A Busy Day

We had a busy day yesterday.  My cousin graduated from high school (congratulations Clint!), and we went to his graduation party.  It was the first time the girls met my dad's side of the family.  They roasted a pig, so the girls enjoyed some pork and pasta salad.  My cousin blew bubbles for the girls.  Katie had a great time walking all around.

Maggie with her great aunt Pat

Izzy-B with her cousin Nichole and her great uncle Louie

Maggie chewing on the party decorations

When we got home, we enjoyed the beautiful afternoon on our lawn with our neighbors.  It has been raining like crazy here, so our lawn looks pretty amazing! 

Izzy-B with our neighbor Emily, who happens to be an identical twin.

Katie checking out Rally

Our neighbor Dan with his son Sam, who is 6 months older than the girls

Izzy-B checking out Sam's ride

Katie with the ski poles

Sam's mom Liz took Sam, Katie and Izzy-B on a ride in the choo choo wagon.  Sam loves it! 

Maggie has discovered the art of nose picking. 

And eating it too?!?  Yuck!

Where's Izzy-B?

Ahhhh - now I can see!



After the girls had dinner, a bath and went to bed, we had a BBQ with the neighbors.  This is going to be a great summer!!

Showing off her skills

I have a really hard time getting the girls to show off their skills in front of other people or even in front of the camera. This was a rare video I got of Maggie. 

The Climbers

I've had a giant foam block covered in fabric since I was little.  I used to put my saddle (it was small) on it and ride it like a horse (we had horses when I was little and again throughout middle and high school).  The foam has had many uses over the years.  My parents had it recovered several years ago.  Unfortunately, they didn't consult me with the fabric choice.  Oh well.  I now have had it in the girls upstairs play area.  It was a great object for them to cruise around and a good place for me to sit without having three little monkeys trying to sit on my lap at once.  A couple of weeks ago, this is what I found:

Maggie and Izzy-B learned how to climb up on it.  I was about to shoot some video, and right before I started Maggie fell off. 

Once Maggie is up on the foam block, she can't get down unless she falls. She would sit up there and scream until I would help her down. Then, she'd turn right around and climb back up. She took a backwards fall off of it right in front of me, and I immediately moved it out of the play area. I miss my seat. Katie is not a climber.  The only thing she climbs up is the stairs. 

Fifteen Months

I know many of you have been waiting for an update on the girls.  I've had so many things that I've wanted to write about, but I just haven't found the time! 

Here is a quick summary:  Katie is nearly a full time walker.  Izzy-B is still just taking a few steps at a time, and, of course, little miss Maggie still can't stand without holding on something.  She keeps trying, and she's getting better at it.  She's finally standing flat-footed more often, which makes me feel so much better about her development.  Last week, I took the girls to Costco by myself.  It wasn't so bad.  It's hard to shop with a baby strapped to your chest, but I really appreciate that Costco has room for two kiddos in their carts.  We finally finished the basement project, which is allowing us to make room in the finished part of the basement for another playroom for the girls.  I'm really excited to finish that, but we need to buy another long fence with a gate to keep them from getting to the computer.  There's lots of babbling going on, but I'm not convinced that there are any real words yet.  Possibly some mama and dada, but I'm just not sure.  Yesterday Maggie started making "esss" and "thaa" sounds.  They can follow some directions, like clap and wave.  They can also identify someone else's nose and their own ears.  Maggie also pointed to her toes for me a couple of times.  Lastly, Maggie is a super duper climber.  She is incredibly strong, and she can climb onto the couch by herself.  Her foot has to nearly be as high as her head for her to accomplish this.  She is quite flexible too!

Anyway - I plan on being more diligent about posting.  I would ideally like to post everyday.  I'm sure there will soon be lots of funny and cute stories for me to share as they begin to talk and walk.

This morning the girls had their fifteen month check-up.  They're doing really well.  They haven't been in for a sick visit even once!  *knock on wood*  Maggie had to have a nebulizer treatment today. We brought a machine home to continue treatments for a couple of weeks.  The doctor could hear some wheezing in her chest, which we assume is a carryover from the cold her had a couple of weeks ago.  He thinks it will go away on its own, but he recommended that we go ahead and do the treatments.

We did their 15 month photos yesterday.  It was such a difficult photo shoot.  There's no way I could do that every month!  Izzy-B was the most difficult; I'm surprised we got any decent pictures of her.  She would NOT stand-up.  The group shot was nearly impossible.  We dressed them in their Easter clothes since I didn't get any good photos of them on Easter.  Grandpa Jack bought the girls these clothes. 

Katie:

Weight - 21lbs 2oz - 25%
Height - 30in - 30%
Head - 46.1cm - 50%
Teeth - Three on the bottom; four on top
Clothes - 12mo

Maggie:
Weight - 20lbs 10oz - 17%
Height - 30.25in - 50%
Head - 45cm - 25%
Teeth - Two on the bottom; four on top
Clothes - 12mo

Izzy-B:
Weight - 19bs 2oz - 5% - still my little peanut
Height - 29.5in - 25%
Head - 46.1cm - 50%
Teeth - Two on the bottom; four on top
Clothes - 12mo

The Little Gym

The girls were invited to a birthday party today.  Robin recently met another Indonesian with whom he has a lot in common.  He has a daughter who turned 3.  I asked on Facebook if The Little Gym (where the party was held) was age-appropriate for the girls.  I was told it was.  Their website says that they have classes for kids as young as 4 months.  So, I thought it would be ok.  Overall it was, but it was too advanced for them.  They had fun crawling around on the mats, but there were too many places for them to get hurt.  Katie and Maggie both almost hit their heads on the gym equipment, and Katie found a nice sharp piece of metal on the floor to play with.  That girl can find ANYTHING on the floor.  She must have really good eyesight!

Several of the adults there thought that Izzy-B was a boy. Seriously, would I dress them all in the EXACT same PINK outfit if one of them were a boy? She does look like a boy, but seriously people. A few of the Asian adults at the party didn't think that Robin was the girls' dad. They didn't think the girls looked Asian enough. Izzy-B totally looks like Robin.




Katie sees that tiny thing on the mat:

Maggie has such a great smile:

 Such a cutie!

Maggie loved being in the middle of the action:



She pulled herself up and licked the bar.  YUCK!!  I wanted to wash her mouth out with anti-bacterial stuff (of course I didn't ).

 I don't want to cut her hair, but it's getting so long!

After playing, we stopped for dinner at Fazoli's.  We haven't been there in a long time.  There were some teenagers there all dressed up having their pre-prom dinner.  Seriously?  Fazoli's is barely a step up from McDonald's.  Robin overheard their conversation.  Apparently, they went to Ruby Tuesday's and were told there was a 1.5 hour wait for a table, so they went to Fazoli's instead.  I was sad for them.  It would really suck eating spaghetti at Fazoli's in a prom dress.