1.11.11: Nineteen months old

Today the girls (fiona/pink, daphne/blue, stella/brown) are officially closer to two than one...that is a very hard thought to process. This month we went on our first major road trip which went amazingly well. The girls continue to pick up new words everyday and love to play with all of their new toys from santa. I'm saving some of the toys for those longer rainy days and planning to phase them in gradually. Books are still the preferred source of entertainment. They love getting read to and pointing at the different pictures. They have learned most of the animal noises, the ones I know at least (what sound does a zebra make anyway?) We have finally begun eating with a spoon. It is still a very messy process, so we have only done self feeding of oatmeal thus far. We continue to get out of the house at least a couple days a week (even though our preschool is on winter break). The girls are happy as ever and continue to surprise us with their understanding and motor skills.

1.4.11: Destruction

I thought it would be entertaining to capture a 'before' and 'after' picture of our living room (especially now that we have a new bookshelf and kitchen from christmas).


While playing the girls managed to take all the books off the shelves, pull out all the drawers in the kitchen, and spread out all their toys nicely throughout the living room. Oh yeah, and it all took only ten minutes!


(fiona/pink, stella/brown, daphne/blue)

12.29.10: Great Great

(left to right: daphne, stella, brant, fiona)

Somehow Brant got all three girls onto his lap by himself and kept them entertained by reading a book. Since I wasn't needed, it seemed like the perfect photo-op. Notice that Daphne is wearing her new tutu that Auntie Kelly made her for Christmas.


(back: rob, kelly, brant, fiona, grandy, kelly boy)
(front: daphne, dolores, vince, stella, kari)

Today the girls met their Great Great Uncle Vince and Great Great Aunt Dolores. The whole family was able to have brunch at Grandy's house. I think it was ~7 years ago (at our wedding) that I last saw them, way too long.


(left to right: stella, fiona, and daphne)

The girls escaped to Grandy's bathroom and REALLY wanted a bath...they always want a bath. They were patiently waiting (even long enough to capture a picture) hoping we would give them a bath. Later that night, we did - phew!

12.27.10: Where is the campfire?

(left to right: stella, fiona, daphne)

The girls really enjoyed their new camping chairs in Grandy's living room. Doesn't it seem like something is missing in this picture. Oh yes, the campfire. We are way too young to be trusted to sit on our own near a fire. For now, we will just pretend there is a fire in Grandy's living room. Maybe next time we will try the real fire pit - but no promises.

12.26.10: Arizona reunion

(left to right: dan/peter, nicole/daphne, kari/fiona, brant/stella)

Just hours after Nicole and Peter joined Dan at their new home in Tucson, they bravely embarked on a road trip of their own to visit us at Grandy's house. We had a wonderful day with them that went by way too fast. The last time we saw Peter was when he was the girls' age. He is so smart and communicative - it is very encouraging. Who knew years ago when we left Chicago that we would all be reuniting in Arizona?

12.25.10: Fish and bubbles

(left to right: grandy, stella, daphne, kelly boy, fiona and brant)

Although the girls are not a big fan of getting near santa, they learned how to say 'ho, ho, ho' whenever they saw a picture of santa. Thanks to all the decorations at Grandy's house they had plenty of opportunity to practice. The morning began with some more presents from santa, family and friends and ended up with a trip to the zoo/aquarium. This was their first time to an aquarium and the girls really enjoyed all the fish and bubbles - two of our favorite words these days.

12.24.10: Coloring and swings...

what more can three girls want for christmas eve? The girls received their first coloring books, but oddly preferred to color on the blank pages. Way to refuse boundaries on your creativity girls! (left to right: grandy, stella, fiona, daphne)


After some coloring, a good nap, and some present opening we headed for a nearby park to enjoy the swings and sunshine.


(left to right: stella, grandy and fiona)


(brant and daphne - who is enjoying my sunglasses)

12.22.10: Road trip

Today was our first official road trip. Having no idea what to expect or how many stops we'd have to make, we were very pleasantly surprised. The girls did great! We began our six hour drive to Grandy's house just before the morning nap. We drove four straight hours, stopped for lunch, and then continued on another 2 hours. I think I was more antsy than the girls. We arrived happy and full of energy at Grandy's house in the early afternoon. Dare we be so lucky for a wonderful drive home too? Only time will tell. We were just thankful there was no screaming. In fact, I think they were quieter for the drive than they are most nights.

12.21.10: Nice to meet you

(left to right: fiona, evan, stella, melissa, daphne)

While Evan and Melissa were here visiting for a couple days, the girls took full advantage of their new entertainment (especially since we were stuck inside the whole time due to all the rain). Not only did the girls enjoy new interpretations of their favorite books and finding their elbows and cheeks, but they also learned to shake hands. The most adorable of course is shaking hands. They run up to you, giggle, and stick out their hands. Then you shake their hand and say 'nice to meet you'. There is more giggling and then they run to the next adult to repeat. This goes on for at least five minutes....perfect for a rainy day.

12.15.10: Weigh-in

Today we went for our 18 month checkup. The girls did great and thankfully no shots. The exciting news is how much everyone weighs:

Fiona: 22lbs 9oz (~25th percentile)
Daphne: 25lbs 8oz (~70th percentile)
Stella: 22lbs (~20th percentile)

Yes, that's right. Fiona and Stella are STILL less than a pound apart while Daphne continues to increase her lead on both of them. I swear they are all offered the same food. Everyone is at least 32 inches tall ( >50th percentile). I seriously question the length measurement due to technique. Laying a squirmy baby on a bed while holding down a limb and drawing a line is bad enough...but once you get three kids on the same wrinkled paper with multiple lines, well I'm just not so sure about the accuracy. Regardless, they are growing and that is the most important. We left with a goal of transitioning to 'real' meals and eating with utensils. I will definitely avoid those until the new year. That's right, I'm pulling out the triplet card one more time :)