Christmas 2010

Many Memories Tree Christmas 5x7 folded card

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Christmas Card Time (I hope!)

Some people might call us crazy, but we packed the whole crew up this past weekend for a drive to Easton so that we could get photos taken for our Christmas cards.  A friend of mine referred us to a photographer who met us there (2 hours away!) in the FREEZING COLD for a 30 minute photo shoot.  It was supposed to be longer, but keeping the munchkins cooperative any longer than that, was just asking too much.  The minis were functioning on only one nap for the day, and Bean was going with nada!

The plan is to get creative this year (and save a little money!)  In the past, we've had photo cards made at the portrait studio when we took our family photos.  This year, I'm going to try to do it myself!  I should be able to go to Shutterfly and just upload them, right?  They have super cute Christmas Cards to use as templates, and they even have Holiday Cards if you prefer!  I honestly think their options are better than the ones you find at the portrait studio anyway!  I've made photo books there in the past, so I know it's an easy process with a great outcome.  I'm actually considering making one for my parents this year.  They keep saying that they don't want a present from us, but I know they'd love something with pics of the girls.  Hmm...maybe Gift tags or a calendar too!  This could be dangerous!  :-)

Oh, and for any of you out there with blogs, they are running a great promotion right now that allows you to get 50 free cards.  Just click here to get more info! 

I'll update when I get my final images back!

My little Bear

This is my beautiful little Bear in her helmet. DH didn't want me to even take any photos of it, but it's part of her babyhood. I know that we regret not having photos of Beanie in her Pavlik harness, so I figured it will probably be the same with this helmet eventually. She has Brachycephaly. Basically, this is a big word that means her head is a little too much like a circle, and not enough like an oval. it's too wide, particularly in the back. This helmet will hold the width of her head stationary so that future growth will be front to back rather than side to side. It doesn't hurt her, but I do think it's annoying. She has to wear it 23 hours a day, and I think it's kind of hot. The thing is, I feel sad for her. Her sisters are naturally small and eat a ton. She's chunkier. She's the one with a helmet. She's the one who is still in PT when her twin is crawling around the room. It seems like the little girl just can't get a break. So, I just want to take the time to point out that she is the sweetest little person I've ever met. She always has a smile and a hug for us, and she is incredibly patient and tolerant of her sisters (both of whom LOVE to climb on her). She is loving, and peaceful, and a wonderful little person. On top of that, she has the most beautful big blue eyes that I have ever seen. 

We love you Bear!!!!

Photos

We decided to suck up the stress and take our crew to have photos done yesterday. Yes it was stressful, but that's to be expected when you take three little girls to a photo place from 4pm until 7pm. It was so worth it though!

Here are some of my favorites:

My girls together

What happened right after the last photo, when the minis decided that sitting up wasn't all that it was cracked up to be





Twins (Bear is just a bit unsure of the whole thing, but Bird thinks it's hilarious)



Bird

Bear and Beanie

Leaving my girls

Monday morning I am heading back to work (full-time). I've been kinda working a little here and there since I got pregnant with Beanie. Actually, I worked pretty much full-time until about a month or so before she was born, but I was a contractor, and that "work" was from a variety of clients that didn't require me full-time onsite. This is going to be different. I'm leaving the house at 7:30 am, and I won't be back until 4:30 or so. Beanie's life isn't really going to change much. She'll just get to preschool 30 minutes early, and leave 30 minutes late. I'm not even sure if she'll notice! I know I'm super lucky. I'm going to be working 10 - 15 minutes from home and 5 minutes from Beanie's school. Plus, I almost made it until the minis were 8 months old (one week shy) and that I will be home before 5pm every night, but it doesn't keep me from being sad. I didn't start working again (at all) after Beanie was born until she was 15 months old. She was walking, talking a bit, and even trying to use the big girl potty. The minis are still so little. Bird is trying to crawl now, but Bear is still not close. They are both getting services from the county, OT for Bird and PT for Bear, and neither of them is talking at all. They are just starting to get the hang of eating pureed solids!

I'm sure they'll be fine. We have an amazing nanny, who loves them like they are related. She's the really small blond person hiding behind Bird the the pic. She'll take great care of them. She has already been part of their little lives for the past 6 months, and I know she'll be great. I just don't feel ready to leave yet. I feel like they still need me, and I think I'm a little afraid that I'll be replaced as the #1 person in their worlds. Wish me luck and lots of strength. I think I'm going to need it on Monday morning!

Big Girl Bed

Bean has FINALLY moved from a crib to a big girl bed.  We had been trying for months to get her to agree to it, but she would cry (quite pitifully) every time we mentioned it and launch into a speech on how much she loved her crib.  Then, out of the blue, she told us she wants to be able to get out of the bed in the middle of the night by herself in case she needs to go potty.  So, we converted her crib, and she's had a toddler bed for 3 days now.  She has yet to get up in the middle of the night to go potty, but she keeps telling me how happy she is to have that option :)

My little family

After I saw how cute the photo came out, I had to share it. Plus, it's really quite funny. Beanie has Bear in her baby stroller, which makes her look HUGE! Bird is trying to steal the blankie (which actually belongs to Bean, but was a bribe to stay in the stroller). Bear is staring at her twin suspiciously, as if to say "don't even think of taking this blankie!" And, Daddy and Bean are COMPLETELY oblivious to the whole twin drama. My little family amuses me greatly!

Big Girls!!!

Can someone please tell my little Baby Bird that she is only 6 months old, and she has no business trying to be so big? Granted, she didn't pull herself up (our nanny helped her get there), but she was still staying there on her own. Baby Bear did the same thing the next day, but wasn't able to stay up as long.  I am DEFINITELY not ready for two mobile babies!

This is Beanie's old favorite toy, so we're starting to see the beginnings of "that's MY toy", but I feel pretty thankful that this is the first we've seen of it. It'll be interesting to see how she handles sharing with these little people that she calls her babies as they start to get ideas of their own on what they want to play with and have the means to get it!

Some Photos :-)

All my girls are getting so big!  I just wanted to share a little.

The little ones are starting to laugh and hold hands now, and my big girl is still an AMAZING big sister!

Bye Bye Binky

I don't post for months, then all of the sudden I have 3!  :-)

Beanie gave up her binky today.  We had been planning to make it happen next weekend, but opportunity arose today, so we just went with it.  The original plan was for next Saturday to be her "big girl day."  We were going to have cookies, paint her toenails (with non-toxic polish called Piggy Paint), and trade her binkies for a "big girl present."  Well, she had an accident during her nap today and peed in the bed, so when she woke up, she told me her binkies were "yucky" now.  She said that she was ready to trade them for a present.  As luck would have it, our neighbor called to say that she was bringing over cupcakes to celebrate Valentine's Day early, so it seemed like the perfect time.   We then decided to make it "big girl day" today.  She ate her cupcake, and off we went to Target.  She happily traded her bag of binkies for a fairy princess dress, a wand, princess shoes, and a little shopping cart.

It was all smiles until bedtime actually arrived.  She kept asking for her binkies until she finally realized that the were actually gone.  At that point, she cried.  She cried a whole lot.  She also screamed.  a lot.  She kept saying that she didn't know how to go to sleep (which is probably true) and that she wanted to get up for the day.  It sucked to hear her so upset, but there was really nothing we could do for her.  Plus, it wasn't as horrible as I expected.  She was asleep in less than an hour.  I guess we'll see what tomorrow holds

More Updates

See what I mean?  It's been hours, and I'm only now getting back to finish updating!  Just to make sure it gets done, we're going to go with bullets.

• My sister and BIL moved about 40 minutes south of us (yay!)  We haven't lived anywhere close to eachother in over 10 years, so it's definitely a good change
• DH and I are both getting over being sick too.  I had a sinus infection, and he had an upper respiratory infection.  As I'm sure you can imagine, that led to LOTS of fun around here
• DH may be taking a government job after years of consulting.  The benefits are great, but it's a pretty significant salary cut, so it's scary.  I think it'll be ok though
• I have decided that I'd like to go back to school to be a chiropractor specializing in children and pregnant women.  The only issue is that there are only 12 places in the US to train for that, and none of them are close to here.  We're trying to find a way to make it work, but I'm not super hopeful

One Day I Will Be Able to Keep Up

I keep meaning to come her and post.  I get an idea for a blog, and I even create most of the text in my head.  But, it never comes to fruition.  A baby starts crying, the door bell or phone rings, or on really lucky days, my bed beckons and I get a nap.  By the time I finish whatever interrupted me, the though it gone, or I'm on to the next task.  I really will get better about it.  I need to for my own sanity if nothing else.  Although, naps are pretty good for sanity too!!

Ok, onto updates
The minis - They are both smiling now.  Bird laughs occasionally, but it's definitely not something you can count on.  Her favorite thing to laugh at is the little monkey on her bouncy seat.  She talks to him too!  Bear really likes the bouncy seat too (her favorite animal is the red frog), but she's not excited enough to warrant a laugh.  They're getting big too!  Bird is 10lbs 11oz and Bear is 11lbs 1oz as of last Wednesday when we went to the pediatrician for the stomach bug they're fighting.  They are also about to move to their own room at night, but we're not quite ready to let them go.  They only get up 2 times each (sometimes only once for Bird), so they could do it.

Bean - She's getting over being super sick. She had a sinus infection that then became an ear infection.  It lead to a couple nights of really bad sleep, but I think we're better now.  She took her last dose of the antibiotic today, and she seems to be happy again.  She also had her first "kid initiated" playdate last weekend.  We went to visit one of the other little girls from her school.  They were really cute playing dress-up and running around dancing in their princess dresses :-).  She's becoming such a big girl now!  I'm so proud, but there's a touch of sadness too.

Ok, remember that whole baby crying interruption?  Well, it's happened again!  I'll update on DH and myself when I get Bird taken care of