Happy Halloween!

Halloween Party

Tonight we took the triplets to their first halloween party. When we got to the town's rec center, we were a bit taken aback by the fact that there was only a coloring station, a face-painting station, a tv station, a haunted house, a hopscotch area, and a limbo area. While it was for children under 7 years old, it didn't seem like there was much for our toddlers. But we were quite mistaken. After attempting coloring for a bit (which we don't do often), we let the kids just run around. And they had a blast!

At no time during the hour we were there did the kids get nervous, or even acknowledge we were there with them. They ran around in three different directions (and Erin and I had to coordinate which ones we were watching). Arthur found the limbo station, and spent a good 15-20 minutes standing still watching it all. He didn't interfere, nor did he participate. Perhaps he was judging...

And then Coraline made friends with a doggie (who was the daughter of an old colleague of Erin's). But mostly they just ran and ran around the gym.

New Chairs!

After waiting for more than a month, we finally got the triplets' new high chairs. We like these much better than their old ones, as these fit much better at the table. I then started carving their Halloween pumpkins, and Arthur was quite interested in the inside of them.

And then Arthur, in an abrupt 180 degree shift from his previous behavior towards his sisters (namely biting and pushing), started giving Betty kisses on the mouth. We were a bit concerned that we were encouraging the behavior, as we snapped pictures and took video, but after a dozen or so kisses Betty started shaking her head "No." So luckily the "No means no" conversation ended it, or Coraline would have been singing "Arthur and Betty, sitting in a tree...."

When the Cold Keeps You In....

Big Girl

Here's Betty sitting in the rocking chair I had when I was a child. And yes, she's watching a signing video.

Toddler Study, Continued

We took the kids back today to Virginia Tech for another part of an infant study we've been working on. We took them back in July for the first part of this study, and then we had some surveys to do in August, and we'll have some more paperwork to do when they are 18 months old. This time they were studying nonverbal communication skills. The kids each sat at a table while a researcher would bring out a toy and interact with them. I don't think they had met toddlers who knew sign language already, though.

At bedtime Arthur decided to try on Erin's shoes. He carefully placed his feet in them, and then slowly inched each foot forward to walk across the room without them falling off.

Light Sleepers

With all of the new teeth coming in, no one in the house is sleeping well. All are drugged up on tylenol and motrin, as the kids are clearly in pain at night. We've even caught Arthur wimpering in his sleep. So when Erin took Arthur to bed, and accidentally fell asleep with him, I was left with the two girls downstairs. So we played until we got too tired to play anymore.

New Teeth!

Betty just got in the canines on her right side! That now takes her to a total of 15 teeth.

Tooth count: A-4, B-15, C-11

TV Addiction

For the longest time, we thought our kids didn't care for tv. We had even tried the Baby Einstein series when they were infants, to no avail. But after having a baby signing video sitting on the shelf for about 8 months, we decided to pop it in the VCR to see if it was any good. Well, the triplets were mesmerized from the first minute. They stayed in the room, watching the entire 20-minute video. We put it on every morning for them, and they are slowly learning some new signs.

Arthur, though, seems to be quite addicted to the video. He'll leap out of his chair in excitement, and he has no patience for the 1.5 seconds of blackness between segments. He'll quickly turn around to us, sign "help me," and hop up and down. Of course, in the middle of this exasperated outburst, the segment will have already returned. We do think, though, that we need to get some of the dvds from the "Signing Time" series, as this one is getting old fast.

Oh, and Betty has gotten in her 13th tooth!
Tooth count: A-4, B-13, C-11

Fall Play

We've found out that Nana and Pop Pop's backyard is quite a few degrees cooler than our own, even though it is only a mile from our house. We think that because they are in a hollow, and surrounded by trees, that they don't get the full sun during the day that we do. But since they love exploring their backyard, we have to bundle the triplets up in the afternoon.

We're also trying to teach the triplets to not pick up or touch all of Nana's small garden statues. They love to explore her flower beds, and are convinced the small pig statue is really a dog.

Pretend Play

The kids have started using pretend food when they play. On more than one occasion, Betty has offered Pop Pop a pretend spoonful of food. They'll eat spoonfuls themselves, smacking their lips as they consume the imaginary food. Here Coraline is stirring her pacifier in the frying pan (we're not sure if its the main course or just an appetizer).

Cat Stuck in a Tree?

Apple Picking!

On the first day that actually felt like Fall we took everyone apple-picking. We found this amazing orchard a half-hour away from our house. The proprietor was an elderly gentleman who hasn't been able care for his massive orchard for the past few years, so all of the fruit was truly organic. He was just looking for anyone to pick his apples, as thousands are going to go to waste when the freeze comes. We picked 120 pounds of apples, and paid just $12 for them :)

After quickly getting tired of their strollers, the kids instead decided to ride on our backs in their ergos to be close to the action. All enjoyed munching on apples the whole time, Betty hummed along for the ride, Coraline pointed out where the best apples were, and Arthur kept trying to grab the apple-picker or the nearby branches.

Before we loaded them back up in the car, we let them run around for a bit, being careful they didn't fall into any of the numerous cow-patties (the farmer complained that the neighbor's cows kept getting in his orchard to eat his fallen apples). And Arthur was quite confused as to why we didn't collect the half-rotten apples that he had found.

Lots of Visitors

Six months ago I started tracking the visitors to this blog. After 10,000 visits, it seems that quite a few people from all over the world are reading about our triplets. From what I can tell, aside from most of the 50 states, there have been visitors from Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Kuwait, Israel, Portugal, France, England, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria, Hungry, Romania, Switzerland, Netherlands, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji! Thanks for visiting!

Fall Easter Eggs

The kids love exploring Nana and Pop Pop's backyard. Between all the falling leaves and acorns, there's always something for them to find. Arthur finally has gotten the hang of collecting items in a small bucket (previously he would put a few things in his bucket, and then turn his bucket upside down to watch it all fall out). Today he walked around for almost an hour, finding stuff and putting them in his bucket. Oh, and yes, we were in a rush and we did put him in one of his sisters' sweaters.

In case you're wondering, his treasures include a soup lid from the sandbox, a leaf, a few dozen acorns, and a few flowers.

Clown Car

Everyone here is feeling the worsening economy, and we're all trying to find ways to help make ends meet. Today the triplets chose to carpool together.

New Adventures

The girls have become adventurous in the past few days. Today Coraline decided that she was going to climb on top of the bench on the patio. Even though she was gripping her sippy cup with one hand, she managed to pull herself onto the bench, and then excitedly stood up. Seeing this, Arthur immediately went over and climbed up as well. Seems like we need to work on making the patio a bit safer. And then Betty wanted to ride the toy wagon down the hill. She had a ton of fun, and immediately ran up the hill to do it again. We can't wait for sledding season to begin! Oh, and don't try this at home :)

Finally, we stopped at the berry farm today to pick one last load of raspberries before we have the first frost (but since its been in the 80's the past few days, this isn't an immediate concern). Here's Arthur digging into some golden raspberries.

More From Yesterday

I thought I'd share a bit more from our exciting weekend. Here's a cute picture of Betty hanging out with her second-cousin Rachel (who also came for a brief visit). And then here's a video I took of them exploring the bale-of-hay maze at the pumpkin festival. After finding her way out of the maze, Betty headed off for the hills, and then after we made it back to the hay jump pile, I had to end the video when I saw that Coraline was signing the word "hungry."

Pumpkin Festival Photos!

Aunt Allison

Aunt Allison arrived late last night, and Arthur was excited to see her when he woke up at 4:45 in the morning (Aunt Allison wasn't as thrilled). But everyone had a lot fun going to a few garage sales and playing in the backyard today.

Arthur took some time off from playing to help me put the finishing touches on the new railing on our back steps. We think it's quite safe and sturdy, and will be ready for the kids when they learn how to walk up and down stairs.

Backyard Play

For some reason the kids love hanging out on the step by our basement door. They act like they're the cool kids hanging out behind the building trying to sneak some cigarettes. When they're not busy acting cool, they practice going up and down the single step.

Arthur then worked hard to fill up his bucket with a few scoops of sand, and he carried this all around the yard. He took it in the playhouse, to the steps, and around to the sandbox again. However, on the way back, he tripped and fell. He then seemed a bit confused, to see a pile of sand in the middle of the grass. But when he glanced into his now empty bucket, he quickly realized what had happened, and in a panic tried to scoop up the remaining grains of sand back into his bucket from the grass.

Coraline's OCD

Coraline has quite a few obsessive tendencies these days. After every meal, when we take her out of her high chair, she excitedly shrieks and points to each piece of fallen food and debris on the ground. She won't stop shouting and pointing until we pick up every piece she has found. (And then to make matters worse, she'll occasionally drop things on the floor on purpose, take a step back, and then shout and point at it). Also, if anyone leaves their shoes in the room, she'll go around collecting them, and depositing them on the other side of the baby gate. And then there is her regular collecting, be it pacifiers, snacks, or pages of a torn up magazine (pictured here), she'll always try to pick up more than she could possibly hold. We hope she'll grow up to be the organizer and cleaner in the household. We need at least one of those in our family.

Forks!

We've been working on having the kids use spoons and forks at the dinner table. Coraline is by far the most proficient, scooping up yogurt or cereal on her spoon, and actually getting it to her mouth. Today we worked more on forks, and Coraline was so interested in eating with them, that when she wasn't able to stab her cantaloupe pieces quick enough, she would pick up a piece and impale it on the end of her fork with her hand.

Bubbles

Nana got out the bubbles today, and it was as if the kids had never seen them before! They were so excited (though perhaps they were laughing so much because they were tired...)

Brushing Our Teeth

Our kids have always loved brushing their teeth. When Nana got to the toothbrushing part in an "I Can Do It Myself" book that she was reading to the kids today, Coraline jumped up, ran to the bathroom, and started signing the word "toothbrush." We didn't even know she knew the sign. Naturally we stopped reading time to brush all of their teeth.

Ghost Tour

Tonight we took everyone to a walking ghost tour in a small town about a half hour away from us. It was our first night outing with the kids, and we foolishly thought they'd fall asleep in their ergos. Of course, everything was too new for them, so they stayed up the whole time, pointing at the different buildings and listening to the ghostly tales. We saw a haunted cemetery, a giant colony of bats, and many historic buildings in the area. We're so glad it's October!