Update on Tyler

Tyler had his follow-up appointment today and the verdict is that we should move :). Just kidding, sorta! I never had allergies until I moved to Tennessee, and Lance has some of the worst seasonal allergies that I know of so it only makes sense that Tyler also has seasonal allergies, and that I think if we moved somewhere (like Florida) he would not have to suffer quite so much. Anyone that knows us, though, knows that we aren't going anywhere so instead we are going to battle with the allergies. He had an ear infection, and will take daily allergy medicine, BUT his lungs sounded good and we don't have to continue with the steroids or breathing treatments right now - woohoo!!!

If we lived somewhere else neither of the children would have had the same opportunities to have as much fun as they did on Sunday! Tyler got to go to the Titans game with his dad. They made it to halftime (it is pretty taxing to a three year old just getting in and out of there) and Lance said that most of the time Tyler spent eating, but that night when I asked him what his favorite thing about the day was he told me "going to the football with daddy." I also asked him what he wanted to play (when he was commenting on me playing tennis) when he got bigger and he told me he wanted to "be the best football game" - he doesn't really get the difference in game and player at this point and if he decides he is saying something correctly then he is convinced that he is right! Katie and I went to the arts and crafts festival at Centennial Park and fed the ducks, went to a puppet show, played on the playground, walked around and looked at the booths, and Katie had her first sno-cone. We had a lot of fun spending individual time with them, but next time we need to switch it up since Katie was pretty jealous that she didn't get to go to the game! Here is a phone picture (with Katie still obsessed with her Dora dress) - I don't know if Lance got any at the game or not (I still worry that it shows some sort of favoritism if I post a picture of only one of them :) - but posts with pictures are better)!

Thanks Grandma!

Neither Lance nor I remember ever saying anything about the soon to be hot wheels track in front of Tyler, but when we finally brought one home today Tyler said "got me a track with birthday money from Grandma?" The answer was yes, and he was very excited! Tyler got lots of great hot wheels for his birthday and has been creating "tracks" out of everything he can think of - empty wrapping paper rolls being the favorite since they shoot out of it when it is on an incline. So, we got him a track that launches cars through loops and over a jump. Surprisingly, they were both enthralled with it enough to play together very well and were delighted every time we found a car that would actually make the jump!

Fall Fest Fun

We made it out to Fall Fest today - twice! We went when they opened, came home for lunch and back out this afternoon - and we had a blast. The kids scared me silly with their opening act - the climbing wall and long slide! They did it over and over again and thought it was the best thing ever.

Until we went on the train, and then that stole the show!
The obstacle course bouncy and t-ball were big hits too!

The Fair and Go Vandy!!!

Last night we went to the State Fair. It is sneakily expensive considering getting in the gate isn't that bad, but we had a great time. The kids wanted to ride every ride but they weren't tall enough to make a wristband worth it (although $5 apiece for any of the games, and $5 for tickets for one ride means it makes a lot of sense if they were just a little bit bigger). They did get to ride the cars and thought it was so fun. We got Tyler out of his seat when the ride was over and he very calmly walked back, climbed back in and buckled himself up when he decided that he wanted to do it again. The only thing that distracted Katie was her desire for a "lollipop," which I finally figured out was a candy apple!

Today, thanks to our awesome sitters Tommy and Ashley and Liz (in shifts), Lance and I got to go to the Vandy game to see a win over Ole Miss. We had a great time and are very thankful for the help watching the kids! It will probably get a little cooler soon and we can take them out with us to enjoy the bouncy houses they have set up in Vandyville. It would have been impossible today - I took Katie to dance class and we were rushing to get home and get back in time for the early game. Dance class is a huge hit - she is loving it more and more everytime. They are also doing a tumbling class at the Y, and with the exception of getting in trouble for wanting to do everything at the same time when they are supposed to wait in line, they are doing great. They have made people watching through the big open windows melt with how sweet they are to each other in the class - I don't know if it is trying to comfort each other in a scary situation, or because they are separated in class now, but they walk around the class holding hands and trying to help each other learn the moves, and twice they have given each other the sweetest hug seemingly out of the blue. Tomorrow I am going to take them to Fall Fest and will try to remember the camera so we can get better pictures than these taken with the camera phone.

Katie (on the wrong side of the car) chose the right color and was having a ball waving and smiling everytime she went by us! Tyler was the first one in to his choice (orange matchbox looking car, of course) but for some reason sat in the backseat and he didn't really notice us - he was just intent on beeping his horn!

3 Year Stats

The kids were so good today at the doctor appointment for their three year well-visit and didn't even cry when they got their flu shots. Lance and I, of course, were nervous nellies since we were listening to every parent come in there and say their child had a fever of 103 all weekend, this one has been vomiting, etc., etc. and the kids they were talking about were running around touching everything and trying to play with K&T. I really wish there was a separate waiting area for sick and well kids. I think they tried to get the sick ones out of there quick, but I was really a bit annoyed at the parents who were just letting their children play with the other children even though they were there because they thought their child's illness was bad enough for a doctor visit! Here's hoping we didn't pick up anything - although I did while at a wedding this weekend in Indiana (big, big thank you to So-So and Ray-Ray for watching the kids for us again) so if they do get sick I won't know if it is my fault or the doctor visit (where they always seem to pick up something).

Anyway, they got a good check-up report. I find it very hard to believe since Tyler seems so much heavier than Katie, but they were only a pound apart - Tyler at 31 pounds and Katie at 30. Katie is 3 feet tall, and Tyler has her by one inch at 3 foot, 1 inch. They are both in about the 50th percentile for weight, and 25th for length. Katie's little head is almost a full inch smaller than Tyler's - I guess it goes along with her teeny tiny feet that have just now grown to a size toddler 6. I think we are going to have to pick up some wide shoes for Sweet T since they have grown a bit in length (he is in an 8/9 I think) but seem to just keep getting wider and wider :)!

Poor Tyler, during the course of the regular check-up the doctor said that little man was wheezing pretty bad. I didn't even notice, especially since the coughing has subsided somewhat since his very slight cold (or maybe weather change) the last week or so. We have been giving him breathing treatments periodically to try to curb the coughing, but didn't notice any retracting or wheezing. Our doctor, though, wants him back on the albuterol every four hours, wants him to take prednisone (yuck, yuck - that is what makes him so angry and irritable) for a week, and then wants to see him back in 7 days. When we do go back we are going to get a child inhaler/spacer device with mask that should be a little quicker to use for Tyler, and talk again about putting him on something daily preventative. I had hoped he would grow out of the asthma stuff, but it seems like it is something he will have to deal with for a while :(. I really want to get him in to see an allergist to see if there are any triggers that we can minimize, and I am glad that we are sitting down with the doctor after this course of treatment and devising a plan going forward of how we are going to deal with it, what we need to be on the look-out for, etc. My crappy, no co-pay insurance is going to take a beating again this winter it seems, and we have to add dental appointments into the mix now for these two big kids! BUT, we are pretty much done with diapers/pull-ups in the day and getting there at least with Tyler at night, and since they are still pretty short a lot of their pants and jeans from last year will still fit so that's good news! Still, if you know of anyone looking to buy or sell real estate in TN please send them Lance's way :)!

Thank Goodness!

Well, we made a decision Friday night to not open presents since the kids were absolutely exhausted. Then, we didn't tell them about them Saturday morning (hidden in the laundry room) because Katie had dance class and for some reason has been a bit resistant even though she doesn't stop smiling once she is in there, and we didn't want to give her a reason to want to stay home. So, that meant for lots of present opening fun when we got back from dance class - and fun it was! The kids recognized most of everything they got and were unbelievably excited, and once I realized that a rainy, dreary weekend was in store I was very, very thankful for the new and exciting gifts to keep their attention! Lance and I went to the football game Saturday night and the awesome grandparents kept the kids for us - which helped both in letting us have a great time out, but also entertaining the munchkins for what turned out to be a looooong weekend spent mostly indoors! When we picked them up Sunday morning we ran a couple of errands with grouchy, misbehaving children and I was dreading being home. But, Katie actually did take a nap and Tyler played with his new toys pretty contentedly and the newness of everything even lasted pretty well into Monday when it was still raining and we were still pretty much stuck inside.

On Monday morning we went to take a couple of things back to the party store and to Target, went to use a gift card to pick up some jeans for Tyler (it got cold this weekend unexpectedly and we have very little that fits for Fall - but Lance assures me this weather isn't here to stay so I have some time to look for some Winter/Fall clothing sales), and then had a yummy lunch at Chuy's. While at the store we saw a ladybug Halloween costume that Katie just thought she had to have and I remembered that we actually have one that she could still wear from Halloween so she flitted around the house in the lady bug outfit all day on Monday when we got back. She is a dancing, drama queen in her new princess outfit from Aunt Ashley, and in the ladybug "tutu" as she calls it - but still tends to get shy when anyone asks her to show off her moves and is already telling me that she doesn't want to go to tumbling class tonight. I really hope both of them will go in class and not worry about being "left" (what seems to be their big fear), because the class really will be fun for them and they need to burn off some energy since it is still raining and is supposed to all day.

Katie was in girlie girl heaven. She now has play make-up, the princess dress, princess jewelry and shoes, a hair styling kit, and lots of dolls, not to mention art supplies galore for both of them - Princess and Dora themed for her. Once she opened the dress-up dress she "HAD" to put it on, along with the crown and accessories, and she was just so, so happy! She played beautician with Lance and me for quite a while, before she moved on to her dolls!

Tyler was pretty excited about all of his goodies too. Dinosaurs, cars, puzzles, and blocks - all perfect for Mr. Man. He was pretty funny with his stuff, he wanted help but had very particular ideas about how things should be done (i.e, no green blocks with the yellow blocks which made it impossible to actually build the dinosaur that he wanted). He did pretty well putting puzzles together (the floor ones were a little much, but he was able to match up the animals and put together quite a few pieces on his own), and he got pretty inventive with a wrapping paper roll and the cars to make slides and tunnels. It really was fun to watch them both playing like big kids, when they weren't fighting over toys or having meltdowns prompted by exhaustion!

K & T are THREE!

I can't believe that Katie and Tyler are three years old today! We had a great day!!! The kids woke and got their small gift from us (Princess dolls for Katie, cars for Tyler) and we took cupcakes to their classroom. THEN, we had their birthday party this evening at Monkey Joe's! We all had a blast, but especially the kids. Playing in bouncy houses, pizza, cupcakes, a visit by Monkey Joe, lots of Dora and Diego goodies, followed by more playing = a really fun time for newly three year olds! It was complete chaos, but the kids seemed to enjoy it and they haven't even seen all the gifts they got.

Cupcakes in their birthday chairs!

Tyler telling everyone he's 3!

Katie blowing out her candles. She was so excited about cake that she kept running back in the room asking if it was time and even resorted to bringing out plates. High five for Monkey Joe!
The Dora and Diego table and friends.