8 Months Old!

Sweet baby girl, you bring a smile to everyone who meets you. Strangers stop me to tell me how you are the cutest baby they've ever seen and that I should see about making you the next Gerber baby.
You are learning to pull yourself up to standing, but you fall a lot, so you've already had your first couple of black eyes. You think that whatever your sister is playing with MUST be more interesting than what's currently in front of you. You love remotes, so we gave you an old one to play with...you weren't interested, so I guess you only love working remotes.
You like getting in the pool with Mimi and PopPop. And now that you can sit up in the stroller and face forward, you think stroller rides are the best!
You are starting to be more and more interested in food and less interested in your bottle. I have to watch you like a hawk when Delilah is eating b/c you will grab anything of hers and put it in your mouth (and she's not exactly cognizant of the finer points of choking hazards).
You take an hour nap in the morning, a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, and sleep from 7:30pm to 5:45am. If I can, I always try to let you take your morning nap on my chest b/c I just love to hold you. And Daddy always has you take at least one nap per weekend on his chest. You are such a sweet little Daddy's girl and he can't get enough of you.
You are a delight and I love you with my whole heart.

Noelle's 6 Month Photos

This was supposed to be Noelle's 6 month photo session, but it turned into more of a family photo session.

We had so much fun taking these photos...but I will try to make her 1 year session more about her!!!

Crawling!

You're not fast (yet), but you are determined! My parents are watching you while we apartment hunt in NYC next week, and I thought for sure that they would get to see your first crawl b/c I could tell you were so close. But you crawled for the first time in the office today, right at my feet. Thank you, Noelle, for letting me see this milestone! BTW, you and sister started crawling at almost exactly the same age: 7 months and 1 week...is this an indication of future competitiveness? :)

7 Months Old!

Ellie Bug is 7 months! (Technically, 7 months and 6 days...I've been busy!)
Oh, sweet girl, your smile hasn't left your face for more than 10 minutes since you were born. You aren't very wary of strangers, and are such a flirt with men...you love 'em! Your favorite toys are the crinkly packages that hold your wipes...you squish them and listen to the sound for as long as we let you.
Your favorite song is Rockin' Robin and despite your dislike for loud noises, you love when Delilah sings to you at the top of her lungs.
You are days away from crawling and I think if we had carpet instead of slick wood floors, you might already be doing it.
You still like to be swaddled, but always get your feet out as soon as possible. I think it's to keep cool--you sweat when you sleep more than any baby I know.
Your tummy is your most ticklish spot, and your giggle is loud and full.
You make us so, so happy.

Delilah's New Kitchen

For Christmas, I gave my dad a Home Depot gift certificate, blueprints for a play kitchen, and asked if we could spend a weekend or two building it for Delilah. My dad has basically an entire wood shop in his garage, and I've always wanted to build something with him. I thought this would be perfect.

We had SO MUCH fun building it. I would go to his house on the days Delilah was in school so we could keep it a secret. We shared coffee in the morning and beers in the afternoon. The radio was always playing, more than a few trips back to Home Depot to pick up something we forgot, and a lot of good-natured ribbing over the inevitable mistakes we both made. What did my dad learn? That his little girl is actually pretty handy with power tools. What did I learn? That wood putty and caulk can cover a multitude of sins. And that my dad can do anything; wait, I already knew that one.

While this was intended to be a father/daughter project, Chris contributed more than his share of effort by priming and painting the whole thing. When we finally surprised Delilah with it, her look of shock and pure joy made all the work worth it. She plays with it constantly. And it makes me so happy that we didn't shell out $300 bucks for a plastic one...this thing is sturdy and I already have visions of it being passed down.

Thanks, Dad, for everything. And Delilah and Noelle, I hope you enjoy this for years to come!

6 Month and 3 Year Stats

I already did the real posts for these milestones, but the girls' pediatrician is popular and couldn't see them for a joint check-up until last week. So, for posterity's sake, here are the numbers!
Delilah:
Height- 37.5 inches (53rd%)
Weight- 31 lbs ( 52nd %)
BMI - 43rd %
They predicted her adult height at this visit to be 5'4"...which sounds short to me but all the Huntley women are excited that she'll be so tall. :)

Noelle:
Height- 28.25 inches (99th%, officially off the charts)
Weight- 17 lbs, 4 oz (65th%)
Head Circ- 17.5 inches (91st%)

They are both healthy, bouncing girls...they had the whole office wrapped around their fingers by the time we left. :)

Wordless Wednesdays: First (and decidedly impromptu) Bath Together