9 Months - Happy Halloween

Tyler is currently the most vocal baby right now. He is starting to say "dadadada" among a few other baby babbling words.

Tyler got his second tooth earlier this week. It is growing in much faster than the first tooth. The first tooth came in a month ago and already the second tooth is almost as big as the first. Thankfully, teething doesn't seem to bother him like it does Whitney (the girls still don't have any teeth). This is what you get when the babies hold their bottles themselves. They are either taking them in and out of their mouths because they can't breathe (due to the colds) or they are just playing. Tyler has recently become so mesmerized by Lacy. He pets her, pulls her dog tags, pulls her ears, chases her (crawling or dragging himself), laughs at her, squeals at her...poor Lacy and she handles it so well.

Tyler is by far my busiest baby. He started getting around by dragging himself last week, now this week he is mastering a true crawl. Now, Tyler has also started pulling up on his knees using this blue toy bucket. He is getting into EVERYTHING! This boy is keeping me busy. He couldn't care less about his toys right now. He just wants to roam and explore. I am using this blue bucket as a temporary barrier to keep him from crawling behind the chair and getting into things he shouldn't be in. Also, notice the blinds are raised...Tyler discovered those too. I've also had to move the magazine racks, close the baby gates, move lamps, raise the curtains, keep dog toys off the floor as well as shoes and anything else he doesn't need. He has an eye for things that he doesn't need... If he isn't supposed to be playing with it, he will find it!

Tyler is getting into the magazines I put under the table on the inside by the sofa and he still managed to find them.

"Let me out!"

Tyler wanted to be Superman for his first Halloween.He is pretending to fly... Actually just getting ready to crawl away - picture-taking was not easy. He is too busy.

Whitney has mastered moving from laying to sitting which is causing a problem with naps. She constantly pulls herself up and then cries and cries because she can't sleep. She is somewhat mobile; she can drag herself around some but usually doesn't have much interest in doing that. She likes to bounce on her bottom while sitting - I think she is going to be my little dancer (hopefully and Hannah too). Whitney is starting to hold her bottle a little, but isn't quite there yet.

Whitney loves to chew on everything - burp clothes, books, toys... everything!

Is that burp cloth good, Whitney?

Whitney was big bird for her first Halloween. Those darn feet will not stay on!

There it goes... Whitney is going to get it.

Let's just take em' off... much easier.

I cannot believe how long she looks here. And there are those darn feet again coming off.

Hannah has her own individual crawl - she likes to throw herself forward until she gets to her destination. Sometimes, although not very often, I will see her drag herself or actually crawl a tiny bit, but it is usually the throwing method she uses to get from point A to point B.

Hannah has become a little less easy-going. She cries more now if someone picks up one of her siblings first out of their beds and not her. Not sure if it is a teething thing or if she is developing the separation anxiety.

Just like Tyler, Hannah makes a mess with her milk. Hannah wanted to be a crab for her first Halloween. She was not digging picture time this afternoon. Can you see the teary eyes? "Seriously Mom! I am not liking this!"Now she is happy...for a moment...Please excuse my toes in this picture. This is the only one I got of her stretched all out without any hands in her face or trying to roll over. See... this is the next shot. This poor, unhappy crab loves to suck her fingers for comfort.

Some group shots...

I thought this was a sweet picture... Hannah had her arm around Whitney but when I snapped the picture, she had moved it. Still sweet though to see them sitting side by side together.

Anyone want to play twister? Or wrestle?

Good thing Hannah doesn't mind you crawling over her, Tyler. Of course, Tyler being so busy, putting Hannah next to him with her antenna things isn't going to work. Let's switch them.Whitney said, "I don't want to sit next to a boy!" And poor Hannah's antenna's are droopy just like her mood. I guess that is why Tyler wanted to 'fix' them.

Poor babies were tired and hungry. Their nap was too short (their choice, not mine) and they hadn't eaten yet.


On that note... they are all doing well with their solids. They have three meals a day and they tolerate most foods I give them fairly well. We are working on sippy cups, but mainly they just chew on the spout.

We have their 9 month check-up next week, so be sure and check back soon because I will give their current weights/lengths/percentiles etc.

Until next time...

Drastic changes are coming

It has been a week now since Craig left and it seems like so much has happened since he left. I thought I would take the time to document what all is going on and all the things Daddy is missing out on.

Hannah has become the bully lately. For the past few days, she has been constantly letting out this extremely high pitched squeal/shrill/grunting noise. She has been doing this for a while, but the difference is now she makes Tyler and Whitney cry when she does it and it seems like she does it just to torment her siblings. Sometimes it is cute although, most of the time it is downright annoying! I broke out the tools and lowered Hannah's bed a few nights ago because she is always up on all fours and I was afraid she would start pulling up while I wasn't watching. I am feeling incredibly single right now - feels like the old days when I actually was single and often did these types of things for myself. BTW...she is not crawling yet.

Whitney has been extra whiny the past few days and seems to want to be held more often than usual. She is drooling a lot and I am guessing her first tooth will pop through any day now. Whitney (as well as Hannah) are giving me such fits with feeding time. I have just decided I am just going to start them with a lesser amount rather than feeding for hours at a time to try to get all of them to finish their bottles. Our pediatrician told us they should be getting most nutrition from formula/breast milk for the first 9 months, but they would much rather eat solids, so I am going to start increasing the solids and decreasing the bottles. Whitney isn't pulling up on all fours but I have seen her pull/drag herself across the floor a few times. She doesn't go very far but if she is close to being within reach of something she wants, she will pull herself just enough to get it. She is also talking and babbling SO much but still doesn't laugh out loud.

Tyler's tooth is coming through more and is becoming more visible when he smiles. It is very cute. He has also been a little more cranky than usual - I am sure it is the teething. Earlier this afternoon, I found Tyler sitting in a (S-position) one leg in front facing in and one leg behind facing out and he was leaned over like he might have pulled himself to a sitting position. He was stuck and screaming. I am glad that happened though because now I know it is time to lower his bed too. Since then, I have watched him pull up on all fours (for the first time) like Hannah. I am about to have some very mobile babies around here so I guess I am going to need to either put up the other baby gate Craig didn't get up before he left or have one of my brothers or brother in laws come out here and do it. I do pride myself for being pretty independent/handy/mechanical but I don't know if I am that mechanical.

I also ordered a triplet stroller and will be putting that together also! I got the babies some much needed new toys last week so they are having fun playing with some more age appropriate toys and I am also on the hunt for some bathtub seats (so I can start bathing them in the bathtub together) and some of those foam mats for the babies to play on (and keep the spit up off the carpet). I thought a big blanket might work, but I am having trouble keeping Lacy off of it and the babies are bunching it up too much.

So much is changing and I hate that Craig is missing it, but there isn't much I can do about that. He was supposed to come back after only two weeks, but they are forcing them to stay longer (most likely) - it is pretty much been left up in the air and they haven't given him an ETA back home.

Getting closer...

...to crawling that is! I JUST went in to peek at Hannah because I could hear that she wasn't sleeping and I saw her pull up on her knees and forearms and she rocked back and forth a few times!!! Baby proofing needs to start immediately!

Also, I have a friend working on my disk and he is having success retrieving some of my pictures. I will post some when I get it back.