2nd Birthday, Part 2

Sorry for the delay in this post. It has been a crazy week. On Sunday the 25th we had a small family party for the trio - just us, Jason's mom, my parents, and my brother. I wouldn't have been able to handle any more than that - it was all we could do to get to Sam's Club to pick up the Elmo cupcakes!

Family pic. It took a lot of wrangling just to get them on our laps.


Playing with balloons while waiting for our guests to arrive


We started with a present-opening frenzy...


Examining his Elmo gift basket


New Melissa&Doug food sets for their kitchen


Riding their new trikes - thanks MeMe and Hat-Dad! They kept riding around the basement saying "beep beep".


A little "Twinkle Twinkle" concert


Remember those cute birthday crowns I worked so hard on? Yeah, they refused to wear them for more than .5 seconds. I couldn't even get a picture with all 3 wearing them at the same time. Oh well, maybe next year.




Yum!

Carefully considering her cupcake

All Done!


Doing some FaceTime with Uncle Dane and trying on their new bike helmets.



FaceTime with Papa and Mema while they were opening those presents. The kids are excited about all their new play-doh and accessories - will post pics of them playing with it soon.



We took a million more pictures, but I hope these tell the story of their celebration well enough. It was so much fun to see them be so excited about their visitors and their presents! And we are amazed that they have already been with us for two years! Thank you to everyone who sent cards, gifts, emails, and moral support - we are grateful for all of our friends and family.

Birthday Weekend, Part 1

After the pediatrician visit on Friday, we spent time getting the house and presents ready for the birthday party. Grandma Di arrived on Saturday night all the way from Michigan. Her (and Grandma Peg's) big present to the kids was a new sandbox. The weather had been cool and rainy all day, but by the time she arrived it had grown warm and sunny, so we all went outside to check it out. They loved it!

First glimpse of the sandbox

Checking out the sand toys

Playing with dad

Playing with Grandma Di


That evening it was time to make sure we were ready for their Sunday morning party.
Earlier in the week I put together Elmo gift baskets for them, with items gathered from the dollar bin at Target and from local consignment sales.


After the kids went to bed I got to work on their birthday crowns. Seeing as I cut them out freehand (no pattern - just ideas from other websites), used whatever materials I had on hand, and made them at 9pm the night before their birthday, I thought they turned out pretty well.


Here's a little video fun for you - Abby dancing to the singing Elmo hand:


Stay tuned for pictures and videos from the big day!

p.s. Saturday 3/24 will forever be known as the day that Lucas figured out how to jump out of his crib at naptime. More about that later...

2 Year Well Visit

The girls picked these dresses to wear to the doctor's visit.


Jason and I took the kids for their 2 year well visit today, and it went amazingly well! There was a little bit of crying here and there, but they also had fun playing in the exam room, and they didn't mind when the doctor examined them. The most amazing part was that they did great during the finger stick blood test and their one shot. They sat looking at the blood dripping into the little vial and seemed really fascinated by the whole process. So much so that while Abby was sitting on the table getting her blood drawn, Zoey started saying "my turn my turn". It was a refreshing change, since most of their previous well visits involved a lot of screaming.

ABIGAIL
3/25/10 Birth - 5 pounds 3 ounces; 18.5" long; 13" head circumference
2 weeks old - 5 pounds 4 ounces
4/29/10 One month old - 6 pounds 13 ounces; 18.5" long; 13.5" head
6/3/10 Two months old - 9 pounds 8 ounces; 21.5" long; 14.5 head
8/12/10 Four months old - 12 pounds 6 ounces; 24" long; 15.75" head
10/4/10 Six months old - 13 pounds 12 ounces; 25" tall; 16.25" head
12/28/10 Nine months old - 15 pounds 12 ounces; 27" tall; 17.25" head
3/29/11 Twelve months old - 17 pounds 4 ounces; 28.75" tall; 17.5" head
7/7/11 Fifteen months old - 19 pounds 8 ounces; 30.75" tall; 18" head
10/4/11 Eighteen months old - 21 pounds 4 ounces; 32" tall; 18" head (?)
3/23/12 2 YEARS old - 23.5 pounds, 33.75" tall; 18.75" head
**She is now at the 50th percentile for height and head, but still at the 10th percentile for weight.

LUCAS
3/25/10 Birth - 4 pounds 12 ounces; 18.25" long; 12.5" head circumference
2 weeks old - 5 pounds even
4/29/10 One month old - 6 pounds 14 ounces; 19.5" long; 13.5" head
6/3/10 Two months old - 10 pounds even; 20.75" long; 15" head
8/12/10 Four months old - 14 pounds 6 ounces; 24.5" long; 16.75" head
10/4/10 Six months old - 16 pounds 11 ounces; 26.25" tall; 17.25" head
12/28/10 Nine months old - 19 pounds even; 28.25" tall; 18" head
3/29/11 Twelve months old - 20 pounds 13 ounces; 30.5" tall; ?? head (things were getting a bit nutty in the exam room and I didn't write down that measurement)
7/7/11 Fifteen months old - 23 pounds 8 ounces; 31" tall; 18.5 head
10/4/11 Eighteen months old - ???; 33.5" tall; 19" head
3/23/12 2 YEARS old - 27.5 pounds, 34.25" tall; 19.5" head
**He is solidly at the 50th percentile in all areas!

ZOEY
3/25/10 Birth - 3 pounds 15 ounces; 16" long; 11.75" head circumference
2 weeks old - 4 pounds 2 ounces
4/29/10 One month old - 5 pounds 9 ounces; 17.75" long; 13.25" head
6/3/10 Two months old - 7 pounds 13 ounces; 20" long; 14.25" head
8/12/10 Four months old - 10 pounds 12 ounces; 22.25" long; 15.75" head
10/4/10 Six months old - 12 pounds 10 ounces; 24.50" tall; 16.25" head
12/28/10 Nine months old - 14 pounds 11 ounces; 27.50" tall; 17.25" head
3/29/11 Twelve months old - 16 pounds 10 ounces; 28.75" tall; 17.75" head
7/7/11 Fifteen months old - 18 pounds 10 ounces; 30.5" tall; 18" head
10/4/11 Eighteen months old - 20 pounds 4 ounces; 31.75" tall; 18" head (?)
3/23/12 2 YEARS old - 23 pounds, 32" tall; 18.5" head
** She is at the 10th percentile for weight (finally fully on the chart!), 25-50th for height, and 50th for head.

I've mentioned before that I like our pediatrician because he's so laid-back. Here are a few tidbits we discussed today:

*We can switch to 2% milk now, and they really don't need more than 12oz per day. Since I'm no longer obsessing about measuring how much they drink, I don't really know the amounts they're drinking now. I just know that when we finally switched from bottles to sippy cups, we went from using 3 gallons of whole milk a week to barely 2.

*Abby still needs 8 more teeth to come in (2 year molars plus some others), and Zoey and Lucas need 4 more each (their 2 year molars). I can't wait for teething to be done!

*We still have the kids rear-facing in their carseats, since that's the AAP recommendation till age 2. We may keep them in longer since the weight limit for our seats is so high (up to 40 pounds rear facing!), but we got the ok to turn them forward-facing now if we want to.

*We need to give up the pacifiers by age 3 - we got a "free pass" to keep them a little longer since we have triplets. :)

They're growing up so quickly!

Musical Cards

The kids love musical greeting cards, and they were lucky enough to get one musical birthday card for each of them from their great-grandparents. Here's a little video of them enjoying the cards:

Zoey

And last but not least, our Baby C, Zoey:

Determined


Clever

Silly


Particular


Fashionable


Talkative


Mischievous


Likes to be in charge

Helpful (loves cleaning)

Zoey loves picking out her own clothes and can just about get dressed on her own. She has very particular tastes - purple is her favorite color. She also likes picking out clothes for Abby and Lucas, and usually they don't mind. She can put together some pretty cute outfits!

Dancer

Lucas

And now it's Lucas' turn. Here are some words that describe Lucas:

Persistent


Problem-solver

Loves to organize and arrange things (really! he's always lining things up and taking books in and out of their boxes)

Jolly


Avid reader


Quick learner, especially with mechanical things
Wants what everyone else has and is not afraid to take it


Busy


Musical

I remember when Lucas used to sit in his exersaucer and methodically play with one toy after another, going around the circle in order. He seemed to be trying hard to figure out how each toy worked. He is still like that. He can watch someone use a toy or household object, and before you know it he has found the on/off button and is using the object himself. The other day I found him standing on the piano and pressing play on the CD player. Today I walked into the den and found that he had turned on the TV and was changing channels with the remote.

Lucas uses his size to his advantage, often taking toys from his sisters. As soon as they start playing with something, he wants it, and he takes it. His sisters are learning to outsmart him, though. They'll let him take the toy, and then go get another toy. Once Lucas is lured into stealing the second toy, the girls are able to retrieve the original toy. Everybody wins!

On the flip side, Lucas lets his sisters comb his hair and pick out his clothes. He knows when to let them have their way!

Abigail

It has been a long time since we have done individualized posts for each child, so I thought it would be a nice thing to do in the week leading up to their 2nd birthday. They have all grown and changed so much in the past year and their personalities are all so different.

Here are some words that describe Abby:
Sweet
Generous
Goofy


Laid-back


Empathic
Thoughtful
Sensitive


Helpful
Happy


Loves to play in the dirt


Can put on her own socks and shoes (sometimes)

Loves singing



Abby seems to have a real gift for understanding others' emotions and needs. She often brings items to her siblings without them asking, and she shares so willingly. The downside to her generous nature is that the other two often steal things from her, and rather than protest, she just goes and finds something else to do. Jason and I find ourselves secretly cheering when she fights back, or when she steals something from someone else. We want to make sure she's assertive enough about her own needs, but she also needs to follow the "no stealing" rule. Tough balance.

Abby was often the first to reach the more "social" milestones, such as clapping and waving bye-bye. Last week, she was the first to say "I love you". It was pretty amazing. We had been reading a book with the phrase "I love you" in it, and she kept repeating it randomly. Jason talked with her about what the phrase means, and one day, while Jason was changing her diaper, she looked up at him and said "I love you" without any prompting. We both got a little teary, and then I said "what about me??" and she looked at me and said "I love you" again. She hasn't said it spontaneously since then, but it was pretty awesome when it happened.

All the kids are starting to learn their letters, numbers, and colors. Here's a cute video of Abby counting:


We love our sweet Baby A!

Outside Fun

Too tired to write much...here are some cute outdoor pics from when the kids were drawing with sidewalk chalk with Hannah.




Here's a video taken by Hannah. Pretty cute stuff!

Singing and Dancing

Lately the kids have really loved singing and dancing. They carry their Wee Sing songbooks around and sing from them, and even sit at the piano and act like they are reading music while playing. They also demand that we sing to them, and say "no" if they don't like the song we choose, and clap and say "yay" at the end of each song. They also seem to know which songs are one which pages, I guess by identifying the pictures that go with the songs.

Here they are doing their own concert with the books.




They also love the Ring Around the Rosie song. I don't know where they learned it - I haven't been teaching it to them, but maybe my parents or the nanny have. Please ignore my singing voice in this one...


(if we had known we were going to have triplets we would have gotten a king size bed instead of a queen!)