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Yeah, gross!
Here is the story. I have about 35 minutes before I have to leave for work. Jeff goes to feed the dog, kids follow. And as always, cause trouble splashing & spilling & making a mess of the dog water. So Jeff attempts to distract them with a car, when he notices... there is poop on the car! (And of couse starts gagging). Then upon further examination, discovers, yep, poop smeared down the ramp of the Little Tikes garage. (More gagging!) So while Hayden continues to splash in the water, he is carrying up shitty toys to wash & I'm trying to get dressed. I go down to help. And notice a plop of poop on one of their little chairs. So I grab that & when I pick it up notice 2 small turds under it too! Shit! Everywhere!
By this time Livi is crying, because we are taking all the toys & we are yelling at a now soaking Hayden to stop splashing. And I now have to leave in 20 minutes. I pick up the 2 small poops under the chair & catch out of the corner of my eye, more poop smeared on a ball... in the ball pit. And I go to look further & exclaim. "Shit- Shit in the Ball Pit!" Yep, turds in there everywhere! 3 crying kids. A dog who wants out. A gagging dad. A mom who has to leave in 15 minutes. And there is shit in the ball pit!
I contain 3 kids, Jeff carrys the whole ball pit & its contents out to the garage. We give the rest of the basement a once over & discover no more poops. I get dressed & with no time to spare sneak out & off to work leaving dad quite the mess. But we are still baffled. Who? When? No one has taken off a diaper. Never has there been a poop-splosion. Nor a day where someone comes up with poop in hand, or anywhere else outside of diap for that matter. Baffled? Daddy "daycare" days tend to be lazy days. And most kids are wearing just a PJ top & diaper bottom by the time mama gets up mid-afternoon. I'm thinking those days will come to an end??
Mystery poop! Our 1st mystery poop. Unfortunately I fear it will not be our last!
LIVI Dr. updates
Eye Dr & Resp Dr follow up this past week. Why is it the girl with all the troubles??
Respiratory:Wheezing still with illnesses. But I can't say I notice her wheeze outside of that (which is hard to judge because in my experience 1 year olds have colds ALL of the time). Outside of colds & our bout with the flu, no major illnesses to speak of. And overall she isn't getting much wheezier than the boys (except on 1 occasion) with colds & I am treating them all with Albuterol with colds. So she is comperable to her sibs. She is still growing & developing appropriately. So we are going to wean her steroid dose & challange her a little bit this summer. See what happens. If we see a regression or if wheezing outside of colds resumes, we will re-evaluate. Otherwise we will follow-up in the fall & discuss stopping the 'roids if she is status quo. We are treating her "as if she has asthma" but at this age (per Dr. Thomas) it is really too early to diagnose. She said "usually kids like this declare themselves by Kindergarten" so it will be probably a guessing game of asthma vs. residual preemie lungs for quite some time for the little missy.
Eyes:With patching for just 2 weeks we are already starting to see her eyes return to both crossing equally, as opposed to favoring her right eye. (Remember, equally alternating turning in eyes is good because that is forcing both eyes to do some of the work & develop vision abilities equally.) However, even with glasses & patching, they are still doing quite a bit of turning. Meaning we have done to this point everything we can do to attempt to preserve her vision & we are onto the step of "talking surgery." This is something Jeff & I have known was always a possibility. And something we talked about doing down the road if for no other reason than the cosmetics (I'm not that vain, but I'd prefer to protect my princess from the other kids. Lets face it, kids are mean!)
I have done a little research (& my pen & paper is handy to jot down questions for the next time we see the good doc). I have looked some at the research of Vision Therapy vs. surgery. And while some find vision therapy successful & some findings show a better long term outcome for vision, I think that is a LONG, busy journey & I have no statistics on how many of those kiddos wind up surgerizing at some point down the road. Also, I have read that with surgery... the earlier, the greater success. Success in preserving her binocular vision & depth perception. So, ultimately I think we'll stick with Dr. Troias suggestions & forego the 2nd opinion at this time.
From my research, it is a very safe, simple, outpatient surgery. They move the muscles to straighten her eyes. And I have heard nothing other than Dr. Troia is the best of the best. So we are going to patch for another 2 weeks (now she gets 4 hours patch-less a day as opposed to just 2 before) & then move on to a week of prism lenses. Prism lenses just look like a bunch of lines on her glasses (not all that attractive, fair warning). And from my understanding (I have yet to look up the research he quoted to me) it allows him to find the best accuracy for her surgery. We are starting with prisms of 20 (which means nothing to me by the way) & may have to change one or both eyes a time or 2 before we find the perfect match. He said surgery success (success meaning straightened eyes in only 1 surgery) is 90% after using prisms vs. 50-60% without. They are a little spendy (so hopefully we won't go through a bunch of changes before we find the right combo) but a 90% chance of not having to have a repeat surgery is worth a few $$ in my book.
Nothing is set. We definately didn't talk dates yet. It might take us some time to find the right prism match. And this mama & daddy have a handful of questions before we go rushing in. We will follow up with Dr. T in about 3 weeks (after 1 week of wearing prisms) & go from there. But more than likely, in the not too distant future, our princess will be having eye surgery. Kind of sad. But kind of not. I'm ready, {I think!}
More than likely she will still need glasses afterwards to correct her farsightedness. And we may still have to patch her for a while or on & off if one eye continues to be dominant (lazy eye as opposed to strabismus).
So thats where we are for now...
Respiratory:Wheezing still with illnesses. But I can't say I notice her wheeze outside of that (which is hard to judge because in my experience 1 year olds have colds ALL of the time). Outside of colds & our bout with the flu, no major illnesses to speak of. And overall she isn't getting much wheezier than the boys (except on 1 occasion) with colds & I am treating them all with Albuterol with colds. So she is comperable to her sibs. She is still growing & developing appropriately. So we are going to wean her steroid dose & challange her a little bit this summer. See what happens. If we see a regression or if wheezing outside of colds resumes, we will re-evaluate. Otherwise we will follow-up in the fall & discuss stopping the 'roids if she is status quo. We are treating her "as if she has asthma" but at this age (per Dr. Thomas) it is really too early to diagnose. She said "usually kids like this declare themselves by Kindergarten" so it will be probably a guessing game of asthma vs. residual preemie lungs for quite some time for the little missy.
Eyes:With patching for just 2 weeks we are already starting to see her eyes return to both crossing equally, as opposed to favoring her right eye. (Remember, equally alternating turning in eyes is good because that is forcing both eyes to do some of the work & develop vision abilities equally.) However, even with glasses & patching, they are still doing quite a bit of turning. Meaning we have done to this point everything we can do to attempt to preserve her vision & we are onto the step of "talking surgery." This is something Jeff & I have known was always a possibility. And something we talked about doing down the road if for no other reason than the cosmetics (I'm not that vain, but I'd prefer to protect my princess from the other kids. Lets face it, kids are mean!)
I have done a little research (& my pen & paper is handy to jot down questions for the next time we see the good doc). I have looked some at the research of Vision Therapy vs. surgery. And while some find vision therapy successful & some findings show a better long term outcome for vision, I think that is a LONG, busy journey & I have no statistics on how many of those kiddos wind up surgerizing at some point down the road. Also, I have read that with surgery... the earlier, the greater success. Success in preserving her binocular vision & depth perception. So, ultimately I think we'll stick with Dr. Troias suggestions & forego the 2nd opinion at this time.
From my research, it is a very safe, simple, outpatient surgery. They move the muscles to straighten her eyes. And I have heard nothing other than Dr. Troia is the best of the best. So we are going to patch for another 2 weeks (now she gets 4 hours patch-less a day as opposed to just 2 before) & then move on to a week of prism lenses. Prism lenses just look like a bunch of lines on her glasses (not all that attractive, fair warning). And from my understanding (I have yet to look up the research he quoted to me) it allows him to find the best accuracy for her surgery. We are starting with prisms of 20 (which means nothing to me by the way) & may have to change one or both eyes a time or 2 before we find the perfect match. He said surgery success (success meaning straightened eyes in only 1 surgery) is 90% after using prisms vs. 50-60% without. They are a little spendy (so hopefully we won't go through a bunch of changes before we find the right combo) but a 90% chance of not having to have a repeat surgery is worth a few $$ in my book.
Nothing is set. We definately didn't talk dates yet. It might take us some time to find the right prism match. And this mama & daddy have a handful of questions before we go rushing in. We will follow up with Dr. T in about 3 weeks (after 1 week of wearing prisms) & go from there. But more than likely, in the not too distant future, our princess will be having eye surgery. Kind of sad. But kind of not. I'm ready, {I think!}
More than likely she will still need glasses afterwards to correct her farsightedness. And we may still have to patch her for a while or on & off if one eye continues to be dominant (lazy eye as opposed to strabismus).
So thats where we are for now...
More Videos
Since I posted some of the boys & had to get some of Livi too. And I ended up getting another of the boys too. Oh well :)
Livi literally 2 seconds before this showed me that she has learned to blow kisses, so I quick grabbed the camera & caught the tail end. She is getting better, however sometimes she gets confused about whose mouth (yours vs her own) she is supposed to put her hand on :) And she gets a little confused at the end of this video too. Love her!
Livi body parts!
Big boys!
Boys shootin' hoops. Insisted on doing it from the little couch. Logan insisted on doing it from the sitting position (assumingly because Jeff & I shoot from sitting on the couch from across the room?) They even have pretty good form! And they amazingly make quite a few!
Livi literally 2 seconds before this showed me that she has learned to blow kisses, so I quick grabbed the camera & caught the tail end. She is getting better, however sometimes she gets confused about whose mouth (yours vs her own) she is supposed to put her hand on :) And she gets a little confused at the end of this video too. Love her!
Livi body parts!
Big boys!
Boys shootin' hoops. Insisted on doing it from the little couch. Logan insisted on doing it from the sitting position (assumingly because Jeff & I shoot from sitting on the couch from across the room?) They even have pretty good form! And they amazingly make quite a few!
Fishes
Sewing... admittedly something I'm not all that good at. But hey, you have to start somewhere, right? Remember those fishes I cut out WAY back when for my next project.....
They actually look a little better after going through the washer. Notice the kiddos wearing them in the Memorial Weekend Pics?!
Memorial Day Weekend 2011
After a year of missing due to {being stuck at home with little triplets} this year we made the journey & the kids' first LONG road trip up to visit Aunt Tisha, Uncle Aaron & cousin Addie for their annual Memorial Weekend Bash!
We left Friday morning & turned our 6 hour drive into a 7 hour trip after a stop 1/2 way there in Ames to let the kiddos run around at the mall for a while & grab a bite for lunch.
They did pretty well in the car. Watched some DVDs. Slept quite a bit. Snacked on cheerios, or um, made a disaster of the van with cheerios. Livi of course fussed on & off most of the way, but thats just Livi for you. Unfortunately all that car sleeping made for zero sleeping on Friday night. They went to bed at 9, & when Jeff & I crawled into bed at midnight, Hayden woke up & was up until he finally (after many tears) napped the next afternoon. After hours of fighting him, we gave up. Jeff stayed up with him from 3-6 & I slept. Then I got up & Jeff slept from 6-8:30. Nice night of sleep before the Saturday party. Oh well. Such is parenthood, right? Logan & Livi slept ok but were up & the crack of dawn.
Saturday we partied. My kids have some SERIOUS stranger danger & seperation anxiety. To the extent that Livi got so worked up at the Y last week that she puked all over herself. So needless to say it was a very whiney, clingy day for them. Especially after not sleeping. But they did get out & play some with all the other kids. And mom & dad got in a little fun too. Enough for mom to get a nice sunburn at least.
After sleeping a little better Saturday night (still up at the crack of dawn), Sunday was a little quiter, with less people around, so the kiddos played a little more. The kids & I each got in a good nap so we all felt a little better that day.
Monday after an early lunch we took off for home. Exhausted & partied to the max! Again they traveled pretty well. Stopped in Des Moines at a McDonalds with a PlayPlace for a bite of ice cream & somewhere to stretch all our legs. The last 2 hour stretch was a little iffy & they were SO glad to be home & hit the hay in their own beds.
We left Friday morning & turned our 6 hour drive into a 7 hour trip after a stop 1/2 way there in Ames to let the kiddos run around at the mall for a while & grab a bite for lunch.
Hayden
No glasses because she can not be trusted with them in the car!
Logan
They did pretty well in the car. Watched some DVDs. Slept quite a bit. Snacked on cheerios, or um, made a disaster of the van with cheerios. Livi of course fussed on & off most of the way, but thats just Livi for you. Unfortunately all that car sleeping made for zero sleeping on Friday night. They went to bed at 9, & when Jeff & I crawled into bed at midnight, Hayden woke up & was up until he finally (after many tears) napped the next afternoon. After hours of fighting him, we gave up. Jeff stayed up with him from 3-6 & I slept. Then I got up & Jeff slept from 6-8:30. Nice night of sleep before the Saturday party. Oh well. Such is parenthood, right? Logan & Livi slept ok but were up & the crack of dawn.
Saturday we partied. My kids have some SERIOUS stranger danger & seperation anxiety. To the extent that Livi got so worked up at the Y last week that she puked all over herself. So needless to say it was a very whiney, clingy day for them. Especially after not sleeping. But they did get out & play some with all the other kids. And mom & dad got in a little fun too. Enough for mom to get a nice sunburn at least.
Tisha & Aaron live on the side of a bluff. The kids had fun climbing up & down the hill.
Hayden worked SO hard to be able to go up & down on his feet like the big kids without using his hands. He had it down by the time we left Monday morning.
Logan was kind of scared :(
Livi playing bean bags!
The big kids found a frog! Hayden liked it.
Addie LOVED it!
Livi was scared (& Logan slept through it)
Hayden mastered the art of climbing up on tables this weekend. To the extent of pulling out a chair from under a table & then climbing up. A skill that this mama hopes he forgot on the drive back home!
Hayden, waiting for the cookies to be done before bed!
After sleeping a little better Saturday night (still up at the crack of dawn), Sunday was a little quiter, with less people around, so the kiddos played a little more. The kids & I each got in a good nap so we all felt a little better that day.
Logan & daddy up at the wee hours
Hayden & Adelyn playing ball
They LIVED on oatmeal raisin cookies
Her bangs are SO curly I just don't know what to do with them!
Hayden
Addie hugging Logan because he was scared & crying. How sweet! She is SO grown up!
This one is going to be trouble!! Don't worry, its empty!!
Livi & Addie: 18 & 20 months
Cousin Kisses!
Cousins! Logan, Olivia, Adelyn & Hayden (best I could get)
They got pretty brave towards the end...
Getting ready to head home. Look at Livi in the middle, she is BEAT! I think thats about how we all felt by then! It was a long, fun weekend & it was so much fun to see everyone!!
We hope you all had a good Memorial Day! Thanks to all of our fallen troops (& as always, also to those who currently serve) Thanks to those who have given their lives so that we may have the freedom to sit out in the sun on Memorial Weekend, grill burgers & brats & drink a few brews in the company of our friends & family. Thanks for fighting for our freedom!
Boy Videos
A few random videos of the boys. (Just didn't have anything good of Liv lately :( Will have to work on that!) Somebody mentioned that I have had less pictures on here lately. Mostly because the kids are too active. They don't sit still for pics & I am too busy doing things with them to snap photos. So hopefully these few moments get you by.
And older video of Logan puzzling. Nevermind the pre-hair cut bed head disaster!
Vroom!! The boys' current FAVORITE thing to do
Daddy daycare night... Video is of Hayden. Logan does it too.
And older video of Logan puzzling. Nevermind the pre-hair cut bed head disaster!
Vroom!! The boys' current FAVORITE thing to do
Daddy daycare night... Video is of Hayden. Logan does it too.
Top 25
There is some little online multiples blog competition going on right now on the Circle of Mom's website. Not real sure what the rules or prizes even are. All I know is now I'm on it & though I got added WAY late & am WAY towards the end, it would be fun to end up with more than the 10 votes that I currently have. So vote away. I think voting ends May 30 & you can vote every day!
To vote for me click HERE!
There are 2 other Nebraska multiples mommies are on there too. Check them out.
My 2nd cousin Heather
And the Wollen Quads (currently in 4th!)
To vote for me click HERE!
There are 2 other Nebraska multiples mommies are on there too. Check them out.
My 2nd cousin Heather
And the Wollen Quads (currently in 4th!)
18 month pics
Took 18 month pictures today... one of the top 10 longest hours of my life.
I think (hope) we managed to squeek out a few good ones amid the terrible tantrums that were my 3 toddlers today. They were horrors! Absolutely, embarrasingly, lay in the grass kicking & screaming, bratty, bratty. Like roll your eyes & walk away. Remember the days of old when I swore "my kids would NEVER act like that!" Pretend those aren't my kids, bratty brat brats. Oh this is a naughty age. And too early for bribery. Just venting...
Should have them in a few weeks, so I guess we'll see....
I think (hope) we managed to squeek out a few good ones amid the terrible tantrums that were my 3 toddlers today. They were horrors! Absolutely, embarrasingly, lay in the grass kicking & screaming, bratty, bratty. Like roll your eyes & walk away. Remember the days of old when I swore "my kids would NEVER act like that!" Pretend those aren't my kids, bratty brat brats. Oh this is a naughty age. And too early for bribery. Just venting...
Should have them in a few weeks, so I guess we'll see....
Tooth count
Hayden: 15 (just waiting on one final top left eye tooth)
Olivia: 12 (needs her 4 eye teeth)
Logan: 10 (needs top right & bottom left molar & his eye teeth)
Olivia: 12 (needs her 4 eye teeth)
Logan: 10 (needs top right & bottom left molar & his eye teeth)
Sad Good-byes
I'm not sure if I posted this picture on here ever, or just on Facebook. But days like this are becoming standard.
I'm glad they love me... but sheesh... they make it hard to leave & go to work!
..and a HALF!
I remember when I was younger how that 1/2 year "birthday" was such a big deal. When you no longer were 7 but rather the much further grown up 7 AND A HALF. Well, my kiddos finally have their first 'and a 1/2!' Yep we are now 1 1/2. 18 months. Long gone are my babies, and all their baby rolls. We are now lean, mean, toddlers. We are learning something new everyday & enjoying the warm weather (while it was here) & the opportunity to get out of the house & explore more. And staying busy we are, hence the reason I'm getting this posted days after our actual 18 month hoorah!
Often with multiples people ask me "Who is the naughty one?" "Who is the smart one?" "Who is the ____ one?" While they are obsessed with classifying them as "the triplets" as opposed to individuals, people always have to find some way to differentiate them and things like "The naughty one" seem to be the chosen way. And while I admit it sometimes drives me crazy, in part because I prefer to see them as individuals as opposed to just one part of a larger whole, I too am guilty of comparing. However I think they rotate through stages of "classification." One is learning something at a crazy rate, while someone else just got done with a spurt & is being naughty, while someone else is mastering something else. So its a fluid comparison as opposed to someone always being "The ____ one."
But for comparison sake...
As of late, Hayden is our "social & inquisitive one." For example, he was the least shy at the TIPS appointment. He is very clingy yet has the least amout of stranger danger in that he will actuall smile at a stranger as opposed to Logan who cries & Livi who peers over her glasses at them in a nasty, old school teacher way. And Hayden questions "dis?" constantly! At home, during our entire family vacation & to every object in the TIPS room. I have an inkling that the "why" age with him could be testing! He is very adamant about declaring his independence & often gets frustrated when it takes me a while to figure out what he wants.
Olivia right now is the "smart one." She can show you SO many body parts (& other similar things) when asked. Head, hair, "pretty" (hair bow), eyes, ears, nose, teeth, glasses, shirt, pants, shoes, socks, bib, belly, belly button, fingers, foot, toes. Fingers... thats my favorite for some reason. I think that is a LOT of knowledge! She really enjoys books. Not necessarily reading them, but pointing out & learning new things. They newest one she can usually show me is a strawberry.
Logan is the "doer." Oh he is a busy body. Never sits still. Always doing something. Puzzles are big. Doors are still a favorite. Putting in, taking out. LOVES to drive cars. Throw balls. Go..go..go! 99% of the time he is SUCH a good player. And a few times he has KICKED a ball. Done it on accident, thought it was funny, then did it on purpose. So we'll keep encouraging that with him.
We have all pretty much mastered the art of getting on the couch. Logan sometimes struggles, but Hayden does have a whole inch on him. And we are doing pretty well with knowing a couch is for SITTING! As opposed to standing or jumping. Because our couch butts up to the railing in our split entry home. Standing on the couch back would mean a kid falling 5 feet & crashing down the steps. So this is something we are very strict about.
We are getting better about remembering that our toys are now in the basement. And we are doing great with the stairs. Only 1 Logan tumble & 1 Livi tumble to report. Olivia's, I'm sorry, was hillarious. The front door was open so she was walking from the dining room, gazing out the door, not paying attention & just stepped right off the edge (while mommy was trying to hurdle the kitchen gate & run from the kitchen to stop her because I saw it coming) She took one step off, did 1 sideways summersault spaning about 4 stairs, landed on her butt & that is where I caught her before she fell the other 2 stairs. She cried for about 6 seconds, I reminded her to be careful & watch where she is going (such a hard thing to learn) & off she went. Totally not traumatic. And I can laugh 1. because she is fine & 2. because I have TOTALLY done the same thing. Not in our house at least... but as everyone in my life knows, stairs are definately NOT my strong point.
We continue to be somewhat picky eaters. And live mostly off the same staples as we did a month ago. One of our newest faves is V8 fusion juice. And our newest eating ability is that we can all now eat certain things with a fork!! Olivia screeches out in excitement everytime she stabs something & it stays on. She gets so excited we have to remind her to actually EAT it. We like spoons too. But mostly we dip them in pudding or applesauce just enough to get a dab on the spoon, as opposed to actually scooping up spoonfuls. Maybe thats why the lessened weight gain? A lot of the time they INSIST on eating with silverware & often refuse to accept help.
We have gotten really good at using shaking our heads "NO" to show our independence. Mostly while eating when they don't want a bite of something off my plate that I want them to try, instead of just grunting or locking their lips, they shake their heads "NO."
And in our independence, we have gotten pretty naughty. We like to hit. And it has grown beyond the "you steal my toy & I react & hit." Its like the... I'm going to intentionally walk across the room & all out hit you on purpose! We can be down right naughty. And unfortunately, they have us out numbered & they feed so much off of each other. Throwing food at the dinner table for example. Logan tosses a handfull of eggs off & they splat on the floor. Hayden & Olivia proceede to laugh hysterically. Jeff & I scold & say "No." But due to the siblings laughing, AKA encouraging the behavior, more food throwing follows. Why would you listen to mom & dad saying NO, when the continued behavior gathers laughs from the chorus? This is why people say multiples are so hard. They gang up on you (& out number you!!)
We are working on learning how to clean up. Which is where the putting cheerios in the cup story from TIPS comes in. We have some little snack cups that are "spill proof." And I gave them to the kids one day full of snacks while I hopped in the shower for 5 minutes. When I was done I found all 3 of them pulling out handfulls of crackers from the cups & throwing them up in the air. Laughing hysterically. Kind of defeats the spill proof concept? Hallway COVERED in crackers! So through tears & tantrums, I made them sit & pick up each & every cracker & put them back in their cups. One by one. They knew they were in trouble. I wasn't mean, but it must have warped them because the lesson stuck. We used those same snack cups on vacation & if they accidentally dropped one cracker, 9 times out of 10 the immediately stopped, picked it up & put it back in the cup. We can occasionally get the concept to carry over to picking up toys, but it is very short lived & it never fails that I have 2 picking up while #3 is pulling the same toys back out! But its a start. Now if we could just stop with the food & sippy cup throwing off the high chairs we'd be in SUCH a better place.
One of my favorite things right now is them clapping for themselves. Dunk a basketball & clap. Livi went down the slide over & over & clapped at the bottom everytime. Get in a puzzle piece & clap. Throw a ball, clap. They are so proud of their accomplishments & I LOVE that!
One of the biggest changes lately is their individual choice of "favorite" parent. Hayden has always, always been a mama's boy. I think I've said that 1000 times. But lately he prefers Jeff over me 100%! To the extent that it makes me sad :( If we are both home, you better believe I ought not be the one to pick him up, hand him his sippy cup, anything. Daddy, daddy, daddy. And Olivia, who used to be a daddy's girl.... always wants mommy! So while I am grieving my lost Hayden cuddle time, I am quite enjoying my mother-daughter time. Logan continues to be the least needy & we usually play zone defense with him. Though lately too it seems he prefers Daddio to me too. Coincidence? Or do they make some gender association at this age already?
Often with multiples people ask me "Who is the naughty one?" "Who is the smart one?" "Who is the ____ one?" While they are obsessed with classifying them as "the triplets" as opposed to individuals, people always have to find some way to differentiate them and things like "The naughty one" seem to be the chosen way. And while I admit it sometimes drives me crazy, in part because I prefer to see them as individuals as opposed to just one part of a larger whole, I too am guilty of comparing. However I think they rotate through stages of "classification." One is learning something at a crazy rate, while someone else just got done with a spurt & is being naughty, while someone else is mastering something else. So its a fluid comparison as opposed to someone always being "The ____ one."
But for comparison sake...
As of late, Hayden is our "social & inquisitive one." For example, he was the least shy at the TIPS appointment. He is very clingy yet has the least amout of stranger danger in that he will actuall smile at a stranger as opposed to Logan who cries & Livi who peers over her glasses at them in a nasty, old school teacher way. And Hayden questions "dis?" constantly! At home, during our entire family vacation & to every object in the TIPS room. I have an inkling that the "why" age with him could be testing! He is very adamant about declaring his independence & often gets frustrated when it takes me a while to figure out what he wants.
Olivia right now is the "smart one." She can show you SO many body parts (& other similar things) when asked. Head, hair, "pretty" (hair bow), eyes, ears, nose, teeth, glasses, shirt, pants, shoes, socks, bib, belly, belly button, fingers, foot, toes. Fingers... thats my favorite for some reason. I think that is a LOT of knowledge! She really enjoys books. Not necessarily reading them, but pointing out & learning new things. They newest one she can usually show me is a strawberry.
Logan is the "doer." Oh he is a busy body. Never sits still. Always doing something. Puzzles are big. Doors are still a favorite. Putting in, taking out. LOVES to drive cars. Throw balls. Go..go..go! 99% of the time he is SUCH a good player. And a few times he has KICKED a ball. Done it on accident, thought it was funny, then did it on purpose. So we'll keep encouraging that with him.
We have all pretty much mastered the art of getting on the couch. Logan sometimes struggles, but Hayden does have a whole inch on him. And we are doing pretty well with knowing a couch is for SITTING! As opposed to standing or jumping. Because our couch butts up to the railing in our split entry home. Standing on the couch back would mean a kid falling 5 feet & crashing down the steps. So this is something we are very strict about.
We are getting better about remembering that our toys are now in the basement. And we are doing great with the stairs. Only 1 Logan tumble & 1 Livi tumble to report. Olivia's, I'm sorry, was hillarious. The front door was open so she was walking from the dining room, gazing out the door, not paying attention & just stepped right off the edge (while mommy was trying to hurdle the kitchen gate & run from the kitchen to stop her because I saw it coming) She took one step off, did 1 sideways summersault spaning about 4 stairs, landed on her butt & that is where I caught her before she fell the other 2 stairs. She cried for about 6 seconds, I reminded her to be careful & watch where she is going (such a hard thing to learn) & off she went. Totally not traumatic. And I can laugh 1. because she is fine & 2. because I have TOTALLY done the same thing. Not in our house at least... but as everyone in my life knows, stairs are definately NOT my strong point.
We continue to be somewhat picky eaters. And live mostly off the same staples as we did a month ago. One of our newest faves is V8 fusion juice. And our newest eating ability is that we can all now eat certain things with a fork!! Olivia screeches out in excitement everytime she stabs something & it stays on. She gets so excited we have to remind her to actually EAT it. We like spoons too. But mostly we dip them in pudding or applesauce just enough to get a dab on the spoon, as opposed to actually scooping up spoonfuls. Maybe thats why the lessened weight gain? A lot of the time they INSIST on eating with silverware & often refuse to accept help.
We have gotten really good at using shaking our heads "NO" to show our independence. Mostly while eating when they don't want a bite of something off my plate that I want them to try, instead of just grunting or locking their lips, they shake their heads "NO."
And in our independence, we have gotten pretty naughty. We like to hit. And it has grown beyond the "you steal my toy & I react & hit." Its like the... I'm going to intentionally walk across the room & all out hit you on purpose! We can be down right naughty. And unfortunately, they have us out numbered & they feed so much off of each other. Throwing food at the dinner table for example. Logan tosses a handfull of eggs off & they splat on the floor. Hayden & Olivia proceede to laugh hysterically. Jeff & I scold & say "No." But due to the siblings laughing, AKA encouraging the behavior, more food throwing follows. Why would you listen to mom & dad saying NO, when the continued behavior gathers laughs from the chorus? This is why people say multiples are so hard. They gang up on you (& out number you!!)
We are working on learning how to clean up. Which is where the putting cheerios in the cup story from TIPS comes in. We have some little snack cups that are "spill proof." And I gave them to the kids one day full of snacks while I hopped in the shower for 5 minutes. When I was done I found all 3 of them pulling out handfulls of crackers from the cups & throwing them up in the air. Laughing hysterically. Kind of defeats the spill proof concept? Hallway COVERED in crackers! So through tears & tantrums, I made them sit & pick up each & every cracker & put them back in their cups. One by one. They knew they were in trouble. I wasn't mean, but it must have warped them because the lesson stuck. We used those same snack cups on vacation & if they accidentally dropped one cracker, 9 times out of 10 the immediately stopped, picked it up & put it back in the cup. We can occasionally get the concept to carry over to picking up toys, but it is very short lived & it never fails that I have 2 picking up while #3 is pulling the same toys back out! But its a start. Now if we could just stop with the food & sippy cup throwing off the high chairs we'd be in SUCH a better place.
One of my favorite things right now is them clapping for themselves. Dunk a basketball & clap. Livi went down the slide over & over & clapped at the bottom everytime. Get in a puzzle piece & clap. Throw a ball, clap. They are so proud of their accomplishments & I LOVE that!
One of the biggest changes lately is their individual choice of "favorite" parent. Hayden has always, always been a mama's boy. I think I've said that 1000 times. But lately he prefers Jeff over me 100%! To the extent that it makes me sad :( If we are both home, you better believe I ought not be the one to pick him up, hand him his sippy cup, anything. Daddy, daddy, daddy. And Olivia, who used to be a daddy's girl.... always wants mommy! So while I am grieving my lost Hayden cuddle time, I am quite enjoying my mother-daughter time. Logan continues to be the least needy & we usually play zone defense with him. Though lately too it seems he prefers Daddio to me too. Coincidence? Or do they make some gender association at this age already?
Thats pretty much what has been going on here. I had some beautiful tulips bloom this year, so I got a few photos snapped of the kiddos.
Hayden
Stopping to smell the flowers.
Pretty flower for my mama :)
Olivia! I got a few smiles!
Her true feelings about this photo shoot situation....
Logan
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