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.
Can't wait until they are old enough for the full production!
Well, thank goodness for the time change, I theoretically have an extra hour to play with tonight. Since, I missed my October post, I will use that extra hour to my advantage. The girls are still growing way too fast. Miss Sabrina is now 6 months old: babbling, rolling over, sitting up in a tripod, and now is a Gymboree baby! Mia and Livvy are just becoming little ladies before my eyes. 
Example conversation:
And they are still quite the performers. They used to just think they knew the words to songs. Now they are singing along almost completely accurately. And of course, Sabrina thinks she is singing with them too. The big girls sing to her on a regular basis. They love their Baby Rina. Who, Mia occasionally calls, Sabrina now. ~Sigh~ 
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.
