Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The First Cut

Today, the boys had their first hair cuts. Bob, his parents, and I took the kids to the Barber Shop in Keller. They were great. We had called ahead, so they knew we were coming even though they didn't take appointments. Michael was the first to hit the chair. He wasn't very happy about it. He had a few tears, but he was very still and did a great job.
Putting on the stylish (and manly) cape, Michael seems somewhat apprehensive.
Really not digging this experience.

What a face!
Watching a video that the lady barber shared with us.
A boy needs his pacifier.
James comes over to check out the action. At this point, we weren't sure whether or not he was going to take a turn in the chair since his hair is all business in the front and not too long in the back.
Clipper time.
All done!
Ryan was the second man in the chair. He kept thinking he was finished and standing up grabbing on to me. He did very well. No tears at all and he even charmed the barber into letting him hold the clippers and the brush.
Ryan shows off his favorite finger. He loves to point at things and say "that."
"Just take a little off of the sides."

A final comb before we're all done.
Let's take off that offensive neck protector.
Oooooooh, the brush!
Clean 'em up!
The last to the chair, James gets his mullet trimmed.
Ah, lady, I'm not going to stay still no matter how sweetly you ask.
That's right, this is a Texas cut.
Daddy lends a helping hand.
Keep it still, Mr. James.
All done!
Three fine lookin' men with their new 'dos.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Musical Geniuses

A couple of weeks ago, the boys and I stopped by my mom's place, and the kids discovered the piano. They have a little tykes keyboard that they love, but this was music on a grand scale. I'm pretty sure if you give it a listen, you'll realize that these kids have serious talent (of some sort).
While James and Ryan were very happy to pound away on the keys, Michael didn't want to play piano. I guess he's more of a guitar guy.
By the end of our visit, I found James attempting to climb on top of the piano. I'm sure that next time we visit Grandma, there will be another concert for us to enjoy.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Feeding Frenzy


Now that they are almost 15 months old, the boys have learned a lot of new tricks. One of James' favorite things to do is feed the dogs, by hand.
Living hand to mouth.
Taking a goldfish for himself with a captive (and hungry) audience.
True love - a boy and his dog.
Ryan is my cuddliest kid for the moment. He loves to sit on my lap, and when I'm in the kitchen, he likes to watch me cook and clean. He is a fantastic dancer with a great stomp/turn step. He likes to walk on the couch and enjoys digging out his favorite musical toys. He's always exploring new places, especially the cabinets. He still is a disgusting eater, but lately more of his food actually makes it all the way down the hatch. When he's full, he likes to fling his food onto the floor with gusto. Ryan likes anything that makes noise. He is constantly talking into tupperware and laughing. Ryan likes to talk, and he will repeat words you say. I'm pretty sure he says ball, more, and Bob. He can build with megablocks, but he likes to take them apart as well. He will stop by and put a shape in the shape sorter when he feels the urge, but for the most part, he is always on the move. Ryan is pretty clever at figuring out how things work. We call him eagle eye. Anything you have that he doesn't, he will point at and say "that." He has figured out how to slip his hand inside the guard I have put up in front of the electronics and turn up the volume on the TV. He is very busy carrying things, and like his brothers he has switched is TV preference from Yo Gabba Gabba to the Muppets. Michael loves to read his books, but he's gotten very busy. If he does take the time to read, he'd like to hear the book somewhere between 10,000 and 10,001 times. He is a silent threat. He likes to play with the toys his brothers have and sneaks up, grabs, and runs. He is a very slow eater and the pickiest of the kids. He is very polite and will put the items he prefers not to eat on Ryan's tray (of course he will also attempt to throw said tray on the floor). He loves to dance, but rather than a step/stomp like Ryan, he does a great little booty bop. He is a great climber, and he likes the slide in his playhouse. He was the first to figure out how to climb up the steps and slide down without help. He likes blocks of all kinds and is learning to use the shape sorter. Michael likes to talk his own language and has for a while. He's evolved from "daka daka daka" to "techum techum" to "naka naka" to "nickle nickle." I think he is trying to say his own name, but recently he has been obsessed with his word "nigum." Yes, I'm pretty sure someone has been whispering racial slurs to him at night. I would blame Mandy and Zach, but they are much too far away. Thankfully, he's saying nickle much more often than nigum so we might be able to go out in public again.
James is still amazingly entertaining. His current repertoire includes getting down on all fours and rubbing his head on the carpet for several feet, building with the megablocks, and attempting to get a leg up on anything he can. Recently, he climbed into our rocker/glider and glided himself and the chair straight to the floor. He likes to drag things around and loves to carry around a blanket. His current holy grail is finding the toilet brush in my bathroom which grosses me out to no end. Thankfully he just likes to wave it around not chew on it. He is a daredevil with no holds barred. He often flips off elevated surfaces and then gets right back up. He is a slide junkie and will push his brother out of the way to get down the slide faster. He likes to go down face first and on his bottom, but he likes to do it much faster than our more cautious Michael. He is also talking constantly - mostly to himself. I'm not sure if he's got any actual words, but he does have a lot to say. James is my mini-Bob. Not only does he make Bob's faces, he sits like him, stands like him, and walks like him. He is the one to get most upset when Bob leaves the room, and he is very strong and has definite opinions about what he would like to do.

All of the kids are learning so many new things. I'm not sure if they are slow to talk or just slow to speak English. They definitely talk to each other all the time and over a period of time you can hear them repeating the same sounds to each other. I'm pretty sure they are plotting how to get outside more often. They are all walking like pros (although I'm not ready to break out the leashes and let them roam on their own yet), and they like to run as well. They climb all over, are attempting to walk rather than crawl up the stairs, and love to run into Grandpa's office and spin in his chair. They are still pretty good eaters, they are starting to pick up their toys, and they will come when called and go get things when you ask them to (assuming they are in the mood to comply with your request). They like to crawl on Mommy & Daddy's bed, but they only sleep in their own beds. They still love to splash in any available water. They like to chase each other and anyone who will run. They have started giving each other hugs that sometimes take them to the ground and at other times end up in a biting match. They are very cuddly when they want to be, and they still like to sit with Mommy and play (although sometimes they would rather just do it themselves).
The boys are still great sleepers. They go to bed at 7 pm, wake around 7:30 and stay in their beds until 8. They nap from 10:30 to 1, then "nap" from 3 to 5 (usually around 30 minutes of sleeping time that interrupts playing in their beds. They are absolutely the best little boys a mom could ever hope to have.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Swept Away

Lately, the boys have been invading the pantry and fighting over my broom. Odd, I know, that my children would want to clean. I mentioned this to Mom and the next time I saw her, she brought over three little brooms. The boys love them. Of course, they are also excellent weapons, but occasionally, the cleaning crew gets a chance to take over the house.
Ryan works the broom.
It's also an excellent walking staff. Don't tell Joseph, or he'll make it some kind of strange Hobbit habit or something.
Michael thinks cleaning is fun. He is always the first to put the toys away, so it only makes since that the boy who doesn't really like to get his hands dirty likes to clean.
James finds the prospect of sweeping the bathroom especially exciting.

Discussing the nuances of proper sweeping technique.
James gets the job done.
Michael knows that sometimes you've got to take a little break while cleaning. It's time for a little water.
Sweeping Jam.
Rugs, tile, carpet, he does it all!
The cleaning crew at work.
Ryan contemplates the benefits of air guitar broom. He is his father's son.
Double duty working twice as hard.
A cleaning crew's work is never done (although it is limited as the brooms have become excellent weapons against both the TV and one's brothers).

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Middle School Maven

Aunt Faith is eleven. It's hard to believe that she's already in middle school. Of course, she does know everything, so I guess I'm just surprised she's not already in college. We celebrated her birthday on Friday with a trip to BJs and her swim party was on Saturday. Ryan was not feeling well, so James and Michael were the only triplet attendees of the swim party. The girls decorated flip flops and visors, we had pizza and cake, then we all went to the pool for some fun in the sun. It was a very nice way to start a new year of life.
Papa Joe entertained the boys while Aunt Faith and her friends did their decorating.
Michael finds the power center in the home. Ironically, Papa Joe removed said power wand and placed it on the mantle out of harm's way. Michael was not impressed by that move.
Aunt Faith blows out her candles and the boys get to have more cake. They love birthdays since their larger than life mom is trying to limit the amount of refined sugar that enters into their diets. Even the healthiest of moms aren't able to say no to birthday cake.
Evidence of why refined sugar and Wendy's value meals are bad. Michael is pretty cute in his bumble bee, though.
The boys decide it's time to call this party a wrap and head home. It was nice of Aunt Faith to get old so that we could eat cake and swim in the pool. Hopefully she'll do it again next year.