Playgrounds

On Sunday, we were supposed to go to a Multiples' easter egg hunt in the east bay.  Sadly, it was cancelled due to muddy conditions, so we decided to take the day to play with Sam and Junior instead!

After destroying their living room, we all piled in the van to go check out the "new Target".  From across the parking lot, Sam spied one of the "big carts" and got super excited.  I, being used to more urban shopping, had no idea what she was talking about.  It turns out there is a version of cart with an extra two-seat bench attached to it, allowing for multiple children to ride in the cart.  Coupling that with the actual cart, there was a spot for all three Salvateenies!

Caroline spent the whole ride through the parking lot yelling "WEEEE!"

The only thing they didn't like was stopping for a picture.

 Back in the car, Caroline was in a hurry to get to our next destination:

which was a mini-playground in front of the library.  We'd done some online research to find an enclosed play area and came up with this one, which has a three foot high fence around about 85% of the outside - leaving a small open area to guard.  The structure itself is sort of an octopus with multiple slides and stair cases leading off a central platform.  Caroline LOVED it, climbing up the stairs on her own and sliding down the twisty slide with Sam twice before deciding she could try it by herself - she flipped over mid-way through, but it was all ok in the end.  In fact, I didn't get any pictures of her because I was too busy running around hoping she wouldn't tumble off the edge.

Daniel, on the other hand, was a little scared of the heights and was happy holding still in one place on the slide.

You can see he hasn't made much progress as Max passed him up on the other slide:

Coming up the stairs...again!

Max holds onto the railing when he goes up the stairs:

and he made it all the way to the top.

On Monday, the Salvateenies had their 18-month "well baby" check up and vaccinations.   We scheduled this round in the morning, figuring we could let them wake up, eat breakfast, and then go straight to the doctor's.  We had a brief wait in the check-in area before being ushered into the tiniest of exam rooms.  I stripped each baby down to nothing but a diaper and carried them down the hall for weighing and measuring one at a time as Joe tried to manage the craziness of the other two in the room.  Weights and measures had not been a challenge before, but this time all three were upset by it - Daniel so much that he didn't stop crying until after the doctor examined him!

The relevant stats:  both Max and Daniel stretched out to 2 feet, 8 inches.  Caroline was recorded at 2 feet, 7.75 inches, but that CAN'T be accurate, she is much shorter than they are.  Max is the heaviest Teenie at 25 pounds 9 ounces with Daniel on his heels just 5 ounces behind.  That 5 ounce difference works out to a 5 percentile difference, though, with Max in the 43rd and Daniel in the 38th.  Caroline made the case for keeping her position in the Baby Bjorn while the boys are relegated to the stroller by weighing just 21 pounds 9 ounces.  See? No way she's only a quarter of an inch shorter than they are!

After weights and measures, we had about twenty more minutes to wait in the tiny room.  Last visit we lost a couple of the babies' stacking cups, so this time we refrained from bringing toys, though I did pack snacks.  Not to worry - the boys both found the computer keyboard and found that if you held down whichever key you could reach, the resulting error gong was really funny when repeated.  The mouse also made for a wonderful toddler phone.

Daniel, as I mentioned, was not in the mood to play.  He flailed around so much that he actually cut his cheek right at the edge of his eye and was bleeding (though, to be fair, the fact that he did it in front of the doctor made me feel a little better that she wouldn't judge us for the assorted scrapes and bruises they have).  All three got good marks from the doctor, though she's worried that Caroline may be developing a "pacifier hole" in her teeth - even though she only uses it at night and on long car rides.  After the check-up portion, it was time for shots.  The nurse was swift and each Teenie got four rapid-fire injections, two in each thigh, for a total of twelve needle pricks and three screaming babies.

All the crying seemed to really tire them out, though, because Caroline fell asleep on the fifteen minute ride home and then back to sleep the minute she came inside.  They napped for over three hours and then snacked the rest of the night, with only Caroline showing any residual bad mood or discomfort.

Which is good, because Tuesday was a full day!  First, we got a new light fixture/ceiling fan in the living room!

Then, we got a brand-new refrigerator!  When we first moved in, we tried to buy a larger fridge (the one we had was only 18 cubic feet - not Salvateenie-sized!), but the door to our kitchen is only 27" wide, meaning we need a counter-depth fridge, which was a little out of our price range at the time.  But, thanks to a nice IRS refund, we are now the proud owners of this 22.6 cubic foot Frigidaire!

And the best part is that all the installations happened during nap time!  After lunch, Jayanthi, Anjali, and Ajay came to visit and we went out to check out Rossi playground, the nearest playground to our house that has an enclosed play area.  Even so, it was amazing how many people walked in or out of the area and forgot to close the gate behind them.  I became "that mom", calling over to some teenagers to please click the gate closed behind them.  But it was uniquely important to me as we had two adults and five children to keep track of.  

Max, testing out the boundary

Luckily, Anjali, at just over 5 and a half, was old enough to be "in charge" of Caroline.

"Mommmeeeeee!"

They were safe when they were IN the swings, but both Daniel and Max made it a habit of running directly in front of other children swinging (either on the toddler or the "big kid" swings), nearly getting kicked in the noggin quite a few times and causing near heart attacks in the parents of the kids swinging.

Max made friends with Avery

It looks like he's in trouble here, but Anjali was just showing him the way to the slides

Caroline decided the swings were another great place to say "WEEEEEEEE!"

Triplet Mommies Unite?

Yesterday, I went to our Multiple Club's consignment sale first thing in the morning.  I was there on a mission to find a play kitchen, so once I got in I went straight back to the "big items" area, filled with swings and bouncy chairs, strollers, wagons, and play pens.  I didn't need any of that, so I wandered back out and found one of the folks I'd recognized on my way in to say hi and chat a bit about how her girls were doing.

On a cursory circuit through the room to see if there were any boys' dress clothes for sale (there were not - people seem to hang on to their girly clothes, but the boys' clothes were in short supply), I found the only play kitchen in the room and quickly snagged it for $20!

This freed me up to check out the other offerings slowly.  At the back of the room a woman had a table set up alongside a pristine looking Peg Perego Triplette stroller (this is the one that retails for $1500 or so) for sale.  We already have an older version that I got when I was pregnant (and which we haven't used), so I wasn't interested in buying it, but I wondered if the saleslady was a triplet mom or had had twins and then a third close behind.  I asked why she had the triple stroller, and she said (obviously, I realize), "Because I have triplets."  "So do I!" I responded, expecting to have an instant bond and be able to chat for hours about the relative uniqueness of our situation.

That's when I found out that a similar number of children does not necessarily mean that you are going to be friends.  I should know this already, shouldn't I?

I found out that she has two girls and a boy and they are two and a half.  I also found out that she didn't know there were any other triplet moms in the group (or, it seems, in the area).  I said, "I know, I always feel a tiny bit like an outsider at these events when everyone else has two babies and I've got this extra one."  To which she asked me, "But did you do it all alone?" Me: "Umm. No.  My husband is home with them most of the time while I go to work." Her: "Oh, because I did it alone." Her "babysitter friend": "Yeah, totally alone - all by herself."

So, I guess that makes her better than me.  I mean, obviously, in the competition for triplet mom of the year, she will always win.

But I didn't invite her to join any of the local triplet mom Facebook groups.  I mean, if she got help from local peers, that means she wouldn't be doing it "on her own", right?  I wouldn't want to deprive her of that.

Anyway, I left with a kitchen and a talking Elmo training potty, so the day was a success!

Falling Down on the Job

It's been more than two weeks since I last updated this blog.  On the one hand, a lot has happened, but on the other, nothing has.  Just busy, busy times, times three.

Caroline is still climbing:

which does not make Daddy terribly happy.

On the 15th, everyone celebrated their 18-month birthday.  There was not a big festivity, but tradition mandates that they be measured against the door jamb, just as they have been at each six-month interval.  As you can see in the picture below, at the first two measurements, all three were relatively close together, but in the past six months, the boys have definitely out-grown Caroline, who is lagging more than an inch behind them.  On Monday we take them to the doctor for their check-up and we'll have more detailed statistics for them.

Grandpa returned from a trip to New York City with a very cute little dress for Caroline, complete with a headband that she immediately ignored.  Being contrary, Daniel decided he should give it a chance.  Not the most attractive look for him, though we thought perhaps he could use it for Halloween this year to dress up as a '70s-era NBA star.

Daniel did get a chance to try his hand at dressing up professionally this month - he got his very first "fit modeling" gig with Gymboree!  Both he and Max are "the perfect size", but only one of them was needed and Daniel was in a better mood.  It turned out there was another boy there for the fitting - in size 4T - also named Daniel!  We put our Daniel in two different pairs of jeans and a series of sweatshirts, vests, and jackets and he walked around being viewed by four women who chattered about the placement of pockets and the length of the rise, etc.  It was all over in about half an hour and back out to the car.  I think Daniel's favorite part of the the whole event was getting to ride in the car by himself, chattering away the whole time as he looked out the window.

Daniel wearing his Gymboree visitor's pass

Max took this picture of himself (on the left) and Daniel.

Caroline showed off her hair in a little Pebbles-style pony tail up high on her head.

She was trying out new hairstyles to get ready for Colleen's baby shower.  As you may recall, Caroline scored a coveted invite to Colleen's bridal shower last summer, and she was lucky enough to get invited to the baby shower as well.

Colleen showing off her belly

Caroline, enjoying the party favor

enjoying the garlic cheese bread more!

The play-dough was not as tasty

 The shower was at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which has a wonderful children's menu, complete with applesauce appetizer for the children.  Caroline was a big fan of hers.

She somehow managed to eat all that garlic cheese bread, a cup of applesauce, raviolis, spumoni ice cream, and cake, and only got one little spot on her dress!

While Colleen was opening her presents, Caroline decided she should get some exercise, so we exited the banquet room and ran a circuit through the main dining room.  Luckily, it is a family restaurant and nobody was upset to have a toddler in a party dress wandering up to them.  Of course, she wasn't content only looking at the diners, and I had to stop her from entering the kitchen four different times - and once from pushing her way into the men's room!  

By the end of the party, Caroline was DONE.  She was hot and her hair was stringy, but she still smiled for the camera!

Bad Boys (and Girl)

Tell me again - it's the terrible twos, right?  You mean, it's going to get worse?

Don't get me wrong, the Salvateenies are not bad babies.  That being said, Max has developed a somewhat gleeful cackle as he knocks his brother and sister to the ground in frantic running-in-circles bouts of energy late at night, and it is entirely possible that Daniel thinks the word for "floor lamp" is "NO!", while Caroline has informed us that is her name.  I'm serious.  We tell her "no" so often that tonight when I was tickling her, I asked, "What is your name?" and she answered, "NO!" and giggled.

Caroline has become a mountain goat.  She climbs anything she can, first judging the distance by pointing her toe and stretching it up to the top of whatever is there, then bending her knee and beginning a well-planned crawl to the top of her personal mountain.  She will move boxes around to give herself a sort of staircase to ascend.  Changing her diaper the other day, I noticed all sorts of tiny, fading bruises that are the result of her flinging herself at the corners of cardboard boxes during her climbs.

All three of the babies enjoy climbing on the couch and looking out the window - especially when they get to sneak peeks around the sides of our expensive shades (let's see how long they last!).  At each edge of the couch, we have a floor lamp to help spread a little light to the corners of the room.  Daniel and Caroline love  to scale the cushions, stand at the armrest, reach over and grab the lamp.  Of course, they don't start moving it around until they've stopped and let us notice them so they can giggle at us as we remind them they're not supposed to touch it.

Max takes great pleasure in knocking Daniel and Caroline down, either tackling them from behind (he's watched the NFL and is expert at grabbing the collar of a pair of PJs and dragging straight to the ground) or from the front (his favorite is an open hand to the face - he uses this one on me as well).  Though he's not quite 18 months old, we are beginning to employ the "time out" method for dealing with this, as he is the only one who doesn't like Baby Jail.  So a quick couple of minutes in the enclosure will sometimes distract him from his bullying.  But not always.

But there is something they can all agree with, and that is how much fun it is to turn the TV on and off.  In fact, it's gotten to be such a fun game for them that we recently purchased a new HDTV and arranging for it to be wall-mounted so they can't reach it.

Of course, Caroline will find a way.

In other news, Caroline is still eschewing hair accessories.  The only pictures I could find with them in are all from November.

Caroline's first attempt at a hair bow - November

The first time she wore a clip out in public (also November)

What she'd rather wear in her hair

Daniel shows off that he can wear something in his hair, too.

Max practices putting a bow in his hair and doing his pageant walk

I think Max has decided he likes hair accessories

Last Sunday, we attended a memorial service at the ballpark for my Guest Services supervisor.  We took over the Lexus Dugout Club so that the babies could roam, hoping this would keep them relatively quiet.  It worked, but Grandma and I were very nervous chasing them all around (including Max's mad dash into the dugout!)

I thought I'd show off how well Max positioned himself to keep this bath photo G-rated

The cleaners set up the Teenies' "laptops" on the table for them.  I think we've figured out where their seats will be when we graduate from high chairs.

Caroline thought it was FUNNY!

Max's favorite book is his A's Baseball 101.  What did I expect? I'm the one who assigned him green as his signature color!

I can only hope that Daniel doesn't take to his signature blue and become a Dodger fan.  I got him these orange-trimmed PJs as a prophylactic measure.