One free hand

OK, I've been meaning to update this for days so here goes:

On Monday my aunt Phyllis gave both boys a trim. Just a little off the sides and in the back. Neither of them cried but Charlie was a bit of a challenge and will probably get a revision to his 'do this week sometime. Jack sat very still on my lap watching Einstein during the whole process. Charlie kept trying to get a good look at the scissors (and maybe a taste, just for good measure).

On Tuesday we were installing some baby gates when we found out that Charlie is afraid of the drill sound. While Chip was fussing about the gate and I was calming Charlie down, Jack was quietly feeding himself his entire dinner with no help at all. This may not seem like a big deal but I have been putting most of his food into his mouth up until this point. In fact I was starting to worry, he wouldn't pick up much himself but it seems to mostly be a case of "why should I do it if you'll do it for me."

On Wednesday aunt Ria came over and discovered that Charlie had finally mastered the fine art of drinking his own bottle. He has been able to hold it for a while now but could not tip it up enough to actually drink from it by himself. By Friday he was an expert and wants very little help now (as with most everything). Thus, I now have "one free hand". Jack, true to form, is much happier having you do things for him than doing it himself. He'll try it but only for a minute.

Today the boys are 11 months old. How time does fly! At church we left them in the nursery for the first time. (We had visited briefly several times before, but never spent the whole service in there.) My aunt Julie was scheduled to help in there today. When we first got there she hadn't arrived yet. Charlie lost it. The ladies in there assured me that he would be fine and they would come to get me if he didn't settle. I knew Julie would be there soon so I left, and immediately began to cry. I have never left him with someone he didn't know before. Within a minute Julie came in saw me and went to get him. She and my uncle Brown took care of him for the rest of church and said he was fine. She mostly stayed in the nursery with Jack, who couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. Charlie hung out in the lobby with uncle Brown because, while he was fine out there, he cried every time they went back into the nursery. Jack just kept trying to get Julie to put him in the swing, which he is way to big for, but otherwise had a ball with the other kids. I know it had to happen sometime, but boy is that stuff hard on a momma.

The last couple of nights the boys have really enjoyed their baths. They also love the oscillating fan we borrowed from Grandpoppa to keep them cool at night. They love for you to hold them in front of it and let their hair blow.

Boy are they finding each other funny. One will laugh, then the other, and back and forth for 15 minutes or so. I took these pictures tonight.