More pictures

Finally got a whole bunch of pictures off the camera, including this gem from the multiples club Christmas party:

Kristina brought presents today since we won't see her again until next week, so we had a little early Christmas fun this morning. Jimmy got a Little People dump truck, Katie got some wonderful books, and Sarah got her first purse... all the new pictures are on the December 2008 page.

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

The house addition is finally finished, passed final inspection last week, and is painted and carpeted. We have the new living room furniture in, some of the computer gear into my new study, got a Christmas tree yesterday, and moved the TV stuff over last night. With the space that (and a little playroom rearranging) opened up, we also brought our old dining table in from the workshop, so we have a place to sit down and eat once again!

Today we're headed to Ikea to get closet organizers for our bedroom, furniture for my study, and whatever else we can fit in the U-Haul trailer we're renting for the day. We still have a lot of odds and ends to finish up (things we'd decided early on that we wanted to do ourselves), but it's great to have the contractor's work done and be able to start using the space.

Our house phone is not working -- we have had intermittent problems ever since the electricians chopped through the phone line while doing some work out back. It's been repaired (a couple of times), but it really needs a whole new piece of cable run underground, something that I doubt will be accomplished in the next few days. We're on cell phones and email until it gets fixed. Fortunately we have a cell phone plan with a gazillion minutes, and in fact this might be the last straw for dropping the home phone entirely, which we've been thinking about for a year now.

Oh yeah, the kids... that's why you're reading this after all, isn't it?

I have a bunch of pictures to pull off of my camera, maybe tonight. I did post a couple of new YouTube videos of Sarah's latest accomplishment, eating (and feeding herself, with some difficulty) Kix and Cheerios. in the few days since she first tried them, she now can't get enough Cheerios. She's also eating (baby food) meat and loves it. She cracks us up with a funny scrunchy-face sniffing thing she does -- Katie did the same thing for a while -- and she laughs when we do it back to her.

Jimmy and Katie are full of surprises almost every day. They have conversations with us and with each other, but not in any language we understand. It's clear they're saying something meaningful to them, though, with the facial expressions and body language that go with it. They are getting better at expressing what they want in ways we can understand -- the other night Katie woke up crying, and once I got her calmed down a little, she said, very clearly, "read read" (her word for anything having to do with books). I looked around, and sure enough the book she'd taken to bed with her was on the floor. Once I retrieved it, all was well. She also combines the "eat" sign with the word "cracker" when she wants a snack.

Jimmy gets us giggling when he dances, which he'll do any time there is music playing or people dancing on TV. He also loves the tickle game, and comes after me and his sisters, wiggling his fingers and saying "tickle tickle". He gives us all hugs and kisses too, and he's surprisingly gentle with Sarah even when she grabs at him or pulls his hair.

When they're not pushing, biting, or otherwise annoying each other, the twins definitely show their bond. I love seeing them "talk" to each other, play together, and give each other things. Jimmy will often find Katie's sippy cup and hand it to her, and Katie feeds Jimmy crackers at snack time. Yesterday she took a handful of goldfish crackers and put the whole pile on the couch, then took one at a time to feed Jimmy or me. Jimmy got in on the act too, and before I knew it I had both of them shoving goldfish into my mouth as fast as they could.

We are about as ready for Christmas as we're going to get, and I'm thrilled to have the Christmas tree in the new living room. The smell alone gets me into the Christmas spirit every time I walk into the room. I still have to wrap gifts and put at least a few lights and decorations on the tree, but overall it's a pretty low-key holiday for us this year with everything else going on.

And finally...

Playground Morning and Girls' Night

This morning we headed out to the larger of the fenced-in playgrounds nearby, and I thought to bring along a pack-n-play for Sarah... best idea I've had in a long time! Sarah played with her toys (and even napped for a little while) in there, and I could spend some time playing with Katie and Jimmy without worrying about Sarah crawling off into some sort of trouble.

We spent a couple of hours there and had a great time. There were a bunch of other kids in and out, which the twins really enjoyed -- especially when they got to play with other kids their own age. It was such a beautiful sunny day I took along my good camera and took lots and lots of pictures, some of which are on the December 2008 album page.

It amazes how easily Jimmy and Katie are able to run, climb, and play on the playground equipment now, and how much fun they have doing it. They don't even mind taking a tumble now and then, they get right back up and keep right on going.

Tonight Russ took Jimmy with him to Home Depot to buy some paint for the addition, and I had some girl time alone with Katie while Sarah was snoozing. What an experience it was having just one of them, even just for an hour! Once Sarah woke up, the three of us played together for a while. While I was preparing Sarah's dinner, I looked over and she and Katie were playing together all by themselves. Katie picked up a couple of rings from the stacking toy, put them on top of the Little People garage (which Sarah had pulled up on), and let Sarah pick them up from there. They just kept doing it over and over, each time Sarah dropped a ring (or Katie took one away). Katie and Jimmy are both doing so well with Sarah now, they seem to realize that they have to be gentle with her, and I think she's becoming more of another kid to them instead of a funny little toy.

Work of Art

We bought some of these crayons a while back, and have been giving the twins a shot at using them every so often. Up until now, they have been more interested in chewing on them (and the paper) than in drawing on the paper. Tonight was no different for Katie (fortunately the crayons have clever plastic housings that only expose a small bit of crayon at a time to be bitten off :-).

This time, though, the light bulb went on for Jimmy. I taped a piece of paper down to their play table, put one of the crayons in his hand and made a little mark on the paper, and he was off and running. He had as much fun banging on the paper as making lines, but he did seem to understand which end of the thing was making the colors on the paper.

I present here his first masterpiece, done all by himself except for a couple of starter marks guided by Mom's hand:

First Haircuts & Picture with Santa

Jimmy and Katie had their first haircuts today, and both did very well. We went to a kids' haircut place where they have fun car-shaped seats and video screens at every station, and the stylists were great with the kids. We did have a little trouble right at the end -- the clippers tickled way too much for Jimmy to sit still through that part, and Katie had just had enough by the time her quick trim was done. They do look much nicer now, and no more bangs hanging down in their eyes. Of course we saved their first little locks of hair and even got certificates commemorating the occasion.

After the haircuts there was no one at all in line to visit Santa, so I figured it was as good a time as any to give that a shot. Katie was just fine with it, Jimmy wanted nothing to do with Santa, and Sarah just cried because I wasn't holding her.

We did have a great time running and climbing at the mall's play area with a bunch of other kids, a nice lunch, and I even got some Christmas shopping done while the twins napped in their stroller after lunch (their first stroller nap in many months, hopefully the return of a good habit :-).

Tonight as we were getting ready for bed we had another first. When I brush Jimmy & Katie's teeth, I take them both into the bathroom, get both toothbrushes ready, then do one kid at a time. Tonight while I was working on Jimmy's teeth, Katie climbed up on the toilet, got her toothbrush off the counter, and brushed her own teeth! I think she might have missed a few (she is up to 12 teeth now, including 4 molars), but she definitely had the right idea!

New pictures in the December 2008 album (December?!!?? How did we get here already??) -- playing in the yard, haircuts, and more.

Sarah at the office (video)

Sarah was hanging out in the conference room with us, then crawled outside and pulled herself up at the window:

Happy Thanksgiving

We just got home from the Thanksgiving buffet at the club and a nice stroll afterwards. We had some good food (alongside the turkey there was shrimp bisque, sweet potato casserole with pecans, and of course pumpkin pie) and family time, the twins loved running around on the dance floor in the dining room, and Sarah even had her own little Thanksgiving dinner of pureed sweet potatoes and oatmeal. The weather is beautiful, though it's hard to believe it's Thanksgiving when we're walking around under the warm sun and palm trees.

There are a few more pictures of our dinner on the November photo page.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, I hope you are spending it with family, friends, or at least something to be thankful for!

The Poop Fairy

Russ thinks a construction worker is sneaking into the nursery at night and leaving things in Jimmy's diaper. Me, I think it's Sarah's crib that the Poop Fairy visits -- it is hard to imagine how something so foul and voluminous could come out of such a sweet precious little girl baby.

Today's challenge is to have everyone awake, dressed, and ready to eat at 2pm when we have reservations at the club for their Thanksgiving buffet. My plan is to skip the morning nap, then having an early (and light) lunch and nap before we head down there. Should work for me, I don't know what I'm going to do for the babies.  Ha ha.

Sarah is pulling up on everything she can, but doesn't know how to get down so just cries when she is tired of standing and waits for one of us to rescue her. Hopefully she will learn the down part as easily as she learned the up part, and soon. I remember Katie going through this stage, I don't think it lasted very long. Jimmy gives us kisses all the time now, very slobbery. He even kisses Sarah and pats her on the head nicely. Katie is picking up a lot of words and a few new signs and using them often. Jimmy only says a couple of words ("tickle tickle", and yesterday I think he said "read"), but he goes on and on in his own language, in a very serious and determined tone of voice, with lots of hand gestures. I have no idea what he is trying to say, but it is fun to watch.

The house addition is very close to finished now. There is some tile work, plumbing, and a few electrical repairs which shold all be done in another week or so, and then we can paint and get the carpet and flooring in. If all goes well, we will be able to have our Christmas tree in the new living room!

I added a few new pictures and some more (out of order) pictures from Holly & Hank's visit to the November 2008 album (don't miss page 2 -- click on the little numbers 1 and 2 at the top or bottom)

Camping & Fireworks

We had our big fireworks camping trip over the weekend up in north Florida. We took the whole crew, both of us, all 3 kids, and Kristina (our nanny). We spent a lot of time inside the camper because it is cooooold up there this time of year, but we had a good time in spite of the weather. A few photos of our camper life are on the November photo page. I didn't take many other pictures this year, as it was quite busy keeping up with the kiddos, even with help. Sarah was perfectly happy to sleep in the top bunk, which we converted to a "crib" using a mesh bed rail. The twins shared the bottom  bunk, which we had to blockade using a board and the bathroom door. They were none too happy about the situation at first, but got used to it pretty quickly. By the last night I realized that continuing the normal bedtime routine (change into PJs, brush teeth, read a story, play music) would help even in a strange place. Duh. the fireworks didn't bother any of the three; they seemed to enjoy watching the ones they saw, and they slept right through even the loud ones later at night.

Jimmy is getting steadier on his feet, starting to sign "more" and "eat", and giving spontaneous, if slobbery, kisses. Katie has become quite demanding, but is also discovering the power of her cute little girl charm. They both love their hide-and-seek game anywhere they can find a little hidey-hole. Jimmy's first molar is finally poking through, and I think Katie has a second one now as well.

Sarah has her first tooth, with the second not far behind. She is crawling, sitting, and pulling up to stand all over the place -- had to rearrange the living room yet again today to keep her out of the TV & stereo. I also put up a more permanent baby gate across the opening into the addition (which is creeping slowly toward completion -- the current  delay is finding a new tile company after the last one fouled up the job three times and then tried to cover up the rest of their mistakes in a way that would have caused us major problems a few years down the road), so we don't have to step over play yard fence every time we want to walk in there. She is still eating well and loves everything we have given her -- so far just a few fruits & vegies, plus cereal, but she finishes a couple of ounces and then begs for more.

We were all happy to be back home in our own beds last night after four days away, but it certainly was a fun trip. Everyone even did very well during the 5-hour drive, with the help of some extra toys, snacks, a nice long lunch stop, and a portable DVD player (which actually saw surprisingly little use).  I look forward to future camping trips, when it's not quite so cold and the kids have outgrown the wild-chimpanzee stage and can enjoy more activities with us.

I spoke too soon.

Sarah is definitely crawling now, slowly, but it's real crawling.

She also pulled herself up to standing three times this afternoon.

I think we're in trouble with this one...

6 Months Old! Visit from Aunt Holly! Busy Busy!

Haven't dropped off the face of the earth, just had a busy couple of weeks. Aunt Holly (Tracey's sister) was here with Hank (her younger son) for almost a week. We had a great time visiting playgrounds, taking a cruise on the boat, swimming at the club, and hanging around the house playing. I have posted some new pics from that visit and more on the November 2008 photo page.

Sarah turned 6 months old on the 7th and at her check-up a few days later weighed in at only 14 pounds, but she's nearly 26 inches tall so still growing well. She was a real trooper through her shots (3 of them). I think having the magic boob at the ready helped a lot -- she nursed right through the shots and only cried for a few seconds.  She is sitting up well now, and not really crawling for real, but cretainly getting herself where she wants to go. She finally figured out how to get on her hands and knees (or feet -- the little butt up in the air is so cute!) and pick up a hand without flopping down on her face, so I suspect real crawling is just around the corner. She is still enjoying her solid food -- oatmeal and several fruits & veggies so far. 

Next up was our twins club garage sale last weekend, where I not only sold nearly $500 worth of clothing and gear that all three have outgrown (which all had to be sorted and tagged), but also worked on the setup and the sale. I did buy some things too, but st least I spent less than I made and came home with the truck half as full as when I left. My women's club's annual arts & crafts show was also last weekend, and I also spent some time volunteering there.

The twins just keep amazing us with their development. Jimmy has gotten a lot steadier on his feet and is now even doing little dances, turning in circles, even walking backwards (we think it's on purpose). Katie has caught on to the meaning of the "more" sign, and now uses that when she wants some of whatever we're eating. It's a nice change from the whining and crying she used to use. They both love looking at books and finding the pictures they know words for. They are playing together more and more, which sometimes means more squabbles, pushing, and crying, but also seems to be a lot of fun for them. We play a little hide-and-seek game where they run behind the couch, I pretend to search all over the living room for them, and then they pop out to "surprise" me and laugh when I say "Oh, THERE's Katie!"

This weekend is our big fireworks camping trip, in the travel trailer, with all 3 kids and our nanny. We had a great time last year with the twins; this year brings a new set of challenges but also some things that will be much easier. The packing and preparation means that I may not get caught up on anything else until next week, after we return.

First Food for Sarah

New November 2008 photo page, featuring Sarah's first taste of baby cereal! She had just a little bit of baby oatmeal mixed with a few tablespoons of mommy's milk, and LOVED it. She dribbled a bit, but had no problem figuring out the spoon and swallowing most of what went into her mouth. She wasn't very happy when the cereal ran out, but settled for topping off straight from the tap.

Trick or Treat

We did go trick-or-treating, and we all had a good time. Moo-Cow Jimmy and Little Lamb Katie enjoyed riding around the neighborhood in the wagon, everyone thought they were adorable, and they shared a mini Snickers bar before bed. Duckling Sarah fell asleep halfway through, but woke up happy when we got home.

Happy Halloween

Babies are all sick with head colds, we suspect thanks to some kid's runny nose at either play gym or play date on Wednesday. Mommy and Daddy are thus far mostly unaffected, other than a giant sleep deficit due to babies waking up at all hours overnight.

Went shopping yesterday before Grandma flew home and picked up most of a winter (Florida winter, anyway) wardrobe for all 3, plus some toys, all on sale. I think we made up for some of the more expensive purchases we made earlier in the week, if you average it all out (those words hubby dreads hearing: "Guess how much I saved on all this stuff!").

Sarah is still a little tidbit, with 3-6 month sizes still a little baggy 

on her despite her 6-month birthday next week. She is becoming highly mobile, though, rolling around, scooting, and up on hands & knees ready to crawl. So far she mostly gets up there and then flops forward onto her face, but she's getting the idea. She is also beginning to sit independently, and does quite well with the help of a Boppy pillow. I think she's getting ready to cut a couple of teeth, there's a lot of chewing and drooling going on. Speaking of teeth, Katie has gotten one of her molars in and I think Jimmy is working on one as well.

I snapped this picture of Katie when we got home from church on Sunday, and it has become one of my favorites:

We may do some trick-or-treating around the neighborhood later today, depending on how everyone is feeling...

Sarah's Baptism

Sarah was baptized on Sunday and we had Grandma, Aunt Linda, and big sis Kirby all here to celebrate with us. I made her gown (yes, I was sewing on trim Saturday night), and everything turned out just perfect. Pastor Chris used the baptism as the children's message for the day, which I though made it even more special. He told the kids that Sarah was their new "little sister" and then explained to them why. The ceremony was lovely, the choir anthem was one of my favorite hymns, and Sarah went through it all with a smile on her face.

We also had some Halloween fun with the twins' club party on Saturday and another kids' event Sunday evening. Everyone loved our barnyard theme: a cow, a sheep, a ducking, and a farmer family.
Grandma is here for the week, so it's busy right now, but there are lots of new pics on the October 2008 page.

Three things I am thankful for today:

• A husband who made the triple stroller fit into the back of the truck


• A completely fenced-in, toddler-friendly playground just a few miles down the road.


• A baby girl who doesn't mind nursing while being carried around like a sack of potatoes.


• Twins who want to take naps in the afternoon, and at the same time (I suspect a morning at the abovementioned playground helped).

OK, so that's four things. I could probably go on all day, actually, but then the 19038749837649 other things on my list for the afternoon would never get done.

Pictures from the park this morning are on the October 2008 photo page, enjoy!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we made one of our seemingly endless trips to Home Depot to get some more lights and ceiling fans for the addition (which has siding, insulation, and drywall now!), and managed to do the whole thing without any strollers! Sarah rode in the sling, and Katie & Jimmy walked from the car to the front of the store and then rode in a two-seater shopping cart. We got almost everything we needed, and there was only one crying incident, when Jimmy poked Katie one time to many and got a bite on the arm for it.

After the shopping trip we stopped at the pumpkin patch at a local church and let the twins run around for a while. They had a blast, picked out a few little pumpkins which we purchased and brought home, braved the hay maze, and got dirtier than I would have thought possible for such an activity.

Pictures of the pumpkin patch and more are on the new October 2008 photo album page.

Since it's October already, I figured I better finish up the September photo album with the last few pictures for the month. It's been busy as usual here. We are anxiously awaiting completion of the house addition. We have windows now, and they'll start on the drywall as soon as the framing inspection is done. Funny quote from one of the subcontractors yesterday, as he was fixing a couple of things that didn't pass inspection: "You call the inspector an a%*hole one time, and the next thing you know he's red-tagging all your jobs!" Yeah, buddy.

The kiddos are changing every day, it seems. Katie is definitely learning words, she says "bye" and "ball" and "star", and she barks when she sees a dog (or a picture of a dog, or something that looks kinda like a dog). Jimmy is still babbling a lot, but we haven't heard any real words from him yet. He has finally decided he'd rather walk than crawl most of the time, and he is much steadier on his feet now. Sarah is rolling over both ways now, and starting to scoot along and reach for toys. She is happy to lie on her tummy for quite a while, holding her head up and playing with little soft toys. One of her favorites is the same set of soft blocks that Jimmy loved when he was about this age.

Everyone went to the doctor together last week, the twins for their 15-month visit, and Sarah (a couple of weeks late) for her 4-month visit. They all got shots, which always makes me sad, but they got the crying over with quickly. One of the nurses brought out some bubbles, which took the twins' mind off the ouchies instantly! They're still growing well... Sarah is up to nearly 25" tall and 13 lbs. 6 oz., Katie is 30" tall and 21 lbs. 2 oz., and Jimmy is 31" tall and 25 lbs. 2 oz. (yes, he's a solid little boy!).

Communication

We have been teaching the twins a few signs, and it's starting to pay off as they begin to understand what the signs mean. "All done" when they're finished eating was the first one they caught on to, and I knew Katie understood it when she made the "all done" sign as I was wiping her nose (which she hates). Jimmy picked up "more" pretty quickly, and he used it the other day at lunch. Not really sign language, but Katie also waves and says "Bye!" when she sees us pick up our car keys and sunglasses.

Sarah is beginning to communicate more too. She is rolling over from her back to her belly all the time and lets us know right away when she wants to be flipped back over. She is quite vocal when she's playing, and "talks" to her toys quite a bit. It's easy to tell when she's hungry or tired, and her smiles have turned into all-out giggles when she's having fun:

Wheeeeeee!

After being sick all weekend (the twins, Sarah, and I... Russ somehow escaped), we were ready to get out of the house and have some fun this morning, though we're not quite fully recovered (especially me). I took some pictures at Rolly Pollies today, and a quick video of Jimmy riding the "roller coaster":

Quick update

Not much new, but I did add a few more pictures to the September 2008 page. Jimmy has a cold and had a little bit of a fever last night. He seems better this morning, though he still has a cough and a runny nose. Katie is starting to sniffle a bit this morning too.

Sarah is as happy as ever. She goes almost everywhere with me, and is amazingly content and quiet most of the time. She loves to be carried in the sling, facing out so she can watch the world go by. She has discovered her toes, which have become her favorite toy. She has been rolling over from her back to her side and sometimes onto her belly pretty easily, and last night she got from her tummy to her back -- I think it surprised her!

Party Time

Mommy and the twins went to a fun party on Saturday while Sarah stayed home with Daddy. A friend was hosting a "House Party" showcasing new Fisher Price toys. Jimmy and Katie had a great time playing with the toys and the other kids. I posted some pictures on their own album page in the September batch.

On Monday we had another new adventure, Rolly Pollies! RP is an indoor gym with (loosely structured) classes for little kids. We had been there once before for an open playdate with the twins club, and they had a good time, so we signed up for a 10-week class session. Sarah is still too young for the program, so she and Kristina watched from the sidelines. Sarah did seem to enjoy the fun music they played, and she smiled a lot as she watched all the activity!

Most of these programs require one parent/adult per child, but RP offers a "siblings" class which lets one parent bring two or three kids. Since the class is open to toddlers through 6 year olds, J & K were the youngest in the class, but the staff there was great, giving them a hand when I couldn't be in two places at once. Katie's favorite was a big circular gym mat that was rounded on the bottom. After I sat her on it once, she figured out how to climb on and off it herself and squealed when it wobbled around underneath her. Jimmy loved bouncing on the big exercise ball, and was fascinated by the rock climbing wall. He hasn't yet figured out how to actually climb it, but I'm sure that will come soon enough. This was their first experience with "circle time" and singing songs in a group, which was... interesting. Near the end of the class, we got brave and tried out "Mr. Moon Bounce" -- with slide -- and they loved it! Can't wait to go back next week, and this time I will try to get some pictures.

Monday evening was their swimming lesson (Mondays are busy!), which continues to go well. They love being in the water and even getting a mouthful now and then doesn't bother them much. They're getting better and better at going underwater, Jimmy even managed to blow some bubbles as he went after a toy on the pool steps. I'm hoping for some better weather (fortunately no direct hits from the hurricanes so far, but lots of windy, rainy weather) so that we can do some more swimming between lessons & get out on the boat again.

New clothing line, Playground

I am going to design a new clothing line for mothers. It will come in several colors: Goldfish-Cracker Orange, Poop Brown, Breastmilk Ivory, Spaghetti-Sauce Red, and Pureed-Vegetable Green. Each item will come with a crystal ball to tell you which color you'll need today.

So here we are in September already, and you know what that means... a new photo album page! It also means that the weather here in Florida is finally starting to cool off just a little bit, mostly noticeable in the mornings and evenings. We had some time this morning before it got unbearably hot outside and the twins were climbing all over everything in the house (we've rearranged the living room / playroom AGAIN because Katie found a way over the end of the couch into the double-out-of-bounds area by the electrical outlet), so we packed everyone up and headed to a park with a nice toddler area at their playground. Jimmy & Katie had a ball climbing up the steps and sliding down the little slides. The metal ramps took a little practice to walk on, even Katie dropped down and crawled her first time up one. They each got some time on the swings before we headed home.

Neighborhood spectacle

Our nanny is off on Fridays, so I'm home with all three. We bought this triplet stroller from another mom in the multiples club who has twins + 1 a year later (and now a fourth, born a week after Sarah). It was a "just in case" purchase, so I could take all three somewhere if I had to, and I hadn't ever used it before today.

When Russ left for the office this morning, Jimmy was in tears because he just wanted to go outside. With all the construction (and fire ants) out there right now, I can't really get all three out to play by myself, so I hauled out the big stroller and we all went for a walk.

We went for a walk, that is, after I got Katie out from under the end table (which is "out of bounds" behind a section of play yard fence), where she'd managed to climb while I was retrieving the stroller. Then I figured out how to get the twins strapped in so they couldn't climb out. And then Sarah needed her diaper changed. And then I got her strapped in, locked the door, and realized I forgot my cup of coffee. Went back in to get that, and lost my sunglasses. Finally found them, back out with the stroller. Couldn't find my keys. Retraced my steps, finally found them still in the door.

And then we went for a walk. The roofers avoided even looking at me as I walked by, I think they think we're out of our minds. A neighbor, though, stopped her car and got out to talk to me as I crossed the street. "I've heard about you," she said, "and how busy you are!" Apparently we're the talk of the neighborhood or something. At least I got her phone number, so we can call on her two teenage daughters for babysitting!

Swimming Lessons & More...

It's been very busy here lately, lots going on and not much time to write. I am trying to keep up with pictures, at least, of which there are more in the August 2008 album.

While Kirby was here on vacation, we all went to the Florida Aquarium. Katie had fun walking around on her own, and Jimmy got to see a lot more fish than in our aquarium at home.

Sarah "talks" to us all the time now. She is starting to roll over from her back to her tummy, but doesn't know how to go the other way so we have to rescue her when she gets tired of being face-down. She is sleeping well, eating well, and was about 12 1/2 pounds on her three-month "birthday". We got out the Jumperoo for her, which is fun for her and for the twins, they all like to look at each other when Sarah is upright.

Jimmy and Katie absolutely love the pool, so we started them in swimming lessons at the club. They are doing great so far, we can dunk them under water for a second or two and they come up laughing and smiling. Katie is doing especially well with floating on her back (with someone holding her, of course), and Jimmy is catching on fast to kicking his feet.

Jimmy finally figured out clapping, and now both of them clap along when I sing "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands." They have also both mastered climbing up onto the couch, which means we'll have to rearrange some furniture again (we just changed things last week to fence off part of the room for Sarah to play in where the older babes won't squash her. The other day I left them alone in the (formerly babyproofed) living room for a few minutes, and when I returned, Katie was waving the remote control around and Jimmy was sitting ON the end table trying to open the big box of goldfish crackers.

The house addition is coming along nicely, though we're still a couple of months from being completely finished with paint and carpet and furniture. We all made the trek to Ikea in Orlando on Sunday to look at some storage furniture and kids' room things. In the meantime we are trying to keep our growing collection of kiddie clothes and toys and STUFF as organized as we can, which is challenging when we don't want to make any major changes right now since everything will be rearranged so soon anyway.

I have also been trying to capture some video of all the little ones, and I put together some pieces from the past few weeks:

Aye-aye, Cap'n

We were feeling brave yesterday and took all three kids out on the boat by ourselves. We had a short cruise to the fuel dock, where Tracey fed the twins dinner while Russ filled us up with diesel (ouch!). The weather cooperated and we all enjoyed the trip! It is nice to have space on the boat for all of us (and our stuff), and we are enjoying the amenities at the club too, especially lunch or dinner by the pool after boating or swimming.

We are going out again today for a sightseeing cruise with a larger crew (all 5 of us, plus Kirby, Kristina, and our friends Bill & Barbara), and then to a dinner party at the club while Kristina, Kirby, and the babies hang out on the boat.

Check out the new photo album for August 2008!

Wet n' Wild

The weekend was two days of water fun for all the babes. Saturday morning was our twins club's annual summer party, held at a local park that has a great kiddie activity pool. The water is less than a foot deep, and there are all sorts of splash and spray toys, even a toddler-size water slide. Jimmy had missed his morning nap, so spent much of the party snoozing in the stroller while Katie hung out with Daddy in the pool. He did have some time to enjoy the water after he woke up, though, and really liked being able to walk around with the water just up to his waist. Even Sarah got to dip her toes in the pool, though she spent most of the party napping as well.

On Sunday we went down to the yacht club and spent some more time in the pool. Jimmy and Katie just can't get enough of the water, and don't mind at all when their heads or faces get wet. We're giving Sarah some little dips in the water too, mostly in the baby carrier. She seems to like that a lot more than she likes her baths right now. We all had lunch by the pool, then another swim and naps & play time on the boat while Russ got some work done to get ready for our next fishing trip.

New pictures on the July 2008 page!

Ha ha ha ha

Katie has started laughing. Not just baby giggles when she's tickled, but a real "Hahahahaha" laugh when she finds something funny. Of course, it makes us laugh when she does it, which she thinks is even funnier.

Jimmy is taking steps on his own more and more often, and is getting better at it. He's sprouting at least three more teeth, two on top and another one on the bottom, which hasn't made him the happiest little guy lately.

They both seem to understand a lot more of what we say to them than they did just a month ago. They have both figured out how to get down from the couch without falling, and have climbed up onto it a couple of times. Their ever-increasing mobility (along with a couple of biting and hair-pulling incidents) means that we've had to start saying "No!" There's no question they understand it... Katie even hangs her head when she gets in trouble, which is so adorable it's all we can do not to giggle.

Sarah just keeps growing and getting more alert and responsive to us. She's very quiet and content most of the day, but the evenings are a bit of a challenge as she wants to nurse very frequently and be held constantly. I am trying to enjoy it while it lasts, soon enough she'll be scrambling all over like the twins and won't want to be held at all.

We are planning to attend a twins club pool party tomorrow at a local recreation center with a shallow kiddie pool that looks more like a toddler playground in 8" deep water. I'm not sure how we'll do with all three babies and just two of us, but we have to learn sometime, right? :-)

There are more pictures in the July 2008 album, and a couple of quick videos...

Jimmy "dancing" to a music video:



Katie in the toy box:

First time in the pool

Big sis Kirby is here visiting for the week, and today we packed everyone into the truck and headed down to the club where we are keeping the boat now. We all ate lunch by the pool and then took the twins for their first swim in a real pool. They both loved it! Jimmy didn't stop grinning the whole time, and Katie had fun splashing with her hands. Fortunately Kristina (our nanny) had her camera with her, because we remembered to pack ours, but left it sitting on the boat when we went up to the pool. When we were done, we all went back to the boat and Katie & Jimmy napped on their bed while Russ and Kirby went back for a more relaxing swim on their own.

Kristina even got a little video of the twins enjoying their swim:

Nautical News

Sarah had her two-month checkup earlier this week, and at 10 lbs. 14 oz., she has now gained just over three pounds from her birth weight. She also got her first vaccinations, which I think was harder for Mommy & Daddy than it was for her.

The big news this week, however, is that we traded in our boat for a larger one, and a "convertible" style that will allow us to take all the babies out with us. Our old boat was an "open" style, which had more outside deck space but did not have nearly as much room inside. We picked the new boat up today and took it to the yacht club that we joined recently. We are looking forward to enjoying the club and the new boat with the whole family, and we hope to get the twins into swimming lessons soon at the pool there.

New pictures in the July 2008 album.

Just a quickie...

We're busier than the proverbial one-armed paperhanger lately. In the past couple of weeks we have had three new people start work at our office, the house addition has finally gotten moving (they're pouring the slab on Monday), and we're looking into trading in our boat for a larger model. Whew! Tracey had surgery on her shoulder last Wednesday, so it's a quiet holiday weekend as she recovers from that.

All the babes are doing great. Katie has discovered that she can run, and Jimmy is becoming more confident in his walking. He's quite a climber, which has led to some bumps and bruises when he falls off of whatever he's gotten himself up on top of. Both of them are getting a little more picky about their food, and they let us know what they like and don't like. Katie yells "NUM NUM" when she sees something she wants, but don't try to feed it to her -- she wants to do that part herself! Jimmy has mastered the sippy cup, and can even hold it up to his mouth all by himself, though he'd prefer to get someone to hold it for him if he can.

Sarah is growing fast, and we can't wait to see what she weighs at her two-month checkup on Tuesday. She has started smiling at us quite often, especially when Russ sings to her. She is getting better and better at holding her head up too, and she's making all sorts of cute baby noises. She's a very calm baby most of the time, but when something upsets her, boy can she let out a howl! She likes her swings, and her play mat with the lights & music.

There are just a few new photos in the June 2008 album, more to come when I get a chance to get them off of the camera.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was the twins' first birthday... It is amazing to me how far we have come in just 12 months, from 3 1/2 pound preemies in the NICU to happy, healthy toddlers weighing in at 19 1/2 and 21 1/2 pounds!

We had a small birthday party last night with just a few friends, cake, and some presents. They had no idea what to do with the cake at first, but we fed them each a few bites and then they dug in on their own... and then broke out in hives everywhere they had smeared icing! Fortunately that cleared up quickly after we got them cleaned off, and with a dose of Benadryl just in case.

They did enjoy their birthday gifts! Katie got her first purse from Miss Kristina, and Jimmy got a little shape-sorter toolbox, complete with hammer. Nana and Pop-Pop sent them each a pull-along puppy, and a gift card for a "popcorn popper". From Mommy and Daddy they got a new play "house", fun soft chairs, and a Blue's Clues DVD.

Lots of new pictures, of course, in the June 2008 album, and a couple of new videos as well.

Jimmy and his dinosaur toy:


Katie walking:

Fun in the Sun

Summer is here and we're finding some outdoor fun for the twins. They have a kiddie pool and a pair of swings out in the yard, and they love both.

Katie is really getting the hang of walking, she now walks several feet at a time and can stand up on her own without holding on to anything. Jimmy is cruising around on the furniture, and taking a step or two on his own. He spends a lot of time playing with his big dinosaur toy that makes noise when you put balls into a hole -- Jimmy has mastered that, and puts the ball in over and over all by himself.

Sarah had her 1 month doctor visit today, and is growing well! She weighed in at 9 lbs. 3 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long -- up 2 pounds from when we left the hospital, and 2 inches from her birth length. She loves snoozing, but when she's awake she is very alert, looking all around. She doesn't cry much unless she is hungry or needs a clean diaper, but does make some cute little coos and squeaks.

New photos in the twins' Month 12 album, Sarah's Month 1 album, and June 2008

And a video of the twins' first time on the swings:

Birch Twins... plus one!

As most of you reading this already know, our newest Bouncing Baby Birch arrived on Wednesday May 7th, 2008 at 9:23 pm. Sarah Jane weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.

We arrived at the hospital Tuesday morning at 9am and things progressed very slowly until about 6pm Wednesday night when little Sarah decided it was time to get moving... Tracey went from 4 cm dilated at 6pm to 9 cm at 7:30, started pushing around 8:20, and Sarah was born just an hour later. We got to hold her right away, and she was nursing like a champ just a few minutes later.

We spent that night and the next in the hospital and came home on Friday morning. Thank goodness for Kristina, the twins' nanny, who was willing to stay here with them the whole time so that Russ could stay at the hospital! The 10 days since we got home have been a blur, trying to rest, recover, and get used to this new little tiny baby in the house with us now.

Lots of photos, of course, on the Sarah Jane album page (new ones just tonight, too). We will keep up this blog too (in our spare time :-), with the adventures of all three kiddos... and their parents, trying to keep up with three little ones in diapers!

Jimmy and Katie are 11 months old today, with that big first birthday just around the corner. We realized just how big they're getting when we got home from the hospital after being away from them for a few days and holding this new little tiny babe. Hard to believe that less than a year ago they were half the size that Sarah is!

Katie has started taking steps on her own, at first it was just one at a time, but now she is managing two, three, even four steps before plopping down on her bottom. She is also walking away from things now as well as towards them, and when she sits down after a few steps it's more and more deliberate and less like a fall.

Jimmy is still working on the standing and walking (he does have a few extra pounds to balance on those legs), but he is making great progress in using his hands. He has figured out the buttons to push on the toys that make noise, and he presses them expertly using just one finger or his thumb. They both continue to eat everything we can think of to feed them, and Katie is getting unhappy being fed -- she wants to do it herself! Trying to come up with finger foods that they can eat without making too much of a mess will be an ongoing challenge.

March for Babies -- Thank You!

First off, a big THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the March of Dimes in support of our March for Babies walk last weekend. We met our fundraising goal, and our team (the local parents of multiples club) raised over $3,000 in total! We had beautiful weather for the walk, and everyone had a great time. There are a few pictures form the walk in the Month 11 photo album. With all the fresh air and sunshine, the babes napped for three whole hours that afternoon!

We have settled into a nice schedule lately that includes two naps, three meals, and sleeping through the night almost all the time. Katie has sprouted two teeth on top now too, and we're expecting Jimmy's any day now. He is also catching up with his sister in balancing on his feet without holding on to anything. It will be great to see them start walking, but we're not in too much of a hurry for that.

Surgery update -- all went well!

Jimmy had his surgery Monday morning and did fine. Our experience at the children's hospital was just great. We were scheduled first thing in the morning, so we had very little wait time. They had toys, video games, and TVs showing the Disney channel everywhere. The nurses took Jimmy's favorite blanket & stuffed animal with them so that he'd have them when he went to sleep & when he woke up. It did seem like forever before the doc came out to tell us everything went well, but the surgery only took about 45 minutes, and Jimmy was out of recovery and back with us less than half an hour later.

He was a little groggy at first, but woke up pretty quickly and even took a bottle right away. The anesthesiologist explained before the surgery that she would use inhaled anesthesia with a mask & "soft airway" rather than intubating him, and then they would do a caudal block (similar to an epidural, but way down at the bottom of the spine so much less risky). This lasts for several hours, so they didn't have to give him any narcotic pain medicine while he was still under or recovering from the anesthesia.

He was back to his old self by the time we got home around 11am, and even had some pureed fruit that afternoon. He did have some pain once the caudal wore off, so he enjoyed a tylenol & codeine nap for most of the afternoon. Yesterday he just needed some regular tylenol in the morning, and today you wouldn't even know anything had happened to him. They sure do bounce back quickly!

Look, Ma, No Hands!

I have been trying for two days to get photographic and/or video evidence, but it's not happening. In the past three days, Katie has begun standing up, letting go of whatever or whoever she's holding on to, and... still standing for several seconds. She has also started to wave bye-bye (and is doing it right now so that I will wave back and say "yaaaaaay!"). It is adorable.

Jimmy goes in early Monday morning for surgery to correct his undescended testicle. It's a relatively minor procedure, but he will have to be under general anesthesia, which is of course scary for all of us. Fortunately we have an excellent children's hospital nearby with a pediatric urologist, pediatric anesthesiologists, and a great staff & facility set up just for kids.

Up, Up, and Away

Jimmy and Katie are now both standing up all the time. Our newest addition to the play yard is "the wall", and they have a great time standing on opposite sides of it and laughing at each other. Katie is beginning to "cruise" a few steps at a time along the wall or the play yard fence.

They both have their first two bottom teeth now and are working on the two on top as well. Sleeping through the night was going pretty well until this development, we're hoping that we'll get back into the routine for a while once these teeth pop through.

Lots of new pictures in the Month 10 album!

Spring has Sprung

Happy Spring! NINE months old today!

I know I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, but I am still amazed at how fast the time goes and how quickly they change.

They have discovered that it's much more fun to stand up in their cribs and laugh at each other than to nap. They're eating everything we feed them -- fruit, vegetables, cheese, yogurt, cereal, toast, even meat and baby ravioli. Every now and then we run into something that one or the other of them isn't crazy about, but they enjoy most everything. They're both working on feeding themselves, too. They have the right idea, but still have a little trouble getting the pieces of food into their mouths instead of dropping it in their laps.

They are also having fun with some new toys. We had a wheeled walker that they have been using for a while now, and suddenly both of them want to be in it at the same time. We picked up a second one, and now they play "bumper cars" all over the kitchen. It amazes me to see their brains working more and more -- when they started using the walker, they would go until they bumped into something, and then we'd have to turn them around. Now when they hit an obstacle, they back up and turn themselves to go around it. That's some serious thinking for such little brains!

The cold we had a couple of weeks ago is still hanging around. Katie still has a stuffy nose, and Jimmy has a little bit of an ear & sinus infection and is taking some antibiotics. We're all feeling a lot better, but not quite up to 100%.

These are a couple of the pictures we had taken last weekend. There are a couple more shots at the end of the Month 9 album, including one with a live bunny!

Catching up

In the past week or so -- seems like all at once -- Jimmy has figured out how to go from crawling to sitting and back again, had his first tooth (finally) make an appearance, and yesterday he grabbed the play yard fence and pulled himself up to standing without any help. Whew! No wonder he's been a little extra fussy at nap time, there's a lot going on in there!

While Katie stands up nearly every chance she gets (fortunately she's also figuring out how to get down without bumping her head, too), Jimmy seems happier up on his knees than either sitting or standing. He still needs to hold on to something to kneel, either the fence or one of the big toys they have. They are starting to play together sometimes, which at this point consists mostly of touching each other without someone crying at the end of it.

They both enjoy some time outside the play yard, too, either crawling or zooming around in their walker. Katie has mastered backing up and turning around after she runs into something, Jimmy is figuring it out too. They're bothing getting more and more vocal as well. Jimmy is using b's, d's, and m's in his "talking", Katie is following right along with "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba". They also both enjoy shrieking loudly when they're having fun, I'm not sure whether just to hear the sound of their own voice, or to see the funny faces Mommy and Daddy make. We are beginning to teach them some baby sign language, and although neither of them have the dexterity to make any signs just yet, I think they're beginning ot recognize a couple of them ("bottle" seems to be their favorite... no surprise there :-).

Katie has decided she likes soft baby food now (before she only wanted things she could chew on)
, and we are finding more and more foods they both like. We give them little tastes of many of the things we eat, and so far there isn't much they don't want more of. They are slowly figuring out how to get pieces of food into their own mouths, which will make feeding time a bit easier for us -- keeping up with two hungry mouths is a challenge!

I took a bunch of pictures over the past few days of them playing together and just doing what they do, they're in the Month 9 album.

Moving up in the world

We knew this was coming soon, but it was still a surprise the first time we looked over from across the room and saw Katie standing up, holding on to the play yard fence. She's pulling up everywhere she can now -- on the fence, on her crib bars, or on whoever happens to be sitting next to her. She's very pleased with herself every time she does it. She hasn't done quite as well figuring out how to get down, but she's getting there. Jimmy isn't far behind, he gets his feet under him, but so far only when he's been leaning on something too low for him to really get upright.

In other news, next month we'll be walking in the local March for Babies to benefit the March of Dimes. Our local parents of multiples club participates every year, and we're hoping to raise over $5,000 this year as a "team" to help fund research, education, and services to prevent birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Many of the families in our club, ours included, have benefited from work done by the March of Dimes, and this is one way for us to give something back.

Please consider making a donation today!

Sick :-(

We've all been sick with colds for the past week or so. For the first 24 hours the babes were pretty miserable, but they didn't get it quite as bad as Mommy did. They still have stuffy noses, but it doesn't seem to bother them very much. Tylenol and a humidifier in their room at night helped quite a bit. We thought Daddy might escape altogether as he hadn't shown any symptoms all week, but he came home from the office yesterday with a sore throat and couldn't stop sneezing this morning.

They had their Synagis shots yesterday (next month will be the last of those, hooray!), but their weights haven't changed a whole lot since last month. I think they're finally slowing down now that they have done most of the catching up they need to. I'm sure they're also burning up more calories with all the crawling, "talking", and squealing they're doing now!

Finalization Day

Shortly before noon yesterday, a very nice judge asked us some important questions and then signed the Final Judgment of Adoption for our babies.

What this means, if you're unfamiliar with the process, is that we have finally reached the end of the long road we set out on nearly 18 months ago. James and Kathryn, says the judge's order, are now our legal children, just as if they had been born to us. We will even receive new birth certificates reflecting this (though they will always know the story of their birth and adoption).

Although there was little doubt things would go as planned, and the last several months were mostly just waiting for the legal machinery to chew its way through the required notifications and filings and hearings, it is a relief to be finished with it all.

First Tooth!

In the course of investigating the larger-than-usual puddle of drool emanating from my daughter, I stuck my finger in her mouth and discovered that a little tiny bit of tooth has made its way through the gum!

And to make up for the lack of pictures with the last post:

Mobility

In the past week or so, Katie first figured out how to sit up all by herself, and now goes back and forth from hands and knees to a sitting position all the time. She was quite pleased with herself the first few times she did it, now it's old hat. Shortly after that, she figured out how to move her arms and legs, and began to crawl. She doesn't go very fast, she uses her feet as often as her knees, and she stops to sit up several times on her way to a destination, but she's definitely moving now.

Jimmy pretty much has the crawling movements figured out, but he prefers to flop onto his belly instead of staying up on hands and knees. He can move pretty fast that way, though -- up on hands and knees, move hands forward, push with legs and flop onto belly. If a toy catches his eye, he scoots right across the room to get it. If I sit him up, he'll stay upright for a little while, but he's not very interested in doing it himself yet. He is cruising all over in the walker and zooms around the activity table too.

Both of them laugh and "talk" all the time, especially when they look at themselves in the mirror. They are also interacting with each other more and more, which sometimes results in tears when one steals a toy the other is playing with.

This weekend we'll install their new car seats because they're about to outgrow the "baby buckets". I sure will miss them!

Visit from Nana

Nana (Tracey's mother) came to visit from New Jersey last week and we all had a great time. We went to the park one day with some other twins moms, and instead of just sitting in the stroller, we got the babes out and played on the ground for a little while. We also did some shopping a couple of days, which they always love, and they made two trips to the airport -- once to meet Nana, and once to pick up Russ, who took the opportunity to go visit his mother for a couple of days while I had some help around the house. We took a bunch of pictures while Nana was here, they're in the Month 8 album.

On Friday we had a doctor visit for their Synagis shots, and we found that Jimmy is up to 18 1/2 lbs. and 28 1/4", and Katie 16 1/2 lbs. and 26 1/4". We'll have to pick out new car seats very soon, as Jimmy is very near the 29" height limit for the "baby buckets" we have. Hard to believe that they went from this picture to outgrowing the seats in just over six months!

They keep making progress in other areas too. No one has crawled yet, but Jimmy gets up on his hands and knees now too, and manages to scoot forward a little bit at a time on his belly. Katie gets her knees and then her feet underneath her, but hasn't quite figured out how to move her hands at the same time. They both hold their bottles most of the time, at least until they get bored and start waving them around instead, dumping formula all over. Sitting up is going well, both are very talkative, and we gets lots of smiles and giggles all around.

Their latest discovery came yesterday afternoon, when they were supposed to be napping. I heard both of them laughing at once, and when I went in to investigate, they were on their hands and knees, grinning at each other through the crib bars (their cribs are right next to each other, in an "L" shape). When we awoke this morning (slept through the night! Yay!), they were doing the same thing. It's adorable, but it also scares me a little... when those brains get working a bit better, there's no telling what they'll come up with together!