Happy 7 Months Little Munchkins!!!

Pics: Clark and Uncle Tom getting ready for the VOLS! Kendall hamming it up. Emma and her cute bow (from Aunt Marsha).

Well, I can't even believe it has been 7 months already. We have commented more than once that the days are LONG, but the weeks fly by. They are growing and changing so much and often we don't even notice some changes since we see them everyday.

Kendall: She has spent this week trying really hard to crawl. We noticed that she is moving around but hadn't really seen what it was she was doing. Today we figured out that she is sort of crawling backwards. Sort of. She pushes up with her arms and then scoots back with her legs. It's funny to watch because she is focused on an object in front of her and seems to want to get to it and then ends up farther away as she does her "crawl". I'm wondering if she will master this thing by the end of the week???? She seems to enjoy baby food - a lot (until today). She has been more than willing to eat peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes and she is the only one who gets rice cereal (though it's usually in her bottle). Today we introduced prunes (for various reasons - we can buy organic, it's a "first food", and quite frankly, we are hoping to keep them all in good "shape" as the other foods seem to be slowing things down a bit). They caught her off guard a little, but then she seemed to be OK with them. She was pretty cranky though when her sister started going off the deep end. She was almost unwilling to finish eating. And this evening, she was gagging constantly while trying to eat our homemade (Mommy and Daddy made it yesterday) peas (organic baby food peas). We are hoping it is just the texture as they are a little chunkier then the usual "first foods" as she has been happy to eat peas so far. We will probably have to save them for her once she hits the "second foods" stage. She is still all smiles much of the time. Most people can get her to flash them a cute smile when visiting. She loves to giggle and dance (my own little "dancing queen" - I hear Abba----aaahhhh). Lately, she seems to be able to occupy herself on the floor mat scooting to different toys and being curious. We also think she will have great abs sometime soon as she spends SO much time on her tummy. Her new talent is also her ability to jump in the jumperoo toys (like Clark). She is chatty at times and has a crazy "hyperventilating-sort-of" sound that she makes when she is excited or bored (we checked with the dr and it isn't anything to worry about). Aside from that, she has sort of a quiet voice and sometimes it sounds very "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (a popular 80's song) raspy. Her eyes continue to be SO expressive and you can see a smile coming on if you just watch them. And they are bright and blue'ish, but maybe hazel is coming??? There is finally a little more hair coming in that we can almost get the hair clip (from Aunt Marsha) to stay in her hair. There is still no sign of teeth, but that doesn't stop her from flashing those beautiful gums!

Emma: She too seems to be trying to get mobile, though she has not been as successful as K. She loves to roll around on the mat and get into everything. She especially loves this safari toy that makes (a lot of) noise and lights up. Pretty much everything she can get her hands on ends up in her mouth, but of course, she does have teeth and more may be coming soon. Her other favorite thing to "eat" is her feet. She is quite flexible and can get her feet up to her face very easily. Speaking of eating, she is not our best baby food eater. She was great at it in the beginning and it appeared that she would be the neat one, but that is not the case any longer. She seems to have changed her tune and isn't happy about baby food. (Or is it that we no longer enjoy feeding her????) Anyway, she now screams quite a bit. She demands more food immediately - no waiting to distribute a mouthful to Clark or Kendall - and ALWAYS requires that her hand (or arm, or bib, or someone's arm) be used to help her swallow her food. It is the weirdest thing. I read that when they stick their fingers in their mouths while eating, it can be helpful for them to learn how to swallow the food, so I wasn't discouraging it. But now, it's just a gigantic mess. And I don't know how much food she even gets down. And the screaming thing...it's gotten to where Clark will burst into tears because he just wants to eat his food and she is screaming in his ear and we are so focused on that that we aren't giving him another bite. But, she's still our Ems. She is SO cute first thing in the morning when we are pooped out and trying to get them all ready for the first bottle. She is cooing and singing and squealing. It is just the most adorable thing. Sometimes it's annoying because we want her to drink her bottle and quit singing, but it's just so cute that you can't help but smile. She is still ahead of the pack in the hair dept. Her hair appears to be pretty dark. And her eyes remain different - one blue and one brown. As I said in the other post, she is our little peanut being about 2 lbs lighter than K and C, but seems to always be doing new things and picking up new "skills" and we are happy about that. We're thinking that she will be into singing (because of her high, LOUD voice), or maybe some sort of sport as she loves to slam her toys around. Uncle Tom would be thrilled if she played baseball/softball....I would suffer through it in silence (I hate being in those bleachers in the blazing hot sun) if it was what she wanted to do. I think there is a chance that, despite her size, she might be more of the "leader" of the three. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out in a few years, but right now, it seems like she calls the shots. She loves to be outside. In the midst of a meltdown, a nice stroll in the yard seems to settle her down quickly. I think she loves to hear the sounds outside. And she also seems to enjoy hearing her own voice outside as she was singing at the top of her lungs when I took the three for a walk this morning. She too has a beautiful smile and a cute laugh.

Clark: Sweet, precious, patient Clark. He is not as quiet as he was. He has times where he is pretty chatty - especially hanging out in his crib when he wakes up and we haven't come to get him. He just lays there sort of moaning and groaning and then sighing and cooing. VERY cute. I've been a little freaked out to find that he has flipped out of his sleep positioner and is up against the crib rails with his mouth around one of them. It's probably about time to take out the positioner and discontinue swaddling him, but we just haven't made the official transition. He has the most gorgeous eyes....big and dark blue. And his little 2-tooth grin is just adorable. We thought that he was taking his time with the developmental milestones - like rolling over, etc, but now he's just rolling everywhere and is actually quite good at sitting up (not entirely by himself, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was the first to accomplish this). He seems to really enjoy music - Daddy's guitar, the music on Baby Einstein videos, the noise that the jumperoo makes, etc. He is getting much taller and heavier and there is more hair coming in everyday. We are so amazed (and thrilled) that he went from being the smallest at birth (just 4lbs and only .4 oz) to being the largest (at just under 16 lbs). He continues to be great at the jumperoo toys and even when you try to get him to stand, he is trying to bounce and jump. I think I'll have to call him Tigger with all of the jumping he does. He has an infectious laugh and gets tickled easily by funny faces and noises. He too can be calmed by a stroll through the yard and usually falls asleep in the stroller when I take him for a walk. He is by far the best eater of the bunch. We still get a nice "baby bird" mouth so that food goes in easily. It seems like he really enjoys the food (even the homemade chunky peas that made K gag). While he can give you a wonderful smile, it is sometimes difficult to capture a photo of this because he gets distracted by the camera. Once he knows it is there, he can't stop staring at it with a "deer in the headlights" sort of look. He loves to kick and splash during bathtime and he is also quite limber because he too is able to get his feet to his mouth (yummy???). I've also noticed that he is now able to get the bar on the bouncy seat popped out of it's place because he likes to prop his feet up there and play with the toys. Beyond that, he is just SO snuggly that you can't help but squeeze him and plant kisses on him.

That's all for now. I just wanted to post a few notes about each baby so you can get a little insight about what is going on with them.

We are gearing up for the start of football season, so I just have to mention....
GO VOLS!!!!

"Six" month pedi appt

Quick update from pedi visit today. Everyone looks great. Clark and Emma are apparently going to have diaper rash until they are out of diapers due to a sensitivity to the wet diaper (thankfully it is not an allergy to the diapers). Kendall appears to have baby eczema but the pedi is confident that it will resolve itself and clear up over time.

Here are the OFFICIAL stats:

Kendall - 15lbs 10oz, 26.4 in long

Emma - 13lbs 13oz, 25.75 in long

Clark - 15lbs 15oz, 26.8 in long

We will continue introducing veggies and fruits that are "1st" foods (pureed and strained) and then move onto "2nd" foods, which are a little thicker and chunkier. We can also begin to try sippy cups with juice if we are interested (which we are not interested in right now). Once we get into 2nd foods and they show an ability to grasp with their fingers, we will start on finger foods (including Cheerios). She expects that they will be eating finger foods by the time we go back for our 9 month visit (which will actually occur at 9 months, as opposed to this 6 mo visit at almost 7 mos).

We had two more vaccinations (DtAP and Rotavirus). Again, it is a little scary, but we feel like we are making the best choice for our children by holding out on vaccines and just doing two each month. They will be completely up to date before they start kindergarten, so it will be just fine and the pedi is happy with the schedule we are using. The babies did great, only fussing for just a few seconds before Daddy got a laugh out of them.

They also had bloodwork (and did GREAT-esp with the distractions provided by Daddy and Aunt Karen) and it all looked just fine. The major concern is anemia at this point and they showed no signs of any problems like that.

We are relieved to have another round of vaccines behind us and also to know that they are growing well. Of course, Emma remains our little "peanut", but as we've said before, she's busy growing hair and teeth - no time to get pudgy. :) They were all very active at the office and the dr is pleased with their development and believes that are right on track with other babies their age (actual - not adjusted for their early arrival). We are going to work with them to get them stronger and able to sit on their own, but they already show signs of being close to that point. They are also showing a lot of interest in trying to crawl, so it could be any day now. OH MY!!!!! Daddy needs to get the baby-proofing done (an assignment given to him since he's much more handy than I am) pretty soon or else they will soon be into EVERYTHING!

Sorry no pics this time. We'll be back again soon with more, but I wanted to give everyone the latest on their stats and let you all know that they are doing well.
Thanks!

Our 1st trip to McDonald's..Clark has teeth!.. Pics from Dollywood....

Pics: All three in McDonalds for the first time. Kendall in her cute hat. Emma kickin it with her paci and pretending she is an only child. Emma being cute in her car seat with her polka dot and stripes hat. Clark and Kendall in the double stroller "posing" as twins. Clark in his cute bucket hat looking like he is on vacation.

I just got new pics from Uncle Stevie of our trip to Dollywood and McDonalds. Hope you enjoy them.

Clark has a tooth or two coming in (just like Emma) right up front on the bottom row. Speaking of Emma, she really does have two front teeth (lower) coming in as they are sticking up a lot more these days. Kendall is busy dancing, getting strong (probably walking before she ever crawls) and not worrying about having teeth (or hair for that matter).

I'm not going to post a big update as I'm POOPED and want to take a nap before the last feeding of the night. Hope all is well with everyone checking in on us.

More peas, please (AKA Peas, Glorious Peas) ....and a few more "firsts"....

Pics: 1.) Ems after her bath (tonight). Too cute. 2.) Clark asking "What?!?! The food is GONE?!?!?! What's up with THAT?!?!? 3.) Emma unsure of whether she should be eating peas or her feet. They do LOVE to play with their feet! 4.) Kendall and her feet. 5.) Nana and the crew at the mall. 6.) Emma crashed out at Dollywood. 7.) Clark expressing mixed emotions about the addition of green beans. 8.) Clark and Daddy (first restaurant experience). 9.) Kendall enjoying (?) the sounds of Dolly "rocking out" at Dollywood. 10.) Uncle Stevie and Ems (first restaurant). 11.) Kendall and Erica (first restaurant). 12.) Clark - looking like a bird with his mouth open and waiting for the spoon with his peas - and Kendall eating peas. 13.) Emma being cute again amidst a break in the feeding process. 14.) Kendall is all smiles when eating something other than her bottle (note the bib). 15.) Clark is looking a little rough with the peas and green beans. I think he was trying to tell us he was full. 16.) Our friend, Theresa (who will be making her network television debut sometime in the 2008-2009 TV season) and Emma. 17.) Erica and Clark.

Well, we've had a lot going on that count as "firsts" in our household. The babies are eating baby food. We had tried cereal and that wasn't going well. Finally we ventured into the land of sweet peas and we had success with all three. They were interested and eating well. We have now hit green beans, also a success. Today was another new addition to the menu - squash. Not a good day. We have rashes and spit up. And MORE spit up. And, just when you think it is safe to change clothes...more spit up. So, tomorrow, we will NOT be serving squash to anyone. We will give it a few days and then try something else. It's so hard to know when a certain problem is a reaction to food since they are teething and can just have upset tummies or whatever. All of the problems today could be totally unrelated to the squash, but we won't chance it any time soon.

Another first was our trip to Dollywood last Sunday. It was a "freebie" (thanks to Uncle Stevie and his great coupons!) and it was sort of a work-thing for Daddy, so we thought it might be a good test run for taking the kids to a "theme park" kind of place (though it is NOTHING like Disney). We had Uncle Stevie and Erica with us, so we felt good about the fact that we outnumbered the infants. And, I guess it went OK. I mean, it wasn't really bad. But it wasn't really that fun either. But good practice for Mommy and Daddy to find out what they need and don't need (although these things change based on other factors as well - such as bottles vs baby food vs "big people" food, diapers, changes of clothes, toys, etc. We decided to bring the single and double strollers and it worked. We did not draw too much attention. There were a few people that figured out that all three were really together, but not many. And then there were the rude people - like the lady in the bathroom.

< I believe it was "OMG, there are TWO?!?!" I was changing one and Erica was standing nearby with a second baby. The third was outside with Daddy and Uncle Stevie. She then proceeded to tell a story (to her friend) of a man who was in his forties and his thirty-something-year-old wife (I think she said 36 or so) was pregnant with TRIPLETS. And "could you imagine that?!?!" "How will they do it at their age????" Blah. Blah. Blah. I didn't even look up at her or speak to her. But I considered accidentally flinging a dirty diaper or two her way. Secretly, I was hoping someone would spit up in her direction, but no such luck. >

So, while at Dollywood, we also had our first visit to a restaurant. And they did well. We did draw a few second glances because it was pretty obvious that they were triplets, but it really wasn't a big deal. And the babies didn't really have any meltdowns. They were a little restless at one point and then all fell asleep and didn't wake up until other babies in the restaurant became fussy. So we left. But we all got through most of our meal before having to head out, so that was a plus.

Another first happened on the way home when they had their first trip inside a McDonalds. Again, they did great. Uncle Stevie picked out a great table and we got them fed quickly and headed out. I think we have pics, but I haven't gotten them from Uncle Stevie yet, but we'll get them on here later.

And, the final "first" for this posting was our trip to the mall. Nana and Mommy decided to take them on a trip to the mall. Poor planning on Mommy's part meant that it was a lot of effort only to have to leave after about 30 minutes because we were way past their scheduled time to eat and I wasn't able to find a way to heat bottles fast enough. So, it was a quick trip, but not without many stares and more people stopping us. Fortunately Nana was willing to share their story with people while I shopped. We were in the TD (triple decker) stroller, so it always seems to draw a crowd. A few people came from the other side of the corridor to see them. I tried to keep walking at times, not to be rude, but just because I had things I was trying to accomplish. When I decided we needed to leave, I just started going fast and poor Nana was trying to calm Ems down as she started having a meltdown. I told her that I didn't want to stop or slow down for fear of drawing another crowd when we needed to get home FAST and get them fed. Despite the screaming, sometimes people don't seem to understand that you are trying to get OUT...FAST....and to get out of the way. And that darned stroller is a challenge to maneuver. It was definitely a trip to remember.

I've attached quite a few pics. Sorry that they are in no specific order as I was having trouble downloading them from the cameras. Hope they give you an idea of how fast the babies are growing and just how cute they are. :)

More milestones .... a first tooth and our first garage sale (with babies)....

Pics: Emma looking like an extra for a re-make of Little House on the Prairie. Emma has now discovered that she can get her foot in her mouth - how fun is that?!?!? Kendall going for a ride while at Aunt Karen's house. Clark looking silly eating cereal - nice bib, huh? Clark and Aunt Karen just looking cute. Emma and Kendall goofing off in the morning. Six month "monkey" pics - Clark, Kendall and Emma. Kendall having some tummy-time.

So, for those of you needed a "fix" of baby pictures, I hope this will do it! :)

Well, we officially have a tooth - sort of. Emma has a teeny tiny sharp part of a tooth that we found Saturday night - Daddy found it when she was having a nuclear war-type meltdown and he couldn't figure out how to solve the problem (he was here with Uncle Stevie while I ran to the store because we THOUGHT they were in bed for the evening). Anyway, after trying every other thing he could think of - diaper, burp, gas, etc, he decided to run his finger along her gums and...behold....a tooth-like sharpness. Woo hoo. Sort of. I mean, it's exciting that she's getting teeth, but we feel so sorry for her because it must hurt like nobody's business!

We had our first garage sale on Saturday and feel blessed to have had such a great turnout and we got rid of so much stuff! Of course, that just leaves room for more stuff. I got rid of a lot of my clothes that I can't imagine ever being able to fit into again. And we were able to sell two old junkie monitors and a bunch of kitchen stuff. People wanted to buy our exersaucers and swings, but they weren't for sale (now if the babies were in them, we might have been able to strike a deal - KIDDING, KIDDING, KIDDING). We had the babies out in the garage for a little while and left all of their stuff around. The reactions of people were pretty funny when they would realize that there were three babies - and they all belonged to us - and they are all the same age. I don't remember anyone saying "how much could I give you to take it all off of your hands" though. We were "cheap" and didn't run an ad in the paper. Instead, we tried out Craigslist and posted a garage sale ad and also a "baby stuff" ad. Plus we have a system of where to post signs in our neighborhood. We had a number of people find us in Craigslist, so we will probably do that again next time. It was A LOT of work getting ready for the sale, but in the end, it was rewarding to know that we got rid of so much stuff. I'm also very thankful for my helpers from last week as they allowed me to get so much done while they entertained the munchkins.

We are having a little trouble getting sitters scheduled due to illness, etc, so I'm ready for a little break later this week (I hope), but look forward to continuing to work with the babies on eating rice cereal. So far, Emma hasn't really had much going on in that department - very little interest and we haven't put in too much effort, but then again, she's busy having a tooth come in right now, so that is the priority. Clark seems interested for about 3-4 bites and then he's over it. Kendall has been doing OK and Daddy decided to try rice cereal in her late night bottle. When we can actually get her to eat that bottle, she does seem to sleep much better. So, I'm hoping to find time to get more food in this week. I really need to spend a little time planning it out better because I'm really not even sure what to do beyond rice cereal as I get mixed reviews on what is next - yellow foods (squash, bananas), but then no sweet foods (that would eliminate bananas) because it will be hard to introduce veggies once they have sweets, blah blah blah.

I have to finish up as it's time to feed babies. Sorry I haven't posted more, but things stay busy around here. The older they get the less they sleep, you know. We have a new toy in the house that is the absolute BOMB (or so it seems) and I recommend it to everyone who has a need for entertainment for babies - the Rainforest Jumperoo by Fisher Price. They all seem to really love it and we heard about it from another triplet mom in Atlanta (Thanks Penny K!!!). I'll try to get pics of it with the little monkeys in it soon.

Once again, thanks for checking in on us. We'll be back here soon.