Bloody lip 364 days later!

Tyler had his first bloody lip this afternoon. He managed to accomplish this just in time before he turns one tomorrow. He is so busy and such a dare devil I am surprised this hasen't happened yet. Of course, it happened on the very day I take up all the foam mats off the tile floor to sweep, mop and get ready for a house full of people tomorrow. Who knows how many accidents we would have already had if we didn't cover our floor with those. I didn't see what happened but my guess is he slipped and fell and bit his lip. So, when he started screaming bloody murder I ran over to pick him up and tried to calm him down. He continued to scream like there was no tomorrow so I took a look and saw blood. I was a little nervous because at this point I couldn't tell where it was coming from and how serious it was. Then, I saw that the blood was coming from his lip rather than his tooth (thank goodness) so I got a wash cloth and tried to apply pressure to it to get it to stop bleeding and he was not liking that. You would've thought I was torturing the child. It stopped bleeding in about 2 minutes and he has sense recovered. I didn't get a picture of it because I felt so bad for him, I didn't have the heart to stop and get the camera and take a picture during his crisis. If it swells up, I will be sure and take a picture and put it on here later.

Tyler also had his first hair cut last weekend and I will try to do a post on that. If I don't get around to doing a separate post, I will put it on their one year post.

Until then...

One year pictures

We got the babies' one year pictures taken and it was such a fun and memorable day. A little hectic of course - a few tears shed, minor urination on the floor and boots, and a BIG mess with cake and icing!

Tyler my little cowboy!

Tyler, can you say "I'm one!"
Of course, Whitney was not having the whole picture-taking process and cried most the day.... which in turn resulted in getting zero good pictures of her....which in turn resulted in having a second, mini photo shoot just for her! Luckily, we were able to keep her happy and get her to smile the second time around. And because of her special day getting her picture made, she got to sit on a different prop - Aunt Jill's saddle.
We had some other minor issues that day with keeping the other 4 kids out of the way, but I had a creative idea to keep the mobile babies and toddlers in high chairs in order to keep everybody still so it worked out great! Then, there were other wardrobe issues but I won't even bore you with the details - the important thing is everything worked out and we got some good pictures out of it. :)


Hannah my little cowgirl was so happy and cooperative!
Hannah is holding up her finger trying to show everyone how old she is. This one turned out cute - even though Whitney was crying in this shot, but Tyler and Hannah were happy!
This one is so sweet of Hannah watching her big brother hold the #1 - again, Whitney my little sensitive girl is crying.
This shot was so fun for me anyway... The babies and their Daddy weren't liking it too much, but I thought it was hilarious. Trying to get three babies to stand up in a window seal and all they wanted to do was buckle at the knee and sit down. This is the result of that... after having an accident of peeing on the floor and a few banged heads on the window.

Last was the cake! The babies wasted no time digging right into the cake. It was very funny to watch them eat their cake and make complete messes! Can't wait to do it all over again on Saturday!

11 days til the 1st birthday

The babies' first birthday is just 11 short days away and we can't wait to celebrate the day of their birth with family and friends. I've got just about all the birthday plans, decorations and food already ready. You may be able to figure out by the current theme of my blog. I am sure you will get the idea from the picture below. We had their one year pictures taken last week and this is just a quick peak of one of the many precious pictures Jill, my sister-in-law and photographer captured from the day.

Just a quick update on our household... We are up to 14 teeth between the three of them - Whitney and Tyler both got their 5th tooth today. The sippy cups transition has gotten better. Tyler has mastered it; Whitney is showing a growing interest in it and is learning how to drink from them; Hannah is showing more interest as well and will soon be drinking from them I am sure.

We are totally over baby food - Tyler actually doesn't like it! And I didn't think there was anything Tyler didn't like. They are all doing so well with finger foods and I am trying to be creative, coming up with a wide variety of things for them to eat because I don't want them to be picky eaters.

They are just now, as of a couple of days ago, getting over their 3 week long colds. Hopefully we can keep them well long enough to get through their birthday.

Tyler continues to be the bully, stealing toys, hitting things and his sisters and banging things... such a boy! Hannah continues to be pretty laid back, but sneaky! She loves to steal toys and she and Tyler are usually inseparable. Whitney is still very sensitive and attached to my hip. She likes to play alone most of the time...probably because she doesn't like getting her toys stolen (she rarely steals toys).

Craig and I are trying to get back into a more normal routine after the holidays of eating right (which means back to cooking meals), getting back into a regular workout routine (if we can find time), devotional time together, bible study for Craig and I am returning back to school taking 6 hours (one online and one at night). We have worked out a schedule for making this all come together...hopefully we can stick to it! :)

Stay tuned for more one year pictures and pictures from their birthday party.

Mama!

The babies have been saying da da da da da for quite a while now. Tyler started saying Mama last week, and I thought there was no meaning behind it... just baby babble. Now, after hearing him say it a couple more times, I believe he is saying it to me - not just randomly. So sweet!

Today, Whitney said Mama and I know she said it directly to me. She was crying and whining and reaching toward me when she said it. So sweet! She normally says ada ada ada ada, which I think means Dada.

Just wanted to take a moment to record this because it is not listed in their baby books and I think it should be! :)

December - 11 months *updated*

*Updated* See pictures below and also pictures are being added to the previous post as well, so be sure and scroll down and take a look.

Also, I have to tell you, things are changing so rapidly around here, it is complete craziness! Just since my last post yesterday, all the babies have learned how to do something new... Hannah started cruising this morning, taking her first steps from one toy to the next. She also got a new tooth - first one on the top. Whitney pulled up on her feet holding on to Mommy and trying to crawl up in my lap. Tyler said "Mama" today and has discovered that he has teeth and likes to grind his teeth together!! Like nails on a chalk board!

Our December was a busy one filled with first birthday party planning for the babies, Christmas parties and birthday parties. As well as my special surprise for Craig's birthday - something he always wanted to do was to be a part of DFW's "meet and greet" program. The meet and greet is a program where friends, family and anybody can meet the military at the airport upon arrival and show their support and gratitude for all they do for our country. What a neat and rewarding experience this was.

We also had 2 family Christmas gatherings, 1 sickness (more on that in a minute) and 1 big New Year's celebration including a night out with a couple of friends staying at the Hilton Anatole in the BIG "D". We decided to stay the night there and left the babies for the first time over night. We had a great time - had dinner including a mariachi band, did some people watching, played games, visited and rang in the new year. We were woke up around 3am and had to evacuate the hotel due to somebody setting off one of those smoke bomb things. Side note - the entire football team of Texas Tech and possibly Ole Miss also were staying in our hotel in addition to lots of other students/fans. The hotel also hosted a New Year's party in an upscale restaurant in the hotel so I am not at all surprised that something like this happened with the evacuation. We still had fun though! Then, Thursday, we had planned to go to the Comerica Bank parade in Dallas but that didn't work out, so I settled for watching it at home on t.v.

I loved these doors to the closet in our room.

Me and Anna Marie

Eating at a Mexican food restaurant inside the hotel. I should've taken a picture of the mariachi band.
Brian and Anna Marie - the love birds!Craig - my honey

Ringing in the New Year with a dance.

So... Hannah's sickness... Hannah got sick a couple days after Christmas - starting with this very congested cough but nothing else. A few days later, she had her first round ever of high temps. We couldn't get them down for a good 2 days or so but she is no longer running a fever now. We took her to the doctor and we were all a little concerned due to her lack of other symptoms to go with the fever and cough. They did an ear check, a blood count check, a urinalysis, RSV check, and a chest x-ray. All came back perfectly normal so that ruled out an ear infection, RSV, pneumonia and who knows what else. They think it was just some kind of viral infection. She seemed to be getting better, then the next night, she didn't want to sleep. It was 11 pm and I said "ear infection". I knew by her symptoms, she probably had developed an ear infection. It only takes seeing her like that one time, to call that one. So, I sent Craig to the after hours pedi with her and sure enough, that is what it was. We caught it very early on so after just one dose of antibiotics and ear numbing drops, she felt so much better. I was so glad because New Year's Eve was the next day and we wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her with high temps and not sleeping due to an ear infection.


The babies turned 11 months old on New Year's Eve and it seems like so many new things are happening, I can't keep up with the babies' baby books.

My basket of babies!

Tyler is growing like a weed and now weighs 21 pounds 3.4 ounces and in the 36%. He has 4 teeth now - 2 on the top center and 2 on the bottom center. He is about to cut 2 more on the top also! The boy is teething like crazy and thank goodness he isn't fazed by it in the least. Tyler loves to bang things and hit/pat things with his hand. He also has a new obsession with doors - the boy loves to close doors, gates, books...pretty much anything that will close, he wants to close it.

Ruff ruff, Tyler. It was so funny watching him crawl around holding the teething ring in his mouth like a dog.

Getting his teeth brushed.
Whitney is doing so much better with her self-feeding. She is almost as good as Tyler! She now weighs 17 pounds 2.1 ounces and in the 6% (her highest yet). She is also teething like crazy and has 4 teeth - 2 on the top center, 2 on the bottom center. She actually cut two teeth in one day last week. Whitney learned how to clap her hands this month and has mastered separation anxiety. This girl is totally attached to her Mama! It is so sweet! She is also so extremely sensitive - she cries so pitifully and gives me this pouty look anytime somebody steals her toy. She also cries at the slightest loud noise that she isn't used to hearing.

Silly girl hanging upside down in Daddy's lap.

Cuddle time with Mommy.

Hannah is my current "little one" right now weighing 16 pounds 8.2 ounces. We've got to get this girl to eat more - she is still very difficult to feed and very unmotivated to eat. She only gained a few ounces since last month and is only in the 2% for weight. Part of her latest and more recent issue with food could be due to her being sick. In other news with Hannah, she pulls up on furniture, toys etc. and gets stuck and doesn't know how to get down. She, as well as the other two, always have lots to say - learning new baby babble all the time.

Peek-a-boo Hannah!

My little monkey.
We haven't taken their 11 month pictures yet so be sure to check back soon for those as well as Christmas pictures and a few other random pictures.