State of Sleep & Present Activities

As it turns out, even if your kids are sleepers, that doesn't mean you get to sleep through the night. 1 toddler needing nightlight and tucked in + 2 babies going through growth spurts and teething + 1 lab with a delicate digestive system and a mom who has bionic hearing = maybe 3 full nights of sleep each week. At least that is how it's been the past month or so. It seems that we are kind of getting back into the grove of sleeping now so we'll see what spring will bring. So far it's brought us dead grass and lots of new tulips. Looking forward to the tulips blooming but not so much planting more grass. (Perhaps we should just turn our side yard into a sandpit.) And did you catch the mention of teething? That's right....Hannah and Leah are both working on those bottom chompers. I'm sure it will be a month or more before they surface but they are on the move. For now the girls are into the mushy solids....oatmeal, green beans, peas, and squash are the items on the menu this weekend. Next week we'll start sweet potatoes and then it's on to the fruits! (I personally am looking forward to bananas.) As far as present activities, when I started writing Leah was downstairs hanging out on her tummy with Jay and Joseph was showing Hannah how to use the excersaucer. He gets very excited when we take out a "new toy" and he's been digging all the rattles and chew toys. And since it's actually been 30 minutes since I first started this blog entry, all kids are now down for a nap. And now the question of whether to join them, or clean. Let's see....a flavorful coffee will wake me up but who is going to put away all of our crap?

Conwayville

33 years, 3 kids, and one almost 3 year old. I should pick 3 as my powerball. Maybe then I could establish the independent republic of Conwayville. For those of you not familiar with Conwayville, it is a country within a country. Kind of like the Vatican, only there isn't a pope, there is me. I would invite all my friends and family to live there (and maybe a babysitter or two), and we would enjoy late night bonfires (while the kids are sleeping), drinks by the pool (while the kids are sleeping), and I would perhaps invite a member of the Tenuta family to open a restaurant there so that we had great Italian food and good pizza all within walking distance. And perhaps if we invested our money wisely, we could even establish a high speed rail between Conwayville and the nearest big city. It would be magnificent.....

Happy St Patty's Day!

Working for the Weekend

Joseph hard "at work". He's been pretty busy and having lots of fun lately. They moved on from outer space to dinosaurs at daycare so last week he had fun at the Milwaukee Museum with his class checking out the old remains and caves. (I'm not actually sure what he means by the caves but he says he had a lot of fun in them). Since we had some nice days above 40 he got to get his bike out and practice pedaling. He's definitely improved since last year but prefers to only pedal downhill. (HA!) He was on his tricycle one night while Jay grilled brats and has been requesting them ever since. In fact today when I asked what kind of happy meal he wanted (it was a special treat today as his dad was in need of french fries), he said he wanted the brat one. (he got a cheeseburger instead) But according to Joseph he's "not having fun yet", but he will later when he goes swimming. When he wakes up from his nap Jay is going to take him to the pool, so that we can get him used to water again before swim lessons start up this spring. Or as Joseph would put it, he's going to go "practice blowing bubbles like a scuba diver".

We Missed It!

Yesterday Leah and Hannah were on the floor in their room, the usual after eating scene where one is on their back and the other is on their belly. Leah was having her turn at tummy time when Jay ran upstairs to check on Joseph and I went to the bathroom to grab a tissue. I was gone all of 30 seconds and when I returned to the room there was little Leah lying on her back. She hadn't made a peep, did not look upset (nor did she look overly pleased with herself), and was clearly not in the spot that I had left her. She rolled over. On her own. And we missed it! Hannah was the only witness, and she's not talkin.

Leah and Hannah are 5 Months Old!

Hannah is on the left in each photo



Can you believe it? I can't. It's ridiculous. Five months have gone by since we drove our girls home from the hospital and settled into life with two babies. So much has happened....learning to sleep and take naps, smiling at us and laughing with Joseph, playing with rattles, chatting while eating cereal, holding heads up high, kicking feet like it's a race to see who goes fastest and grabbing everything in sight. And now we are entering the phase where they no longer stay in one spot! They don't roll over yet, but the do move around on their backs and twist their heads all the way over and up and can easily roll off of things (don't worry, we haven't dropped one yet). Five months into it and still cute as can be (if only I were certain that we would be able to say the same thing when they are teenagers!)

Notice a Pattern?

Leah seems to have taken to chewing on her sister lately. Oddly, Hannah does not seem to mind.

Minivan Marathon Adventure

Last weekend we packed up all three kids and set out in the minivan headed for Ohio and West Virginia. Apparently the weather gods were on our side and we had our trip timed perfectly in between snow storms. We left our house at 6:30 in the morning and by some twist of fate didn't hit any traffic in Chicago and arrived at our destination 10 hours later. But what was really amazing, was that we had no tantrums, crying, puking, blowouts or anything else that would have led to potentially disastrous conditions on the road. The drive back was just as smooth. Joseph was so good the first part of the trip that as we were getting ready to stop for lunch I thanked him for being nice and then asked if he wanted a happy meal. He of course said yes, but then asked "What are you going to get mommy, an angry meal?" We got quite a few laughs out of that one. The little dude is full of funny comments these days. The girls may not be able to talk but they are equally as amusing. Leah's latest form of blabbing is sticking out her tongue and making zerbert noises, and we sometimes have to wait to feed Hannah because she's too busy smiling and giggling at whoever is holding her. It's the little laughable things and cute smiling faces that keep you from loosing your mind when a toddler refuses listen and a baby forgets how to sleep through the night. A latte or a nice glass of wine also work quite well!

Leah Smiles

Everytime Leah starts talking I run for the camera but the moment has always passed. One thing you can count on though is a huge smile from the little lady each time that you place her on the changing pad next to her friend Gingham (yes, that is what we have fondly named the curtains). You can also count on her sleeping through the night. She's won the gold medal in the sport, but a video of that performance wouldn't be nearly as captivating.