Raspberries!

This morning, while the kids slept in the car, Nana and I went raspberry picking. When we returned, Arthur and Betty had woken up, and Pop Pop had them in the stroller by the car. We quickly showed them the berry patch, and Arthur found a new favorite food!

In other news, Arthur can consistently do the sign for "bottle," and Betty can show you where her nose is (and where yours is as well).

Drunken Toddlers

In the evenings, the kids seem to get drunkenly tired. They stumble about the room, bumping into walls, chairs, and each other. They even get a little crazed, engaging in wild games of chase, and running faster than their chubby legs can carry them. This, of course, leads to them falling and hitting their heads, which leads to more-intense-than-needed crying. Because they are drunkenly tired.

Chaotic Afternoon

We're counting down the minutes before Erin gets home from work. After a rough night (the girls are each trying to get their remaining molars in, and Arthur decided to get up at 4am), everyone's been cranky today. Though they've all had enough naps, it hasn't helped their moods. Here's hoping tonight is better.

Percussion

Today we introduced the kids to a drum set. I never played drums myself, so I didn't know that you have to suck on the end of the drumsticks to properly moisturize them before use. I kept trying to remember, though, whether I had sterilized them after their purchase at a garage sale.

Anyways, this is step one in creating our multi-million dollar family musical touring group. Watch out Osmonds, here we come!

Mommy Goes to Work

Erin returned to her teaching job today, having a week of meetings before her students come back. While the triplets were sad to see her go, this picture isn't them saying good-bye to her. At the moment, Erin's schedule allows her to help me load up the kids in their carseats for the drive over to Nana and Pop Pop's house in the morning. Here, though, the triplets are fascinated every morning now with the arrival of the school bus at our corner.

Our Words

I thought I'd start a list of all the words and signs that the kids know now.
Signs:
"Doggie" (though now they are panting instead)
"Squirrel"
"Bird"
"Bath" - just Arthur and Coraline
"Bottle" - just Betty
"More" - just Betty and Coraline
"All Done" - just Betty
"Ceiling Fan"
"Light" - just Betty (once)
"No"


Words:
"Ooh-Ooh-Ooh" (Monkey noise)
Panting (Dog noise) - also used for other animals
"Cock-cock-ca" (Rooster noise) - just Coraline
"Ba ba, Ba ba" (Bye-Bye) - just Coraline
"Pop Pop"
"Tick-Tick-Tick" (clocks)

Oh, and on pace with her twin sister, Coraline got her first molar (top left) in last night.

Tooth count: A-4, B-9, C-9

Heritage Day

Today Grandma Toni and Uncle Matt came for a visit, and we decided to take them to Heritage Day at our local county museum. The kids got to see a box turtle (brought by the zoo we were at yesterday), lots of antique cars, some old belt-driven machinery (operated by some even older men), and some basket weavers. We had a lot of fun.

We then played at home in our backyard for a while. The girls especially love taking the sand by the handful, and dumping it outside of the sandbox. Luckily we have many bags of sand. And then, as Grandma Toni and Uncle Matt had to go home, Coraline started saying "bye bye" and waving to them. It was quite cute.

We're Going to the Zoo!

Today we finally got around to taking the kids to our local zoo. Though the zoo was small, there was a lot for them to see. They especially loved walking around in the bird exhibit, even though I was having flashbacks to being bitten by a parrot at Parrot Jungle when I was just a few years older than the triplets.

We had such a good time at the zoo, that in the middle of our visit we went back to the cashier to purchase a year-long pass for us. Hopefully we'll be able to make our way up to the zoo at least once a month.

The train was fun, but we think we'll skip it next time, as it costs too much. And we were also disappointed that after working so long on animal noises, the only real connection the kids made (besides Coraline "panting" at seeing the red panda, which she does with Sophie the dog) was Betty making monkey noises upon seeing a stuffed monkey in the gift shop. The same sound she makes at home with our stuffed monkey. So much for making the connections to live animals...

In other news, after a rough night involving Betty getting up every hour, this morning we found she had gotten her first molar!

Tooth count: A-4, B-9, C-8

New Book

The graphic novel of Neil Gaiman's story "Coraline" just was released. We're excited as this means that it won't be too long until the movie with Dakota Fanning will be released (though its release has already been moved to next February). Maybe by that point people will know how to pronounce Cora's name.

Coraline Has Fun

While Tropical Storm Fay has forced Nana and Pop Pop to drive back from their trip to Florida, Coraline decided she wanted to take a ride as well. Arthur seemed content to pull and push her on the mini-wagon, making up for his latest round of hair-pulling and pushing.

I also caught on film a rare moment of Coraline playing by herself. Arthur and Betty were eager to start their lunch, but Coraline felt that she wasn't done playing with her pull toy.

Mall Photo Booth

Tick Tock

This is the only video I've gotten so far of the kids saying "Tick Tock" when they see a clock. It was something taught to them by Great Aunt Shirley weeks ago, and all three continue to say it. In fact, it is more of a "tick tick" they say, and it seems to be the only word they currently are vocalizing ("Pop Pop," their first word, hasn't been heard in over a month).

You Say "Tomato," I Say "Yum!"

Erin had the girls on the back porch today, while Arthur finished his nap in the car. She turned her back on them for a second, and then noticed that Coraline had her mouth full with some unknown object. It's a relatively safe area for them to be in, but they are quite fond of pulling off leaves and twigs from the nearby bushes. Of course, it didn't help that it looked like Coraline was munching on a large red berry. Poisonous, perhaps?

Well, it turns out that Pop Pop had been harvesting his cherry tomatoes the other day, and had left a few on the porch railing in order to fully ripen. One must have fallen, and Coraline was happily munching away on it. In fact, she loved it so much that not only could Erin not take it away from her, she started shrieking when she noticed the rest of the tomatoes on the railing. So needless to say, a half-dozen cherry tomatoes and two large tomatoes later, Coraline has a new favorite food, which was not surprising as she loves her fruits and vegetables. Betty joined in for the larger tomatoes, eating them like apples.

A New Slide

We got a new indoor slide/gym for the kids to play on. It's going to take them a bit of time to master it though. Arthur seems the most secure on it, climbing up the slide on his own, and standing safely on top. The girls can climb up the other side (though not the slide), but once on top they are a bit too careless. Coraline slipped through a hole and landed on her head (she's fine) because she wasn't looking where her feet were. So we'll take it slowly, let them play on it every other day for a bit, until they have mastered how to play safely on the slide.

In other news, last night Arthur finally got in his 2nd upper tooth! Though he still only has half as many teeth as the girls (and Betty has three hematomas where her first molars are starting to come in).

Tooth count: A-4, B-8, C-8

Mommy's Home!

After missing her connection in Charlotte, Erin finally got home to a warm greeting from Arthur, Betty, and Coraline.

Day Two

Growth spurt? Teething? Cold? We don't know why, but we've got three cranky kids. Coraline didn't fall asleep until way past midnight. Arthur's taking extra long naps, but still acts horribly tired during the day. Betty seems to be catching Cora's runny nose. At least we know that they aren't sleeping well because their mom is gone, as the kids didn't sleep well the last night she was here. But Erin will be back tomorrow morning, and hopefully things will get back to normal.

After making rice pudding (with Nana's official taste tester), we took everyone for a walk on the Huckleberry Trail. Betty and Arthur fell asleep during the walk, so we decided to extend it by walking through the nearby mall. We stopped at Dairy Queen, and while Arthur slept, the girls snacked on vanilla ice cream. Soon the mall echoed with their loud gibbon cries for more...

While Mom's Away

Erin flew out this morning to attend Great Uncle Doug's wedding up in New Jersey. We had planned on bringing the kids to the wedding, before we found out how even the slightest change to their sleep routines causes them to be cranky for days. Plus, the reception doesn't even start until their normal bedtime. So Erin won't be back until Monday morning, the longest she's spent away from the kids.

So Nana, Pop Pop, and I are making do. It doesn't help, though, that the kids had a horrible night last night (finally falling mostly asleep past midnight, and then getting up again at 4 this morning), and Coraline is either fighting a cold or having symptoms from her molars trying to come in. We took them to play in our backyard, where the playhouse is still a hit. The neighbor's kitten came over to pay a visit (we're still trying to teach them the sign for "kitty"), and Arthur and Coraline found it fascinating. Betty, noticing her siblings were distracted, took the opportunity to empty out the three snack cups.

The Soccer Player

For the past few days, Coraline has been showing off her soccer skills. I tried to tell her that she wasn't supposed to use her hands, but she told me she was the goalie so it was ok.

1 Year Appointment

Today we took the kids in for their 1 year appointment. We were surprised to find another round of shots awaited us, as did blood tests for lead and hemoglobin counts. The pediatrician was again shocked to see how well the triplets were doing, and the toddlers were equally shocked to see the four needles.

Arthur weighed the least, at 21 lbs, 6 oz (29th percentile), and was 30.75" tall (80th). His head was 48.5" around (95th?)

Betty weighed 23 lbs, 12 oz (88th ), and was 31.5" tall (95th plus). She's by far the biggest and the tallest of the three. Her head also measured 49.5" around. The pediatrician said that her head was over the 100th percentile, but we can't quite figure out that math. We do see that her height is off the chart as well, but what terminology is accurate?

Coraline weighed 22 lbs, 2 oz (70th), and was shortest at 30.5" tall (94th). Her head measured 47.5" around. Our next visit is in three months, for more shots.

I Scream, You Scream

We all scream for ice cream!
Well, there actually wasn't much screaming at all. Following upon our success at Red Robin, we hit Cold Stone Creamery today with our four free ice cream certificates. We couldn't believe that they would give large ice cream bowls to one-year olds, so while Arthur, Betty, and Coraline enjoyed a few spoonfuls, we were happy to help them finish the rest.

Eating Out

Since we had four birthdays on August 2nd, we had received in the mail four "free birthday meals" from Red Robin. So we decided to take the kids out to a restaurant for the very first time. (I had to talk to the manager to let us us all of them at one meal).

It went amazingly well, and the kids loved the free balloons that were given them. Before the food came, we let them walk around the restaurant, and Arthur immediately made a bee-line for the arcade games.

They loved the meal and they ate mac and cheese and grilled cheese. The only incident was when Arthur grabbed my full ice water glass and dumped it on my lap. But we can't wait to do it again next year!

Happy Birthday, Part II

So we were having a great time at the party until Coraline found a Doritos chip on the ground. She walked into the kitchen coughing, as the sharp object had lodged in her throat. Erin had to pick her up, turn her upside down, and hit her back until Coraline threw up a few times and dislodged the chip.

Arthur playing with the drink bucket followed this incident. It had been a hit with the kids, and they had all gathered around it for a while, and Betty picked out a beer for herself. Arthur wanted to see how much trouble he could actually get into, having already figured out how to open the latch on the deck’s gate. So he tried to climb up the side of the bucket. Within moments, he flipped inside the bucket head first, immersing himself in the icy water. Erin leapt up, and pulled him out by his feet. Though cold and soaked, this didn’t faze Arthur in the least.

So all in all, Erin, Arthur, Betty, and Coraline had a wonderful birthday, and we had a great time at the party. Oh, and Coraline got her fourth upper tooth on her birthday as well.

Tooth count: A-3, B-8, C-8

Happy Birthday, Part I

Only a parent of multiples would consider a party a great success in which the party itself was rained out, one child almost choked to death, and the other tried to drown himself. (Though we’re not saying that there isn’t room for improvement for next year...)
Last night Aunt Allison arrived, as well as second cousin Deb and Kim. We went over to Nana and Pop Pop’s house first thing in the morning to help prepare for the big day. We put all the decorations outside, arranged tents, chairs, and food stations, and then watched the sky begin to darken. Grandma Toni, Grandpa Carter, and Uncle Matt arrived, followed by a thunderstorm, and it proceeded to rain during the whole three hours of the party.

We relocated indoors, and were soon met by family friends Mike and Kay. Arthur, meanwhile, decided to take the longest nap of his life, and missed out on the opening festivities. Neighbors came over bearing gifts, including a wonderful pencil portrait of the trio.

The birthday cakes went quite well; Arthur of course dug into his immediately and had a grand time making as large a mess as he could.

Betty was much more reserved, tasting the whipped cream frosting delicately with one finger, and then pointing at the cake and talking about it. We told her it was a no-sugar banana and raisin cake, and eventually she did end up eating some.

Coraline enjoyed it as well, digging in and eating most of the cake. And after the three birthday presents I gave Erin last year turned out to be so much work, this year I decided to give her a book. Tomorrow I’ll post a video of the day.

Party Planning

Great Aunt Shirley arrived last night. She's the Martha Stewart of Vermont, and has been a great assistance in the party planning for the great quadruple birthday blast. (Here she's teaching Arthur to say "tick tock").

To give Nana a break from the kids while she prepared the house for the party, we took everyone to Steppin' Out, Blacksburg's "large" town fair. We had a lot of fun, but it was quite hot outside. Betty showed off her high IQ by unscrewing her water bottle, and dumping it over herself to get cool. The idea backfired, though, when we later put her in the air-conditioned car for the ride home.

Upon arriving home, we found a huge birthday package from Aunt Heather, Uncle Tristan, and their cousins. The kids loved opening up the gifts, and had a fun time playing with the finger puppets, the push toy, the farm animals, and the magnetic truck.