15 months!

I'm not sure when babies officially become toddlers, but we're about there!  They've been busy growing and changing so much over the past couple of months it's unreal.  Dave and I are loving this stage though!  They are really showing their personalities and sense of adventure.  They love to explore- everything is new and exciting and often hilarious.  They are great at entertaining themselves and each other.  We always get a kick out of watching them play.  Not saying that there aren't toys strewn EVERYWHERE, kids vying for a few bites of dog food, or an occasional dramatic crying episode, but hey, there are 6 15 month olds living here, and it's all in fun- until someone drops a formula can on their foot.

Since returning from Colorado we've had several exciting things happen: thoroughly cleaning the van (you have no idea), spending time at the big neighborhood pool, beginning straw cup drinking and self feeding with a spoon, the 15 month well check, and Maggie (our dog)'s feature article in the September issue of Dog Fancy magazine!!

After 2 months of playing around (somewhat inconsistently) with straw cups, they're catching on! It did take a little squirt of Crystal Light in each cup and me putting it in their mouth for them at first, but it worked.  The boys are great at it, the girls are still getting the hang of it, and if anyone's grumpy they won't have it.  The spoon skills are very new, but at this point it seems the girls are slightly more interested than the boys.  We'll be doing the hand over hand technique awhile longer for sure!

The 15 month well check went very well- even with the new doctor.  In fact, I liked the new pediatrician a lot!  She gave me the same discipline/behavior speech I gave parents back in my working days, so we at least agree on that topic.  All babies checked out well on growth- all lost a little due to their increased movement- and they all handled the shots like pros.  The pedi said she's like me to pump up Allison and Levi's calories to boost their weight gain.  She recommended extra snacks for them.  I'm sorry, give 2 kids extra snacks and not the other 3?  That would pretty much create World Ware 3 in my house.  So, I've had to be a little creative adding extra cheese or yogurt or peanut butter to their bowls of food.

As we go through the individual updates, you'll notice some particularly messy babies.  Well, Dave and I created a pudding fun afternoon- eat it and play with it!  The kids absolutely loved eating the pudding, then once they realized they could squish it and slide it around, the messy play ensued!  Their individual pics show off the fun faces.

Some skills the babies have been acquiring include: high fives, waving, following simple one step commands (ex. "Give to Mama"),  consonant babbling, wearing shoes, having their teeth brushed (they ALL love this), eating anything and everything, and lots of mobility.  They're also starting to enter the separation anxiety phase.  Luckily, they're fairly easy to distract out of it.  They also all love to knock over towers we build up for them.

Now on to the profiles!

Andrew Noah
22 lb 14 oz    30.5 in   12 mo clothes    size 4 diapers    6 teeth

He already looks like a little boy!  He's the tallest of the bunch and his long and lean stature work well for his baby yoga poses he creates in his spare time.  Andrew LOVES to eat and is by far the fastest eater in the family.  I'm not sure he ever chews or tastes his food.  As soon as he's done he's reaching over for someone else's handouts.  Andrew is the fastest crawler, thus, he has no intersest in walking at this time.  He just started purposeful babbling and I love hearing his goofy "mama".  He loves books, going down the slide- all I have to do is sit him on the top and he does the rest, playing with Maggie, giving hugs, splashing in water, using push to walk toys, dumping things on the ground, looking in the mirror, messing with the blinds, sneaking dog food, laughing at "no", pointing/poking, and hillbilly laughing.

Benjamin Luke

23 lb 6 oz    29 in    12 mo clothes    size 4 diapers    6 teeth

The class clown!  Ben's personality has really been shining through lately and he is SILLY!!  He makes the silliest faces and sounds- one we've named "Ben the Bear".  Nowadays after we put the kids down for a nap we hear hysterical laughter in the boys room for up to half an hour.  With some fabulous detective work done by yours truly, we learned that they are standing in their crib corners exchanging pacifiers and toys.  Then Ben throws things in the middle of the room and sits down really hard in his crib and the other 2 think he's so funny.  Ben gets such a kick out of it he'll even stand up and sit down hard for me and then look at me like he's waiting for me to laugh.  Speaking of throwing, this boy has got an arm!  He loves to throw anything he can pick up and he's pretty good at it.  He's really become a good walker in the last couple of weeks!  Hard to believe from the boy who wouldn't move the first 10 months of his life.  His favorite evening game is to turn my head to the side and back front again.  Ben is a good eater, but he often times stuffs way too much in his cheeks and then he can't chew well or swallow.  He gets mad when I give his bowl a time out, but it must be done.  He loves books and putting small objects into containers or throwing them over the baby gate.

Caroline Grace

20 lb 12 oz   29.5 in   12 mo clothes    size 4 diapers    8 teeth

This girl can sure get moody.  From giggles to gripes and back again in no time at all.  She still likes to wake up in the middle of the night for a personal Caroline party, but she doesn't scream out or wake the others.  She's a great napper though!  She loves to dance to any music that's on.  She LOVES Mickey Mouse!  She is a great walker and could just walk around the house and be entertained most of the day!  She does need her random rests which involve putting her head on my lap.  I finally figured out that when she puts her hands up and cries, she really wants me to sit down so she can rest her head.  She blows raspberries and clicks her tongue all the time.  She flips through books faster than anyone.  She enjoys closing doors and turning faucets on and off.  

Leah Michelle

17 lb 8 oz    27.25 in    9 mo clothes    size 3 diapers  4 teeth

Leah has just plain gotten big!  She's outgrown Levi and Allison.  She's been showing lots of progress in her therapies lately: batting at objects, rolling over motions, retaining head control, holding sitting positions, weight bearing on arms and legs, and happily eating up to 4 bites of real food.  She loves loves loves music and nursery rhyme songs and being read to.  She laughs and laughs when we tickle her or when she's playing with her pom poms.  She smiles all the time.  She does not handle teething well and we usually have a few days of major setbacks.  She's also been figuring out her new cause and effect toys and obviously likes them.

Allison Kate

16 lb 2 oz    27.25 in    6-9 mo clothes    size 3 diapers    7 teeth

Little body, big personality.  That's our Smidge.  She is a fabulous walker and, like Caroline, could just walk around the house all day for fun.  She points that finger at everything and loves to feel different textures.  I taught her to hold up her finger in response to "How old are you?"  and she's learned to ride the rocking horse- she'll do anything for a clap and a cheer!  She loves to be picked up, the taller you are, the better.  She's a biter, the other day she bit Andrew really hard and I knew it because of the 7 perfect teeth marks on his arm.  She likes to look in mirrors, push buttons, flip through books, follow people around, throw fits if she's upset, be constantly busy.

Levi Thomas

16 lb 9.5 oz    27.5 in    6-9 mo clothes    size 3 diapers    2 teeth

Levi has really taken off the past few weeks!  He's now walking and constantly "talking" to everyone.  He waves and claps all the time.  He still loves to jump and I've caught him jumping in his crib a couple of times.  He loves Maggie and carries around her toy all day, but will give it to her if she's close enough to him.  He's starting to dance too.  He loves to sit and try to figure out how toys work, especially when putting a small object into a larger object is involved.  He's becoming a fast easter like Andrew.  He has the craziest hair- curly on top, straight on bottom.  Levi is the king of sensitive skin!  He constantly has some rash or bumps on him somewhere; we've recently learned that sun exposure makes him break out, but his strict vaseline regime helps a lot.  He's definitely the chilled out one of the bunch and has no issue playing independently.

This week I handled 2 days by myself!  With helpers canceling at the mast minute, it wasn't bad at all, and now I know I can do it)).  Below is the two littles "spooning" some applesauce.

First time holding their own spoon- they loved yogurt!