Temper Tantrum!

Our little babies are getting big and are finally starting to enjoy some of their toys. Pam put them in the jumper/exersaucer (I never know what to call the different entertainment toys). Tyler loved it, and Katie did too for a bit. Katie then exploded into a class A temper tantrum - she has not only found her lungs but she is starting to show more of her personality, if she does end up with red hair like we think she might she definitely has the fiery temper to go with it! She gets mad, mad when she doesn't get her way and lets you know about it! Here are some pics of playtime at Pam's!

Tyler was having a great time.

Katie was too, at first!

Then she decided she didn't want to play anymore.

Finally, with a punch of her fist, Katie got her way and got to get out and be held.Tyler still couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about!

A couple in black and white...

Some cute pics

Just some random pictures!

My two boys!

The family (minus me). Marley got to be in a picture!

Katie laughing!

They are really starting to notice each other these days.

Well, its been a while

I have been pretty busy and haven't posted in a bit, but I did spend the other evening trying to figure out how to get videos on and I think I've got it if we just had the software on our computer. I am going to try to do it from work sometime this week and show you some pretty funny video of Katie and Tyler "eating" oatmeal, making their spitting noises, and generally just being cute. They weren't doing much of that this weekend! Katie is going through a stage where she is pretty fussy when not being held, and down right mad if you don't pay attention to her. My dad was in town this weekend and she was scared of him at first, but by day two she was batting her lashes at him and trying to win him over too, in hopes that he may pick her up if we wouldn't! Tyler is starting to make more noises too, I hope he doesn't pick up the screeching thing from his sister - that'll hurt your ears I tell you! Tyler had a ROUGH night last night. I have a cold, please summer hurry up, and he did not care! He was up virtually the whole evening from 11:30 PM until we gave him his bottle at 6:30. We tried Tylenol in case he was teething, a little food in case he was hungry, lots of burping in case he was gassy, checked his diaper, let him in the bed with us, let him try to sleep in the swing - nothing worked! I hope it is teething and not just a new habit of his - yikes! So So gave them some adorable outfits and we hope to get some six month pictures taken of them, but if not I am just going to have a little dress-up session soon with some new pictures to post - stay tuned!!!

Consignment Sale

I have to put a plug in for an upcoming consignment sale that will have all of Katie and Tyler's outgrown clothes and toys, and much more stuff! I am a member of POTATO (Parents of Twins and Triplets Organization) and they annually do a large sale with members selling clothing, toys, equipment, strollers, high chairs, etc. I have found that it is quite a bit of work to tag all of the stuff and get it ready for the sale, and in an effort to make sure I don't have to bring it all back home I am trying to get the word out! I am also (selfishly) trying to make sure I make some cash since I am also going to be shopping the sale looking for a jogging stroller (not for me to take up jogging per se, just because I need a side by side double that folds to fit into my POS car), carseats, high chairs and summer clothes for the munchkins. I will admit it, Lance is much stronger than me and doesn't seem to have much trouble, but I already can hardly lift the babies in their carriers and think it will be time before we know it to move them into the stationary carseats! We do have two high chairs that will probably work when the babies get a little bigger, right now they kind of topple over!!!

So, here are the details for any Nashville folk looking to get great deals on kids clothes, toys and equipment:

Clothing sizes preemie ( I was tagging some preemie clothes this weekend and already can't believe the babies were once that small) to 10!

SATURDAY - March 14th
8:00 AM - 11:30 AM and half price hours 12:00 - 2:00.
Two Rivers Middle School - 2991 McGavock Pike

www.nashpotato.org for info on the Parents of Twins and Triplets Organization!

Valentine's Day

Well, it has been a fun-filled weekend for everyone. Tyler and Katie enjoyed their first Valentine's Day party at daycare on Friday (see pictures below - too cute, thanks Pam). Lance and I went to a wonderful dinner at Wildwood Friday night while So-So and Pappy babysat (thank you, thank you) the grumpers, and on Saturday and Sunday we had fun just hanging around the house - and taking even more pictures! They have, for three nights now, slept until about 6:00 AM - fabulous!!! Let's hope it continues - although, I went in this morning to wake up Katie Bug and found her on her belly, she was content with that for a couple of minutes until she realized she couldn't get back over (no room to go left) and got mad. I anticipate that happening in the middle of the night sometime soon, but that's ok, at least I have proven to myself over the course of the last three nights that they don't need that middle of the night bottle!!! Here are some pictures of the little cuties at 5 1/2 months!

They got new Valentine's bears!

Katie thought it was funny!

She looks like she's saying "It's Mine!"

Tyler's stretching was the perfect opportunity for Katie to taste his fingers!

Tyler thinks his fingers taste good, too.

Tyler has started doing strange things with his lips and they are both cracking us up with their spitting noises!

Sleep, glorious sleep!!!

They did it! They slept from 7:30 last night to 6:00 this morning - woohoo!!! I am not even going to hope that this will be recurring, but it is really good to know that they can do it. They ate a little more than usual this morning after skipping that middle of the night bottle, but not significantly more which is even more proof that they don't need it, they just like it! I, of course, was up listening for them every hour after about 1:00, and while there was a bit of grumbling, they went back to sleep in less than a minute usually. I never even thought about getting up to get their bottles, that's how little noise they made the whole night. Lance did wake up to Tyler getting upset at about 4:30, but he went downstairs to fix bottles and by the time he got back upstairs Tyler was back asleep. It must have been their little Valentine's gift to us - we are going to dinner this evening (So-So and Grandpa are babysitting - woohoo), and both of us were amazed at how rested we felt at 6:00 this morning!

Funny, funny babies

The babies little personalities are starting to shine through and it is so fun! Tyler has started "talking" a lot more and may be a bit of a daredevil - he loves to "fly" in our arms and over our heads and always finds ways to scoot himself into precarious situations whether in the crib, on the couch or in our arms! Katie is just a mini little clown! She has learned to blow bubbles and make a razzing sound and can entertain herself for quite a while with her new noises. The other night after we had put her in her crib she was sucking on her fingers so loudly that we could hear it downstairs before we turned the monitor on! They are both doing well with eating, but daily it is becoming more and more of an adventure. Tyler has learned to contort his lips and suck the excess off his lips and would rather put his hands in his mouth than the spoon. Katie would still rather poke her tongue out and now (unfortunately for cleanliness, but oh so cute) has found that she can spit it back out and spray it all over when she is tired of eating! They are still only getting one oatmeal meal a day - come March their dinner options will really increase - I think they will enjoy it! They are still pretty fussy in the evenings, from 3:00 until 7:00 is still a long time for them to be awake without a nap, but daily it gets better and as I type this Katie is sitting on Lance's lap just talking and kicking and having a grand time. Now is the time for some rolling practice (aka tummy time) and they are about to get VERY angry so I'll sign off to go "torture" my children, they think it is torture, and certainly let me know it, but one day when they are able to crawl and walk I'm sure they will thank me ;-)!

Happy "Bug" is back!

Poor little Katie Bug had a miserable weekend! They both were running a fever (Katie got up to 102.3) and were just not feeling well, but on top of the "flu-like" sickness that they got - Katie was teething and just not happy. She alternated between screaming as loud as possible and sleeping fitfully thanks to tylenol. So sad, but we took her into the doctor yesterday and she was already on the mend and today she was back to her happy, smiley self - and we love it! No real progress this weekend on rolling or anything like that because they just felt too bad. It's a shame that the first weekend we had awesome weather they weren't feeling their best, but sunny, warm days are around the corner and I can't wait to let them get out and get some fresh air for a change. We don't really have any new, great pics but here are a couple from over the weekend.

Tyler really likes to read, and he likes his taggie book since he can grab on and shake it around! He also has the fattest little feet you have ever seen (something else he gets from his dad), six month shoes don't fit him!!!

They are still a little small for their stroller without carseats, they kind of have a permanent lean on. But, we did go for a walk in the sunshine - this was strolling around the house which is by far easier than navigating the stairs after you strap them in (mom is not too bright sometimes)!

The Jumper

Well, we tried out the jumper last night and they seemed to like it! Katie would not put her hands out and Tyler kept getting turned around and upset about it, but all in all I think it will be a fun new toy to put in the rotation. Here are some pics, don't mind the mess in the laundry room behind them! The only doors we can use are the laundry room door and the half bath door!!!!

Since all they both want in the evenings is to be held, I've found a way to do it!

They aren't always happy about it though!

They got new bibs!

Nana Pam got the babies some new bibs - here are some pics. They are such little hams. These pics of Katie show it well, Katie didn't notice the camera at first, then she was all smiles!! Katie had a big day today at daycare - she rolled over from front to back and then when she got home I put her down on her back and she rolled to her stomach and then again to her back - go Katie! Too bad she still HATES to be put down on either side, tummy or back.

Tyler was smiling the whole time!

St. Jude

I have been listening to the St. Jude telethon today and the stories are heartbreaking. We unfortunately do not have the financial capacity to give at this time, but the work they do is phenomenal and it is one of the most amazing places and so deserving of support. Listening to the stories reminded me that I have SO much to be grateful for and made me realize that sleep, and eating, and milestones mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. I love Tyler and Katie with all my heart and am going to do a better job of just enjoying every minute with them and being grateful that they are in our lives, and not sweat the small stuff! I never knew that I had the capacity to love this much and I need to remember each and every day that I am blessed to have these two precious babies who are healthy and happy and that they won't be this small for long. I want to be here to watch them grow and become the people they are meant to be and if they want to check in with mom and dad in the middle of the night for now then that is alright with me :-)!

All is well

Not much to update right now, and no new pictures :-(. The babies are 5 months old! Poor little Tyler has a bit of diarrhea - and is still rattling and stuffy - poor little guy just gets the worst of everything going around. He is happy and content though, and it doesn't seem to really bother him so that's good! We had a Super Bowl get-together and they did great. It was fun to see their friend Susan and they didn't fuss at all - I think all of the commotion just overwhelmed them and they kind of just sat there taking it all in.

They are still waking in the middle of the night - suggestions, advice are welcome! I don't think they need the middle of the night bottle anymore but when they wake up they will just not go back to sleep until they get some food. We have two stubborn ones on our hands (imagine that) and they just cry and cry. They do wear themselves out crying and go to sleep, but it is a pattern of cry, sleep for 10 minutes, cry some more and that just doesn't cut it!!! So, we are still giving them the bottle and then they go back down. I am willing to do it for another month or two because it isn't THAT bad to be up for 30-45 minutes, BUT I think I am getting caught up in the my baby does this competitiveness of mommyhood and ours are the only ones that I know of that are still not sleeping through the night. I try to remind myself that they were sick for so long, and they still aren't taking in enough solids to make a caloric difference, but I just fear that we are establishing really bad habits that are going to become harder and harder to break...