Girls of Summer

Whew! It has been a long, hot summer and it's not over yet. I spent many months wondering what life would be like when my third child arrived. There is just no predicting the unknown. Like it is with life, you learn as you go. In my short tenure of being a mother of three, I have figured out that some things are easier and some things more difficult than I thought. As I had a habit of doing in the classroom, I am borrowing ideas from my colleagues. In this case, a fellow mom. Thanks Jen, for the idea, I will be borrowing a likeness of the format used in your last post.

What is easier than I thought it would be: Going out with 3 children under the age of 3. Livvy and Mia can be surprisingly obedient when I really need them to be. Also, my full term baby is sleeping very well, a pleasant surprise.

What is harder that I thought it would be: Getting organized. I was overconfident since I am the control freak teacher. Since my 3rd is also a girl, I thought "piece of cake", I have everything I need. Well, I do, but this singleton is gaining weight so much quicker than the twins that I don't feel like I ever have the timing right, when it's time to get the next batch of clothes out the upstairs closet. Also since I only have one, I didn't keep the daily feeding and diaper feeding charts that I did with the twins. I find myself asking "when did I last feed you?" on a daily basis.

Important summer milestones for Livvy and Mia: Toddler beds and swim lessons! Each one is a process. As is true with most learning processes, there are peaks and valleys. So, some nights and lessons are fabulous and others are torture.

Summer milestones for Sabrina: sleeping 8 hrs at night, smiling and laughing audibly, trying to sit up on her own, tracking Mommy and sisters every move, grabbing overhead toys on play mat


What you do you that make me laugh: Sabrina's laugh when she's tickled, it's contagious. How Livvy and Mia really think that they know all the words to every song. Of course, their love for dancing.

I want to cry when I see how the girls dote on their baby sister. In the midst of a major, classic, terrible two tantrum, they will just look at their sister and smile. With crocodile tears still on their cheeks, they say "Baby Rina happy" and like magic the meltdown is done.

It is bittersweet to hear my two year olds' speech develop. I am starting to hear Betty instead of Bubbie, Olivia instead of Livvy, complete sentences instead of one word answers and hear back & forth conversations. Just today, Mia told Livvy to get her another piece of watermelon "Get more watermelon" and Livvy promptly fetched it for her, saying "here" when she returned from the kitchen.

I am surprised that I have been able to get out of the house on my own as often as I have this summer. I have managed to stay involved on committees for sorority events, attend all 6 classes of my MOPS bible study, make lunch dates, dinner dates, play dates, and I have even seen 3 movies within a week of their opening days!

Obsession of the summer for Livvy and Mia is drumming. Just about anything they can get 2 of become drumsticks. They hit them together and count out loud "1, 2, 3, 4!". Just like Marina from Fresh Beat Band.

My hear melts when I get the unprompted "Thank you, Mommy".

Phrases often heard from the mouths of my babes: 
I like this song.
I don't like this song.
Do you want me to read to you?
I want it.
I have it.
I do it.
NO! I do it.
It's not working.
Paper only!
And I mean it.
Girls, get in bed. (The last two are when they mock Mommy, if you didn't guess.)

As summer draws to a close, it's time to prepare for year 2 of MOPS, School for Little Children and year 3 of Familia. The twins will take gymnastics for the first time. Sabrina and I will spend some time at Gymboree. I can't wait to see that this school year brings for us.

Three is the Magic Number

It has been a few months since I posted and thought it was about time. As you know, I have had my hands full with baby #3. On May 3rd, we welcomed Sabrina to our family. Yes, we had some tantrums and a little jealousy still creeps through, but all in all the girls love being big sisters. I love this picture because it's the perfect snapshot of my life. We are all doing different things but are still a unit: Mia - the observer, Sabrina - too small to keep up, Livvy - content doing her own thing, and Mommy just keeping her jewels close.

In addition to their never ending concern for Baby Rina, they are very sweet with each other. I often hear one of them consoling Sabrina when she cries, saying "It's okay" while rubbing her head. And they ask each other when they fall or just lose it, "You okay?" and the other answers, usually after a deep breath, "okay". My hopes are high that I will have some very considerate and thoughtful young ladies one day.

As can be expected with two year olds, they are busy bodies and into everything. In a short two week period, they managed to get into a small jar of Vaseline, baby oil, and Boudreax's butt paste. It took several hair washings with dishwashing liquid and cornstarch applications to soak up the Vaseline and just a few days of patience to eventually get their hair back to normal.

  As predicted, Mia is the little mama. She wants to do everything for Sabrina and will let me know when I can "helper". "I do it" is a common phrase from both Livvy and Mia. They are getting so independent! Now that Sabrina is awake more, they spend more time talking to her. It is very sweet. It's funny, before Sabrina arrived, I still thought of my twins as my babies. But seeing them next to Baby Rina really puts into perspective how much they have really grown.

  We have been enjoying our little break from school and as tired as I am, I love having all 3 with me. Livvy and Mia are taking swim lessons and are really taking to the water. Last year, they either loved or hated being in a pool, no in-between. Now, they are all about water. That plus my MOPS bible study is keeping us busy and social.

Hopefully, I will soon be able to get my schedule situated to take Sabrina to Gymboree and that way all 3 of my girls will get their mommy time and mommy still gets to get out. That may wait until girls are back at school in August. We will be busy this fall, MOPS starts back up and so does my Familia class. It will be interesting to see how I do juggling all this with my 3 angels.

Two Years Old!!!

Last month, my munchkins turned two. I still can't believe it. I know I have said this a million times, but it is going so fast. We have registered for our 2nd year of Mother's Day Out, mommy is 30 weeks along with the next baby, summer is fast approaching.

We celebrated their birthday at Castle Jump and they had a great time with their friends, family, and most of all, the cousins.  It was a great place to have the party because we didn't have to limit the age of the guests. So, we had a full house.

The picture above was our cupcake cutting at home on their actual birthday. Mia has recently started this folding hands while sitting at the table. I think it's super sweet.

As previously mentioned, they are growing and changing so fast. Their tastes are changing. Last year, we couldn't get enough Wiggles. This year, in the words on Heidi Klum, "they're out". Lately it's all about Elmo, Fresh Beat Band, Backyardigans and Dora. I have to say, while they are not all my favorites, I am grateful that there is more of a variety present. Most of these shows have one thing in common, music. My girls love, love, love music. Most of you have witnessed the dancing but now that they are more vocal, the singing along with songs is pretty sweet to hear, too.

Mia and Livvy are most definitely social butterflies (a new favorite word, although they say "Fufferfly"), although it does take Mia a little bit to warm up still. They are starting to say cousins, aunts and uncles names, with the usual adjustments. Aunt Betty is Bubbi, Uncle Hugo is Gogo, Sarah is Sata. They can say Reed and Ally just fine. Like little ones do, they must know where everyone is at all times. When Hugo came over the other day, if he were out of their sight, even for a minute, it was "where did Gogo go?". Pretty darn cute.

Along with these new found vocal skills, of course, comes more bickering between them. But make no mistake about it, they are still best buds. They still entertain and console each other. I continue to hear "yeah" and "tadaa" while they are in their cribs. Which inevtiably leads to to cutest giggle fest you have ever heard.

Makes me wonder how the new baby is going to effect this dynamic. We'll know soon enough!

2011 Already!

I can't believe January is almost over, where does the time go? It has been about 2 months since my last update. So sorry about that! Mia and Livvy are growing up so fast, I can't stand it. In just 2 short weeks they will be turning 2. Sidney has been coaching them to say "two" when you ask how they are. Thanks to Barnyard Dance ... the promenade two by two line is a favorite. When reading it, Sidney will ask "how old are you?", "how many babies?", "not 1 but .." It's a whole thing. Too cute!

Let's see, the girls had a fabulous Christmas. The kitchen was their favorite gift, as well as the box it came in. It made the perfect stage for them to dance for us!











We made it to our 2nd annual breakfast with Santa party but they wanted nothing to do with him. The girls had a great time playing in the backyard!






Now we are getting ready for their 2nd birthday party. They aren't just saying words, there are phrases and questions and yes, arguing with each other. But they also console each other and cheer each other on. When one slides down a slide, the other claps for them and yells "yay". When they are avoiding sleeping, they entertain each other. Over the monitor I hear, applause, "yays" and lots and lots of giggles. I love hearing that!

I talk to them like I always have but now they respond. When they bring me the remote to watch their favorite show, I will say "First, we'll eat lunch. Then, we'll watch your show". Lately, I have been getting the "okay" from them, sometimes even the less favored "fine". They will definitely tell you to "stop it" if they don't like what you're doing. And, "no" is a commonly heard word. They may not always be able to tell me what they want, but they can tell me what they don't want.

They love going to Children's Day Out. I could not have asked for more caring teachers than Ms. Donna and Ms. Eileen. The girls eat lunch and nap without mommy, that is a huge success! The teacher even suggested that I start sending utensils with them for their lunch, because they do so well with them. Lots of times, they don't even sit at the same table for lunch. Making their own friends already! Such big girls!!!

Back from Hiatus

I seem to have forgotten all of September and October. So, here it is the a week before Thanksgiving and I am just now posting September & October happenings. First off, the girls are doing great at Mother's Day Out. Amazingly, the girls completely switch personalities at school. Mia, who in any other situation is a total momma's girl, is the independent one who consoles her sister when she is upset. Livvy who is my social butterfly, is the one who cries when I drop them off. And she has been known to follow around the teacher until they pick her up. Go figure.

The girls love to play "side". That is their word for outside and sometimes for slide too. They are loving their little fort outside. Now that it's cooling down and they have better motor skills, they really get into their outdoor play. Livvy used to be scared of the slide. Now she is all over the place, on her own. Mia remains to be my fearless one. I mean no fear, which scares Mommy more than anything. I know that is a good trait to have sometimes.



Their favorite new words are: mine, no, more, what's this, what's that, and here. "Here" is usually used when they are trying to pawn off toys on each other, to replace the one that was previously snatched. Smart cookies.

Their personalities continue to compliment each other when it comes to music. Livvy is always the first one to start dancing and Mia is the first one to start singing. They make quite the performing pair.

I should mention the main reason for my hiatus was a rough, as in sickness, first trimester. The girls will be big sisters come this May. Every time I sat down at the keyboard, I wanted to share but it was too early. We are in the "safe zone" and I see a light at the end of the morning-sickness tunnel, so I thought it was time to share.

Growing up so fast - 18 months

I just can't get over how fast they are growing up. The girls sure did make us proud today at the Wiggles concert. They took everything in, enjoyed their surroundings, stayed close to mommy and daddy, and we loved watching them get so into it. This is just the beginning, I know. There will be many more, loud concerts that we will have to endure as their tastes change. This was perfect, 1 1/2 hours, small venue. I have to say they really know their audience because the audio wasn't so loud that it scared little ones. Well done, Wiggles.
When we are watching the girls have such a good time, suffice it to say, it made us enjoy the day that much more!
 

New happenings, we are now the parents of two walkers. Olivia finally stopped holding out on us last month and took more than two or three steps. And she just hasn't stopped. The girls are talking to each other more than ever. It's just so cool! We will hopefully starting Mother's Day Out next month. We have been on the waiting list at St. Laurence since January and are still there. So, I have been frantically calling other programs and am currently at the top of 2 other waiting lists. We are also going to be returning to Familia next month. Can't wait to start that back up. And, will be adding MOPS to our agenda once a month. I think I am getting the hang of this stay-at-home mom thing.

As busy as we are going to be, the girls are going to be sad that their cousins won't be around as much now that they will be starting school soon too. They have always been social butterflies and they love entertaining company!





Oh, a new favorite toy,that is not a toy, is the blanket basket. They love to sit in it and use it to help them get up on the bench. This allows them to enjoy their window seat.



That's all the news I have to report for now. Be sure to check back next month! Or, if I am doing really well, later this month!

Chatter boxes

The girls are less and less babies everyday. They talk to each other and they understand each other. It is something else to watch, you can really see the conversation take place, the back and forth and taking turns. And they seem to answer when asked a question.


As you can see, they are showing more and more interest in stuffed animals. It's pretty adorable when they hug them and carry them around with them. And of course, now they are starting to fight over them too.

Livvy is really starting to walk. She is taking more than one or two steps. She actually walked across the living room yesterday. When she is frustrated, she reverts back to crawling. After all, she can do that at lightning speed!

Sidney's new favorite way to torture me is to joke about the girls pageant days and that someday mommy will have them on Toddlers and Tiaras. Let me rest all your worries right now, that is not going to happen. Boy, he loves telling people that though. Those of you that know him know he's kidding. But not everyone does. But now two of their new favorite toys from Ally's hand-me-down dress up box are, of course, the 2 plastic tiaras.

It was a busy, busy weekend. So many of you asked about the girls. I knew I was overdue an update. So here you go. One interesting thing, Dad was on duty yesterday while I was at Salsa Luncheon and let me tell you, they are full-on Daddy's girls this weekend. When he tried to go to the gym, Livvy was holding on to the legs of his shorts. Then he picked her up and tried to hand her to me. She held on to his shirt with both hands. Didn't want Mama. It was actually a pretty sweet moment. I think Sidney enjoyed it. A funny Mia tidbit, she says "Hi--ii" every time we pull into our driveway. It's as if she is greeting our home.
We are practicing going up and down the stairs. I may actually have to start working out again if I am not carrying 40 pounds up and down the stairs. I leave you with a cute shot of synchronized stair climbing or should I say, race to the top. I think it really was a tie.