Long overdue update... and there are about 6 more saved that need posting.. :D

Today, PayPay cut another tooth (her fifth, the second to the left from center on the bottom), learned where her nose is, SAID nose, asked for Dad when shown his picture, "beeped" her belly button and helped Kyra put the cars away in the tub. Kyra taught her about her belly button, putting the cars away and where her nose was. Such big girls! Oh, and I think "Dad" is definitely her official first word for something she really knew what it meant. I was really hoping for Mama this time! At least she did SAY Mama first. :)

Oh, and at their appointment last week, Kyra was 24 lbs 2 oz 33 3/4 inches tall (she uses the big girl scale and ruler now) and Paige was 23 lbs 11 oz. 29 inches long.

Food, FINALLY!!!!

We've had a busy month here at our house!!! Two weeks ago, Kyra's upper right canine came through and this week the upper left one FINALLY popped so hopefully we'll have a teething break while we're in Wisconsin before her 2 year molars start. Paige started eating solids for the first time last Sunday. (Yes, that was a few days early but she was definitely ready and that way Dad, Grandma and Grandpa all were able to see her get her first dinner (peas) and celebrate her 6 month birthday with her.) She's LOVING eating solids. So far her favorite seems to be squash and her least favorite is jarred bananas because they are SOUR from the citric acid they put in to keep them from browning. From now on we'll be mashing our own bananas. She grabs the spoon and pulls as it's heading for her mouth because I don't get it in fast enough. She ate the whole jar (2.5 ounces) of peas at her first try and now is up to two meals of 2-4 ounces a day of fruits and veggies. She's getting to be very wiggly and can sit up on her own in the bouncer. She rolls both directions now but still does better front to back. She sits unsupported and has for a month or so (don't know if I mentioned that before) and is definitely teething but no teeth yet. Phil thinks she'll be crawling before November but I think it will be a little longer than that. Her 6 month wellcheck was this past Thursday and she did beautifully! She only fussed about the shots and charmed everyone at the office. She weighed in at 19 lbs 11 oz (officially less than 2 lbs lighter than Kyra) and was 26 1/2 inches long. The doctor commented repeatedly on how wonderful her muscle tone was and how strong she was, predicting that she might be an early walker. When the two ladies came in to give her the shots (she got three of them poor thing) Kyra hid behind the chair when she saw the needles. As soon as they'd poked Paige and she started crying Kyra came flying out jabbering and yelling something that the only understandable part of was "BABY PAIGE BABY!!!" She was scolding them for having hurt her little sister. :)

Just a Quick Note

With getting ready for Phil's 30th birthday party, I just haven't had time to put up the post I've wanted to lately so I've ended up not posting at all! I need to get something up though or I'm going to forget things I need written down here. :) We've had a few firsts in the last two weeks. Paige started using a tippy cup last week (with just water in it) and LOVES it as she doesn't feel quite so left out at dinner anymore. Kyra cut her lower left canine last week also. At Kyra's appointment last week she weighed in at 21.1 lbs and was 31 3/8 inches tall. That means she's dropped from 53% on her length to weight ratio down to 19% on her length to weight because she's only growing up! It also means that she's officially 3 lbs heavier than Paige. THIS week, Paige has officially begun to sit up unassisted and hasn't looked back and Kyra cut the lower right molar. Kyra has been loving going out to Grandma and Grandpa Beebe's to pick blackberries, "'matoes", string beans, pears and blueberries. She has a blast seeing the food growing and then getting to eat it right away! She likes picking flowers too. The girls also had their first swing in a hammock out there last week.

Two Babies Leave Little Time for Blogging!!!

So, as you've probably noticed, I'm WAY behind on keeping up again... whoops! It just seems like we're having such a busy summer between softball, doctor's visits and just all the normal stuff that comes with keeping up with an 18 month old and a 3 month old!! The big news is that on the 14th, Paige got her loaner BAHA aid! She's doing great with it already. If you want to know more about that, as soon as I get the chance I'll put up a post on her blog about it all.

On the 19th, we worked out at Oral Hull again. (Well, Phil worked. The girls and I did a little weeding and shrub trimming for a couple hours because there is a limit to what you can do while wearing both babies. :) It was a lot of fun and Kyra LOVED the watermelon!
Paige had her 4 month check on friday (even though she technically wasn't four months until wednesday.) She did very well and the doctor said everything looks good. She barely fussed for her shots and didn't fuss at all when she got her oral rotovirus vaccine. She weighed 15lbs 2oz and was 25 inches long which puts her in the 90th percentile for both height and weight so she's balancing out and slowing down a little on the growing. (She was 98th for weight and 95th for height two months ago.)
Last Sunday Phil surprised me with a late birthday trip to the Rennaissance Fair. It was so fun! Kyra loved it too. :) She really liked the police horse that she got to pet that was parking cars. She also liked the dressage and jousting demonstration... until she noticed that there was a dog next to us to play with. He he. Her favorite part though was the blacksmith oddly enough! I can't wait to take her to another one... we'll have to try to find or make some itty-bitty garb before then.
Paige rolled over for the first time that I'd really count this last tuesday. (It was the first time on a totally flat surface so she did it all on her own and she's done it a few times since then too.) She rolls just tummy to back so far which is great so far since Kyra at first only rolled the other way and would get ticked off when she got stuck on her tummy. Of course, Paige's first true roll was when Amy was trying to get her picture on her tummy. :D Amy was very brave and tried some of the girls together too that turned out cute, if not perfectly posed. It's just not possible to take a well posed picture of an 18 month old and a 3 month old without having at least one grown up person in the picture. *lol*



We've been trying and trying to get Kyra to say "Love You". On Wednesday, she finally said it... but not to me or Phil! I was changing Paige on the couch and Kyra was entertaining her for me and I asked Kyra if she loved her sister and she looked right at Paige and said "Love you!" several times. :) She also is finally saying her own name as of yesterday. She also now says very clearly Elmo, Grover, Ernie, Big Bird, and Bert. I should try to get a video of her doing those, it's cute when she goes through her book and names them. She can't quite get Zoe yet, that's a hard one.

18 Month Check

Kyra had her 18 month appt. with Dr. Byrne yesterday. Paige stayed home with Phil while we went and Kyra was VERY concerned when we got in the car without the baby. In fact, she cried more about leaving Paige behind than she did about getting TWO shots! She was a very good girl at the doctor's office except for fussing when the doctor wanted to feel her tummy. She even stood on the big girl scale and at the ruler to have her height measured. She is officially 22.6 lbs on their scale and 30 inches tall!! Ok, so the weight was at least in part due to the fact that she was fully clothed and last time was only wearing a dry diaper, but we'll take it since it means she doesn't have to go back for 6 months!!! Yay!
Also, Paige laughed out loud tuesday for the first time! Phil was talking to her and being silly and she broke out in a great big grin and then laughed several little chuckles. So cute!!!!
We took the girls to the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade tonight and they were both very good and had a blast! Paige stared as everything went by and Kyra switched off sitting with John and Amy and didn't even try to run into the parade once. I think her favorite parts were when she realized there was a dog sitting next to her and stealing all of John's waterbottles from him. She did seem to like watching the parade too. :)

Busy Weekend!

The girls had a blast on the 4th of July. We met up with friends for a picnic (Kyra had LOTS of fun "helping" me cut up fruit for the picnic) before the fireworks and Kyra played and chased bubbles with their kids until it got dark. Both girls watched the fireworks and like them. Kyra got just a little tense to start with but then relaxed in Dad's lap. I think she got more upset when we put two earplugs in and she couldn't hear us than she actually did about the fireworks! (We had to take one out before they started.) Paige liked them and actually kept her earplug in but she did get hungry and needed a snack in the middle of the show. We got home just before midnight and both girls were tired. Kyra slept until quarter to ten!










Yesterday afternoon we were invited to a 3rd birthday party for a friend's daughter and Kyra had a wonderful time! This is the first kid's birthday party she's been to (with the possible exception of her own where she wanted to sit on one of our laps most of the time) where she's been old enough to participate some. She loved playing in the little kid wonderland of plastic Little Tykes outdoor toys in their backyard and THOUGHT she wanted to play in the pool until she realized the water was a little chilly. She never did get in the water, even though the other three girls were already in.









When we got home, we got out the Color Wonder finger paints before bed and she did some painting for the first time. I think we need to get her some regular finger paints to use outside so she "gets" it a little better but she did pretty good with a little help!

Firsts, Firsts and More Firsts!!!

So Kyra has been hitting firsts and new things like crazy lately! She peed in the potty for the first time last week, said her first 2 word sentence verbally ("more please") and has been giving her first closed mouth kisses (it's so nice not getting slimed.) Her first premolar came through on Saturday and the one on the other side is VERY close to being through too.

The poor baby also had her first really bloody owie when she tried to lean on my legs while I was wearing a long skirt. She forgets that I'm not shaped like the skirt underneath and leaned on a part where there wasn't any leg to lean on and fell over, biting her bottom lip pretty good. I got her calmed down in just a couple minutes but she bled pretty good and got a big gash on the inside of her lip. She seemed to forget about it completely though until about an hour later when it was time for nap, then she was holding her hand up to her mouth and wanted to be held. ;) She tasted her first feta cheese and made some pretty sour faces and also had black olives for the first time. She loves when you put them on her fingers for her. :) When we were out at Grandma and Grandpa's house last Monday, she rode along in the Ergo carrier on Dad's back and saw the horses, but I think she may have done that before, I'm not sure. She thought they were pretty entertaining at any rate.

Paige now weighs 15 lbs almost even. This is at nearly 3 months. At 4 months exactly Kyra weighed 13 lbs 2 oz. This is a somewhat frightening thing! It's odd though, Paige didn't outgrow her 0-3 clothes any earlier than Kyra did, she just fits better into the 3-6 months clothes from side to side than Kyra did at first. We'll have to see what sort of a growth curve Paige settles onto as her growth slows down.


Both girls did BEAUTIFULLY on Saturday while we were working with a group from church out at the Oral Hull Camp for the Blind. It was the first time I've worn both of them together for an extended period and they did great! Even Kyra was pretty patient in the carrier for over 2 hours straight while I was helping with some landscaping clean-up stuff. During the afternoon while Phil and some of the other guys were working on setting up the Bocce Ball courts, Kyra plaed in the grass by Angi and I for a really long time and did a very good job of listening and staying close to us. She loved rolling in the grass.



I forgot to add before, the other day I had Paige sitting up on the couch taking her picture and Kyra wanted to crawl up and get in the picture so I helped her up and she put her arm around Paige. Then she leaned over and grabbed her Elmo book and got it opened up in front of them and started babbling and pointing at things and turning the pages. She was "reading" to little sister. :)

Behind Yet Again!!!!

So we have been VERY busy at our house over the last few week, or at least it seems that way! That's probably part of the reason I've gotten to be SO far behind yet again! So I'm going to try to get caught up all in one big post!
A week ago Monday Paige had both her first appointment with her ENT and it went well. We didn't find out much new, but we really liked him! Then that afternoon (I know, long day for a little girl) she had her 2 month check-up with Dr. Byrne. She weighed 13 lbs 6 oz and was 23 inches long! She sure is growing! That put her in the 95th percentile for weight and the 75th for height. For comparison, at Kyra's 2 month check she was 11 lbs 2 oz and 23 1/2 inches long. :) The results from her hip/kidney ultrasound came back clear (Praise God!!!!) so she won't have to wear an icky sling to help keep her hips inline. When Joy, the medical assistant, came back in after the doctor had done her check to do vaccines with one of the other assistants Kyra started crying. Apparently she's figured out that when TWO ladies come in with gloves and needles there are going to be shots! She calmed down pretty quickly once she figured out the shots weren't for her. Paige was sleeping when they came to do them and cried just a little bit, then went back to sleep. She spiked a fever and was sort of fussy that evening and a little cranky the next day but by day two she was feeling pretty much better. I've decided to start a second blog to keep track of Paige's medical stuff regarding her little ear so it's easy for me to keep track of and doesn't take over here when she has a bunch of appointments near each other. I'll put the link in the sidebar here for anyone who's interested. :)
She's cooing and babling now and is just so alert! It's hard to believe how fast she's growing and changing. A couple we're friends with at church had their baby last week and she is a tiny peanut (5lbs, 14oz when she was born) and compared to her, Paige looks toddler size! Paige got a new papasan stlye bouncer (well, new to us, Yay for Craigslist!) that can sit in the bassinet part of her pack-n-play to try sleeping in at night to see if she'll go down any earlier. She's been wanting to go to sleep for the night around 2 a.m. and then sleep in, which would be fine if Kyra didn't get up between 7 and 8! The bouncer seems to be helping some. Last night I got her down to sleep for the night before midnight and she slept in her chair for over 7 hours! Definitely worth the $8. :)
Kyra has been a busy little bee the last few weeks too. She's adding new words/signs every day. We've started singing songs that have hand motions with her now and she LOVES it! Especially "I Just Wanna Be a Sheep" (a song I sang at camp when I was little, there are videos on youtube) because she can sing along on the "baa baa baa baa" part really well. She still dotes on her little sister and loves to kiss and hug on her, tickle her and help Mama burp her. She's eating like crazy, but still sitting right around 21 lbs weightwise, she's just so busy she burns it all off! Sunday is probalby her favorite day of the week. After church we come home for a quick nap and then head off to softball. She is a great sport and claps whenever anyone else claps, regardless of which team they're cheering for. She's catching on to the fact that her dad is doing something out there and looks for him now when I point out that he's on the field. She loves seeing the other little girls and visiting with the other spectators.
Yesterday she had two "big" moments. She used the potty for the very first time.... sort of. (I noticed she was needing to go and grabbed her and took her in there to sit on it and she went.) We have a nifty toilet seat where there's a child-sized seat that folds down out of the lid of the regular seat for people with little bottoms and this was our first time trying it out. I know this isn't a huge step towards potty-training or anything (we don't plan on potty-training until November) but one less icky diaper to change is one less and that's always exciting! The second "first" of the day was that she remembered how to climb down off the couch by herself without help! We've really been working on this one because she has a tendency to get up there and then forget how to get down and sit there and yell until someone comes to help her turn over and scoot down. Of course, after doing it right once, she forgot the next time and needed to be reminded. :)

16 Months - 8 Weeks

Kyra and Paige are now 16 months and 8 weeks respectively and it's just amazing how fast they're both growing and changing! (Well, they're both changing but Paige is definitely doing more aggressive growing at this point.) Kyra is still very much in love with her little sister and loves when we let her "hold" Paige (with some grown up help of course.) Paige gets more kisses and cuddles than she'd probably like, but we're just happy that Kyra doesn't show any signs of being jealous of little sister.
Kyra's language skills are growing by leaps and bounds. She still doesn't have a huge amount of spoken words but she's on par for normal. She says Dog, Dad, Food (Boof), Mama, No, Up, Echo, Duck, Papa, More, Done and Go. She makes cat, dog, elephant, cow, duck and car noises too. Her signs though are what are really expanding her vocabulary. She's constantly wanting the signs for new words and she's using them to communicate with us. She does please, help, up, baby, thank you, milk, more, drink and done and is working on some new ones and she'll string together two and three signs in a row to get her point across (like Help, Please, Milk.) She doesn't have any new teeth yet beyond the front eight, but we can feel the bumps where she's working on her premolars and I would guess that when those do start coming through they're going to come fast and furious! She had her first haircut yesterday and did VERY well for a 16-month-old (from what I know of children's haircuts at least.) Her hair was just so much longer on the sides than the back and so many different lengths that it was getting tangled too easily and taking too long to fix in the morning (20-30 minutes a lot of days and that usually wore on my patience before hers even.) We went to a place called "Little Clippers" on the advice of a friend who gets her little girl's hair cut there and it was great! They cater specifically to kids and most of the "chairs" are actually little cars on hydraulic lifts. Kyra was a little too nervous to do a car by herself so she sat in an adult chair (they have one or two) on Dad's lap for the cut. Julie who cut her hair was very nice and Kyra watched a movie and played with a basket of toys while it was being done. She did NOT like the blowdrier so we stayed and played on the climbing toys for a few mintutes after the cut so her hair could dry and Julie could trim the little straggles that were left afterwards. They gave her a certificate for her first haircut with a lock of her hair attatched and a balloon which she didn't find all that exciting until we got home. Now she has a very cute little bob and just looks so grown-up! If you live in the Portland area I HIGHLY reccomend checking out Little Clippers for your little guy's haircuts. They have one in Clackamas where we went and another in Lake Oswego and are very reasonable price-wise too.
Paige is changing every day too. In the last week her personality is just blossoming and she's smiling, cooing and laughing a lot. She really loves riding in her stroller, especially if Dad is pushing. She looks up and grins and makes faces at him. She's going to be rolling over before we know it, she's already close and can go from side to front/back or from back/front to her side but can't quite get all the way over. She's discovered her teddy bear and decided that he's a pretty interesting fellow. He doesn't have a name yet. Since Kyra's bear is just "Bear, or Bear Bear" we should probably get a little more creative on this one. She's going to outgrow most of her 0-3 months clothes here pretty soon and she hasn't even worn them all yet since we've had so many nice days and there were quite a few warm outfits in her hand-me-downs. She's wearing her first 3-6 month outfit today and it's not even that big on her!