Spilt Milk, again

I'm am playing around, trying to see which works better.

Spilt Milk

Millie Moo

Tia Karen and Uncle Jon gave us the book Millie Moo at our Atlanta shower. It has been a favorite of ours from the very beginning. The book has various circles filled with fabric for the reader to touch.

We have recently moved the books down to floor level so the babies can "read" whenever they want (this may not last too long as we have several injured books now). This video is one of the first times they pulled out the book to read and feel on their own.

I like this video because it show several different things:
Mazie waving and clapping and saying "uh oh."
Lucia and Elliott arguing over who gets to touch the fabric (watch her swat his hand away).

Our first step

We had our first step today: Mazie Bell. She has been the one really working on her skills the past few weeks, so it is deserving that she takes the first step. She took a few tentative steps first--basically stepping to fall into me. But then she tried again and took a stable and secure step. H and Whitney were there to witness the milestone.

I have since tried to get her to do it again, but she doesn't want to. I'll hold my fingers out in front of her, trying to get her to take a step and grab on to them, but she always sits down and then comes to me. When she did take that step she was near a chair and an ottoman, so I think she felt safe with those two things around her.

We were also excited for her to be the one to take the first step because Elliott rolled over first and Lucia sat up first. The way things are going now, Mazie will also be the first to walk--our little 15 pound walker.

Definition of Friend

"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? ... By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that."
E.B. White from Charlotte's Web.
We have been blessed with a set of good friends since moving here. All four of them are the definition of friend. They have good ears, they are generous with their time and talents, and they will do anything we ask of them. Plus, they are just fun to be around.
We feel comfortable calling on them when we need a hand, and, often times, they are there offering help before we even know we need help.
Also, and maybe more importantly, the babies love them and they are all good to our babies. We feel so blessed and fortunate to have these friends in our lives.
Tiffany and Clay with Mazie. Karen and Kevin with Elliott.

Room with a View

After putting the babies down for their afternoon nap today, I made myself a little lunch and sat down for a spell to eat before getting back to work. A few minutes into my meal I noticed the curtain at Elliott's bed moving. After a few more bites, I looked up to find him peering at me. He has now learned how to move his curtain and see what the world does while he is napping.

After I moved myself out of his line of view, he settled into his nap.

Ball

Yesterday we had our first word object association. I am not a baby expert, so I don't know where this skill falls in terms of age appropriate development, but it was a neat thing to see happen. Mazie and I have been playing a lot of ball lately. Since I am not very adept with babies in general, I pay close attention to recommendations other parents give us. Seth had these great balls at the beach, so I bought them for Avery and our babies. Mazie and I love to play with them. We roll them back and forth to one another. I say and sign ball to her while we play. It has been our favorite thing to do lately.

Yesterday I was sitting on the floor with the babies. None of us were really doing anything specific. Mazie and I had not just been playing ball. One of these sensory balls was out of my line of vision hiding behind a Tonka truck, but she could see it. She made a few sounds that sort of had a B sound, though she wasn't trying to say ball. (We certainly aren't there yet.) But, when I heard her say something like B, I said, "Ball, Mazie. Did you say ball?" She reached behind the truck and picked up the ball and held it up for me to see.
I was very excited, this being our first time where a baby has clearly associated a word with an object. Mazie was not as impressed with herself as I was, as she put the ball down and went back to doing her thing.
I have tried a few times to get her to replicate the feat, but she seems bored by my pleas. She will only look over at the ball, as if to say, "It's right there, go get it yourself."

Phases

I've stopped saying certain things are good or bad when referring to the babies. It is no longer, "Yes, they sleep well," or "The babies are great eaters." Now I am using the word phase, because, as we have learned, repeatedly, things change so quickly. Sleeping can be going great on a Tuesday and Thursday evening you find yourself unable to keep up with the aerobic workout of running among the three backs you have to rub so no one has a meltdown. So, now, we are in phases. We are in a good sleep phase right now. Mazie is in a picky eating phase.

Another phase we are entering is the climbing phase. Elliott has started hiking his leg up as though he is wanting to climb onto things, like the fireplace hearth. Now that Elliott is in a climbing phase, I am in a not-happy-to-be-entering-the-climbing-phase phase.
Yes, he fell off the dishwasher door soon after I snapped the bottom photo. No he did not get hurt.

Bye Beth

For five weeks this summer we had a college student come help with the babies for about ten hours a week. Beth was great with the kids and they really liked spending time with her. Having her here allowed me to get outside and do some gardening and also work on a few projects I have going on, not to mention fold some laundry and fix some suppers.



Our good-bye was not so sad though, as she will be working in the nursery at the church we attend. See you Sunday, Beth.

A Window Seat

Last Saturday we struck out without a regimented plan, our first time since having babies in tow. The day went well, though we could have probably have stood to get the babies home earlier. We have recently moved the babies from their infant carriers into their car seats, thus they are now rearranged. Lucia now is in the middle row at a window instead of in the middle of the back row.
Our girl loves having a window seat. She spends the bulk of travel time watching things move by at varying speeds. She loves to look at trees and stores and cars, whatever the window allows her to see. As you can tell from the photo below, she even likes to make funny faces at cars next to us.

Happy Birthday Pretty Avery

Battered

We are collecting our fair share of scrapes and bruises and, as shown on poor Lucia's arm above, teeth marks. I think Lucia did the scraping of her own knuckles, below, but we can't be sure.
Elliott hit his eye on a cast iron rooster, as evidenced below, cut his lip on the corner of a wooden box, and bruised the top of his foot when he turned a small wooden bench over on himself--all this today before noon.
Mazie's goose egg is not showing up so well, but she slipped on some water outside the tub Sunday morning and hit above her right eye on the claw foot of the claw foot tub.
We are sure that lots more marring is to come as the babies are starting to stand without assistance and walking is only a few months away.

Chocolate or Carrots

I feel like I have posted about eating quite a bit lately, but it seems some days that all I do is feed these babies. In a twelve hour time period we take five bottles and have three solid feeds. We get up, eat some, play a little, nap, eat some, play a little, eat more, nap, play some, eat more, play some, usually take a walk, eat some more, go to bed. That is our day.
The thing about our eating is that, despite practicing for several months now, it seems we are only getting messier. And, I read last night, they are supposed to start feeding themselves at about a year old. Now for their feeding schedule, I am using their adjusted age--as if they were born the middle of October and not the first week of September. But I can't imagine what we will look like when these rascals start driving their own spoons.
Following Seth's example from the beach, we have tried black beans and tofu and "chunky orchard mix" which has apricots, pears, apple, and bananas. They like the beans a lot and the love the tofu. I have been giving those two to them as finger foods, meaning I place them on their tray and they pick them up. I think the next thing for us to try will be egg yolks.

I know the most important thing for us to do at this point is to instill a positive attitude toward food. When Mazie gets full, we don't push her. If they really seem to not like something, we don't make them eat it. (Green beans seem to be the only thing they really don't care for. Their Grancy will be proud of them.)
There are few things more annoying than picky eaters, especially adults, but children too. This is what I think of often as I am feeding them. I want my children to be good eaters. (I realize I may have just cursed myself with that first sentence.) I think it is unrealistic to expect children to choose carrot sticks over chocolate cake. That is why we pay attention to our own choices and why we choose what options we give them: "Do you want carrot sticks or orange slices." Chocolate cake is a treat to be enjoyed every so often, not every day. These are things I think about when I am feeding this little group of little people. I hope I will steer them in the right direction so that they enjoy good food but also see it as fuel for their bodies.
The first three photos are of the babes after a recent feed. The last three show them in typical bottle drinking positions. Elliott is laid back, while the girls use their feet to help operate their bottles. Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoy some delicious summer fare tonight.

A Fear Realized

Since we have brought the babies home (almost ten months ago), our lives have been riddled with fears of different sorts. One of my reoccuring fears has been that I will be changing a diaper of a baby, say on our bed or on the couch, and leave to go tend to something else--like grab a cord out of a baby's mouth or pick up a screaming baby, thus allowing abandoned baby to roll off the changing area and get hurt.

Well, Sunday at the Gulf, we were getting things ready to come home. Elliott had a dirty diaper, so I laid him down on the bed to change it. Once I got started, I heard H's parents in the family room talking about how Lucia had spit up, and they didn't have a rag. I had some rags right there with me. "Oh, they need a rag," I thought, "Let me go give them one." Elliott never once entered my mind. I went out to the family room and left him on the bed.

What is most upsetting to me is that I never thought about the baby on the bed. My mind got completely distracted. When I would ruminate over this fear, I always knew that this is how it would happen--that I would completely forget about said baby. And, that is indeed how it played out.

Once in the family room, I threw Papa Glenn the rag. At that point I don't remember what happened first: I remembered I had left Elliott, Holly called my name with a certain amount of panic, and Elliott hit the floor crying. Luckily the bed is low and he landed in a way that did not hurt him too bad. I cried longer than he did.

I know that mishaps are going to happen. It is just harder to deal with them when they are your fault and could have been avoided.

Mazie: Ten Months

Happy ten month birthday, Mazie Bell. You have five teeth. You are getting more and more hair on top of your head and it all stands straight up. We call you our little spring chicken.
You are very cautious with new people, but after a while you warm up and give them smiles. You are very loving. With people you know, you like to be close to them.
Your favorite way to spend your time right now is by sitting and smiling and clapping.
You like to eat, but not as much as your sister and brother. You seem to get full faster and tire of our eating sessions, but if the Yo Baby yogurt comes back around you will jump back in.
Mazie, you love animals so much. You will look out the windows at the dogs and smile. You will chase Vincent all around the room. You squeal with excitement when you see any of the animals.
You have begun to babble and talk to yourself more and more. Just in the past few days you have started imitating sounds, most frequently "uhh oh." You love to blow air against the leather chair's arm or against my arm to make sounds. You also love to make funny sounds by breathing air in.
Happy happy birthday, Mae Mae.

Elliott: Ten Months

Happy Birthday, Elliott K. At ten months, you have six teeth and a bit of very blond hair. At the crown of your head, you have a cowlick that makes your hair stand up.
You are very cautious with people. You like to observe and hang back until you feel comfortable with them. While you like to have fun, you can have a serious demeanor when meeting new people.
You love to make your sisters laugh. They think you are so funny. You laugh and lunge at them to get them to laugh back at you. They also love to follow you around when you strike out to a different part of the house.
You rarely sit still. You will occasionally sit a play with a toy, but not for very long. Usually you would rather be standing or crawling or pulling up.
You love to be read to, enjoying any book that anyone will read you.
You are quieter than your sisters, but you do enjoy babbling. It is like you are just talking away to yourself.
Happy happy birthday, Little E.

Lucia: Ten Months

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Lu. At ten months you have the most hair and four teeth.
You are very social and good with people. You always have a smile for people. You are always ready to laugh. You love to express your joy with lots of squealing. You will do this throughout the day and for long periods of time.
You are content to play by yourself, working on your pulling and sitting skills or playing with toys or your feet.
You love to eat and try different foods. You are not one to turn your nose up at much.
You love to be read to, watching the reader as much as the pictures in the books. You always smile when we read to you.
You love to spit and make bubbles and sounds come out of your mouth, sometimes even when you are eating.
Happy happy birthday, Lu.