My friend D.V. defines “mommy brain” as brain cells robbed by being pregnant and birthing a baby. I wholeheartedly agree, but add to that a total loss of ability to tell time. . . as in, it’s been a month since our last post. In my best attempt to bore our visitors, here’s a long list of a few of our December events.
My sister turned 30 and the celebration took place at Capital Grille - - - after the kids went to bed. Date night for us.
A little over a week after Stacy’s birthday party, we had a new reason to celebrate - - - Ilya proposed and of course Stacy said “yes”! He's a fantastic guy we've grown to love. Let the planning begin!
Within three weeks, John and I enjoyed three date nights – my grandmother’s birthday dinner at Morton’s, Stacy’s birthday party at Capital Grille, and John’s company party at Landini Brothers. While they were all fantastic evenings together, we both missed being home with the kids and actually welcomed the end of that busy “season”.
Holiday shopping was really quite easy again this year. I began planning early and by the start of November had my Excel spreadsheet finished. By Thanksgiving, most gifts had been made/purchased and were waiting to be wrapped. This, of course, meant keeping “mum” on all the goodies that I could NOT wait to give.
We got our Christmas tree from the same lot we’ve used for years now. I was a bit nervous about the tree’s survival in a house with a dog and three toddlers, but presented the four little culprits with the challenge and all rose to the occasion. The tree has survived, and so have the four shorties in our home. Still being cautious, we hung only child-friendly ornaments within their reach but within a few days, the novelty wore off. Oh yeah, Morgan in a fit did bite a branch. That’s all I’ll say about our tree.
Friendship – and triplets – were celebrated over dinner at Clyde’s when I dined with a few other moms of triplets. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, these women have been a source of strength and support for me in all my times of need. Thank you, girls. By the way, with all those moms how did none of us manage to get a picture? ? ?
A week before Christmas we received a delivery in the form of 20 inches of snow a.k.a. The Blizzard of 2009 and The Snowpacolypse. Yes, we stayed home. No, we did not go outside. I know, it would have made for some cute photos, but until our children are able to speak well enough to beg, beg, beg to go out in that cold, snow, ice, and wind I’m NOT bundling them up. In fact, while John spent EIGHT hours graciously shoveling over the weekend, I didn’t make it outside once. Instead, I stayed inside with the kids preparing warm meals and hot chocolate nearly round-the-clock. Oh, and taking pictures of the kids and the snow – the kids inside by the window, and the snow of course outside. Don’t think I’m all that evil, the kids really showed a dislike for the frosty accumulation anyway. While John was shoveling, he brought a handful of snow to the kids at the front door. Hayden wouldn’t come near it, Morgan ran away, and Landon closed the door while saying “no no no”. In any case, we all handled the lockdown fairly well and while crabbiness was not a factor, the kids got an early Christmas present – a MOON BOUNCE. They had a blast!
For the better part of two weeks, all three kiddos were struggling with colds, fevers, and viruses. Dare I say it, but I THINK we’re FINALLY on the mend. Hayden, Morgan, and Landon handled it all fairly well, although they were exceptionally tired as their bodies fought to get and stay healthy. One day while making lunch, I found Landon had crawled up on the couch, kicked off his boots, snuggled in with his blanket, and fell fast asleep well before nap time. Just days later, Morgan fell asleep on the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, my family struggled with viruses too and as such they could not be with us on Christmas day as planned. The day, though, was wonderful as we still visited with John’s parents, my sister Stacy and her FIANCE Ilya. Santa brought some INCREDIBLE gifts for the children including a play kitchen (a HUGE hit), Cozy Coupes, a trampoline, a slide, some baby dolls, Little People, a tool bench, a train set, a picnic table, clothes, books, and some Leap Frog phonics toys to name a few (remember, we have A LOT of elves in our families). What worked out well was doling out Santa’s gifts slowly throughout the day rather than all at once in the morning. This allowed the kids to enjoy everything they got without being overstimulated.
The kids’ vocabulary is rapidly expanding, especially Morgan’s. In addition to their words, they are also using more signs. “Please” and “thank you” are now part of their repertoire; love the manners.
Hayden, Morgan, and Landon try to dress themselves in some capacity, and Hayden tries to change her own diaper. Oh, and just as they like to dress themselves, they also like to UNDRESS themselves (hence the onesies over some PJs in our pictures).
Yes, all three can climb out of their cribs. Yes, they’re all still in cribs. Fortunately for us, they’ve begun to limit their escape tactics to when we’re in their room so we hope to postpone toddler beds as long as possible.
Ohhhhh the fighting. The stealing. The tackling. It. Never. Ends.
Developmentally the kids are still doing incredibly well. In fact, they are doing many things that are not expected until they reach two years old, things like kicking a ball, scribbling & doodling, turning book pages, naming and pointing to several body parts, pretend play, helping when asked, trying to stand on one foot, stacking multiple blocks, asks for “more”, imitative play, and more. We work with them daily, so I’m not all surprised ,but I do believe that going to JW Tumbles helps too. There they are in a class of kids ranging in age from 18 months to 3 years old, and the curriculum covers a wide variety of skills
I’m SOOOO not done, but nap time is over. I leave you with these photos:
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