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.

1 comment:

Collins said...

You can link to my you tube account through Finn's blog (the DANGER link above) to see footage of Chuck walking around with all 4 babies at the party. It really is a talent of his, and I could watch it in amazement all day long!!!!!