You would think everything around here is rainbows and lollipops after reading Courtney's birthday wishes. I will go ahead and share the truth.
Ladies first....Ryleigh has so many nicknames, she is Ryleigh, Ryleigh Roo, Rye, Rye-Rye, Roo, Molly Woo (I can't explain the origins of this one), Woo, Lady Roo....it goes on and on. I now am in a position where I can concur that everyone should have a daughter. One. daughter. I can't imagine a house with two Roo's. Rye is like the court jester of the house, bee bopping around, posing, dancing, squealing. Its hard to not laugh when she is smiling to beat the band while at the same time tears are pouring down her little face....all because she went from no attention (tears) to full blown attention (smiles). Roo is as regular as a sailor. If it is 8:15a.m., you can set you clock by her having a pants full of poo. Lately Rye has taken to waving, and like everything she does, she does it with style. At times, you would think she is the Queen of England.....on a float at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade....up for re-election (yes, I know Queens aren't elected). Rye is ALWAYS awake first, like she doesn't want to miss anything. Her morning cries from her crib bring me equal parts dismay and joy. Dismay in that she didn't sleep just a little longer....joy in that we get to bring her downstairs and share in everying that is Roo. On the best of all days, she is still sleepy and will spend 15 minutes getting her last winks in while laying on my chest. Rarely happens, but when it does, it is about the best thing in the world. Rye will be the protector of the boys, even Austin, as they grow up, guaranteed. I'll go so far as to say she sent the boys home from the hospital a few days ahead of her, just so we could focus on them and find our way before she joined the show. I am proud to be your daddy Roo. Happy First Birthday!
What is there to say about Cayden....... Cayden is the "good baby." Of this, there is no question. When it comes time for mommy and daddy to get away for a night, there are literally fistfights over who gets Cayden (on second thought, maybe it is just avoiding Roo?). Content more often than not, first asleep, last awake, most laid back. He has his moments, but almost always they seem to be when the other three are behaving. When Rye and Gabe are giving us trouble, and we are at the end of our rope, Cayden will lay down in his crib and not say a word or go right to sleep....seemingly saying "You guys have had enough, I'm not going to add to your woes." The biggest challenge with Cayden is often simply changing his diaper. He twists and turns and contorts and writhes his little body into a pretzel, making it quite the challenge. Cayden seemed to catch on just a little slower than Rye and Gabe when it came to eating, talking, crawling, etc. However, when it came to walking and taking a few steps, he shoved the other two aside and was first on his feet. I look forward to the coming years when we can grab your brothers, ditch the chicks for a day, and go get into some trouble together. Thanks for being such a good baby. Happy First Birthday Cayden!
Gabers....Gabe is a pretty good baby, not causing quite as much trouble as Rye, but alas, he's no Cayden. Gabe likes to jack with the cat ....all the live long day. When he is not messing with kitty, he picks on Ryleigh during their meals while sitting in the triplet table. If you were in another room during meal time....you would hear "Gabe!" "Gabe!" "Gabe!" as he pulls off Ryleigh's bib, or attempts to, constantly. He likes to push the limits in whatever he does, often ending with him looking back over his shoulder at mom and dad for approval (or disapproval). Gabe is not one to fall asleep right away. Once you sit him down in his crib, he is back on his feet in seconds, surveying the room, talking trash to Cayden in the adjacent crib. He will do this first thing in the morning too...accompanied by a Gregorian like chant of "Bah, Bah, Bah, Bah" as he indicates his request for a bottle. Gabe is rougher around the edges than his siblings. While Cayden and Roo were crying when I fired up the weed whacker the other day, Gabe just said, "Electric, really Dad?" Gabe loves to be outside....wagon rides, swings, in the van, anything outside is better than anything inside with this kid. It's been a great first year little man, looking forward to the days and years that follow. Happy First Birthday Gabe!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Happy Birthday Gabe !
Our adventurous baby-Gabey. Its hard to believe you are one year old today. 12 months ago you weighed in at 3 lb 9 oz and 17 inches long. You were in the middle in terms of weight and height, and were the second one born - a minute behind Cayden and a minute before Ryleigh. Of course it was you who decided it was time to come into the world as it was your water that broke. Being the baby on the bottom of the pile, you most certainly were running out of room as you were constantly sitting on or kicking my bladder.
After birth, you struggled with apneas and bradys (pauses in breathing and drop in heart rate) which is why you were in the hospital for almost 40 days. You did the best in the hospital and were the first one the doctors and nurses started to talk about sending home. Your biggest discomfort in the hospital with a sore bottom - which the nurses try to heal by airing it out, which was quite a sight! You thrived once you got home and the sore bottom quickly went away within a few days. At first, you were able to share a crib with your siblings but you tended to like having the crib with Cayden as Ryleigh tended to wake you both up (perhaps a sign of things to come as you both kicked her out just a few months ago officially!). Of course there were also many nights were individual bouncers just worked a lot better.
In most things, you stuck with your 'middle child' line up and were the second to do things such as crawl and get a tooth. You are super active and enjoy moving all over the place fast. Like Ryleigh, you quickly figured out how to crawl up the stairs and were constantly trying to climb them when you thought no one was looking. When someone yelled 'Gabe' as you made an attempt, you pause, look at the person, and then turn around and recommence your climb. It seemed like a fun game to you to see how far you could go.
You are defintely more rough and physical than your brother. You love wrestling with Austin, laughing hysterically when he blows on your belly. You also love to knock over towers of blocks and make a lot of noise. You will constantly chatter all day long - including when we go for wagon rides in your choo-choo wagon.
Like Ryleigh, you prefer a pacifier to a thumb. It helps you get to sleep at nap and nighttime. And you are completely fine taking it from Ryleigh whenever you see her with one, and then using it yourself. Your first word was "dada" but you have also said "mama". Of course, you only say "mama" when you are upset and crying!
One of your favorite pastimes is chasing Nala around the house. She seems to enjoy it as once you catch up to her, she will move a few feet ahead and watch as you catch back up. This will usually continue until you manage to grab a fist full of fur or her tail, at which point the game is over. This reminds me so much of how Austin was (and sometimes still is)!
You are starting to outgrow it, but occasionally we still put you in the exersaucer. You got hours and hours of entertainment out of that thing. You were the first one to figure out what 'jump' meant and to follow that command. It was so cute to see you jump, jump, jump, and giggle. The best was when you and Cayden were opposite of each other and laughing as the other guy jumped.
Like Austin, you have the best belly laugh when I tickle your sides, behind your ears, blow on your belly, or kiss your neck. You will laugh and laugh -grabbing at my hair and not wanting me to stop. In many ways, in addition to looks, you are very similar to how Austin was as a baby.
Your hair is the darkest of all 3 of you. Perhaps you will have dark hair like your Dad.
Like your siblings, you love bath time. Now that you can sit up and play with toys, you love to crawl around chasing the floating toys.
Lately you have really taken to playing with Cayden. Although you will sometimes play independently, you can often be found sitting near him or standing up at Austin's train table together. Much to his dismay, you both have taken quite a liking to his trains - often dismantling the track and using them to teeth on. The track and trains seem to provide you both a lot of comfort in getting your four teeth.
After birth, you struggled with apneas and bradys (pauses in breathing and drop in heart rate) which is why you were in the hospital for almost 40 days. You did the best in the hospital and were the first one the doctors and nurses started to talk about sending home. Your biggest discomfort in the hospital with a sore bottom - which the nurses try to heal by airing it out, which was quite a sight! You thrived once you got home and the sore bottom quickly went away within a few days. At first, you were able to share a crib with your siblings but you tended to like having the crib with Cayden as Ryleigh tended to wake you both up (perhaps a sign of things to come as you both kicked her out just a few months ago officially!). Of course there were also many nights were individual bouncers just worked a lot better.
In most things, you stuck with your 'middle child' line up and were the second to do things such as crawl and get a tooth. You are super active and enjoy moving all over the place fast. Like Ryleigh, you quickly figured out how to crawl up the stairs and were constantly trying to climb them when you thought no one was looking. When someone yelled 'Gabe' as you made an attempt, you pause, look at the person, and then turn around and recommence your climb. It seemed like a fun game to you to see how far you could go.
You are defintely more rough and physical than your brother. You love wrestling with Austin, laughing hysterically when he blows on your belly. You also love to knock over towers of blocks and make a lot of noise. You will constantly chatter all day long - including when we go for wagon rides in your choo-choo wagon.
Like Ryleigh, you prefer a pacifier to a thumb. It helps you get to sleep at nap and nighttime. And you are completely fine taking it from Ryleigh whenever you see her with one, and then using it yourself. Your first word was "dada" but you have also said "mama". Of course, you only say "mama" when you are upset and crying!
One of your favorite pastimes is chasing Nala around the house. She seems to enjoy it as once you catch up to her, she will move a few feet ahead and watch as you catch back up. This will usually continue until you manage to grab a fist full of fur or her tail, at which point the game is over. This reminds me so much of how Austin was (and sometimes still is)!
You are starting to outgrow it, but occasionally we still put you in the exersaucer. You got hours and hours of entertainment out of that thing. You were the first one to figure out what 'jump' meant and to follow that command. It was so cute to see you jump, jump, jump, and giggle. The best was when you and Cayden were opposite of each other and laughing as the other guy jumped.
Like Austin, you have the best belly laugh when I tickle your sides, behind your ears, blow on your belly, or kiss your neck. You will laugh and laugh -grabbing at my hair and not wanting me to stop. In many ways, in addition to looks, you are very similar to how Austin was as a baby.
Your hair is the darkest of all 3 of you. Perhaps you will have dark hair like your Dad.
Like your siblings, you love bath time. Now that you can sit up and play with toys, you love to crawl around chasing the floating toys.
Lately you have really taken to playing with Cayden. Although you will sometimes play independently, you can often be found sitting near him or standing up at Austin's train table together. Much to his dismay, you both have taken quite a liking to his trains - often dismantling the track and using them to teeth on. The track and trains seem to provide you both a lot of comfort in getting your four teeth.
Ryleigh, Gabe, and Cayden
Gabe, I am so blessed to be your mama. I love you so much. I have loved every moment with you during your first year. I look forward to the lifetime ahead!
Happy Birthday Cayden!
Our sweet Cayden. Its hard to believe you are one year old today. 12 months ago you were the biggest at 3 lb 13 oz but the shortest at 16.5 inches. You and Gabe have taken turns at being the biggest but you are currently in the lead, holding it only by an ounce or so.
After birth, you struggled with apneas and bradys (pauses in breathing and drop in heart rate) which is why you were in the hospital for almost 40 days. In the hospital, you came down with a virus and seemed to struggle to recover so much that it appeared you would be the last one to go home. It was almost like you knew when there was talk of Gabe going home first. You suddenly made a quick turnaround and managed to leave the hospital on the same day as Gabe. You thrived once you got home. At first, you were able to share a crib with your siblings but you tended to like having the crib with Gabe as Ryleigh tended to wake you both up. Of course there were also many nights were individual bouncers just worked a lot better.
You are such a sweet baby. You are my cuddle bug. Perhaps because you were the one in the middle of the pack before being born, you are definitely comfortable and happy being hugged on. You give the best hugs of all your siblings and nothing gets you to smile more broadly then when you receive a big tight squeeze. When I walk you to your crib at bedtime you wrap your little arms around my neck tight and hold onto my neck. It is so sweet, but makes it really hard to put you down. I just want to stand there and hold you forever. I usually linger by your crib and hug for a minute before putting you down. I just can't get enough of your cuddles.
Overall, you have seemed to have the most laid back personality of your siblings. When we have company over, everyone comments on how content you are to play or sit and watch. Our guy friends have declared you the best baby as you are very content to sit on the couch and watch tv with them. You are definitely our tv watcher. There have even been a few instances of you drinking a bottle on your boppy pillow and bending over the boppy backwards to see the tv - at the same time never letting go of the bottle!
Unlike your siblings, you don't have much use for a pacifier but prefer your thumb. You will occassionally suck on your thumb when sitting on the floor but mostly you suck on it when you are napping. Perhaps this is why you have always been the best sleeper as that thumb is always handy!
You and Ryleigh will often fight over my lap. And if the other person is trying to barge in, you will both start crying as you do not like to share my lap. Even having one of you on each leg does not suffice and you will let me know it.
For the longest time you were so content to lay around and play with whatever toys were in your reach. You seemed to have no motivation to learn to crawl. But all of the sudden, just like leaving the hospital, you suddenly turned around and learned to crawl. In fact, you promptly pulled yourself up to standing and were the first person to take a step. We won't be able to take your calm manner for granted as you are quick to prove people wrong already!
You are starting to outgrow it, but occasionally we still put you in the exersaucer. You got hours and hours of entertainment out of that thing. You and Gabe figured out how to jump very quickly. It was so cute to see you jump, jump, jump, and giggle. The best was when the two of you were opposite of each other and laughing as the other guy jumped.
You love playing with your siblings, especially Gabe. You two will fight over toys and crawl over each other without a cry or scream. Its almost like you got used to being in each others way before you were born and figure it is just part of how things are. When you wake up, the two of you will often chatter back and forth - as if telling some story or plotting some secret. You also enjoy playing with big brother Austin who will blow on your belly and have you laughing so big.
Your first word was "dada". Pretty appropriate as you look a lot like Austin did as a baby and you have Dad's ears (with a small bump on the inside of the outer top edge). You were also the first baby to figure out how to immitate vibrating lips. That noise entertains you quite a bit and is one of your favorites to make.
Cayden, I love you so much and cannot wait to see what fun lies ahead for you. You are such a sweet heart and I have loved every moment with you during your first year. I look forward to the lifetime ahead!
After birth, you struggled with apneas and bradys (pauses in breathing and drop in heart rate) which is why you were in the hospital for almost 40 days. In the hospital, you came down with a virus and seemed to struggle to recover so much that it appeared you would be the last one to go home. It was almost like you knew when there was talk of Gabe going home first. You suddenly made a quick turnaround and managed to leave the hospital on the same day as Gabe. You thrived once you got home. At first, you were able to share a crib with your siblings but you tended to like having the crib with Gabe as Ryleigh tended to wake you both up. Of course there were also many nights were individual bouncers just worked a lot better.
You are such a sweet baby. You are my cuddle bug. Perhaps because you were the one in the middle of the pack before being born, you are definitely comfortable and happy being hugged on. You give the best hugs of all your siblings and nothing gets you to smile more broadly then when you receive a big tight squeeze. When I walk you to your crib at bedtime you wrap your little arms around my neck tight and hold onto my neck. It is so sweet, but makes it really hard to put you down. I just want to stand there and hold you forever. I usually linger by your crib and hug for a minute before putting you down. I just can't get enough of your cuddles.
Overall, you have seemed to have the most laid back personality of your siblings. When we have company over, everyone comments on how content you are to play or sit and watch. Our guy friends have declared you the best baby as you are very content to sit on the couch and watch tv with them. You are definitely our tv watcher. There have even been a few instances of you drinking a bottle on your boppy pillow and bending over the boppy backwards to see the tv - at the same time never letting go of the bottle!
Unlike your siblings, you don't have much use for a pacifier but prefer your thumb. You will occassionally suck on your thumb when sitting on the floor but mostly you suck on it when you are napping. Perhaps this is why you have always been the best sleeper as that thumb is always handy!
You and Ryleigh will often fight over my lap. And if the other person is trying to barge in, you will both start crying as you do not like to share my lap. Even having one of you on each leg does not suffice and you will let me know it.
For the longest time you were so content to lay around and play with whatever toys were in your reach. You seemed to have no motivation to learn to crawl. But all of the sudden, just like leaving the hospital, you suddenly turned around and learned to crawl. In fact, you promptly pulled yourself up to standing and were the first person to take a step. We won't be able to take your calm manner for granted as you are quick to prove people wrong already!
You are starting to outgrow it, but occasionally we still put you in the exersaucer. You got hours and hours of entertainment out of that thing. You and Gabe figured out how to jump very quickly. It was so cute to see you jump, jump, jump, and giggle. The best was when the two of you were opposite of each other and laughing as the other guy jumped.
You love playing with your siblings, especially Gabe. You two will fight over toys and crawl over each other without a cry or scream. Its almost like you got used to being in each others way before you were born and figure it is just part of how things are. When you wake up, the two of you will often chatter back and forth - as if telling some story or plotting some secret. You also enjoy playing with big brother Austin who will blow on your belly and have you laughing so big.
Cayden and Gabe
You love bottles but also solid foods. Only peas gave you pause at first. You can't seem to get enough of food these days. As we start to think about transitioning to sippy cups from bottles, we have started to not warm the milk as much. You seem to be the most sensitive to this change - constantly taking your bottle in and out of your mouth, as if to say you it just doesn't taste right. You do the same thing with cold fruits and other solid foods - although you will still eat it, your face shows your discomfort.
Your first word was "dada". Pretty appropriate as you look a lot like Austin did as a baby and you have Dad's ears (with a small bump on the inside of the outer top edge). You were also the first baby to figure out how to immitate vibrating lips. That noise entertains you quite a bit and is one of your favorites to make.
Cayden, I love you so much and cannot wait to see what fun lies ahead for you. You are such a sweet heart and I have loved every moment with you during your first year. I look forward to the lifetime ahead!
Happy Birthday Ryleigh!
The day we went to get an ultrasound and find out genders, we knew we would be happy no matter the results. Of course, when the first two were declared 'boys', I started to get very nervous! I remember a definite feeling of relief and joy that there would be at least one little girl. During my pregnancy, you were the most active. Being the one on top of the pile, your movements were very distinct and constant. And you have not stopped moving since you were born. Even in the hospital incubator, you would stretch yourself out and break free of the blankets (like in the picture above). Like your brothers, you struggled with apneas and bradys (pauses in breathing and drop in heart rate) which is why you were in the hospital for a few extra days than your brothers, approximately 40 days in total. It seemed like as soon as they left, you were anxious to get out of there yourself and it was only 2 days later before you joined them at home.
Like your brothers, you thrived once you got home. At first, you were able to share a crib with them but you tended to like having the bassinet by yourself when you were all staying in Mom and Dad's room at first.
You were the first to do most things, including saying 'Ma-Ma', crawling and standing up. We were honestly shocked when you weren't the one to take the first step, and in fact were the last. Since we introduced real food you have been the most adventurous, including a dill pickle as you can see below. Of course that includes anything and everything you find on the floor. It has become our nightly tradition that you assume your position underneath Austin's chair at dinner time as that is usually where you tend to find a decent buffet each evening.
Like Gabe, you love your pacifier. For the most part, you only use it during nap and bedtime but if you happen to see Gabe wandering around with it, it isn't long before you crawl over and pop it out of his mouth and into yours. He generally will return the favor and this will continue until someone drops it and you both forget about it.
Like your brothers, you have four teeth. You all got the bottom two first (in the same order) and then the top two. You were the first to get a tooth and the last to get the fourth tooth.
You have such a cute personality. In the NICU the nurses noticed how aware and alert you were, even as a newborn preemie. You would look around for long periods of time, while most preemies just sleep. The nurses noticed how you liked attention and checking things out. In the first couple months (and even to this day), if you are upset and crying, someone looking your way will get you to smile from ear to ear - just happy to have attention. You enjoy playing with your siblings sometimes, but are also very independent and like to play with toys by yourself. You don't appreciate when your siblings take your toys away from you, which is usually exactly what they try to do when they play by you. Since they are bigger, they can usually steal toys away from you but you are becoming more determined to prevent that from happening. You now move toys away from your siblings reach more quickly, and if that doesn't work, you scream loudly and someone comes to the rescue.
You seem to really appreciate music. Whenever a musical toy is turned on or a song comes on, you will bob your head. You also really enjoy climbing the stairs. Unlike with Austin or even your brothers, you can't crawl past them without trying to go up. You quickly learned how to get up, and then realized you couldn't get down, so you would just cry till someone rescued you. As a result of your fascination with the stairs, we had to block off all the stairs which we never had to do with Austin.
About two months ago you discovered the many uses of your pointer finger. You now use it to feel things and pick up things, especially food. While your siblings usually grab things with their whole hand, you take your time to use just your pointer and thumb. You enjoy picking up the tiniest things- even pieces of hair you find on the carpet. You have motivated us to clean up more and more.
Physically, you are very different from your brothers and definitely all girl. Your eyes are lighter blue than their eyes and you have Nana's long second toe. You also have a very unique cry which gets the exact responses you want. And you use it too. In the last couple months you have used it to get your own bedroom as you kept waking up your brothers with it and you have also used it to get Mom's attention (or alert others that you would prefer Mom). You have become quite the Mama's girl and are getting a reputation for it as well!
Recently after your baths or getting food cleaned out of your hair (because you love touching your hair when eating), I realized the bottom of your hair looked curly. And it has become curlier with each passing day. I think it is so adorable. I'm excited you might have wavy hair like mine. Your brothers appear to have very straight hair so far.
Ryleigh, I love you so much and am so proud to be your mama. You are such a cute baby and I have loved every moment with you during your first year. I look forward to the lifetime ahead!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)