Lots of People to Thank!

We have had a fabulous weekend so far (and pre-weekend Thursday night) thanks to some awesome people who have watched the kids for us! Thursday evening we went to the Vandy/Georgia game and So-So and unnamed Grandpa (still - but soon I think the kids will call him something) had baby duty. Then, on Friday night we finally used the free hotel room that we got a year ago (that expired at the end of this month) and went to dinner last night. Liz came over and stayed with the kids ALL NIGHT, and then did the whole morning routine with them. Marie joined her at the kid's breakfast time and stayed with them until we got home mid-morning. It was awesome to go out and to sleep in a bit and we are so, so, so grateful to them for making that happen. I don't know how much of the story we get but all said that the kids were relatively well-behaved - good news! I've made no secret that I've been worried about finances and there is no doubt that we couldn't afford babysitters and couldn't really even afford to go to dinner (used my blogging money) so it is fabulous to have such caring people (who the kid's like too) in our lives willing to give of their time and nerves :). We are so unbelievably blessed with the kids, our family and friends and I need to remember that more when I get so worried and Shellie-like. It really was wonderful to just get out and be a couple and get a little break (even though we missed them terribly and couldn't wait to get home this morning). Thank you, thank you to everyone for helping us out and for letting us get out!

The consignment sale drop-off is tomorrow and not one item of clothing is hung so I best get to. Thanks to my mom and So-So for giving the kids such cute spring wear too - now I can just sell at the sale and not have to spend my earnings on warmer weather (please oh please come soon) clothing!!! I am probably going to take the kids to the park tomorrow and will try to take some pictures since they absolutely love being there so more to come soon!

Some Random Pictures

The kids have, thankfully (and knock on wood) been pretty healthy lately. Our biggest challenge hasn't been keeping them well and healthy, but rather entertained and focused on things other than tantrums and tiredness. Of course they still have runny noses and Tyler still has a slight cough, but he has been to the doctor twice and is breathing fine (no breathing treatments for a month now) so I guess it is just caused by dry air and being inside more because it is so cold. Lately, the kids have been a bit better with naptime - they are taking naps just not sleeping that long. However, they are still getting pretty tired well before noon (when they are napping nowadays) and kind of grumpy, but if we get creative with things to entertain them like taking trips, getting outside, or playing with "toys" that they aren't bored with they do pretty good.

They still like their couch and it is pretty much the only place I can get a picture of them together. They both have rosy cheeks thanks to the heat in my van going full-blast because it was freezing outside!

They are really enjoying being forward facing finally. They have been singing and smiling and talking - rare occurences on the ride home when they were facing the back of the seat.

Tyler was enamored with his "new" shoes that I got for him at a consignment sale for $2! He may look more like me, but he definitely has his dad's wide, duck feet that makes shoes hard to find and fit!

The climbing/slide toy is a big hit, but we have to limit their time on it because it causes fights like nothing else - they both want to climb the slide at the same time, go down it at the same time, and stand on the platform on their own which means lots of pushing, kicking, pulling, and grabbing that gets tiresome after not too long.

It's the crazy things their dad does (like put them in the laundry basket) that entertains them the most!

They both still have crazy hair!!!

Beautiful Day at the Zoo

I have some cute pictures to upload, but I am exhausted tonight (girl's night and Lance had a friend in town which = too late of a night) so I am turning in early. I'll get them up tomorrow, but for now just a mention of what a great day we had! The weather was perfect (compared to what it has been) and we went to the zoo with Lance's dad and So So. The kids had a blast getting to walk around everywhere, and Lance can't stop talking about how fun the toddler mat playground area was :-)! Tyler woke up in a great mood, but I think he woke up earlier than usual because he was pretty tired by the time we got there. He was asleep in seconds when we got in the car to go home. Katie was loving getting to walk around and be Miss Independent, she absolutely did not want to leave. She really liked her first ever merry-go-round ride, but Tyler HATED it once he was surprised by the animals that moved! We got to see my favorites, the giraffes, but didn't get to see too many animals since the kids insisted on walking and that was a SLOW process! They can't make it without a nap yet, soon we can have occasional times when they can go later, but right now they are just on the brink of a meltdown over every little thing once we get close to noon. All in all, though, they did pretty good and we had a great time. Saturday night they got to play with So-So and Grandpa since they watched them for us and Sunday they had a big day that included getting to sit in their carseats forward-facing for the first time and then a fun trip in the buggy around the grocery store after the big morning zoo trip - weekends are so much more fun when it is warm enough to get outside!

Tyler the Talker

Tyler is my little conversationalist lately. He looks at you so sincerely and intently and just talks and talks - of course, we have no clue what he is trying to say since it is mostly gibberish. He has picked up a few more words though just in the last couple of days, including starting to say "Katie" almost perfectly! Katie is doing good - copying words well and saying new things that are the beginnings of words, but Tyler really thinks he is having a conversation and it is just our problem that we don't know what he is talking about! Katie has started patting Tyler when he is near and they will both give each (and any toy or stuffed animal around) a kiss when we make a kissy noise. Katie's newest thing is that she has learned to take jackets on and off which did not work out well when I was trying to get a picture of her in her new jacket from Uncle Matthew.

Showing it off!

Flip-flops were a little more challenging than our slip-on shoes, but they figured it out.
Tyler usually manages to get both cups - and that makes him very HAPPY.

Katie is usually otherwise occupied (like helping dad on the computer), if Tyler is able to gather both cups without a fight.

Little "Helpers"

Well, I ended up having to take a vacation day today because I didn't bring any work home and it is virtually impossible to get anything done while watching the kids anyway. So, I thought I would use the unexpected free time to do consignment sale prep. I thought about using the time to fold the fifteen zillion baskets of clean laundry that I have, but judging from what happened I'm glad it was consignment clothes being thrown around instead of ones that I finally got clean. The kids decided to "help" me, which really meant they took everything out of the boxes and spread them all over the house and on each other.

It began innocently enough with Katie just curious about what was in the boxes.

And turned into this! I thought the box would distract them so I could get it done (this was just the sorting stage, I still have to hang, tag, and price everything!), but the clothes barrage on the house was too much fun! Tyler was pretty content with box fun.
But Katie's "ugly look" shows she was still up to no good!

A new word - "snow"

I can't believe one of our kids first words is "snow!" That tells you what an odd winter we are having, because in years past there wouldn't have been enough for them to see it and know what it is. We are home again today with a snow day. There was only about an inch of snow but freezing rain put down a layer of ice under the snow and temperatures aren't going to be high enough today to change that so we thought it safer not to get on the roads since we don't have to. Kids are doing good - they still have slight runny noses but seem to be feeling fine and in good spirits. They are doing better with naptime - still not great and they still get super sleepy mid-morning, but better. Their other words of the week are "all done, "alright" and "toes." They can point out their feet, toes, and hair now in addition to eyes, ears, nose, belly and mouth. They have their 18 month appointment coming up and so that is still our deadline for mama and dada - I think we can do it. They are starting to say it more often, and Tyler has said mama when I walk in a couple of times, which is great. Katie knows that we are either mama or dada but at this point they are interchangeable. Regardless, they are definitely getting it! They have figured out what doorknobs do and are trying desperately to turn them all. We finally got a gate at the top of the stairs in preparation for them being able to escape their cribs. Toddler beds are not too far away for these little monkeys - I don't think. Potty training isn't going to happen until this summer at least. Tyler went to the doctor last week and was 23 pounds!!! I think Katie is still probably 21 +, but not yet 22 - we'll see. She is still wearing 6-12 month shoes so I know her feet, at least, haven't grown much. When it gets a little warmer we are planning to move their carseats forward-facing which should make them happier - they won't be able to kick the back of the seat, but they will be able to see out and see us which should be better!

Maybe I will get some snow day pictures today to post later!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know it is early, but apparently I am in a hurry this year. The kids daycare is closed on Friday, so they had their little Valentine's party today. On Wednesday I thought it was Thursday and dressed them in red and hearts (for Katie). When I picked them up Wednesday afternoon it dawned on me (and not until then) that it was not yet party day. Maybe I was confused because Lance and I are going to dinner tomorrow night, or maybe I am finally just losing it! Anyway, I like to have the kids dressed in the spirit of the Holiday and my mix-up left me with nothing wintery (still really cold around here) or red for Tyler on the day of his Valentine's party. Katie, though, had a little heart dress she got from her Aunt Lori. So, the kids were kind of festive Wednesday and Thursday which meant it was picture time!

This is the "red" I was left with for Tyler (his hair just keeps getting more and more out of control - gotta do something about that soon). Katie was loving her little dress with pockets! These were taken at daycare - apparently Tyler was trying to give Katie a hug - so cute, he looks so serious!

I swear we give them toys, but we have found that things like cups, empty cartons, and boxes that rattle (candy hearts) can entertain them for a long time!

It's things like this that made me go to a "belly tone" class today. They are obsessed with pointing at their bellies, and if they can lift up my shirt and poke at my belly fat, even better! Tyler even likes to poke belly buttons - ewwww.

Tyler doesn't do his "silly" smile as much as Katie, but he has one too. Katie really looks like a Little Lance Mini-Me here, to me. Tyler was diggin' his boots - he clomped around all over the place and actually kept these "soos" on!

I'm a Big Girl!

The kids are getting into the stage where they are starting to mimic a lot of what we do, and echo things we say too (uh oh). They still haven't totally picked up mama and dada with intent, so I am still a bit concerned, but they are doing great with new words, and understanding directions, and trying to get their point across. I honestly feel like they are fine, but the mom/dad labels thing is supposed to be so indicative of speech development that it does worry me some. I think Lance is right, if there weren't two of them demanding the same attention from the same person most of the time, if we were able to give them more one on one time just to work on communication and words and coloring and things like that, then I actually think they would be ahead because they are picking things up really well with the limited amount of time we can put into it. For me, that is what is important - that they are obviously developing, that they seem to be on track, and that they are learning to communicate to make life a little less frustrating. I don't need for them to recite their alphabet or know their colors at this age - I just want to make sure that we don't need to provide any intervention to better prepare them. I really, really don't think we are anywhere near that point and I think that the "right" words will come soon.

I got to play tennis today (woohoo- it has been almost SIX months and I finally decided the money spent was worth it to get back out there), and Lance was on baby duty, which explains why my daughter is dressed the way she is in the pictures below. Cute, of course, but I just wanted to put it out there (in case she reads this one day) that I was not the one taking pictures of her in a diaper and socks!!! Since two of their newer words are "shoe" and "sock" they are obsessed with both - especially shoes of ours. They have figured out how to get them on their feet, and stand up, and grin like crazy because they think they are so funny, but until today they couldn't walk in our shoes and that was what Katie really, really wanted to do. When she finally figured out how to get my shoes on her feet, stand up in them and then get them to move with her feet she was SOOOO happy! Lance said that he was cracking up and watching her walk around for a while before he finally decided to take some pictures. I guess it must be "twin mom guilt," or something, but I have a hard time posting only pictures of one of them, just like I can't get an outfit for only one, or give them un-equal numbers of cookies - very odd. But, these two of just Katie are too cute not to share, so it's a Katie only picture post (Tyler is actually, probably grateful since he was wearing the diaper/sock combo too)!

Please just be a stage!

Well, Katie hasn't had another all out temper tantrum but she sure has been pretty grumpy. On the drive home she is fine, but once we walk in the door all she wants to do it be held by me (while I have to fix them dinner, and would like to have some time without a hip ornament) and then when I hold her she isn't even too happy then. She is doing great right now though just playing and talking, so maybe she's just had a couple of bad days in a row and is on the downside of it. So-So and Lance's dad watched the kids last night while we went to the Vanderbilt game, and as if that wasn't nice enough they came with gifts. They brought some adorable Spring outfits for the kids and I couldn't help playing dress-up with the ones today that were just fine for a winter day spent indoors! Of course, Katie wouldn't cooperate and smile to accentuate how precious the dress was - but, I guess you'll get the idea.

Sad Katie

Happy Tyler, at least they so far haven't gone through these stages at the same time!

Katie loves wearing dresses so she can swing around like a princess.

Bear with a ball and block - I never noticed there were so many "B" first words. Katie paused for her crying long enough to try to get into some trouble

Tyler is now tall enough to reach the table from where he stole his sister's new hat AND managed to get it on his head. He was pretty funny walking around proud of himself for putting the "at" on all on his own.

Epic Meltdown

Head banging, hitting, scratching, clawing, pinching, biting, screaming and screeching that could be heard for miles - some kind of deranged animal, a feral cat, a dog fight, that's what it seemed liked but nope, it was Katie. You have never seen anything like this tantrum that Katie just threw for at least 20 minutes! I have no idea what started it, I think it was because we wouldn't give her a cookie or cracker (that she saw me eating because I have been sick) before dinner. It started off pretty normal - she ran to her dad and tried to coerce him into picking her up and giving her what she wanted. When that didn't work she slid out of his arms and proceeded to bang her head and kick her feet. When I tried to pick her up and calm her down she hit me, pulled my ear and hair, and would not stop yelling. Lance tried to take her back and distract her and the same behavior continued so she got put in the pack and play - a safe place to throw herself around and not hit anyone. We continued to pick her up when she seemed to have calmed down, only to have her freak out again and find new places to hit, grab and pinch. It was crazy - and we thought maybe she was in pain, but calming down at the sight of macaroni and cheese seemed to nix that idea. Lance says that he imagines this is what he was like when he was a kid and we are just in for it. I really hope not, I literally have never seen a worse meltdown from any toddler (on tv or real life), or adult for that matter. She has an odd rash too, that we can't determine if it is from a virus, if it is an allergic reaction, or what. I called the doctor and they seemed to think it was a virus and told us just to let it run its course. She hasn't been sick or had high fevers so I have my doubts - but I am going to hope and pray that this tantrum was a result of her not feeling well and they don't become a regular occurence. That is probably very wishful thinking, so I will just hope that they don't become too frequent until she learns to understand consequences, and can be reasoned with.