Changes

We are finally getting some sleep around here...not a lot, but it's getting better. The kids get a bottle around 7, and the last one is usually asleep by about 8. We almost always have a holdout who just doesn't want to go to sleep. I would say that 9 out of 10 times, it's Will. He actually tries to keep his eyes open as wide as possible to avoid going to sleep. I can see that he's tired, but he wills himself to keep on going. By the time he falls asleep, we are exhausted.


Overnight, we have also made some progress. I have given up on going to the kids when they cry. They need to stop being such big babies. It's time for tough love. Will usually wakes up once, occasionally twice, but he is now in a pack 'n play in the guest room. Abby wakes very rarely, but she's still in a pack 'n play in the office. Marie still sleeps all night long in her comfortable crib in the nursery. That's her reward for being the best sleeper.

The last couple of nights, I have thought that Abby is going to wake up because she is teething. Her two top teeth are coming in, and they are looking big. She may be my little buck toothed beaver. So far, she's been sleeping very soundly through it all. Keep your fingers crossed that it continues. She is, however, miserable during her waking hours. Her little eyes are just all droopy. It's so pitiful.

They are all now pulling up and cruising. I can't believe it when I see them all standing. Was it really just a year ago that they were born? It's like their little lives are on fast forward.

They are eating a little more food, although Will is still slightly eating retarded. He chokes on basically anything solid or chunky and proceeds to vomit whatever he ate. I guess we'll talk to the doctor about that at their 1 year check. The girls love their little finger food, and I can tell Marie is getting close to not letting me spoon feed her anymore. I think she's seeking her eating independence. She just isn't eating quite well enough yet on her own so I have to keep forcing the spoon.

They are understanding more and more these days. I speak to them in Spanish, and they are really getting it. It's so funny. Abby is obsessed with ceiling fans. When she walks into a room that has one, she immediately points to it. I always tell her it's the "ventilador," and now, I can ask her "Donde esta el ventilador?," and she will point up to the ceiling. I can also ask her, "Donde esta Dada?," and she'll point to Billy or scan the room to find him and then stare at him. She's a child genius! I've also worked on ball, which is "pelota," and I can tell them to "Busca la pelota" (find the ball), and they will crawl right over to the balls we have in the playroom and pick them up.

Speaking of my Spanish with the kids, Billy is also now learning infant Spanish. For so many years I've wanted him to learn, and it's now that he's trying to get it. I guess he might as well learn with the kids. I'm sure they will pick it up much faster, though, since they hang on my every word, and Billy tends to tune me out quite a bit.

Abby and Will have recently been crawling with their bellies off the ground. They will start in this position, and then, if they get in a hurry, they drop down to their tummies and scoot again. I guess they find that to be a more reliable and quick form of transportation.

We had a play date with Cousin Chloe today. Chloe was not crawling yet, and Liane was actually discouraging it because she did not want to have to deal with a mobile baby. It was just much easier for her to have her sit in one place. Well, I guess after seeing the triplets move around her playroom and use all her toys with reckless abandon, she decided she needed to learn how to move her fat little butt. Liane called me this evening to complain that my children taught Chloe bad habits. Apparently, she crawled for the first time shortly after we left. So much for just sitting still...Chloe is now on the loose!