Monday, July 09, 2007

The Last First Birthday Party

The weekend has ended and it marks a very busy week, which Sarah was nice enough to tell everyone about in the last post. At some points we were so busy that the babies were often forced to fend for themselves and find their own food. You can see here that Ryan thought there just might be some left over bottles waiting for him in the microwave. He didn't have any luck, but I was fortunate enough to catch him just as he was leaving and starting to search for food elsewhere. Seriously, we managed to get back from Ohio, to the doctor's office, deal with teething issues, and then host a second and final 1st birthday celebration for the babies with all of our friends and family from Illinois.

The doctor's visit went very well. The kids are all doing extraordinary and they are really starting to get big. The new weights are on the side, but for the most part they are 21, 22, and 23 pounds respectfully. They are each about 27 inches tall too. Despite being 2 months premature, Sarah is in the 90% for weight and height, which if you've seen her eat, that will come as no surprise to you. The kids each got a shot in their arms and Perrin really surprised us all by not flinching or even crying when he got stuck. He just sat there and took it like a hardass. To think, this is the same kid who gets scared when I tell his sister to stop beating him up! We did discuss some physical and sensory concerns we've had with both of the boys. Ryan appears to have some tightness in his shoulders and won't raise his hands above his head. Meva thinks Perrin is having some issues with sensory input like tastes, textures, and especially sounds. I'm not sure if that's really the case, but there are enough signs for concern, so we're having them both evaluated for some therapy.

The party was a rousing success! I am once again moved by the generosity of our friends and family in their support of us and the babies. It was a treat just to have everyone together for a few hours, but they all exceeded this by bestowing gifts upon us. I don't think Meva and I can fully tell you all how much we appreciate each of you. Our friends Tom and Colleen came and brought their son Finn. He's the one above us on the right, and he's one of the cutest babies you'll ever see. I am happy to report that there were absolutely no incidents of vomiting this go around. The kids did real well with handling the chocolate cake, but Perrin was the first to want to be done. Surprisingly, as you can see to your left, he was also the messiest of the bunch. I have witnesses that will vouch for the fact that he got that way on his own with very minimal assistance from me.

Both Ryan and Sarah were much more dignified in their eating. I would say they weren't as curious about what was in front of them this time, instead they were more focused on eating the cake and filling their bellies. At one point while Perrin was getting a cleaned up of all that chocolate, I had to pick up both of the remaining kids cakes and turn them around so they could get more cake! It was funny that at one point, both Sarah and Ryan decided they didn't want to use their hands any more and simply leaned forward and ate the cake directly with their mouths. I wasn't quick enough to catch Sarah in the act, but I was able to get Ryan with his little mouth planted in the front of the cake, that picture is below us on the left hand side. I think that had something to do with Ryan looking as though he has a Van Dyke on his face!!

I think if we were to have actually weighed and measured it, Sarah could be credited with having eaten an entire layer of her two layer cake! I was able to control the day a bit more during this party and I made sure that the kids napped before this and hadn't eaten for a few hours. It was important for them to be hungry so that they'd want to eat the cake and also so that they wouldn't get sick as the unusually high amounts of sugar, carbs, and wheat didn't interact badly and cause them to vomit, which I think played a key role in what happened to Perrin last weekend.

Being with the three babies all the time I've grown accustomed to doing things a certain way and I take them for granted. It's always interesting to me to have this realization hit me when I'm in the company of other people. I don't second guess in any way how I pick up and transport the kids around. I've been picking all three of them up and moving them since they were sturdy enough to handle it. As they've gotten older, bigger, and heavier I think it's gotten a bit easier because they cling on to me during this process. I don't often realize that I have almost 75 pounds of baby in my arms.

Well, at one point I found it necessary to grab all three of the kids during the party and carry them somewhere, possibly to change their diapers, I don't really remember. At some point everyone was joking about it and I suggested I add little Finn to the mix. Finn is a good choice because he and I get along really well, and he was such an obvious choice to add to a Dangerous situation. So here I was with all four of the babies, and my hat that Perrin tore from my head, in my arms. By the time I had walked from the dinning room to my recliner in the front room, little Finn had just about too much stimulation and was beginning to get a little uneasy, so we gave him back to his mommy. But the deed had been done, I successfully held them all, approximately 95 lbs of baby cuddling me and in my arms. That will be a moment I'll always be able to look back on and smile in my old age.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Hello Everyone!! This is Sarah. My daddy has been real busy lately getting our house clean and ready for people to look at it. I don't know why that happens, but it seems pretty important and daddy is always cleaning up after us. He said that since I'm now a big girl at 1 yr old, I could talk to everyone here on our website.

This has been the busiest week of my entire life. We went to Ohio to see my mommy's family and have a birthday party! When we came home, we went to the doctor and poor daddy has just been cleaning and putting all our new stuff in it's own place. Daddy said he would talk more later, but for now I could show you some pictures since I'm not very good with words. So, here's our little trip:

This Is Us At Grandma's House Eating Before Our Party

We Didn't Know It, But Mommy & Daddy Made Us Each Our Own Cake!

We All Had Birthday Hats! Here Is Ryan's.

Perrin Wanted To Eat His Hat.

I HATED My Hat! Daddy Came To My Rescue And Took It Off Quickly.


This Is Us Seeing Them Bring Us Our Own Cake


Ryan Eating His Cake


Me Eating My Cake


This Is Perrin Saying He's Had Enough Cake. They Should Have Listened.


Perrin Had To Take A Bath With Mommy Because He Got All Pukey!

Ryan Kept Eating His Cake.


So Did I. I LOVE Chocolate Cake.


I REALLY Love Chocolate Cake! I Bet You Wish You Had Some Right Now!


Even If I Could Use A Fork, I Would Still Get This Messy.


Anyone Want A Chocolate Kiss From Me?


Mommy Just Told Me We're Going To Do This Again Next Week!


This Is The Cakes After We Were Done. Daddy Said He Thought We'd Eat More.


We Cleaned Up Next To Open Presents, Isn't Ryan Just So Cute.


Even Perrin Cleaned Up Very Nicely. He's Another Cutey.


We Finally Got To Meet Our Aunt Virginia, She's There With Auntie Pooh.


Daddy Tried To Get Me To Ride A Truck. I Cried Again.


Ryan Liked Riding The Truck. He Said I was Being A Baby.


Perrin Wanted To Ride the Bike. Don't Tell Him Pink Is For Girls Though, He'll Get Mad At Mommy.


Ryan Spent Time With Grandma Muriel.


So Did Perrin, They Read A Book Together.


Grandpa Fred And I Took A Nap And I Had A Bottle.


Then It Was Time For Swimming With Mommy & Daddy. See Our Cute Suits.


This Is Ryan And Auntie Kelly. He's So Cool In His Pool Shades.


I've Also Got A Cool Pair Of Shades For The Pool, And A Bottle Of Course!


On The Way Home, Daddy Got Tired, So I Drove.

I really liked our birthday party. Is it true you get a cake every year on your birthday? I think I just fell in love with birthdays!! Daddy said he'll update with more info later, but I have to go now because he said I need to take a nap. I would fight him on this, but I do get a bottle. Anything that leads to me getting some food can't be all bad can it? Thanks For Visiting! Double Click on ANY Picture to See a Bigger Photo!