Granparents are Awesome!

Last night I had to go to an awards banquet and So So and Grandpa watched the kids for us. It was a long night since we had to be there at 5:30 which meant they had to keep track of the curious little things for a while (they are everywhere in our house looking for trouble), then feed them, then dress them for bed (a task for sure since they fight with all their might to not have their diapers changed or clothes put on them), then give them a bottle and finally put them to bed. The poor things have not had a bath in a couple of days - Wednesday night we got home too late, last night we thought that would just be a little much, and tonight Lance is on his own so it won't happen again. We have stinky babies! I digress, they did all of this for the babies while Katie was being a BIG grump. She went with her brother to the Doctor and screamed at everyone she came in contact with - the nurse, the doctor, people in the waiting room... Our pediatrician said that at her age this is completely normal and to be expected, but it makes me feel so bad! She is a sweet, funny little thing and nobody gets to see anything but her big crocodile tears and hear her powerful lungs! Oh well, I am sure this will be over soon like every other stage we have been through. Thank you so much to So So and their Grandpa for putting up with the yelling and taking care of the kids for us - we really, really appreciate it!

Still no pictures - we got some video this morning of Katie pulling up next to her brother but I still haven't figured out how to post videos :-(! I also don't know yet about the date and time of the kids birthday party but I will make a decision soon!

Tyler's Breathing

Well, it seems that this is going to be a pattern. Everytime Tyler gets a cold he just can't get rid of it and it develops into something that makes his breathing bad and gives him a constant cough. He got a cold from me almost three weeks ago and for me, too, it has been lingering so we thought it was just lengthy for him too. We decided to take him to the doctor just to make sure there was nothing we could do other than the breathing treatments and let him fight his way through it. Well, he does have bronchitis and the doctor said that we need to give breathing treatments every four hours for a week. He also has an antibacterial medicine that we need to give him. We can handle the medicine - Tyler loves medicine for some odd reason - but the breathing treatments are very difficult these days. He is a strong little bugger and twists and turns away from you while ripping the mask from his face and throwing himself backward. This is one of those times that I really wish he could be distracted by tv or anything really - but he is just not easily distracted! Hopefully we can get enough medicine in to help him out and keep him from having trouble breathing!

Katie also has a cough that is worse at night and is probably caused from a bit of a cold and also teething drool. She does it in her sleep and doesn't wake up so she is pretty unaffected, but it sure is miserable for us hearing it in the monitor! Katie discovered dog food this morning and managed to get a couple of pieces in her mouth before we could grab her. She has FAST hands! You would think after tasting it that she would lose interest but all morning she was making a crawling run for the laundry room and dog bowl to get more! We definitely have to keep all doors closed downstairs (bathroom, laundry room) because they sure are curious and on the move!

Katie Did It!

Well, Katie has been trying for a while now to pull up and stand like her brother, but so far has not had much luck - until today! Nana Pam caught her proud moment on camera - she stood up in her crib after (or maybe during) her nap. The railings on our cribs are a bit thicker so I don't know if she will be able to do it at home too, but I am sure she will try and probably not sleep thanks to her efforts. Here are some pictures - she is just so happy and proud of herself!

Katie, Katie, Katie

Oh, boy are we in for it with this little girl. She sure is a spitfire and each day her little personality starts shining through and while it is cute as can be she is also showing signs of being pure T-R-O-U-B-L-E! Yesterday I went with Lance to pick the kids up from daycare so he could help me at the grocery store. I have wanted to use those two-seater kids carts before, but unless one is in the parking lot (which one has never been so far) I can't figure out how to get them into the store and into the cart by myself. I have circled the lot a couple of times looking for someone to leave one or for one of the cart boys to be out for me to ask to bring one out but no luck. So, with Lance's help we get them in the store and into the carts and the kids LOVED it. Katie was literally laughing out loud and smiling and having a grand old time "driving" around the store. Tyler liked it too, but not as much as Bug. Anyway, when we went to take her out of the cart she had a MAJOR fit - screaming and kicking her legs and arching her back to try to get out of our arms and then the carseat. She was letting us know in no uncertain terms that she was not happy not getting her way. She did the same thing when after eating I took her mushy, wet wagon wheel away because she was just playing with it and not eating and then again when we didn't let her play with the computer cord, the remote control, or Marley's tail. Luckily, there were some really cute moments too. While in the cart we bumped into something (those things are hard to drive) and I said uh oh - and Katie repeated it a couple of times. Then when I was telling Tyler NO later on when he was climbing something he wasn't supposed to Katie shook her head and looked at me with this huge grin like ha ha, my brother is in trouble. That was the first time I have seen her shake her head no but I am sure there will be many more times and not nearly as cute when she is really trying to tell me NO! Tyler is still concentrating more on getting mobile - he can squat now and is close to standing without holding on to something and he is learning how to open drawers and cabinets. He is getting a lot better at Ma Ma Ma but neither of them know who Ma Ma or Da Da are yet. We put Katie's crocs on her and when I tried to take them away I got another screech, but I guess I do want her to like to wear shoes so we'll go with it this time!

Boredom

I've noticed that the babies are pretty content in our two "play areas" - upstairs in the bonus room and in the living room for about 30 minutes or so and then they seem to get bored. Yesterday we went to visit cousin Joshua at camp in the morning, came back and the kids took their nap and then playtime. They started getting a little cranky after about an hour and a half of playing with everything I could think of in the house and I thought some fun in the sun would do them good. So, I set up the pack and play outside and they loved it! Still don't have beach pictures so these from yesterday (taken on my phone!) will have to suffice for now.

The kids get to go see their grandpa tonight and wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Little Troublemakers

Well, I got the camera out to capture some of their shenanigans - no biting, fighting or food throwing but you can see it in their eyes that they want to!

Notice that they are stripped down - katie takes her bib off immediately and Tyler throws a fit when you put it on so we are just eating in diapers for the time being! Tyler has about 10 cheerios in his hand that he can't get out and Katie is probably laughing because she just got her way!

Katie sure does love playing with balls - that is the toy that makes her happiest of anything.

They both love this ball popper toy - Tyler tries to stop them from coming out and Katie tries to get all of them in her hands. Pretty funny that Katie already has the tongue motion to help her concentrate like me. Tyler's hair is growing out a little - his mohawk may be gone soon. Poor little guy has scrapes and bruises and cuts all over him but he doesn't care he just wants to be on the move. Of all the toys we have out Katie managed to scoot her way over to the bin of ones that we were trying to keep away, of course. Tyler still wins the prize though for being able to get in the most trouble - he is literally all over the place and seems to have radar for trouble - chairs that can tip over, stairs out the playroom door, under the jumperoo...

What a night!

Tyler bit Katie and broke the skin. They were fighting over a toy that before that neither of them were interested in. Then, Tyler got a bit of his own medicine and screamed while eating because he would bite off the top of the cracker and then when he would try to get the rest in his hand he would bite his fingers. Katie screamed everytime I came near her with a spoon or anything to put in her mouth - she only wanted what she fed herself and she wasn't feeding herself much of anything. I am not sure these are really my kids because neither of them like the mashed potatoes we tried tonight! They are becoming stubborn, independent little stinkers and combined with newfound mobility and the inevitable bumps and bruises and the feeding challenges that are sure to only get worse, I am kind of at a loss as to how to handle it all. Oh boy, this is tough. I just hope this is a short stage if for no other reason because they will start losing weight if our hour long feeding sessions continue like this!

Birthday Party

Hard to believe that the kids will be one soon! We are trying to plan their birthday party, we aren't doing anything big but we want to have cake and celebrate at the house. The problem is that their birthday lands on a Wednesday so we would probably do it the weekend before or after. The weekend before Lance is out of town for his guys trip. The weekend after is the first Vanderbilt game. We don't know if my family is planning on coming up for it or not and if not we will just do it on their actual birthday on Wednesday. Decisions, decisions. What will probably happen is that when we find out the time of the game we will plan it around that on the Saturday after - on the 5th. We wanted to get them Baptised on that same day but being the heathens we are we don't really know how to go about doing that since we are not currently members of a church. The ideal time for the kids would be from like 4 until 6 but that is sure to conflict with the game. At least I have a month or so to "think on it!" (Lance says that is too redneck to even say but he knew that I was a neck way before now)!

Nothing much new - Katie is doing better at crawling but she still likes to get around with one leg in crawling position and one leg up doing this odd little scoot. Tyler gets more and more proficient and pulling up and cruising every day and we are officially in the stage that everything must be pushed to the middle of the table or else he has got it and we have got to get the drawer things on since he has figured out how to open them. The best thing Tyler is doing these days is that he has really figured out how to sit down from standing to avoid bruises or falls and does really well, but of course he hasn't tried to let go yet - we'll see what happens then. My little stinker baby girl is now refusing to eat anything that she does not feed herself which means that everything has to go on her tray for her to pick up and baby food is a no go. I am trying to get over the mess factor and just let her dig into refried beans, mashed potatoes, hummus, etc with her hands but it is literally everywhere on her, on the floor, on her clothes and on Tyler (who she just has to reach out and touch as soon as her hands get dirty) and it does drive me a little batty. On a positive note, Marley is really starting to like the kids now that they are throwing cheerios, cheese bits, and wagon wheels her way. Not much progress on the sippy cups and we have got to get on that because in less than two months no more formula and no more bottles - woohoo! Tyler still can't pick up things off of his tray but he can hold the wagon wheels and crackers and even when it gets"stuck" in his hand and he can't figure out how to eat what is left he will not let go. They are really doing great and it is so fun to watch them learn - of course, they are also starting to show their personalities even more which means that we get to see that they both have tempers and independent streaks that are sure to give us trouble in these toddler years!

We're Back!

We had a fabulous time in Pawleys Island and send out a big, big thank you to Aimee and her parents for having us there. The kids loved the beach, and we really enjoyed our 4th of July getaway and the kids first official visit to the beach. The trip down was not so fun, however. We split it up on the way down and stopped in Spartanburg - paid way too much for a hotel where once there we got woken up twice by someone calling random rooms just for fun, and people running up and down the halls and slamming doors all night long. It was better than the alternative though, which was to drive all the way and we did that yesterday and it was not fun. Today when we put the kids in their carseats they were NOT happy because the memory of 10 hours in the car was just too much for them. I was really impressed with how good they did - they were happy most of the time at the beach, napped well, ate well and played on the beach so I guess I can't complain about some fussing in the car - I wasn't happy either! Katie had a big weekend - she finally got two teeth and crawled! She definitely isn't proficient, but she found that she loves balls of all kind and saw one across the room that prompted her to crawl to it! Tyler is just wild - he was pulling up on everything (and everyone) in sight, is already trying to climb, and loved eating sand! Katie's absolute favorite place was this swing - she would hold on and just "talk" and giggle, and was obviously very happy! Our camera was acting up and so these were the only pictures we got - the people we were with are staying there for another couple of weeks but once they get back they have some great pictures that I can't wait to post.

At Nana Pam's

Two pictures that show just how mischievous these two are becoming! They are definitely a handful these days, but lots of fun!

They just look like they have trouble on their minds!!!

Big Kid Seats

Well, this morning was the first try at the big carseats. Katie was a fan, Tyler not so much. We have only managed to install them in my car and will get them in Lance's soon. My car (mini-van - I might as well get used to saying that) is easier because I have the latch system - Lance doesn't and it is a royal pain. Our big hope now is that the seats fit in his truck - they are bigger than I thought, especially rear facing. We wanted to move them into these before the trip to see if they might work better and I think they will be more comfortable, but I hate them because I can't see the kids. The backs of the seats block out the mirrors and I have gotten used to just being able to look back and see what is happening. The new recommendation is to keep them rear-facing until TWO, we'll have to do more research on if that truly is the case or not. Lance has a hurt back so I was responsible for the install - we might just wait until his back is feeling better to get the others in. We were able to get four seats and the ones we ended up with seem really cushy and like good seats - thank you so, so much to my Grandpa (the kids Great Grandpa) OB for helping us with the seats - I don't know what we would have done with only two. Here are some pics of the kids in the seats and a few more I took in the last couple of days.

As long as Katie has toys she doesn't care where she sits!

Maybe Tyler didn't like it because he didn't have any toys - or because of that sun! Katie is getting a few curls!

and learning how to crawl! Tyler is loving being able to stand and play with everything.

But, most of all he wants to do what we don't want him to - like play with that vent he is eyeing.

Katie is such a girl, her favorite toy is the phone - although she does love remote controls and keys too!