9 Months Old!!

Will and Jack are 9 months old!!!  How they could have already gotten to this age so quickly, I'm not sure, but we are having a lot of fun lately!!  This has definitely been the boys' most active month yet, and we see the writing on the wall ... the boys are going to be mobile VERY soon!!

Here is their 9 month picture ...
 the best we could get of them together this month!
They are so active!!

Take a look at the action shots Justin captured as he tried to get a good picture!

So as you can tell, they are having a lot of fun moving all around!

The boys are sure a joy each and every day, and we definitely have so much fun!

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William John

Will is such a precious little guy!  He really has a sweet spirit and is still pretty laid back.  Uncle Aaron gave him the name 'Will the Chill' and that is pretty true, most of the time!

This little boy has joy deep inside.  He gives the best smiles, where his face completely lights up!  Each morning when we get him out of his crib, his smile just lights up the room, and makes us feel like we are the most popular people ever!

Will isn't quite sure how he got in this position!

Another example of his laid back attitude in the picture above.  Jack typically is all over Will when they are playing on the floor, and sometimes even likes to take Will's toys away from him.  Most of the time he doesn't seem to mind, but every so often, we get this face and a whimper, like he's saying, "Mom, PLEASE help me!"

He is a determined little guy!  From the week before the trip, he has been working diligently on figuring out how to crawl!  He gets up on all fours, and rocks like crazy.  He also does positions like downward dog (our little yoga man!), and gets up in a push-up position too! He is a very patient boy, and is content to work and work and work on this new skill!  He's definitely getting closer, and has had a few times where he got both legs to move up before he faceplanted. Once he figures out how to move his arms as he moves his legs, he'll be off!

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Jackson Paul

Jack definitely brings the spunk to the Steiner family!! He just cracks us up with how he reacts to life! While he isn't quite as patient as his older brother, he is definitely filled with amazing joy and gives absolutely amazing smiles!

Look at that dimple!

Can't you just feel the happiness?

Jack cracks me up with how 'into' everything he is!  He is such a curious little guy, and I love to watch him discover new things.  Where Will is content to sit with one toy for a little bit and study it, Jack moves on to new things (usually not a toy, but something he shouldn't be into!) more quickly and is interested in everything! His impatience to get to things usually shows on his little face ... he constantly has scratches on his nose from his fingernails or a bonk on his little forehead! Poor little guy!

I love it when someone walks into a room, or there is a loud noise, Jack whips his head around to figure out what is there!  I know that as he grows, it will be so much fun to watch him discover all that life has for him!

Toes!!

Here is an example of Jack and his love for things that are not toys ... toes!  He is trying to get his daddy's toys here, but many times when I'm trying to wrestle him change his diaper and keep him from turning over, he loves to try to get my painted toenails into his mouth!

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And now for updates/stats on both boys ...

~They are still in size 3 diapers, eating about 32 ounces a day of formula, and enjoying 2 baby food meals a day.  We go in next week for their 9 month appointment, but I'm guessing that they are each well over 19 pounds by now!  We'll see!

~The biggest change this month (finally!) occurred inside their mouths ... the boys have teeth!!!!  They both popped through their two bottom middle teeth during our trip to California!  Jack popped through his first, then about a day and a half later, Will popped through his!  And within a day, the second one started coming up!  Of course, I cannot seem to capture a picture of either boys' teeth, but hopefully I will soon! They were amazingly happy during this process (thankfully!) but have become awfully drooly!  I'm just so glad the teeth have finally come!  I was getting tired of saying, 'any day now'!

~Like I said earlier, they are definitely going to be crawlers very soon!  They spend so much time practicing their skills!  They are determined to figure it out, and are up on their hands and knees a lot of the time now, and are working hard to figure out how to coordinate moving their legs and arms together!  Even though they still aren't crawling, it just amazes us how they get around their pen (our extra large gated play area borrowed from the Delcambre twins)! They roll, scoot, fidget, turn, and pull their way to the toys that they want ... it is just amazing to watch! And they don't seem to have any desire to figure out sitting on their own. They can sit propped for a little bit and play with a toy, but still fall back if I'm not behind them.  Like I told my mom weeks ago, I'm pretty sure they'll crawl before the sit on their own.  They are just too interested in getting around to sit still!

~They make all sorts of cute noises!  No actual 'mamama' or 'dadada' sounds yet, but it is funny how each of the babies have their own set of sounds they have figured out!  Both are now great high-pitched squealers, especially Jack, and they showed their skills on the plane ride home from California! =(  Will is still our 'chatterer'.  He likes to talk and show off his sweet voice, especially when he gets sleepy!  His voice has definitely gotten louder this month as well!  Jack doesn't chatter as often as Will, but he grunts more, almost to let you know how hard he is working on getting to something!  They both laugh and giggle, and have started really blowing raspberries. I think they are enjoying all the extra drool in their mouths from teething, and they realize how fun it is to blow all that spit out of their mouths!  Makes for wet chested and messy (during feeding time) babies! =) 

~I gave the boys their first puffs to try this month.  They like to grab them in their hands, but haven't quite figured out what to do with them after that.  Many times they will get a few of the puffst in their hands or stuck to them, but then forget that they are in there! Will has brought them towards his mouth a few times, but can't quite figure out how to get it in his mouth.  Our pediatrician said not to give them finger foods until they are sitting unassisted, but I figured at the rate their going with that, it might be awhile.  So I'm letting them practice their pincer grip a bit, and watching them like a hawk!  

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I know huge changes are in store for the boys this coming month!  I'm already shopping around for their big boy car seats ... they are just getting too heavy for mommy to keep carrying them around in their infant seats! I'm also planning on buying plug covers this week, and maybe a baby gate or two! 

A funny story about Jack ... the other day I had the pen put away so they could just roll around the family room.  Will was on one side of the room playing with his toy. I had a close eye on Jack because he was on the roll, and I saw that he was eyeing the one electrical outlet in his view.  I wanted to see if that was really what he was going for, and sure enough it was.  On the last roll that brought him up to it, I grabbed him as he started to reach for it, and said a strong "No".  Did he look scared?  Did he cry? Did he seem to get that it was a danger to him?  No, not my curious boy.  He cracked up laughing.  Gut laughing. 

Oh boy ... life is about to get interesting!!