Word Update

Language acquisition is so fun to watch. The babes are really enjoying trying out new sounds and words. They still love to sign, which is becoming more and more helpful as they become more and more expressive. We usually eat bananas at breakfast, rarely at other meals. The other night at supper Mazie was not happy with her food choices. She said "bah" and I thought she wanted her bottle. I told her "No, we don't get a bottle until bedtime." She then said "bah" and made the sign for banana. I said, "Oh, banana?" She got a huge smile on her face and was so happy when I started cutting her up a banana.

Lucia has started saying two syllables. Bye has become Bye-bye and Buh (for her brother Bubby) has become Buh-buh. Lucia also will say "thank you," unprompted when we hand her something. Her thank you sounds like "tie, tie."

Elliott says some words correctly, like "wah" for walk, but he also is making up some words. Like his cousin Avery, he now loves the moon. We have a bright light that shines from the other side of the pond at night. He points to it and says "moon moon." He also points to the moon in the sky and the moon in books and will excitedly say "moon, moon." Except, his word for moon is buh. Being the Southern he is, buh is usually two syllables, occasionally three: "boo-uhh boo-uhh." Also, he loves lights: the lights in the car, the lights on the ceiling. Lights are "cah, cah." Of course, car is also "cah," but he is always pointing when he is telling what he sees.

Mazie is our babbler. Here are things we hear her saying: "guh bah guh bah guh" and "bagel bagel bagel." She spends all awake time in her crib babbling and then babbles throughout the day as well. She does say words, too, like the others. Some of her favorites are "go," "walk" ("wah"), "milk" (mee), and she says "bah" for a lot--Bubby, bottles, banana.

We got to observe something fun with Mazie before we left for Christmas in Kentucky. Mazie had been calling Elliott "Buh" for a while. Then she began pointing to Elliott and asking "Buh?" We'd say "Yes, Bubby." Then she'd point to Lucia and ask "Buh?" We'd say "No, Sister." This went on every morning for about a week. Now she points to Elliott and says, "Buh" and Lucia and says "Si." It was interesting to watch her process that their names were different. These are the things I love observing with them at this stage. Their little minds are always working.

The pictures are of Mazie in her Nana's gloves and ear warmer.

New Napping Schedule

Apparently I've been denying the inevitable. Friday I was telling one of my child rearing consultants about how the babes are not napping well. She very directly yet gracefully told me they are wanting to go to one nap. Not something I wanted to hear, I let it roll around in my head all weekend. Then Sunday evening, H and I talked and decided to plunge into a One Nap schedule Monday. Today is our second day with one nap. The transition, while not painless, continues to be easier than I thought.
I thought the toughest part would be keeping them awake until noon. They've been going down for a morning nap about 9:30. This has been relatively painless though. I let them play a lot. About 10:30 I put them in the wagon and we go check on our new farm additions. When we get back about 11:30, it is time to eat and then time to sleep. The wagon is great because the children have to sit up; they don't lean back like in the stroller where they would just fall asleep.
With this new schedule the babes have been going to sleep rather easily (knock on wood). My biggest concern after going through our first day yesterday is the length of that One Nap. Lucia only slept an hour and a half. And Elliott slept the longest, at only just over two hours. On their two nap schedule, they were getting close to four hours of sleep from their naps. This mama needs her babes to nap longer than two hours a day.
Lucia has always needed the least amount of sleep. When she woke up first yesterday, she sat in the chair like a big girl for a few minutes and read a book while I finished a project I was working on.
Mazie also enjoyed doing some reading this morning.
The wagon Cousin Avery gave the children for Christmanukkah is such a great piece of our daily schedule. It is going to make the transition to one nap easier. Walking the babes in the stroller would not be good, as they would be out like lights as soon as we hit the dirt road.
(And Yes, Summer, this is indeed another set of camo fleece the babes received for Christmas. We are apparently firmly rooted in at least some aspects of rural culture.)
We are in for a chilly week with several hard freezes predicted for the upcoming nights. I love it, but do hope our new animals will be able to find warm places during the nights.
Today was our second day trying to stay up until noon and our second day rambling about in the wagon. Today Elliott and Mazie were either more comfortable in the wagon or they were exhausted. Maze leaned back and snoozed the last few minutes, despite my annoying efforts to try to rouse her.
Elliott did the terribly annoying head bobbing thing; he'd snooze off, dropping his head down thus waking himself up. It was painful to watch. Luckily we were almost home.
Pretty Lu was the only one to stay awake for the ride today. After eating their lunch, they went down for their nap. Here's hoping it will be a longer one today.

All Call

On our trip to Kentucky, during our closer-than-normal quarters, H noticed that the babies have a call they do at night to make sure the others are still there. It sounds like the word doll without the lls at the end. One will call it out, and if another is still awake they will answer with the same sound. Now that we have noticed, we realize they do it during most naps and every night. It is sort of like they are checking in with one another.
This weekend H and I rearranged the nursery. We were so excited. Some things needed changing--we couldn't see Mazie in her crib, Lucia figured out she could turn the lights on and off--and we decided to tackle it Saturday. This may seem like normal chores to many, but for us it was no small feat. The babes milled about while we got the job done. It felt good to accomplish something just the two of us.
The photos are of the children playing with some of their Christmas gifts.

Droves and Herds

Perhaps it is the moon's influence, but at our quasi-farm we got six babies within 36 hours: two goats, one Mouflon sheep, and three Barbados black-belly sheep. And, in that group are two sets of twins. Multiples must be in the water around here.

Here is the group from a distance, all hanging out together.
The Mouflon are to the left, the goats to the left of the tree trunk. A black-belly baby is between the Mouflon and goats.
Here are the black-belly twins. The other black-belly baby is back to the left.
Here is one of Verma Lee's babies. Our goats are named, but not the sheep. Don't ask me why. I don't know. Maybe because we have less goats.
Here is Verma Lee with her twins, born earlier in the day.
Here is Big Daddy. He stood by the fence and when Sipsey, our lab, would get too close to the fence, he'd stamp his foot at her.
He is gorgeous, isn't he? So regal.
He's is not someone to mess with.
Here is the black-belly singleton with its mama.
Look at those ears.
Here is the Mouflon mama and baby. This baby was already frolicking about.

Whatever you call it

loony bin
funny farm
asylum
nut house
hoo hoo hotel
the fifth floor
tuscaloosa
milledgeville

If all my days were days like today, you'd have to come visit me there.

we were having guests for lasagna at six
the dessert i made turned out ugly, not at all my vision for the creation
the dessert leaked a sticky mess all in our deep freeze
lucia did not take a nap--all day
no one took an afternoon nap
lucia was very fussy--all day--due to no nap and fourth molar trying to break through
our well broke down so we had no water from ten am to six pm
therefore not only was I unable to shower, but i also missed my window to get my teeth brushed until suppertime

but the end of the day wasn't so bad

a nice man named steve came to fix our well
the babes went right to sleep
our friends brought good company and flowers
we drank a bottle of wine
i took a hot shower

i'll tackle the sticky deep freeze at a later date.

Weight, Weight, Don't Tell Me

That's right. It's time for the newest edition of Weight, Weight, Don't Tell Me, version 16.0.


Today, on their sixteen month birthday, we took the babies to the big city for their check up. Their Nana went along with us and we had a good day, our rides to and from the big city timed perfectly with the babies' need to nap (this rarely happens). We also went to lunch at Ruby Tuesday's, the same restaurant we took the babes to last month. This time we left an even bigger mess, and, therefore, an even bigger tip.

As for the pediatrician, she thought everyone looked good. Ears are all cleared up. Their chests are clear. She is pleased with their developmental milestones and their varied diet. We don't have to go back to see her until the babies' second birthday. And, the babes' favorite news, no more shots for two years!

We discussed our concern over Mazie's weight with her. Mazie has stayed on her same little curve and because of this the doctor says not to worry. She is doing just fine. Failure to Thrive babies do not follow a curve; their weight plots horizontally. Also, they do not reach milestones appropriately. Mazie does not fit either of those characteristics. Though we won't be taking her in for check-ups until September, Mazie will be getting weighed once a month through April for her RSV shots.

So, here are their heights and weights at sixteen months. The percentiles are for full-term babies.

Lucia
Height: 31" (50%)
Weight: 21# 6 oz (25%)

Elliott
Height: 32" (50%)
Weight: 23# 10 oz (25%)

Mazie
Height: 30" (25%)
Weight: 18# 2 oz (<5%)

Casual Days

We have a nice family in town who hands down some of their triplet attire and accoutrements. Yesterday we spent the day hanging out in these shirts. We didn't dress until 5:30 when we had to go to Nana's for supper. Below are some scenes from our day.

Here is Mazie playing with the babes' new Ladybug Stars Nightlight (Thanks, Grandma). It is her current obsession:
Here is Mr. Serious sporting his new Life is Good hat:
Lucia with brother's stolen hat:
Admiring herself:
Here is Lucia drinking one of her three bottles for the day:
(Just Kidding. The lid in on.)
Thanks for checking in on us. We hope you have a casual, comfortable day soon.

Happy Birthday Dear H

Today is H's birthday. She had a wonderful day filled with lots of wishes for a wonderful year. We went up to her mom's for fried shrimp and crab casserole, a delicious meal. One of her favorite gifts was from her grandmother. She and Nannie share the same birthstone and Nannie gave H her first pair of earrings that her parents had given her: a pretty pair of garnets and a special gift.
Last year H's birthday was not the best. We had three babies about to turn four months old and were a little on the sleep deprived side. I won't paint the entire day for you, but the sketch of it involves eating McDonald's and getting in an argument in the Wal-Mart parking lot before going in to drop hundreds of dollars on diapers and formula. Happy Birthday to you!
So this year I wanted her day to be better. Sunday I arranged for (three shifts of) childcare so she and I could go off for the day together. We saw a few friends and then spent the day shopping and had lunch. Then today I made one of her favorite cakes (The Joy of Cooking's 1-2-3-4 Yellow cake cooked in a tube pan after adding a cup of chopped pecans and a bag and a half of chocolate chips. It is divine. Make it today) and a Ray Lamontagne CD. She said she enjoyed this birthday much more than last year's and I am glad.

Happy Birthday, H. We love you.

Here are some scenes from our time at Nana and Papa's house:

Old Habits

Ah, 'tis the season for reflection and contemplation.

Here is a list of nine (09) habits that I want to work on the early part of this new year.

1) Get Lucia sleeping through the night again (though I know she doesn't feel well and can't breathe out of her nose, I am, nonetheless, exhausted).
2) Elliott wanting to play with toys other than the ones Lucia and Mazie have.
3) I want people, including H and me, to be able to eat a bite or drink a cup of coffee without having the children begging like puppy dogs (just because they look so cute signing more and please doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to consume solid or liquid in their presence).
4) Their multitude of toys being organized and accessible and not in state of disarray.
5) To take number 4 a step further, I'd love for the children to begin picking up after themselves. This is a skill we need to work on with them more. They love to help out when we give them the opportunity and direction, I just need to be more consistent in working with them.
6) Elliott not wanting to eat, tear, and destroy every non-board book in our house. Once he cuts his molars, I'm sure he'll go after the board books too.
7) I'd like for us to go outside everyday the weather is decent.
8) We've fallen out of the eating together routine. I'd like to sit down with the babes at least once a day and eat while they eat. To do this though, requires me to not be lazy: I have to prepare their meal ahead of time. Also, I usually do dishes while they eat. It is a habit I've formed. They love to get in the dishwasher, so emptying and loading it is much easier when they are confined.
9) Finally, I'd like to read a book individually to each of them a day--sitting in my lap, one-on-one time, read a book. We read most everyday, but a lot of times they are playing while I read or they will come sit in my lap, then get up and go do something else. I am going to make more of an effort to grab them one at a time for a short story each day.

I've talked with the children about resolutions and goals and habits, and how it is important to self-assess periodically in life. They've each come up with something they want to work on:

Lucia: Not pulling poopy diapers out from under her bum when I lift her legs up to change her and flinging them and their contents across the room.
Elliott: Not eating every sheet of paper he can get his hands on. (This will work nicely with my #6 above.)
Mazie: Not sticking her finger up her nose in public, especially in front of the preacher.

Happy New Year

I collect quotes. I have a file in Word where I type or paste quotes I find that have meaning for me. When I taught English, I often used quotes to spur my students' writing. I'd say quotes are one of my obsessions. This year three of the holiday cards we received had quotes, and I enjoyed each of them. I thought to bring in the New Year I would share them with you in hopes that you and yours have a wonderful 2009 full of health, joy, and peace.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away." Unknown

"It is not unusual when everything is beautiful. It's just another ordinary miracle today." Sarah McLachlan

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." Mother Teresa

Finally, here is the quote of the day our pastor sent out this morning:

"I suppose when we wake on January 1 the world will look the same. But there is a reminder of the Resurrection at the start of each new year, each new decade. That is why I also like sunrises, Mondays, and new seasons. God seems to be saying, "With me you can always start afresh." Ada Lum