8 Months!

Warning: There are TONS of cute pictures in this blog!!  I couldn't resist... =)

How can we be at 8 months already?!?  Ethan and Sam are so big now!  We are constantly filled with such mixed emotions... sad because they are growing up so fast, but so excited to see God shape and mold them into young men!  Obviously that's not going to happen for a while.  But I have a feeling it'll come quicker than we expect.  For now, we are just treasuring every day the Lord gives us with these two little guys!  Here's a bit about each boy this month.

Samuel is our explorer.  He isn't afraid to fling his body on the ground and stretch as far as his little chubby hands can go to grab a toy; and yes, he's almost crawling.  He's gotten on all fours a few times, but still hasn't quite figured it out.  He can scoot himself backwards and turn himself around.  Sam likes to be entertained and isn't as content just sitting and entertaining himself.  He's super interested in whatever is in someone else's hand, especially his brother.  He LOVES to steal whatever is in Ethan's hand.  It took Ethan a while to figure it out, but now he steals Sam's toys as well. =)  Samuel is our talker.  He is constantly making noise and chattering.  He is currently working on his 'ow' sounds.  He even makes an "mmmmmm" sound when he's eating.  Sam also has to have his feet up on something, like in a reclining position.  We often see his foot hanging over the side of his carseat, on the lap bar of the stroller, and we  even see his little toes clinging to the underside of his highchair tray just so his foot is up.  He does it on his bottles when feeding him, and even to my arm and armpit while nursing.  Sometimes it feels like he's attacking you with all 4 limbs!

Ethan is our squeaker.  He LOVES to squeal and scream at pitches so high it makes your ears ring!  We nicknamed him Piccolo Pete.  =)  However, he doesn't scream all the time.  When he gets in new situation, he's very tight lipped and likes to stay close to us.  But, once he's warmed up and feels comfortable, he gets in his "zone" where he screams and waves his arms and just has a grand 'ol time.  He is fairly content playing on his own and loves to wave around things that rattle.  He doesn't seem as interested in maneuvering around on the ground.  If he can't reach a toy, he'll just go for one that is in his range.  Whereas Sam, will try with all his might and not give up until he has what he wanted!  Ethan also has pretty good rhythm, actually... they both do.  Ethan was the first to wave his arms and "dance" do the music of their toys, and Sam was the first to clap.  They both love to clap now and both can clap to the beat.  They don't do it for long, but they certainly do it for a few beats.  Ethan is also fascinated with gravity.  He gets a spoon or the plastic top to their food, holds it over the edge of his highchair, looks down, and drops it.  It's so funny!  And he'll do it again, and again, and again!  Occasionally, he forgets and when he accidentally hits something off the highchair, he's like, "Oh yeah.  Gravity.  Let me throw something else on the ground."  And Ethan's coolest trick of the month.... drum roll please....

Tada!  He can stand!  He can't pull himself up, but he loves standing.  Often, when I try to set him down, he'll straighten his legs and insist on standing.  When he stands, he gets this huge grin on his face and is so proud of himself!  Then when music plays while he's standing, he'll kinda bounce and sway with the song.  It's only a matter of time until we're chasing these guys down!

And now a bit about both boys...

-They started eating Cheerios and puffs this month!  They've also tried bits of fruit, veggies, cheese, and a bite or two of pancakes.  Their new favorite dish is strawberry banana yogurt.  But of course, they can't eat that by themselves yet.  Ethan figured out how to feed himself pretty quickly.  It took Sam a few days to be interested, but once he was, he was off and running...or maybe eating.  =)

Ethan... not sure how he feels about Cheerios.

Ethan

Ethan

And a smile emerges....

Sam chomping on a Cheerio

Sam loves Cheerios!

Mmmmmmm....

Yeah Cheerios!

-They also do very well in public.  We've taken them to a few restaurants and as long as we keep feeding them Cheerios, they're great!  They also love to ride in shopping carts.  They get lots of comments from strangers and it makes me one proud momma.

-We love them so much and thank God for them every day!  Enjoy the many faces of Ethan and Samuel!

The "Yummy Sign" face

The "Oooo, look!  A Sign!" Face

The serious face

The Happy face

The "AHHHH!" face

Sam & Ethan looking at the ground...

This is Jeff's favorite this month.  hehehehe....