Pigtails and Hair Bows?

Ok, those of you who haven't known me since I was a little girl may be surprised to hear that I used to LOVE to play with Barbies. Of course, I made mud pies, and built forts, and played kickball with all of the neighborhood boys, but I also enjoyed playing with dolls! Mostly, I just liked to brush and braid their hair, which may seem odd coming from someone who has had short hair most of my adult life and who thinks throwing it into a ponytail (when long enough) is making an effort. I sheepishly admit, though, that one of my first thoughts when we found out we were having a girl is ooooh, fun - they have much better clothes, and shoes, and accessories! Now, I am anxiously awaiting the day I can give little Bug pigtails or an outfit matching barrette but it seems that day may never come. "Patiently" waiting for Katie to have some hair for me to play with reminds me why I have never really done much with mine. Hers (like both of her parents), is super fine, and super straight which means what little bit she does have won't stay in any of the barrettes I have tried and honestly looks pretty silly in those headband bows. Of course, poor Tyler, got the other part of mine where it just grows out and is beginning to give him a baby afro! So guess I shouldn't be surprised about our hair woes, considering their genetics! All of that was a sideline, though, to what I came here to say which is that their hair does seem to be growing somewhat, finally, and I hope to have pictures up soon!

Nothing much else new to report. We got a call last week from the speech therapist since our cancellation didn't get communicated and it is a good thing we decided to wait. We would have had to pay a $1,000 deductible only for them to likely tell us that they wouldn't make any official evaluations until 18 months. At that point, if we are still having issues, we will be able to contact Early Intervention through the state and get more affordable evaluations. The kids still don't "know" who mama and dada are, and don't say it with regularity. That is the only concerning thing since that particular milestone was supposed to be hit at about a year. As far as their number of words - Tyler is doing outstanding. It seems that he picks up something new everyday. I really can't tell if Katie is just being obstinate or is delayed - she will say a word once or twice and then not really repeat it like Tyler does. She doesn't seem to have as many consonants as she should, at least ones that are identifiable, but she is constantly babbling and "communicating" and I really think she thinks she is talking! We'll give it a couple more months and see where we are. Their understanding of simple directions and what we want them to do is much improved and I am taking that as a really good sign! I asked Tyler to take his socks to the couch and put them on and he went over to his little couch (not the one I was talking about, but close enough), sat down, and tried to get them on his foot. Then, this morning, I told Katie we needed to get her jacket on and she brought it to me and held her arm out. Also this morning, Tyler was having a little tantrum and Katie went over to him and patted his head and made a little kissing noise. Everyday they learn something new and I am just not going to worry about it right now and try to enjoy this really great stage!