The twins are 9 months old!

Isabel and Everett had their 9-month appointments today and all is good. Everett is exactly 20 pounds and 29 1/2 inches long. His weight is in the 45th percentile, but his height is in the 85th percentile....Tall and skinny!! Isabel is 18 pounds, 13 ounces and 28 1/4 inches long. She is in the 55th percentile for weight and 75th for height. The doctor said they are in great health and right on schedule for their development. She also said Everett is really close to getting some teeth on top and Isabel is close to teeth on the bottom of her mouth. They got their last Hepatitis B shot today and Isabel was a little crabby around bedtime from that.

Speaking of their development, they are busy bodies now. Everett starting crawling first, but Isabel picked it up a couple weeks ago and they are on the move. Right now, they follow each other around everywhere, easily finding trouble. Their favorite place is the kitchen pantry, where they love to play with Tupperware, the bag of potatoes, and Mom's plastic coffee containers. Why do we ever buy toys when they just play with this stuff?? Everett learned awhile back to pull himself up in his crib and now he does it on the couch, coffee table and our legs. He is either crawling somewhere or climbing on something now. He did have an accident however, due to his new found talent. He woke from a nap and pulled himself to stand in his crib and somehow bumped his chin on the railing, putting a nice slice in his tongue. Not sure how he did that without any teeth, but it scared me to see a bunch of blood in his mouth, so I called the neighbor (former nurse) over to check on him. He wasn't too crabby and the tongue healed quickly, but needless to say, his crib mattress has been lowered. Also, Isabel was in her crib laughing at him the whole time. What a nice sister! Isabel just started to pull herself up to her knees so it won't be long before she is standing against items too. She stills loves to play with Molly and watches her play fetch very intently.

Both have started to eat table foods a lot. Pancakes, yogurt, and hot dogs are just some of their favorite foods, but they will eat anything. They get very balanced meals with fruits and vegetables. It is nice that they like all foods, unlike their dad.

Last weekend, they went on their first trip since Thanksgiving, to Minneapolis. We visited Nana, Papa, Kellie, and Steve. We ate good food, shopped, swam, and attended a Minnesota Twins game on Saturday. Nana and Papa watched the twins during the game. We will meet them again the first weekend in May for more baseball, along with Grandma Johnsen. The twins are looking forward to more swimming and maybe some baseball this trip. Their next trip after that is to North Dakota in late May and again in mid-June. My hunch is that Everett will be walking in late May, but Sadie doesn't agree....Guess we will see.

Isabel and Everett have spent a little time in the yard since the weather has been nice, but they are not sure what to think of it yet. We have also been on many walks since spring arrived and they love that. They will continue to grow and get into trouble areas around the house, but that is also the fun part of it. Each new stage poses difficulties, but it also a sign of their growth and development. Soon they will have teeth and will speak words like Dada and Mama. And yes, Everett is wondering where all the beer went!!