Boredom

I've noticed that the babies are pretty content in our two "play areas" - upstairs in the bonus room and in the living room for about 30 minutes or so and then they seem to get bored. Yesterday we went to visit cousin Joshua at camp in the morning, came back and the kids took their nap and then playtime. They started getting a little cranky after about an hour and a half of playing with everything I could think of in the house and I thought some fun in the sun would do them good. So, I set up the pack and play outside and they loved it! Still don't have beach pictures so these from yesterday (taken on my phone!) will have to suffice for now.

The kids get to go see their grandpa tonight and wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Little Troublemakers

Well, I got the camera out to capture some of their shenanigans - no biting, fighting or food throwing but you can see it in their eyes that they want to!

Notice that they are stripped down - katie takes her bib off immediately and Tyler throws a fit when you put it on so we are just eating in diapers for the time being! Tyler has about 10 cheerios in his hand that he can't get out and Katie is probably laughing because she just got her way!

Katie sure does love playing with balls - that is the toy that makes her happiest of anything.

They both love this ball popper toy - Tyler tries to stop them from coming out and Katie tries to get all of them in her hands. Pretty funny that Katie already has the tongue motion to help her concentrate like me. Tyler's hair is growing out a little - his mohawk may be gone soon. Poor little guy has scrapes and bruises and cuts all over him but he doesn't care he just wants to be on the move. Of all the toys we have out Katie managed to scoot her way over to the bin of ones that we were trying to keep away, of course. Tyler still wins the prize though for being able to get in the most trouble - he is literally all over the place and seems to have radar for trouble - chairs that can tip over, stairs out the playroom door, under the jumperoo...

What a night!

Tyler bit Katie and broke the skin. They were fighting over a toy that before that neither of them were interested in. Then, Tyler got a bit of his own medicine and screamed while eating because he would bite off the top of the cracker and then when he would try to get the rest in his hand he would bite his fingers. Katie screamed everytime I came near her with a spoon or anything to put in her mouth - she only wanted what she fed herself and she wasn't feeding herself much of anything. I am not sure these are really my kids because neither of them like the mashed potatoes we tried tonight! They are becoming stubborn, independent little stinkers and combined with newfound mobility and the inevitable bumps and bruises and the feeding challenges that are sure to only get worse, I am kind of at a loss as to how to handle it all. Oh boy, this is tough. I just hope this is a short stage if for no other reason because they will start losing weight if our hour long feeding sessions continue like this!

Birthday Party

Hard to believe that the kids will be one soon! We are trying to plan their birthday party, we aren't doing anything big but we want to have cake and celebrate at the house. The problem is that their birthday lands on a Wednesday so we would probably do it the weekend before or after. The weekend before Lance is out of town for his guys trip. The weekend after is the first Vanderbilt game. We don't know if my family is planning on coming up for it or not and if not we will just do it on their actual birthday on Wednesday. Decisions, decisions. What will probably happen is that when we find out the time of the game we will plan it around that on the Saturday after - on the 5th. We wanted to get them Baptised on that same day but being the heathens we are we don't really know how to go about doing that since we are not currently members of a church. The ideal time for the kids would be from like 4 until 6 but that is sure to conflict with the game. At least I have a month or so to "think on it!" (Lance says that is too redneck to even say but he knew that I was a neck way before now)!

Nothing much new - Katie is doing better at crawling but she still likes to get around with one leg in crawling position and one leg up doing this odd little scoot. Tyler gets more and more proficient and pulling up and cruising every day and we are officially in the stage that everything must be pushed to the middle of the table or else he has got it and we have got to get the drawer things on since he has figured out how to open them. The best thing Tyler is doing these days is that he has really figured out how to sit down from standing to avoid bruises or falls and does really well, but of course he hasn't tried to let go yet - we'll see what happens then. My little stinker baby girl is now refusing to eat anything that she does not feed herself which means that everything has to go on her tray for her to pick up and baby food is a no go. I am trying to get over the mess factor and just let her dig into refried beans, mashed potatoes, hummus, etc with her hands but it is literally everywhere on her, on the floor, on her clothes and on Tyler (who she just has to reach out and touch as soon as her hands get dirty) and it does drive me a little batty. On a positive note, Marley is really starting to like the kids now that they are throwing cheerios, cheese bits, and wagon wheels her way. Not much progress on the sippy cups and we have got to get on that because in less than two months no more formula and no more bottles - woohoo! Tyler still can't pick up things off of his tray but he can hold the wagon wheels and crackers and even when it gets"stuck" in his hand and he can't figure out how to eat what is left he will not let go. They are really doing great and it is so fun to watch them learn - of course, they are also starting to show their personalities even more which means that we get to see that they both have tempers and independent streaks that are sure to give us trouble in these toddler years!

We're Back!

We had a fabulous time in Pawleys Island and send out a big, big thank you to Aimee and her parents for having us there. The kids loved the beach, and we really enjoyed our 4th of July getaway and the kids first official visit to the beach. The trip down was not so fun, however. We split it up on the way down and stopped in Spartanburg - paid way too much for a hotel where once there we got woken up twice by someone calling random rooms just for fun, and people running up and down the halls and slamming doors all night long. It was better than the alternative though, which was to drive all the way and we did that yesterday and it was not fun. Today when we put the kids in their carseats they were NOT happy because the memory of 10 hours in the car was just too much for them. I was really impressed with how good they did - they were happy most of the time at the beach, napped well, ate well and played on the beach so I guess I can't complain about some fussing in the car - I wasn't happy either! Katie had a big weekend - she finally got two teeth and crawled! She definitely isn't proficient, but she found that she loves balls of all kind and saw one across the room that prompted her to crawl to it! Tyler is just wild - he was pulling up on everything (and everyone) in sight, is already trying to climb, and loved eating sand! Katie's absolute favorite place was this swing - she would hold on and just "talk" and giggle, and was obviously very happy! Our camera was acting up and so these were the only pictures we got - the people we were with are staying there for another couple of weeks but once they get back they have some great pictures that I can't wait to post.

At Nana Pam's

Two pictures that show just how mischievous these two are becoming! They are definitely a handful these days, but lots of fun!

They just look like they have trouble on their minds!!!

Big Kid Seats

Well, this morning was the first try at the big carseats. Katie was a fan, Tyler not so much. We have only managed to install them in my car and will get them in Lance's soon. My car (mini-van - I might as well get used to saying that) is easier because I have the latch system - Lance doesn't and it is a royal pain. Our big hope now is that the seats fit in his truck - they are bigger than I thought, especially rear facing. We wanted to move them into these before the trip to see if they might work better and I think they will be more comfortable, but I hate them because I can't see the kids. The backs of the seats block out the mirrors and I have gotten used to just being able to look back and see what is happening. The new recommendation is to keep them rear-facing until TWO, we'll have to do more research on if that truly is the case or not. Lance has a hurt back so I was responsible for the install - we might just wait until his back is feeling better to get the others in. We were able to get four seats and the ones we ended up with seem really cushy and like good seats - thank you so, so much to my Grandpa (the kids Great Grandpa) OB for helping us with the seats - I don't know what we would have done with only two. Here are some pics of the kids in the seats and a few more I took in the last couple of days.

As long as Katie has toys she doesn't care where she sits!

Maybe Tyler didn't like it because he didn't have any toys - or because of that sun! Katie is getting a few curls!

and learning how to crawl! Tyler is loving being able to stand and play with everything.

But, most of all he wants to do what we don't want him to - like play with that vent he is eyeing.

Katie is such a girl, her favorite toy is the phone - although she does love remote controls and keys too!