2/3 of the way there!

We have been saying when the babies reach one year we will have made it. Well this week we reached 8 months so we are 2/3 of the way there. It is hard to believe. Each of the triplet's personalities are distinct and they are just dying to get up and go, more so than I remember Alexander being motivated to move at that age. That's probably due to the fact that they see him running around and they want to join him. Life was much slower back then, with one baby and a much quieter household. With one child nights seemed slower and more peaceful playing with Alexander. Now it is so fast paced and chaotic, we have to always be on our game.

At 26 months, ALEXANDER has definitely hit the "terrible two's" but it is more like the "trying two's." It's not exactly terrible but there are some moments where it seems like he is just trying us and pushing us to our limits to get a rise out of us. I can't figure out if its a response to sharing attention with the babies or his age. In any case, those times are still fewer than the good ones. When he is behaving, it is such a joy to hang out with him. He talks in full sentences and is very helpful, helping with the babies' bath time or taking out trash. We have conversations and he really understands them. It is harder to pull one over on him now too; we can't distract him from doing something we don't want to do with a simple command. He wants to know "why?" or "what's that?" He is definitely momma's boy though, every night he has gotten into this habit of asking me to rub his back. I usually give in because I know how good it feels and I know there will come a day when he won't ask anymore. He is still an excellent eater, you can definitely tell by his size that he doesn't miss too many meals. :)

At 8 months, BENJAMIN is such a loving boy with a chubby face and mouth full of crooked teeth. He is by far the heaviest little guy but also a real softie. He loves to dance and be thrown up in the air. Benjamin has a little stubborn streak in him though, he will straighen his body out instantly when he is not liking what is going on, which sometimes means he bumps his head on whatever is behind him. When he's done eating too, he is seriously done eating and he will let you know. He loves kisses and will break out into laughter that makes you laugh too.

At 8 months, THEODORE is the closest to crawling. He can get around by kind of dragging himself, a little like an army crawl. He still has punk rock hair that sticks straight up like Alexander's did. He has the least amount of teeth, right now he is stuck at two bottom teeth, and 1 1/2 trying to come out up top. Theodore is definitely our most sensitive boy. He doesn't like being tossed around like the other two and he holds very tight when you are holding him. He is also the only one that seems very nervous about Alexander. The other two just adore Alexander and watch his every move. Theodore definitely shows fear that he might be crushed by the big brother monster! But Theodore is not all innocent - he is infamous for stealing the other guys' toys. They look at me as if to ask "what are you going to do about him, mom?!"

At 8 months, WINSTON has the biggest smile with 6 big teeth and is still the leanest of the three. He also holds tight when you hold him and he is always trying to find a way to stand up. He has been showing this serious face lately. It's not sad or angry, just very serious and thoughtful about everything going on around him. He also likes to dance and spin around. Winston doesn't laugh very often, but when he does you know you are special and that he loves you.

All 3 babies will be crawling in no time. I find them all rocking on their fours and then splat! They are all great eaters and sleepers, too. We are especially lucky for both of those things. They also all have great motor skills, some better at some things than others. All are babbling and all of them try to pull up on me and when they all do at the same time, it's a funny sight. They are all definitely momma's boys. Yesterday we introduced cups and finger foods. They have no idea what to do with either.

My Easter Bunnies

Easter morning!

 Easter was fun this year but busy as usual! My little easter bunnies got lots of new toys and in return I made them put on these ridiculous little bunny masks. They were on for about 45 seconds so I'm shocked we got a few pictures of them. Alexander had a few pieces of candy in the morning and crashed pretty hard in no time at all. He recovered in the afternoon for some easter egg hunting with G-Ma (which we had to do twice because finding eggs once just didn't cut it). We found ourselves saying, "Well next year it is REALLY going to be interesting with 4 boys dyeing eggs, 4 boys running around looking for them, etc." But let's face it, we are in pretty interesting times now so we have to remind ourselves to stop and enjoy them now.

Strategy session with G-Ma during egg hunt



Our family

Hoppy little boys! :)



Spring Break

This is long overdue but last week Alexander's nanny was out of town for the week so the ranch dwellers (Nate, "nama"- my mom, and myself) all took off days of work to spend with his majesty. I had two days with him and lucked out with gorgeous weather. We spent one day at the zoo and had a fancy lunch at the Crown & Goose with Uncle Jeffrey. The next day we went to Concord Park and played in the sand and lakeshore; then we slummed it at McDonalds. Sidebar: I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the clean and pleasant dining room at the Mickey D's. I admit I haven't been inside of one in years and was surprised to see people of all ages and professions dining there. Good for them.


Lunch at McDonald's


Back to A and I's days together -- We had a blast. The only tantrums were because he didn't want to stop playing to eat, take a nap, etc. In a perfect world, I would love to work part-time and spend a couple of days with the boys every week but that is not a reality any time soon. I still need and want to work, but it is nice to have days off to do fun things. The weekends always seem packed with family stuff and getting ready for the next week.



We also had time outside with the boys this past week. We tried to pull them in the wagon but that lasted for about 90 seconds. There's not that much flat space in the driveway so they easily toppled over on each other in any direction we pulled them. So I took them out and they were happy playing on a mat outside.

In the wagon, they are doubting my competence right now



Relieved to be off the wagon



Benjamin

Winston

Theodore

Play time for boys (rest for mommy!)

We had a great weekend celebrating my mom's birthday. She had all her kids and grandbabies there and we had brunch catered from Mimi's. Even a few brave souls ventured out into the pool. According to Nate it was "freezing" which if you know Nate, it must've been pretty dang cold for him to say that. Alexander had a meltdown when we made him get out to go take a nap. I swear he was a fish in his former life.

Since the triplets began sitting up, we have actually rediscovered something: it's called REST. Especially when all 4 boys play together, it gives us a chance to just sit back and watch. That is until someone bops their head on something or starts fighting over a toy. But until then, they are learning to entertain themselves. I honestly can't wait until they are mobile so they can fetch their own toys and change the scenery themselves. I know that creates a whole other set of issues but we just need to become baby proofing ninjas and we'll be fine!


Everyone playing nice together! (for now...)

Mom followed up the weekend by spending the day with Alexander today. His nanny is on vacation for the week so we are all taking days with him. Today I came home and they were making an apple pie. They had a great day. Grandma (aka, Nama) reported that they were at the park today and Alexander not only identified a girl, but a "pretty girl." Oh my. He also made a special request for Wendy's for lunch and Nama gave in! I can't wait for the next 2 days I get with the little guy. Tomorrow's agenda = ZOO!



Mommy of 4 Moment

Dinners at the ranch are pretty "active" (aka, stressful and loud). After we feed the babies in their highchairs, we get Alexander up to the plate with his dinner, while trying to keep the babies entertained with toys at their highchairs, picking up toys when they crash to the floor, and trying to inhale our food as fast as we can. The other night after a particularly crazy dinner time, Alexander wanted to get down from the table, put on his shoes and go play outside in the amazing weather. With a baby in my arm and adults and dogs whizzing around trying to clear off the table, I find Alexander's shoes and put them on him. He runs off and then I hear Papi yell out to me, "Prinny, his shoes are on the wrong feet!" Whoops.

Alexander's shoes on the wrong feet

 It was pretty funny. I had to document the "mommy of 4 moment."

Speaking of feet, yesterday morning the triplets were all chowing down on their bottles, playing footside with each other. It was pretty sweet.

Boys playing footsie and holding their own bottles - at 7 months

Another breakthrough!

It was a week and a half ago that I removed Winston's meds from our daily routine and he has been doing great! I was so hesitant to stop the medicine and then to declare it a success, hence the week of waiting and watching. But everything has worked out and now I have 3 babies who all are on Advanced Similac formula (the regular stuff, no sensitive, no alimentum, nada!) and none are on meds, none have cereal in bottles!! I am inclined to attribute these breakthroughs to the cranio sacral therapy because it was only after we started therapy that these changes began to happen. Nate is still super skeptical and thinks this is all coincidence. All I know is they are better and that's what matters! While I cannot with 100% certainty give all credit to the cranio sacral therapy because I just don't know, I would highly recommend it to other mothers and I have already. There is nothing to lose and in my opinion, it works.
An update on my boys: the little ones are 7 months old and all sitting up. They love me singing and reading to them, and are starting to fight for toys already amongst themselves. Alexander is starting to interact with them more and they are just captivated by him. Today cousin Oliver visited and the two big cousins ran around having a great old time. I could tell the babies, especially Winston, really wanted to get up and go play chase with them. I kept telling them, "someday soon enough!" Winston has 5 big teeth and a huge wide smile. Benjamin has two bottom ones and two "I" teeth as my grandma calls them, which are the teeth beside the two top teeth -weird I know! It's going to look like he has lost his two front teeth already! Theodore finally got two bottom teeth this week- he is still a mouth full of gums and has his bashful big smile.
As soon as I can get my stupid camera to work, I'll post some new pics!

Turning 2

Sometimes I think it's too bad that Alexander more than likely will not "remember" his life right now. For the most part, he has it made: grandparents and caregivers around the clock lined up to meet his emotional, physical, and mental needs; parents (or mommy atleast) who probably over-compensate (when it's physically possible) with attention because they feel guilty that he instantly had to share EVERYTHING with 3 needy little human beings. But, I guess there are reasons why our minds block certain things out early in life, like turning 2. Your appetite starts to wane (unless sweets are involved), no one seems to understand that everything is about "me!", you have to start doing your business in a weird chair with a hole, and your parents throw you an overwhelming birthday party that you didn't ask for and invite people you don't know and their kids of all ages (and then say "No gifts please!). Alexander just turned 2 and had to endure (poor kid, I know) all of those things. His birthday party at an inflatable bouncy/slide place was fun but sometimes a little too much for Alexander because he left the room a couple of times opting for some relative peace and quiet for a few minutes. The triplets were great and no one had a melt down but we probably could have gone without a big party this year. I guess the 2 yr old party is more for the parents. I enjoyed getting out of the house with the whole clan and enjoyed seeing friends, although the entire morning was a blur. All in all, Alexander had a great birthday - getting to eat cake on his birthday morning for breakfast (made by nama- my mom's title), few presents (including an awesome train table), time with his Grandpa D and Rose from Houston, and time with some other buddies, namely cousin Oliver. Even though he won't remember exactly what he did and where he went on his birthday, he will remember he was loved.

I have pictures to share but something is wrong with my camera.... Will add later.