More Fun in the Sun

I can't emphasize how proud we are of our girls. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would be able to log multiple hours at a time on the beach. For the past two mornings, we have been out for two or three hours at a time. The girls have done amazingly well. Oddly enough, Lila Grace is the one who has the most anxiety when on the beach. If she stumbles and falls or finds sand on the top of her toes, she very quickly breaks down. More often than not she has to return to the stroller for a quick "bunny snuggle" before returning to the water. On the contrary, Adeline can't get enough. She walks independently all over the beach. She even walked in the dry sand today. Adeline is highly motivated by the water. She would spend all day jumping waves if she could. When I walk her away from the ocean she is kicking and signing for "more." Savannah has made nice strides as well. She runs and jumps into the tidal pools and "swims" around. Just today she told me she was taking swimming lessons in the ocean.

Family time was something we thought would be done using divide and conquer tactics. Luckily, we have been able to spend time as a family of five on the beach. Never underestimate your children!!

Holden Beach, Here We Come!!

Wednesday marked the first day of our annual vacation to Holden Beach, NC. We packed the girls, three in a row, and loaded the van to maximum capacity (must say we were pretty happy to not have a van full of oxygen tanks this year) and headed south. This was the first year we decided to divide up the ride as well as the first time our family of five stayed in a hotel. Amazingly enough, the girls traveled well and slept well. Miss Belle went from carseat to bed in the hotel without stirring until morning. A true sign of a second/third child.>

These are some of the memorable questions heard along the way:

Daddy, where does the sky end?

(It doesn't, Savannah)

No Daddy, I mean, where are the edges?


Mommy, are you excited to be Nlivia's Grammy? (the baby she thinks she is carrying from now until adulthood).



Upon arriving at the beach, we headed to the ocean and did the ceremonious toe dipping. The wind, noise and waves had the little girls apprehensive but not for long. This morning we lathered everyone up and took them out to the beach. Lila Grace loved it but hated seeing sand on her skin. Thus, the beginnings of a tumultuous relationship with the beach. Miss Belle tolerated the elements quite nicely (something we doubted would happen since sand is high on the "sensory overload" list). She even sat down and splashed in the ocean. A huge smile swept across her face when Savannah sat down to play with her. Savannah, as always, loved it and wants to jump waves all day long. There is something truly serene about a morning beach outing when all the kids are fresh, the beach is empty and the tide is just beginning to come in.

I am so proud of all three of my girls for being flexible while traveling and brave while experiencing the ocean for the first time all over again.

A Rare Family Outing

This weekend we were able to get out as a family. It is something that doesn't happen very often so we appreciated it that much more. Our township had a hot air balloon festival which ended being quite enjoyable.

Savannah and her friends got their arms painted while Lila Grace got a taste of running around barefoot and carefree. I am happy to report that even Miss Belle was willing to walk around in the grass (not barefoot but a major milestone for her due to sensory issues). As you can see, Savannah had her first snow cone and our neighbor bought her her first bag of chips. You should have seen her shovel them in being that chips are a food we keep off limits.

We had a great time. It was nice bumping into neighbors and even the girls' physical therapist. The girls really enjoyed all of the attention from the neighborhood kids and Savannah had fun running around and dancing with them. Adeline got snuggles from Abby while Lila Grace dominated Miss Becky's lap in order to capitalize on her snow cone. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather or a better low key event to attend. The balloons were beautiful.
A red ladybug to match her red mouth




Walking in grass!!!



Taking a little rest with Bunny




Watching the take off

The Latest

Much to my dismay, temper tantrums have descended upon us. Miss Lila will roll back, kick, scream and sometimes bang her head. Unfortunately, this occurs more than once a day. Is this what most two year olds do? Believe it or not, Savannah has never thrown one. God help me if I have to put up with them for another year or two.

While honing her tantrum skills, Lila Grace has also started to string two words together. Most of the words only I can understand but they are words nonetheless. I often will hear, "Drink please," or "Open please." I pushed her to say, "Open please Mommy." It came out all jumbled but I give her lots of credit for making the attempt. Just a week or two ago, I was trying to get her verbalize more. Now she never stops!

Lila also wants to do everything Savannah does. They have hit an all time high on the sibling rivalry spectrum. It really highlights their personality differences. Lila Grace gets screaming mad and Savannah sulks and moves off into a different room. I guess it is better than two screaming mad kids.

Along with trying to take everything her sister is playing with, Lila has also tried very hard to take Savannah's chair. Yes, we still have a booster at the table for Savannah. She prefers it to sitting on her knees when eating. Lila climbs up in it any chance she gets and tries very hard to buckle herself in. Of course, once successful, she is screaming, "Open please!"

We have pulled out the "blue cup" for Lila. Savannah used to walk around the house with this cup filled with Cheerios and cranberries. We allowed her to walk around with it because she was careful and only ate one at a time. This is why we make Miss Grace (aka shoveler) sit and eat.


Is that really a Cheerio hanging off of her foot?



Finally, Adeline has graduated to two full ponytails. I think I finally tamed her hair. Too bad it doesn't stay this way all day.

A Lesson in Patience

After a very hard morning - three very fussy girls - my oldest looks up at me and says, "Do you want to know how many patience I have?"

"Yes," I reply.

"1022," Savannah says.

She follows that up with, "Would you like me to share some with you?"

"Yes!"

"Okay Mommy, pretty soon they are going to come out of me to you."


If only it was that easy!!!!

Miss Lila Grace

Here are a few pictures of my hot and cold child. One minute she is happy and as cute as can be. The next she is chucking a toy across the room and throwing herself on the ground. I love her dearly but, boy, does she have a will.

I feel like all of my focus has been on Adeline over the past month. While Adeline has been making huge strides, Lila has been set on the back burner. I guess that is life with three.

The other day she got a hold of my phone which ended up keeping her still for a few pictures. I thought she looked so cute in her big sister's hand-me-down and was determined to get a shot of her that wasn't the back of her head as she runs away.

That same day I took her outside to try and get some "girly" pictures (possibly a flower etc) and all she would play with was the lawn mower. It ended up being quite endearing as she and Savannah went up and down the driveway.

Walking Part II

Adeline is finally a WALKER. She has been "walking" for weeks now but just this last week, she decided to get off all fours and walk full time. I am so proud of her! She has come so far, so fast. When you think about her weak tone, lack of core muscles and sensory issues with stability, it is surprising she is walking. It was just last December that she pulled up for the first time. She used to feel "squishy" and ready to fall out of our arms at any moment. No she feels just as her sister does - strong and in control of her movements. This walking has been a result of a lot of hard work and I couldn't be more thankful for her willingness to persevere.

Oddly enough, over the past two days, Adeline has turned into a Lila Grace. She tried to get into the dishwasher, pull things out of cabinets and play endlessly in our play kitchen. We are very excited to see what being "up" will do for her development. Already she is needing less energy and focus for walking which has translated to a vocal little girl. Granted, she doesn't say any real words yet, but there are distinct sounds that she associates with certain objects.

She is a determined little girl who has never given up. I remember hearing the words "hopefully she will walk by two." Well she did it at 21 months and if you adjust her it is 18 months. That isn't half bad in my book.

My Latest Favorite

For those of you who don't know, Alex and I have recently started a photography business. We are working on getting our website up and running and will let you know more details later. We received a bunch of equipment in the mail yesterday when the twins were sleeping. Thus, we were able to let our big girl, twirl, jump, and be silly for the camera. We had a lot of fun.

Before she got too crazy and while she was still sleepy from her nap, we got the shot below. It is worth a million bucks in our eyes because it captured Savannah. She still loves her bunny and sleeps on her every night. In this picture I see the inevitable getting older fighting against her innocent and younger mindset.

This is my Sweetie Pie and she is possibly the world's sweetest and kindest little girl.

Thinking of You Miss Charlotte

Our good friend/NICU neighbor is going in for her first surgery tomorrow. As we know, this can be stressful. In our experience, we were always pleasantly surprised by both girls' post-surgery, pleasant disposition and quick discharge. We are confident that Charlotte will follow the same path.

When Adeline was in the hospital for her heart surgery, Charlotte found a way to send her a giraffe for good luck. We aren't that clever. However, we are kicking off her day with a little "good luck/we love you" beat. I thought it would be better than some sappy tear jerker. A little out of character for us, but fun nonetheless.

We love you Charlotte!

Cognition. . . I think YES!

There is that "C" word again. Possibly my biggest fear when it comes to my littlest girl. We still don't have answers in the cognitive department and it is very hard to step back and assess progress as a parent. Obviously, our last visit with Dr. Bernbaum didn't leave us jumping with joy as Adeline was reported to be on the high end of "not normal." Does this mean she will be a high-functioning, impaired child? Although this terrifies me and keeps me awake at night, during my day, I often forget about. Things are busy and our day "just happens."

I don't work with Adeline like I once did. It is almost impossible as both girls FIGHT for my lap. Preschool ending hasn't helped things because I have one more in the background asking for my attention too. I want to read to Adeline and help her point to and identify pictures in the book, work on animal sounds, give her more opportunities to stack blocks, color and all of the other activities that support cognition. Instead, I find us playing in the drive way, working on walking, going for walks and playing in the pool. As much as I am more an outdoor kind of mommy, I worry that Adeline needs to be an indoor kind of girl. Regardless, it isn't going to change because I have to meet the needs of all three girls. I guess there are pros and cons to be one of three.

While in the height of my cognitive worries, Adeline's nurse paid us a visit for a weight and lung check. Usually, both girls scream and want nothing to do with someone dressed in scrub type clothing. This time was different. Miss Belle showed off her walking skills, was remarkably pleasant and tipped the scale to 20 pounds for the first time!!! What was even more remarkable was, when gearing up for good old fashion lung check, Adeline took the stethoscope and placed it on her nurse's chest. "Must of been a fluke," I say to myself. She follows it up with placing it on her own chest. "Can't be reproducible," are the words on the tip of my tongue. Luckily, I bit my tongue and after her nurse listened to her and took the required respiratory and heart rates, Adeline lifts her shirt a little and puts the stethoscope right back on her chest region. I am shocked. She continues to appropriately play with it for the next five minutes. If someone had asked me if she could use an everyday object in an appropriate way I would have said, "Yes, the phone, cup, comb and baby doll accessories." Never in a million years would I have thought that she could add stethoscope to that list. Don't tell me the wheels aren't turning!!!