The weather is getting cooler and we enjoyed some time outside today despite the clouds. Here are a few pictures...


Elaina now claps every time I sing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands". She was in a really good mood this afternoon but a nap that wasn't long enough made for one crabby baby tonight!


She was a little wound up and this was the wild woman face. She was having a good time racing around in her toy. This child has endless energy!



Hat? Check! Stuffed animal? Check. Foot in mouth? Check!



Next to our new Toyota Sienna that we just got!! Who would have thought we would be SOOO excited to have a mini-van?! I don't remember our mini van growing up being this cool!



After the walk...



Her teeth are getting more prominent each day and she still loves to play with them with her tongue. Makes for some interesting expressions!



Our happy little baby despite MAJOR teething going on today! He has several teeth breaking through and was trying so hard to not be grumpy!



I was tickling his feet when I took this. This child is SUPER ticklish!



Even cowboys like to watch some tv now and then! Elaina has a pink cowgirl hat too:)



My three favorite people in the world



Guess which one just woke up?! They play together while I start coffee and maybe pick up a bit. Until I hear one scream and then I know the other has rolled over onto him or her. It is really cute when I put them in the crib. They usually just smile and each other and then hold hands before playing. So sweet!



Little scientist in training



The effects of Hurricane Ike hit our home with wind speeds of 45 MPH. I was feeding the babies when I heard a loud crack and looked out to see the tree limb down.



The view from across the street. Scary stuff!

Things are happening each day!

Over the past few weeks, things seem to be happening with the twins so fast! Each day it seems they are doing something new. They had their 9 month checkup on Monday and Skylar now weighs 21 pounds 2 ounces and Elaina weighs 18 pounds 7 ounces. They are both about 29 inches long. If you wonder why Skylar looks so much bigger, it might be because his head size is in the 70%tile while Elaina's is in the 10%! She is our long, lean, tiny headed beauty and Skylar is out tall, strong one. He seems to be just a big, solid baby....not chubby as much. My how they have caught up from their birthweight! Imagine how big they would be now if they were born full term!

The doctor says both are developmentally on track too which is so reassuring to us. On Sunday both started picking up food and feeding it to themselves. Skylar sometimes forgets to open his fist so he is chomping on his hand trying to get to the food. Elaina is more graceful with her feeding.

Elaina gets on all fours and rocks but still thinks rolling will get her places faster. She moves quickly that way! Last night she pushed herself into a sitting position but still had one arm supporting her before tumbling over. Skylar is now rolling all over the place and enjoying moving around.

They are definitely communicating more too which is so fun. They babble mama all the time but not specifically to me yet. Elaina claps her hands and laughs and Skylar gets super excited when he sees the dog or cats. It is so much fun to see them interact with each other. Each morning I put them in one crib while I unload the dishwasher and they get so excited to see each other. This morning Skylar gave Elaina a huge smile and then reached for her hand to hold it. Such a sweet bond!

New Pictures as they turn 9 months

I have been really bad about posting updates and pictures the past few weeks...sorry! The twins turn 9 months on Friday, which is hard for me to believe. Elaina now has two teeth on the bottom and seems to be working on the top ones. She gets up on all fours and rocks but has yet to take off, thank goodness! She rolls all over the place though so she is still very mobile. Skylar is still working on those teeth. Every morning we anxiously peer into his mouth but only get a huge toothless grin from our happy little boy. He seriously is the happiest baby ever and laughs at everything but especially loves our animals. Anyway, here are a few pictures...



Skylar just hanging out

He loves the animals and was laughing as Cinco licked his fingers.

I am such a big boy and can finally sit up and drive!

Elaina on all fours just ready to go. Her hair is so crazy because she just rolls and rolls on the ground. It is a hopeless cause to keep it out of her face!

If you look close, you can see her bottom two teeth

"Soon I will be on the move and I will get you Marley!!!"

Finally a tooth!!

So after many, many painful days of teething (for all involved!), there is finally a new tooth in the Pedersen house. And it is Elaina! We thought for sure Skylar would finally do something first since his gums were so swollen and we could even see the top tooth - it just hadn't broken through yet. He was showing all signs of getting one first. But no Sissy had to one up him again!! Jon was feeding them their lunch yesterday and started yelling for me. Sure enough there it was in her mouth on the bottom row! Poor little girl was up at 3:30 screaming and now we know that was probably why. So stay tuned for hopefully a tooth from Skylar soon! Oh and it is hilarious to watch Elaina play with tooth by constantly running her tongue over it!

Just a few miscellaneous pictures

David and my dad with their guide during their fishing trip to Arkansas' White River. This is the second year they have gone and it is now a Murray tradition. Skylar will go some day but not for awhile! Then we will need Murray women to start a weekend get away...maybe shopping in Chicago?!?

Tim and Ron, their guide

Jon

Thanks for the shout out Skylar! Wish I looked like this:) My step sister who lives in Monterrey found this onesie and another funny one that Elaina wears. The back says Very Excellent Baby which we wholeheartedly agree with!

Ugh, this pictures made me realize that I needed a new solution to the bouncy seat!

So sweet! They love to hold hands when they are near each other!

A very happy girl!

Look at my hot bikini with the ruffles on the bum!

Ready to go to the pool...but we will leave the stuffed beach ball behind.

Tooth tomorrow?

I think I have been talking about the babies teething since they were four months old. Seriously, it might have been that long. But now it is in full force!! Major drooling, lots of chewing on anything (and hard chewing I might add...watch your fingers!), plus crabby babies with irregular sleep patterns. Well, according to Jon tomorrow Skylar will pop out his first tooth. He made the prediction on Sunday after looking very closely at his gums. Jon does have a biology degree so he must know something about it, right? We will see in just a few hours if he is correct (and if Skylar wakes with a tooth I will have to laugh!). To be continued....

8 months old

It is hard for me to believe the twins turned 8 months this past Tuesday. They are growing and changing so much each day! Being a parent of twins is so much work but I have to say the benefits outweigh it by a landslide! One of the neatest things they are doing now is starting to interact more. If one is upset the other is starting to comfort them by holding their hand or just staring at them. They also love to roll around on the mat and laugh with each other. The bond they have is amazing to watch!

This week we introduced sippy cups. I only put water in them and the point is to get them practicing. Skylar loves to drink out of it but needs my help holding it for him. Elaina likes to suck on it but hasn't quite figured it out. We will just keep practicing! Both are doing well with solids. Skylar loves to eat and will pretty much eat anything (even carrots now which he didn't like before). Elaina will eat anything...but only when she is ready! She purses her lips and refuses to eat at times. Then after Skylar is praised for eating she will decide she is ready. She has a mind of her own!



Jon and I took them to Grant's Farm this week on one of the first days that was not almost 100 degrees! They enjoyed the trolley ride and did well in the stroller. But at this time, they were more interested in the toys attached to the stroller than the animals. It was just nice to be outside as we have been going stir crazy with not being able to take walks in this heat.








More pictures to come from Jon's fishing trip with my brothers and dad to Arkansas this past weekend. I am sure I would pick the wrong ones to highlight the trip!