Amanda (and her Baby) Visits

The weekend before last, my friend Amanda and her little girl, MM, came by to visit us. MM is almost 7 months old now. I was really anxious to see how the kids did around a baby.

The minute they saw MM in Amanda's arms, they were mesmerized. They did not move at all, and just stood where they were and watched her. Amanda got up to make MM's bottle, and eventually I got my hands on MM (from a laying down position, of course). Only then did the kids feel comfortable in coming closer. Piper wanted to touch MM's arm, and seemed very surprised that she was real. Henry liked to get right in MM's face and smile at her. And Rosemary just wanted to sit next to her. Both of the girls tried to put hairbows in MM's hair. Thankfully, no one seemed to be jealous that I was holding her.

When Amanda fed MM, that's when everyone started closing in to get a better look. Everyone ended up "helping" Amanda hold MM's bottle, which I thought was sweet. I was glad that I got a few photos of it all. . . .















That visit made me feel a lot better about how the kids will react to a baby. Of course MM only stayed about an hour, but hopefully it won't be immediate dislike!

The Peanut is On the Chart

Yes, this very Peanut. Our wild and fearless peanut. Born weighing just 1 lb. 14 oz., at less than half the weight of her brother, Rosemary is on the growth chart for more than just head circumference. As of this morning, at age 2, Rosemary weighed 22 lbs. 2 oz. and was 31.5 inches tall. That puts her squarely in the 10th percentile for both weight and height. YAY ROSEMARY!

Piper weighed in at 24 lbs. 4 oz. (10-25th percentile) and 33 inches tall (10-25th percentile). The Hammer was also 24 lbs. 4 oz. (10-25th percentile) and 34 inches tall (50th percentile). Everyone is slowly but surely making their way up those growth charts!!!

The Birthday

I think that the kids had a great birthday! We started out by waking them up and giving them their gifts to unwrap. Gary picked out their gifts, got them ready, wrapped them, and everything! I think he did a great job, although perhaps the kids didn't really understand what they got initially. . . .













Our kids seem to really like music. They dance a lot, bob their heads, bounce, etc. Gary has always played a lot of music around them and danced with them. And Gary plays real music for them, not just kid music, though we make sure that it's appropriate for their listening. We've found that dealing with CDs get old when you're switching out bathtime music to sleeping music, and then taking the CDs back and forth to the car for trips. And, we don't want to use our iPods with the kids, because we don't have only child-friendly songs to prevent constant monitoring of what is playing. So, it makes sense for the kids to have their own iPod with their favorite music and playlists. And since Gary is a sucker for a good set of speakers, he insisted that they needed their own iPod speakers. The kids' CD player and CDs will be passed down to Penelope for now. I think Gary did a great job with the kids' birthday gifts!

That night, we treated the kids to their favorite dinner -- McDonald's cheeseburger Happy Meals!!








For dessert, the kids each had their own cakes. I'm very proud of Gary for taking care of ordering all the cakes -- that had been in my job description until I screwed up the smashcakes for their first birthday party last year and Gary had to save the day. Over time, we've learned the Piper is a HUGE fan of chocolate, Henry likes a more plain cake, and Rosemary loved the strawberry cake from last week. So, we thought that instead of one big cake that each baby should get their favorite, which was a huge hit. . . .



















The kids went right to sleep with full bellies and slept in late on Saturday. All in all it was a great day for all of us!

P.S. Of course, we salvaged the remains of the cakes for ourselves!!

Our Babies Are TWO!!!

I cannot believe that our babies are two! Just two years ago we had three tiny premature babies, and it's amazing to see how far they've come now!!! Because I can't help myself, here are what the babies looked like the first time we saw them (first Piper at 3 pounds 2 ounces, then Henry at 3 pounds 15 ounces, and then Rosemary at 1 pound 14 ounces):





Ann took care of the kids on Monday. I knew that Ann had planned for Ann, Lori, Lori's daughter Amanda (my favorite MEU/L&D nurse), and my Mom to come over for lunch that day. What I didn't know is that, when I got back to the house after my doctor's appointment, Ann had planned for a surprise birthday party and baby shower! The kids had been outside swimming all morning, so they came inside, got dressed up, and the party commenced with opening presents! The kids got a ton of toys that they have been really enjoying, and a lot of their toys are outside toys, which have been a huge hit. The kids have been having a ball all week.




















After we opened presents, we had lunch. Mom brought some Dreamland barbecue (I've always been a big fan of barbecue, especially when I'm pregnant), and Lori had made these adorable duck cupcakes. Lori was upset that something had apparently happened to the cupcakes on the way over but I think they looked great, and the kids thought they tasted great! (And we've all enjoyed them since the surprise party!)













Thank you for the surprise party! We had a great time!

This morning we opened presents when the kids got up, and now the kids are off with Stephanie for a fun-filled morning outing. Later tonight we'll have some cake. Of course I will take photos to post. Due to the bedrest, we've decided not to have a huge party for the kids, and instead will just have a big outside party once Penelope is here and it's not so hot outside.

Happy birthday, sweet babies!!!