Big Milestone!

I just wanted to quickly share something big that happened today... Eli got his first teeth! It's the two bottom middle ones, and they're just barely poking through. OK, if you have kids you probably know how this feels - it's so exciting! And if you don't, I understand if you think this excitement is ridiculous - I mean, it's not a surprise that he got teeth, right? But for some reason, I was so filled with happiness when I felt those two little buggers.

First of all, if you read earlier posts, you know Eli is "sensitive" - especially with napping. He has been getting better, but still doesn't usually nap really great. Well, today was especially tough. That kid hardly slept at all. So I was just laying with him trying to get him to settle down to sleep, and he grabs my finger. I think, "If sucking on my finger will make you feel better, then go for it" - I truly don't usually stick my fingers in their mouths. And that's when I felt them! Poor little dude - no wonder he was having such a hard time the last couple of days!

So after I got over my excitement I immediately ran and rubbed around on Zach's gums - he was having a hard time too. Nothing there yet, but I'll bet he's not far behind. Now every time they're having a hard day, I'll be examining their gums!

Eli is no longer "the toothless wonder"!

Growin' Right Along

Eli, Zach and Luke

Hi! It's been too long since my last post - sorry! I know you all want to know what's happening with the boys. They are doing awesome! I'm simply amazed. When these three were a couple of weeks old, I was so worried about them "developing correctly", which I thought was dependent on what I did. Thank goodness that with time, I'm starting to understand that this really isn't about parenting skills - it's about God's amazing creation. These kids are growing and doing things that I never knew they would, let alone that I taught them to do. Here's a summary of what the little sweeties have been up to lately:

Eli

He loves to play in his new ExerSaucer. I never knew these things existed, but they are so cool! Eli has been able to figure out how to move around in it and to make lots of the toys do what they're supposed to. His second favorite thing to do is play with his toes. He is a little moody sometimes, but he loves singing - even mine. I'm not being modest - it's awful. But it always calms him down. And he has the hugest, sweetest smile first thing in the morning. It's so precious.

This is as close to his sweet smile that I can catch, and it's not even close!


Luke

He loves reading. Even if he's a little cranky, as soon as I start to read he gets happy. You should see the way he smiles when we're reading - so cute! He also enjoys his toes immensely, but he has another trick he's really good at - rolling over! He flips right over now, but it took him a while to work it out. It's so amazing to watch these little critters grow!

Luke with his favorite book, "Flyaway Ladybug"

Zach

Zach is just a mellow dude. He's happy most of the time, no matter what we're doing. Luke and Eli are really happy too, but Zach just seems content. He likes to roll over too, and just yesterday got up from a nap with a nasty looking red spot above his eye. Luckily it was gone this morning. but he definitely goes a few rounds with the crib now! Zach also has perfected what I call "the lip flutter" - does anyone know what I'm talking about or what it's really called? Anyway, he blows bubbles and makes noises as he vibrates his lips - it's just so sweet!

Zach during one of his naps

All of the boys are now eating cereal, vegetables and fruit. So far they seem to like everything, although Zach makes a disgusted face with his first bite of anything. They're each really learning how to eat well, and the mess is much less than you'd expect! I know, just wait til they're feeding themselves. I'm planning on making the most of the nice AZ weather to eat outside as much as possible!

They're also napping pretty well now. We went through some tough times getting napping down, but generally they nap at the same time and do pretty well. We're still working on it, but we've already made a world of progress.

We've had lots of friends visiting lately, which has been awesome!! Shout out to Sue in Butler and all of her coworkers who follow the blog!

Hope you enjoy the new pictures.

Playtime in the newly redecorated "kids room"