Instant Play Group!!!

Don't get me wrong --- we LOVE visitors! We love seeing other babies! We LOVE play days! BUT... in the off-chance that no one else is around, we certainly do like each other's company!

I was in the kitchen, trying to recuperate from our lunch, and what should I hear in the living room -- laughter, giggles, and squeals! I rounded the corner, grabbed a camera, and everyone was SILENT. I knew it wouldn't take long for things to change!

I remember about a year ago, when I was still pregnant, Linnea, a VERY dear friend came over for a visit. She brought her adorable son, Tyler - about a year old - to visit and play with our toys. I remember watching Tyler in the Exersaucer and thought to myself, "How in the WORLD could one little body contain so much energy? I bet our kids will never be this loud!"
*Then I remembered that I should NEVER say "our children will never..." because they always do!
Well, Linnea, I think Tyler's noise level has officially been broken! Bring him over anytime - he will end up being the quietest one in the house!!!

Happy 1st b-day, babies!!!

Happy Birthday to US!

We all survived year one!  What a sweet, amazing, mind-blowing year. Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the journey our lives would take!  We brought home 3 little helpless bundles, relying on us for their every need! Today we gaze at 3 little people... determined, funny, thoughtful, silly... true little PEOPLE.  What an incredible gift the Lord gave us!

Last week, I was afraid that they wouldn't get enough special, individual attention when it came to their first birthday cake!  So we rounded up babies, grandparents, and b-day cakes and headed to the local park.  There were no surprises with the cakes - everyone experienced them just as we thought they would!

Morgan

Morgan really wasn't sure what all the fuss was about!  We sat her down first by her cake.  She stared... and stared... and stared. After some encouraging, she put her fingers in the cake.  She still wasn't very knocked out about the experience.  We put a small amount of frosting on her tongue.  After putting it in her mouth, she decided that it wasn't her style!  She started fussing and really wanted to do something else!  We saved her cake (the only one salvageable) and ate it later in the day :)

Madison

Our Drama queen had a very different experience with her first cake!  She eagerly grabbed 2 handfulls of cake, but then wasn't sure about the texture.  She proceeded to wipe it on her legs, clothes, face, and her hair!  After a few big bites of cake & icing, she was off to find bigger and better things to do! 

James

Our sweet boy ate his cake with as much enthusiasm as any meal! He had huge chunks in each hand at all times!  It was fun to watch him munch out of one fist, reload while munching out of the other fist, and so on!  We actually had to take the cake away from him - we weren't looking forward to a young tummy filled with blue icing on a long drive home.

Since yesterday was their actual birthday, we decided to give them each a slice, but all served at the same time.  The outcome was surprisingly similar to the first cake: Morgan wasn't interested at all and seemed frustrated that we put frosting on her fingers;  Madison wore more on her face and in her hair than she was able to devour;  James, our double-fisted eater, managed to polish off the entire piece and squeal for more :)  What a hoot!

Where's Shelby?

For those of you who were wondering, yes, Shelby is surviving! She's a pretty incredible dog!  I think for most of this year, she was trying to figure out who these new little bodies were... the ones infringing on her turf!  Well, she's recently discovered that these little ones LOVE her! They giggle uncontrollably when she runs through their bouncies, they laugh when she "dances", and they love to look for her through the window!  Shelby even waits patiently by their baby gate so they can reach through and "pet" her paw! (but she won't dare let them do the same to her tail!!!)  Last week, the 3 amigos were busy scooting around the kitchen and discovered the back door.  The all wanted to watch her, and we think Shelby enjoyed watching them as well!!!  We had to take turns at the door since we're getting bigger now - we can't all fit!  Soon after the fun with Shelby was over, it was meal time.  Shelby LOVES meal time!  Now the amigos are self-feeders, so Shelby waits patiently until the meal is over.  She is the best floor cleaner we have ever seen!  I think the poor dog may be getting tired of turkey, blueberries, and green peas, but she hasn't  complained yet :)

Madison - we have all recently discovered mango, so she is proudly wearing it on her nose!  Funny how differently all 3 eat!  Madison uses one hand at a time - she finds no difficulty picking up the food and putting it in her mouth.  She will eat almost anything offered to her!!

James - our double-fisted eater. He usually grabs food with both hands first, and then decides to eat.  When eating his fruit (blueberries, grapes, etc.), she likes to roll it around in his mouth, eat the soft inside, then spit out the skin.

Morgan - our chopsticks pro!  She uses her thumb/index finger to carefully pick up food on her tray!  She would much rather feed herself than be fed by anyone else --- hmmm... she must get that independent streak from her father!!!!  If she doesn't like the meal presented, she will ALWAYS eat yogurt (preferably strawberry!).  We KNOW she will be our picky eater.

Life sure has gotten easier now that the 3 amigos can feed themselves.  Messier, yes, but easier :)

a "Baby Fix" :)

What could be sweeter than a request from Grams for an updated posting!  "I just have to have my baby-fix before I go to bed!"  How could that be denied???

Attached are some photos of our 11-months pics.  Madison spent most of her time lifting her dress - a scene similar to her 6-month photos!  James was off to the races, seeing how quickly he could escape the photo shoot. Morgan, who had recently discovered crawling, was scooting around, trying to pick up the tiniest pieces of ANYTHING she could find! All in all, it was a very successful time!

Like usual, the day would not have gone smoothly without the help of others. Life is much easier when the ratio of baby to adult is 1:1. Grams volunteered to accompany us this particular day, and it was a good thing she did! She jumped in the middle of the photos while everyone was still happy, creating one of my favorite grandmother photos of all time! I am eagerly awaiting a speedy recovery from Maw-Maw, so she can jump in the middle of the madness as well :)

I was so excited that someone else was behind the camera so I could get involved, too!  I keep reminding myself to take as many photos as I can... that the sweet little ones will never be this small again!  The last trip to the doctor's office really hit home for me.  Madison is already at 21 lbs, 5 oz, James weighed 21 lbs, 10 oz, and Little Morgan is up to 19 lbs, 10 oz!  Every now and then, I have to look back to their birthday photos and remind myself how far they have come!  True miracles!

Enjoy your baby fix, Grams!! Sweet dreams!!