Uh, oh - they can do that?

So, we have been letting the kids pretty much roam where they want all over the downstairs and just keeping an eye out to make sure they don't get into trouble. Until yesterday they had pretty much avoided the dining room and staircase and stayed in the kitchen and living room trying to open drawers and cabinets and escape through any open doors available. Well, yesterday they watched their dad walk upstairs and you could literally see an idea form - we can climb the stairs too! I stood behind them to see what they would do and they were pretty good at climbing - Katie made it up two stairs before falling and I think Tyler would have climbed all the way up if I didn't stop him. Now, of course, they beeline straight to the stairs every chance they get - that is only if they are not distracted by an open back door, laundry room door, fridge door, pantry door, you get the idea. They are curious, curious and surprisingly fast with their odd little crawls!

Here they are plotting their next move.

And making a mad dash for the stairs! Tyler protesting after I told him no.

Poor, pitiful Katie's look when you tell her no! Luckily, they are still pretty easily distracted!

Early Birthday Presents!

Well, the kid's Grandma (Barnhart) was in town this weekend so they got their birthday presents a bit early! They both love their new toys - Tyler got a truck and Katie got a drum but they are "sharing" them so it is like they both got two new toys. We finally got the camera working (sorta) so here are some pictures from this morning's playtime.

Katie on the drum - she loves it!

Tyler likes to play with the blocks!

Katie does too, but she can't figure out how to stand AND hold things just yet!

They really love the morrocos Grandma brought them too! Tyler finally got them! You can just barely see Katie's shiner she got from fighting over those shakers! That's my boy - straight for the Mayo when Dad left the fridge door open.
In other news - Katie now has FOUR teeth, the top two finally came through. They are both learning high five and Katie has gotten UH - OH, pulling to standing, and the head shake down pat. Unfortunately, like this morning when she was after the dog food yet again, when you say no she stops, shakes her head and keeps on going! They are both eating really well, Tyler a little too well. I have just been putting puffs and crunchies on their tray for a while now with no problems but apparently last night Tyler was afraid they were going to go away and proceeded to shove four (yes, four) crunchies (like cheese puffs) in his mouth and started screaming bloody murder when I reached in and took two of them out - silly boy. When I put him back in his chair and was going to feed them to him one at a time he promptly reached over and stole two off of Katie's tray lightning fast and shoved them in his mouth - these two are T-R-O-U-B-L-E, but so much fun!

Beach Pictures

Seems like it has been so long since the beach trip that we need another! Here are some pictures from Pawley's Island!!! Katie loved this ball - playing with it was her favorite "beach" activity! Tyler wanted to play with it too!
When he wasn't standing (the house we stayed at in the background) Or playing with his shovel

Or "fighting"with his sister They didn't quite know what to think of the water! We all had a GREAT time, even if Katie's expression doesn't necessarily look like it!

Granparents are Awesome!

Last night I had to go to an awards banquet and So So and Grandpa watched the kids for us. It was a long night since we had to be there at 5:30 which meant they had to keep track of the curious little things for a while (they are everywhere in our house looking for trouble), then feed them, then dress them for bed (a task for sure since they fight with all their might to not have their diapers changed or clothes put on them), then give them a bottle and finally put them to bed. The poor things have not had a bath in a couple of days - Wednesday night we got home too late, last night we thought that would just be a little much, and tonight Lance is on his own so it won't happen again. We have stinky babies! I digress, they did all of this for the babies while Katie was being a BIG grump. She went with her brother to the Doctor and screamed at everyone she came in contact with - the nurse, the doctor, people in the waiting room... Our pediatrician said that at her age this is completely normal and to be expected, but it makes me feel so bad! She is a sweet, funny little thing and nobody gets to see anything but her big crocodile tears and hear her powerful lungs! Oh well, I am sure this will be over soon like every other stage we have been through. Thank you so much to So So and their Grandpa for putting up with the yelling and taking care of the kids for us - we really, really appreciate it!

Still no pictures - we got some video this morning of Katie pulling up next to her brother but I still haven't figured out how to post videos :-(! I also don't know yet about the date and time of the kids birthday party but I will make a decision soon!

Tyler's Breathing

Well, it seems that this is going to be a pattern. Everytime Tyler gets a cold he just can't get rid of it and it develops into something that makes his breathing bad and gives him a constant cough. He got a cold from me almost three weeks ago and for me, too, it has been lingering so we thought it was just lengthy for him too. We decided to take him to the doctor just to make sure there was nothing we could do other than the breathing treatments and let him fight his way through it. Well, he does have bronchitis and the doctor said that we need to give breathing treatments every four hours for a week. He also has an antibacterial medicine that we need to give him. We can handle the medicine - Tyler loves medicine for some odd reason - but the breathing treatments are very difficult these days. He is a strong little bugger and twists and turns away from you while ripping the mask from his face and throwing himself backward. This is one of those times that I really wish he could be distracted by tv or anything really - but he is just not easily distracted! Hopefully we can get enough medicine in to help him out and keep him from having trouble breathing!

Katie also has a cough that is worse at night and is probably caused from a bit of a cold and also teething drool. She does it in her sleep and doesn't wake up so she is pretty unaffected, but it sure is miserable for us hearing it in the monitor! Katie discovered dog food this morning and managed to get a couple of pieces in her mouth before we could grab her. She has FAST hands! You would think after tasting it that she would lose interest but all morning she was making a crawling run for the laundry room and dog bowl to get more! We definitely have to keep all doors closed downstairs (bathroom, laundry room) because they sure are curious and on the move!

Katie Did It!

Well, Katie has been trying for a while now to pull up and stand like her brother, but so far has not had much luck - until today! Nana Pam caught her proud moment on camera - she stood up in her crib after (or maybe during) her nap. The railings on our cribs are a bit thicker so I don't know if she will be able to do it at home too, but I am sure she will try and probably not sleep thanks to her efforts. Here are some pictures - she is just so happy and proud of herself!

Katie, Katie, Katie

Oh, boy are we in for it with this little girl. She sure is a spitfire and each day her little personality starts shining through and while it is cute as can be she is also showing signs of being pure T-R-O-U-B-L-E! Yesterday I went with Lance to pick the kids up from daycare so he could help me at the grocery store. I have wanted to use those two-seater kids carts before, but unless one is in the parking lot (which one has never been so far) I can't figure out how to get them into the store and into the cart by myself. I have circled the lot a couple of times looking for someone to leave one or for one of the cart boys to be out for me to ask to bring one out but no luck. So, with Lance's help we get them in the store and into the carts and the kids LOVED it. Katie was literally laughing out loud and smiling and having a grand old time "driving" around the store. Tyler liked it too, but not as much as Bug. Anyway, when we went to take her out of the cart she had a MAJOR fit - screaming and kicking her legs and arching her back to try to get out of our arms and then the carseat. She was letting us know in no uncertain terms that she was not happy not getting her way. She did the same thing when after eating I took her mushy, wet wagon wheel away because she was just playing with it and not eating and then again when we didn't let her play with the computer cord, the remote control, or Marley's tail. Luckily, there were some really cute moments too. While in the cart we bumped into something (those things are hard to drive) and I said uh oh - and Katie repeated it a couple of times. Then when I was telling Tyler NO later on when he was climbing something he wasn't supposed to Katie shook her head and looked at me with this huge grin like ha ha, my brother is in trouble. That was the first time I have seen her shake her head no but I am sure there will be many more times and not nearly as cute when she is really trying to tell me NO! Tyler is still concentrating more on getting mobile - he can squat now and is close to standing without holding on to something and he is learning how to open drawers and cabinets. He is getting a lot better at Ma Ma Ma but neither of them know who Ma Ma or Da Da are yet. We put Katie's crocs on her and when I tried to take them away I got another screech, but I guess I do want her to like to wear shoes so we'll go with it this time!