Over the past few weeks Bria has started to say a few words in context and repeatedly... So she says "bye" or "bye bye" and waves at you - usually when you are leaving, or when she wants you to go away and stop doing something (like when she wanted me to stop doing her hair this morning). She also says "uh oh" - which is pretty cute. When we go in to get her in the morning she always says "uh oh" because everything from her crib is thrown around the room. She of course still has the "triplet speak" with her sisters, which no one but themselves understand...
Stevie is walking more and more every day, but still prefers to crawl. I think that she might not fully walk until she is steady and 100% comfortable. She's definitely never been the risk taker of the bunch...
Here's a video of bath time last night. They were having a ball and Aven (the crazy one in the video) was hilarious!
And here are a few photos from the day - I scored these adorable t-shirts for cheap at Target the other day - I love the smurfs, my little pony and strawberry shortcake! Brings me back!!! Our nuk-faces (L to R: Bria, Aven and Stevie)
Bria looks so serious...
I think Andy closes his eyes on purpose so I stop taking pictures with him in them... Happy girls Stevie!
Friday was Declan's last day of preschool, so I took the afternoon off and Andy and I took the kiddos to the zoo. Besides the traffic in Philly, it was such a fun afternoon. Declan loved the zoo, per usual and the girls seemed to enjoy riding around in the wagon. They weren't too interested in the animals, but loved being out and about. Here's a picture of Declan and his first face painting - he loved being a fox!
And here are a few pictures that I captured today with the girls in some cute outfits from Grandma Mary... L to R: Aven, Stevie & Bria...
Bria!
Bria doing some reading :-)
Aven...
These are some funny pictures of Aven... I think she was trying to tell me to put my camera away in the laast picture...
I've been in the blog-zone this weekend! Don't expect it to last too long :-) Today, Andy got to have a nice day of going to breakfast, getting a massage, doing a little shopping and going to a movie - although it was all by himself, I know he had a great time! We both think there will be a point in time when we actually want to spend our "days" (i.e. Mother's Day and Father's Day) with our kids, but I'm pretty sure it will be when they are like 20 :-) I know this because this morning before Andy went on his excursion I went to spin class (which I hate but it's good when someone else kicks my butt for 60 minutes instead of me). I got there a little early and I saw these 3 kids in the back (clearly looked like they were siblings) - after I got past my initial annoyance of them taking my normal bike, I saw their dad walk in (which I knew right away because they all yelled 'happy father's day!') They had surprised him by waking up early on a Sunday just to spend time with him and workout with him. So absolutely adorable! So I learned a few things from my class this morning (1) by the time our kids are that age (between 16 and 20), then I think we'll want to spend time with them as well :-) and (2) my body screams like a 90 year olds...
In my moments of craziness, I actually got all the kids to "sit" for a picture... I should get a mother of the year award for my pictures today :-) L to R: Aven, Stevie, Declan (duh) & Bria...
On a side note, Declan said to me today that "when we have more babies, that he wants to name them all Stevie" - I said "um no, this baby factory is closed," to which he corrected me and said "no, I mean we'll have more babies because we'll have three mommies because that's what my sister's will be when they grow up." He must think all babies come in threes because then he proceeded to name each of his sisters three children (most of which were named Stevie).
This one was a better shot of the kids, but Stevie looked like she was getting choked by Declan!
We're just not sure what we will do with our Saturday mornings anymore... Declan's last soccer game was today and we had so much fun. The girls love getting out (in public) and Declan loves playing with his friends. And Em and Jeff like their Saturday morning soccer games too! Today was the first time that we brought the wagon and it was great in the sun and great for the wet grounds. The wagon was a mess, but they loved it! So now we'll need to find something else to do on Saturdays :(
Here are some pictures of the final game... Until the fall... L to R: Stevie, Aven and Bria...
Working on his skills...
He probably scored on Declan on this one :-) He told his friend Julie that his "daddy stinks at soccer" - ha ha!
It's Stevie! She took her first steps this past Tuesday and has been walking a little bit more each day. Our EI specialist gave us a suggestion that if we put something in her hands that maybe she will use that as a sense of security - since she will always walk if you are holding her hands. So we used some pegs that they love to play with and Andy and I worked on her Tuesday night - and low and behold she took a few steps! So each night we work on her by having her walk back and forth from Andy and I. We know she can do it, but she is definately still uncertain and then she'll get really excited about talking so her feet don't sit flat on the floor. Overall, she's still much happier crawling, but little by little, she'll get the hang of it!
I was able to catch a video of her when my sister was over the other day... Ignore my annoying voice at the end :-)
Well Declan had a big milestone this week and he graduated from preschool. Although it wasn't the biggest of milestones since he'll do it again next year :-) Since Declan is a summer birthday, we have the anguish of deciding whether he will go to Kindergarten next year or not... So far we've decided to hold him back. I think he could be ready, but I can also tell what a few months can do for a kid. We've also pretty much asked EVERYONE that we know what they did with their kids or what they wish they would have. We didn't meet anyone that said that it wasn't a good idea to have them be one of the older ones versus the younger ones, so unless something dramatic happens this summer, we'll send him again to preschool. We have him signed up for preschool with the district - it's basically like 4K and he gets to take a bus! Exciting for him, but more exciting for Andy who won't have to haul all the kiddos with him to drop him and pick him up. We've been fortunate this year because one of the mom's of Declan's friend picks him up twice a week and takes him to school and then I try to work from home in the morning as much as I can so I can take him. Next year will be great because he'll get to take the bus from right down the street!
Here are some pictures and videos from Declan's graduation...
Looking all serious - he made me give him a mohog (aka mohawk) so he would look "nice"
I know, it's so hard to believe isn't it... As I sit here happily enjoying nap time while Andy took Declan to a birthday part, I distinctly remember 19 months ago (almost to the exact time) when my water broke. Fast forward to three sassy little 19 month olds and a 4 year old going on 14 - our family is a ton of fun! Let's see what the girls are up too...
Aven: It's funny that I always put Aven first - I think it's because she has the strongest personality and I'm afraid that this girl will always want to be first at everything in life. It's also because she was baby A in my belly and A comes before B and C (even though she was born second). Aven is pretty much doing the same things that she has been doing - she is getting more vocal and is saying various words, but like her sisters still nothing that is on her own and repeatable... She'll say stuff when you say it and she knows what things are (i.e. when we ask her to go get her purse she does), I just think she gets what she wants on her own that she doesn't need to vocalize it. Her and her sisters definitely have the triplet talk and carry on conversations, which no one can understand - they do think they are pretty funny. She continues to be our boldest and has no fear (just like her brother). Although she loves to sit on your lap, she's not a huge snuggler like her sisters are. Oh, and she also LOVES to dance!
Here's a video of her this morning dancing...
Bria: Bria is going to be the little momma I think... She's such a lover. It's funny because when she's home she's very much like Aven in personality (although she's a bit more of a cry-baby), but when she's out and about, she's nothing like Aven. She'll camp out on your lap for as long as you'll have her. But it's strange, because there are certain times or environments that she'll be just like she is at home. "Usually" that happens when she has men around her that she's trying to impress (or really if Jeff is around). If not, she's so timid you wouldn't even know that her and Aven are sisters. Bria is probably the most vocal... Well, at least today... She seems to be saying more "words" and will try to repeat what you say. Like yesterday when she dropped her milk (or threw it) on the floor, I said "uh-oh"and she said it a bunch of times... Bria enjoys long walks to the park, dancing and currently enjoys throwing temper-tantrums....
Stevie: Stevie is still our little angel... She LOVES giving hugs and loves to snuggle. Although she's not walking yet, she's about at the same level of communication as the other two girls. She loves to babble and talk to her sisters, but isn't saying many "words" yet. Once we get back from Wisconsin in September we will be starting speech therapy for all of the girls. We're hoping to have Stevie walking by then so perhaps we can stop one of the PT sessions for her - otherwise we will likely have daily therapy sessions :-) Stevie continues to love playing with her music toys, playing with Declan and she LOVES her auntie Em (also referred to as Momily :-)) Emily can't come to the house and not hold her the entire time - which is totally her fault :-)
Per usual, I attempted to get some 19 month pictures - I've got a lot of bad ones, but did capture a few decent ones... All smiling but none looking at me :-) (L to R: Stevie, Bria & Aven)
Well today a little part of me died... We converted our dining room into a playroom. That may not seem like a big deal to some, but to me it is. Although it was my idea (which was brilliant by the way), it's still not easy to give up one of our "adult" rooms. Not that it was very "adult" anyway as it became Declan's lego and drawing tables, but still, I was fighting having yet another room be overtaken with kids! So earlier this week I told Andy about my idea, but that I was apprehensive because I didn't want us to have to give up our dinning room and turn it into a daycare. He brought up a great point - that it already was :-) So Em came over today and Andy, Em and I banged out the project during the girls nap. It's amazing what you can get done during nap time. I heart nap time... And let me tell you - I LOVE the finished product. But... Not as much as the girls!!!
Here are a few pictures of our fun new space! It's not that you need more toys with 3 toddlers, but there are certain things that you need more of (case in point, the three chairs and the three ride-on toys) - there are some things you just need more of to avoid fights :-) PLEASE NOTE GRANDPARENTS - we do not need 3 of everything!!! :-)
Aven... As we were going through some of the toys to figure out what we wanted in the playroom, we found an apron that my mom brought out with her when she came last. When we were little my sister and I had matching aprons like this and we used to wear them. Now our girls get to wear it - so cute! Aven put it on and seriously would not take it off. When it would come untied, she would cry until you tied it back.
Our good girl Stevie sitting and reading her book...
And Bria with her purse...
Aven and her apron again... She is such a girly girl... It's so funny how all of their personalities are different (I know I keep saying this). Today we had to get some blood drawn for all the girls - Andy also got some drawn for his recent physical (I heard him crying just as loud as the girls did :-)) While he was in the back getting his drawn, the girls showed their personalities - Bria was whimpering and wouldn't get off my lap, Stevie got off my lap but made sure I kept on eye on her smiling face, Aven ran over to the nearest stranger and held her arms up until the woman picked her up. I laughed out loud at this...
I think I've blogged before about Declan and his "favorites." From before the girls came home from NICU until about their first birthday, Bria has always been his favorite. We never knew why because seriously he hadn't even met them and Bria was already his favorite. Well for the last few months, that favorite has changed to Stevie. It's pretty clear why - it's because she adores her brother. Not that the other two don't, but Stevie clearly thinks he's pretty much the best thing ever. Every morning that he wakes up and comes downstairs, she has her arms wide open for him waiting for a hug. She is always watching what he's doing and laughing hysterically at him. She loves it when he helps her walk. And she's generally the only one that tolerates him holding her and tossing her around like a rag-doll. It's really neat to see and it gives me hope that they will all love each other and enjoy spending time together (likely just before and after the teenage years). It's cute because one day last week when I picked Declan up for school he said, "you know, Stevie is my favorite," I said "really? why?" he said "because she always hugs me" (I know, it melts your heart doesn't it). I said "well, all of your sisters love you and you know, Bria used to be your favorite," he said, "I know, but that was when I was 4, now that I'm 4 1/2, Stevie is my favorite." Makes total sense :-)
Here's a few recent pictures... Did I mention that Stevie is standing! Yes, very exciting... She's been standing a few times a day for decent periods of time. Her PT thinks she can walk, and so do we. We think she's just a but uncertain. Which would make sense because she's always been the cautious one and needs to think things through... I'm sure she'll be walking just like her sisters within the next few months.
