7.25.10: Garden paradise

Well we did it. We finally opened the boxes from our new car seats to discover a 'garden paradise'. The pattern isn't a bad as we feared and actually coordinates with our tan interior reasonably well. Brant installed all the new seats into the car today. Since these car seats are advertised to 'fit three across most cars' we assumed they would be spacious compared to our prior infant carriers (which BARELY fit in our Civic). Turns out the fit across is almost exactly the same - very tight. In fact, since the girls are rear facing, we actually had to move the front seats up even further to accommodate the taller seats. The important thing is that the seats fit!

BEFORE:

(left to right: stella, daphne, fiona)

AFTER:

(left to right: fiona, stella, daphne)

We took this opportunity to eliminate binkies in the car. Now the only place the girls get binkies is in bed. Of course, I always have some on hand - just in case - but the girls don't need to know that. We also tried peanut butter and jelly for the first time. Everybody really enjoyed this new treat (and thankfully no peanut allergies!)

7.23.10: Water everywhere

(daphne green, fiona pink, stella yellow)

Today we adventured over to Heather's house for a backyard play date. The boys got a fancy new sand and water table making their backyard even more amazing. The girls had a great time splashing the water (especially Stella) but weren't super into the sand side. Perhaps because the boys were too busy trying to haul the sand to various places in their yard. Once Fiona made sure to soak up as much water from the baby pool into her diaper as humanly possible, we changed and then headed home (4lbs diaper and all).


(left to right: fiona, daphne, stella)

Tonight was our first group bath. Brant doing all the bathing work (as usual) I was the entertainment. Okay, I didn't really do too much but the pre- and post- bath rituals. The girls did pretty well. Stella was showing off her new splashing skills acquired earlier that day. Daphne wasn't so sure she wanted to stay in the bath. Meanwhile Fiona was thrilled to have a book that she was allowed to eat.

7.22.10: Long lunch

Brant was able to take a long lunch today so we had an impromptu zoo adventure. It went really well. I'm not sure the girls really appreciate the variety of animals just yet, but hopefully soon. Of course, since most animals live in a habitat to which they blend in, it makes it difficult for young eyes to spot the animal. Clearly we need more practice (and trips to the zoo).

We also adventured to the park today. While this is nothing new, my neighbor added a twist to this adventure. She decided that we should have the girls (and her son) play on the playground. Ahh, I was overwhelmed. The girls all went in different directions and insisted upon eating the wood chips on the ground. With her help we managed ok, both taking on two kids. We go to the park a lot, but not too often to a playground without a fence and lots of other kids. After hogging the swings for a good fifteen minutes, I caved to the looks of the impatient parents waiting and tried to remove the girls from the swings. Daphne and Stella were happy to find other things to play with but Fiona was not happy. She just cried and pointed to the swings. I sat her in the wood chips hoping that she would get tired of just crying and want to play with her sisters, but no. Turns out she is very persistent. I even tried turning her away from the swings and she would turn back to the swings and continue to point and cry. Thankfully Brant met us at the park after work and between the three adults we were able to distract her. Mental note, be prepared for crying upon removing Fiona from the swings.

7.19.10: I want to lick you

Picture this: Fiona fell over and is laying on her back (probably from Daphne pushing her down). Daphne is squatting down looking at her (why are you laying on the ground?). Fiona points (Fiona loves to point). Daphne licks (Daphne loves to lick). Then IT happens. I hear lots of giggles. Giggles from both Fiona and Daphne. I look over and see that Daphne is sucking on Fiona's finger and they are both hysterically giggling. Of course I was way too slow to get a picture, but hopefully you can envision the adorableness - it was almost unbearable.

7.17.10: Riding 'big girl' style

fiona riding in a cart for the first time

Yesterday we tried to skip the daily walk and just entertain the girls in the evening before dinner time. After about 15 minutes, I remembered very quickly why we all go on daily walks. There was no going back, we stuck it out at home until dinner. I must admit, Brant and I were exhausted from all the entertaining we had to do to keep everyone happy during this 'peak' time for the girls. What can I say, the girls REALLY like their walks.

So today we decided for our daily walk, we would adventure to Target. This time with a twist! We decided to carry two of the girls (wrap + bjorn) and then put the third in the shopping cart. That's right. We have triplets and we were rolling strollerless. We decided Fiona was the best candidate for the cart. Stella has been in a super cuddly/clingy mood lately so we didn't think she would tolerate being in the cart too well. Daphne still loves to lick everything and wiggle, making her a poor candidate for the cart as well. Fiona, our studious baby was the first to encounter the shopping cart. She did really well. She kept trying to turn around to see where we were going, clearly used to a forward facing stroller. She had no interest in looking at her parents pushing the cart/her. Overall our strollerless adventure was a success.

7.16.10: Summer is here

Wow, the weather has been HOT! So hot, we broke out the 12 month sized clothes a little early (hence the sagging shorts below). We haven't been able to go on our daily walks because it has been so hot. Yesterday we went to Target for our daily walk. Yes, that's right, Target. I loaded the girls in the stroller, then the car, then the stroller, then we walked around Target, then the car, then the stroller and back into the house. Yes, I was THAT desperate to get out of the house. It was definitely worth it to get out and utilize the free air conditioning in Target. Of course the girls always enjoy looking at the bright toys and crazy people.


stella prefers to carry her sippy cup around with her rather than drink from it.


fiona likes to play peek-a-boo by opening/closing the door.


daphne doing her daily tongue exercises.

7.11.10: Thirteen months old

(left to right: fiona, daphne, stella)
note: the monthly group photo is getting more and more difficult to capture as the girls get older/more mobile. We may have to move to individual monthly photos in the very near future.

Teeth, oh boy do we have teeth. Everybody has the front four on the top and bottom. In the past month, we have working on molars (yes, molars!). Stella and Fiona have two molars all the way through and are working on the third. Daphne is working on three but none are completely through just yet. That makes for a grand total of 33 teeth in process (4 top front, 4 bottom front, 3 molars x3).

Everyone is walking and nearly running. The girls love to crawl up the stairs at night. Currently, the girls seem happiest after dinner and before going to bed during 'naked time'. They typically run circles around their bedroom and giggle. Most often they fall to the floor because they get so tired they can't run correctly. When this happens, usually they just get back up and continue to try to run (in a continued effort to avoid drinking their bottles).

We are still napping twice daily for two hours although there seems to be some chatting going on during the morning nap. We try to stay pretty busy and have play dates at least twice a week. I make an effort to get out of the house at least three days a week in addition to our daily walks.

Daphne is the best communicator/signer, but everyone understands several words now: up, down, this, dada, maaaam, in, out, ding dong, ball.

We are slowly getting more adventurous with our food. One night we all had a quesadilla for dinner. Yes, that's right - the whole family ate the same thing. We will continue to work on more family meals. Brant and I eat dinner after the girls go to bed so this will be a slow process. We have started eating breakfast (thanks to Daphne demanding it) and eat that meal as a family in the mornings. I haven't been tracking the new foods we've tried for the past month and a half, but for the record here are most of our first 'real' foods devoured during our first year:

Banana
Sweet potatoes
Peas
Apple
Corn
Zucchini
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Asparagus
Blueberries
Cherries
String cheese
Cheerios
Green beans
Cottage cheese
Spinach
Bread
Yogurt
Tofu
Hot dogs (soy)
Strawberries
Raspberries
Carrot cake

7.9.10: Feed me

(left to right: fiona, daphne, stella)

For the past six months, I have been trying to teach the girls some basic sign language. Nothing fancy, just the basics (change, milk, eat, more, all done, etc). Everyone has picked up on 'milk' although I have been resistant to declare them officially signing. Well this morning, Daphne started signing 'eat'. She was very clear that she didn't want her milk as breakfast any longer and instead insisted upon actual food. We took the girls downstairs to enjoy some cheerios. Then we decided why not completely spice up the day and give them spoons to eat their dry cheerios with? This did not go as well, but the girls definitely enjoyed chewing on their spoons. Since it seems like the girls are starting to understand sign language a bit, I have added a few more signs to our daily routine (walk, no, water, etc). We will see how it goes...fingers crossed (wait, what sign is that?)

7.6.10: 365 days of bliss

7.6.10: fiona, daphne, stella


7.6.09: fiona, daphne, stella

It was one year ago today that our entire family was home together. The 25 days it took to get everyone home from the hospital seemed to last forever. Thankfully, now that time seems so distant. We have been a complete family for 365 wonderful days. Can you believe it has already been a year?

Since Kelly and Rob were here to celebrate our special day, it only seemed appropriate to create a pig pile on them. (left to right: stella, kelly, daphne, rob, fiona)




"Come on Uncie Rob, we get to climb the stairs now." (daphne, stella, fiona) Yes, every night we let the girls climb the stairs on their way up to bed. It seems to help them use up some of that evening energy.

Some of my favorite pictures from the day:


stella and auntie


fiona and mama


daphne and auntie

7.4.10: Pointing at the park

Pointing has started in a big way. Fiona is the biggest pointer and loves to direct everybody, everywhere. In the morning, she gets upset if she doesn't get to greet the animals in all three mobiles. This came as a surprise to Kelly and Rob who were in town for an extended weekend. Thanks to Fiona, Rob got a very good tour of the neighborhood park.


Daphne wasn't very interested in sharing 'her' snack catcher with Fiona. Brant had to steal some cheerios from Daphne for Fiona. Mental note, need to bring more than one snack catcher to the park.


Who knew the teeter totter could hold five people?!? Fiona (pink), Stella (red) and I tested it out against Kelly and Daphne.