Bad blogger!

I am such a bad blogger these days. I have been crazy busy working and just haven't been able to squeeze blogging in. The good news is that I am working on a big contract. Hopefully we will be able to get the contract accepted and closed. Wish me luck!

Since I need to get to work, I will leave you all with some vintage photos of the monkeys.

Rainbow Brite makes everything better.

We are still in the throes of teething hell. The monkeys have 5 or 6 teeth working their way through the gum line. Their top two molars are about half way through and their bottom two have started breaking the gum line along with one or two of the bottom front teeth. Needless to say my little monkeys are in a lot of pain these days. Isabella has been screaming for days. Fun times! So tonight Isabella was inconsolable so I started trying to use the Rainbow Brite doll to distract her. She has been kind of afraid of it in the past, but today she suddenly likes it. That doll gave us 15 minutes without any screaming so I love it! Here are a few pics of Isabella's rough afternoon and my happy monkey with her grandma and her mommy's doll.

Caitlin certainly had her rough periods today. Thankfully, they weren't always at the same time as Isabella's. During Isabella's last meltdown, Caitlin was blissfully occupied.

What's so funny?

One day last week, when the monkeys were supposed to be napping, I kept hearing laughter from their room. It was Caitlin and she doesn't normally laugh a lot, so I knew I was missing something good. I grabbed the video monitor to what was going on. Isabella was laying down in the middle of the crib on her back. I saw Caitlin moving around next to Isabella, then she crawled right over the top of Isabella. She laughed and turned around and did it again. The third time I saw her do it she stopped on Isabella's tummy, laughed hysterically, then finished crawling over her. She did it a few more times then she crawled over to her own spot and fell asleep. Normally, Isabella is the one plowing over Caitlin, so I'm sure Caitlin thought it was a lot of fun to be the one treating her sissy like an amusement park ride.

Driving and Texting

It might be time for me to start teaching Isabella that driving and texting is illegal and dangerous. They grow up way too fast!

With her multitasking sister on the road, Caitlin chose to stay safe in her momma's arms.

1 Year

Yes, I know that I'm late with this post. August was a very eventful month and the girls didn't have their well baby appointment until the 19th. They were running behind so we were at the pedi's for a tortuous 2 hours. That is way too long for 1 year olds who missed their morning nap because of the appointment. Fortunately, my brother was in town and went with me since Jeff and mom weren't able to. I wouldn't have survived it without him.

The monkeys are still rocking the charts for their verbal skills. Their fine motor and social skills are right up there too. They are still behind on their gross motor skills. We are working on them though. The pedi did put a referral in for physical therapy and said we could pursue it in a couple of months if we needed to. I don't think it will be necessary as the girls are making progress. Caitlin's weight is still at the bottom of the chart, but the pedi isn't concerned yet. Overall the monkeys are doing very well. Here are their stats:

Caitlin

Weight: 17lbs 11oz - 4%

at birth: 4lbs 3oz

Height: 29 1/4" - 48%

at birth: 17"

Isabella

Weight: 19lbs 2oz - 15%

at birth: 5lbs

Height: 30 1/4" - 79%

at birth 17 1/4"

Here are a couple of pics of the monkeys with Sean right before he went home.

Growing Pains

The monkeys have had a rough couple of weeks. I was at the hospital as much as I could be after my mom's surgery. The girls are not at all used to me being gone that much. Needless to say it brought out a lot of separation anxiety for them. Add in their beloved grandma who can't pick them up and their 12 month shots last week and you get two weeks with a whole lot of screaming. Way too much screaming! By Tuesday I wasn't sure if I was going to survive another day without loosing my mind.

The last couple of days have been much, much better. My happy babies returned! The nights have still been kind of rough. Last night the monkeys were up and screaming for 3 hours in the middle of the night. There wasn't anything wrong with them, they just wanted me to hold them. I know they love me and I am eternally grateful for the wonderful blessing they are. There are brief moments though when I wish they needed me just a little bit less. Then I look at those adorable faces smiling at me and I remember how good it feels to be needed so much!

I have been swamped this week, so I don't really have any new photos. Here are some vintage ones instead.

I need to childproof my car seats.

We switched the monkeys to convertible car seats a couple of months ago. Isabella figured out how to get out of the chest straps today. She was able to work the chest buckle down until it was low enough to get her arms out. I think (hope!) she is a long way from figuring out the bottom buckle. I am afraid though that if she can get her arms out then she can get the bottom part of the strap loose enough to get her legs out. Now I have to figure out how to childproof my car seats. :( This is such a bad thing! What am I going to do next year if she is already trying to get out now? I plan on keeping them rear facing as long as I possibly can. Now I am afraid that I am going to be driving down the highway one day and will see her head pop up over the seat.