Glamour Shots

A

M

And to think that I get to spend everyday surrounded by these beautiful baby girls.

Me = Blessed.

Transitions & Firsts

• First road trip:

Two weeks ago, T had 3 day work trip in Michigan planned, I got geared up to do it all alone, the trip got cancelled, and then the trip was put back on and lengthened to 5 days about 36 hours before T would have to leave. I panicked. I called my mom. She's a travel agent for BYU and gets to fly standby for cheap. The next morning, my mom's flight arrived and by the afternoon the kids and I and Nana were all in the car headed for Utah. It was a whirlwind trip and I'm so glad I was crazy enough to go. T booked his return flight to SLC and drove from Utah back to California with me. One word highlights: Carmel, trains, Greek, Cafe Rio, cousins, Honeycrisp, geckos, hair bows, friends, Chipata, betrothed, sisters, cider, farm, zoo, praying mantis.

• Stopped nursing. A & M would only nurse well for maybe 10 minutes and then they wanted bottles. I'm very pleased that I got 4 1/2 months of nursing for both of them. It's like a nursed one baby for 9 months. Right?
• A & M moved out of our room and into their room.
• A & M started solids yesterday! I've spent the last week making double batches of baby food for the freezer and grinding grains for their cereals. So far we have:

Cereal - brown rice, oat, barley, millet, quinoa

Veggies - green beans, peas, carrots, acorn squash, butternut squash, beets, parsnips, broccoli, asparagus, yams

Fruits - Peaches, pears, cranberry cinnamon applesauce

• I finally found a color scheme for our great room that I love. I've been painting, sewing, searching for fabric, and burning the midnight oil. Hopefully I'll post pictures of it all before Christmas.

Triplets

I was mistaken. I thought I was having twins, but as it turns out I had triplets. Perhaps a little explanation is in order.

When I was in high school it wasn't too unusual for me to cry: sappy movies, snarky comments, feeling overly happy, etc. My brother summed it up best when he said, "You'd cry over a pretty pancake."

Strike true, Peter Pan. Strike true.

Around the time my dad died I stopped crying as much. Maybe my tear reservoir dried up. I don't know. Then I married T and, let's be honest, it's pretty easy to not cry as much when you're married to the most amazing man in the world.

Until the girls were born I hadn't cried during a movie since high school. (Except for Million Dollar Baby, but if you didn't cry in that movie you don't have a soul.) Now, I cry at everything. Not kidding. Everything.

• Premiere of Biggest Loser - Used three tissues.
• Jamba Juice - Cried when T surprised me with it.
• E - Cried when I caught him lying on the floor reading a book to M & A this morning
• A & M - I've spontaneously started weeping while feeding them at least six times

E got to watch part of Lady & The Tramp yesterday morning and when it started the previews there was one for Dumbo with Allison Krauss singing "Baby Mine". I looked up from feeding the girls, watched the preview, and started bawling. It was so beautiful. The part with the little sign that says "Mad Elephant" broke my heart. I wanted to find the preview to post, but found this montage on youtube.com instead. It's Allison Krauss, Dumbo, and pictures of a family's preemie baby. I wept. It made me remember my little M in the NICU. Watch.

I just grabbed another tissue from the box that's been relocated to my side of the bed. Help. I've become such a baby.

The Best Medicine

M & Daddy

A & Daddy

Four Months

Four months. Wow. Where has the time gone? I think it's lost somewhere with my

non-spat-upon clothing. Here's a little update on the girls, jointly and individually.

A & M:

• Sleeping through the night for nearly 3 weeks now! (10pm-6am)
• Can sleep through each other's cries.
• Still nursing... though the majority of their milk comes from the supplemental bottle afterward.
• Still share a crib, though we'll split them up soon since A is almost rolling.
• Smiling
• Giggling
• Talking
• Singing
• Are startled by E's loud noises and calmed when E coos at them.
• Love going for walks in their Bjorns strapped on the front of Mommy & Daddy.
• Love baths.
• Enjoy having their fuzzy duck hair brushed.
• Have a pretty easy temperament. Huge blessing!

A

• 11 lbs. 15 oz. (17%)
• 2 feet tall
• Head circumference: 15 3/4"
• Rolls to her left side all the time and could make it to her tummy any day now.
• Has a flat/slanted area along the left side of her head. She liked to sleep on that one side and we had to use rice socks to prop up her head and help her not favor it as much. Her pediatrician says it'll fix itself with time.
• Is beginning to hold her head up really well.
• Will push up on her forearms during tummy time.
• Giggles when I wash her chin. I think she's ticklish.
• Is desperate for food. She stares at us whenever we eat and will grab at things. Unfortunately for her, I'm not starting them yet. I'm not ready.
• Has a connection with E. I think they may make mischief with each other down the road.

M

• 12 lbs. 6 oz. (25%)
• 2 feet tall
• Head circumference: 15 3/4"
• Mellow and generally content with whatever, whenever.
• Began spitting up after her bottles. We've had some doozies.
• Supports her head like a champ.
• Loves sitting in her Bumbo and looking all around.
• Not too interested in tummy time or rolling quite yet.
• Will "squawk sing" when she gets tired. She'll be playing contentedly and then start in with her gibbon noises until we lay her down. It cracks me up!
• Is the ultimate snuggler when I lay down beside her. It's heaven!