Spread too thin!!!

We have done some really fun things this October with the babies and can't believe they are coming up on 10 months! They are doing great and I'll share in the next post or two about their fun October but I just wanted to share a little today since I need to get it out and hopefully support other moms out there :)

Today was one of those days that I know every parent feels at some point and on multiple occasions but I feel spread so thin lately mostly because developmentally they are moving along and want to do more "gross motor stuff." The babies all want to stand up now and walk along the couch and so obviously they need a little help doing that although Austin can pull himself up as of this week. Anyway, Spence calls them little venus fly traps because the second we walk by they pull us in with their cute, eager faces and outstretched arms and they pull up on our legs trying to stand. During the day when I'm usually on my own, it is even harder since I know what they want to do and I can't help all 3 of them and I feel like they are getting neglected, especially Rio because she is SO patient! I know every parent feels this way, this isn't a triplet mom thing so I just had to share.

Don't worry parents - your kids are okay and they know they're loved by you :) (we hope right?)
*Summer

FINALLY - 6/9mo. check-up

Yes, we got behind on their WCC, we had insurance issues as well as scheduling issues with our doc since he is so fabulous! Needless to say, we finally got in to him though and got both their 6 and 9 month check-ups done.

They did so great considering they got a heel prick and four shots including the first flu shot of the season. That afternoon, they just crashed and were so tired and then came the worst night we've had so far: they all had fevers and Rio threw up (keep in mind that Austin is also having 5 new teeth come in too at once - poor kid). Someone was up from 12pm to 6am! They traded off every 20 min or so just crying and so sad. IT WAS HORRIBLE! I felt so sad for them - I ended up crying with them too! Only one was upset at a time until about 5am and then both boys were awake and so sad. So between Spence and I we tried to console and just keep them from waking up Rio until 7am - it almost worked :) O-well! It's over and done with - we don't' have to go back for 3 more months! Plus, if it is only one night every once in awhile, I'm good with that - they are the best sleepers every other night so I won't complain too much :)

They are officially 9 months old now and their adjusted age is 7 and a half months. Here is their info and percentiles (for their regular age, not adjusted - I have to add that because I'm quite impressed with their growth - woo-hoo!) too and I'll add a "happy eating" pic just for fun since they are so dang cute!

AUSTIN:

Height: 29.4" (90%)

Weight: 19.12 (40%)

JAX:

Height: 28.2" (50%)

Weight: 16.15 (5%)

RIO: (she's finally decided that she can hold her bottle- what a sweet little girl - she usually holds the bottle with one hand and a foot with the other)

Height: 28.1" (75%)

Weight: 17.5 (25%)

*They're all doing great! Austin is almost crawling - he wants to stand all day and walk around the furniture. Jax and Rio join him but aren't quite as sturdy as he is yet. They are so much fun and we can't wait for them to be mobile. That might sound crazy but they have so much energy (as anyone who holds them knows well) and are so bored sitting down and rolling so we are excited that they will be able to use some of that energy to move around more. What a great blessing to have them so strong and healthy! We just hope that lasts through the yucky winter season that is fast approaching. Wish us luck!

We've started....

Wow - I can't believe how quickly things change. The babies are already 8 and a half months old (adjusted age is 6 and a half) and in the last month or two things are quickly changes.

They've started....

EATING SOLIDS:

After we got back from our Tahoe trip, we started solids with the babies and they LOVE them! Jax especially. He is the best little eater and Austin and Rio are doing well too. It took Rio a little longer to get the hang of it though - she kept trying to either chew it or just couldn't keep it in her mouth. She's so cute! But now, we've finally got it and they are loving it. We feed them about 5 times/day still with a bottle first thing in the morning at 7am and then solid food "breakfast" around 10am, either solids or a bottle in the early afternoon around 1:30 or 2pm and then "dinner" around 5pm and then a bottle before bed at 8pm. They are getting ready for 3 solid meals and two bottles soon - probably in the next few weeks.

FEEDING THEMSELVES:

Well, some of them anyway. It's funny how different they all are. Rio and Jax mostly want nothing to do with holding their bottles and other times, they will attempt to - it's hit and miss with them. But Austin is a pro!

SITTING UP:

Rio and Austin both sat up on their own within a few days of eachother about a month ago and they love it. It is like a whole new world for them sitting up - they can see so many other things and it is great for them. They even stand up when placed against the couch - they actually prefer that but it freaks me out so I have to sit right by them. They'll straighten out their legs when I try to sit them down so they can stand. Jaxon sits up now too - started to more this last week but he totally prefers to lay down still - maybe his bum is too round :)

No one is crawling yet. They flip over onto their backs the second I lay them on their tummies - sillies! :) We'll get there - no rush!

And last but not least... they've all started

TEETHING:

If anyone has any good ideas of how to get a tooth picture in your moving child's mouth with a tongue that covers their tooth the minute you try and look, let me know because I seriously can't get one. Plus, on our camera - I don't think it knows what to focus on and so they all turn out completely blurry. Any ideas, let me know. But Austin was the first to get his tooth about 3 weeks ago and then Rio followed 3 days after that and a second one popped through for her 2 days after that and that same day, Jax's first tooth popped through. No one was really fussy at all - sometimes I can tell they are bothering them so a little baby Anbesol and it seems to go away. My friend Natalie was telling me that if adults had to teeth, we'd all be on pain pills! Poor little things - kids are so resilient aren't they? Amazing, sweet kids.

It's here again! FOOTBALL SEASON!

YEAH! It's one of our favorite times of the year! Football season has officially begun. Spence is coaching again but this year, he's at a different high school. My parents are so great and seriously have gone to just about every game with me over the last 5 years and this year is no different. Thanks mom and dad - I wouldn't be able to go to the games without you!
I was a little hesitant to take the babies because that would get us off our schedule at night but once a week isn't bad so I figured it would be okay for them.

Let's just say, some do better than others. Rio and Austin were in complete heaven and loved every minute of it! They were so cute - Rio wanted to smile at everyone and just constantly jumps up and down the whole time. Our sweet little Jax wasn't as big of a fan let's say. He pretty much cried the whole time - the noise, the sounds, the colors, lights and tons of people were just too much for him - poor thing. He did not like it at all. I figured the first game was just a trial run and it would get better for him but after last night, I don't think Jax will be attending games for awhile. We'll try again in a few weeks or so. I think he just gets so overstimulated by it all and it is too much! It just isn't fair to him to bring him - it's too sad so I won't do it again. He'll get there but for now, we'll wait. It's so funny how kids just come a certain way - the other two loved it and he just didn't - not yet anyway. Sweet little boy - he is so cute and tried to hold it together :) Love you Jax!

Anyway, we did manage to get a pic or two of them before the game when Jax was okay and they are so cute! Enjoy the football season everyone! We definitely will :)

24th of July Fun!

I have the greatest family ever! We are so lucky to have such great people in our family! I know this is late but I wanted to share these so cute pics of my family. I have the greatest nieces and nephews and the best cousins and their family along with my aunts and uncles. I'm so grateful for all of them.

One of our traditions is that we go up in the canyon every 24th of July and have a yummy breakfast. I love traditions and this is definitely a favorite of mine. My sweet uncle goes up early every year to save our "special family spot" - we have gone to the same spot every year since my dad was little. It's so fun! Anyway, we had a great time and I absolutely love seeing my family. My sister's kids are so great and I just love them so much! They are so fun and so helpful. One of her daughter's and one of my cousin's daughters look SO MUCH ALIKE. You'll see the pic of them together. They look a lot alike and they act so much alike too - it's so cute. The babies had a great time too and did pretty well considering they were so tired and missed their AM nap.

Thanks to all my family for another great day and fun 24th! We love you!

What is that smell???

Okay so this isn't a post about the kids since they were all in bed (well, almost all of them) when this event happened a few weeks ago. But for those animal lovers that watch our blog - you'll love this one.
So we were putting the kids to bed and often when the kids are in bed, Spence and I and our little Lennox walk outside on our porch and just sit for a minute or we walk out our helper for the night. We don't usually have helpers during the day much anymore but I love to have 3 people at night so the babies all get cuddles and loves for awhile before bed. Anyway, so this night...

Lennox started barking at the window like he had seen something and Spence looked out and saw a little black thing walking across our front lawn (which he thought was our neighbors dog)and so he opened the door and walked out with Lennox while I was putting Jax down. Lennox raced down the steps on our side and Spence chased after him because we don't let him go down the steps without us since he'd run after anything that was nice to him :) Lennox was barking like crazy! Jax was having a rough night falling asleep so I walked out of his room and put him in the swing so I could go see what in the world Lennox was so upset about and then.. I smelt it!

I walked out on our porch and yelled, "SKUNK!" to Spence and I could see him standing way down on our side steps and yelled, "GET HIM - there's a skunk!" And yes, indeed - there was. Spence grabbed Lennox and walked back upstairs with him and said, "are you sure?" (He couldn't really smell it like I could because crazily enough, skunk smell when you are close up just smells like burnt rubber)

Long story short, our little Lennox got sprayed after he had cornered the skunk into one of our bushes. Poor boy! I raced to find an online "cure" for the smell because by now, it was all through our house - yep! that fast. So into the bath he went...

We found a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, dish soap and baking soda and it worked like a charm! The smell totally went away that night. Except, the funny thing is even now when his feet get wet, there is a faint scent of skunk to remind us of this very stressful, amusing night.

Our very own cribs!

They started like this....

and then moved into this position..... "we're starting to slide down in our tilted crib and out of our dividers."

So we took out the dividers and ended up here. Not the best - but they didn't seem to mind. They liked being munched with eachother but it probably wasn't the smartest idea on our part so... it's now official....

The third crib is up and being used! FINALLY - we know!

We finally made the change - the babies are in their own cribs at night now. During the days, we've had them nap separately (in different rooms) since they were a month old but at night, we had them all together. When we got back from Tahoe, we took down the slanted crib and had Rio in her own but still put the boys together until this weekend when we finally put up the 3rd crib. They're still in the same room though and probably will be for awhile. We're in no hurry to separate them out.

Anyway, they do great at night still - such great sleepers! In the morning when they wake up, I wonder if they wonder where eachother are but I know they can hear eachtoher talking and I'm pretty sure they know they aren't alone with the volume that comes out of their room in the morning :)

Also, we still haven't been to the doc for their 6 month - they were busy in June and July (a little tricky getting 3 appointments back to back) and then didn't have anything open for awhile so we'll go soon and get some official weights and heights - they are getting so big and doing some good milestone stuff - I'll share that soon too!