On most days, the triplets require some form of dinner show in order to capture their attention and have them focus on eating (rather than, say, playing with their food, spitting their food, tugging on their neighbor, etc.). Often it consists of having someone wave toys in the background, or play drums on various glasses and pans in the kitchen. Tonight was a rough night, so we had bubbles.
In other news, Betty consistently and accurately used the "doggie" sign twice today, in the morning, and when Erin came home in the afternoon. The girls had been eating a snack in the playpen in the kitchen, and Sabine was furiously pacing on the outside, eager to eat they dropped. Sabine even cleaned off Betty's hands for her, as she stuck her fingers through the wall of the playpen. She realized Sabine wanted something and thought hard about what it was. Eventually she crouched down, grabbed an empty box of macaroni (the box was a play toy), and threw it over the fence for Sabine. Close, but not what the dog wanted. So after I picked her up, we talked about it, and Betty repeatedly made the sign for doggie while she looked at Sabine. Evidently signing comes easier once you've learned to wave, which Betty now does all the time. We'll see if she remembers the sign tomorrow.
