Updates

Things have been rather busy around here. Make that hectic. We have found that 3 babies are a lot harder to raise than 2, now that we're outnumbered. Gone are the days when one of us can entertain Graham while the other plays with Baby C or works around the house. I am thankful for the hour or so of free time during naptime every day.

Graham is... busy. I came inside from getting the mail today and noticed that Baby C's mouth looked full. I fished out 3 (count them, 3) fruit snacks from his cheeks, which Graham had forcibly shared with him. He gets into the cabinet and bites holes in all of the granola bar wrappers. He dumped water all over our Christmas cards one afternoon, so if yours is a little wavy, you'll understand why. He insists on replacing the angel on top of the manger scene--either with the innkeeper's wife or a camel. Basically, he requires a lot of supervision and patience, which is sometimes in short supply. :) Here he is helping me make sugar cookies. And yes, the cookie barn plays "Green Acres".



...and after eating one.



Baby C finally learned to crawl! It took quite a while, but he is a lot faster now. It was much easier when he would stay in one place, but I guess that's always the case.

Gabriella is a good little baby and is sleeping well at night. When she cries, she has the biggest lip pout I have ever seen. Right now, it makes my heart melt, but someday I will tell her to tuck it back in.

Growing Up Too Fast.

A Man Purse

Yesterday, Graham rediscovered his gardening bag, a large cow-printed canvas bag that is supposed to hold some gardening tools. My mother-in-law Gwen was just saying that Graham had been wearing this bag like a purse when he walked by with one arm through each strap. He proceeded to walk past us to the garage door, open the door, walk out in his socks into the pitch-black 40 degree garage and try to open the van door. I convinced him to come back inside and we checked out the purse's contents:

- My van keys
- Two of my credit cards
- My brush from under the upstairs bathroom sink
- Two receipts from my purse
- An outlet cover

Update

Gabriella is officially 2 weeks old and is doing great. She is now sleeping in 4 hour chunks (or more) and goes right back to sleep after eating, so we're finally getting some rest, too. She is a sweet little baby, but an impressively loud grunter. Graham absolutely loves to hold his baby sister and he is mostly careful with her, save the occasional poke in the eye.





Baby C has accomplished a bunch of milestones in the last few weeks, including saying "dada" and scooting across the floor using a technique we've dubbed The Sea Serpent. He pushes his rear end in the air, buries his head in the floor, and squirms. He literally has carpet burns on one side of his forehead, but it gets the job done.

Graham is going through a John Deere tractor phase. At least I hope it's a phase. Every morning he watches an All About John Deere DVD while he eats his breakfast, leaving the rest of us to sing "John Deere built a better plow" all day long.



It will be a quiet Thanksgiving, and we are looking forward to it. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Gabriella Hope Arrives

Gabriella was born on November 10, 2009 at 2:08 am. She is healthy and doing great! She weighed in at 5 lbs 15 oz and was 19.5 inches in length. She is so small that she looked like a baby doll, especially when she was peacefully sleeping! The jury is still out on what color her hair will be, it has some brown and some red, but there isn't too much of it at this point. Plus, it will probably look a bit different in the natural light.

Valerie is doing well in her recovery, and Will's parents are here taking care of the boys during the day. I am sure there will be more pictures and stories to come, but as you might imagine with the unplanned early morning activity, our household is a bit tired tonight.

Beggars' Night

If we are ever left penniless and are forced to beg on the street, I am taking Mr. Bambi Eyes here with me.

Curious Graham and the Irresponsible Mother

We had an interesting afternoon today. It started out innocently enough when I decided to clean up the books in Graham's room. While I was preoccupied, Graham poked his nightlight until he knocked the cover off, then hit it one more time and broke the filament so it wouldn't turn on. Annoyed, I unplugged the nightlight and put it out of reach, then walked over to put the last two books on the shelf. Suddenly I heard a POP! and the lights went out and Graham started crying. He had brought the keys to our shed upstairs with him and stuck one of them in the electrical outlet, tripping the breaker.

He only cried for about 10 seconds, but his hand had black smudges all over it and what looked like a small burn near his thumb. The key was partially blackened as well.





I called Will and the doctor, who said I should take him to the ER immediately for an evaluation. I'm sure it won't be our last visit, and I hope they all go as quickly as this one did. Everything was traumatic for Graham, though--getting his temperature taken, the doctor looking at his hand (which I'm convinced wasn't even hurting at this point), listening to his heartbeat, and the coup de grace, the id bracelet they affixed to his ankle. Then the doctor chided me for not having plastic covers in the outlets (which we have in EVERY SINGLE ONE) and told me to be mindful of his fair skin in the sun (um, thanks for that advice in November).

He seems to be fine now, as he spent a good part of the evening dancing in the living room.