1.29.11 ~ 19 months

Hmmm...what's new with the girls this month? I'm trying to think if there are any major milestones. I think Avery and Camille are having more gross motor development lately. Avery can jump with both feet coming off the floor and Camille can almost jump. Brelynn isn't jumping yet, but she's picking up speed and you could almost call it running. Avery and Camille can independently do a summersault. Brelynn tries but it looks more like standing on her head and falling over sideways :) And the climbing...oy! I'm pretty sure one of the girls (Avery?) climbed onto our kitchen table and pulled my coffee cup off last week. How she did it I'll never know. I think Brelynn is working on catching up with her sisters in the gross motor development and she's pulling ahead in her communication. She is starting to say some short 2-word phrases like 'dada work' and '(where) dogdog go?' in addition to all the requests for more food (they all say/sign 'more ____ please', usually asking for crackers or cookies). They all know so many body parts (all the obvious ones plus sometimes elbow, eyebrow, knee, shoulder, chin, cheek). The girls love their fruits and veggies and have been known to put down a cookie to eat broccoli or beans. But don't worry, they also love chocolate milk and licking the beaters after I make frosting. In fact, Camille loves food so much that she ate too much and threw up in her crib after we put her to bed this week. I found 'the incident' in the morning and felt terrible that she had to sleep with that in her crib all night. I really hope it's a very, very long time before anyone gets sick again. Apparently I don't handle puke very well. Blood, no problem, but vomit...it's not for me.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful girls. They're starting to play together for a little while at times throughout the day. I've caught them pushing each other on the swing and giggling and sharing toys without me asking them to lately. I know the terrible two's are knocking on the door (tantrums are also getting more frequent), but for now I'm going to enjoy the moment and consider myself such a lucky mommy!

1.27.11 ~ Glasses

We had the girls follow up eye appointment today...I'm happy to report that nobody needs glasses and we don't have to go back for a year! There was concern that Brelynn would need glasses after her last appointment but her eyes have corrected so she doesn't. She must have liked wearing the glasses at the optometrist because when we got home she grabbed the empty Guinness box from the recycling and put it on to make her own glasses :) Sorry about the picture quality...it was taken with my phone and she wouldn't hold still.

--Sent from my Virgin Mobile

1.24.11 ~ playing outside

More pics from some of our walks when it's not raining. 

Brelynn (polkadot hat) in her usual open mouth pose



Avery (purple hat)



Camille (striped hat)

some perspective on how big the girls are :)

ring around the rosie...awww

come on sissy...let's go!

And from another day...Avery (striped hat,/green shirt), Brelynn (purple hat/purple shirt),

Camille (polka dot hat/pink shirt)

1.15.11 ~ Keepin' busy

The girls are getting more and more adventurous and are bored playing inside all day. I've started planning some sort of structured activity each day that I'm with them solo (weekends are usually busy enough to keep them happy, plus Daddy is home!). We usually rotate activities like having story time, going for walks, coloring pictures, playing with playdoh, baking cookies, and vacuuming. Huh? Yep, the girls LOVE the vacuum. They used to be scared of it, now I can barely keep them off it long enough to clean the floors. They help with laundry by taking clothes into the laundry room and putting them in the washer. We're training them to be good little cleaners and bakers :)

Other big news is that I'm going to be going back to work at Seattle Children's Hospital very part time (6 days per month plus paperwork from  home) for the next 5-6 months. I'll be covering a maternity leave and working in the Craniofacial Clinic (mostly kids with cleft palate and different syndromes). We are so lucky that I'll be working on Mondays which is Dan's day off plus two other days per month so each Grandma will watch the girls one day per month. I'm looking forward to the challenge and just hope that there's enough time to get my paperwork done without staying up too late.

Here are some recent pics of the girls

Camille

Brelynn

Avery

1.4.11 ~ Weigh-ins

We had the girls' 18 month well child visits today and got some great news..."They're doing better than your typical 18 month olds." YAY!  Their social skills and communication are way ahead of their peers and all other areas are at least at age level. Well, except for Camille's weight, but the doctor isn't a bit concerned about it. Here are the official stats (percentiles as compared to other 18 month olds):

Avery~wt:21;1 (8%ile), ht:31.75" (50%ile), head: 55%ile
Brelynn~wt:23;4 (30%ile), ht:32.25" (55%ile), head: 92%ile
Camille~wt:18;13 (<3%ile), ht:30.63" (24%ile), head: 65%ile

We don't have another visit scheduled until they turn two and we didn't have to get any shots today! All in all it was a great visit. I treated the girls to McDonnald's chicken nuggets on the way home and I got a warm beverage from Starbuck's :)

12.29.10 ~ 18 months

Camille

Brelynn

Avery

A year and a half...wow. I'm not sure how each day can seem to last a lifetime yet the months just keep flying by. Not that I'm complaining. I love being home with the girls, it's just that at times they can form a superhero sister trio to do battle with mom. It may look like simultaneously asking to go to the bathroom, bonking a head on the table, and stealing toys, and wanting a cracker. They definitely know what they want now and aren't afraid to ask (demand) that mom to get it for them! Their saving grace is that they are incredibly adorable and charming and know how to come give a hug and kiss while flashing a cute smile just at the right moment. They are getting to be good little sharers and will often give their sister a cracker/water/toy without me having to ask them to share. It warms my heart to see them play together and share with each other. The girls are very concerned if one of the sisters is missing or injured and have been known to cry just because another one is crying (not that I like all the crying, but the compassion is wonderful).

Milestones just continue to get refined...more talking, better walking, pretending. They have dropped the morning bottle so now they just get one bottle at bedtime. I'm sure the pediatrician will want us to drop that, too, but it's a really easy way to get 8 ounces of milk into them (and right before bed) so I'm not ready to give it up. They are the world's best sleepers...sleeping 14-15 hours straight at night and taking one 60-90 minute nap at about noon. If they're cranky in the afternoon then they have 'quiet time' in their cribs where they can look at books and play with quiet toys. I leave the lights on and they've been doing a good job actually playing or resting during that time. Teeth just keep popping through randomly. I think Avery and Camille each have 12 teeth and Brelynn has 10 teeth with many more just below the surface for each of them. They go to the pediatrician for their 18 month appointment next week so we'll see how they're growing. Avery seems to be catching up with Brelynn a bit but Camille still feels tiny to me.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. I can't wait to see what the new year brings!

 

12.25.10 ~ Christmas

Like many people we celebrated Christmas several times. Christmas Eve was at our house with my family and Christmas day was at Dan's Aunt and Uncle's house with his family. The girls got to open lots of presents, we ate some really yummy food, and we all had a great time catching up with loved ones. The girls got the hang of opening gifts right a way and were good helpers for all of us. Bows continue to be a big favorite, although they love their new toys. Pretending toys are fun right now...they got a kitchen and a tea party set and they are adorable sharing 'tea' with each other. Action toys (aka noisy toys) are also a favorite. The toy that shoots balls up in the air and plays music is really funny and makes them laugh. A certain rocking/singing cow has been known to cause one girl to push/pull the other off to get to said cow. The last few days have been filled with really fun new things and lots of practice sharing :)

Chelsea, Kim, Steve, Avery, Brenda, Camille, Dan, Stacey, Brelynn, Tyler



Top: Dale, Jenn, Brelynn, Brenda, Dan.
Bottom: Linda, Camille, Dave, Avery



Merry Christmas to all!