Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Feed Me!

There once was a boy named Zach
Who woke up with a hunger attack
So he woke up his mommy
And said "listen to my tummy,
It's hungry! It's hungry! It's hungry!"


That is my poetry this fine early am. I may be shooting myself in the foot, but I'm curious how long the girls will sleep so I haven't woke them yet. I can always adjust someone's feeding later in the day to get all back on the same schedule. I'm sure what this means is Zach will eat, we'll both fall back asleep and the girls will wake. Murphy's law there, but I kinda wanna know.
Other than that we've been chugging along. They are five months now. Kate is getting close to 13#, Addie is almost 12#, and our Zach man is a bit over 14#. Yep, 14! He's a bruiser.
They've all rolled from tummy to back but mostly on accident. Katie has it figured out the best. Addie spends her day legs in the air on her side. She rolled over a few times yesterday from back to front. I didn't see but my theory is she's hooking one foot on the other side of the play mat pole and flipping herself because she ends up with one foot on each side of a pole. My kiddos are such kickers we got them a play mat with big piano keys at the bottom. Their first "toy" they can annoy us with. :)
Signing off now, but I gotta say I think it should say "posted from...using" b/c it is posted from the phone, not blogpress from the phone. From the phone is modifying posted...oh well, my teacher brain in action.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Free photo books

Well, as you can see we are furiously creating our free photo books.  I have gathered up two "free" offers and one $20 discount.  With three different offers I came up with the brilliant make-a-book-for-each-child idea.  The two free offers expire...today. So of course we started this whole project Saturday night.  :)  Kate's book is completed ready to ship from Kodak (created by me).  Zach's book was finalized and ordered today from Shutterfly (created by dad).  Pretty cool that shutterfly has the link to add the completed book to my blog...however!  Shutterfly has crazy shipping prices.  On both books we have gone over the page limit.  Kodak - I'm 2-3 pages over and it costs me .98 I think.  With the 2.99 shipping I paid about $4.  Shutterfly charges $1 per page over, which isn't bad.  But the 7.99 shipping???  Really???  I think that's about crazy. 

Both sites offer the 50 free prints.  We will be taking Kodak up on the deal and ordering prints of our photo session with Miss Molli.  She took some great photos of the kiddos.  Not sure if we will take Shutterfly up on their deal, but we probably will just to get more pics since we have so very much family to send them out too. 

I'll see if I can post the album from Kodak.  If so, you can see (and order if you want) the Kate album.

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly offers exclusive photobook layouts so you can make your book just the way you want.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

We are OFF the high calorie formula!

Well, at least two of us are.  Any guesses?  Haha, yep, Kate and Zach can move onto the infant formula.  Little peanut, aka: Addie, is still on the high octane stuff.  We had our 4 month check up last week.  All kiddos are on the chart for weight, Addie is just barely - hence her staying on the calories. Zach and Kate are in the 10th %ile I believe.  But it's really not fair to them to compare them to other four month olds.  If you back them up to their adjusted age they are more in the 50th %ile I believe.  Here are their stats:

Kate:  11lb 13oz.  22.25" long
Zach:  13lb 1oz  22.75" long
Addie:  10lb 10oz  22.25" long

They are all lifting their heads more and more when on tummy time.  Kate is pretty good almost lifting up on her hands instead of her elbows.  They can all sit up more now too, supported of course.  So, we are starting to make use of our bebe pod chair - a soft but supportive thick plastic chair that helps them sit up before they can on their own.  Right now we only have one, but I will be purchasing two more as I see the great use for them in our future.
Addie is desperately trying to roll over.  The poor girl is constantly lifting her legs and throwing them over, she just needs to get her upper body to follow and she's there!  Of course, her leg movements mean she is constantly shifting and turning.  In the morning you will find her at the bottom of her mattress (we have it elevated so she shifts down) and turned 90 degrees from where we left her.  She is also twisting herself off the play mat quite often, again, just by twisting her legs around over and over.  If that girl is laying on the floor, in her crib, or in the pack-n-play you will see her little feet in the air just a moving around.
Kate is desperately trying to talk.  She jabber jabbers all day long.  Our girl has quite a bit to say, whoah buddy when she does start talking we may never get her to stop!  As I said above, she is getting very strong at lifting her head and she is also very good at spotting something she wants to grab and being able to get it.  You can see the deliberation in her thought as she reaches.  It is no longer an accidental wandering of the hand, oops, grabbed something.
Zach is a little slower.  He is getting better at lifting his head, but is not the biggest fan of tummy time (note the 13lbs stated above).  He is also getting better at reaching and grabbing for things.  He is moving along at his own little pace which is just perfect for him.  My absolute favorite thing about my Zachman is his laugh.  He loves when you wiggle his torso and reach his arms above his head.  He also loves when you just laugh with him.  Lately mom has been having the kids face each other or see each other and today he was just smiling and talking to Katie like they were best buds.  It was precious!  Mom is also teaching him to grab with two hands things like the big soft blocks we have.  She will place them on his tummy and he can hold it with both hands.  Katie and Addie are working on that too - Addie tries to hold it just so she can get it into her mouth.

So, those are my kiddos at four months.  Growing up way to fast.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Photo shoot outtakes...

The stuff that gets missed when I post on the blog is the silliness that happens in our house.  The stuff I try to get across like Zach's absolutely funny sneezing and Katie's perfect timing for her vocalizations.  So, when the silliness started happening during the photo shoot, I kept taking pictures.

Zach was the first photo victim:

Mom, my noggin is getting heavy! ...

leading to this fancy pose ...

Didn't I tell you when he's on his belly he gets comfy? ...

even though he was NOT happy, he still gets ready to stick that fist in his mouth.


Katie was my next victim.  You'd think after Zach's mishap I would reconsider my positioning right?  No such thinking going on here....her first off balance moment happened with little miss giraffe to help keep her upright.


the second time not so lucky.  Notice she is trying by throwing her arm up ... but it's the wrong arm

WOAH!  There she goes ...

Bottoms up!  (my girl cracks me up!)

and yet another unhappy customer.

Saving the best for last, Miss Addie suffered the same fate as her siblings.  Worse off than her sister, the mean little giraffe did nothing to help her stay upright.  :(


The leaning tower of Addie ...

and there she goes! ...

You almost think she's happy and waving at you right?

Maybe this won't be so bad huh?

MOM!  Stop taking my picture and HELP ME!  lol

Good times were had by all!  Ok, well, maybe just me...I'm still laughing.  That's pretty much why I will never be a professional photographer in a nutshell.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Four months already?

Where did the time go?  In some ways it seems like ages ago Dr. Counts told me to head in to OB Triage.  Silly me not knowing I was in for good until I heard the receptionists talking about it when I was checking in.  I still remember the fear when she said "we're going to have some babies today."  Heck, it can still make me tear up.  I clearly remember the fear of not getting to really see them as they were whisked by, the fear of the nurses not being ready to grab Zach man when he practically climbed out of me on his own, the fear of our little Addie girl not really crying when she came out.  I now know Zach will move a mile a minute and Addie is still the silent partner in the group.  OK, okay, enough reminiscing or I won't be able to type anymore...but all that seems like ages ago.  Four months.  Four wonderful, tiring, loud, stressful, sad, fabulous, life changing months.  Here are our amazing kiddos four months, 16 weeks, in to a life that they should only be 11 weeks in to.




Katherine Taylor was born first.  7:58pm, 7-9-11, 34 weeks, 4lb 4oz. 
She is now close to 13 lbs. She will melt the heart of anyone who meets her. She has a smile she will share with anyone. She is now giggling and starting to jabber often. Lately she has inserted a laugh at just the right moment, for instance John and I will be talking..."Can you believe x?" Katie laugh fills the air, followed by our laughter at her timing. Maybe not the best to explain on a blog, but so so funny when it happens. She has recently decided that since she is the oldest her bed time should be longer than the other two. So, she often keeps us company for at least 1/2 hour after her brother and sister are in their crib. As the two bottom pics can attest, she likes to have her hands up when she is on the floor. The other day dad caught her with a death grip on Zach's bib pulling it toward her - poor guy.  Today during floor time Addie starts screaming...Kater-bug has a grip on her ear pulling for all she is worth. A pistol already our Katie girl is. Her most adored item is her pacifier and she recently discovered she does like stuffed animals with the introduction of a small monkey (a gift to Zach). She is our Katie girl. The first little was saw that night. The first little who started filling our hearts and lives with love.
Oh, we're doing pictures today?

 What's a fancy giraffe like you doing in a chair like this?

 I don't know mom, it's not talking back.

Zachary Micheal entered this world quicker than expected.  7:58pm, 7-9-11, 34 weeks, 4lb 5oz.
Zach is now 13 lbs or more. He is quite the jabbermouth, or pterodactyl when it comes to eating. He has always been our little alarm clock. He has the absolute sweetest smile and has recently started laughing. The absolute best is when he sneezes! "Achoo" followed by whooo. Every time! John likes it so much he wants that to be his "error/wrong key" sound on this computer. He was our early talker and is now just experimenting with sounds. However, when asked to say mamamama he just smiles at me. He is quite the morning person. He starts smiling practically the moment you pick him up. Zach was such a fusser when he was younger (can you believe that, younger...he's FOUR MONTHS OLD!  You can't get too much younger. lol) but he has grown out of it so much. Mom, Kim, and even Helayne can attest. The new schedule we set when Auntie Helayne was here is great for him. He still has a love of music. John's specialty is sing-a-longs which Zachers loves. He is also a fan of the no tv rule since it means we play more music. Even when he is a little fussy, turn the music on and he often stops to listen. Our Zach man KNOWS he is the handsomest boy on the block. Every time he is placed on the play mat he starts looking for the handsome guy in the mirror to admire. Zachary will grow to do great things. He is already a mind fast at work as many of our pictures have attested to.  Zach still loves his giraffe and likes the noise of a rattle as well. He is the little that squirmed his way into our world faster than expected. He is the only little we got a glimpse of a picture of that night as they whisked him away. He is the boy that has stolen our hearts forever.

the thinker

"Hey, do you see that?"



look at me sitting up so good

Adalyn Claire.  7:59pm, 7-9-11, 34 weeks, 4lb 2oz
Our little peanut was the last to enter our lives and hearts. She is still our smallest at maybe 12 lbs.  She is the girl who will smile at you with the bottle in her mouth as if to say "oh, you want me to eat this?  Really?" Her smiles have always been more reserved, but are absolutely beautiful when they happen. Maybe that's because they are more reserved. I call her the silent partner in the bunch. She is just now starting to experiment with sounds, unless she is close to going to sleep that is. If that is the case, she is more than willing to let you know she is not happy. Our little Addie can pout like no one else! That bottom lip juts out, the mouth turns down, and her eyes look up at you...unfortunately for her it makes me smile. She often turns her frown upside down too, luckily. Addie was the first to start hitting the toys on the play gym and she is still content to do so. She will be our thumb/finger sucker extraordinaire. It's nice that she can soothe herself, that is when she wants to of course.  She is still a cuddle bug with both us and her siblings. She was, and I think always will be, the one to snuggle up to another. He absolute favorite sleeping position is on my chest...but don't ask how I know that.  :) Addie may be the first to roll over as she often is half twisted in her sleep and when laying on the play mat will twist her leg over. The other night Sophie tried to help her with a little nudge, but it wasn't quite enough. Addie's favorite item is also her giraffe. I am a better mom in that I had a friend pick up a second one so both her and Z-man can have their own. (but I'm not sure whose it is that Oliver was taste testing tonight...) Addie girl may have been the last to enter our world, but she is in no means the least. She is a little with her own personality and her own place in our overflowing hearts.

Hehe, I don't know about smiling for the camera mom.

I like my serious face better.

Oh, that laugh!

Umm, this isn't MY giraffe?!?
 
John summarized it best the other night when he called me into the living room, with the kiddos hanging on the floor with him and the dogs nearby standing guard, he looked up at me with a smile on his face, opened his arms wide, and said "There is so much LIFE in this room right now!"



Sunday, October 30, 2011

Sleep! A glorious thing

Littles do sleep at night! Last night they went about 8 hours between feedings. Woohoo! Of course, I wasn't smart enough to sleep all that time. At night I piddled around, then woke at 4am amazed they were still sleeping so I did the mom check. Then I was awake waiting for them to wake up ... 2 hours later! I know, I know, it's just who I am though.
After the feeding I had one back to sleeper, another about 15 minutes later and z-man is fidgeting around. He'll be to sleep soon (he was sleeping in my arms while burping, but then I put him down).

We are all growing up. Moms big advancement, turning off the light in their room. All of my visitors can attest, the little lamp is left on 24/7. It just gives enough light that I can see them good and I could change in the middle of the night if needed. It's a small lamp set on the floor behind the table. (update, we have three sleepers). Well last weekend while in Anchorage they slept in a dark room and that's when they started sleeping longer, so last night off went the lamp. (yes, I did turn it off while we were gone). Of course, the lamp was off but the bathroom light was on. Haha. The lamp is nice though b/c it's pitch black in that room. So, we'll see how long I keep that up. Oh, I did turn it back on about 5am. :)

Zach's big advancement is jabbering. He is our true ah-goo baby. It's too funny! That is literally what he says. He is also an awesome raspberry blower. Rolling over, not so much. He's a little weighty ya know. The first time I rolled him over he just laid there on his belly with the I-could-go-to-sleep look on his face. His smiles are precious but still reserved for special occasions only.

Addie however, little miss may be the first to roll over. Maybe b/c she's so light, but she just flips right over. Of course, I think she will sleep much better on her tum anyway. I won't, but she will. :) Her favorite game is kick the sock off. She knows when she did and just laughs at you, smiling a sly smile as you put it back on. We've been leaving socks on in their sleep sacks, so that is a big challenge for her.

My Katie bug. I adore her (as well as the others....). She is miss smiley girl. The funniest is when she wants her paci but is smiling too big to keep it in her mouth. She also squeals. Last night Zach was ah-gooing, she's squealing and laughing in delight, and Addie's kicking away trying to get her socks off. So fabulous! She's our best head-holder-upper. You try to burp her and she's just straight backed looking all around. She's good at holding it up while on her belly too, the opposite of z-man. Tummy time on a boppy, watch out! She kicks her legs so much she pushes right over the top. I watched her do it the other day. She's proud of herself, but also frustrated b/c she ends up on her head. lol

So, those are my kiddos. We're all growing up some. Makes me happy and sad. But...they sleep, so I must too.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:my cozy couch

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Life is all smiles...and some stretches

The kiddos are so happy when they wake up in the morning.


A:

















K:









K waving hi to me






Z stretching it out






But so happy













And growing up WAY to fast! K is my little miss "I got it mom, thanks!"






As tough as it can be sometimes, those smiles are all worth it! I love my littles to the moon and back.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Great giraffe

We loooove the new little giraffe mom bought when she went to Fairbanks!

We hug it








We sleep with it



And we let Sophie enjoy it with us



But Katie, maybe not so much





Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, October 14, 2011

Perseverance

And a tough night was had by all. It started so well. John came home about 4:15; early enough I double checked "are you home for good?". lol. He had gone in at 6am and ate lunch on the go, so left after his last mtg of the day. Woowoo I thought, until he mentioned how quick he was gonna fall asleep. Ummm, 5pm feeding? As the natives were getting restless one eye opened from the snoring zombie on the couch "can you get this one?" it croaked. Sure honey. I know he works just as hard as I do. So take note, I do love him to pieces and I am nice to him. :). Later in the evening we discussed me going to bed and him covering the 11pm feeding in return. A great plan right? We both take a turn AND mom gets some good sleep in.

Then Zach happened.

Let's just say between the two of us we hit our limit twenty thousand times over. For what we think are a multitude of reasons he started fussing after the 5pm feeding and didn't stop until about midnight. The fussing varied between the annoying whine to the blood curlting scream. Over and over. Back and forth. We did persevere! It took lots of supporting each other, maybe some tear-filled eyes, and lots of taking a deep breath and remembering how dearly we do love him. (ok, that part was after handing him off or in the five minutes of "is he gonna stay asleep? ...nope").

Unfortunately, at the end of the day we don't have any better game plan. I think we both think it's a combination of reflux pain, he was spitting up off and on and I'm sure the acid is painful, exhaustion, stubbornness, exhaustion, etc. Our difficulty is in not wanting to start him on a medicine regimen at such a young age. Reflux is common in babies, preterm especially. I believe the hope is they grow out of it. I'm not really one who wants to start a medicine at such a young age, especially if that's not really the problem. It's merely our speculation at this point. Ugh. It stinks not knowing the right thing to do. I will be discussing this with the dr at our next appointment. It's just a few weeks away.

Until then, we have proven we CAN do this on our own. Oops, forgot to mention things were going good for a while and I did crawl in bed about 10:15-10:30. John had the 11pm feeding done and all asleep, I was in dreamland, then the screaming started again. So, the plan was almost successful (for an hour anyway). I hope we try again b/c for me to get a few good hours of sleep would be life changing. (notice the time I'm posting...)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

3 months and going strong

We were 3 months old last weekend!  Knowing mom likes to let people know about us, we decided to take charge of that this go-around.  Mom hates that we are getting so big, she wants us to stay small and cuddly like we are now.  She thinks we are about the perfect size.  We came home so small she was always worried about us.  Now we fit in our bouncy chairs, swing, car seats, and stuff like that perfectly so it really is a good time to stop growing, but we like growing.  Plus, she feeds us practically all the time!  Every time we wake up it seems we are eating again.  How does she expect us to not grow when she keeps feeding us then making us so comfy we fall asleep?  Sorry mom and dad, but we wanna get bigger like you.
Our big moments right now are smiling and playing with toys.  We are all starting to smile more.  It's no longer only related to our "passing gas from down below" as dad says.  Now we smile when we see mom or dad, when they are making funny faces or silly sounds, and sometimes just because.  Everyone seems happy when we smile.  We are also starting to notice our toys more.  They keep putting us on the floor, but it's not so bad when we notice the toys and mirror we have to play with.  Addie likes to hit the zebra with her hand, Zach likes to kick the lower toys, and Kate has noticed the mirror.  It's really fun when we are all together; that's when we each become a toy as well.  Who needs a zebra overhead when you've got a brother or sister's noggin next to you to smack-a-roo?!  This past Friday mom had a day alone and of course she shops for us...so she brought home a new little stuffed giraffe.  Zach LOVES it.  Mom will have to post some pictures she took of him loving on it.  Yes, yes, mom needs to post a lot of pictures.  Don't worry, we tell her all the time! 


Katie-bug.  As the oldest, I get to go first.  Yep, I'll be using that line a LOT during my life.  I'm 3 months old and I weigh 9lbs 12oz.  I think I'm the biggest smiler in the bunch.  Mom is always trying to make me smile and I usually comply.  When I don't have the big alligator tears going that is.  Sometimes I wake up scared and just start crying bad.  Nobody can figure out why, but they do try to soothe me right away, so I guess full on crying does work.  I've even figured out how to get a few alligator tears going.  Not always and they are just starting to spill over a little, but man is it effective!  I'm still the sleeper of the group.  Mom says I'm like her; I love to sleep.  I'm good at just hanging out too.  I like when mom puts me on the floor to play and today she put me on my tummy on a big curved pillow (boppy).  Boy was she surprised when she left the room for a little bit, came back and I had pushed myself over the top of the pillow.  Yep, my legs were hanging out where she had left my chest.  I was pretty proud of myself and I think she was too, she called dad over to look at me.  If I could have talked I would have reminded her to GRAB the CAMERA, WOMAN!  She forgets a lot, but I guess she has a lot on her mind so I forgive her.  I still love to hum and sing, I'm starting to move my head both directions more, and I still stare with my big ol'eyes - even if they aren't as big as my sisters.  That's me..lovable hugable Kater-bug, Katie, Kate, Kater-dater, Katers, Katie-bug...

Hey!  Zach-man here.  I like my nickname.  I tend to look toward whoever calls me that.  My smile breaks hearts everywhere.  I've really grown up a lot in the past three months.  I used to be unhappy with everything, but no more.  Now I'm much more easy going.  In fact, mom is able to put a onesie on me every day, it used to be I was the no-onesie man because I was screaming my head off too much.  But, I've resigned myself now.  I love hanging on the floor play mat and in the bouncy with the play bar attached.  I sometimes hit the toys to make them swing and when on the floor I will even hit the toys with my feet.  I've discovered my fingers and my fist in the past few weeks.  It helps when I'm a little upset and mom or dad can't get to me right away - sucka, sucka, sucka I go.  I'm the leader of the pack when it comes to weight coming in at 10lbs 7oz.  Mom says she can tell I'm heftier when she picks me up after holding Addie.  I still love my music, drooling up a storm, and being held all the time.  I know I'm special and loved by everyone; of course I am, I'm the Zach-man!  (Also known as Zach and Zachers)


I'm Addie.  I'm the littlest when it comes to weight, size, and neediness.  I weigh a whopping 8lbs 15oz.  That's a lot for me, but I am falling behind my brother and sister a bit too much, so lately I've been drinking all of my bottle.  Like my sister, sleep is not an issue for me when I choose to do it.  Except that I'm a light sleeper, like my mom, so I wake up easy and noises startle me.  But I must say, the best thing about sleep is waking up because that is when I get to S-T-R-E-T-C-H!  I love me a good arch the back, make a silly face stretch!  Pretty much I'm the easy going sibling.  I've just recently found my voice, but I don't use it very often.  Of course, that means that when I do I get paid attention to.  I'm an active little girl.  My mom even bought me rattles for my ankles, ok, they are supposed to be for my wrists, but I move my legs so much she puts them on my ankles.  Mom says my new motto is "and miles to go before I sleep."  I don't know what it means, but I'm gonna keep kicking my legs trying to get a move on until I figure it out.  Dad says I watch the world go by.  I like to turn my head and take in everything that is going on when I'm awake.  I've got such a great smile just today dad told mom that they are going to be in trouble with me.  I didn't know what he meant so I just looked at him with my big blue eyes and smiled.  Katie and I have him wrapped around our fingers!  Pretty much, I may be little, but great things come in little packages.  I'm full of personality and my size isn't going to stop me from doing anything, you just watch!  Addie, aka Adders and Addie-girl



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