The Martin Girls: First Post in 2010

We definitely had an eventful Christmas! It's very difficult to lug three babies and all their stuff anywhere, not to mention multiple places in a snow storm! We started to my mom's house Christmas Eve and said we weren't going to stay the night unless the apocalypse came, but I prepared the babies' stuff, just in case. I've learned better safe than sorry with babies! My grandparents set out around 8:00 that evening for home and ended up in a ditch with a 4 wheel-drive truck, so we decided our mini van was definitely not going to make the 20 mile trek from Inola to Pryor in "blizzard-like" conditions. So, mom graciously gave us her room, we set up 3 pack-n-plays and all 5 of us slept in the same room that night! I have to admit, it was kind of cozy, though the girls woke up extra early and a few times during the night too. It was kind of nice waking up with my mom and brother on Christmas morning, like the old days. Matt and my brother, Chad, dug us out of mom's long driveway Christmas day, which took about 2 hours... but we made it over to Matt's family's house by about 4:00. By the end of that 2 days, we were BEAT!!! Caring for triplets, while living out of a suitcase and not in your own home can be very frustrating! We're very big on routine and so used to being in our own controlled environment, it definitely took it's toll on us and the babies! Next year should be easier, right?!

The girls got a ton of clothes and toys, and are keeping busy these days! Here's a breakdown on what they're doing this month:

Izzy is crawling, slowly. She just figured it out within the last week. She can sit up on her own and if she starts to fall, can catch her balance by placing her hand on the ground. She never sits long though... she's all over the place all the time! She rarely sits in a bouncy seat or swing and spends most of her time on the floor playing with toys. She's finally getting more hair, and is about as cute as a baby can get! She still has a little gleam of ornery in her and today, as I was feeding her cereal, she reached for the bowl and knocked it off the table. First of all, I thought it was way out of her reach, and second, she thought it was really funny! Needless to say, I didn't! I told her "no", but she thought that was funny too. Izzy had a cold about 2 weeks ago and still has a runny nose... not sure if she got it again or if it's still hanging on. Last night, Matt lowered Izzy's crib matress because we think she might be pulling up soon. She can climb onto certain things, so we figure it's better safe than sorry. I call her my little monkey, because she's always going! Izzy still just has 2 bottom teeth.

Abby caught this same cold from Izzy, but hers turned into an upper respiratory infection and she has had to be on antibiotics to clear it up. She was the sickest I've seen any of my babies so far. I've had a lot of sleepless nights these past 2 weeks with these sick babies... ugh!!! Abby is still not sitting up or crawling, and doesn't show signs of wanting to do either. She's pretty aggressive with her toys and if her sister has a toy, she wants it. Another thing: Ally takes a pacifier, Abby and Izzy don't. When Abby sees Ally's pacifier, she suddenly wants it. With ease, she pulls it right out of Ally's mouth and puts it into her own, all the while Ally is crying like a victim and does nothing about it. We got this on video, but it's too long to post to the blog. Abby is also starting to mimic. Mom and I were singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to the babies last weekend, and Abby started doing her fingers kind of like ours. She also likes to mimic coughing. This cracked me up... a few nights ago, I had Abby in the guest room, as she had been up. Next think I know, Izzy gets up with her snotty nose, unable to breathe. I bring Izzy into the living room and as she's coughing for real, I hear Abby mimicking her in the guest room! With every little Izzy cough, Abby had a cough to follow! Pretty cute, huh? You know it's cute when I laugh about it at 4:00 in the morning! Abby has 2 bottom teeth.

Ally is sitting up really well on her own, but doesn't stray from sitting. For example, if a toy escapes her reach, it's gone for good... she's not going after it. She doesn't know how to move from the sitting position yet. Ally has also been a VERY pleasant baby since my last post. I think she wanted me to feel guilty for saying she was a brat! She has been as sweet as can be... very patient and playing by herself for long periods of time. She's still very smiley and giggly. She has a bit of an infection in her eyes - The Dr. says it's from her sister's colds - one of them touched her in the eyes with their germ-infested hands. I've been giving her eye drops, and it's clearing up just fine. No matter how much I try to keep their stuff separate when their sick, they still manage to pass it along to each other. Ally has one bottom tooth.

I've been trying to make the girls' food with a new baby food maker I got for Christmas, but have been having a few problems. I've tried fresh, frozen and canned vegetables, but for some reason, the girls don't like it and prefer the Gerber food. I don't really have time for them to be picky, so I end up giving them what they want, so meal time doesn't last 2 hours!!! Anyway, I'm going to try a few different vegetables and fruits and see if I can't get them to eat them. I think it's the texture, but I'm not sure. The Gerber food is very silky smooth and the homemade has some grit, no matter how long I grind it or add more water. Anyway... I'm going to keep trying, because this will save us a lot of money in the long run.

That's all I have time to write about now, here are a few recent pics of the girls and their cousins:

Madison, Damon, Abby, Izzy and Ally - (Madison and Damon are Matt's sister's kids)