Eight months today!

The fact that we are four months away from the big day is absolutely amazing!  I was near the hospital yesterday where the babies were born and I thought of how far Jack, Lilibeth and West have come in such a short amount of time!  It doesn't seem so long ago that Klint and I were "visiting" our babies in the NICU... their home sweet home for the first six weeks of their lives!  Now we visit our sweet peas each night in their nursery and watch them sleep... it's one of the only times throughout the day when they are still!

Here's what's happening:

Jack has his two bottom teeth!  He has caught up with West and Lilibeth and feels so very proud.  He now grabs his spoon with each bite just to prove that his teeth are super strong.  This makes feeding slightly messy!  Jack studies everything.  He keeps his eye on me at all times and gives me the biggest grins and hugs!  I totally underestimated how happy a sweet smile can make a mama!  Jack becomes interested in any toy that someone else is playing with and snatches it right up.  Sharing... so how do I communicate this skill to an eight month old?

Lilibeth is making all sorts of funny faces!  She makes us laugh.  She wakes up so happy every morning.  Her cousin M was visiting earlier this week and he sweetly looked over at the book that she and Fancy were reading.  She growled at him and threw her arms out over her book to show him in no uncertain terms that she had no interest in sharing.  Uh-oh!  Lilibeth will learn how to hold her own sooner rather than later with all of these boys!  One of our friends paid Lilibeth a high compliment on Sunday.  He said that she has a "kind face."  She does... she is such a sweet baby girl.  Just don't mess with her books!

West is on the move!  He scoots backward all the time.  I hear that this is the first step toward crawling, but West is understandably frustrated by moving further and further away from the object of his desire!  He is so independent and can entertain himself with his toys.  He is always the most interested in the newest person in the room and grins and winks at that person to attract their attention.  He nearly threw himself out of my arms at a restaurant last week to get the attention of the woman at the next table.  His charm and rugged good looks have not failed him yet!

West and Jack got helmets last week.  Do not be alarmed...  They are fine!  We have heard some interesting comments... 
"Are they OK?"  Yes.  
"Did we drop them?"  Not yet.  
"Is that a bike helmet?"  Ummmm...no.


I say that they were "all squoze up" in me.  This caused some flattening on the back of their heads that fortunately, can be corrected within the first year of life with a helmet or "cranial remolding device."  The good news is that the boys should only have to wear their new gear for a few months to correct the flattening.  The best news is that they do not seem to be bothered one bit by the helmets.  Their daddy and I miss kissing their little flat heads, but soon we will kiss our boys with their little Charlie Brown-esque heads!  A few months early on to correct this little issue will hopefully be worth it in the end for West and Jack.  There is a downside... the helmets and their little heads smell like the inside of a teenage boy's favorite baseball cap in August.  There is no amount of rubbing alcohol or shampoo that can compete with this funk.  Their sweet Duke went to Academy and bought a baseball helmet to wear "in solidarity" with Jack and West until they are out of the helmets.  What a good grandfather! Pics of all three guys in their helmets to come in a future post...

Jack reads with S.  These babies literally devour books.  They get so mad at me for trying to read to them.  "Hand it over, mama.  Books are for eating!"

What do these self-sufficient kids need me for?

Lilibeth meets L

Lilibeth is not amused... swimming in diapers is not stylish.

G & P's Sunday visit

Ummm.... it's a little bit chilly in here!

The boys kickin' back

Lilibeth's bath

Jack loves the water

West's favorite place!

Clean bean!

So independent!

Oopsie... I'm about to lose a kid under the couch!

Choo-choo! 

Our "Happy Birthday Breakfast" is all over our happy faces!

Nurse Lauren visited to celebrate 8 months with us... thanks for all of your help in getting us to this point, Lauren!

West loves pretty ladies!

Jack and T having some fun

So smart... our little engineer takes apart the rug and eats the first initial of his name!

West thought it was hilarious when he peed his helmet during a diaper change.  He napped without a helmet and got in an extra bath for the day.  Smart boy!

I'm off to bed...  I have to be up early and ready for all sorts of fun as we kick off our ninth month!