Valentine's Day

Time for an update!

I recently had a birthday and Matt and I were able to go on a double date with our friends, Andrew and Courtney, for the first time since the babies have been born. Don't get me wrong... Matt and I have been out... just haven't gone with these friends that we used to spend every weekend with! It was SO nice, and believe it or not, I actually went minutes at a time without thinking about the girls! It was very good for me and made for a great birthday. Matt's gift to me was 5 hours at the spa on my birthday, so I had already "celebrated" somewhat! It was definitely a nice day! I got to go eat dinner with my mom that night too... It's easy to get caught up in the mundane and forget how nice it is to get out of the house now and again.

Someone asked me the other day if Izzy is my favorite, because I always write about her first and write the most. First of all, I don't have a favorite... they all have such unique characteristics, and there is something special about each of them. I just write in birth order... I pretty much always start with Izzy, then Abby, then Ally. I'm almost always consistent with this. Also, up to this point, Izzy has just been doing more in her physical development, so there's a lot to write about. I'm sure each baby will get their time in the spotlight!

Here's the latest on what the girlies are doing:

Izzy is pulling up on anything and everything! When I walk with her, her little legs just naturally take steps, and sometimes even RUN! She is CONSTANTLY getting hurt, because she falls from her constant pulling up! She's still very busy and seems to plow over her sisters when playing with them. Just a minute ago, I had to separate her and Abby because she had a hold of Abby's hair and was yanking. Matt and I have also started saying "no" and giving little spats on the hand... not sure they understand yet, but we're trying. Izzy loves to play with her sisters, but it's hard to leave her alone with them for long! All of the girls love me to sing silly songs to them, and yesterday, Izzy seemed to sing a long. It was her usual, "ahhhhhhhh" sound, but it seemed to be going with my singing. She's very sweet.

Abby is finally sitting up! I was afraid it was NEVER going to happen!!! She babbles more than the other two, and sounds a lot like she's talking. I also have a feeling, she might be the onrnery one of the bunch. Everybody always thinks it'll be Izzy, but I have noticed Abby always takes the others' toys and then kind of waves them in their faces to show off. It's pretty funny to watch. She also sometimes appears to ignore her sisters when they're in her face, and I get the feeling she might be the one that says, "you're not my friend today"! Don't worry... mommy won't let her act that way for too long! Abby also appears to be doing some signs along with me when I'm singing... for example, she puts her little hands together and wiggles her fingers when I sing "Itsy bitsy spider". She's not quite "crawling", but gets where she needs to go by rolling or using her elbows and pushing with her feet. The other night Izzy and Abby were like Lewis and Clark, exploring the house for the first time. Matt and I watched as they crawled into the master bedroom, turning around to see if we were going to come get them. Izzy would crawl ahead and laugh as she waited on Abby and watched her inch her way towards her. It was SO darn cute to watch them go exploring together. Poor Ally was left out of the adventure and played by herself, sucking on her passy (pacifier). Abby appears to really understand the word "no". We mainly have to say it when she tries to get to the stuff on the bottom shelf of the end tables... she learns pretty quickly and cries when we say "no" because it either hurts her feelings or frustrates her... I'm not sure which. It's pretty cute though!

Ally is VERY close to crawling and pulling up! She's been getting on her tummy a lot and gets up on her knees and kind of swims around the house. She's still very into doing her tummy "crunches", and we think she must have abs of steel! She's pulling up in a very strange and difficult way. She sits on her bottom and tries to pull herself up from that angle... not an easy task, but she usually gets to a crouched position. I've also noticed her waving a lot, though it's never to say bye-bye or Hi... it's just random waving, but very cute. Ally doesn't seem to interact with her sisters as much, and when she does, she's almost always the victim. They steal her passy, take her toys, etc. She just looks up at me and cries to come save her. Poor little thing. If she put her mind to it, she could kick their diaper booties... she's got over 2 pounds on them! Ally is still my little cuddle bug and I love to bring her to bed with me in the mornings before the other two wake up... she almost always falls back asleep and she's so snuggly!!

Our daily schedule is currently:

7:30 wake up and eat breakfast - oatmeal with fruit
8:00-10:00 play and listen to music
10:30-11:30 nap (mommy tries to exercise, shower and eat breakfast)
12:00 lunch (green veggie with fruit)
12:30-3:00 play (Most of the time I get in their pen with them and keep them happy for the last hour... I like to call it my office. I have a drink, diapers/wipes, the remote control and my cell phone all right there to use as needed).
2:30 bottle
3:00-4:30/5:00 nap (I read, do my Bible study, clean, get on the computer, prep for dinner, etc.)
5:00 dinner - orange veggies, fruit
6:00-8:00 play while Matt and I scarf our dinner
8:30 bottle and bed

The babies get a bath every other day and I usually try to squeeze it in in the morning to get it over with... bathtime wears me out! I still put them in different rooms at nap time, so if someone wakes up prematurely, the others don't all wake up. If nap time is not over, I let them cry it out until they go back to sleep. Some people may think that's harsh, but it's the only way I've found they get the structured sleep they need and it makes my life MUCH easier.

I love them SOOOO much! If I get a chance to get out of the house, I can't wait to get back and get my hands on them, though I very much enjoy and need to get out now and then.

I recently saw where you can pay a fee and have your blogs bound into hard cover books! I'm so excited to be able to share these entries with the girls someday...

That's all for now... Happy Valentine's Day!