

The Floor Vent is Fascinating When You're 10 Months Old!

Yes, it is fascinating, especially when the air conditioning is on! The twins love to kick it, hit it, peer into it, and sit on it. Who needs toys when you have a floor vent?



"Evie, you have to check this out!"

"We just can't get enough of this thing!"

Evie says, "I'm thinking of going with a faux-hawk when I start kindergarten."

"What, Dad doesn't like that idea?"

Evie the Matador

When they're not fighting over toys, the twins play very well together. Gavin is a much faster crawler than Evie, and they seem to have invented a new type of game between them that they've been playing most of the week. Their cognitive skills have shot through the roof this month; they never stop amazing me!

So here's how their game works: Gavin crawls towards Evie very fast (like a bull, Francis says), and just when he reaches her, she spins away (like a Matador, Francis says). He zips around her, crawls back to where he started, and then does it again. Before he goes, he tosses his hands up in the air, almost as if he's rearing up like a horse) before he speeds off towards Evie. Of course, Francis calls this, "The Bull Fighting Game," although I don't recall ever seeing a bull fighting match where the bull and matador giggle like crazy during the whole event.

Here is a video I took of the kids last week. It's longer than the videos I usually post, but they were just so cute that I kept recording. Gavin does his "charge" towards Evie, then they get distracted by the wood floor grain, then some clapping and giggling ensues. They're so cute!

A Visit to the Cardiologist

Yesterday Evie had her monthly checkup with her cardiologist. Francis also had to see his own doctor, who works in the same building, so he came along for the visit. We brought the camera so we could show all of you what these visits are like.

First, Nurse Julie take Evie's vital stats: her blood pressure and pulse-ox. You can see the dark green cuff on her right leg which measures her blood pressure. Julie measures her pulse-ox with a little band that wraps around her foot - she is holding onto Evie's foot to get the best reading she can:


After her stats, Evie gets weighed. Yesterday she was 14 lbs 9 oz!

Next is an EKG. For this, Evie has to sit or lay on the table and we try to keep her calm and still. Julie puts stickers on Evie, then hooks up several leads that measure a lot of different things going on with her heart.


She is all hooked up here - Francis says she looks like she's jacked into The Matrix. We gave her a bottle and the EKG went just fine (it only takes 60 seconds)! Pulling all those stickers off when she's done is the worst part.


"Whoa."

After all that, the cardiologist (Dr. Gulecyuz - he's awesome) listens to her heart from her front and back. Evie usually hates this part and we have to do our best to keep her quiet - otherwise he can't hear anything!



Then we talk about questions / concerns with Dr G., schedule the next appointment, and we're done!

This time though, Evie decided to stand by the window and hit the glass and make faces at the people walking into the office door below:


People were looking up at the window with puzzled looks on their faces. "Why is there a naked baby in that window?"


"We got a jumper!"

All done and ready to leave, after one last photo with her favorite nurse (Julie took care of Evie in the NICU on the day she was born)!

Thursday Cuteness

Some days, Evie is very vocal and animated:







The kids play with their musical table and Evie touches her nose with her tongue (you can click on any picture for a larger view):



"Watcha doing up there, Dad?"


Our little Evie:

Silly Uncle David

Uncle David and Uncle Brad visited this weekend, and much silliness ensued! Uncle David thought it would be funny to tap the tube of "baby eczema cream" on the twins heads. They were not sure what was going on:






Evie kept touching her head for the rest of the day!




Gavin wanted to play in the laundry basket, and Uncle Brad made sure he didn't tip over:

Fun with the Family

The twins were happy to see Nana & Grandpa Cermak and Aunt Sassy this weekend. They read Care Bear books, went for a stroller ride, and the twins babbled a lot!

Nana & Gavin:


Evie & Grandpa:


Gavin & Grandpa play with rocks (Francis' first great love):


Nana & Evie play "This Little Piggy"


Here's a video of the kids are playing earlier in the morning. This is like a little snapshot of what they do all day: giggle at each other and play with the same toys, and Gavin just has to sit right next to Evie, if not in her lap:

Monday Cuteness

The kids love to play with tubes of lotion or diaper rash cream. I guess they love the shape. Here, Evie is trying to grab the "baby eczema cream" from Gavin:

I played patty-cake with Evie...

...then she showed Gavin how to do it:

The kids wanted to join in on Daddy's phone conversation:

Then they wanted his coffee!

Standing Up is Hard to Do

Evie has been trying to pull herself up to a standing position. She gets as far as kneeling and then runs out of steam... it's like she knows what she wants to do, but isn't sure just how to do it. Check out the impish grin on her face - never underestimate our Evie!


"Just watch me - I'm gonna stand up soon!"



Here she goes:





Later, Auntie Di came over and gave Evie some encouragement...





...while Gavin played in the blinds...




...and with the floor vent:



The twins both wanted to climb up on her:





"Don't you just love this orange block, Auntie Di? I'm going to make it stick to you!"





Then Uncle Kevin came over and Gavin inspected his teeth. "I don't see any cavities in there today, Uncle Kevin!"