Three Different Personalities

Although Alexis, Jack, and Faith are triplets, they each have their own personality and I wanted to share a little about each one.

ALEXIS

We’ve known from the day she was born that Alexis was dramatic, but that has become even more evident recently. If a toy gets taken from her or we stop her from doing something, such as climbing up on the couch, she is hysterical. She cries so hard that she doesn’t take a breath for several seconds and it’s a little scary! I actually did this when I was a child so I know that it is somewhat “normal,” but it’s hard not to give in to a tantrum when a babe is so upset she’s not breathing!

Luckily, Alexis is also very affectionate which helps balance out the drama. When she wakes up from a nap she just wants to snuggle and I often wish I had more time do that with each of our babes. She also loves to lounge around the house, which is comical.

Even in Target she is determined to lounge. I put her legs back through the seat 100 times but she kept doing this so I gave up. Silly girl!

Alexis loves to laugh. If we do anything like tickle her or chase her around the room she laughs and laughs and we can see that she wants us to keep doing it. She is full of joy, which is fitting since that’s her middle name!

Happy, cozy girl on the floor (eating).

Happy Lexi, snack cup in hand.

Although our babes are very close in weight, Alexis has been the heaviest for several months, which makes sense as she seems to enjoy eating the most. We give the babes snack cups with cheerios or goldfish throughout the day and Alexis seems to eat out of everyone’s cup! 

One snack cup per hand is actually less efficient since your hands get stuck!

I promise she acts like she is finished eating, but as soon as we put her down she wants to eat off of everyone else's tray.

JACK

Jack is our sensitive babe. He is quick to cry if someone uses a stern voice with him, such as when we tell him “no” when he’s doing something he shouldn’t be doing. He’s easily overwhelmed by loud personalities, which will set him off crying as well. When I walk in the room after being gone or even just coming down from upstairs, he cries the moment he realizes that I was gone! He will be perfectly fine playing when he doesn’t know I’m missing, but when I reappear it sets him off.

Jack has been interested in details since he was super young. He loves to sit quietly and look at books, especially when his sisters aren't bugging him. He traces things with his fingers and is intrigued by little things.

Looking intently at the pics of his cousins in the family photo album that I made for them.

This apple is so interesting!

Jack loves to snuggle, especially when he’s sleepy. He has this way of curling up that makes him fit perfectly in our laps. He also is the easiest to carry as he hangs on tightly and wraps his little legs around our bodies. 

Jack is a thumb sucker and although we can take the pacifiers away from the girls (we only let them use them when their in bed, in the car, or at doctor’s appointments), we can’t take the thumb away! When he feels insecure, when he’s upset, or when he decides he’s done eating, the thumb goes straight in the mouth. Although it is really cute, I also worry as I was a thumb sucker myself and it was a really hard habit for me to break! 

Even when he's happy he sucks his thumb. He also uses his thumb as his teether and there is no good substitute no matter what we give him.

Cutie!

Sometimes Jack gets a bit crazy. It seems like he gets a burst of energy in the evening and he suddenly starts going around the room and screeching like he’s having so much fun! He’ll chase after his sisters or just go in circles. It is hilarious to see him in action!

He goes crazy when the camera comes out!

FAITH

I know we always say that Alexis is the dramatic one, but Faith could win an award for her acting! She has a fake little laugh that she does throughout the day, which is funny to hear. She also knows how to turn on the tears in an instant if she feels strongly about something (such as not wanting me to take the Butt Paste away from her since that little tube is a prized possession these days). We literally remember the first time that she laid flat on the ground in reaction to us taking something away from her, and we thought she was just doing that because it worked for Alexis. But now we see that she is actually quite the actress and that was just the beginning! It’s funny when we step back and think about her exaggerated emotions, but in the moment Faith’s theatrics can be quite frustrating.

Faith is extremely determined. She was the first to accomplish every gross motor skill out of our trio and she will soon be running. She has fallen a million times walking, but that has not slowed down her progress. 

She made it to the top of the kitchen!

Everyone had a bad cold a few weeks ago and Faith was having trouble sleeping. At 1:00 a.m. we finally gave up and brought her downstairs as she did not want to sleep or be held. Although we didn't take off her sleep sack, she had no trouble walking around the house!

I do believe that Daddy is Faith’s favorite person. Her first phrase was, "Hi Dada" and I rarely, if ever, hear her say mama. 

Faith is probably the most social of the three, although she can be quite skeptical of people when she firsts sees them. After she warms up, though, she smiles, babbles, and interacts with people and she seems to enjoy the attention (which we get a lot of when we're out).

Happily walking around the house

She is a serious babe at times!

It's amazing to watch their personalities develop as the months go by and to see how they interact with us and each other. They definitely keep our days interesting!

16 Months

How old? 16 months (14 adjusted)

Our weights:  
Alexis: 19 lbs 13 oz (+1 lb from last month!)  
Jack: 18 lbs 4 oz (+ 8 oz from last month)  
Faith: 19 lbs 5 oz (+ 13 oz from last month)

Size clothes: We are slowly moving towards 18 month clothes (some fit but they are a little big). Jack will be in 12 month pants for awhile as they are just now fitting well (his legs are on the shorter side).

Eating schedule:  About the same as last month (bottles around 9:30, 2:00, and 7:15. Breakfast is around 7:00, lunch around 11:45, and dinner between 5:30 and 6:00. I now give them snack cups with Cheerios in the morning before breakfast and snack cups with Cheerios or crackers throughout the day, so it seems like they are almost always snacking on something when they play at home.

Naps: We shortened the morning nap so they now sleep from 10:00-11:00 (instead of two hours) and the afternoon nap is from 2:30-4:30. Naps are almost never an issue as everyone falls asleep easily and for the most part I have to wake everyone up.

Bedtime: Bedtime is still going very smoothly. We have had a lot more night waking recently, and we are trying to figure out the root of the issue. It could be teething, the cooler temps as the girls' room gets cooler at night since it's above the garage, or possibly Faith's eczema is waking her up as she seems to be itching a lot when we go in to check on her when she's crying during the night. It could also be hunger, so we are starting a bedtime snack (besides milk) ASAP to see if that helps. Faith seems to be waking the most at night, but some nights all three wake up which feels like a nightmare when there are only two of us and three babes that need comforting. 

Favorite foods:  Their favorite foods are the same, except that they aren't as consistent as they were in the past since. For example, some days they like meatloaf and other days it gets tossed on the floor. Everything I read says this is absolutely normal so we try to always offer a balanced meal and not fret if it ends up in the garbage.

Food dislikes: Same as before...I guess it's time to introduce more new foods as we are definitely stuck in a rut with what we offer them (and what we eat ourselves since we mostly eat what they eat).

Likes: Walking! Now that we have THREE WALKERS at our house, mostly what they do is....walk! It seems that they just like to practice standing up and moving around the room, which is funny to watch since they don't realize they need to move out of each others way and there are many collisions throughout the day. They walk while drinking their bottles, walk while carrying objects of varying sizes, and walk over obstacles. We haven't let them roam in public much yet, though, as it feels a little nuts trying to keep track of three toddlers even if they don't walk that fast.

walking around the house (F, A, J)

A and F walking around in the morning before breakfast

They also love to play together which is such an interesting thing to watch. Who knows how long this will last, but most of the time right now they move around the room together (which means they also fight over toys constantly).

F and J

A, F, J

Snacking and looking at books in the pool (A, J, F)

On our drive home from Monte Vista two weekends ago we stopped to eat breakfast and play outside (A, F, J)

Sometimes they look WAY older than 16 months. Obviously they are having an important conversation and I wasn't invited :).

Somehow all three are missing their right sock. Monkey see, monkey do...

Watching Baby Babble while I cook dinner. The girls both thought it would be best to sit on the toy cars.

Dislikes: All three pretty much fall apart if I do something that makes them unhappy or tell them no. I guess this is the life of a toddler: Lots of opinions and not a good way to express their opinions yet.

Our milestones: 

Milk Milestones: Last month I was really excited to report that we are no longer using Rock n Plays for bottle feedings, and this month I am happy to say that we are no longer using Boppies either! I don't even know when it happened, but I got tired of trying to keep three mobile babes laying on Boppies while trying to make them drink their bottles since all they really wanted to do was move around the room, so I gave up and let them drink their bottles as they pleased. Bottles do take a bit longer now so we have to allow more time before naps and bedtime, but everyone is happy to drink with breaks for playing and I am much less stressed about getting bottles fed. Everyone takes turns sitting on my lap (or another adult's lap) as they drink or they just feed themselves. It is super cute to see them so independent, even if they are still drinking out of bottles like babies. 

Drinking bottles in the kitchen. Faith is modeling her new Eddie Bauer First Ascent jacket which I found second-hand for $6! This is a $90 jacket new. (F, A)

Drinking bottles after a long trip to Costco

Lexi wants to ride while she drinks

Another milk related milestone is that we no longer warm bottles! Two and a half weeks ago we went camping so we didn't warm the milk in their bottles, and we haven't turned back since. We have tried this, unsuccessfully, in the past so I'm glad it was easy to do now. I'm hopeful that next month I will be able to report that we no longer use bottles!

Faith is walking like a pro now. Alexis and Jack still walk with their arms out for balance most of the time, but Faith can walk so fast and steady that she is practically running. Today she was crawling backwards, which was funny to watch, so I guess she wants to keep working on new motor skills. 

Faith has one more tooth, so she now has four on top and two on bottom.

Faith is saying: hi, dada, uh oh, kitty cat (or something close), up, happy (I know that's strange but they say it on Baby Babble), and probably a few more but it's hard to make out and remember what each babe is trying to say. 

Lexi is WALKING! I can't believe it as last month I didn't think she was that close, but as of September 25th she can walk and she has hardly crawled since! We were so worried about her toe walking while cruising furniture but we worked on keeping her flat on her feet when she stood and something must have clicked as she started walking soon thereafter. She is very proud of her new skill.

Lexi now has a total of four teeth: two on top and two on bottom. It looks like she will be getting quite a few more very soon though!

Lexi has continued working on her words, and out of all three she talks back the most when watching Baby Babble. She can say: hi, dada, uh oh, kitty cat (or something close), bye bye, grandma (grandma is in town so maybe it is creative listening on our part), and probably a few more. She can make the "mmm" sound and it sounds like she says "M" (when watching Baby Babble). 

Jack started WALKING on September 15th. He had been working on it for awhile, and now that he's walking he rarely crawls. He does seem to grip with his big toes a bit when he walks and I often see him sitting and rubbing his big toes like they hurt, but I'm told this will most likely go away on its own as he gets stronger. He is very proud of his walking and he loves to attempt to carry large objects while he walks.

Jack cut two molars this month, which has been a painful process. He now has ten teeth!

Jack continues to mimic words, and although he doesn't always get all of the syllables, he likes to try. He can say: mom, dada, uh oh, tee (for kitty), ta (for anything ending in a T such as his uncle Kent), yum (he says this when he's enjoying his meal which is cute and great for a mom's ears after cooking), and probably more.

All three can point to their noses and their belly buttons. They are also getting really good at following directions. For example, if I say "come sit in your seats for lunch" or "give me the bottle" they actually do it! Just today I was telling Jack to set his bottle upright as it was dripping on the carpet and Faith stopped drinking her bottle, walked over to his and set up upright, and continued drinking. I was shocked that she actually understood and wanted to help out! I need to start putting these skills to use in helping pick up the house!

"Where is your belly button?" (A, F, J)

"Where is your nose?" (A, F, J). Jack wasn't in the mood but he does it all of the time! Lexi is demonstrating that they don't always know EXACTLY where their noses are, but they try!

And one mommy milestone...I finally organized the family room shelves how I wanted it! There are toys in most of the bins except for some of the higher ones. And there are now photos where junk had been gathered since we moved in. I love looking at a tidy bookshelf at the end of the night!

Although I make sure to write about monthly progress and milestones, I don't feel like I share much about each babes personality so my next post will give a snapshot of our babes' vibrant personalities at 16 months of age. We often talk about how they are much more like kids now than babies, which I guess means they are truly toddlers! This was incredibly hard to imagine a year ago, and we are so thankful for the progress they have made.

On the Road Again...to Monte Vista!

Micah’s dad is building a new garage and he asked Micah to come up to Colorado for the weekend to help. Originally we thought he would go alone and I would have a couple of nights home alone with the babes. We thought this would be best for everyone since the babes don’t enjoy long car rides and they would be a distraction to the project. But as the weekend got closer I realized that I didn’t want to be home alone with the babes for almost three full days and two nights as doing everything by myself is exhausting. Micah and I discussed this and decided that the babes and I should go with him to his parents’ house. We realized that we often “divide and conquer” to make things easier for the babes, but we need to put more effort into staying together so that we experience things as a family.

We all left around 6:15 p.m. on Thursday when Micah got home from work. I altered our schedule a bit during the day so that the babes napped earlier and woke earlier in hopes that they would sleep in the car ride to Monte Vista. It’s less than a 4-hour drive and when we went a few weeks ago it took us 5.5 hours as we stopped for a meal and play break. We were hopeful that if we left in the evening the babes would fall asleep and sleep until we arrived at Micah’s parents.

Well, as I mentioned in my last post about our camping trip, the babes no longer seem to like sleeping in the car! Instead of sleeping they cried….and cried….and cried! If all three were quiet for a few minutes inevitably someone would start crying again and then all three would be at it. We ended up stopping about halfway through the drive to feed the babes bottles in hopes that the snack would help them fall asleep, but again we were wrong! All three were perfectly happy when we stopped, and we didn’t even take them out of their car seats, but as soon as we started driving again the crying continued. About 30 minutes after we stopped I remembered that we used to sing to them when they cried on car rides (I'm not sure why this didn’t occur to me earlier), so we started with their old favorite: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It worked!! I then remembered that on our way back from Denver last April we recorded us singing a handful of songs on my phone (to use in situations such as this!) so I spent the next HOUR playing the same songs over and over again from my phone. I was so tired of hearing my own voice singing (I’m not a great singer but like most babies, my babes calm when I sing) and I was tired of the same songs. But every time I stopped playing the songs someone would start crying again, so I endured.

Finally, when we had about 30 minutes remaining in our drive, all three were sound asleep. It was a frustrating drive, especially for Micah as he had to drive through the crying, but we managed. We were so happy to arrive in Monte Vista! Luckily, everyone slept well at night despite the fact that they were in a strange place and we were all sleeping in the same room (last time we visited we split everyone up, but Micah’s parents had another visitor helping with the garage as well so they were low on space).

On Friday Micah started working on the garage with his dad while his mom and I took care of the babes.  We spent time just hanging out inside, we went for a walk, and in the afternoon we went thrift store shopping. I found a few good deals, but the thing I am most excited about is our Halloween costumes. I had an idea, which I will reveal on Halloween, and I thought I would make the babes costumes since I didn’t want to spend a lot, but finding them at a thrift store was awesome since they were inexpensive and it will save me time!

 

The "playpen" that we created last time we visited worked perfectly this time as well! We just pulled the chairs close to the sofa, filled in the opening with a footrest, and the babes had a safe zone.

Grammy playing with the babes in the playpen

In the late afternoon we took the babes outside so they could see what the men were working on, and they were pretty fascinated! There was a lot of loud noise, which made them curious, and they had fun playing in the ladders lying on the ground and exploring Grammy and Grandpa’s property.

Babes in a crock! The were too busy watching the men working to stop and smile for a pic.

There were a lot of loud noises with the nail gun going off every few seconds!

Faith and Jack watching Daddy work on the garage

Jack climbing across the ladder

Fun with the ladder

Jack

Lexi found a cozy spot to watch the action

Faith was walking everywhere!

Lexi relaxing in the chair

Faith

Lexi and Faith in the chair

All three! Again they were too busy watching the men work to smile.

Saturday was much of the same with the men working outside and the women caring for the babes. In the evening we took the babes outside again, and they had a blast. All three are now walking to some extent and it’s amazing watching them navigate the changes in terrain (grass, brick sidewalk, boards in doorways in the new garage, etc.). Of course they all fall and Jack and Alexis still crawl a lot outside, but Faith seems to have mastered the walking thing as she was practically running in circles!

Faith inspecting the construction in the garage

Lexi walking through the wall

Faith walking in circles

Jack

The trio headed outside! Jack and Alexis can walk well now, but crawling is still a little faster in unfamiliar terrain.

Alexis walking!

Little explorers

After playing outside no one was content in their playpen, so instead they spent time climbing on the couch

It took both of us to manage this craziness!

Tomorrow we leave for our drive back to ABQ. We are leaving bright and early and planning on a long stop for food and play as that worked well a few weeks ago, but we are mentally preparing for the worst as the babes since the drive up didn't go as planned.