8 Month Old Creepy Crawlers!

Westin, Kynlee, Gage, and Brooklyn

So, really they are 8 1/2 months old now, but at least I'm getting it documented before they turn 9 months! Life is really starting to get interesting. That's right, all of my babies are MOBILE!! I have four creepy crawlers. Not every one is efficient yet, but they are all doing it!! Now that they can do more than scoot, I am finding them everywhere and I do mean everywhere . . . in the playroom, in the kitchen, behind the couch, under the activity gym, in the bathroom playing in the trash (I was very close by and stopped this quickly). When I enter a room, I have to do a quick head count and then find the missing baby or babies! Our house is very open so I'm not sure there is a good place to confine them to. The playroom would be a good choice if I can find a gate wide enough to cover the entrance. For the most part, I am in the same room with them or in the kitchen (which is open to the living room, so it hasn't been too much of an issue yet, but I know it will only get worse as they figure out more things and get faster.)

See what I mean about finding them everywhere! This is one of Brooklyn's favorite "hiding" spots

Since they are more mobile, they are constantly on top of each other (Kynlee is on top more than anyone else) and they get a little irritated when they are the one on bottom. The worst part of having four mobile babies is the spit up. . . everywhere. Gage is the worst and Kynlee is a close second. He spits up constantly and now that they are mobile, I can't keep the spit up contained to a blanket on the floor. The carpet cleaner has become a permanent decorative fixture in our living room since it is used multiple times EVERY day.

Kynlee climbing over Gage

Kynlee climbing over Brooklyn (I told you she liked to climb on people)

They have also figured out that mobility means they can come find me!! Kynlee and Brooklyn will drop everything to head in my direction when I appear and they get a little mad if I don't stop to acknowledge them. So fun, but soooo crazy!

So what are they all up to these days? Well. . .

Brooklyn:
Weight: 15 lbs 2 oz (she's tiny and petite)
Personality and Mobility: Brooklyn is still sweet and naughty. I can't get enough of this little girl. I just want to snuggle her and love on her. She constantly has her tongue sticking out, either playing with it or grinning with it out. For a while she was dominating Kynlee, but the tables seem to have turned again. This back and forth power struggle may be a peak into my future. She has her two bottom teeth. They came through on April 10th (bottom right) and April 15th (bottom left). She crawled for the first time on May 9th. Mostly she is still army crawling, but she occasionally plays with the crawling thing, still just testing it out. Of all the babies, she is the most likely to go off on her own. I frequently have to retrieve her from the playroom. She seems to think that whatever Jackson might be playing in there is probably better than what she has in the living room. Or maybe she just needs a break from the other babies once in a while. I don't know. She continues to laugh at Jackson on a daily basis and seems to think her daddy is funny too!

Gage:
Weight: 18 lbs 6 oz (This is more than Jackson weighed at 9 months!! And this weight was actually taken at 8 months even though I am just now getting it posted)
Personality and Mobility: Gage continues to be full of snuggles and smiles with a little side of seriousness. He is a fabulous sleeper! I think he can sleep through anything and given his way he would sleep until 9 a.m. pretty much everyday!! He still loves to eat and he is so impatient during meals. By the time you have lowered the spoon to scoop the next bite, he is already crying! Not to mention how mad he gets when you get a bite for a sibling sitting next to him! Gage also has his two bottom front teeth. They came in on May 1st (bottom left) and May 9th (bottom right). Gage was the last to experiment with crawling. He crawled for the first time on Saturday, May 14th. He is not very efficient yet and still does a lot of scooting. When he scoots he gets up on hands and feet and propels himself forward. He can get around! There's nothing better than snuggling with a sleeping Gage (doesn't happen often, but when it does I eat up every second). Gage does get his feelings hurt pretty easily, but overall, he's just a happy, easy going baby!

Westin:
Weight: 17 lbs 10.5 oz
Personality and Mobility: Westin is my laid back, lazy guy. He would really rather you deliver things to him than to have to get them himself, though he has started crawling. He was the second (after Kynlee), to achieve a true crawl. This shocked Aunt Kiki and I (the witnesses to the event) because we both thought this lazy little guy would be the LAST to crawl. He was technically the last to be mobile, as everyone else started scooting or army crawling before him, but he was officially the second to crawl. It makes me a little sad, because before the crawling he did what I referred to as "the inch worm" to go places. He kind of inched along pulling a little with his arms and propelling with his toes, but not ever getting his belly or legs off the floor. It's hard to describe, but it did sort of look like an inch worm! He started crawling on May5th, and just in the last couple of days has become pretty efficient. He's not as fast as Kynlee yet, but he also doesn't care to travel quite as far. He covers the least distance during the day out of the four. He's pretty content to stay in one general area with the occasional desire to explore. The other three are the opposite! He still has just the two bottom teeth that came in on March 24th. Lately he's been waking up in the middle of the night and fussing and can't calm back down without a little snuggle times. Sometimes it makes me crazy, but sometimes I just enjoy the one on one time because that's a hard thing to come by around here :) He's still practicing his sparkling smile and he's just about got it down to a science. He seems to know when you use it! If you need a pick me up, get a smile out of Westin, it always does the trick.

Kynlee:
Weight: 15 lbs 12 oz
Personality and Mobility: Kynlee is still a little high strung. She is super happy if she has exactly what she wants and super stressed out if she doesn't. Even her breathing patterns are stressful (fast and furious). She was my first creepy crawler and started on April 27th and she is really good now. She chases me around the house and when she gets to me, I better comply with her every whim or she will let me know about it! She is so excited when she gets to you though, that you can't help but attempt to comply (if you can figure out what she wants). In addition to crawling everywhere, we caught her bear crawling (hands and feet) on the cold tile floor the other day too. She is also pulling up on everything!! She wants to stand all the time. If she doesn't get taller before she walks, it's going to be the funniest thing ever! Kynlee loves to be where the people are, especially the big people. She wants to climb on everyone and her brothers and sister don't always appreciate this (even Jackson gets irritated by this and will tell me that Kynlee is "getting him").

Now for a few of my favorite pictures of the last several weeks:

Brooklyn

Gage, Kynlee and Brooklyn . . . played 'til they dropped

Brooklyn: notice the open mouth, she was sleeping but still talking!

Gage and Westin. Gage sleeps like this a lot. You can move his arm away from his face repeatedly and he will just put it back and keep sleeping!

Overall, everyone is doing so well. I am floored at how "normal" they all are. They are just right on target with their milestones and development (they don't sit much yet, but they don't get a lot of opportunity to try it either, Kynlee and Brooklyn just themselves into side sitting, it won't be long). They are growing and thriving and they are just miraculous!