Baptism

Mark and Ella were baptized yesterday and did great! Neither cared too much about a stranger holding them (not that Mark ever cares who holds him, as long as its someone) and they barely batted an eye with the water on their heads. They looked awfully darn cute while they were lifted up and shown to everyone. Both grandparents came to watch and so did their Aunt Angela, Uncle John, and cousins Jack and Joseph. We completed the event with fajitas back at home.

Goofy kids

I had to post these pics because they just made me laugh. The first two are how I found Mark and Ella after their naps yesterday. Just as happy as could be! Ella is scooting her way across the floor and her new favorite place is under the jumperoo! Poor Mark just gets bull dozed by his little sister.

8 months old!

Mark and Ella celebrated their 8 month birthday with lots of firsts this past week. They got their first bath together in their tub seats, Ella got her first boo-boo on her nose, Mark got his first upper tooth (thats 2 on the bottom and 1 on the top now - Ella is still zero), and they both got their first cold!! Its been pretty hectic here. I was sick all last week with the babies, and Matt has come down with it, too. So thats been great fun.

Ella is getting closer and closer to crawling. Right now she just kind of scoots her way across the floor by pulling with her hands, but the legs are trying to figure things out. When she does get them under her, she just sits and rocks. Mark is content to just sit and watch for the moment.

Messy Babies

Not a whole lot has been going on lately. Ella is reaching for just about everything now, no matter what Matt and I are holding. She's gotten pretty good at using a sippy cup, though at least half of it ends up down her chest. Mark is an excellent eater and will eat just about anything. Here he is after some very messy blueberries and peas. We didn't get a picture, but the other day he had about twice as much food all over him. What a mess! And we have our first tooth coming in!! Mark's lower tooth is now poking through and I am so excited. He has been a bit of a grump lately, but as soon as that tooth poked out, he's been in the best mood. And I thought I would throw in this pic of Ella sleeping in her swing. It just made me laugh.

New Tricks

Ella has some new tricks she's been working on lately. She's gotten pretty good at sitting by herself and has recently discovered her feet. She grabs both of them at the same time, and is almost always missing a sock now. I can usually find it in Oatmeal's mouth! We're still working on sitting with Mark, but he's getting better and better. He has taken to splashing during his baths. He's still in his baby tub (though maybe not much longer) and just kicks his legs like a crazy man.

Happy 1/2 Birthday

Mark and Ella turned 6 months old last Saturday and celebrated with a trip to the Dr. Mark was over 16 lbs (50%) and almost 27" (his paper says 50%, but I could have sworn the dr said 75%) and Ella was 15 1/2 lbs (45%) and 25" (25%). So both are growing and doing great. We are well into solid foods now and Mark will eat any and everything. Ella, however, is a little more particular.

Mark and Ella are really squirming and moving around in their cribs at night. The other day I found Ella completely flipped 180 degrees and Mark like this picture. His feet are where his head usually is. He gets stuck like this, too and can't flip back over so he gets rather frustrated. As long as its not too early in the morning, its pretty funny.

Business as usual

Its been a little while since I posted any new pics, but nothing terribly exciting has been happening lately. We've had some pretty relaxing weekends, which has helped us work on a napping schedule, but thats about it. Mark and Ella go to the doc for their 6 month check up later this week, so we'll see how they are doing then. And we get to have some more fun shots!