January 2012

By January the two of you were so much fun.  You went from babies who sat around and stared at us to babies who played with us in just a few short months.  You are both very social, and you love to interact with people.  Like many babies, one of your favorite ways to explore is to put things in your mouths.  Tannah, you started carrying blocks around in your mouth like in the picture below.  Daddy and I joked that you were just like a little puppy dog, but, really, you were quite smart to figure out how to transport your toys when you needed both of your hands to crawl.

Harper, you're my little pacifier baby, and you love to put toys in your mouth and suck on them.  The caterpillar was a personal favorite.  You also love to lick things and stick out your tongue.  You would crack me up by sticking your tongue out all the time.  You got your first two teeth this month, and I could see your little tongue rubbing your gums to make them more comfortable before the teeth broke through.

Since you were both mobile, we had to put up a play yard so we would have a safe place to contain you if Daddy and I needed to get something done (like get ready for work).  We put lots of toys and blankets in there, but neither of you liked being in there unless one of us was with you.  You both preferred to roam around the furniture.  Also, you were babies who had no problem letting us know if  you weren't happy. 

By nine months the two of you had started to develop definite opinions and wants.  You weren't afraid to tell us about them, but seeing as you couldn't talk, there was a reasonable amount of yelling.  I would look at your little faces, and I could just see that you were thinking, "Mom, why aren't you understanding me?"

You continued to explore everything around you.  The stride-to-ride dino was a big hit when the two of you figured out that you could walk with it.

We got our first snow that stuck, so we bundled you up and took you outside to experience it.  Let's just say that you were not impressed.  Snow kept getting in your mittens and boots, and you were not babies that liked the cold.  I then spent a good amount of time sewing the mittens and boots to the suits, but we never got enough snow to take you out in it again.  You preferred your leopard suits anyway.



The two of you loved the independence that came with cruising around furniture.  You could wander freely around the living room, and you would smile and laugh the whole time.

We celebrated Chinese New Year when Grandma and Grandpa were visiting, and you both got red envelopes.  We put them under your mattresses so that the money would double over night.

We were still having lots of problems with ear infections, and Tannah, you got one that made your eye gunky.  We decided it was time to visit an ENT to see about getting the two of you tubes, but we had to wait quite a while to get an appointment.

You loved playing with the toys you got for Christmas.  Your Laugh and Learn Home was a big favorite.  You loved the crawl through the door and to open and close the door.

You also loved to cruise around your toys. 

You no longer wanted to go in your exersaucer and jumparoo, but you loved to walk around them and crawl underneath them.



Your hair was finally starting to grow, so we started to experiment with some of our bows.  You weren't very impressed, and would generally tear them out as soon as I put them in.  If I did manage to get you to keep it in, you would notice your sister's and pull hers out.

Both of you were babbling away.  Your favorite sounds were "da" and "ba", but we sometimes got a "ma" in there as well.

With all of the energy you were burning during the day crawling and cruising around, this was the month that you finally started to sleep all night long on a somewhat consistent basis.  You both looked so calm and peaceful while sleeping, which was quite the change from the fun and excitement when you were awake!