New! Improved! Baby statistics!

Today was the babies' 6-month checkup. Ivan is 26 1/4 inches tall and weighs 16 lbs 8 oz. He's now in the 50th percentile for height and the 35th percentile for weight; last month he was in the 15th percentile for both. Annie is 25 1/2 inches tall and weighs 17 lbs 13 oz. She's in the 45th percentile for height and the 80th (!!!) percentile for weight; last month she was in the 25th and the 50th, respectively. The pediatrician was very impressed that they had grown so well and moved so far up the growth chart. She also said that, developmentally, they are advanced for 6-month-olds, as they are rolling over, sitting up, and even trying to creep across the floor.

Before you think I'm just bragging, let me point out that my babies were born 7 weeks early; Annie weighed only 4.5 pounds, Ivan even less. They couldn't take a bottle and had to be fed through a nasal tube, and spent two weeks at the neonatal intensive care unit. So to see them now, all chubby and happy and doing things that normal 6- or 7-month babies would be doing, well, it doesn't get any better than that.

Sleepy boy

I took the babies to the store yesterday afternoon and when we got home they were starving. I strapped them into their high chairs for some delicious butternut squash and milk, but Ivan passed out before I could finish feeding him.



After 20 minutes like this he was still out cold and we finally had to wake him up. Poor little guy. Shopping must really wear him out.

Ivan laughing

This certainly isn't the highest-quality video the world has ever known, but it does show Ivan screaming and laughing and having a good old time. As you can see, he's quite grabby these days and loves to get a good fistful of Mama's hair . . . or Daddy's hair, or Grandi's hair, or Newton's hair. He's really not very discriminating. And once he's got you, he doesn't want to let go.

Labor Day weekend at Grandma Sandy's house

Monday was Labor Day, and we spent the long weekend at Grandma Sandy's house. The babies got a lot of extra attention, which they liked, and I got lots of extra sleep, which I liked. Here are some photos from the trip.

Ivan looking like a big boy in his cute red stripey overalls:



Annie playing "get the binkie." She's very good at that game.





Here are the babies, rolling around on Grandma's nice clean carpet.



And finally, here's Annie in her cherry sundress. She's not used to wearing such fluffy outfits and kept trying to get the skirt into her mouth.

At the lake

Grandma Sandy's house is on a lake, and one morning Ivan and I went down to the kiddie beach to play. Ivan liked squishing the sand between his fingers and I managed to keep him from shoveling it into his mouth. The water was freezing cold so we decided not to swim.






Here is Sydney, showing off her superior sand management skills. She also liked running in and out of the shallow water.



Annie missed the beach fun because she decided it was naptime just as we were putting her into her suit. Steve stayed back with her and worked on his brief (which he filed this week, yay for Steve!).