Up to no good!

We have two silly little munchkins on our hands! Katie loves getting into small and odd places and this weekend found two of her favorites. She has learned to sit on the edge of the baby pool we keep in the living room for her to play with and turn it over on top of her. She then proceeds to scoot around the whole kitchen with it over her head while laughing hysterically. If you take it off of her head she giggles like crazy and then tries to get back under. We were letting her do it for a while until Tyler started trying to jump on top of it.

Katie is under there - not good!

When she grew bored with the baby pool fun she started testing every cabinet in the kitchen to see which ones she could get into and found the one that does not have the childproof lock on it! It had measuring cups and that sort of thing in it which you would not think would be dangerous until Tyler pulled the glass one out and dropped in on Katie's head. Lance was watching the kids at the time (I had to go look for some actual work type clothes that fit these days - it has been about 6 years since I had to wear business attire and the new gig requires it) and he removed everything from the cabinet thinking it would make it less interesting. Nope - that meant it gave Katie somewhere else to climb into.

Tyler wanted her to get out so he could give it a try.Tyler is walking about 50% of the time now and doing great. He really took off on Sunday and just started walking every chance he got. That, of course, meant that the inevitable bumps and bruises started too. In one of his jaunts across the kitchen he was sidetracked by trying to get into the fridge and fell against it. Poor little guy hurt his face pretty bad, but after some comforting from dad forgot all about it and started walking and playing and talking (he has lots of new words these days - his favorites are uh oh, ma ma, and bye) again. I, being the worrywart that I am, called the doctor, called my mom, and asked Lance to call his dad just to make sure we shouldn't worry about swelling and his temple and concussion, etc. We were told by the doctor to wake him every two to three hours and I did at 10:00 and midnight and when he was more irritated than hurt I stopped waking him and just checked on him - he was fine, but of course a little grumpy this morning since I kept waking him up. They both love fruit - peaches and pears are their favorites. Tyler might be a budding vegetarian - doesn't like meat at all. Katie likes pretty much everything, especially cheese, but the girl gets very, very excited come fruit time! It's probably a good thing that we don't give them fruit juice (just water and milk and occasionally carrot juice) - Katie would be addicted!

Fun with Birthday toys

We had a blast today and it was a big day for the kids. Matthew is in town and we all went with him and his girlfriend, So So and unnamed Grandpa, and some good friends of Matthew's who also have twins and a 20 month old little girl, to Loveless. We were quite a spectacle with such a large party and so many kids, but all did really well and everyone enjoyed good food and good company. The kids are doing great with table foods - today they had a lot of the yummy biscuits, creamed corn, green beans, hashbrown casserole, some fried chicken (just a little - for some reason they are not big on meat), and a grilled cheese. Big meal! They got home and took a good nap and got up and played hard. They really love the balls their Aunt Niffa got them for their birthday and have learned to throw them (we didn't have a camera upstairs so we couldn't capture it). Those are the best balls - they are able to pick them up easily and really enjoy rolling them to each other and throwing them down only to chase them down as fast as they can before the other gets ahold of it! They are also finally getting a little taller (I think) and are starting to be able to reach the ground when they sit on the ride-on toys. Tyler really likes to push them around and Katie would prefer to sit on them and be pushed. So, we put Katie in the seat (she can get off on her own but not on yet) and let Tyler push her around - they love it! Of course, right after these pictures were taken they got distracted and hightailed it straight to the stairs - which Tyler can now climb completely on his own (with one of us standing behind him just in case) all the way to the top. He is just so proud when he makes it all the way up and when he does he beelines toward our bedroom seeking out the bathtub!

Here are some pictures of their ride-on/push toy adventures. They are a little blurry but they show Tyler in his natural state these days - just a whirlwind blur!

You can't tell but Katie was giggling like crazy, having a ball!

Tyler distracted. Both distracted - those air vents are fun! Tyler decides to walk on his own instead. He is doing great but still pretty cautious - hasn't completely taken off yet.

Rotten!

In the words of Nana Pam, Katie is turning into a rotten little girl! Not really, she is definitely going through a trying stage though. When she is not crying, she is clinging and if she is not doing either of those things she is hitting her brother, playing keep away with his favorite toy, or throwing things as hard as she can in a show of anger. There are still really cute moments (that I still can't share because of a lack of camera - sorry) like this morning when they were in their matching Kentucky shirts that So So gave them and were playing together so nicely in the little cubby hole they created. They aren't "supposed" to play together until about two years old, parallel play until then, but I swear that they entertain each other and that has to be called playing! Even if the camera was working I probably wouldn't be able to catch it - they are definitely on the move these days.

Lance just got home with new batteries for the camera so we are going to see if they work and I'll get some pictures up!

Football season is here!

Well, last year was a bit different because the kids were so young but we are back in the swing of football season and I have to say that it isn't as fun as before kids! Maybe that's because we lost the Vandy game last night while sitting in the rain. We had a good time and are VERY, very grateful to So So and Grandpa Fossick for watching the kids, but football season definitely makes it hit home that we have bigger responsibilities and different priorities. Lance is at the Titans game right now and I probably won't go to an NFL game this year. Not only do I not have a ticket (Lance does), but Vandy games are more fun in my opinion and if we are going to arrange for a sitter it will be for Saturday night rather than Sunday afternoon. College football still rules in my book even if I am a big Titans fan!!!

The kids are definitely worth it though. As I type Katie is clapping along with the fans in the stadium (she knows her stuff - Titans touchdown and she is happy) and Tyler is practicing his baby steps. He is oh so close to walking - takes about 5-10 little baby steps before lunging for something in front of him to hold onto. Once he gets a little confidence he will be gone - he is fully capable now, just needs a little reassurance that he can do it. For now, crawling gets him there faster and without as many falls. Katie is so jealous of the praise being heaped on Tyler and is just now practicing standing on her own. She is desperately trying to catch up so she can lead the way again with the accolades. Up until this point she has gotten the Yay Katie more than Tyler because she was the first to wave bye bye, clap, dance, etc. Tyler is so proud of his new skill and his slowly realizing what exactly it is he does that makes us clap and cheer (walking).

We do like that we are getting back to "normal" again though - socializing at Vandy tailgates and cheering on the Titans so for now (until the kids are old enough to go along) we really are extremely thankful that the Grandparents offered to watch the kids. I think Katie is making it difficult for them to enjoy it - the little stinker even cried through her bath last night (which she absolutely loves), but maybe soon this separation anxiety thing will be a distant memory (ha - more like a few more months hopefully).

Spaghetti

This is why I hate when spaghetti is the only thing we have in the house for dinner! I'm just kidding (sorta), only because the kids LOVE it.

Electronic Age

I was browsing Amazon.com on my lunch break today looking for Halloween costumes (yes, we are going to use our little kiddies to get candy from strangers) and as always happens, I got sidetracked. I came across something that I want to try to get Tyler for Christmas - a little music player that he can operate and carry around since he loves to "sing" and dance - and decided to create a wish list in case I can't remember some of the things I want to get them when (ha, if) we actually have money to buy these things. It was a pretty sad state of affairs when I went back and reviewed the list. A toy cell phone (Katie was using a fridge magnet copying us being on our cell phones the other day), a toy remote control, a toy laptop, the music player. You see the theme here - all electronic gadgets we have around our house that we didn't realize until the kids started wanting to play too, that we use soooo much. I don't guess it is a bad thing, but it is pretty telling that when I think about what toys our kids will like I automatically go to the kid version of our grown up toys. I am comforted, though, when I read the reviews and there seem to be quite a few people like us who are happy to report that the remote and keys and phone are similar to the real thing and successfully trick their kids!

Vandy Fans!

The kids got little Vanderbilt outfits for their birthday and they are wearing them today in honor of the Vandy/LSU game. The little boogers are too active to really get a good picture and getting one of them together is virtually impossible, but trust me they look pretty darn cute. It's going to be a really though game - I don't think Vandy is going to have the same success they had when the kids were first born (undefeated through September) but luckily they will be asleep if it turns into a slaughter and won't have to see it!

Tyler's praying for a win!