Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall.

There is just nothing like that first batch of brisk mornings when you can smell the fall in the air. Something just comes over me, and makes me want to make every day festive, whether it’s meeting friends at the park, walking to a farmers market, or just eating outdoors. (I’m also was incredibly tired of my summer clothes, and can’t wait to wear my new boots and sweaters that have been waiting patiently for me.) Bring it on! 

Here is a little catch up of the few fun things while the babies were in recovery (and I am happy to report they are all back to their happy, normal-breathing selves. Phew!)

Play groups take on a whole new meaning to me now. Before the kids came along, I would join my friends a play group for fun, but now that I have kids at home, seeing my girlfriends on a pretty regular basis is almost a necessity. Of course having my mom around, and soon my sister too, it’s not as bad as when I’m home alone with the kids all day, but we girls still need to get together for the occasional chat session. We try to meet at the park now and then, and the babies love it too. We just have to watch close because those darn acorns are just so enticing.   

Maybe it was because they were finally feeling better, or maybe they were still feeling sick, but something was going on one night when everyone turned little loopy. Three naked, crazy babies is quite a sight to be seen.

 

Mom and Dad said they had a wonderful time at the Jefferson Memorial while he was here. I was a little embarrassed to say I hadn’t been there in all the time I’ve lived here. The Sunday that the babies were still a little under the weather, we didn’t want to infect anyone at church, but still needed to get out of the house. We decided to take the short drive there and enjoy the gorgeous weather with a picnic. It was beautiful. The babies even had their pictures take by complete strangers. And we discovered that they LOVE hummus. I guess our adult picnic looked better than their blueberry pancake pieces.

 

And YES the babies DID turn ONE YEAR OLD ON SUNDAY! Of course, that post will take some time. There are hundreds of pictures to sort through (aren’t you all excited?!) and many thoughts to put together, but it’s up next so stay tuned!

My Happy Wheezer.

So, I will now continue on with our sickness adventures. On Friday Ruby looked a lot better, but the boys still sounded terrible, wheezing so loudly. I didn’t like that at all, so as soon as they were taking calls, I contacted the pediatrician and told them the haps. They told me to bring all three in immediately, which I did. The babies were acting fine and happy, so I didn’t think we needed to rush, but I followed instructions and mom and I made our way to the office.

When the doctor saw them, she said that Ruby was fine, but the boys were definitely wheezing, and she could see that their lungs were retracting a little, and wanted to treat them with a nebulizer. The thought of trying to hold a mask on the boys’ faces for 10 minutes sounded nearly impossible (little did I know what was to come). They let us take off the masks and just hold the medicinal mist in the faces, which wasn’t so bad. It was a little tricky when Ruby started to get bored, but I’ve learned a lot about multi-tasking this past year, so we made it. The doctor cleared Alex, saying he sounded better, but she was still concerned about Bennett. We started another round, and this time the mask had to go on, which he didn’t like at all. He started in the stroller to give my tired arms a break, but soon settled down for a moment, stopped trying to rip off the mask, and even smiled a little. Mom took the other two for a walk, and I snuggled my little boy as he inhaled the medicine. Again, the doctor listened and still didn’t like what she heard. She could see that he was happy, so she knew he wasn’t struggling too much, but wanted to fix it before it got worse. She calls babies like this Happy Wheezers. She gave us a nebulizer to use at home, but also wanted him to go to the ER so get a more intense treatment. So, I dropped off mom and the others, and off to the hospital we went, after picking up a bottle for him, and a sandwich for me. Thankfully he slept through all the driving, the poor exhausted boy

Luckily when you have a wheezing baby, and your doctor calls in advance, and it’s not after hours, you get in pretty quickly (relatively speaking). So we made it to our curtained area and got checked out. They still saw the retractions and decided to do a heavy-duty nebulizer treatment. Ugh. But this time it had to run for an entire hour. (And I thought 10 minutes was bad. Ha.) The doctor said we’d be on our way as soon as it was over.

I wasn’t sure what was in store as we began. It seemed like he was curious as first, but as I kept him close to me, keeping his usually-busy hands away from the mask, he knew it wasn’t fun anymore. He’d scream for a while, then just give up and go limp, sometimes looking up at me with his sad eyes wondering why I was doing such a mean thing to him. I hadn’t slept well at all the night before, due to all the wakefulness from my sick babies, so I was rather exhausted myself. I pulled every trick I had from my bag, feeling not at all prepared. He loved looking at books, scrolling through the pictures and videos on the camera, and the doctor even offered to take one of us both. He also loved when I brushed his hair with a soft baby brush. When the hour (or more) was finally over, Bennett was so happy, and jittery from the meds. But he was also tired, he wouldn’t even hold his bottle. We were both relieved and ready to get home.  But there was a shift change, so we had to wait another hour, or so it seemed, to be seen. The new doctor said he was still sounding pretty bad. I almost cried when she said we’d have to repeat the treatment. I really didn’t think either of us could do it again. We just decided to get it over with, and luckily this one wasn’t as long, only about 30-40 minutes. He went through the same cycle: scream (to the point of sweating, and turning almost purple), become too tired to move, try to take it off, scream. . . We were definitely spent. He was so happy to have that thing off his little face. (The toothbrush is a new favorite toy.)

After several hours in the ER, they finally let us go, with a few prescriptions (not including two from my regular pediatrician), an inhaler, and all kinds of nebulizer equipment. She told me to go ahead and treat Alex too, since they are identical. I was tired, and happy to go home, and so was Bennett. He fell asleep as soon as we hit the road.

So, we begin a new adventure with asthma thrown into craziness.  We’ve been doing treatments every 4-6 hours for both the boys until they are over this sickness (though not during the night), which is much easier in the comfort of your own home than in a boring ER cubical. They are still both pretty wheezy, and all three are coughing like chain smokers, but I feel like we are in the home stretch. I understand that asthma is a pretty common problem, and not always serious, but it’s new to me, and slightly overwhelming. But if it will keep my kiddos happy and healthy, I’ll do whatever is required of me. (My other Happy Wheezer.)

Three colds, One mom

It’s inevitable. When one gets sick, they all get sick. There’s really no point in trying to avoid it, so I just go about my day as normal and let them share spoons, toys, and bottles. Might as well get it over with. We’ve had such great luck with sicknesses when it comes to these babies, so I can’t complain too much, but when there are three colds to nurse, it’s just a little tricky. I should've known when Ruby was getting cozy the other day with another baby sporting a drippy nose, that we’d have it soon enough. I love cuddling my sick/clingy/needy babies, but it’s hard when there is more than one begging for your undivided attention (thank goodness Nana is here, though sometimes only mommy will do). Wiping constantly runny noses is like an Olympic event, trying to catch them all before it gets everywhere, or wrestling them while trying to chip away at what has built up over night. Lately we have been giving them two baths a day, morning and night, not only because they have become the messiest little eaters (why do kids love to spit food into their hands and then rub it in their hair?), but I also think it helps clear out their sinuses and gently clean off those encrusted faces. And they love the water, so win, win. (Ruby has a raspy voice lately, which is the cutest and so sad at the same time.)

And of course it happened right when they were in a very good sleep routine, taking two great naps, and going to bed without a complaint. We have had some very wakeful nights and naptimes, and I just can’t help but bend the rules a little when I hear the pitiful coughing and labored breathing coming from the nursery. I have to admit I like the excuse for a little extra snuggling.

They have been incredibly sweet under the circumstances. They continue to laugh, play, clap, scoot, crawl, and eat well. My brain just starts to rattle a little when they all start that chalkboard-scratching, monotone whine that just won’t quite not matter what show, toy, or food you use to distract them. Oh well. This should be over in a couple days, I hope. I already have a mental list of everything that needs to be sterilized and washed when this has all blown over. Then I can rest easy. And TGIF! We have Daddy for the whole (long) weekend!

(Update: The above topic just got a lot more complicated, but this draft was already written and I don’t feel like changing it, so it is to be continued. . .)

I might as well show you some (A LOT) more pictures, while you’re here.

My dad came to visit last weekend. He entertained the babies and us while he was here, and we miss him. He went on lots of errands with us, which is a huge help when you have lots of big babies to lift ( Of course one or two of us couldn’t stayed home with the kids, but what is the fun of that?). An extra set of arms really makes a difference.

R

B

A (Love those top teeth.)

Shopping (this was at Trader Joes.)

The Mall (where the babies were very happy to eat some little bites of cinnamon soft pretzels from Papa.)

The main event for Dad coming was the huge Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Rally on the National Mall. Mom wrote all about their experience here. It sounded inspiring, and rejuvenating. SO many people showed up for such a good cause. I’m so glad they were able go and support.

Other miscellaneous happenings:

Ruby is climbing up on anything she can reach these days, which is very hazardous, but cute too, of course. When she wants something, she’ll find a way to get it. My sweet baby girl looks so old.

Alex is constantly clapping. And he graduated from just doing the motion, to actually making the cutest little clapping sounds with hit fat little hands.

The Tweedles again. Identical, for sure.

Alex made such a mess, I just gave up and put the bowl on his head. Two can play at this game. I don’t think he liked it very much.

This is dangerous, as it’s hard to keep an eye on everyone to make sure, ahem, messes are prevented (Ruby got too far away to avoid that, and was soon sitting in a big puddle after this picture was taken.) But how could I resist getting some quick shots of these chubby cheeks?

They all are in a book-loving stage. It’s so fun to see them turn the pages and smile at the pictures. Bennett is the bookworm here.

Bennett wanted to make a fashion statement, and turn his hat to the side, so we did the same for Alex.

Alex really knows how to relax while shopping. Looks cozy.

This probably could’ve been broken down into several different posts, but oh well. I’ve been slacking on the blogging job, and just wanted to catch up.

I probably won’t get to documenting all their milestones equally on the blog, but I hope I at least give each of them equal face time as they learn different things at their own paces. It’s a lot of work to keep up with three rapidly changing individuals. Hopefully I can stay on top of it!

It’s Signing Time with Alex and Bennett, come and play.

Ever since we watched cousins Juju and Gabe enjoying their Signing Time, we thought we might as well give it a try. Every now and then we pick one up from the library and the babies are little angels as they watch intently. Baby Signing Time is definitely a fave. (I have to admit though, the repetitive nature of the songs, and the exaggerated expressions from the host can really get on my nerves, especially when the songs get stuck in my head for hours, but I can put up with it for the lovely quiet moments it provides. I even find myself  singing the silly songs as we go about our day. Oh, the life of a mommy.) Even though we are not super serious about teaching them signs, it really can’t hurt. And I guess they are picking a little up, as evidenced in the video below. I don’t think they really understand the meaning of this little action, and it’s very close to clapping so I’m not sure how impressive it is, but I will say they didn’t need me to show them what to do on this occasion. They just came up with it on their own (but we had shown it to them many times before). They probably just associate it with their animal crackers, or food in general, rather than actually asking me for “more”, but it’s cute anyway. Notice their different signing styles. Silly boys. For once, Ruby isn’t stealing all the limelight.

My baby girl can crawl!

But of course she didn’t want to show it to me when I was trying to catch it on camera yesterday. (Well, she actually did perform very well once , but I accidentally wasn’t filming, when I thought I was. I just can’t win! Oh well, next time.) She did give us a good show of another method of transportation, though. This is especially funny when she is wearing something with snaps on the bum, cause it clicks with every scoot.

We also found her turning the pages of board books that she got out all by herself this morning. Looks like the wheels are really turning in that growing brain of hers.

Now, I have to go kiss her face.

Double Date and Update

Finally! We finally went out for DC Restaurant Week! Every time this event comes around (twice a year), we tell ourselves we are going to take advantage of the fixed-price, three course menu, but the best restaurants are always booked by the time we try to make a reservation. Not this time. We got a Friday night reservation for Ruth’s Chris Steak House, a sought out restaurant on the list of participators. I’m guessing that is a hot night for the week, so I was pretty proud to have snagged an 8:00 time slot while it was open. Our friends Ryan and Courtney had been to there for Restaurant Week before and said it was great, so we booked it for a party of four, and they joined us for a double date.

The traffic was horrendous both ways, but that didn’t ruin the night in the least. Valet took care of any parking annoyances, and the company and conversation were great. And can I just say that I have never tasted a filet so delicious. It was cooked to a prefect juicy medium, and it literally melted in my mouth, with the loveliest flavorful, crisp texture on the edges that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was also great to know that my mom was at home while the babies slept peacefully. Such a successful, elegant, quiet evening. This is the only picture of the night. Kind of embarrassing that I match the restaurant and their to-go bag. I didn’t mean to, I promise.

 

Now that was probably a little boring for you (I know all of you just come here for the babies, let’s be honest), so let me see what else I have.

Several more teeth have arrived, which isn’t much fun, but we are making it okay. At least they can eat more foods because of it (and seeing those top teeth when as they makes to Goofyish smiles is just cute). I have been feeding the babies a lot of different new things, including berry- banana pancakes, and cheese (grated cheese is perfect for beginners, I found out) which they love. Oh, and animal crackers. If I ever need a couple minutes of complete silence, those are the ticket. They aren’t always naked for eating time, but I think it might be easier to strip them as they start to feed themselves more, making quite a mess. We have lined the floor beneath them with a disposable tablecloth we can throw away when it gets good and gross. Very handy.

They are mimicking something new every day. It’s funny what they decide to copy, like when I stubbed my toe and gasped/inhaled loudly, Bennett kept breathing in and out really loud, just like me. Guess you had to be there, but it was pretty cute. I’m having kissing lessons with everyone each day because that is what I want them to learn next. They have the puckering down (see video from previous post), now I just have to teach them where to use those puckered lips (on me!).

They love water, whether it’s in the tub, pool, splashing spills on their high chair trays, and apparently warm rainstorms too. We found that out by getting caught in one during an afternoon walk. We didn’t hear one complaint as we briskly walked the rest of the several blocks home, getting completely drenched along the way. Ruby was even leaning into the falling rain, instead of hanging back where she was semi-covered. It’s one of the things I love the most about the East Coast, warm rain.

They continue to scoot around, make messes, and get into things around the house. I have really started to get serious about baby-proofing as I put away end tables, put rubber bands around cupboard doors to keep them closed, and buy more gates. Ruby is pulling herself to standing on anything she can hold on to, so anything unstable is a hazard. This place is going to turn upside-down any day now, I can just feel it. I no longer have control over the cleanliness and order like I used to, but such is life of one with small children. We try to keep them contained to their play-corner, but sometimes they just want to explore new territory.

They are becoming regular church-goers, until naptime changes anyway. It’s been great to feel like an active member of the congregation again (even if it’s just for the first hour). The babies might be a bit disruptive with their laughing and playing throughout the meeting, but we try to keep the noise down with cheerios and juice.

Ruby started this new cuddly phase. She has always been my least snuggly baby, but now will always lay her head on my shoulder, especially on the way to bed. It makes me so happy. Alex also does this funny, flirty head tilt whenever we are kissing or cuddling him. Bennett just like to be all sprawled out during cuddle time. They are definitely all very different.

I decided we could probably take the cardboard bumpers down now, and needed to lower the bottoms of their beds anyway since they are getting way to big for the higher mattress setting. (We also got some new crib mattresses for the boys’ port-a-cribs, to replace the sub-par ones that were included with the cribs when we purchased them.) So with this whole new sleepy-time scenery we put them down for a nap to see how it would go. As I was going about my business while they were putting themselves to sleep, we started to hear a lot of laughter coming from their room, when what we usually hear is a little pre-nap fussiness, or blessed silence. It took me a second before I remembered we had taken the bumpers down, and then knew that was causing the funny giggles from behind their door. They were having the greatest time realizing that they were each only one or two feet from one another. With Bennett’s crib in the middle being covered on both sides, they had no way to see anyone else, so this must’ve been their first realization that they had roomies. I love to hear them laugh at each other when they are going down, or waking up. I’m not sure it will always be a good thing, and maybe they’ll want to have an all night party together in the nursery, but for now, I love to hear their sweet conversations.