Milestones

Last weekend was a weekend of milestones. Stella's belly button finally fell off after 2+ months!!! We couldn't wait to give her her first real bath and see what she thought. For the most part, she appeared to enjoy it! I love the first photo of her in the towel...I think she was a little cold. : ) The girls were a great peanut gallery - giving Daddy lots of advice on how to properly administer a bath. And of course, Stella's bath won't be complete without a Daddy hairstyle.


The next milestone was a transition from cribs to big girl beds on Saturday night. The girls had some friends over for a playdate the Thursday before - and two of the boys showed the girls how to climb in and out of their cribs. At first the girls were only climbing into their cribs, so we thought we were safe...that is until they climbed out on Saturday during nap time.

So while Nana and Papa took the girls on a excursion to a local farm/park, we took down the cribs and set-up the daybeds in their room. They were SO EXCITED to have big girl beds as you can see in the pictures. They haven't given us any trouble at bedtime and usually fall to sleep quickly. However, staying in the beds at nap time has required some stern talking, a few spankings, and occasionally a chaperone reading quietly in a chair in their room.

A few times this week we've hear loud thuds in the middle of the night. Each of the girls has managed to fall out of their bed in the middle of the night. We now strategically place a barrier of pillows between them and the edge and this usually does the trick! They have yet to figure out how to open the door to their room...but I'm sure it's coming...!


We had friends & my parents over for dinner on Saturday. My dad made his infamous homemade pizza crust and then everyone helped with the toppings. It was yummy pizza and perfect weather to sit outside.


Stella is becoming quite the chatterbox. She loves to hear herself coo and squawk. The girls love to chat back to her and we can't wait for her first giggles. I took her to her 2 month appointment on Friday and she is in the 75% for weight and 95% for height. The doctor said everything appears to be developmentally appropriate - which is always nice to hear.

We've made a lot of progress on potty training. At first we were only wearing big girl panties at home, but now we wear them everywhere but to bed. The girls have done awesome going to the potty at the YMCA, Parent's Day Out, etc. It is SO nice to have two less (rather large) diapers to change!

What's New

We've been spending a lot of time at home lately - in part due to the potty training and also the not-so-newborn who no longer naps in her car seat and needs to be home to get a good sleep! We've been coming up with new ways to have fun. Finger painting in the bathtub, sprinkler in the yard, and dump out all the toys and hide in the shelves are new favorite activities.


Stella has been working on her chins and grins. Chins - meaning she's gaining weight and filling out. Grins - well that's self-explanatory...just hard to capture on film!


The girls have their first "big girl" tricycles which they love! Another favorite activity is to ride the tricycles in the garage. It is a perfect compromise for me - I move the car out and shut the garage door so the girls have room to ride, but I don't have to worry about having to haul everyone inside if Stella wakes up/needs to nurse/etc. With the door down, I know they are safe but they still have plenty of room to ride - or run in circles...also a favorite past time. They'll ride for a bit, and then Addie will say, "Mina, park it there" and point authoritatively until Mina parks her tricycle and then they chase each other in circles in the garage! Hey - wear yourself out girls - one can always hope for a longer nap!



Stella - sleeping peacefully in her bouncy seat!

"No Pee Pee in the Panties"

Addie reminds me quite often these days, "No pee pee in the panties!" That's right Addie, we don't go pee pee in panties, in the sandbox, on the bath mat, on the kitchen bench, on the floor in general, etc...although most of these have happened since we are still learning! My biggest fear is pee pee on mama's bed...that has not happened and hopefully will not...

The potty training started pre-Stella even though I was fighting it knowing we'd most likely regress with the upheveal of a newborn in the house. Addie finally convinced me to start when at a bathtime one night a few months ago (no potty training had occurred yet - but we had set a potty chair in the bathroom). She was in the bath, go out, sat on the potty, pooped, took out the tray, dumped the contents in the toilet, flushed the toilet, put the tray back, and climbed back in the bath...all without a word to me...was just sitting on the bathroom counter speechless.

So at that point, I was like - fine, we'll try the potty training thing, but we are still wearing diapers! It was fine - not perfect but the girls did most of their major business on the potty. But as expected, it completely stopped when Stella arrived and the girls lost interest.

However, lately Addie has been asking every few days if she can wear underwear. I already have it, but have never shown the girls because I knew if Addie saw it she'd have to wear it - regardless if she was ready or not! I wasn't too excited about being on potty patrol while nursing a baby, etc. But she kept asking...so I decided to be funny/experimental when Daddy would be in charge!

Alex agreed to watch all three girls while I got some alone time last Saturday morning for a few hours. I was terrified to do the switch to panties on my own, so I figured Alex could share some of the joy of toilet training. We got out the undies - the girls were SO EXCITED - and we've been wearing them ever since. We still do diapers for naps, bedtime, and trips away from home (another fear is a potty accident in the carseat...yuck!). The underwear may just have been the secret weapon because they love picking out which pair to wear and always want to go to the potty after sleeping or getting home so they can switch out their diaper for panties. So we are officially in the big wide world of potty training and hoping we're not here for too long... : )

Stella Stella, the Shoe Clinic, & MORE TWINS!

Sweet Stella continues to be such a pleasure! She's been smiling (not on camera yet - but we'll keep trying) and cooing. The girls love to coo back and we all see if we can eek yet another grin out of her. She's being to become a bit more predictable in her waking and eating which is nice for all involved!

Stella was having a rough (crabby) night last week so we tried the washer/dryer trick and she was out like a light. Addie also loved the noise of the laundry room!


This is the "shoe clinic". Here's how the game is played.

• I tell them to get their shoes on.
• Mina says, "Ad - help Mina."
• Addie runs and gets the stool and says, "Mina - sit here."
• And then Mina leisurely reclines while Addie puts her shoes on for her.

Can you tell which one likes to have things done for her and who prefers to do it "All by self!"

And the BIG NEWS of the week is....I'm going to be an aunt of twins! My brother, Andrew, and his wife, Sarah, went for their routine 20 week ultrasound on Friday and discovered that there were not one, but TWO babies in there!!! I didn't believe him at first when he told me...I don't think he believed it at first either. What are the odds that both my brother and I would both have twins! They are not finding out gender and don't know if the twins are fraternal or identical. Sarah was due around Christmas...but maybe they'll arrive a bit sooner now? Alex and I are SO EXCITED for them!! Send them a congrats if you haven't already.