Seven Months!

Month Seven! I think this month shall always be remembered as the month when I began asking Jensen and Charlotte the big question: "Am I going to have to separate you two?!?" Let's see...what have Charlotte and Jensen been up to during their seventh month (besides fighting, that is)?

They experienced their first Halloween!

 

They started eating solids! So far, they have eaten avocado, peas, pears, apples, sweet potato, rice, and turkey...all homemade by me (yes, even the rice cereal). The baby-food-making is not so bad! I make batches (usually on the weekends when Brian is home) and freeze them in cubes so that when mealtime comes, I just have to pop a cube or two in the microwave. Whenever I feel like it's a huge pain, I make my way to the baby food aisle of the grocery store and check out the prices for a jar of food...yep, making their food myself is definitely worth it! They are not huge fans of peas, and Charlotte pretty much hates the turkey. Up next...prunes! Yummy!

"We want prunes...we want prunes!"

"Yeah! What she said!"

They finally experienced a bit of cold weather!

Err, okay...it wasn't really cold enough to necessitate these hoodies. But they are super-cute all bundled up!

They attended their first story time at the library!

Unfortunately, story time is during naptime...but I woke them up early one day and took them to see Miss Annette at the library. I think they were the youngest ones there, but they really did enjoy it! I am looking forward to the day when their naps don't coincide with story time.

Charlotte Anne at 7 Months:

(No idea how much she weighs!)

 

My Charlotte Anne. How can one little Peanut bring so much drama? I swear, the girl can switch from huge smiles to all-out sobbing in less than a second. This month, we have discovered that Charlotte seems to be a morning person. She greets us every morning with smiles, laughs, shrieks of joy, and lots of stories about her night. However, afternoons are another story. She just seems to be done with the day at around 4:30 or so...it's like nothing makes her happy at this time of day. It's frustrating, but I can't be too mad because I think she gets this little trait from me. Another trait Charlotte shares with her mom is a love of books and reading. She has picked her favorite books and characters (the mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and the pig from If You Give a Pig a Pancake are particular favorites) and will squeal with delight when you show her the cover of her favorite stories. She still enjoys shopping and anything to do with clothes (watching me fold them, watching me get dressed, etc.). Charlotte's hair has grown a lot this month, and it appears as though it's going to be wavy like her dad's (which means that she officially has NONE of my physical characteristics...she is 100% her dad!). Charlotte is still not sitting up very well on her own...she just has no interest in it and prefers to spend most of her time on her tummy. She does, however, have one milestone to share with you...

Her first chomper! Can you see it down there? This sucker is taking its sweet time coming in...and is probably a contributing factor to at least some of her grumpy times.

Here are a few more pics of little Charlie-Bug's seventh month:

Jensen Todd at Seven Months:
(No idea how much he weighs!)

 

Jensen Todd--as you can see, my little stinker is sitting up on his own these days! He is also working hard on his crawl...he is definitely able to get where he wants to go, but he hasn't quite perfected it just yet. This boy is full of life and adventure. He loves to laugh...I have a couple of really funny videos of him cracking up, but you know how I have issues with posting videos. Jensen is absolutely into everything. He wants to go, go, go and explore! All this activity makes him a great sleeper, though...he naps great and sleeps like a log at night. He continues to be easygoing most of the time, but he occasionally gets frustrated (like when he can't quite crawl fast enough or reach something he wants). This month, he has had a touch of "stranger danger"...sometimes, when he is approached by someone he doesn't know, he will stick his bottom lip out and start to cry. It's very sad but so stinkin' cute at the same time. He continues to have two modes: relaxed, chill baby and wild man! It cracks me up, because I have friends who have met him only once during chill mode and they don't believe me when I describe him as wild. Jensen has recently discovered what all little boys know: Daddy = FUN! Whenever Brian is on the floor with him, Jensen knows that it's time to play! Here are a few pics of my wild man in action:

"Let me just check out this wasp situation."

"And I'd better check out these electronics, too..."

Aaaaannd....CRASH. On Grandpa.

"Who, me?"

A little (forced) snuggle time with Mommy.

And that brings us to Charlotte and Jensen together.  Little man still loves his sister...a lot. Too much, actually. We can't put them beside each other without him grabbing her, pulling her hair, poking her in the eye, biting her butt, etc. He is smiling when he does it, so I don't think he's being mean. Maybe he's just being a boy? Either way, she doesn't appreciate it (not that I blame her). It is just so interesting to note the differences between them...when Jensen wants to investigate my hair, he yanks on it as hard as he can. When Charlotte wants to investigate my hair, she reaches up and gently touches it. And when Jensen wants to pet Bailey, he usually comes away with a fistful of dog hair. Charlotte, on the other hand, pets Bailey very sweetly and gently (hmmm...I wonder which twin will be Bailey's favorite?).

Sharing a book. A brief moment of sweetness.

CHOMP.

Seven Month Pics Take One: Together on the Chair...

Before Jensen notices his sister...

"Oh, it's you...and you have something on your head!"

"I'll go ahead and take that..."

 

 

Take Two...Separated by Boppies (as you can see, Charlotte's eyes are red from crying due to her brother's prodding in the chair):

"Charlotte...why are you sad?"

"I'd better come over there and cheer you up..."

"Don't worry, I'm almost there!"

"But Charlotte, I loooove you!"

"What'd I say?"

So there you have it...the seventh month. It's been fun but really exhausting...maybe because more awake time for the babies = less time for me to get things done. The minute their little heads hit their cribs for nap time, I feel like I am racing against the clock, basically running through the house as fast as I can, trying to do everything that needs to be done...laundry, cleaning, washing and making bottles, showering, organizing pictures/working on the blog...I cannot even think about the upcoming holiday season and everything extra that will need to be done or I go into panic mode.

One thing I have really enjoyed about this month is watching Charlotte and Jensen reach milestones like crawling and getting teeth. Since they are definitely hitting their milestones at different times from one another, it has helped remind me that I have two completely different babies who just happened to be born at the same time...so I am going to get to experience everything twice. I've seen Charlotte's first tiny tooth, but I still don't know which tooth Jensen will get first. I have watched as Jensen figured out how to crawl, but I still look forward to seeing the wheels turn in Charlotte's mind as she realizes that she can pull up on all fours and get to where she wants to go. They continue to amaze me on a daily basis, and I know that being their mom will just keep getting better and better.