First Visit to Dentist

My mom and I took the kids to the dentist for the first time today (Jason was home sick). We had tried to prepare them the best we could - read books about going to the dentist, talked about it in an upbeat way, tried to tell them what would happen, etc. This particular pediatric dentist has a good website with pictures of their office and staff, so we even showed them the pictures so they could see what to expect.

So, I am pleased to say that the kids did great!! They seemed a little nervous at first, especially Zoey and Lucas, but they warmed up and sat through a full cleaning and counting of teeth. We found out that Zoey is the only one with 20 teeth - the other two still need to get all 4 of their two-year molars. What the heck?? More teething to come???

In the waiting room. Abby said "my pink chair!" as soon as we came in.

The waiting room had great toys

Abby went first. She didn't seem nervous at all, as long as she had her pink chair...

...and pink sunglasses.

Zoey was a little less sure.

Lucas wasn't sure at first either, but was eventually convinced

He was the only one who liked having his chair reclined

Zoey decided she preferred the yellow chair

So brave!

They got bags full of goodies afterwards, and got to pick some things from the prize bin too. They were all excited about their new toothbrushes and toys.

Afterwards we went out to lunch. There were a few meltdowns at first (thanks to Meme for handling them while I was waiting in line!) but once they got to eat some mac & cheese they were ok.

Overall, it was a good experience. I'd recommend a pediatric dentist to anyone going for the first time - the whole office was very kid friendly. Hopefully they'll do just as well when they go back in 6 months!

So Big!

Remember when they were babies and we were so excited when they could do the "so big" game with their hands/arms? Well this morning I was struck by just how "so big" these kids have gotten. "I do it myself" has become the most frequently used phrase in the house, and they are so much more self-sufficient just in the past few months. We are being serious when we tell people they are so much easier now compared with when they were infants (except for the tantrums, of course).

Here are some things they are doing almost completely independently:
--picking out clothes and getting dressed. Sometimes inside out and backwards, but they do it on their own!

--picking out food, putting waffles in the toaster, drinking out of open cups, spreading and cutting things with butter knives, spooning things like yogurt and applesauce into bowls
--climbing into their carseats - no more lifting them unless they are refusing to get in
--going potty - they can pull their pants/undies down and up, and have started emptying the little potty into the big potty. Which we'd prefer that they not do because of the mess, but I guess we need to foster independence. Today alone, they have each gone potty, wiped themselves, poured the contents of the little potty into the big potty, and washed their hands - pretty much on their own. While we still have accidents, they have made great progress! Abby even stayed dry all night in underwear last night.

They love putting on their "dancing clothes" and dancing to all kinds of music. Dancing clothes almost always involve a tutu, with a halloween costume on top.They also love going to Music Together and Mainly Music classes and seem so proud of themselves when they're brave enough to leave our laps to go do things with the teachers and other kids.












They also love "helping" with most things now - cleaning floors after potty accidents, washing dishes, emptying the dishwasher, and even shoveling snow. (yes, I know their snowsuits are too small!) Lucas especially loves helping with laundry - he helps put it in the washer and dryer, helps fold towels, and is able to sort all the girl and boy underwear and socks and put them in the right containers. The girls seem to have absolutely no interest in doing laundry.

They also love helping themselves to my sock drawer - note the socks on Zoey's hands in addition to her feet. My socks are permanently disorganized and missing pairs. It's the price I have to pay for cute pictures like this, I guess.

I can't believe my babies are going to be three years old in one month! We are planning to do lots of big kid things over the next few months, like go to the dentist, switch to twin beds, maybe get rid of their kitchen booster seats, and turn their carseats forward-facing (yes, they're still rear-facing! It's safer and they're still well below the height/weight requirements). I can't make these changes all at once! We're going to have to space them out so I can cope.

Potty Update

Well shoot. I guess it's been a busy few weeks. Sorry for the dry spell, folks.

We have some exciting potty news from December - Lucas finally decided he was ready to use the potty, and we gave away the changing table! This is how their giant closet looks without the table now:

We kept the diaper pail since they're still wearing diapers at night.

I felt pretty nostalgic about giving up the table - it was a core part of their nursery, and our lives, for so long. So I took a few final pictures of them on the table and compared them to the newborn days:


Zoey

Abby

Luke-man

 We really needed to remove the table, since they mainly used it for climbing.

As for potty successes, here are our stats:
Zoey = 100% now - wears underwear 24/7 and accidents are very rare
Abby = 80% - still wears a diaper at night, still poops in her undies sometimes
Lucas = 75% - still wears a diaper at night, still poops in undies sometimes, still has some pee accidents

Once Lucas expressed a renewed interest, we discovered his currency - teddy grahams and mini 'nilla wafers. I guess we hadn't really given them to the kids much, so they were a pretty novel treat. Lucas was much more motivated by food treats vs. the stickers that the girls got when they learned to use the potty. A funny side effect of this is now the girls expect cookies when they go potty, even though they were already doing a great job before Lucas started getting the treats. There are plenty of times when they don't want to stop what they're doing to use the potty, but we've found that setting a timer, and reminding them about the cookies, usually helps. We feel reasonably confident about taking them out in public wearing underwear (pull-ups are too expensive, and kind of confusing for them). We're doing a lot more laundry (feels like the newborn days!) due to the accidents but we're hoping that gets better over time. They look absolutely adorable in their tiny little undies!

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!

Big Kids

Ok, these kids are growing way too fast and I'm never going to remember all the cute and brilliant things they are doing these days. In addition to adding new words every day, they are practicing getting dressed (Lucas loves putting a few pairs of pants on each leg), getting better at using spoons and forks, and have finally made the full transition from bottles to sippy cups. It's amazing watching them grow and learn, and I'm only occasionally nostalgic for the time when they couldn't yet move! ;)

Here's Zoey taking a break from getting dressed. The other day she was able to put a shirt on correctly, completely by herself. She can almost do pants all by herself - she just needs a little help getting them up & over her bottom.


To help burn off some energy indoors this winter, we created a mini ball pit in the basement guest room/playroom. I think Lucas loves it the most - he likes to go "swimming" in it.



There's a big kid in the house who likes to play in the ball pit too.


We are letting them eat some snacks and meals at their little table now (which used to be mine and my brother's when we were younger). They love the independence, perhaps a bit too much...it's adorable when they stay in their seats...

...but messy when they don't. It's nice not to have to wash 3 separate high chair trays, but there is still a lot of clean-up with this method.


Walking on their homemade balance beam (thanks to Nanny Hannah for the idea)




Reading together


Administering medication (don't worry, the syringe was empty)


Zoey loves trying to balance on things, so Jason thought it might feel good to have her walk on his back. Apparently it didn't. But Zoey had fun!

New yoga pose?

Then Lucas took a turn...he was able to balance for a few seconds before tumbling off


Can't believe they are 22 months old, and will be two years old in two months!