Andrew and Colin Making Music

Christmas morning

Christmas morning was nice! The babies woke up before Jack so we got their feedings started and almost finished by the time Jack woke up. So Jack didn't have to wait too long to open his presents. The babies enjoyed playing with all the wrapping paper and boxes of course. They each got a present (a book) and a group gift which is a toy they have all enjoyed playing. Everyone had fun on the triplets' first Christmas.

Santa and the boys

All 4 boys did great with Santa. Jack asked Santa for a Transformer and had some time alone with Santa before we added the babies to Santa's lap. Noone cried! Christmas morning should be so much fun in a couple of days...can't wait!

Family Christmas pictures

My 4 boys!

White oxfords!

Here our a few of the shots from our photo session on 12/1/09. We ended up getting some great pictures! These pictures were taken at the end of the photo shoot. We took our sweaters off to get a different look. The boys are getting tired, but look pretty happy... I think!

Andrew

Andrew is still the quietest of the bunch. He is so laid back, but at times is very vocal and babbles all kinds of cute noises. His laugh is funny, too! He cries whenever you take anything out of hands...a bottle, a toy, the phone or remote. Today I was playing "ball" with him and Colin. (Daniel was too busy exploring!) I was trying to teach them to roll or give the ball to me and we would take turns. After he had his turn he would not release so I would gently take it and then cheer when Colin or I had the ball. He of course put his big frown on and threatened to cry. The nice thing now is that he gets over it quickly. A few weeks ago he used to cry indefinitely when you took something away from him and would take a while to calm down. They are growing, changing and learning so much! Andrew is so darn cute and so so sensitive!

Colin

Colin is turning over more and showing more interest in moving. His P.T. says he is gaining more flexibility and strength. He has both bottom, middle teeth, too! He got his bottom left first and then within one week his one on the right came in. Right after Andrew got both of his bottom teeth. He laughs a lot and is quite ticklish! He sure likes his binky, too. Colin is a delight!

Daniel

Daniel has been doing great! He has 4 teeth. He is happiest when he is able to crawl around the house which we usually don't let him do. He is such a curious little boy. He likes to crawl over and through things. It's as if he enjoys the challenge of an obstacle course! He is so agile and limber. As much as he likes to move he still enjoys sitting on someone's lap and cuddling, too. His hair is getting longer in the back and starting to curl a little bit. He is such a little guy!

The boys in their boat shirts

Baby Bellies!

Andrew

Sweet Andrew! Sensitive Andrew! He is such a tenderheart. He still sits and plays so nicely and hardly ever fusses or cries. He is a great eater. He holds his own bottle, too, which makes it easier for me! He still is not moving, but if I put him on hands and knees he will stay there and rock. He likes to also play while on his knees. He just doesn't act like he wants to move! He's perfectly content sitting there and looking around. He shows seperation and stranger anxiety more than his 2 brothers. He loves to cuddle. He has the most beautiful skin...it is so smooth! And his eyes are so bright blue. He has his 2 bottom teeth now. The bottom right one came in first and the bottom left one was quick to follow. He likes to take a long morning nap and then he won't take more than a 45 or 60 minute nap in the afternoon lately which is kind of a bummer! He is a doll!

Colin

Funny Colin! He is just so funny! He just sits there and kicks and rubs his little feet together and looks all around the room. He takes everything in. I have to be careful, because if I'm busy and he is in the next room playing perfectly happy and I let him see me...oh no, he is not happy. He likes to be held. He is much happier sitting in someone's lap instead of sitting on the floor with his brothers and toys. Frankly, I think he gets bored since he can't move yet. So I reposition him a lot! He is taking longer naps now, too. He lets me keep him on his belly for sleep and as long as he has his binky he is happy! He is still a great eater, but is not holding his bottle by himself yet. He gets so mad at me when I help him learn to do this! He is just SO wonderful!

Daniel

Daniel is motoring around like crazy! He is crawling faster now. He wants to pull up on anything he can get his hands on so he can stand. Daniel now has his top right middle tooth and the top middle left tooth is emerging. He is such a happy little guy! Such a flirt with everybody. He's still my skinny little guy, too. I need to stop buying the same size for all 3 when it comes to matching outfits because his size 18 month pants fall right off him when he crawls around! He is still a super sleeper, but when he wakes up you will definitely know it. He cries upon waking EVERY time! God forbid you go in there to get someone else out of their crib and leave him in there for a minute until you can return for him. He gets himself so worked up when this happens. He also likes to be held for a few minutes after he wakes up. You can't just put him on the floor right away and assume he'll be happy crawling around! He is very sweet.

My little bear cubs

These pictures were taken in an attempt to get a good recent picture for their birthday invitations. We managed OK! The ones with Jack weren't good enough to consider for a Christmas card photo though! Actually tonight we have an appointment to get our pictures taken. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get some good ones. I'm excited. Right now all 4 kids are taking good afternoon naps. Thank goodness!

The 2 Dutch Heads!

These pictures were taken after the LONGEST staredown between them. They took turns cooing and babbling to each other. They were definitely "conversing"! They still just sit there and take it all in. They are not moving on their belly yet, but we're working on them both to help this along. They definitely are 2 sweeties!

Andrew trying to get to the yellow ball

Andrew tried for the longest time to get the small yellow ball out of the middle of the clear plastic ball before I grabbed my camera. So I caught the tail end of his effort. Andrew cracks us up! He sure does know how to entertain his little self!

Daniel and Jack

These guys have been having fun together. Jack gets a kick out of Daniel! Daniel is pulling himself up to stand as much as he can. I always find him in his crib standing and "calling" for me. I just hope he crawls for awhile before he starts trying to walk!

Colin and Andrew (Keep volume low!)

The boys are having more and more fun with each other every day. They are interacting with each other so much in their own ways. Even Jack is playing with each baby more now. He enjoys crawling around with Daniel. In this video Colin and Andrew are enjoying each other's company. But be careful...Colin is quite loud at the end so don't have your volume turned up too high!

Colin

Colin is such a sweetheart and very funny! He gives the biggest smiles and he is so friendly and social. He loves looking at his 3 brothers, jumping in the jumperoo and spinning the wheel on his exersaucer. He is happiest when sitting, not when laying on his belly! However I recently started putting him down to sleep on his belly since he has outgrown his helmet. His last appointment with the orthotist for measurements is tomorrow. His head shape has improved so much and his measurements are within the normal range. He still makes his "monster baby noise" as we call it. He kind of growls and he loves it when you make the noise back to him. He likes to look at his fingers (as you can see in the picture)! He, like his brothers, is saying a lot of Da Das, Gas and Ba Bas. He eats like a horse and he has the belly to show for it! He is still my early riser, but we try and keep him in bed until about 7:00. Usually I hear him in his crib "talking" by 6:15-6:30. He is just a joy! It is hard not to fall in love with Colin!

AND I can suck my thumb while I clap!

I can clap, too!

Sweet Daniel makes me laugh. I just discovered he claps when I do, just like Andrew. He is such a little busy body, too! He is always on the move looking for the next thing to investigate. Quite the little daredevil I'm afraid. He cracks me up when he smiles with his two little bottom teeth and his adorable dimples in both cheeks. He also is working on a top tooth. Middle-right top tooth...it looks painful! He is such a good sleeper. Not too much into eating though! Jack has been having so much fun with Daniel.

Look, Mommy! I can clap!

Little Andrew is still my funny buddy. He loves to cuddle, too! He is patient and loves to sit and play with his toys. He enjoys looking at his brothers and he gives a big broad, gummy smile! He also has a funny, low pitched laugh. A little dorky, but definitely a cute chuckle. He still makes me laugh all the time. He is very tuned into what is going on around him and he watches with an open-mouthed frown on his little face. A look of angst and worry that you can't help but laugh at! He eats and sleeps great. He has beautiful skin and still has the most hair out of the triplets. He still isn't moving, but plays nicely on his belly and sometimes rotates around in a circle on his belly, or his back for that matter. He is happiest sitting and lets me put him on his knees to play. He is a doll!

Daniel crawling

Saturday, November 7, 2009

What fun we are having around here! The triplets' personalities are blossoming more and more into their own and they are just a joy to watch! Daniel is in full mode crawling on hands and knees now. He is into everything! Andrew and Colin are still stationary and content sitting and observing. I think Daniel and Jack will teach them to move! Hoyt left today to go out of town to visit his sister and brother and took Jack with him. So the babies and I kept busy with the beautiful weather we had today. I went outside to rake leaves and the babies watched from the stroller. We took a walk after dinner to Dottie's ice cream (a block from our house) and mommy got a little treat! The babies just sat there in their stroller and stared at each person in the ice cream parlor. Everyone sat there and stared at the babies, too! It's quiet around here without my Jack. But once again so much done in one day. I dusted floors and base molding, cleaned a few windows and window sills, put Halloween decorations away, washed and folded 3 loads of laundry, emptied the dishwasher twice, detail cleaned the feeding chairs, vacuumed, fed 12 bottles and 9 jars of baby food, took a shower, bathed each baby one at a time, changed 12 diapers, changed their clothes each twice, played with each baby individually, picked up toys twice and now entering this blog entry. Next I will sit and watch some of my recorded shows on T.V. and try not to pay attention to all the other stuff that needs to be done around here! Good night!

Andrew making Daniel laugh

Andrew's funny laugh

Shrill Colin

Colin and Andrew

Monday, November 2, 2009

I can't believe it is already November! This year has gone by so fast...even though at times it did not seem to be going very fast! All of the doctor appointments went well last week. Colin and Daniel's hips are fine. Everyone's eyes checked out OK, too. The ophthalmologist predicts that near-sightedness will be in Colin's future. This may likely be in his early grade school years. Anyway, we don't need to return to his office until Colin is 3 years old which is great news! Halloween weekend was fun and busy. Jack was the Big Bad Wolf and the babies were the Three Little Pigs. We went trick or treating in my brother John and sister in law Marie's neighborhood with their kids. Jack had a great time and the babies did great! This was the first time we laid the babies down to sleep so we could hang out for awhile and it went pretty smooth! Today the triplets and I had a play date with 3 other triplet mommies while Jack was in school. All of the babies were born around the same time and it was fun watching 12 babies interact with each other! Once again my sweet babies were well behaved and just sat there and looked around taking it all in! It was no surprise that all 3 fell asleep in the car on the way to pick up Jack at school.