3.10.12: Breakfast with friends

Today we went to a fantastic breakfast with friends.  Not only were Nicole, Dan and Peter there, but we also spent time with some of our favorite storybook characters (Curious George, Madeline, Clifford, Llama Llama, Mouse Cookie) as well as some characters we didn't know (alligator, pink bear, Biscuit the dog).  Daphne (blue) and Stella (pink) had a great time giving hugs to everyone, Fiona (purple) not so much into the hugging.

We have seen Curious George before, but never the man with the yellow hat.

Daphne and Stella were really excited about this mouse's purple purse.

What's notable in this picture?  Fiona is (willingly) hugging the dog, but we have never read a Biscuit book.  Apparently she just likes dogs.

Daphne modeling her alligator hat for Dan.

This was Fiona's response when I asked her to put on her alligator hat....Are you talking to me?  

Stella and Daddy sharing some fruit. Oh my little Stella loves her fruit.

After our exciting breakfast we went outside to enjoy the festival.  There was even a place to color your own book bag.  After coloring the girls insisted upon wearing them just like we wear our messenger/diaper bag.  Here they were watching a band rehearse - enjoying the drums and keyboard.

We had a fantastic day which ended up with some very exhausted but happy girls.

3.3.12: Stellaluna

Today we went to meet Stellaluna at a local bookstore.  The girls (fiona/purple, stella/pink, daphne/green) were really excited as Stellaluna has been a favorite book of theirs for quite some time.  

So imagine their surprise when they got to meet a real bat in addition to Stellaluna.  They even got to watch the bat eat mealworms.  Overall a very memorable day.

3.2.12: Bye bye big girl beds

After several weeks of increasingly frequent visits in the middle of the night, total resistance to nap time (leading to evening crankiness) and overall chaos while Brant was traveling we had to make a change or I was going to lose my mind. We were getting up so many times during the night it felt like we had newborns again. Needless to say we decided that sanity ruled over freedom and the girls are back in their cribs with crib tents.  Thankfully they actually like their cribs and crib tents so there was little resistance when the big girl beds were converted back.

I remember reading in a parenting book how expectant parents always say 'I will never...' and once you become a parent you learn never to say never.  I was hoping to transition to toddler beds by three, but after this trial we are going to take it slow.  Perhaps when they can disassemble their own crib we will try the transition again.

2.23.12: Pet Rock

I'm really not sure where this came from (book, tv show, or another kid) but somehow today Daphne decided that she needed a pet rock while we were leaving the library.  Sure enough after our next departure from the park, everyone needed to bring home a pet rock.  These rocks ride in the front of the car with me but as soon as the girls are free from their car seats the rocks are whisked away and carried around until the next meal.  Oddly everyone seems to agree on the owner of a given rock, which is great because I paid no attention during the accumulation.  I have no idea how long this obsession will last but I suppose this is better than pet scorpions.

2.20.12: Banana Slug

We had so much fun while Debbie was visiting (stella/pink, daphne/blue, fiona/purple).  We went on a hike and showed her THE river.  We even tried to feed the fish in said river but turns out fish are not cannibals and therefore do not enjoy goldfish crackers.  Next time we bring bread.

(top to bottom: debbie, fiona, daphne, stella)

While Debbie was entertaining the girls one evening I was even able to cook while the girls were awake - a novelty in this household unless the television is on.  The girls helped to make their own pizza by sprinkling on the cheese (fiona/white, daphne/blue, stella/pink).  We then all sat down for family dinner, another novelty but something we are trying to work on.

On a trip home from the children's museum, the girls discovered that Debbie had a whole repertoire of songs they hadn't heard before. Upon this discovery the rest of our drive home and all subsequent drives were filled with Debbie patiently singing the same songs over and over again (their favorite was Banana Slug).  The girls were very sad to have her go, but sure enjoyed the enthusiasm (and new songs) she brought to our home.

2.18.12: Stella's big girl bed

Today Stella got to sleep in her big girl bed.  She has stayed dry during nap and overnight for a while now and was more than excited to have a big girl bed.  We are really hoping this change will help to motivate Daphne to stay dry at least during naps.

In a moment of adorableness, Stella found the letters on her crib and read them out loud, 'G-R-A-C-O, hey that's not my name'.  She was pretty distraught that her bed would have someone else's name on it, but once we pointed out that the sign over her bed had her name on it she seemed more accepting.

2.14.12: Happy Valentine's Day

The girls started the day by making some Valentine's Day cards.  Stella, Fiona and Daphne had a fantastic time decorating these hearts with stickers and coloring the backside.  They were modeling with their creations so they could wish all their friends and family a virtual Happy Valentine's Day.

2.11.12: Fiona's big girl bed

(left to right: stella, fiona, daphne taking their dolls to the doctor)

Tonight we took off the front of Fiona's bed (yes, only Fiona's - we are approaching this process one toddler at a time) and moved her mattress from the floor to her 'big girl bed'.  She has done great staying on her mattress the past couple of days even with the coaxing of her sisters to give them new books, toys, etc.  We were able to push Fiona's bed perpendicular to Daphne's crib which created a rail for about half of her bed. This gives her the ability to get in and out of her bed but hopefully prevents too many falls during the night.

The girls love playing on Fiona's bed and she seems to tolerate the additional guests during awake times.  We have told the girls that Fiona got a big girl bed because she is completely potty trained (even though it was really her crib tent demolition).  Regardless, we are hoping it will motivate everyone to stay dry all day and night.......or perhaps destroy their crib tents if they ever figure out our real motivation for the change.

(left to right: stella, fiona, daphne reading to their dolls after their doctor appointment.  The girls were actually repeating the words from the books they have memorized.)

2.9.12: Are you curious?

(left to right: fiona, stella, daphne - wearing the George mask she colored)

Today the local mall had Curious George coming to meet and greet kids.  The girls love Curious George. We have lots of books, plush Georges and yes, it is one of the television shows that the girls are allowed to watch.  Needless to say, we had to go!  The girls had been telling Brant and I for days they were going to give George a hug and Fiona told us 'I'm going to ask George if he is curious' (yes she came up with that all on her own).

The girls and I arrived at the mall unsure of the environment and preparing for chaos.  After some confusion, it turned out we had to sit through two books, two songs and a whole lot of waiting just to give Curious George a hug.  The wait wasn't bad it was the anxiety from all the kids continuously looking for their favorite character while someone painstakingly read books that were unrelated.

Upon completion of the mock story time in the food court a race broke out for a new line in order to meet George.  If you know my family you know I have been well trained in Black Friday shopping. This time was a little different because I had the kids, but thankfully they took my lead and we were tenth in line - success!  We finally get our turn and Daphne and Stella raced to give George a hug, Fiona....wouldn't let go of my leg.  Pictures of the hug were a blur as I was wrangling someone, holding Fiona and trying to take a picture of the child who was hugging George.  Perhaps I will never be a sports photographer.  Thankfully I had a picture of the girls waiting for story time to start.

Tonight we caved at our attempts for a temporary fix to Fiona's crib and decided just to put her mattress on the floor.  We'll see where she ends up in the morning.  Daphne and Stella are still in their cribs so at least we only have to keep track of one roaming toddler this evening.

2.5.12: Free Fiona

Today we had our first party in our new house, a Super Bowl party. We had ~30 people over (1/3 of them under 5) and our new house held up really well.  The girls did even better.  They shared their toys with the other kids, interacted with the adults, and were overall amazing (even past their bedtime).

People began arriving during the girls' nap time.  Fiona must have been anxious to see everyone because she destroyed the zipper on her crib tent.  I don't know how she did it, those crib tents have been extremely well tested during the six months that we've had them. Somehow today was the day she managed to break it and she did so beyond repair.  Thankfully when she finally got to bed she was so exhausted from the party she went straight to sleep, buying us additional time to ponder our sleeping strategy.