Rugrat Update

Hi everyone!
Well, needless to say, the girlies have been keeping us busy - I honestly don't know where time flies, but I can see that it's been a few weeks since my last update, so thought I'd pop in tonight to write a bit.

The girls, of course, are great. 4.5 months now, and growing so quickly!

Leah is showing signs of becoming a somewhat sensitive baby - she's "making strange" to a few people and taking comfort in the arms of people she's familiar with. We're NOT used to that at all, because Peyton was so easy going. I never thought this would surface with the twins, since they've been handled by about a billion people since birth. But not the case. Her evenings have been a little rough this week too....we think she's just getting overtired and overstimulated, and the only way to tell us that she's Had Enough is to scream at the top of her lungs for about an hour. So we oblige :) But it's been a great week, weather wise, to have our windows opened...so I can't help but wonder if our neighbours think we're killing her!

Physically, Leah's just getting so big! She's actually in a size 9 month sleeper right now, which is WILD! She's VERY long...we call her Leah Long Legs. Suspect she'll be quite tall. She's still quite bald, but a fuzz of dark hair is coming in. Still blue eyed, but her eyes are quite dark, and I figure she'll have my brown eyes when all is said and done. She's got dainty, soft features, with the eyes of an "old soul."

Paige on the other hand is just plain pudgy! Well, in the face, anyways. As Leah gets longer, Paige gets rounder :) She lost most of her hair after birth, but it's growing in quite fast now - she's got quite a bit. Her eyes are still blue too, and I think they'll stay that way - or maybe go green, as Peyton's have. Her eyeballs are huge, to the point where you barely see the lid above and below them.

Paige is very easy going, doesn't complain much - but also Does.Not.Nap! I don't understand this kid - she can be awake at 7:00 AM, grab about 30-45 mins of shuteye around 10:30, then be wide awake until, like 2PM when she grabs another catnap. I don't get it?! How can she possibly be awake that long?? It absolutely baffles me. Overnight, she will sleep - but very lightly. She'll sleep well until about 3AM - then she "stirs" at least once an hour through 7AM(ish) when we get up. So Paul and I respond and just plug her with the soother....which buys us that extra few hours. Still, the interruption to sleep isn't fun. But I guess I can't complain - three kids who pretty much sleep through the night makes us...well...incredibly lucky. Not to mention, they're all typically down by 9-9:30, which leaves plenty of time for Paul & I to do something NON-baby before going to bed.

So my days are spent entertaining and playing, for the most part. Wake around 7 with Paige - Peyton usually comes down around 7:30-8:00 and Leah I'll typically get up after taking care of Paige's feeding. At times, all three will awake together and let me tell ya, that's a challenge! Peyton is pretty much toilet trained, but I've got to get to her pretty quick when she wakes up dry, or else she wont stay that way - and then with two hungry infants...well, you get the picture! Paul is usually around for that first feeding, but he's had a very busy three weeks at work, so he's been leaving before everyone stirs in the morning. So once the babes are fed, I make breakfast for Peyton & I. My mom still stops by - she'll come somewhere between 8:30 & 9:00, and then I'll take 20-30 minutes to myself (to shower and dress.) She will usually bathe the twins during this time - she LOVES doing that - then once I am done, and weather permitting, we'll often take a stroll. Or she'll take Peyton out for a while - something, to break the day. She leaves usually right around Peyton's lunch, then Peyton has her 2-3 hour nap, and I can SOMETIMES get a bit of time to myself. The babes will snooze in their bouncy chairs or on the floor...I keep DESPERATELY trying to get them to sleep in their cribs during the day, but I'm not all too successful - often, like 1/2 the time, I can get ONE to sleep soundlessly away in her crib, but NEVER both. So if they snooze in the family room, I'll find something to do somewhere else in the house, or I'll pick my weeds, or something. When they are awake, I just play with and stimulate them - either in the family room, or sometimes in the playroom. They're becoming a lot more responsive to their toys - grabbing, sucking, biting and cooing at them. And I continue to read a lot to Peyton (she loves the Little Critter books, right now) and the babes will listen intently as I read - and sometimes it seems they take an interest in looking at the pics along with us too.

So I've noticed them looking at each other a lot lately - I guess they're sort of figuring themselves out. Not sure there's a tight bond or anything yet - I haven't seen evidence of that. But I can tell you this - when one poops, you can be sure the other will in the next few minutes. They're digestive systems seem to be in-synch! They're both still quite "pukey" - I wonder when we'll see a day without a spit up. They are still getting a couple of outfit changes a day, unfortunately.

Peyton, well, she just LOVES her sisters. Seriously. Just very recently, she's been asking to hold them, or she wants to hold their bottle while they're being fed. But I'm noticing a bit of mothering in her too - just today, I was feeing Paige while Leah was wailing away on her playmat on the floor. Peyton was absent-mindedly watching Dora, but she got off the sofa and went and sat beside Leah on the floor and started dangling a toy over her head - all the while never taking her eyes offf the TV, of course! Leah stopped crying, she was happy to have the little bit of attention, and Peyton just seemed to somehow know that. Weird.

Peyton's going through a big imagination stage right now. She'll come over and hand something to you, and you'll have no idea what it is (because your hands are EMPTY) but then she'll ask you if you like your cookie. Aha! I get it now!! I brought her to a clinic earlier this week (NASTY YUCKY reaction to mosquito bites on her face) and I brought a bunch of books with us for the waiting room - she was "pulling "things from the stories and using them in real life. For example, in the book "the Dark" the daddy wears glasses. She thought I could use them, so she (pretended to) pull them out of the book, and put them on my face. Crazy imagination! It's so wonderful to see the little mind develop!
I think I've finally convinced her that her name is Peyton, and not Taten, as she's been calling herself, like FOREVER.
We started doing some crafty things this week (painting rocks) and with Michaels JUST opening up down the road, I imagine there will be a lot more of this in our future. She loves being creative. Or just making a mess. Who cares, the output is something to cherish, for sure :)

Anyway - that's the update for now - as always, everything is going great. They (all three) keep us busy & hopping, but the rewards of having three little girls are unbelievable...

Onto the pictures!