A New Tutu!

We finally have a way to get Katie out of the "Dora Princess" dress - a new tutu has found its way into Katie's favor and it is super cute. Unfortunately, Katie has definite ideas about what shirts to wear with it and won't take my suggestions, but this morning she did ok. So-So got it for her and she loves it - and I am so grateful that there is something else the little fashionista will wear (she also has a new purple tutu and pink skirt from Grandma and a polka dot skirt from So-So that she has allowed in the rotation) on days she wants to wear in her words "a princess dress." She would be so happy if she could also wear her new sparkle shoes with it, but open toed shoes aren't allowed at school so she has to make due with pink crocs! Please excuse the poor quality of the picture (camera phone) and the cracker in Katie's mouth :)!

Gotta Figure Out How to Block the Lock!

Still no camera (ugh - I can't imagine where the thing has gone) and our laptop crashed (I hope we can get it fixed so we can get pictures off of it since the camera card is also missing) - BUT, if I had the camera and a way to upload them there would have been some pretty funny pictures this morning! Yesterday I worked with volunteers to clean-up the playground at work (Tuesday morning storm took down some trees, and there were limbs and branches everywhere) and I was exhausted by the time bedtime rolled around. Apparently I was sleeping pretty deeply still this morning because I was awakened by Lance trying to coerce Tyler into unlocking the door! Yep, their door locks from the inside and I don't think Tyler did it intentionally but when Lance went in to see what all the commotion was about he couldn't get in! None of those little key things could be found on the tops of the doors so Lance was trying to explain to the kids how to unlock it (probably not good that now they know how they did it)! One of them finally managed to get it unlocked and when we got into the room a pretty funny fashion show was going on! They can dress and undress pretty well these days and Katie had changed her pajama bottoms and paired her sparkle hearts pajama top, with ladybug pants, pink cowboy boots, and yellow sunglasses. Tyler wasn't as extreme, but for some reason he decided snow boots were the way to go and sometime during the night or morning changed from his monkey pajama pants to alligator pants that were tucked into the boots! It was a sight, for sure. They are doing pretty well (now that they are in school for the week and we aren't dealing with nap time) with the big kids beds. They stay (still knocking on wood) in when we say goodnight and seem to only be getting out of bed at about 6:30 each morning- which isn't too bad, especially since they have the last few mornings (other than this one) gotten up and retrieved a book and gone back to sit on their beds until we come in at about 7:00. It is really odd for me to see how independent they have gotten, and want to be. They want to do everything themselves, and for the most part manage pretty well. They can climb in their carseats, get dressed and undressed, use the stool to get on and off the potty on their own (and Tyler already wants us to close the door - ha), and of course Katie thinks she can also pick out her own clothes and shoes (always fit for a princess or adorned with sparkles)! They are still testing and challenging quite a bit, but are proving that they are getting so big and that maybe mom and dad need to let go a little and let them grow up some - sniff, sniff! No big Memorial Day plans, but my trip to the beach (and the kids visit with their Pa Pa) isn't too far off and I am counting down the days!

Big Kid Beds

Well, we finally had to do it (ok, ok - I decided to do it when I knew Lance wasn't going to be home because I knew he was resistant) - we moved the kids to "big" beds, aka toddler beds. Lance is right, and I knew he would be, it is a big pain, but the kids started jumping out and can open doors which led to them searching us out in the mornings, and I started worrying that they were going to get hurt in the leap from their beds in an attempt to come see us in our "big bed." They were initially very excited about having a big bed of their own, but now the realization that they have control is even better. I converted them on Friday (and now really wish I had opted to buy toddler beds so we would have the crib option if necessary). So we have had three nights of them sleeping in them and they did pretty good at bedtime (knock on wood 100 times), horrible at naptime, and really bad in the mornings. They have been staying in after a couple of escape attempts at night which is fabulous. "Naptime" has been consumed with them running around the room gathering clothes and anything else they can find (and a lot of things that we didn't think they could reach or get to and now know they can) and putting them on their beds, jumping from the beds to the floor, slamming the door repeatedly, being put back in 1,000 times with admonishments and time-outs to no avail, and eventually with me sitting in there watching them not sleep. I wouldn't really mind the no naps if they were even remotely ready for that and weren't absolutely exhausted meaning that they are irritable and crabby all afternoon and nobody has any fun - so we are going to continue to attempt naps even though they seem like a true lost cause at this point. The real issue is "morning." This morning at about 4:15 AM I heard the door open and jumped out of bed to find them walking down the hall. I walked them back in their room and was telling them to get back in bed before I realized that Tyler was naked from the waist down. He wanted to put on shorts so he got a new pull-up, grabbed some shorts out of his top drawer and was finally back in bed (while I was pretty amazed at how independent he is becoming). I explained to them that it was still night time, and had them look that it was dark outside (and had to assure them that it was dark downstairs too where they wanted to play). They got back in their beds but didn't go back to sleep and at about 6:00 AM they had managed to turn the light on, were laughing and giggling and running around - oh no! I definitely am upset that I did not buy the tot clock when I first heard how much it helped because they are not in stock right now, but I have found a similar clock on Amazon that is kind of expensive but everyone says works. I may have to pull the trigger and purchase it soon because I think K&T could be convinced at this point to stay in bed until the light turns green, but too much more freedom and we may have to call 5:00 AM our new wake-up time which I really, really don't want. I am already so tired, and it is only mid-morning - we have got to figure out some way to have a

Visit with Grandma and B-Bob

Well, it has been a week since the kids got home from their visit with Grandma and B-Bob and they are still asking to go swimming, play in the pool and to see "Gammaw and B-Bob" - every day. We missed them so much, but they had a fabulous time (and we did too - playing ping pong until way too late). I have somehow lost my camera, but these are some pics from my mom. I am going to have to get a new camera - especially now that Katie has a couple of new tutus and skirts (thanks to Grandma, So-So and Niffa) and we may finally be able to get a picture of Bug in something other than her Dora "princess" dress. Lately, in Katie's opinion, she belongs in either a princess dress or a swimsuit if there is a pool (and because I am such a worry wart she also says "but you gotta wear a lifejacket AND sunscreen). My mom said that Tyler was a little cautious about getting into the water at first (as expected), but that by the end of the week they were both bravely walking in the water "up to my ears" as Tyler says, and jumping in. They got to drive a boat, play in the waves (Katie more than Tyler), stomp on water around the mushroom, and what seems to be a highlight for Tyler - have a picnic on the beach. He made me have a picnic on the kitchen floor the other day - not quite the same - I think I am ready to have a beach picnic too! They are going back to Florida to my dad's (my Girls Trip - woohoo) in a few weeks and they are surely going to be excited about more swimming. There has definitely been some adjustment back to the "real world" for them, but dealing with them thinking they don't have to sit still anymore for meals, or stay in their beds in the morning is ok since you can tell they really had (another Tylerism) "lotta lotta" fun.

Mother's Day

Today is my third Mother's Day as a mom. It just keeps getting better and better. I feel so blessed to be "mommy" to K&T and have definitely shed a few tears today. Not only because I am just overcome with the emotions of gratefulness for getting to celebrate this day and love for the two most awesome munchkins in the world, but also because the kids are staying with their grandma in Florida and only a few hours after we dropped them off I miss them terribly (which is crazy since they wouldn't even be awake right now normally, but I keep thinking about not hearing them in the monitor when I wake up or talking to them and singing with them tomorrow morning on the way to school). They will have a blast, and I admit that it will be fun to spend some time with Lance and maybe even go out on a "school night" sometime this week, but they are so much fun right now and I don't want them to A) be mad at us for leaving them or wonder where we are and why we aren't there or if we are coming back, or B) I really enjoy our conversations these days (Katie is starting to "get it" when it comes to having a real convers ation and she is hilarious telling me all sorts of things that can only make sense to a 2.5 year old) and I don't want to lose track of what they are thinking and what they are excited about right now! They are in a super cute I Love You, I give you lots of kisses and "BIIIG" hugs stage and I hope that isn't over by the time they return. Nevertheless, my kids love their grandparents, swimming and playing on the beach, and new experiences so I know that this will be a fun week for them, and that makes it manageable to have a quiet house and a little less responsibility for a bit even if it is much more stressful than it should be for their crazy, anxious, overprotective mama.

We had a fantastic weeekend. We had a birthday party for two little girls of some good friends of ours, and then went to Chuck E. Cheese (intended to go to Chuy's but they had an hour wait and the Cheese is still relatively inexpensive for our kids since they enjoy games even with no tokens and love pizza). Mother's Day morning we went to breakfast with the Nashville grandparents and then went to see my mom and Grandma - it was soooo good to see everyone. I don't guess that I will have much to update this week, but if my mom (hint, hint) sends me some pictures of the kids in Florida (I wish they talked around other people, rather than clamming up until we are back to just the four of us because the way they say Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee are sooo super cute) I will definitely post!

Sh*t Happens

Tonight I felt like it was the early days again, and it definitely made me grateful that our days and nights aren't like this too often anymore! It started off with us seeing a commercial featuring Barney, which made the kids beg to "watch a Barney show" (If you will recall from early posts when they were introduced to the big purple dinosaur at daycare, I despise Barney). It wasn't too bad, though, since the kids kind of reverted and were both sitting on my lap as we watched an episode On Demand. It was fun to just spend some time with them calm and chatty and cute as can be. BUT, my disposition changed drastically during dinner time. Before we got in our chairs I took Katie to potty and she did good and it presented the millionth opportunity to praise her for being a big girl and to reiterate that we only "go" in the potty. Her understanding of that and her pride in saying "I a big girl mommy," lasted all of about 10 minutes. She told me her bottom hurt, which is her way of saying she has to use the bathroom so I asked her if she needed to potty. She told me no and said again that she was a "big girl, I no poopoo on myself," and I stupidly believed her. She then proceeded to have a major blow-out - all over the chair, her Dora dress (that she still insists on wearing anytime she sees), her legs, somehow her belly - you get the idea. So I got her cleaned up and got them into the bathtub (after Tyler used the big potty while I was dealing with Katie). They are in the bathtub and everyone is happy and then Tyler says he has to poopoo. I go to get him out (with shampoo still in his hair) to let him go to the potty only to see that he must have meant to say that he already went! So, I turn on the shower and tell Tyler (who loves showers) to get in there and hurry to get Katie out. She decides the is going to "help me" get the shampoo out of Tyler's hair and is shuttling poopoo water from the bathtub to the shower in a cup and dumping it on Tyler and me while I try to wash out his hair. I finally get them both out and dried off, and Katie says she has to peepee and runs to the frog potty in her room (she didn't quite make it and peed on the rug) only to poop again, in the potty that doesn't flush, of course. Needless to say I was very happy when Lance made it home, and he probably wasn't too happy that I left the frog potty and the bathtub for him to deal with. It was a complete debacle, but I guess it was a bit better than when they were infants because at least this time they were communicating with me rather than just screaming!