The Tipton Home

23 months and counting

2012-01-10T21:00:00.001-06:00

It's been a long week with the girls getting past their first really bad stomach bug. Robert and I learned some survival skills for next time and had some wonderful help from Gam, but it's not an experience any of us want to go through again anytime soon.

We had four Christmas celebrations this past month and had a wonderful time seeing family and friends. Here are lots of pictures from our many celebrations, visits and new experiences:

Natalie modeling her tutu

Piper modeling her purse, necklace and gloves

Christmas morning

Enjoying snacks in our new tent

Figuring out how to take pictures of ourselves with Mommy's iPhone

5 kids and an iPad

Tutus, flowers and new books

Driving at the grocery store

Natalie playing dress up

Piper with a dress and tiara

Changes this month include more directed drawing - trying to draw circles and triangles, saying all to most of the words of a song rather than just the last one of every line, increases in vocabulary and 4-5 word sentences, and the new phrase 'I do it my own'.

At daycare, the most recent change is being separated at naptime. The girls used to be across from each other but now are around the corner from each other so they can't see each other when they wake up. Apparently, if they don't catch them right away, the girl who wakes up first (usually Natalie), will run over to the other bed and wake the other up. Natalie will do this at home too - we usually hear calls of 'Piper, Piper, Piper, Piper' at the end of naptime. And before naptime, we hear and feel jumping enough to shake their bedroom door and lots of giggling. What I wouldn't do for a video monitor!

A Home Improvement Update

2012-01-08T21:16:00.001-06:00

We've been working on the house again as we'd like to move into something bigger in the next year or so. It's been forever since I've done a house update - May 27, 2010, to be exact, so here are some of our completed projects since then:

New siding, paint, windows & landscaping - June 2010

New house numbers and outside lighting - July 2010

Pantry added in the garage - May 2011

New flooring in kitchen, dining room and hallway - December 2011

New light fixture - January 2012

Old (like the paint splotch?)

New

With kids, projects take a lot longer than before, plus require more hiring out rather than doing everything ourselves. It's still fun to update the house, even if we don't plan on staying here forever.

Merry Christmas & a late 22 month post

2011-12-15T23:01:00.003-06:00

Natalie & Piper

We've made it through 2 family Christmases so far this week and have two more to go! The girls are taking a much needed nap and so I thought I'd take the time to update everyone on how we're doing.

The girls keep growing and growing so we're thankful for all the gifts of clothing we've received these last few days. I just took 6 pairs of pants out of circulation again today so it's nice to have something to replace them with.

They also love their toys and now enjoy playing pretend, hiding from us (they're not very good at it so it's really cute), and are starting to enjoy playing with each other more. Other new skills include counting to 10, singing along to songs, being able to identify their colors consistently, and using the potty occasionally (Piper for the first time on 11/21 and Natalie on 12/22). It's amazing to see new skills, especially in language, appearing every day.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Natalie, Santa & Piper

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T19:27:00.001-06:00

Robert, the girls and I traveled to Minnesota this Thanksgiving to spend some time with his sister and her family and to meet our new nephew, Spencer. It was an interesting experience with every adult being responsible for one child while finishing up preparing dinner. We enjoyed our trip and hope to travel to Minnesota again soon.

Shaun taking care of the rolls while Becky & Brendan make gravy

Robert keeping Piper entertained

Jessica taking a break from taking pictures while holding Natalie

Our feast

Cousins and Uncles

The KC Tiptons

The Andersons

Pictures with Daddy

2011-11-21T20:33:00.001-06:00

The girls were sitting on Robert's lap yesterday so I took a few shots. Here's one of my favorites:

Piper, Daddy & Natalie, 21 months

It reminded me of this picture, taken when the girls were in the NICU. I didn't realize it was the same hat until I started creating the post. Too bad he wasn't in the same shirt too!

Piper, Daddy & Natalie, 2 weeks

21 months, 3 days

2011-11-13T19:58:00.001-06:00

Remember when you used to look forward to the end of daylight savings? That magical day in October, now November, where you got one extra hour of sleep and had extra time in the day? Well, that doesn't work so well when you have kids. Somehow toddlers don't understand that they need to switch schedules just because the clock says something different. So, it's been a rough week with disrupted sleep schedules, crankiness, and general tiredness on all of our parts. I think we've finally gotten past the time shift so next week should be better.

Anyways, on to new and exciting things the girls are doing this month. The girls are growing by leaps and bounds and growing out of clothes/shoes/hats/socks and so on. We weighed and measured them today after breakfast.

Here are Natalie's stats:

Weight: 24.2 lbs
Height: 32 1/2 inches

And Piper's:

Weight: 24.2 lbs
Height: 32 1/4 inches

Standing in front our growth chart that Aunt Becky made for us - Piper's on the left and Natalie's on the right

The other things they're working on include getting better at climbing, running, dancing and so on, and working on language. The girls can now say 3 word sentences (I love you, I see you, I did it). They're also thinking about crawling out of their cribs and potty training, as well as singing more. They're smart, goofy, wonderful girls. It's been an interesting, yet exhausting, month. Here are some pics so you can see more of what we've been up to:

Watching 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' on Halloween

Look how big we are! Natalie & Piper

Wearing buckets on our heads - Natalie & Piper

Enjoying Fritz's - Piper & Natalie

Trick or Treating at Daddy's work - Natalie & Piper

Spending time outside with Grandpa

Gam getting ready to babysit

A night out!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T20:18:00.001-05:00

We were able to visit a pumpkin patch with our good friends Luke, Jenn and their daughter Gwen last weekend. Enjoy the pics!

A Typical Wednesday

2011-10-15T14:36:00.000-05:00

Relaxing outside after a busy day

Things continue to change as the girls get older, but I thought I'd post about what a typical Wednesday is like for us at this point. As many of you know, I went back to work full time a few months ago. I have three of us to get ready now in the mornings, which can challenging some days!

7:30am - Girls wake up, go to kitchen for breakfast, I usually unload the dishwasher while they're eating

8:15am - Head to the bathroom for baths for the girls. Things I normally have to watch out for include splashing (I wait to change until later), girls standing up in the tub, and slips and falls after bathtime as the floor can get pretty slippery (Did I mention splashing??)

8:45am - Pick out outfits for the day with the girls taking some time out to run around the house naked screaming and giggling =)

9:15am - Morning snack with juice and I finally get to eat breakfast

9:30am - 10am - Girls play and I get dressed

10am - Head to daycare to drop off girls

Let's talk about problems with loading and unloading toddlers from cars and getting them into daycare here. The girls are not at a stage yet where they can wait patiently and/or listen while I'm helping the other get strapped into her carseat. So, to get in the car I have to take one girl out at a time, making sure that the one in the house doesn't injure herself or tear things apart while I'm gone. This has gotten better - it used to be that the one left in the house would scream loud enough that I could here her in the garage - now I usually come back to a girl playing with a toy or waiting at the baby gate for me. The other side of this problem now is that sometimes the first girl out to the car doesn't want to get in the carseat and we have to work through it somehow - singing, tickling, and reminding her that she'll get to play with her friends at school all help.

After we arrive at daycare, we get to part two of trouble with toddlers and transportation. Once again, the girls are not at a stage where I can trust them to listen and wait and walk into daycare on their own. So, I carry an umbrella stroller in the car at all times. I put one girl in the stroller, park it in a place where no other parents will run over it (we had a close call with this once already - the other mother started backing out right next to me while I was loading a car and very obviously didn't see me either as she almost hit me too - ugh - she apologized that day and the next, but still...). Then I unload the other girl out of the car, shut the doors, lock them, and walk into daycare while carrying one girl and pushing a stroller with one hand. We get to daycare, have to wash hands for both girls, fill out two daily sheets, and then somehow I have to leave the room - some days this is easier than others.

11am - Either at home to get some things done and eat lunch, out running errands, or into work early for meetings

1pm - My salaried job begins

5:30pm - Robert finds my car at work (it's our only one with carseats), leaves his car near it, and drives over to daycare to pick up the girls

6:00pm Robert and the girls are home for dinner, playtime and eventually bedtime around 7:30pm

10:00pm I get off work and head home

Midnight - off to bed to try to get some sleep for another day

We love our family and lives and feel very blessed to have our girls, but to say we're busy is an understatement. I just keep reminding myself how much easier everything has gotten in the last 20 months and how much easier things will continue to get.

20 months - And the dancing continues...

2011-10-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

Piper and Natalie are 20 months old today. Both of them continuously amaze us. Here's what we're up to now:

Holding each other's hands on a walk

Playing with one of Daddy's vintage toys

Intellectual growth:

The girls can now both count to three (and every once in a while 6), a skill we didn't realize they had until Granny was counting buttons with Piper and she counted to 6.

Both girls now recognize a few letters and colors. Letters they consistently recognize are 'O', 'Q' and 'B'. Colors they usually know are 'red', 'blue', 'brown' and 'yellow'.

Both Piper and Natalie try to sing some of their favorite songs. We caught Natalie trying to go through 'Head, shoulders, knees and toes' on her own the other day.

I've lost count of the signs and words they know. Robert and I had a Google Doc going of all of the words they could say. Once it hit 100 I stopped updating it. The number of signs they know is in the 100s as well.

They can point out and identify lots of items in picture books. We read every day to the girls and they've started to sit with the books and turn pages on their own too.

No is a very common word in our house, but yes is showing up more and more too. The girls have definite opinions about things and are more than happy to share them with us.

Proof that they're actually related to me - Already trying out salsa

Motor skills:

Once again, have we mentioned the girls love to dance? Robert took some great videos last week which I'll post below. Other new motor skills include:

Jumping (Piper can and Natalie's close)
Running

More dramatic climbing (It's enough to make me want to get rid of all of the furniture some days)
Understanding the shape/puzzle toys where they have to put a circle through the circle hole, etc.
Can walk up and down stairs with help
Gallop (Piper's new mode of transit some days)
Can throw and kick balls
Can use a spoon and fork somewhat successfully

Dancing Queens

Other interesting new things:

Piper and Natalie can pick each other out in pictures, something that many of their relatives are unable to do. =)

Do you know who is who?

19 months (or can you believe that we'll be 2 in five months??)

2011-09-10T22:48:00.001-05:00

Where has the time gone? I'm sure this is something all parents say at one point or another, but it's incredible to compare where we were 19 months ago to now.

Parenting milestones:

Both Robert and I are now capable of giving both girls a bath at once on our own. Ever tried giving two toddlers a bath at the same time? Or just one? It's a major accomplishment.

Putting the girls to bed in pajamas instead of sleep sacks

Natalie and Piper in their new pajamas

Natalie & Piper's new activities and skills:

Tickling - the girls love to be tickled and now will tickle us and each other. It's adorable.

Natalie being tickled by cousin Ira

Blowing bubbles - a new favorite activity

Blowing bubbles with Uncle Roo

Playing in our new to us Cozy Coupe - I should have bought two

Natalie - Why is she in here with me???

Pretending to clean the house

Piper in foreground, Natalie in background

Climbing on everything

Piper, our daredevil climber

Meeting Daddy's childhood nemesis, Leo the Lion

Starting saying two and three word phrases - current favorites are Daddy's shoes, Mama's shoes, Daddy work, Mama work, Thank you, You're Welcome, Bless You, I did it

Getting croup - not a positive addition to new activities, but we're very aware now of what this sounds like and how to get medicine quickly.

In other news, we went to the pediatrician this month and got official weights and measures.

Piper is 30 3/4 inches tall and weighs 22 lbs, 1 oz. Natalie is 31 1/4 inches tall and weighs 22 lbs, 8 oz.

This visit to the pediatrician was also our last visit that includes vaccinations until their 5 year appointment. How wonderful is that??

And, of course, one other thing to mention from this month, Robert and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.

On our way out to dinner at Tatsu's

18 months, or A Goof and a Half

2011-08-10T21:35:00.000-05:00

Silliness abounds in our house, as you'll see in some of the videos and pictures below.

Natalie modeling

Natalie & Piper - Stop! Or I'll throw a ball at you!

Piper & Natalie in grocery store bags

Natalie & Piper

The girls continue to amaze us and grow, physically, emotionally and mentally. Here are some of the new things we're doing:

Language

The girls are acquiring language at an increasing rate right now, and have even come up with some of their own signs. We're still using the Signing Time videos (I highly recommend them!), as there are some words that they just really aren't able to say yet, but do understand. Signing helps so much with avoiding frustration at home.

The girls say 'no' a lot of course, but also have begun to say 'yes'. They're really understanding so much more of what we're saying and starting to make their own decisions about what they want.

Play

Both girls are doing a lot more pretend play - "feeding" a baby doll, making toy animals run around, etc. It's a lot of fun to watch.

The girls are also into a 'monkey see monkey do' phase right now. It changes as to who's the leader though Piper's been more in control lately.

They love to chase and be chased and will burst into giggles while we're playing.

They're also playing together more now, rather than just playing next to each other.

One of our most amusing playtime moments of late - Piper chasing after Natalie yelling 'Share, share, share!' when she wanted a toy.

Here's a copying each other video:

Physical/Motor Skills

Both girls run, spin, clap, give high fives, and more. I sometimes wonder if they know how to sit still anymore. =) They do love to be read to though and will sit still for a while for that. Their current favorite book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom . Here's a short video of me reading it to them. They love the part where the letters fall out of the tree.

Identity

A twin thing that we have to work on that parents with only one baby may not - getting the girls to know their own name and who they are. Both want to be called Piper and will answer to it. We practice and work on names every day, making sure Piper knows she's Piper and Natalie knows she's Natalie. Just as our family does, the girls also get more confused when they're dressed alike.

Another video, just because it's really cute. Piper's wearing her cat towel so we wanted her to 'meow'.

In other news, we finally bought a new car, a minivan. Our friends may make fun of us for having one, but they'll be jealous when they see it.

And a few more pictures to share - there's been so many good ones lately it's hard to decide what to post and what not to.

Natalie Rose

Piper Violet

17 Months

2011-07-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

This past month saw us attending another wedding (Congratulations, Mindy & Jeff!), seeing lots of family, getting pictures taken, and shopping for cars. We also went to the swimming pool for the first time which the girls really enjoyed.

Piper & Natalie

New skills this month include getting much better at walking, learning lots of new signs and words (we're up to over 30 for both verbal and signed words), learning sounds animals make, and starting to learn our letters.

Learning animal sounds with Peek A Boo Barn on the iPad

The cutest video ever =)

Learning our ABCs

16 month post - And we're walking!

2011-06-13T09:38:00.001-05:00

Family Pic from the NICU Reunion - Dad, Natalie, Piper, Mom

Last Friday, the girls turned 16 months old. Lots of changes this month - the biggest of which is that both girls are finally walking! Piper started walking about a month ago and Natalie caught up to her about 2 weeks ago. Both are getting more sturdy and slowly moving towards walking more than crawling. Contrary to the popular opinion that this was going to make our lives harder, it's done the exact opposite. It is _so_ much easier not to have to carry two girls around all the time from level to level in the house! Going out in public with them is getting easier too. This weekend we took them out to dinner on Friday, to a baseball game on Saturday (our nephew was playing in town), and a BBQ on Saturday night. We were exhausted by the end of all this of course, but it is getting easier.

Another big change in our lives this month is that the girls switched daycares. They're now at the daycare at my work. The girls are adjusting great so far and they really like the new caregivers and routines. They haven't cried once when I've dropped them off in the mornings. I think the smooth transition is in part due to the good experiences we had at our old daycare.

A not so good change this month is the appearance of tempers and the fact that the girls are getting tired of sharing us. There's been a lot of pushing, stealing toys, and 'But Mom, she's touching me!' type of pushes/slaps. We're working on it.

Here are some more pictures from this month. Enjoy!

Piper

Natalie

Playing with our kitchen from the Andersons

Playing nice together

15 Months

2011-05-09T22:25:00.000-05:00

Hanging out in our new double jogging stroller

Happy 15 month birthday to our baby girls! It's been a busy month with me back at work full time, way too many doctors visits (daycare germs are evil!), and trying to balance it all both at work and at home!

New skills this month:

Piper can walk halfway across a room
New words include Piper, Natalie, Hippo
Daddy taught the girls to drink out of straws last Saturday
Both girls will now come up and sit in our laps if we're on the ground
They give each other kisses and sometimes give Mama kisses too
Both girls pretend to read books and talk a lot when doing so

Here's a clip so you can see just how verbal and silly the girls are:

Ringing the bells at Deanna Rose:

Playing together in the curtains:

A glimpse of what having twins is like. Lilliputian attacks!

Apparently a ride in the new stroller is enough to put two babies to sleep!

A belated 14 month post

2011-04-12T21:41:00.000-05:00

Finding the Tupperware

It's been a crazy and exhausting few weeks at our house! I started a new job last week, the girls started daycare, and the girls have gotten their first set of ear infections. Needless to say, none of us have been getting much sleep around here lately.

So, here's what's new in our lives this month:

We're still learning lots of new words. New ones this month are:

ball
peek-a-boo (or some part of this)
piggy

New signs:

eat
drink
cheese
nodding our head for yes
And 'no' by Piper. It's really hard not to laugh when she does this back at us when we tell her no.

Piper and Natalie still aren't walking but continue to be close. Piper actually took a step on her own last Monday. Both girls are getting better at using their walking toy from Uncle Mike and Aunt Brandy.

Other new skills this month include:

Imitation

Both girls pretend to talk on the phone either using our cell phones or the tv remotes.
Both girls attempt to brush their hair.

Pushing

I think they've picked this one up at daycare unfortunately. Have I mentioned that they like to have their way?

Learning more body parts

Both girls now also know where their tummies, eyes, mouths, toes and feet are now.

Here's hoping this second round of antibiotics works and we have a happier and healthier household soon!

Kitchen destruction by Piper!

Paper towel fun with Natalie!

Piper exploring toys with Daddy

Being Daddy's girls

Watching a piggy at Deanna Rose

It's Official!

2011-03-29T13:27:00.000-05:00

Natalie and Piper, 13 1/2 months

This post has been a long time in coming - about 21 months actually, or the amount of time since we found out we were having twins to today.

Before having twins, we never knew that there was a group of people that weren’t sure if their twins were identical or fraternal. We figured that people just knew right away and there wasn’t any question about it. Boy, were we wrong! People ask us all the time if the girls are identical and then just stare at us when we tell them we don’t know. Even other twin moms look at us funny.

So, for those of you that are clueless like we were, here’s an overview:

Fraternal twins = two eggs fertilized by two sperm, can be boy/boy, boy/girl, or girl/girl. They can look alike, because after all, siblings do usually look somewhat like each other. Two sacs, two placentas.

Identical twins = one egg fertilized by one sperm, can be boy/boy, boy/girl (I know this one is crazy, but it happens in very rare cases and there will be other genetic problems), girl/girl. One or two sacs, one or two placentas. Identical twins do not have to look exactly alike – they can have some minor differences from each other. They must have the same blood type.

I know in the past that many were told that their twins were identical if there was only one placenta and fraternal if there were two placentas. I’ve seen some studies where fraternal twins were tested and found out that they were actually identical. I’ve learned that there’s a 30% change of twins with two sacs and two placentas of being identical.

So, on to our girls….who had two sacs and two placentas, but have the same blood type and look a lot alike.

We finally had them tested this month and just got the results today.

And the answer?

Piper & Natalie sharing a swing

They're identical!

13 Months

2011-03-10T20:33:00.000-06:00

The girls are 13 months old today. Another month and more changes!

Here's an overview of what's new in our lives:

Eating

The girls are down to one bottle a day. The dropping of bottles has been a lot easier than I expected so far. It's bittersweet in some ways because it's one of the last things that still made them babies to me. Also, they're eating what we eat, mostly. It's amazing how much healthier Robert and I are being with food for ourselves too. If we wouldn't feed it to the girls, should we be eating it?

Mobility

We're not walking yet, but we're close. The girls can both stand on their own for short periods of time and can walk if we hold their hands. They're very fast crawlers and love for us to chase them. They're also climbers....

Language

Language has been a big thing for us this month. Piper and Natalie both sign 'more', 'milk' , and 'all done' and can point to things they want. They can both say 'cat'. Natalie has also said 'Daddy', 'more', 'birdie', and 'bye'. They're starting to follow simple directions, such as when I ask them to drink more water or milk. They're also learning body parts. They both know where their noses and ears are.

Emotionally

Stranger anxiety and being upset when I leave a room are showing up more and more. Both girls are starting to show their tempers when someone takes a toy away too. They're started to rock and pat their stuffed animals, which is very cute. They do have different personalities, but are both overall very happy girls.

Next month is going to be a busy and exciting month for all of us as I'll be going back to work and the girls will be in daycare part time. I'll let you know how we all adjust.

And of course, pictures from this month!

Natalie showing Gwen where her nose is

Piper in her kitty cat bath towel

Look how tall we're getting!

Piper

Natalie

First Birthday Pictures

2011-03-07T14:36:00.000-06:00

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from the girls' first birthday and their party. You can see all of them at our Shutterfly site. Enjoy!

Mom, Dad, Piper & Natalie

Strawberry cupcakes w/ strawberry cream cheese frosting. Yum!

Piper playing with tissue paper while Natalie wonders why her sister is so crazy

Piper enjoying her cupcake

Natalie enjoying her cupcake

Natalie and Piper showing off their birthday girl headbands

February

2011-02-28T09:26:00.000-06:00

What used to be a month with just one holiday has turned into a month of anniversaries for us, both good and bad. Anyone who's had a baby (or two) in the NICU will understand this.

February 10 - Our beautiful girls were born
February 14 - Robert and I came home from the hospital without the girls
February 14-28 - NICU visits and days spent at the hospital
February 28 - Coming home day!

I'm glad these days are behind us and so grateful for how far our girls have come in the past year.

Piper & Natalie, February 28, 2010

Piper & Natalie, February 28, 2011

525,600 minutes

2011-02-10T20:07:00.000-06:00

Piper

Natalie

One year ago today, Piper and Natalie were welcomed into our family. And what a crazy year it's been! Everyone tells you that having kids will change your life, but you never really understand until you're a parent yourself. So here are some of the changes, both the good and the bad:

Free time - This has all but disappeared from our busy schedule.
Dates and restaurants - What are these again?
Clean houses - Have you seen our living room lately?
Tolerance for bodily functions and yuck - One gets over an aversion to spit-up, poopy diapers, and smooshy foods pretty quickly. I can handle all of these now, as long as they're from my own kids.
Sleep - I actually get more sleep now than I have in years. 8 or 9 hours a night. And yes, you can all glare at me now. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins is a godsend.
Laughter - There is no better sound than Piper's or Natalie's giggles. Robert's great at making the girls burst into them. It's a great new noise to have in our house.
Multi-tasking - Multiple babies means constant juggling. We're pros now.
Growth - Watching the girls grow, mentally, physically and emotionally is amazing. I think we've all grown, individually and as a family this year.
Love - We've doubled the size of our family but have definitely more than doubled the love.

So, happy first birthday to our baby girls! We love you both very much.

Something to brighten up your snow day

2011-02-01T14:09:00.000-06:00

We keep telling people about how much the girls dance now but most of you haven't gotten to see this in action yet. Here's our proof:

Piper

Natalie

And a cute video of the girls taking a bath together. Piper's on the left and Natalie's on the right.

Common things heard at our home

2011-01-19T10:02:00.000-06:00

These are just a few of the things you'll hear me and Robert say during a typical day at our house:

Natalie, where are you going?
Stop grabbing your sister's eyelashes.
Piper, what did you put in your mouth?
Stop poking your sister in the eye.

From the girls we hear:

Mamamamama
Dadadadadada
At - they try to copy us saying cat
Screams

Mom and Piper

Have I mentioned we have a climber in Miss Natalie?

11 months

2011-01-10T14:37:00.000-06:00

Natalie and Piper standing in their cribs

1 month to go until our first birthday! It's amazing how much less I post on here now about the girls - it's hard to have time anymore when I'm chasing around 2 babies!

New skills this month:

Both girls can sit up on their own
Both girls are crawling - often in opposite directions =)
Natalie can pull to a stand and Piper's very close (and gets very frustrated!)
We're teaching both girls to walk and they're really starting to get the hang of it while holding onto our hands - at over 20 pounds each, I need them to start getting themselves around!
Dancing to the beat - they bounce their heads or wave their hands and arms to music now

What? Are we not supposed to be on the fireplace?

We're almost completely off of baby food and eat lots of new things. Favorite foods right now include:

Green beans
Peas
Bananas

Are we sure they're my kids?

Poor Piper's Hair - I didn't have time to dry it because Natalie was screaming and it turned out like this

All in all things are going well. They even had their first experience with snow today. We didn't go outside, but we did bring some snow inside for them to play with.

Snow!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T09:58:00.000-06:00

Natalie & Piper

Merry Christmas from the Tipton family! Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday!

10 Months!

2010-12-10T09:33:00.000-06:00

Piper in green, Natalie in blue

The girls are 10 months old today. They're no longer babies anymore - I can see the shift to toddlerhood happening before my eyes. They're developing their own personalities and can do a lot on their own now. They're very different from each other in social situations. Piper likes to sit back and observe everyone for a while before she warms up. Natalie's usually ready to see anyone. They're different from each other at home now too. Both are generally very happy and like to explore and take in the world around them. Piper's a bit more easy going though and Natalie screams when she doesn't get what she wants. It's so interesting watching them change and grow.

New skills this month include:

Standing with support
Pulling to a standing position
Army crawling

We've been trying lots of finger foods this month as we move off of all the pureed foods I've been making. Things we've tried this month are:

Lasagna
Cut-up pears and bananas
Graham crackers
Cut-up cooked veggies

We're looking forward to our first Christmas together. Watch for Christmas pictures soon!

Fighting over toys as usual

Dad - why are you taking my picture again?