TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETH!

And then there were TEETH!

Despite everyone claiming that every drool and gnaw was leading to teeth, we had managed to go 10 months without any baby teeth! Even Dr. Amy seemed a little surprised at their 9 month visit that neither C or G had a tooth. I really wasn't. My cousin Becky's children didn't get a tooth until 12-14 months, and Michael and I both teethed late. Supposedly,that stuff is genetic.

Anyway, when Gillian returned from her holiday weekend with her grandparents, I noticed a slit in her bottom gum with tiny tooth bumps poking through! We have a tooth! Several days later I noticed that her top gum was swollen and sore looking too, and, BINGO, we had tooth number two. Then I noticed the other top, front gum was looking like it was going to pop; but, no luck yet. Gillian really has done very well with teething. She's a little testy every once in a while, but in general has done very well. She will not, however, let us get a picture of her teeth.

What about Colin? Well, he says he will get a tooth when he darn well pleases, and not a moment sooner. (Really, his top gums are swollen and I would guess that we'll see a tooth in the next few weeks)

Duck... Duck... Goose!

Allegheny County South Park, which is embedded in the township of South Park has a little menagerie where they have some deer (there are far more deer outside the fence than there are inside), some ducks and geese, and (for some reason) buffalo. I really have no idea why there are buffalo there, but there are. Anyway, we thought that it would be fun to take C & G to see the buffalo, so we piled in the car and drove over.

The first thing you encounter upon arriving at the wildlife enclosure is a small pond filled with ducks, geese, and turtles.

The kids thought that it was pretty awesome. Gillian wanted to go over the rail to get at the fowl.

Alas the buffalo were inconveniently far away and the kids were unable to see them. They had to settle for pictures with their mom and dad.

The Penn State Family!

With the start of the college football season, it was time to break out the Penn State apparel. Grammy and Grandpa Uhl had been kind enough to purchase new Penn State outfits for Colin and Gillian. C-man's is a little PSU sweat suit with a matching onesie (shown here sans hoodie).


Gillian, who was too cute for words, got a miniature Penn State cheerleader's uniform! A turtle neck onesie and a cheerleader jumper...


The Bean decided to be very photogenic and cooperative in her outfit, so we even got a "Touchdown - Penn State!" picture (though we may have asked "How Big is Gillian?!" before hand).

Since we couldn't let the kids be the only ones dressed for the game, Lea and I had to put on our PSU gear too. We tried to take a family portrait, though I fear that it didn't turn out too well.

I don't know if it was Bean's cheering, or Colin's, but JoePa and the team did well, so there was much rejoicing!

Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go!

Well football fans, it's the best time of the year. The nights are crisp, the days are cooler, the leaves are just beginning to turn, and, smell that? Why yes, it's FOOTBALL! I am, by far, the bigger football fan in our house (excepting Penn State), so I was the one seeking out celebratory wear for Colin and Gillian! Last Thursday they donned their new Steeler shirts for game day, although they were in bed before kickoff! Here we go Steelers, here we go!

Sweet Freedom!

One of Michael's co-workers got married over Labor Day weekend, and it was a VERY cool event, so we were pretty excited to be invited. I had asked my mom and Greg to watch the babies for us so we could go to the wedding, and somehow my mom ended up talking me into sending C&G to her house for two days! So, on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, we had the extended Uhl family at our house for lunch, and then we sent the kiddos up north with Grammy and Grandpa Uhl. I will admit, there were some tears on my part!

Well, Colin and Gillian spent a few hours with Grammy and Grandpa at their house. They had some supper and played with Jessica and Joe. Apparently, there was much fun to be had by all, as Jess and Joe used some little riding toys to have races with the babies! Grammy has some pictures but I don't have them handy to post.

Colin and Gillian were delivered to Grandma RoRo and Grandpa Greg's house for bath and bedtime. They had a great day on Sunday too! They went to church with Grandma and Grandpa, and they were very well behaved, I hear. Then they spent the afternoon and evening visiting with Uncle Stevie and Aunt Emily. I am sure there are pictures of these events as well, but I don't have them! Monday morning, Colin was up early and wanted to come home!!

In the meantime.....Michael and I were enjoying the heck out of ourselves. Well, I was anyway. Michael spent a large portion of Saturday and Sunday powerwashing and sealing the deck! I went to Target and TOOK MY TIME shopping! I also ran a few more errands without worrying about naps or bottles! We also took the opportunity to go see a movie. We saw "500 Days of Summer," and we highly recommend it! On Sunday morning we slept in a little and then went out to breakfast. I love going out for breakfast and it's just something that we don't get to do anymore, so it was a special treat.

The aforementioned wedding was Sunday evening! Why were we so excited, you may ask. Well, because the reception was held at the PPG Aquarium! After the zoo was closed for the day, the zoo staff set up tables, a dance floor, bars, and buffet line all on the main floor of the aquarium, and the wedding guests had the place all to themselves! If you have ever been to the aquarium, you will know exactly how crowded it gets in there! It was so cool to take your time and look at everything for as long as you wanted.

A picture of Al, Maria, and me waiting for the shuttle from the gate to the aquarium.


For me, the best part was the penguins! Did you know that the sound from their enclosure is piped into the viewing area? NO? That's because it's always so loud in there! It was fun to hear them squawking and splashing!

By the time we left around 11:00, they were all settled down and sleeping for the night! Good night penguins!

The big grouper fish pictured at the top of the post lives in the two story tall shark tank. He amused most of the wedding guests all evening by just hanging out at eye level and STARING at everyone. He had an especially keen eye for the young lady serving the fish in the buffet line!

We were very happy to see Colin and Gillian on Monday morning! They seemed to enjoy their little independent vacation, and Michael and I enjoyed a few, brief days of refound freedom!

SOOOOO Big!

Yet another video, I know, I know! I have MANY posts to catch up with and they all have still pictures, but this is the easiest and fastest to post! More soon!

The kiddos have learned "So Big!" And, they now have an extreme interest in the camera, as you can see!

Got it!

We finally managed to convince Colin to walk on camera! It is not a very good video at all, but it is PROOF that the boy does walk. Also funny: you can see Bean's feet and head bopping around Michael's knee at the very end of the little video. You can't have one without the other!

Good job Colin! We are so proud of you!

Dancing Queen!

Gillian has discovered that she loves to dance! She especially loves the first song on the "Playful Baby" CD. I finally got a video of her shaking her groove thing....



You can again see how helpful Schmo is.

Lunchtime Laughs

I'm not sure how this hilarity started, but Colin and Gillian were cracking themselves up at lunch yesterday. Colin especially thought his sister was pretty dang funny. As you can see, Gillian is covered in yogurt and her tray is full of water (not sure how she always gets water out of her sippy like that). Goofy kids.