Evelyn Is Officially Crawling

Evelyn is now officially crawling, climbing over/into things. She is also pulling up half way and moving from her belly to sitting. So big! The last video was taken on the 12th, the first on the 13th and the second video on the 26th. She's made great progress in just a short period of time. I expect in a few weeks she will be "cruising" where she crawls to something pulls up, takes a few steps, and then crawls to the next spot. Things are going to get really interesting soon.

Sylvia is making progress too -- she is still pulling herself forward like an Army crawl, but this weekend she got on all fours and rocked back and forth. She's heavier and bigger than Evelyn, so I think it's harder for her to get up. She's not far behind though, which is fine with me.

Sylvia Loves Her Mommy

Sylvia has gotten really attached to her Mommy lately. If I come home from work and kiss her without picking her up, she will start to cry. Here's an example of her being held by Gramps, but crying when I walk by. So cute! The first part of the clip is of Evelyn muching on pears. She loves to chew on everything. They are definitely teething, but still have no teeth (they are nearly 8 months old!)

Bedtime Fun!

Like many babies, Evelyn and Sylvia can get a bit naughty at bedtime, but their spirits improve during bathtime and reading/cuddle time. They especially like when Gram is here to read them stories. These cute polka dotted sleep sacks were given to them by their Great Granny who's going to be 90 years old in February!

Merry Christmas (Celebration #2)!

The girls enjoyed their first Christmas with their Mommy, Daddy, Gram and Gramps! It involved their usual schedule of bottle and fruit at 7am, playing until 8:15am, nap time for Sylvia 8:30am-9:15am and nap time for Evelyn 9:15-10:20am (this girl was not ready to nap at the usual time -- too much excitement, I guess), presents got started around 10:30am and it took a long time to open everything so the girls enjoyed their bottles by the tree. After they enjoyed lunch, their Honorary Grandparents Richard and Julie made a Santa drop and gave them each special iBooks (hard cover books!) with all sorts of cute pictures and followed the alphabet (like, A is for adorable, etc). After they went down for their second nap, we finally finished opening presents. When they woke, they played while Mommy made Christmas dinner. After the girls' 3pm snack, we enjoyed a great meal at the table. The rest of the day included a bath, lots of story time and play. It was a wonderful first Christmas for everyone.

Cute Together

The girls' are becoming so adorable as they play together. They also definitely try to communicate with each other, but making funny noises and laughing. They are super cute when eating because they are close enough to grab each other and hold hands.

Evelyn's Silliness!

Evelyn is silly! She leans back or forward in her seat, glancing at you like "what's up?". She also just sits and raspberries, and makes the cutest grunts and squeals to get your attention.

Sylvia's Funny Faces & Antics

Our little girl who we once thought was a little too relaxed is now full of new expressions. Here are a sampling of them. She's also clapping, dancing (rocking back and forth while sitting), and loves to jump! She is a very happy baby though and only seems to fuss when she's hungry or tired. She's easy to calm down with a cuddle.

First Christmas Celebration!

Evelyn and Sylvia celebrated Christmas twice...first with Grandpa and Grandma Benson. They got their new set of carseats! They enjoyed sitting at the big table while everyone enjoyed steak and lobster. Sylvia literally smacked her lips and acted like she was chewing while we ate. She's our little piggy!

Tons of Snow!

The girls' enjoyed their second snowfall and it was a doozie! We got 18 inches!!!

Holding Bottles

The girls are now holding their bottles at breakfast, lunch and dinner. At the night bottle, we still cuddle and hold them like babies, giving them a break from being big girls!

New Hair-do's!

Do you like the girls' new hairdos? I'm not sure Sylvia did!

Holiday Pictures

Well, I might be ruining the holiday card surprise and gifts for the grandparents, but here are the girls' holiday pictures! Don't you LOVE the hats? I think they are adorable!

Girls Visit Santa and Mrs Claus

This weekend, the girls had a visit with Santa and Mrs Claus. Evelyn was a bit unsure of Santa's big, white beard, but Sylvia was pretty easy-going about it.

The Girls Visit The White House

The girls enjoyed their first visit to the White House and even saw Bo, the First Pet. We brough Angela and Matt (her boyfriend) with us. The first picture is of Evelyn in the Blue Room under the official White House christmas tree. Her sister was ahead of the pack with Daddy visiting the State Dining Room and gingerbread house (we all know how much Sylvia loves to eat!)

Evelyn Explores

Evelyn climbed right under the exersaucer. Angela sent this picture to us at work and it made me smile widely! She's so silly.

Sylvia Loves Her Dolly

At my shower, my Mom gave the girls two dolls that were created to be EXACTLY like the dolly I obsessed for when I was a girl. It's 2 headed--one head for day, the other for night on either end of the doll. Sylvia goes nuts for hers. She wiggles her feet and screetches in delight. So adorable.

Self Discovery

We got this great baby-safe mirror to put at their level and they are LOVING it. There's no sound, but you can get the idea of how much fun they were having.

Evelyn and a Pear

Since the girls have enjoyed pear, we let Evelyn gnaw on one the other morning. She didn't even break the skin, but she enjoyed it.

Sylvia Giggles

I was playing with the girls after dinner and got Sylvia's giggle on camera! Listen closely and you can hear it. She's also doing this cute nose wrinkle, which is adorable. Daddy says I do it too, so she must be copying me.

Ba Ba Fun Meal Time

The girls get WILD at dinner. They are very chatty and messy, and lots of fun. Often Sylvia moves her mouth like she's eating or talking and nothing comes out. It's cute. This video sort of looks like one of those kung-fu movies where english is overlayed and the mouth movements don't match.

First Snow!

The girls experienced their first snow this Sunday. We tried to have them sit up, but they were not having it. It was super wet snow so they quickly got wet too. Not the greatest experience, but it was still fun.

Big Girl Sylvia

Sylvia is now officially in 9-12 month clothes (yes, at 7 months!). Here she is in her first adorable 9-12 month outfit, which was a gift from our friend Lauren. She's in the exersaucer, but playing with a phone from another toy. She loves that phone, her jingle bells and dolly.

Add Dressed Up and Dirty

They girls are always adorably dirty when I get home from work. About once a week, Angela dresses them in cute dresses and then the girls spit up on them. It's still super cute though.

Tearing Up Newspaper

All the time the girls are experiencing new textures. They love magazines, but especially loved this newspaper. It also turned their little hands black. Probably wasn't the best texture to play with, but it was fun! They didn't even try to eat it.

Mommy & Daddy With Their Girls

Me and My Girls

I rarely have pictures taken with me and my babies. I have to beg for them. Here we are one weekend morning.