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!

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!