7 Months Old

The boys both now roll around quite effectively and flip from back to front and front to back regularly. They haven't figured out crawling yet, but still travel across their play mats by rolling and squirming. They are now skilled at grabbing everything within reach, and both are adept at grabbing my glasses off of my face. They are working on sitting up unassisted... don't quite have that down yet, but they can sit well enough to use their high chairs for mealtimes. They eat small quantities of solid food for breakfast and dinner; Henry seems to have a sweet tooth (well, two sweet teeth, which sprouted from his lower gums in the past couple weeks) with favorite foods so far being sweet potatoes and mango, while Jack is fairly disinterested in food (doesn't seem to even like banana, of all things) but will eat when presented with a spoon and encouragement. 

Jack's stomach problems seem to be improving, and he's a pretty happy little guy much of the time now. While he does smile and laugh, Henry is far more serious, and definitely more challenging to amuse these days. He's developed an absolutely withering glare (I admit I feel some responsibility for that), most recently deployed when his brother stole his pacifier straight out of his mouth. They've already begun to fight over toys, especially the prized "spider book" (in the foreground of the picture with their toys, coming up later). Henry, still the more nimble of the two, will roll over to grab Jack's toys and roll away. We knew people's protestations that the boys were going to play together and make our lives easier were nonsense. If the boys only fight half the time, we'll consider ourselves lucky.

Jack and Henry in their awesome soft penguin shirts from my friend Kristi (and fabulous striped socks from her sister Kathy):

Jack's antics get a little smile from Henry:

Happy Henry and Jack, hanging out on the couch:

Those pictures were taken during one of the boys' final jaunts in their pillow on the couch. They have become so mobile, it was no longer safe to let them sit on the couch, even with close supervision. Their twin pillow now rests on the floor so they can practice sitting up without far to fall.

Surrounded by toys, yet nothing to do... perhaps we're spoiling them (Henry in red shirt, Jack in stripes, prized blue spider book in foreground):

Henry shows off his pill bug technique...

... foot in mouth...

... feet in hands...

... sudden uncoiling! (often punctuated by a truly ear-splitting shriek for dramatic effect)

Henry enjoys wrapping himself up like a burrito in a blanket from Grandma and Grandpa Loveridge:

Henry, suave in his hand-me-down rolling hedgehog vest and awesome accompanying golf-ish pants:

Somehow Henry has already perfected the strained humoring-mom-for-the-picture smile:

Breakfast time! Jack smiles for Mom, Henry glares while un-enthusiastically consuming his rice cereal:

Dinner time! Coyly, and then with exuberance, Jack enjoys his sweet potato, squash and pumpkin combo:

Henry's liking it too:

Henry and Jack show off their foot-grabbing technique:

Henry attempts to show off his hair-grabbing technique:

Henry has one face for me this play session, Jack has...

... incredulous...

... mischievous...

... intrigued...

... enthusiastic...

... and thrilled.

Lap Jack, handy for when you're on the go and a desktop Jack just isn't convenient:

Jack: I can have this fish? Really and truly!? 

Henry is plotting while unsuspecting Jack looks away:

What, I'm not doing anything? (slowly hooks brother's mouth with fingers):

Got him!

Successful in his mission, Henry is content:

Yeah, Mom, we're totally napping, why are you checking on us? (Henry in foreground, Jack peering through the bars of his baby jail in the background)

Shh, Henry, they're listening! 

And, finally this month, we had a visit from Steve's parents yesterday. They brought food for me and Steve, and adorable little playsuits for the boys. We didn't manage to get pictures of the boys with Grandpa (they enjoyed playing with his cane), but here's one with Grandma while Steve and I were loading Steve's treadmill that has found a new home with his folks:

Henry's on the left, scowling, although to be fair he had just gotten up from a nap. Jack's on the right, looking far more refreshed and ready for action.

With the treadmill gone, work to convert our back "bonus" room into the boys' bedroom will soon get underway.