Ha-na-na-nah

We have lots of goofy little names for the kids, but this one for Hannah is my personal favorite (let me hear you say uh). She's such a cutie. She loves interacting with people and has come to terms with being on her belly and sitting in her bumbo chair. When she's on the floor she's twisting and turning more and more....a few times we thought she was going to roll over, but it hasn't happened yet. If you rattle something in front of her she kicks her feet like crazy and gets a very determined look on her face as if she's performing an Irish jig on her back. A lot of people think she looks just like Joseph when he was a baby. And many think they are all carbon copies of me....but we shall see. Only time....and nose....will tell.

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.

Hannah and Leah's First Solids

Hannah (top) and Leah had their first experience with solids on Friday with some flavorful rice cereal (which for those of you who have never tasted rice cereal, it is really just bland, flavorless, mush). I don't think the look of excitement on Hannah's face is actually over the experience, but more that someone is interacting with her. You can stop Hannah from crying just by smiling and using a sweet voice (something which I'm sure won't work forever). Leah actually gobbled it up, though both of them let it sit in their mouth for a while, as shown by Leah's lovely pose. Here's to hoping the solids eventually bring Hannah a long night's sleep again....she's been waking up 3-4 times a night this past week, requiring us to get out of bed and put her pacifier in. Leah, who prefers the thumb these days, thankfully sleeps peacefully through all the wailing. As does Joseph. Whew!

Joseph's Version of the Itsy Bitsy Spider

Hannah Babbles

Hannah has turned into quite the talker over the past few weeks. She babbles and smiles and makes all kinds of silly facial expressions....here's just a little sample of typical Hannah. (And yes, those are burps we are laughing at.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

4 Months - STAT!

Hannah
Height: 25.75in (95%)
Weight: 14lbs 8oz (75%)
Head: 40.5 cm (35%)


Leah
Height: 25in (75%)
Weight: 13lbs 13oz (60%)
Head: 40.5 cm (35%)

Joseph's Morning

Joseph awoke shortly after 5:30 this morning (quite early for him, though becoming sort of normal for Jay and I), and after eating his breakfast decided that he must wear his rescue pack and save the humpback whale (and did you know that humpback whales make noise? Joseph can make the humpback whale sound better than anyone I know.) Ok...so maybe most of the people I know wouldn't even be familiar with this sound (unless they watch Diego several times each week) but if there was a contest in some weird small town somewhere he would definitely take first prize. And don't ask me why Yurtle the turtle is between his legs. I have no idea. After finishing up with his rescue pack he moved onto doing letters on the computer. I'm not sure if all almost three year olds know how to move the mouse and click on letters and arrows on the screen but Joseph has definitely mastered the technique. He can actually sit at the computer and occupy himself for 30 minutes going through sounds, matching games, and songs without any help (which is AWESOME if you have things to do, like oh say washing bottles or making bottles or washing bottles.....oh....and it's also pretty nice that it's educational). Not sure what's up next for the day but I have a feeling it will involve cars and movies.....and bottles.....and definitely naps.

All Smiles

Well ok, so this is not always the scene at our house, but they do smile pretty for the camera on occasion. :) Hannah and Leah got their first cold last week, but they slept through the night. Whereas Joseph woke up friday night and saturday night and had to be told that it was still nightime. Hard to get upset with the little man though because he started pooping on the potty this week. He actually comes home from school in the same clothes we sent him in. HUGE progress!

Hannah and Leah are starting to look a lot older, and are getting bigger as I had to retire some more pants this week after sending Hannah to daycare in what appeared to be cropped pants. Their hair looks brownish but every time I see them in a picture it appears more golden. We really won't know until closer to a year if they are anything like their brother, he had fuzz until after 9mos. Their eyes look exactly like his for now too...but again...waiting for the one year mark on that one. They have both become ticklish under their chins and giggle and smile more often. But every time I run to grab the camera the smiles have faded. I should just wear it around my neck. I started 5oz bottles over the weekend, hoping it will help them sleep at night. They were doing great and then last week they would each wake up once or twice, get plugged with their pacifier, and go back to sleep. After having the bigger bottles yesterday Hannah actually went back to sleeping from 6:45pm to 5:45am and Leah woke up once around 1am and then back to sleep until Hannah arose. Jay has been in Puerto Rico since Thursday so I'm sure when he returns they will sleep through the night again else he will resume his esteemed position of nighttime caretaker. This was his first trip since the girls arrived (at least I think it is....the end of last year is a bit of a blur), and so I was forced to do a few daycare dropoff and pickups by myself. Jay and I agree, it's actually not hard, just takes time with all the trips back and forth to the car and in and out of rooms. It helps that Joseph has been agreeable to leaving each day, as opposed to the refusals we were faced with quite often last year. (I probably just jinxed myself for tomorrow). And I have been reminded of the medela steam bags for washing all of my 2000 bottle parts so that process has gotten a lot easier each night. Now I'm down to under 10 minutes. We've also made bottle making easier by getting the pampered chef pitcher that has the mixer gadget in the middle. A day's worth of formula made in minutes! However the universe is playing some cruel joke on me because just when we've got things figured out, this morning when I went to heat up the girls first bottle the start button on the microwave didn't work. (and no, there is no workaround for this, it is used for every single complicated function that the microwave has to offer). The old reboot, or in this case, unplug-replug, seems to have worked but I have a feeling it's days are numbered. And as I cannot fathom not having a microwave, we shall be picking one out this week just in case. I could probably keep babbling on but I was actually writing this to pass the time while waiting for Joseph to eventually tire and take a nap, but alas, his requests for "mommy" have not stopped. And you never know what you might find with a partly potty trained almost 3 year old in a closed off room so I had better run...

Potty Progress

We are by no means "done" with potty training, but we have passed a significant milestone. After having two logs in his underwear at school yesterday, Joseph told us last night and this morning that he had to go poo. (why he is doing so four times within a 24 hour period I do not know, but if that's what it takes to make some progress I'm all for it!) Joseph was pretty happy because he gets to enjoy popcorn and a movie after dropping the kids off at the waterpark, so last night he chose Dora (though technically not a movie) and this morning he chose Nemo. If he does it again today then tonight we all watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I'm not convinced we've found his "currency" yet, as we've had this movie restriction in place for several weeks, but maybe if we catch a few more stomach viruses or eat some BW3s that will do the trick.

One Week Down...Hundreds of Bottles to Go!

While this scene may not seem daunting to some viewers....it is what Jay and I dread coming home to each night. All 12 bottles and their 2000 parts. Aside from the raw hands from all of the washing, the first week with both of us at work went pretty well. The mornings were surprisingly easy, though that is because no one had any early morning meetings to get to and our kids all woke up like they were all set to some bizarre alarm each day. We carpooled most of the days and both did the dropping off and picking up, but on Thursday Jay flew solo and said it went just fine. The hardest part is loading everyone up to go home partially because of the amount of stuff to remember to grab but for me mostly because the girls scream from the minute you put them in their carseats until the minute you have the minivan in motion. But after that there is some nice silence to follow where we chat and look over everyone's sheets from the day. Very important to know who's pooped and where they've pooped, especially since our eldest seems to enjoy crapping in his underwear every single day. And after we're up to speed and have managed to carry everyone into the house, the first hour is a bit of a rush but with two of us it calms down rather quickly. The girls have been passed out by 7 with Joseph following by 8. The night then belongs to us and the bottles. And most nights we sleep all the way through until 5:45 or later....though a couple of mornings Leah has woken up for a quick giggle session with her dad around 4 and then back to sleep. If it was with mom there probably wouldn't be as much giggling.

Leah & Hannah at 3 Months!

That went by fast!

For Joseph and Jay their vacation ended on Monday, and as you know my "vacation" (HAH!) is up in a few days. We did a lot in three months...doctor and dentist appts, parks, playdates, holidays, shopping, a few nights out...and in the last two weeks we squeezed in as much as possible while Joseph was on his vacation. (he loved the word vacation). I took him to the zoo (yes I know it's winter, but I just don't consider 30 and above cold anymore.) And we do mostly indoor stuff anyway...Joseph loves the sharks and fish. So Jay took him to discovery world too, where there is an aquarium and Joseph is able to touch the sting rays. Jay also took him to the redneck aquarium, aka, Cabella's. :) He loved the bears, deer, and other animals there too. We also squeezed in a visit to the pool (yes, the pool was indoors, and no, it was not me who was in a bathing suit!). The girls stayed at home with me during most of this fun but they did accompany me on some shopping trips and visits. This week I even brought them to the gym with me. They have a playroom there and a special area for infants. Gone is my excuse for not working out on the weekends. ;) And so it has almost come to an end. A weekend in Minnesota and then back to work I go!

Ah the Joys of Sleep

Uninterrupted sleep. Oh how we have missed you, and are grateful for your return. Not only has Joseph stopped getting out of bed and walking downstairs at nap time and bedtime, but it seems our lovely girls have also learned how to sleep through the night. The kids have all been going to bed around 8pm and as of this morning, all waking up after 6am! Yesterday the girls awoke at 5:30 am and today it was 6:45 am! We of course realize that this is likely not permanent, but it is the start of a very happy era in our home. The era of sleep.

It's the Final Countdown

Da na na-daaaaah Da na na-da-daaaaah
Da na na-daaaaah Da na na-da-daaaaah

It's the final countdown. One more week at home with the girls and then back to work I go! The daycare forms are filled out, the check has been written, all of the extra clothes, diapers, blankets, sheets and formula are set aside and now we just need one huge honkin bag to get it all there. (Good thing I bought two of the big blue ikea bags when I was there last weekend. 59 cents each! Oh ikea, why don't you come build a store near me?) One of the sections on the forms for the girls asks for "favorite toys and activities". Over the past week we actually discovered that Hannah enjoys looking in mirrors and Leah has developed a fancy for green gingham. Whenever you put Leah on the changing pad next to the curtains she coos as though she is carrying on some blissful conversation with the green and white checkered stripes. And the only way to keep Hannah happy on her belly is to place a toy with a mirror on it in front of her and she starts to chat away. Now I just have to figure out where I put our bottle bags and get out the bigger bottles. We're still writing down when and how much the girls eat each day and it seems as though we are going to have to pack 5 bottles for EACH of them EVERY day. And as I refuse to buy more small bottles we will be bustin out the big ones. (If anyone knows someone who is interested in coming over to our house every evening to wash bottles, do give me a ring.) And it's not just the girls that need to bring a lot of stuff to daycare, Joseph also needs to have a few extra outfits now that we are in the potty training phase. And as I've learned this doesn't just mean underwear and pants...but also socks and shirts. (And sometimes it means a change of clothes for you as well so hopefully his teachers are prepared). What's baffling to me is how the little dude can have a dry diaper in the morning after being asleep for 10 hours and awake for over 30 minutes, but then proceed to pee all over himself later in the day. We've been taking away tv when he does this, and giving him treats when he makes it to the potty. Not sure if we've figured out his currency yet, but we'll see how it goes when he's back at school. He's very excited to show all of his friends his underwear, so maybe being around the other kids that are potty trained will help. Either way he's looking forward to going back to school and it will be nice for me to have a quiet week at home with the girls before the madness begins on January 11th!