Dancing, snapping and stomping

Tonight Tyler laughed harder than I have ever seen him - he was having so much fun trying to stomp/run in place/dance like dad! Katie was dancing to her own xylophone playing and trying to learn to snap and then when we started "dancing" too they thought it was hilarious, and it probably was pretty funny watching us be fools. Katie got the hang of it and was doing it pretty well - Tyler couldn't stop laughing hysterically long enough to figure out how to do it! Thanksgiving was great - it was wonderful to spend time with family. Unfortunately, Katie's stranger anxiety/separation anxiety was in full force but it was manageable (just exhausting). I guess visiting Santa will be difficult for her this year! I just have to keep reminding myself that this is just a stage, just a stage, this too shall pass!!! Really, it is just upsetting that friends and family can't see her as she really is - just so funny and happy and a little clown - otherwise I could probably better enjoy this brief time when she actually wants to cuddle with mom.

Tyler Update

Well, Tyler is still extremely irritable and I just do not think it can be only caused by the ear infection. His fevers are gone but tonight I noticed a rash on his belly and back and I truly think he is at the end of roseola. It is an illness characterized by sudden high fevers, extreme fussiness, and then a rash when the fever breaks. It sounds like exactly what he has and the only reason I question it is because Katie doesn't have it and it is contagious whereas an ear infection is not. My little Tyler is just not acting like himself at all and I hope we are at the end of it because I want my smiling, happy baby boy back! He, typically, has not been horrible - he has been sleeping fine and is pretty content if held - but he is usually a wild man who would rather play and laugh than sit in your lap so it has been a disconcerting few days. Not to mention that we ticked off a fellow daycare mom because we took Tyler to daycare after the doctor told us he had an ear infection and was not contagious. Well, she found out he had a fever and now her son is sick and thinks it is our fault :(.

Scary Stuff

I have said it before and I am sure I will say it many more times - this parenting thing is hard! Yesterday when we got home and I was giving Tyler a breathing treatment he felt very warm. He always runs a little hot though, especially lately as he is cutting a new tooth, but I took his temperature just to be sure that he was ok. I was shocked when it was 104.2 since he was playing and eating well and the only thing off about him was that he seemed a little more tired than usual. I called the nurse (why do they always make you feel like you are overreacting - especially in flu season) and she said that she thought it was because of his ear infection. I just didn't think ear infections could cause temperatures that high, but we did what she told us to and are watching him over the next two days and if his fevers don't subside then they'll want to see him in the office. Poor little guy went to sleep pretty well but woke up at about 3:00 whimpering and moaning so we got him up and took his temperature again. It was down to 103, but he was still obviously uncomfortable. We let him lay with us in the bed for a while until the Motrin took effect and then he fell asleep at almost 5:00. He woke up with about a 101 and got more antibiotic so I hope he starts feeling better soon. We are investigating something that I cannot believe we didn't think to do sooner. With Lance's allergies and Tyler's asthma and probably allergies our home could probably benefit from an air purifier. We are looking into it and seeing what we can do - I hope that by getting some of the dander from Marley and other air pollutants out everyone in the house will breathe better!

Here are some pictures of the little troublemakers that Pam took at her house! They obviously like the off the shoulder look that they work on during naptime AND apparently enjoy the highchairs at Pam's that they can (but are not allowed) to stand in!

Too Tough

Tyler is too good at being a little tough guy! Lance took him into the doctor today because we have been using the breathing treatments for two weeks now and wanted to see if he needed steriods, if we needed to continue to do the treatments and refill the prescription, etc. Well, the good news is that the doctor said that his breathing sounds great and that we can cut back to once a day for now. The "bad" news is that he had a temperature of 101.1 and has had slightly elevated temps like that for a couple of days. It ended up being an ear infection that we didn't even know he had. Most babies will let you know if their ears are hurting (Katie especially), but Tyler just hasn't found a really good way to tell us. At the doctor Lance said that he had tears when he laid him on his back to change him so he was obviously in pain, but still no howling or whining to really tell us that something is off. It makes us feel like bad parents, especially since we have been really lucky so far with their ears and should be on the look-out for it, but I have come to the conclusion that Tyler is just too tough! Oh, don't get me wrong - he will definitely cry and whine if he has a toy taken away, if he goes to bed sooner than he wants, or if Katie bullies him but just not when he is in pain or doesn't feel good :-(.

Speaking of Katie the bully, I am consigning some of their old clothes and toys and got to go to the pre-sale last night. Katie is still in 12 month clothes more than anything so none of her cold weather clothes fit her yet. I bought her a couple of play outfits but the selection wasn't that great (if you are going they do have a lot of really cute things it was just either dresses or sets of 12 month or 18 month and I really need 18 month tops and 12 month bottoms). I also intended to get some toys and things for Christmas since otherwise it will be pretty slim this year, but I ended up giving them the two main things that I got when I got home last night! Katie loves sitting in chairs so I got her a little Princess chair and Tyler a Mickey Mouse beanbag. Neither of them would I have purchased had they not been super cheap, but I figured the kids would at least play with them $5 worth. Well, I sat them in the living room and they both made a beeline to them and loved them! Unfortunately, Katie's chair is a bigger hit than Tyler's and that's where bully Katie rears her head. She absolutely did not want Tyler sitting on her chair - even if she got up to go check something else out - and fighting ensued everytime Tyler tried to see what it was all about. I definitely think they will love the lounger thing I want to get them and might be able to share it better, but since it is pretty spendy for now may the best bully win :-)!

Braves Fans

I came home last night to Lance playing with the kids and trying to get them to sport their Braves hat!

Lance and his mini me pointing.Lance and Tyler with crazy eyes.

Who needs pants?

The kids have a new skill - and it isn't one that I am too fond of! They can now help a little too well when it comes to getting dressed... or undressed. Pam has requested that Tyler, especially, not be allowed to come to daycare in anything but onesies that he can't get off.

So-So and Lance's Dad watched the kids for us on Saturday (thanks again!) and got some good pictures that I will have to get ahold of. I got the camera out this afternoon because Tyler was walking around after the Titans game (Go Titans!) carrying a football and looked so cute. Of course, once I got the camera he didn't want to have anything to do with the ball. He did, however want to test me to see if I really meant no when I wouldn't allow him to play with the fireplace tools. I think that is the most frustrating thing for me right now - I know he understands me and knows he is not supposed to be doing what he is doing, but there are no real consequences so they both just kind of look at me as if to ask, what are you going to do about it?

Katie is doing so well walking! I don't think I saw her crawl at all today, and she is really getting the hang of it. She falls a lot more than Tyler did when he first learned, but that's because she is kind of fearless whereas he is "Mr. Cautious." She has to concentrate really hard if she doesn't want to end up on her bottom, it is too cute.

Tyler decided to skip his nap today, but all things considering they were pretty good. Half smiles were about all I could capture but they finally had a weekend when I think they were both feeling ok and you could tell.

Oh, and I guess they are growing a bit - Katie can finally reach to get on and off her toy on her own and make it go!

Oh Christmas Tree...

Well, I rarely get public responses on here when I ask a question but some of you do email so I am putting another question out there. Anybody have a great solution for keeping toddlers away from the Christmas tree other than purchasing an expensive gate to put around it? Do you just put ornaments higher than they can reach and let them play with anything they can touch? Do you forego the tree when they are little? Do you just block it off with random things? It isn't really that big of a deal, I know, but we love looking at the tree and the lights during the season and want to have one up if possible!

It is hard to belive that Thanksgiving is right around the corner and then Christmas! Basketball season has started (thank you to Lance's Dad for watching the kids for us to go to the first game), it is a little colder, Christmas decorations are already up at the mall, and tomorrow night we are heading to Christmas Village for our annual trip - I guess all signs point to it already being that time of the year! No new pictures today, but I hope to get the kids picture taken with Santa at Christmas Village so maybe new ones soon!

Great Weekend!

We had a fabulous weekend! Great weather and good times - couldn't ask for more. The kids seem to be feeling better. They still have runny noses and Tyler is definitely about to get another tooth. Katie has her teething cough so she might have one or two on the way too, but I can't feel them like I can Tyler's. On Saturday morning we went to a place up the street called Monkey's Treehouse. They have a little toddler area with a ball pit, a lego wall, slides and tunnels and the kids had a blast. Katie LOVED the ball pit and didn't want to do much else. Tyler tried out pretty much everything but seemed most enamored with the legos. Of course, we have legos at home that he plays with for five minutes max, but since they were on the wall there I guess he liked them better. We then went to visit So-So at "Creative Chaos." Katie showed everyone just how far she can poke her bottom lip out and Tyler was sporting some new scrapes and bruises from an incident involving a table that wasn't sturdy enough and a picture frame! We had a good time checking out all the goods at the sale and the kids had a ball being the center of attention for a bit (as if that is unusual since they have their parents, at least, smitten). Today was a beautiful day and we (the four of us and Grandpa Fossick) went to the zoo. It was kind of a test for the kids because we let them skip their morning nap for the first time, on purpose. They did great - they were obviously tired but not too grumpy and they took a good nap once we got home. It will be wonderful when we can stop the morning nap because it means we can get out and about easier so I'm glad we gave it a go and it didn't turn out too bad.

You can tell Katie was pretty sleepy! The giraffes were awesome - I think they may be my favorite zoo animal!!!

Tyler was telling his dad all about the giraffes.

I don't know if Tyler was happier about being allowed to walk or the animals, but either way he was having fun.

Katie loves her grandpa and even trusted him to keep her safe from the goat.

Bronchiolitis

Well, I guess I should have expected it since they had the flu but poor little man has bronchiolitis, again. It usually affects children under 2, but peaks between 3-6 months so I was hopeful that we were not going to have as bad of a Fall/Winter. It seems that anytime Tyler gets sick (although bronchiolitis is usually caused by RSV or Flu so maybe he won't be that sick again now that they are vaccinated) he is going to be at risk to get it. We are giving him breathing treatments and watching to make sure it doesn't develop into something more serious, like pneumonia. It is long lasting so we are hoping that he feels better by the end of next week. We plan to go to Christmas Village that weekend, and want to go to the Kentucky game on Saturday so hopefully all can get well by then. It seems that all signs point to Tyler definitely having asthma when he is older since getting bronchiolitis when younger seems to indicate that will happen. On a good note - Tyler was 20 pounds, 12 ounces!!! He gained 10 ounces in two weeks - way to go Tyler Bear!!! Maybe that is because he is actually eating his food these days - he was throwing it on the ground constantly - no worries, Katie had picked up that habit from him so Marley is still getting fed ;-)!

Lance was right...

I hate saying that, but he was. Katie is walking!!! She still primarily crawls if she really wants to get somewhere but can take 10 or more steps at a time and does it well. She prefers walking upstairs on carpet and hasn't really tried that much downstairs - smart girl as far as I am concerned. The hardwood, edges, etc. scare me to death down here. We really need to find a solution, too, for our stairs problem. Tyler can move the pack and play and make it halfway up the stairs in 30 seconds! I wish I could figure out how to put video up here so you can see our little he-man move that thing - even when we load it down with stuff we think will make it too heavy for him to move. We have got to find something to block off the living room from the dining room and thus the staircase but haven't found a gate that is wide enough or that will actually open and close! I have seen some online but am reluctant to get them because I can't see them in person - plus they are expensive. I guess I will just add it to the wishlist along with a new couch - two new holes in the nasty ones that we have now. I agree that we might as well wait until the kids get older before we get anything nicer but these are embarrassing! I am just putting it out there for anyone who seriously questions my decorating sense - these are by necessity not choice!!! We will need more seating when the kids get older, but for now I have my eye on some cute little chairs to get the kids for Christmas that will work until they are bigger. I think poor little Tyler is getting another tooth - he is very fussy (but better now that I gave him tylenol) and his lower gum seems to be bulging. He is definitely ahead of Katie in the tooth department 8 going on 9 to her 4!!! Titans game back on - I am trying (unsuccessfully) to get them to watch so I can - right now they are more interested in helping me type this :-)!