One-on-One Dates

Jesse and I managed to squeeze in three "dates" this week to give the kids and one another some individual attention.

Tuesday: Movie and Park

Jesse took Jackson to the $1 movie to see Free Birds. Jackson proudly paid for his movie and popcorn from his very full piggy bank. Jackson lost interest in the movie after he took a restroom break midway through. He then "played" games at the arcade before stopping by the park for a few minutes of outdoor play.

Thursday: Mexican Fiesta

Jesse's mom came over so the boys (Jackson and his cousin) could play together. While the babies napped, Jesse and I escaped to our favorite Mexican restaurant. (In case you're wondering, we dismissed the chips and salsa but consumed a lot of carbs through beans, rice, and corn shell.) It's been nearly two months since our last date, so it was nice to get out of the house sans kids. After some serious job related stress, we are back to a more relaxed, playful relationship.

Friday aka "Dress Like a Cow and Eat Free at Chick-Fil-A" day

Maddie and I had an impromptu lunch date. I saw a few pictures of Facebook friends dressed like cows, and immediately recalled an adorable cow print cloth diaper passed down from my sister. Maddie was the only one small enough to wear it, so she accompanied me for our free lunch. For once, I didn't overthink anything or spend too much time on a craft. I spent less than 5 minutes cutting amoeba shapes out of black construction paper and safety pinning them onto a white apron. Voila!

They gave Maddie a 12 piece chicken nugget kids meal with a huge side of fries and apple juice! It was an absurd amount of food. Her three siblings helped eat the remains that we brought home. It was the first time any of the babies ate a french fry. They were a huge hit. I had my bunless chicken sandwich and a couple of fries. Free food always tastes better.

We also managed to have some family fun at the pool, the museum, and around the house this week. I wouldn't say that summer is any slower-paced than the school year, but it definitely helps having Jesse here to share the responsibility and attention.

Afternoon at the Pool

We took the kids to Jesse's aunt's house to let them spend the afternoon swimming with their cousins. We left immediately after the babies awoke from their morning nap.

The trio enjoyed lunch poolside while Jesse took Jackson and Levi into the pool. 

Amelia was the first of the three to get in the water. She was too curious to finish her meal.

Jesse, his mother, and I each took turns holding babies and swimming with the bigger kids. We made sure each child had time to be held outside of a float so they could splash around and practice swimming.

Jesse conducted a boys' club meeting.

James nearly fell asleep in his float.

Maddie loved being immersed in the water,

almost as much as she loved cuddling with her MiMi.

Amelia was perfectly content eating her cousin's dolls.

Jackson raced me to the deep end, shot water guns, and floated merrily.

All was going well until Jackson had a near drowning incident when he slipped out of his tube. It was one of those moments where time stood still. I scooped him up and rushed him out of the pool. The poor boy is still apologizing for going under water 24 hours later. I don't know why he feels apologetic, but Jesse and I continue to assure him that he didn't do anything wrong.

Jesse and I dried each of the kids off. It became increasingly difficult trying to prevent the babies from crawling into the pool. We loaded them into the van while Jack snuck in a few minutes swinging with his cousin.

Squeezable Pouches and Sippy Cups

The trio have gained more independence this week with eating and drinking. The squeezable pouches I ordered finally arrived yesterday. (They were $1 each! Hooray for co-ops.) 

So far the babies have fed themselves applesauce and oatmeal. I have to roll the end of the pouch and push the food farther up, but they are great at sucking the food. A few months ago when I gave them store-bought pouches, the girls squeezed the entire contents out on the floor. They have definitely made progress!

The other big news is that each kid has finally gotten the hang of sippy cups. We use the Munchkin weighted straw cups so they can hold the cup at any angle and still drink from it. We've eliminated the breakfast, lunch and dinner bottles. I don't expect to cut the nighttime bottle out anytime soon, though.

James and Amelia are drinking half formula/half cow's milk. Maddie is drinking formula. After a few days of limited cow's milk, Maddie's eczema and reflux worsened. We'll ask the pediatrician about it at their 1 year well check next week.

Just in case you're wondering, we keep the babies in this high chair arrangement for breakfast and lunch because we don't sit down together as a family. James must be separate from the girls since he steals their food. We push the high chairs up to the dining room table when we have dinner.

Birthday Week

July is full of birthday celebrations!

1. Happy birthday to me!

I celebrated my 28th birthday with not one, but two family get-togethers. Unfortunately, the birthday lunch I requested caused me to be violently ill for the next 12 hours. Apparently fried shrimp and cake is not much of a treat when your body is used to eating fresh produce and meats.

In addition to an upset stomach, multiple events throughout the day caused unnecessary stress. Red dye that only created pink, being unable to attend weekly coffee, having to cater to Jesse's schedule, and resentment over not teaching next year were a few of the factors that put me in a bad mood. Thankfully, the evening ended on a high note with my family piling into our home for a taco feast.

2. Happy birthday, USA.
Fourth of July was very low key. The only celebrating we did was lighting several packs of sparklers on fire.

3. Happy birthday, Jason.
Jesse's brother, Jason, was surrounded by family and food of his choice. Hopefully those two things were enough to create an enjoyable birthday. I didn't think to actually take a picture of him, though I did take a few pictures of the daughter of a family friend playing with the trio. They could totally pass for quadruplets.

4. Happy birthday, Katie.
I completely missed the traditional midnight phone call to wish my sister a happy birthday. Hopefully I was able to redeem myself by showing up for lunch with a chocolate mocha cake. I love that lunch with sisters takes priority on our birthdays. This is a ridiculous picture for multiple reasons, but it is a pretty accurate reflection of our silliness.

With four birthdays down, we have four more to celebrate next week. My niece is turning 17, then James, Amelia, and Madeline are turning ONE!

And I Proudly Stand Up

James is infinitely curious. Now that he has mastered pulling up, he is constantly standing. I don't even know how he pulls himself up most of the time, but I regularly find him holding the wall in the hallway or scaling the sides of cabinets and tables. These photos were taken within minutes of one another.

Weight Loss Progress!

The photo on the left was taken on Christmas Day. I was 5.5 months post partum. I distinctly recall being horrified at this photo. Just a few weeks later I began eating "super foods", but my milk supply suffered. It has now been 7 weeks since following Wheat Belly way of eating and exercising daily. I have lost 27 pounds and am feeling significantly better. I made Jesse take the picture on the left yesterday at 11.5 months post partum. I am so motivated seeing the difference within six months. 

Sleepover and Movies

Jackson had two firsts today: a sleepover with his cousin and going to a movie theater. Jack has been asking to have his cousin, Levi, over for weeks now.  While brainstorming things we wanted to do this summer, Levi spending the night was on the top of his list. Levi's parents dropped him off at our house after dinner last night. The boys were completely wound up. We let them make cookies after we put the babies down for bed. 

Jesse tried to maintain Jack's regular bedtime routine as close as possible. He read stories to them and sang. Jackson was out pretty quickly. Levi eventually fell asleep on the twin mattress. The boys awoke to cinnamon roll waffles and strawberries.

Another thing on our summer to do list was to take Jackson to the movie theater. Our local theater offers $1 movies on Tuesday mornings. Arthur Christmas was playing today. We had never even heard of the movie before but Jackson loves all Christmas related things so we figured that was a good sign. Jesse took the boys to the movies while I stayed with the babies. They split a popcorn and fruit snacks. According to Jesse: "Jackson concentrated on the movie until the fruit snacks ran out. Levi was engrossed the whole time."

I had lunch ready when the boys came home. Jesse ran errands while I tried my best to keep the afternoon low key for the kids. They ate and played outside. Levi is expecting a baby brother in the fall. Throughout the day there were times when Levi was more interested in playing with the babies than Jackson. That changed quickly when James knocked over his plate and started eating his pretzels. An aggravated Levi exclaimed, "I can't hear!" when the babies were louder than the TV.  It made me laugh since I frequently wish the babies had volume control. Jackson was unfazed, which goes to show how much he has adapted to the chaos of living with the triplets.

Once Jesse returned home I took Jack and Levi to the museum. We would have gone together as a family but the seven of us couldn't fit in the van and the babies needed an afternoon nap anyway. The museum is always one of Jack's favorite places. And Levi is one of Jack's favorite people. The combination of the two was almost too much for Jack to handle. The boys were so animated and curious in each area.

I was very intentional about making sure the boys had down time and I didn't over plan. Still, the excitement of it all proved to be too much for Jack. I endured over 30 minutes of wailing from one very over-tired Jackson on the way to Levi's house. Thankfully, Levi fell asleep. I guess he'll adapt to the craziness of having a baby in the house after all. ;)

I'm already making a list of things we can do next time.