7 months have passed since Addison and Fischer were born. I can't even believe it. I keep hoping things will slow down a little, but so far they haven't. Here is a picture of Addison and Fischer this morning on their 7 month birthday.

In honor of this day, Addison thought it would be good to work on her crawling skills.  She has gotten up on her hand and knees and rocked front to back numerous times today.  With a little more practice, I think she'll be on the go very soon.

We had a few changes take place over the weekend. First of all, we increased to putting two ounces of the new formula in each bottle! The babies did great over the last week with having one ounce of the new formula in each bottle, so we increased to two today. As long as this week goes well, we'll increase to three next Sunday! Secondly, we went today and bought the babies their big-kid car seats! They were getting so heavy to lift in their infant seats. Also, in our front/back double stroller, the one in the back was getting cramped because their feet would hit the car seat in front of them! So, we figured it was time to go ahead and make the change. We went and looked at all the seats Babies R Us had to offer, and finally decided on an Evenflo model. It was middle-of-the-road in cost, and seems like it will be comfortable for them to sit in. These will eventually turn into their booster seats, so should be the last seats we have to buy. However, buying these led to our third change of the weekend... We had to buy a new double stroller. The other car seats would snap into the Snap and Go which was the front/back stroller we would use whenever we had to run errands. We have a side by side jogging stroller, but it's so wide so it's hard to take most places. So, we had to buy a thinner, more practical side by side stroller. This brings our stroller count to five at the moment. I think that's enough for now. :)

So, Scott put the new seats in the car and we headed out this afternoon to give those, and the new stroller, a try. As soon as Scott strapped Addison into the new seat, she started to cry. Maybe she doesn't like change?! She was ok after we gave her her paci and wubbie (that's what we call their blankets). So, we ran our errands (they sat in their new stroller), then I went to strap her into her seat to head home and she cried again. A lot! Hopefully this doesn't happen every time we try to go somewhere now. I think/hope she'll get used to it. Fischer seemed to love the new seat. They sit up higher in them, so they can see out of their windows better and he seemed to really like that. When Scott would turn a corner, Fischer would laugh, then start "talking"! Here they are in their new seats, and their new stroller.

Once we got home, the babies rolled around on the comforter for awhile. We spread toys out and they just roll around and play with the toys. While playing, Addison got up on her hands and knees for the first time!! She only stayed in that position for a second, but she was there! They both get up on their knees a lot, but then usually fall over to the side. Things will be so much different when I have two crawling babies!! Fischer has also started a new "trick." Over the weekend, he started putting his lips together and rubbing them, sort of like he just put on chap stick and is rubbing it all around. Sometimes he even makes a smacking sound while he's doing it. He has also started showing interest in holding his own bottle again. They both were doing it for awhile for a few seconds here and there, then they both stopped. They really do something new everyday!

Last night we went out to eat - we went to a Japanese steakhouse...the kind where they cook in front of you. We thought the babies might like to watch! They really liked watching the steam and the fire! Other than that, they weren't really interested and started getting pretty antsy towards to end of our meal.  When we got home, we got out the comforter and had some family play time! Here are some pictures.

 

As I was uploading these pictures, I got into the baby jail with Addison. While we were playing, she sat on her own long enough for me to get my camera and take a picture!!!

                                      

Sitting on her own, and a little worried about it

Playing with the tags on play mat

Falling over! 

It becomes more obvious everyday how different Addison and Fischer are. Not only do they look different, but their personalities are SO different!! Addison is serious most of the time, and wants to study everything and everyone.  If we hand her a toy, she holds it, turns it over, stares at it, puts it in her mouth, and repeats all of this.  If someone smiles at her, she usually just stares at them, studying everything about their face... it's rare that she smiles back.  I feel like we have to earn her smiles - and that's not always easy!! She makes us work for them! But... once she gets started talking and smiling, she'll go on for awhile. I'm pretty sure that once she starts saying words, she won't ever stop! Fischer, on the other hand, will smile at anyone and anything! He has started laughing a lot more, and is just very laid back. When we hand him a toy, he immediately starts shaking it back and forth, and loves to bang things together.  I am getting the feeling that he is going to be one destructive little boy. He is already very rough with his toys... in the picture below I caught him in the act of flipping his activity mat over.

Fischer is also content to play by himself, while Addison prefers for one of us to be right there watching her, or playing with her. They are starting to play together more, so hopefully that will satisfy her when I'm trying to get housework done!  Here is a picture of Addison playing, but looking very serious and worried about it.

It's so fun watching them develop their individual personalities, and I know their differences will continue to show more and more.

Here are just a few more pictures!

Addison is staring at the frog

Fischer saying hi to the camera

Fischer showing off his toe-sucking abilities

Addison sound asleep during nap time

Fall is my favorite season (yay football season!), even though we don't have much of one in Charleston. I am so ready for the fall weather, and looking forward to spending a lot of time outside with the babies! They are ready for fall in these outfits!!

Over the weekend we started the long process of getting the babies on the same formula. We bought a can of the standard similac, and started mixing it in with their current formulas on Sunday. For now we are just putting one ounce of the new formula in each bottle. The first bottle like this caused a little more spit up than normal so we skipped the next bottle, then started again the next morning. So far so good! We will do this until this weekend, and as long as they seem to be tolerating it, we will start mixing 2 ounces in each bottle. We will continue this until the bottles are the new formula only. It would be so nice to have them on the same formula.

This morning we went on a walk, and I looked down and noticed that their feet were in the exact same position in the stroller. Of course I took a picture. It reminded me of when they were just a month or two old, and when they would sleep in their carseats, their heads would be turned to the same side. When one would change sides, the other would change too! How did they know to do that?! They don't do that much anymore, but I guess they like for their feet to be the same sometimes. :)

We went this morning for yet another shot... the babies only have one more, then they are done with shots until their 12 month appointment. Yay! Their weights this morning were Addison at 14 lb. 14 oz. and Fischer 14 lb. 5 oz. Both still had their clothes on when they were weighed today.

Yesterday was my birthday - my first birthday with kids. Weird!! We had a great day just hanging out at home. Last night after their baths, Scott "brushed" their gums... we bought a gum and tooth brushing kit for babies 3 months and older. They didn't seem to mind it - the little brush probably felt good on their gums. We are just preparing for the teeth that seem like they are never going to come. When they had their 6 month checkup, the doctor said she thought teeth would come in about 3 weeks. 3 weeks will be this Thursday, so we'll see if she was right!

I was going to put some pictures of the babies getting their gums brushed, but the picture uploading tool isn't working right. I will try again later.

Addison is really wanting to sit on her own. If we put her in the sitting position and let go, she can sit for maybe 5 or 10 seconds on her own before falling to the side or to the front. She does the tripod stance, where she puts one hand out in front on the floor to help her balance. We'll keep working on it!! Fischer isn't quite as interested yet... he'll sometimes put his hand out there to help him balance but he usually just falls over if we let go. :) It seems like we are waiting for so many big changes to happen all at once - sitting, teeth, crawling.... so much is about to happen and it's all so exciting!