The Miles' Trio: December 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

The Second (and Third) First Christmas...

   What a week we've had... another successful Christmas under our belts - as well as some extra weight from all the food we've been eating the last few weeks (good thing New Year's is right around the corner!) I'm also pretty sure Santa is going blind, or is spending too much time checking Facebook to really keep an eye on our girls... with all the hair pulling and toy stealing that goes on on a daily basis, I'm not sure the girls should be at the top of the Nice list... yet judging by all the gifts they received for Christmas, you'd think they were little angels! Favorite gifts from their second Christmas: Little People Barnyard (all three were playing with it today - totally cute) from Gama and Grandpa, and an elephant that shoots balls from Aunt Bre (shocking - another toy that supposedly works on eye/hand coordination - think we're pushing for anything?!). They actually got a third toy from Aunt Gail and Uncle Gene that also works on hand-eye coordination, but it's a little advanced for them yet... However, both Grandpa Kim and I thought it was pretty fun - in a way it's like pinball where you hit a ball/button, which shoots a ball - you try to make it through one of two hoops... super fun.
   Anyway, here's a quick recap of our very full trip back to CL and to the cabin... Thursday: in the morning I actually got some work done down at Cabin Coffee in CL, very happy about that. In the afternoon we had a great playdate with Kerri and her family... the girls got to play with Keaton and Macy - I did tell the girls not to watch Keaton too closely (he's walking and I don't want them getting any ideas). Our kids schedules were kind of at odds, so I'm so happy that we were able to make it work... needless to say, the girls slept good that night (worn out from all that playing). On Friday, I got some more work done (I feel very productive and proud about this) in the morning while the girls hung out with Gama and Dad before their nap. After lunch we headed over to the Ringus household for another playdate! We arrived while Colton and Delaney were still napping, but the girls didn't mind being the center of attention... it was so nice seeing everyone - despite living closer to home, I still wish were able to get together more often! Friday night Gama and Grandpa babysat while Travis, Bre, and I hit the town! When we left the house Grandpa was giving rides in the wagon (picture below)...
   Christmas Eve was a bit different this year - we went to a 1:30 pm Christmas Eve service over in MC - which worked out perfectly... it was the girls' first time at church and they did so well! However, it did confirm that we won't be attending a Sunday morning service in the near future... I have no idea how just Travis and I could do it. The only way it would be possible would be to have a third body to entertain a baby... Anyway, it was a very nice service and I'm so happy that it worked to take the girls. The Ringus and Hensley clans came over to my parents to celebrate Christmas Eve a little earlier than in the past, we're beginning to get that kids kind of changes things! The kids all had fun playing together - or along side one another - again (picture below). All I can think about is how much fun they're going to have together in the years to come!
   Christmas morning: Santa came! We Believe.... do you? The girls are starting to get the hang of the present thing - they kind of like to tear the paper! After opening presents (way too many - thank you Gama and Grandpa), we packed up in a hurry and headed to the cabin (tried to time it with the girls' morning nap). The girls LOVE the cabin! All that room... do I need to say any more? It's a crawling baby's dream! Aunt Gail, Uncle Gene, Uncle John, and Rae all came over/up that afternoon and the girls were the center of attention yet again! We did our family gift exchange that evening after the girls were in bed... while the girls got more presentsin the morning (did I mention spoiled?). Good thing we did our family exchange that evening, because both Travis and I came down with some 24-hour bug on Monday - not good. We both had fevers and stomach issues all day. I bet I slept more than 14 hours... thank goodness we were at the cabin with lots of people to watch and take care of the girls. We were not allowed near them - and somehow they stayed healthy. I have no idea what we caught/had, but ick.
   Tuesday was a day of relaxation - very much needed. I'm so happy that Travis decided to take Wednesday off... giving us that extra day was WONDERFUL! We got home Wednesday evening and I survived - and enjoyed for the most part - being a stay-at-home mom the last couple days. Now, thinking back to one year ago today, I was checked into the hospital, excited and anxious to meet our little miracle babies... where do the time go?!

Why didn't I take more pictures?! You can see Keaton standing at the window with Hadley & Ryann

Grandpa reading to Brynley before bed

"singing" with Gama... you really have to experience this to understand its full meaning

Hadley, Brynley, Colton, & Ryann - all 4 will be 1 next month!

Insert Delaney... 18 months - the girls LOVE her!

Grandpa pushing Bryn around in the car...

Aunt Bre & Bryn

Colton, Delaney, Bryn, Hadley, & Ryann - pretty hair...

The kids were staring at the singing Snowman

Pretty good... can you see TROUBLE in the years to come?

Family photo op

All the kids - big and young! (that's Hadley upside down, she was NOT cooperating)

Family photo Christmas Eve... girls were TIRED!

Hadley in the exersaucer - it moves and she loved it!

Bryn in her car again

Aunt Gail and Uncle Gene with Bryn, Hadley, & Ryann

Rae & Uncle John with the girls

We took a walk outside... Ryann

Hadley

Brynley

Ryann walking on the ice!

Our "First" First Christmas

   Let's rewind approximately two weeks... the girls had their "first" First Christmas at Grandma and Papa Miles! We drove down to Rolla on Thursday afternoon/evening/night and stayed until Monday. We found that KC - specifically Aunt Hilary's house - makes a perfect pit stop, so we invaded her house both on the way down and on the way back home. The girls needed to stretch and expend some of their everlasting energy!
   On Friday the girls got to go to school down in Rolla - they were a hit (was there any doubt) with all the teachers, and the kids for that matter. Favorite comments: "look at all the twins" and "look, there are three triplets" (thank goodness we only have triplets and not nonuplets - had to look that one up!). We also visited where Papa works (Key Sport) and got to go in back and meet everyone. I think the girls like to put on a show...
   Saturday brought lots of family to town... Aunt Parilee (all the way from Atlanta!), Aunt Mary Jo, and Uncle Jim all drove down from St. Louis, and then Uncle Greg, Aunt Amy, and cousins Margaret and Katie came down from Marshall, Mo. Of course Aunt Hilary and Uncle Henny (we're working on a name for Jeremy since we know there's no way they're going to be able to say that one for awhile) were there as well! The girls loved having so many people to play with... I think they impressed everyone with their eating skills (lots of meatballs, mac and cheese, and frozen peas were eaten for lunch). What can we say, the girls love their food! They also got to open presents for the first time. Not surprisingly - they preferred the paper! All in all, it was a wonderful day - and by the end of it Ryann had another tooth (which explained some of her diapers - whew!)!
   On Sunday - the girls had their first, first Christmas! Santa must have been preoccupied, because I don't think there's anyway they were that good all year! ha! We won't use the word spoiled, instead, I'll just say they are very, very, very loved! The two most favorite gifts? The choo choo wagon (picture below) from Papa and Grandma and the Hippo ball tosser (for eye-hand coordination) from Aunt Hilary. Both were played with all day! The best part - we stayed in our PJs ALL DAY!
   The weekend passed too quickly and then it was time to head home. We decided to tackle the drive home the same way we did on the way down. So we left shortly after lunch (around 1:30) and headed to KC... in the rain. Got to KC without any problems, girls slept most of the way, though the last 30 minutes or so were a little trying for mama sitting in the back trying to entertain three little munchkins! At Aunt Hilary's the girls played, ate a little dinner, played some more, and then we headed out about 6:30 or so... in the rain. Girls had their bottle and then fell asleep - they were exhausted from the weekend! When we were about to St. Joseph - all the sudden we hit sleet/snow... we called to see if this was going to last the rest of our trip (if so we were going to get a hotel room), but we were good to go about 15 miles further north. In fact, things were going great until we were about 25 minutes from home... when we got a FLAT TIRE!!! Not cool. Especially not cool in a new car. Trav (daddy) was our hero, we got the manual out, located the jack and the tire, and he got it changed - while the girls and I partied in the back of the van... ugh. Not the greatest ending to our trip since it added almost an hour to our trip (figuring out how to lower the tire from under the van was a little time consuming), but all in all, a great First, First Christmas!

Eating at Grandma & Papa's!

Mom: Did you see Grandma's train?!

Ry was fascinated by Grandma's train!

We didn't get a very good picture of all three of them... they're too fast.

Merry Christmas! L-R: Ryann, Brynley, & Hadley

With Papa & Grandma!

Ryann reading one of her new books with Aunt Mary Jo!

Brynley with her new best buds - Margaret and Katie

From above - family time

I forgot to mention - the girls LOVE mirrored doors... Ryann & Hadley

Hadley in the midst of wrapping paper

Another favorite: Singing Snowman... Ryann dances with Frosty!

Working on that eye-hand coordination with Aunt Hilary

The hippo - sooo fun!

The girls' new ride: ChooChoo Wagon! Hadley, Brynley, Ryann

It was so nice out, the girls got a ride outside (Ryann did have a hat - she kept removing it)

Bryn - think she likes it?

The girls wanted dad to come inside and play... or maybe they wanted out?

With Uncle Henny & Aunt Hilary

Bryn and Ryann in their Christmas dresses

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Hair Pullin' Palooza

   First, I'm done apologizing for not updating this more frequently - rather I'm conceding defeat. Between teaching and research and babies and laundry and cleaning... you get the picture. Rather, I'll just be happy to update when I can grab a few minutes without feeling too guilty. Currently the girls are napping and I figure I have approximately 20 more minutes before they wake up. I've picked up the house, took the pack-n-play, monkey (bouncy) seats, bumbo seats and trays, carseat inserts, and a Christmas present they received downstairs, and cleaned the main floor. I figure I can take a few minutes and post an update on the girls. The girls' poor babybooks remain blank... someday girls I promise.
   So - the title of this post is quite accurate of what happens at our house on a daily basis... they are the queens of hair pulling and find it hilarious to do so. Sometimes Bryn and Had sit and pull on each others hair and laugh (kind of crazy funny), but it all depends on the direction the hair is being pulled... pull the wrong direction and it's drama central with all the crying, screaming.
   Crap - baby fussing on the monitor... shhhh baby, go back to sleep otherwise this post might get put on hold.
   Anyway, back to what I was saying about the hair pulling. Both Hadley and Brynley have gotten quite dexterous and really know how to pull hard (brought tears to my eyes a few times). They had their first playdate last week and from the sounds of it, Hadley got as much as she gave (thank you Jack for teaching her a lesson). Other than the daily hair pulling, the girls manage to stay busy busy busy... below is a short update on each of our 'angels' - will have to get back to this in a bit. Two babies now fussing - guess nap time is over... (resuming this approximated 36 hours later)

RYANN GALE

Ryann is still our serious, yet goofy girl. She watches and studies everything, yet she's super giggly. Such contrary characteristics and so fun! She eats pretty much anything you put in front of her - we have yet to find something she does not like. Her favorites include, meatballs (thanks Gama), kiwi, bananas, and graham crackers (her eyes light up at the sight). I'm pretty sure she thinks she's a really big deal - she gets a big grin as she practices standing all by herself (20 seconds is her longest go). Travis and I have become permanent jungle gyms as all the girls crawl all over and pull up on us - all - of - the - time.Ryann does have a few new tricks - she is very good at sticking out her tongue when you stick yours out (thanks Gama?), she's also starting giving kisses - still pretty fishlips, but getting better, and Mollie taught her how to headbutt this week. She's also waving hello/goodbye along with her buddies. Travis and I are still trying to figure out how she's gotten so darn big!

BRYNLEY CADE

Brynley still has the best goofy smile of the bunch - the way she squinches (a made-up word, but the most descriptive of her smile) up her face lights up my life. She is also now "worming"... I don't know if we can call what she does to get around crawling, it's definitely more like the dance move the "worm" - maybe she takes after her Aunt Bre. Whatever it's called she gets around with no problem and seems to be faster every day. Her and Hadley have really started interacting - they crack one another up over the oddest things. For instance, pretending to give each other their lovey is apparently a very hilarious act. Who knew?! Bryn is also a good eater, her favorites are cheerios, bananas, kiwi, macaroni, and toast. She's about like Ryann - eating pretty much anything you put in front of her. Her tricks include waving hello and goodbye, clapping, and giving high-fives.

HADLEY MARIE

We have a feeling that Hadley might keep our hands extra full for the foreseeable future... not only is she queen hair-puller, but she also finds it quite hilarious to laugh when we tell her "no". In addition to laughing, she also speeds up whatever it is that she's doing... she's a funny naught little darling that definitely keeps us on our toes! Hadley is a speed crawler and finally figured out how to get down from a standing position (she'd often pull herself up and then become stuck). I wouldn't say it's the most normal dismount - she does the splits to get down... no idea where she gets that flexibility! Hadley is probably our pickiest eater, though she's still a good eater. It takes her a couple tries to warm up to new (real-solid) foods. For example, wasn't so sure about kiwi the first go, but the second day she was chowing. Her favorite foods include frozen peas, banana, cheerios, and cheese. Some of Hadley's tricks - clapping (super good at it), waving bye, giving high-fives, and giving her version of a kiss (she does the thwrting thing with her tongue when you ask for a kiss - too funny.

Overall, we are super blessed to have three happy healthy ladies in our lives... they're getting so big and picking up on new things everyday. They're still taking two naps and have been sleeping through the night for over a month now (makes for a much happier mom and dad). They go down so nicely for their naps and at night - the only perhaps downside is they really don't like to snuggle very much anymore... I miss my babies. As for Travis and me - we're surviving... we both like our jobs and are definitely keeping busy. Over the last month we've had lots of visitors and are so happy to be in Omaha! Who knows when I'll update this again... so for now - Merry Christmas!

11-Months Old Pictures...