Rainy Saturday Playtime

Today we had some bad weather in the area so the kids were cooped up in the house. They had a good time, though, dancing and of course climbing the stairs when they weren't supposed to! I played tennis this morning and Lance had the kids on his own by himself - he has been working Saturday mornings so he hasn't experienced the whirling dervishes solo yet, but he got it today and realized what I mean when I say they are exhausting these days!!!

Couch Dancing!

Tyler's new dance is one of the cutest things ever- hands up and twirling around!

Katie is a dancing queen too! Tyler being silly - the lay down is the end of his dance routine.

They both picked out their own outfits today and refused to wear anything else - guess I am going to have to get used to odd ensembles.

What Was He Thinking?

It is very true that kids change by the day - and Katie is the perfect example. If I look back at posts I see that she has been the main one to struggle with stranger anxiety and clinginess. Well, we are having the opposite problem these days. We went to Waffle House Sunday morning (it looks like restaurants might be a no go for a while because Katie was awful, again). Katie was yelling "down," "down," because well, she wanted down. We walked around the place for a bit while Tyler and Lance got settled in and ordered for us - and convinced the waitress to bring some crackers to coerce Katie into her high chair. While we were walking around Katie was just telling random people "hi" and waving and an older gentleman came up to Katie and started talking to her and telling me what a beautiful little girl she was (kind of creepy). She was smiling and making faces and generally being cute and the man joked that she was his "girlfriend." All pretty harmless UNTIL he said to Katie - "do you want to go bye-bye?" Before I knew it she was in his arms and I was frightened beyond belief. I pretty much snatched her out of his arms and we sat down but it scared me that she was just so willing to be picked up by a perfect stranger, not to mention that a perfect stranger would suggests to a 1 1/2 year old that they go bye-bye! Another couple came up to us and commented on how different the two kids are - Tyler so quiet and Katie so outgoing - and it made me chuckle because while they are very different I have yet to find labels that fit them for too long! There have been times that Tyler is the one making eyes at all the patrons and "talking" to them when Katie is the one that refuses to make eye contact, so you never know.

I do have a bone to pick with any readers who know me well - why oh why did you not warn me about how hard these toddler times are??? I can't get them to listen and they are constantly testing their boundaries. We can't go in public without a meltdown (when we try to leave usually), andI feel like a referee constantly breaking up fights and squabbles or keeping them from hurting themselves by climbing on the table or opening the drawer of knives. Don't get me wrong, for the most part it is really fun, but nobody warned me that I would have about a month of "honeymoon" stage and then would start to feel like a chicken with my head cut off again - running in circles, not getting much of anything accomplished. I am really hoping that we can find something that works in terms of discipline - they are still too young for time-outs to work really (they think it is fun) and obviously admonishments and reasoning don't do the trick. I don't think I am being unreasonable in my expectations - they are actually allowed to do quite a bit - they just want to do more and usually something that is dangerous. The fascination with climbing the stairs continues and the "gate" is just not working. I probably need to teach them to go up and down them, in case they escape without me knowing it, but they also push each other out of the way in efforts to climb and that will never be safe! Katie has started going to the bottom step and telling herself to "sit down" which is fine, but Tyler will sit on the bottom step and say sit down and then when I turn my back he will climb two steps and then sit, and then just laugh and giggle because he is so proud of himself for thinking he is tricking me - the little minx.

Tyler Update

I don't have much time (since I had to leave work yesterday - but wouldn't have it any other way if my baby boy needs me) so this update will be short and sweet. Tyler was having some trouble breathing yesterday at daycare (the doctor thinks some phlegm cause by allergies temporarily blocked his airway scaring him and us silly). I took him to the doctor and while there he was noticeably better - talking and laughing and generally just excited not to be napping. He was still wheezing, though, so he was given an albuterol treatment that for once seemed to help. We are going to be giving him the albuterol and zyrtec for the next week and see if he improves and go from there. He is still not big enough for an emergency inhaler, so the machine is our best course of action if it happens again (but let's hope it doesn't). If I thought giving him the breathing treatments was hard before, now it is darn near impossible. He is just so strong (and willful) and he has always hated things on his face and head so he really lets it be known that he does NOT want to do the treatments. We are kind of in limbo because our strategies that we used before like singing, reading books, letting Katie wear a mask to make him want to as well, are not distracting enough, but the things that would work if he could understand like bribery (letting him drink gatorade from the bottle, promising him a trip outside) are a little advanced because he doesn't yet get delayed gratification. We'll manage though because it really is for his own good - one day in and only a few battle wounds from the thrashing and flailing - if we can keep the majority of them on us instead of him we're doing ok. It does make me feel better that we have had some suggestions (don't put the strap on the mask, use the fish face mask, sing songs about dragons, etc) of things that have worked for others and we actually have tried them all and more - so, we aren't just being dense and not doing it the way others are, we just have a little boy who knows what he does and does not want and knows how to show it!

Still Double Trouble

Definitely an overused cliche when talking about twins - "Double Trouble" - but the reason it is said so often is because it is so true! I don't know whether these two got taller, or if they just have better balance and sense and know that things that they shouldn't have are up high, but we are running out of places to keep things out of their reach! They are into absolutely everything. Tyler's new word is open, or rather he says "opme," and I have been in shock at some of the things that he brings to me to open for him that I have no clue where he got. Speaking of no clue where he picked something up - this morning he sneezed and had yucky pouring out of his nose (I was driving them to daycare because Lance has to work). I handed him a kleenex and told him to wipe his nose and he did a pretty good job (he is learning to blow his nose too, which is fabulous when dealing with a toddler with constant allergies). The problem is that he didn't want to give the tissue back to me and his sister really wanted a tissue of her own (I only had the one). When I said Tyler, give that back he looked straight at me and said "NO" with a big smile, repeatedly. I don't know where he is learning that it is ok and even funny to say "no" to me, but that is just something else to add to the list to work on. Luckily, I had a gift certificate at Amazon and instead of using it on books that I want to read I got the recommended 1-2-3 Magic, a discipline book for toddlers, and hopefully it will give me some strategies! Katie was pretty smart about it all, though. She realized that Tyler got the kleenex because he sneezed and instead of begging for one of her own (to tear up into small pieces and try to eat) she started fake sneezing to coerce me into giving her one too (sneaky, but cute).

Planning their attack on the countertops. Katie is telling Tyler what to do since he is more proficient, but she neglects to tell him that he won't get to reap the rewards of his hard work - she will!

Tyler spotted the cups and made his move. I should get on to him for grabbing things off the counter, but cups make him so happy! At least it wasn't the Advil that he wanted me to "opme" minutes earlier.

His mean sister swoops in and takes them, though - and then tries to act all innocent.

Getting some of our food off of real plates while they are not in their chairs, though, is the ultimate distraction and the cup fiasco is forgotten!

Uh Oh - My First Incident

I don't have any new pictures - I am spending all my time trying to keep up with the rascals these days and can't get the camera out :-)! They really are all over the place and getting so smart and sneaky. The only place they want to be is outside, but once they are out there they go in completely different directions looking for trouble. I let them ride their ride-on toys in the street last weekend and thought I was managing pretty well until I turned to help Tyler get his little truck unstuck and next thing I knew Katie was two houses down yelling whee as she was riding out of control! Needless to say we moved to the backyard (where they can't ride on the toys) but where they can fight over who gets to go up and down the slide, climb up and down the deck heightening my anxiety since Tyler thinks he has it and doesn't realize that at some parts of the deck it is a BIG step down, or pick all of the "flowers" to bring to me, or try to eat depending on their mood. They are starting to mimic and understand cause and effect, which was evident during "the incident" yesterday. I have been pretty cocky (thanks to my back-up sensor that beeps if I am too close to something) about mine being one of the only mini-vans that doesn't have dents and bumps in the back bumper or taillight. Take a minute to notice minivans in parking lots or driving down streets and you will see that almost all of them have obviously backed into something - at least around here. Well, I have never proclaimed to be a good driver, and I especially can't back up or park in tight spaces but I was pretty darn proud to be accident free in the time that I am getting used to the van. So, yesterday I was having to back out of Pam's driveway after picking up the kids and thought I was going straight and doing good only to hear a horrible scraping noise, followed quickly by two little munchkins saying uh, oh and oh no! I get out and realize that I have scratched the whole side of my van with one of those metal yard flags that was in the ground beside the mailbox (and I was only inches from clobbering the mailbox). I get back in and pull up as fast as I can (parents waiting to get into the driveway) but I am stuck in the grass and have to gun it and just yelled "crap" (thankfully that was what came out, because what I was thinking definitely wasn't as benign). I get back on track and finally back out to a chorus of "cap," "cap" coming from the backseat., said in an upset way. It made me laugh and was the best remedy to get over my mortification. We moved on to what does a cow say, what does a duck say, and ohhhh look - outsi and it was forgotten.

Be Careful What You Wish For!

So, all of you know that I have been hyper-sensitive to the kid's speech development and word acquisition. The ladies at their daycare say they are doing awesome, and I actually think they are pretty much on track now too. Katie still "talks" more, but Tyler has more actual words. They both get their point across very well though, even without knowing the words. Yesterday Katie came up to me and sat down with her shoes in hand while holding her feet up and saying "soos" - that meant that she wanted me to put her shoes on, so I did. Then she popped up and started saying han, han - which meant that she wanted to hold my hand, so I offered it to her and she began to lead me around. Well, she then led me straight to the backdoor and said "outsi." When I told her we couldn't go out there she took my hand again and tried to take me to the front door and then of course when I told her we couldn't go there either (I was by myself and outside is difficult two on one these days- especially when Tyler wants to just climb the steps and the deck the whole time) she started jumping (she is quite the jumper) up and down and having a fit. Tyler was smarter about it - he was holding my hand too (of course, since he saw his sister do it and couldn't be left out) and then when he realized he wasn't going to get what he wanted he coerced me into picking him up and then instigated the death grip with his legs around my waist everytime I tried to put him down! Nana Pam says he has turned into quite the little bossy boy at daycare too - telling everyone to stop, or saying no while wagging his finger if someone is doing something he doesn't want. Katie does that to him at home, so I guess he thinks he has control when they are away, at least over someone (probably still not Katie though). Anyway, the point of the post (from which I really digressed) was to say that one word we have really been working on is "more." I wanted them to be able to tell me if they were still hungry or thirsty. Well, they get it! My little fruit-aholics (still don't understand that one, although Lance likes fruit too and I just never bought any for him) were each given a fruit cup after their meal yesterday, which used to be plenty. They devoured it (after already eating chicken and dumplings and green beans) and started yelling "more," "more" and pointing at the pantry. It was incessant - and even though we just went to the store to buy fruit on Saturday there was no "more." A cookie (still called doodoo by Tyler) was an effective distraction, but I did realize that there could be a time in the near future that I regret them learning words like more, mama, and especially no (Tyler is definitely getting the hang of the meaning of that one). It is getting expensive to feed these little munchkins and I definitely think we need to try to get a wholesale club membership, but I am SO glad that they are still eating well and yes, I am happy that they want "more" fruit!

Happy Easter

The weekend was jam-packed with Easter festivities and we all had a great time. On Friday Lance and I took the kids to Pancacke Pantry (only about a 30 minute wait and yummy) and then to Phillips Toy Mart to see the bunnies (live ones - they were unimpressed) and train. Saturday was the zoo Easter egg hunt and although it was raining when we woke up, by the time we got there it was perfect weather. They did an under 2 Easter egg hunt and the kids collected a few eggs (even though their parents forgot the baskets -oops) and then we walked (and walked, and walked) around the zoo. Katie was having a ball being a big girl walking everywhere and Tyler divided his time between walking and enjoying being pulled in the wagon. At the petting zoo Katie was pretty into the goats and was petting them, but Tyler wanted no part of it and clung to me for dear life. I guess zookeeper isn't in his future! Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day and we went to the park Sunday morning after our backyard Easter egg hunt - who knew that what seems like every family in Nashville rents a pavilion at Warner Parks? We barged into somebody's reserved space for just a little bit and the kids got to swing and get dirty, but we left when it looked like the kids were getting too much sun (yet another example of bad parenting - we didn't even think about sunscreen until they were already pink). Sunday afternoon was spent at the grandparents (the Nashville ones) house where they got to do another hunt and Katie collected all the eggs while Tyler marveled over his one! Katie is sure full of herself lately - the "no" stage has hit full force and even if she wants to do something she tells you "NO" emphatically. While we were eating she kept telling me "more" demanding me to give her some off of my plate and she thinks it is hilarious to be defiant these days - this is going to be fun (ha). Tyler is saying no too, but he says it quietly and kind of smiles like he is testing it out - nothing like his sister who clearly knows what it means and revels in her newfound authority. Tyler has decided once and for all that he does not like swings (unlike Katie who still loves them and could sit in it all day), but anything he can climb is fair game. He entertained himself in our backyard and the park just stepping up and down off of little steps or posts and is just so proud that he can do it on his own now. We had a disaster of a naptime on Saturday - Katie apparently pooped and instead of letting us know by crying so we would come and change her, she just took her pants off, her diaper off, spread the poop around and then peed absolutely everywhere for good measure. Tyler is still undressing too so both of them are in zip-up pajamas anytime they are unsupervised during sleep times!!! We went to a friend's house on Saturday afternoon and the kids had fun playing on a big slide and Katie almost gave me a heart attack - she was holding onto my hands jumping on the trampoline and decided to break away and run all around the trampoline. The problem was that she didn't realize that she could run right off and all of my yelling for Katie to come here and trying to get to the side that she would run off of only made her think it was even more of a game and she was just squealing and having a blast while I was in full panic mode! It turned out ok, although both of them have the scratches, and bumps and bruises to prove that they had a pretty active weekend! So-So got some pictures at the Zoo egg hunt and throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday so I will have to try to get a copy of those, but for now here are some pictures from Easter Weekend 2010 - kids 19 months old (wow).

Katie was getting them all!

She had so many that she kept dropping them, but still didn't want Tyler keeping any in his basket!

She was so proud of her full basket. Once he got one, he didn't see the need in having more than he could hold onto.

Little Miss Bossy was scolding the dogs (calling them Marley - it's no wonder since she probably hears Marley "NO" a hundred times a day) and keeping an eye out to make sure her brother wasn't getting any special attention or eggs!

It eventually evened out and Tyler got a basket full too - with the help of onlookers and sneaky snatchings from Katie's basket.