Beach babies

We returned from our WONDERFUL beach vacation with the girls last Friday.  It was a great week, but I wish I had been more prepared for the fact that I would be more exhausted after vacation than I was before vacation.  "Vacationing" with kids is more fun than I could have imagined, but it is also very tiring (as I am sure most of you know).  I wish I had taken a photo of everything we packed (I swear it was more than I had when I moved into my college dorm), but it was well worth it.  Thank God we rented a house right on the beach so that we weren't hauling too much to and from the beach. 

Avery and Attley loved being beach babies.  They loved the sand and the water (though we really only put them in up to their knees because it was pretty chilly).  They also loved eating sand.  But what they loved most was actively seeking out the sharpest seashells possible and shoving them into their mouths at the speed of light.  Attley even swallowed one and very nearly gave us both a heart attack.  Fortunately, we freaked out for no reason (and scared poor Attley half to death in the process).  I have to constantly remind myself that babies are pretty tough.

On that subject, the girls had their 9 month check-up on Monday (at 9 months, 3 weeks old) and are doing wonderfully!  Attley did well with her shots and finger prick.  Avery did not.  She SCREAMED from the moment of the first needle stick until we got home (did I mention that she went first and that we live about 15 minutes from the pediatrician's office?).  It was below average.  I felt awful for her.  To add insult to injury, she screamed for about 5 minutes Monday night when I removed her band aids.  That made me feel even worse.  But, other than that, they really are great.  Attley has been crawling for 2 1/2 months now and Avery joined her in the fun about 3 weeks ago and is really motoring around quickly now.  So we have two very mobile, very fast babies.  Talk about fun and entertaining.  The best is seeing them crawl all over each other.  It's like built in obstacle courses.  Both of them pull up to standing on furniture and Attley is now trying to stand up on her own without balancing herself on anything, but hasn't succeeded just yet.  They both love to talk and repeat sounds.  Avery's favorite is "mama" (which makes me very happy) and Attley just added to her "vocabulary" by saying what sounds just like "baby," which is super cute.  I can't wait until they understand what those words actually mean.

Their current stats are below, along with a collage of some of our favorite photos from the beach trip and a link to a recent video.  They are both getting bigger and bigger, especially Avery!

Avery
Weight:  21 pounds (75th percentile).  This is quite impressive given that she was the       
              smaller baby for the first few months and started out around the 5th percentile!
Height:   28 inches (50th percentile)
Head circumference:  30th percentile

Attley
Weight:  16 pounds, 7 ounces (8th percentile).  We are thrilled with this because it is an increase from
              the 3rd percentile that she has been stuck at since 4 months.  She is creeping up the growth 
              chart slowly but surely!
Height:   27 ¼ inches (25th percentile).  Thrilled again!  She is up from the 10th percentile!
Head circumference:  20th percentile