9 months old -- 9 MONTHS!

Wow -- this is sure a fun time to be a parent. 9 months. The babes turned 9 months on 2/17. We celebrated by bringing out the blocks and snapping a few iPhone photos. It took my mom, Frank and I, along with a few squeeze toys for distraction to get these photos. They want to put their hands on everything and then put it in their mouth. And then there is the moving...and crawling.

Doctor Love and Cuter than Cupid - Valentine's Day photos!

Cora has begun crawling. It started with a small move, ending on her belly. But it has definitely gained momentum now. She can nearly come across the living room to the dining room when I'm working in the kitchen, without stopping. She is determined. She is motivated by cords, tags on cords, shoes, socks in shoes, dirty clothes in the basket under the dining room table, and toys - especially Curious George. She has managed to pull herself up on the couch and in her crib. She loves the fact that she can move on her own. When she is not moving, she likes to open her mouth really wide, stick out her tongue, and make one long, loud noise. It is the same noise you make when the doctor puts the stick in your mouth and says, "now say 'ahhhhhhh'." But it lasts for a bit longer. She also enjoys laughing. Frank is the best at making her laugh. When you put her on your shoulders and rub your head against her belly, she laughs. When you dip your head below the high chair tray and then look back at her, she giggles. Sometimes it's just a fun noise that gets her. Whatever it is, we both do it again and again to make her laugh. We just love that belly laugh.

Sutter is working on his crawling. He sees his sister doing it and you can tell he wants to do it, too. From a sitting position, he puts his weight on his arms and moves his butt up. It's like he is hopping on his butt, but there is no movement forward. Sometimes the hop is so strong, he ends up on his belly, arms and legs outstretched with a cry for help. We're still putting him on his tummy regularly and encouraging him whenever we can to understand how to get himself into a crawling position. It's usually met with protest and sometimes tears. He does love to stand up. He still loves jumping in his exersaucer. But what he loves most is catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He smiles real big, taking in a big breath with a noise of surprise. Sometimes he just yells at the mirror. Sometimes he just kisses it. He loves what he sees and so do we.

Sutter's nickname is still Buddy. Cora's nickname is the little girl. Together I call them the brother and the sister. We are doing a better job of using their names, although it's so easy to use their nicknames.

We started swim lessons at the Embarcadero YMCA. They last for 8 weeks and they both love it. Frank and I have to each hold a babe. The class has about 10 other children all under 18 months. They learn to kick, blow bubbles and hold their breath when they go in the water. It has made our bath time at home much wetter, too, since they practice their splashing and kicking. 

We were lucky enough to have some fun visitors over the last few weeks. Granny Judy came for the weekend after her birthday. She had a good time with the kids and we were thankful for the extra set of hands. The weekend of Valentine's and President's Day, my mom and dad, Granny and Bup, got to spend time with the babes. Everyone got to go to swim lessons with us. Everyone got extra love from the babes. They are lucky to have such GRANDparents.