NINE MONTHS OLD!!

We have been M.I.A. AGAIN...both boys have had nasty horrible colds/infections.  Evan's sickliness brought his first ear infection to visit...BOO!  He has been on medicine for a week now and is doing so much better.  He is normally so happy and nothing ever really bothers him so it was sad to see him in such a miserable mood.  Ethan is my one who is always hard to figure out...he is definitely more cranky so it is sometimes hard to know if it is just because he is mad about something or if he truly doesn't feel good.  I thought he was getting better over the weekend but on Monday all he wanted was for me to hold him.  So...after a two hour doctor visit (by myself with BOTH babies during nap time...can you say FUN!) complete with a chest x-ray (also lots of fun!) it was concluded that he has some sort of upper respiratory/ bacterial infection.  He is now on medicine and will hopefully be feeling better soon.  His poor cough is just so sad...it kept waking him up last night making it hard for him to sleep.  So that's where we are in the Burchfield household...and hopefully getting better VERY SOON...mama is very tired of green snotty noses!

Anyway...On to our nine month update.  It's amazing to me that we are only 3 very short months away from the boys' first birthday.  I am sad and excited all at them same time.  They are definitely not little babies anymore but I am loving the stage they are at right now...SO FUN to watch them play and discover new things.

I attempted some pictures of the two of them together and HOLY HANNAH to say it was hard to keep them still and all cute and smiley is an understatement.  They wouldn't cooperate for anything.  We started in the chair in their room, where we have always taken pictures, and they were not having it.  So...I put them both in Ethan's crib.  I figured they like to stand and be silly so I was sure to get a good picture...YAY RIGHT!  Here is what I got...

So not interested in the camera.

Not afraid to show how he really felt!

Brother just wanted to play!

I thought putting them in the chair with their sippy cups might work...not so much!

The best picture I could get of the two of them all day! (side note...Ethan is shorter than Evan but not by this much.  The picture is deceiving.  Evan likes to stand on his tip toes and Ethan was kind of bouncing with his knees bent)

A little brotherly love.

And just a few individual pics...

Poor baby...this was the part of the day where he really started to feel yucky and didn't want to do anything.

A little blurry but so cute...he just loves his sippy cup.  Such a grown up boy!

Working on our standing skills.

Going for a walk and pulling his Baylor bear out from his crib.

So...here is where both boys are at 9 months old...

* Still in size 3 diapers

* Still in 6-9 month clothes but are also wearing some 12 month stuff.

* We still do four 7 oz. bottles a day.  Ethan finishes each one every time and gets mad if there is a single drop left...surprise, surprise...it hasn't changed since the day he was born!  Evan usually leaves a few ounces in a few of his bottles so he is probably getting somewhere around 24-25 ounces total a day.

* Both babble and make all kinds of sounds.  Evan has just started making the "ma" and "ba" sounds and Ethan's favorite at the moment is "gee."  He just says it over and over all day long.  Neither one has said any actual words yet.

* We have started trying more "people" food recently...really just the chopped up version of stuff we have already tried...sweet potatoes, bananas (which are the favorite by far...we could eat these all day every day and be completely happy).  I gave them kiwi the other night at dinner and it was HILARIOUS!  Neither one liked it all...I'm guessing because they have never tried anything so tart.  Jeff recorded it on his iphone and it is just too funny.  We also still love our puffs and have tried graham crackers which they seem to really like.

* Among the things not so high on our food list...MEAT.  It is just sooo G.R.O.S.S!  The smell, the taste (yes I have tried it...just a little curious what the babies were tasting)...everything about it is disgusting.  We will be moving as quickly as possible to the "people" version so we no longer have to get it from a jar.

* We have tried yogurt which the boys can't get enough of.  They LOVE it but have gotten a diaper rash every time we have tried it.  So...we will be waiting until their next appointment to discuss with their doctor what to do about it and other dairy products.

* Both are still great nappers and sleep 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the morning and afternoon.

* Both have discovered the fun of opening drawers and cabinets and pulling stuff out...child proofing here we come!

* They have become shadows of each other and play together all of the time.  Where one goes the other is usually right behind...crawling in the bathroom, pulling up to look out the window, getting into the box of diapers...I rarely find one without the other.  I hope it is always like this!

Ethan at 9 months...

* Has EIGHT teeth...four top front and four bottom front.

* He has figured out how to grind these eight teeth together to make noise which drives me crazy...like nails on a chalk board!

* Has figured out how to hold his bottle and will hold about 50% of the time.

* Loves to stand and can take a few steps when holding on to something.

* He is crazy busy and all over the place but will sit in my lap absolutely still if I am reading to him.

* Has figured out how to turn the page when reading if I say "turn the page."

* Always sits with his legs crossed wherever he is (floor, car seat, high chair) and it is the cutest thing ever...it makes him look so grown up.

Evan at 9 months...

* Has four teeth...bottom front two and side top two (he looks like a little vampire).

* Has some major separation anxiety but only when going to sleep.  He is OK when you first put him in his crib but as soon as you start to walk out of the room the crocodile tears start flowing and he becomes hysterical.  He is fine when dropping him off at church but I think because there are enough distractions to keep him occupied.  

* Will not hold his bottle during feeding but will grab it, shake it, turn it upside down and try to drink from it when we are all done...can you say a little annoying!

* Waves all of the time now and will wave if you say "hi" to him.  I wave when we say "bye-bye" also but he hasn't figured that one out yet...more fun to wave when saying hi.  He makes sounds when he is waving almost as if he is saying "hi" as well.

* Claps a lot and thinks he is hilarious.

* He is becoming really good at standing and pulling up and will take a few steps when holding on to something.

* His newest thing over the last week is to bounce and "dance" when he hears music or me singing.

I think that is about it for now.  We go for their 9 month well check on Monday and I will post all of their stats then.  And because I think there hasn't been enough pictures in this post...here are a few more of my 9 month old sweet ones...

I just don't think it is possible for them to get any cuter!