E&L are eight months old! That seems so old! I can’t believe it. Two-thirds of a year. They’re so, so fun right now. They’re learning so much, crawling, sitting, eating solid foods, and so on. They’re generally happy, interactive, and loving. Just a joy to be around.

We went ahead and bought two new convertible car seats for them, even though they still currently fit in their bucket seats — we wanted to have car seats in each of our two vehicles, so we’ll have the new seats in one car and the old ones in the other car (until they grow out of them, when we’ll have to buy two more convertibles). We’re getting ready to have to lower their crib mattresses in preparation for them being able to pull up to standing, which E has recently started to try to do. So many changes are happening right now! The babies are adjusting with aplomb, but it all feels like quite a whirlwind to me, not least because I’ll soon be back at work full time.

At eight months, both babies consistently sleep through the night (from about 7:15 – 6:00 or 6:30). Often, they will wake up at 6 in the morning and then hang out in their cribs, head to head, talking and cooing at each other for a good half hour before starting to complain. They nap twice a day for a total of about 3-3.5 hours. We’re so grateful for their improved sleep and napping habits! They take 6-oz bottles 5x per day, plus a mini-bottle right before bed. They’re eating solid food at dinner time, including purees, cereal, yogurt melts, and some fresh fruit/vegetables from their mesh feeder thingies. They’re getting better and better at grasping the small, bite-sized bits, so we’ll probably be expanding their repertoire soon.

At 8 months, E:

• Has two teeth, and seems utterly unfazed by them.

• Can sit unassisted for long periods of time and can get up into a sitting position by herself.

• Tips over and bonks her head/face when she’s sitting, but is starting to do this less and less as she perfects the ability to brace herself with her hands.

• Crawls by inchworming her way forward, and is getting better and better at it.

• Continues to be a ready smiler and laugher and a happily independent player.

• Loves to practice making new sounds, cooing, babbling, and trilling.

At 8 months, L:

• Has one tooth in and another (slowly) on its way. He seems more affected by teething in that he drools a lot more and seems fussier, poor guy.

• Can sit unassisted for brief periods, as long as there is something interesting him. Otherwise, he still prefers to straighten his hips and shoot up to a standing position (with help, of course).

• Crawls army style and is getting very fast at it! He’s so pleased with himself every time he crawls off into an unauthorized area — when we call out to him, he looks back grinning and laughing before proceeding forward anyway.

• Is starting to make more sounds and babble to himself more, especially when he wakes up in the morning.

• Spent 20 minutes laughing at me yesterday as I made funny faces and noises at him. Once he gets going, he’s unstoppable.

We have the best babies.