Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well, Katie had a cute little shamrock dress to wear for the occasion but as I looked through all of Tyler's stuff there was very little green to be found! He has some shorts and t-shirts but alas it just isn't shorts weather yet. So, Tyler isn't really into the spirt of the day but he does have green on so he won't get pinched! Here are a few pics taken this morning. For the life of me I cannot get Katie to smile at the camera - as soon as I put it down of course she starts grinning away but with the camera in my hand she looks at me like I am crazy. Speaking of crazy, Tyler has turned into a WILD CHILD. He is constantly moving now, if you hold him you now must hold on tight because he can finagle his way out of anything. He is a lot more fussy in the evenings too these days, probably because he is completely worn out from all the kicking, rolling (yep, he can roll from front to back everytime he wants to now), grabbing his feet, bouncing in the jumper, and general hyperness of his every movement! Katie looks downright calm in comparison! Right now she is working on her voice and has gotten even louder, hard to imagine that is possible. She is not rolling around as much and still doesn't go from her belly to back!!! I think it is just laziness now, since she has done it before and just doesn't WANT to do it again. She is a stubborn little thing (still don't know where she got that, wink wink) who is really learning to express what she wants, when and how she wants it!!!

See, no smiles for me - this was the best I got.

Tyler's sorta smile.

I caught her mid "crunch." She may have days as a fitness instructor in her future!

Tyler looks a little frightened!

They LOVE their silly dad! Look at them holding hands, so cute.

Well, peas are a no go!

We tried peas last night as their new food of the week and they were not big fans. Katie actually gagged the first time I gave her a spoonful but I thought it was because of a new taste or texture so I tried again. The second "bite" produced massive gagging followed by an upchuck. Needless to say I stopped with the peas! We may try again somewhere down the road but it scared me enough (because she doesn't really have the hang of the whole vomiting thing and looked like she was choking) that I'm giving them a pass on the green vegetable for now. Tyler ate it but didn't like it. Tyler will eat anything really. I don't know if it is because he is learning new stuff like toe sucking and excited "running" in place, or what but his sleep was majorly off last night - he woke at about 1:00 and didn't really go back to sleep. Part of the problem could be that our daycare was closed yesterday and today and their nap schedule was really off too. We just can't seem to get them to nap outside of their swings and after about an hour of crying we usually relent and put them in the swings, where they promptly fall asleep. Definitely not a good policy since they will soon outgrow them, but they need sleep or they are almost unmanageable! I brought them to work with me this morning to let Lance get some work done and after an hour had to just tell my boss that I was taking a couple of personal hours because they were just soooo grumpy and fussy that I couldn't get anything done. Katie's stranger anxiety doesn't help matters either!!!

I hope to take some new pics this weekend. They have fun Spring outfits to model but since it has turned cold again they haven't had a chance to wear them yet. I so hope we don't skip right from Winter to Summer without a chance for them to wear some of their sweater/pants sets.

Changing...

Well, yesterday was my birthday and since Lance was sick our dinner plans were cancelled. Lance's dad and Sandra were going to watch the kids so they brought me some dinner (yummy) and visited with them for a little bit instead. Katie's stranger awareness is in full effect! She was ok when being held by me but would NOT go to either of them and screamed her head off when we tried to do a hand-off. Up until right when they were leaving she started crying anytime they looked at her, but she was coming around by the end just as long as she was in my arms. It was probably a combo deal of her being really tired (no nap after her 2:30 feeding until bedtime) and this anxiety that she has picked up. She was scared of my dad, my uncle, Eric when he was over at the house, and now So-So and her grandpa. I sure hope this phase passes quickly! So-So fed Tyler his sweet potatoes and he did so good and So So made a lot less mess than I do trying to feed him!!! Tyler has learned a new trick - he can grab on to his feet and almost get them to his mouth. Now whenever you set him down he is reaching for his big ole' feet constantly. He is also losing some of his laid back personality and turning into a little wild child - always kicking and wriggling and Nana Pam says that he is a jumping fool in his jumperoo at daycare. Too fun!

Hopefully, we will get to go do the birthday dinner sometime soon, but the evening didn't turn out too bad - I coerced Lance into watching "Made of Honor" with me to make up for missing our meal at Sperry's and of course, I got to spend time with my cutie kids so I can't complain too much.

We Have a Winner!

The kids love sweet potatoes! They still wear more than they eat, but Tyler looks like a little bird opening his mouth to gobble them up and seems to be a much bigger fan of potatoes than he was bananas. Katie likes them, but she would still rather suck it off her bib or her fingers (after they have been in her mouth with the potatoes) than eat it off the spoon. They are slowly getting the hang of it though. They are certainly a mess after feeding time (Katie had potatoes in her ear and nose at bathtime last night) and I still haven't found a bib that they don't pull at and try to remove - if they don't make one that sticks to their clothing I'm going to invent it!

Tyler rolled over yesterday - woohoo! Of course, it was only once and he wouldn't do it again but at least it is progress. He also was laying on his side at naptime (ha, still won't really do that for us outstide of the swings) which is how Katie got the hang of it so maybe he's coming along. Katie still won't roll from belly to back but is pretty consistently rolling from back to belly, at least when she sleeps. We have a new issue now though that everytime she sleeps on her belly her diaper leaks and she wakes up soaked! I don't know if we need to try new diapers, find some kind of super strength nighttime ones, or what, but poor little girl doesn't even seem to notice that she is wet. She is loving that her brother is finally letting her sleep at night and wakes up so happy these days. The time change didn't really wreak havoc last night - they still slept through and woke up at 6:00 on the dot this morning like normal.

EVERYONE is asking me if they are sitting up, rolling around, crawling, etc. and it got me a little worried that no, they aren't doing any of those things. But, I think they are right on target. Because of their prematurity they have been about a month behind on most things so right now they are hitting 5 month milestones and doing well. Katie has started making more sounds and really figuring out this whole talking thing. Tyler will try to pull to a sitting position using your hands and they both love kicking the crap out of the little piano toy on the playzone. No teeth yet, but they have started drooling even more (how is that even possible) and if you aren't paying attention when you are holding them your thumb inevitably ends up in their mouth for them to chew on. Lance and I were talking last night that this is really fun right now and we are so happy - our little sweet, funny, mischevious munchkins learn something new every day!

The Perfect "Pear"

No particular reason for these photos - they were just both wearing their adorable "Perfect Pear" onesies (thanks Gina) and so we snapped some pics!

Go Bananas!

Tonight was attempt #2 for "real" solids - we started with bananas! Last night they weren't that big of fans. Katie liked it better than Tyler, who usually will eat anything. Katie made some pretty funny faces - he eventually just started pursing his lips and refusing to open them (SO not like big eater Tyler). We caught it all on video (which I still don't know how to upload). Tonight went better. I mixed bananas with oatmeal so it was more like what they were used to and they ate it up. Still had some pretty funny faces - I tried to get them on camera but, Lance's back is really bad so I had to feed and snap a shot which doesn't work out too well. There are some clothing/bib changes within a 20 minute feeding - this sure is messy! Plus, our camera has gone blurry on me for some reason (Lance said it's because I left it in the car but I'm not agreeing with him)! So, here are just a couple of pics - six months eating bananas.

6 Months Old!

Well, the babies had their six month appointment today. They are doing really well! They still don't like those darn shots, but really who does? Katie is now right at 15 pounds and Tyler is 15.4. They are not as big as I expected them to be, but the doc says they are doing really good. He is not concerned that Tyler is STILL not rolling, and just told us to keep giving him tummy time and that he would eventually get it. Tyler is just a little bit longer at 25 inches and Katie is 24.5. They are still pretty short in comparison to other babies their age - Tyler is in the 9th percentile and Katie is in the 13th. Again, we are definitely not shocked that they are shorties and are just glad that they seem to be thriving. They are eating so well, 8 ounces at every feeding. So, we got the go ahead to start introducing some different foods. I can't decide if their very first will be bananas or sweet potatoes but tonight is the night! I am going to get Lance (if he can stand up with his bad back) to take video tonight since there are sure to be some funny faces with the new taste. They are sleeping great - 11 hours typically. I just hope that teething or newfound mobility (hopefully) doesn't rock the boat, but if it does at least we know that there is no need for middle of the night food and that comfort (or maybe some Tylenol) is all they are looking for. Katie is starting to be afraid of new people, a little bit of stranger anxiety, but once she warms up she is back to being her entertaining, silly self. Tyler is still pretty content and laid back. He doesn't like not being in the action but as long as you let him sit with you instead of by himself he is pretty happy. They are at such a fun age, and we are having a blast. I can't wait for summer - the backyard is just waiting for a baby pool and the playpen!