Happy 9 month birthday!

Wow - Natalie and Abigail are 9 months old. How did that happen! Check out their adorable pictures. At the 8 month mark, Abby hammed it up for the camera. This time it was all Natalie. She was just beautiful. I'll post the full photo shoot as soon as possible.

At 9 months (5.5 months adjusted) here's what they are up to:

Both girls are officially sitting up! Well, they can sit up for several minutes on their own, so I guess that's official. I wouldn't leave them alone like that though. Abby is getting really good and pulling her body up and straighting her back to sit up straight. We've really been working on those ab muscles and it shows!

Natalie and Abigail have also discovered their toes (an important ab muscle exercise). Again, Abby is a bit more interested. Sometimes she just holds on to them and looks around. They also like to kick a lot - sometimes up in the air and sometimes at toys I hang or hold in front of them.

Abby is really on the move. Just in the two-three days since when I started this post and now, she has advanced in leaps and bounds. She has begun to scoot backwards while on her tummy. She can also turn in all directions to reach for toys. She will lean and balance on one hand while reaching for or holding a toy. She is also trying SO hard to move forward. She will see something in front of her that she wants and she reaches and reaches and just can't quite get there. But, she's very close. Today (Thursday) she has really been trying to rock up on her knees. She got very close several times. Crawling is just around the corner...

Natalie can also turn around on her tummy and as of today, I think is starting to get the idea of pushing backwards. Natalie is much better at flipping from her back to her tummy than Abby though. She can turn over very well. Natalie is more content to be more still and play with one toy than reach for everything in sight (like Abby).

Both girls are very vocal and love to "talk" and talk. They will engage in "conversation" with you and it's delightful. They are still the happiest babies I've ever seen. The only times they fuss are when we wrap them up and put them to bed and they aren't ready to sleep, or when we try to feed them. The smile and laugh and play all day.

We are solucky to have the most beautiful, happy babies in the world.