Let's play ball!

Now that Syracuse has been eliminated from the NCAA tournament, it's time to forget another disappointing basketball season and look forward to baseball season.

This morning, we dressed both girls in the Red Sox gear.

And, like true Sox fans, Morgan and Gwen immediately got into a fight like a couple of South Boston "chowdaheads."

Morgan: Hey -- keep yah grubby hands off my Sawx hat, ya loozah!

Gwen: I'm not a loozah! YOU'RE a loozah!

Morgan: No, YOU ahh!

Mom: Stawp it both a yuz! Yah both actin' like a coupla' loozahs! Now say "yah sawry" to each'utha.

Go Sawx!

Gwen at 8 Months

Happy .667th Birthday, Gwen!

This was another big month for little Gwen. She continues to check milestones off her to-do list. Her biggest achievement this going mobile. We wouldn't necessarily call it "crawling" just yet, but through a mix of scoots, pushups and bellyflops, Gwen manages to slowly get herself around the floors. It's just a matter of time before she's officially crawling.

On the health front, Gwen continues to stick it to Blue Cross/Blue Shield with her epic streak of doctor visits. (Way to go, Gwen!) She had her tube surgery on March 1. She followed that up with 2 more ear infections (which were much less painful with the tubes in place, thankfully) and a nasty chest cold. And, just for good measure, she took a dive off the changing table last weekend and bruised her collar bone. But she's a tough cookie and is already back to being her cheerful little self.

Here are some photos from this month...

Gwen crawling technique isn't what you'd expect (yet), but she gets where she needs to go -- which is usually to the entertainment unit, where she likes to take out books and DVDs.

Gwen's blonde hair is coming in much faster lately. Even Morgan noticed, and included it in a portrait of Gwen she drew this week.

With Spring finally here, Gwen has enjoyed spending some time outside in the backyard with Morgan.

Underpants!!!

Say what?!? Yes, Morgan: underpants.

Some day, she'll be horribly embarrassed that we posted a story about her undergarments on the the internet. But, for now, we're all very pleased to announce that Morgan has officially made the transition from diapers and pull-ups to big girl undies. (Yeah, Morgan!)

We had been telling Morgan that once she turns 3, she would have to give up her pull-ups. Last Thursday, Morgan woke up and decided -- on her own -- that she was ready to wear undies to daycare (2 months ahead of the deadline). She had been doing great with the pull-ups for many weeks, so we gave it a shot.

On day 1, she had an accident at school. But by day 2, she made it all day -- and hasn't looked back since. (Yeah, Morgan!)

Look Who's Coming to Visit

The Christmas snow storm cut the holiday visits short for Aunt Lindsay as well as Andy's parents. So over the last two weekends, everyone got a do-over.

First up was Lindsay, who rolled into town over the final weekend in February. Morgan was very excited to see her "Mimi", and jumped at the chance to cook her some banana pancakes for breakfast.

Unlike the last time Lindsay visited, the winter weather didn't ruin the fun. So, with the temps in the 50's, Morgan got a chance to break out her sidewalk chalk.

After drawing, the girls hit the swings together for the first time.

Last weekend, Andy's parents made the trip down from snow-covered Connecticut. Andy's Mom used the scraps from the last few quilts she's made for the girls and made a "Greatest Hits" quilt for Gwen. (Between the quilt, the PJ's and the book, there's a whole lot of color going on in that photo.)

On Saturday afternoon, the Sauciers and Colemans got together to celebrate Henry's 13th birthday (which was postponed in January because of bad weather and sick babies).

Aimee said she didn't want Ariella to have to cook anything for the party. So instead, Ariella built a no-cook tower of junk food goodies -- Twinkies, Hohos, Chocolate Cupcakes, Doughnuts, and Oatmeal Cream Pies.

Gwen hasn't developed a sweet tooth yet (heck, she only has 2 teeth). So Gwen munched on a pickle instead.

Gwen's Ears Are Clear

On Tuesday, March 1, Gwen finally had her ear tube surgery. The surgery itself only took 6 minutes. Gwen was pretty fussy when she woke up from the anesthesia. But before too long, she was back to being herself -- which meant working on her latest project: learning how to crawl.

Gwen at 7 Months

Gwen's first 7 months are in the books, and with each passing month she gets bigger, stronger and tooth-ier. Her first two teeth busted through her bottom gums a few weeks ago. And judging by the waterfall of drool gushing from her mouth, more teeth may be coming soon. (The first decent shot of her teeth is below.)

Gwen hasn't really shown much interest in crawling yet. But she can hold herself up in a standing position -- which came in handy when she was opening her Valentine's Day presents earlier this month.

On the health front, Gwen tipped the scales at 18 lbs at her most recent doctor appointment. Even better, Gwen finally broke her streak of constant ear infections. She has gone almost a full month since her last one. She's scheduled to get ear tubes on March 1, so hopefully our ear infection saga is behind us.

The month wasn't completely free of medical drama, unfortunately. The whole family got a barf-tastic 24-hour stomach bug, which was followed-up by conjunctivitis (a.k.a. "pink eye") for both Gwen and Morgan. With Spring right around the corner, we're hoping that warmer weather and fresh air will help keep our trips to the doctor at a minimum very soon.

Here are some more photos from Gwen's 7th month...

On January 22, Gwen's pal Cate (little sister of Cooper) came for a visit. The girls sat and discussed all sorts of topics, such as 'What It's Like to Be Cute and Bald.'

February brought another batch of snow to South Jersey. And with Gwen's ear infections on hiatus, we were finally able to bring her out into the snow for the first time.

Gwen's teething has meant that nothing is safe from being chewed on. Luckily, while chomping on everything in her kingdom this month, Gwen also figured out that chewing on a blanket or stuffed animal is a great way to sooth herself back to sleep at night. (Mom and Dad are very grateful.)

Both girls dressed up in their Elmo gear for the red, furry guy's birthday on February 3.

Feeding Gwen her bottle has become so much easier now that she can hold it herself. But, as you can tell from the two photos below, feeding Gwen solid food still has its challenges.

You can't really tell in these photos, but Gwen's hair is finally starting to grow. It's much lighter than Morgan's hair was at this age, and looks like it may be curlier, too. Her new hair hasn't diminished Gwen's fondness for hats, however.

Happy Valentine's Day

After the week we just endured, we're especially happy that there's some "happy" in our "Happy Valentine's Day".

First it was a stomach bug (3 out of 4 Sauciers effected). Then came the pink eye (2 out of 4 Sauciers effected). And we capped off the week with a pulled muscle in Andy's back (1 Saucier effected, 4 Sauciers forced to suffer through it). Altogether, we made 3 trips to the doctor, 4 trips to the pharmacy, missed 6 days of work and 5 days of daycare, and spent many, MANY hours on the couch.

Considering all that, we decided to bust out some balloons and kick off our Valentine's Day early. On Saturday night, Gwen showed some love to her new favorite food: PICKLES.

On Sunday morning, the girls opened their Valentine presents from Mom and Dad. Then, for breakfast, Ariella cooked up heart-shaped pancakes drizzled with chocolate sauce and raspberries. It was a delicious treat for all of us -- even Gwen.