14 Months

This is such an exciting time for us. I feel like in the past week, everything is starting to change again. I don't have many pictures this month - it has been a relaxing time. Will had almost 2 weeks off, and we spent a lot of that as just the 5 of us. It was really nice having him home and spending time with the kids. We spent the holidays Skyping with both sides of the family. It's nice to have a way for the children to better communicate with family in a live format. I posted a picture of them at their spot near the computer (but not able to reach they keys).

Right before the holidays, both boys got tubes in their ears. It was not as easy as I thought it would be, and both boys had blood and needed drops. Nathan just got his tube suctioned and was cleared, Daniel still has a scab we are trying to get off with lubrication drops. Hopefully, we'll get a full clean bill of health on that in a couple of weeks. We also had respiratory viruses and one high fever, but all seem healthy now - and boy are they busy.

Emily is now walking all over the place. She started with slow, hesitant steps and simply standing. Slowly, she moved more and more and is now almost running. She still goes to a crawl if she is in a real hurry, but she is so cute as she walks around. She also loves to play with clothing and sometimes wears hats. Daniel started standing last night on his own and took a couple of steps toward me a few times. He seemed to be watching Emily all day yesterday and made the decision to walk - I can't wait to see what will happen in the next week. He also told me where his foot and head were yesterday when I asked. It was a really neat day for him. I wonder how much more they know that they haven't told me yet! We work on these all the time! Nathan started doing what I call people tricks in the past week. He never seemed interested. All of a sudden, he can clap, loves to clap things together to make noise, blow kisses, and a bunch of other tricks. He stopped doing the military crawl this month and runs across the room pushing the walkers. He gets the biggest kick of doing songs with hand motions now (like Itsy Bitsy Spider). Nathan also had his first haircut this month. He had sooo much hair, and he did a much better job than I expected sitting through it with veggie stick reinforcement!

All of them do a lot of imitating now. "Uh oh" is a favorite. I can tell they are listening to the vocabulary I am teaching and imitating inflection and tones often. They also always check the child safety at our house. They love to climb on things, try to get the computer, climb through on and on furniture or over toys. It is a very exciting time for us. As they start identifying things and answering and copying, we know this month is going to be amazing.

13 Months

It has been a whirlwind time. After the children's birthday, we went for our family portrait and to the doctor for the children's one year appointment. All went well. Nathan is still the biggest at 21 pounds, Daniel is 1 1/2 pounds less, and Emily is another 1 1/2 pounds less. All are thriving and doing well.

We went to San Diego for Thanksgiving and had a blast. Except for a small stomach virus, we were able to do everything from attending Jack's birthday party, eat with Shamu at SeaWorld, go to the zoo, wander around Balboa Park and her neighborhood. Nadine and Dean are incredible hosts, having everything at their house waiting for us - from cribs to high chairs to car seats, etc. We didn't need anything as they had stocked all of our children's favorite foods. Wow.

Being there for Jack's birthday meant so much for us. It is so hard being on separate coasts that this trip was really special. Even taking the family picture was special - although very difficult to get a good shot.

The children continue to thrive. Emily stands all the time and has accidentally taken 1-2 steps. All of them walk on the walkers. They are experimenting with sounds - mama, dada, barking like our dog, etc. They love to knock down blocks, throw or roll things, and read (or eat) books. They are quite fun! I love every second of being with them.

Wish us luck. Tomorrow, we are meeting with an ENT to discuss the boys' chronic ear infections that won't go away.

I'm attaching a few pics of our family picture and San Diego pictures.

1 year!!!

We had such a fun time for their birthday and birthday party. Thank you for all who came and celebrated with us. For those who couldn't come, you were missed. We feel completely blessed to have so many people in our lives who care about us and our children. Thank you.

We had our party on 11/9/08 (two days after their birthday) in Newtown Park near our home. It was about 10 degrees cooler than ideal, but most of the children were on the playground or the field and didn't notice it. Luckily, we had coffee for the parents.

We had about 110 come to the party, 25 children under 2, and 30 children over 2. Guests included both sets of grandparents who travelled from Florida to see them. Aunt Gail and Uncle Bob came in town for a conference and surprised us! Another triplet family joined us, as well as half of our playgroup who brighten up our Fridays every week. Our two favorite NICU nurses who helped us survive leaving them at night came and both mentioned leaving with at least one of them. They really loved our children in the hospital. So many of our close friends and neighbors came to enjoy the day. If only our children's aunts and families could have made the trip.

Nathan absolutely loved the cake, perhaps this is why he is a little heavier than the others. Daniel was a little tired by the end of the party - he actually fell asleep in the swing. Emily (who normally loves sweets) wasn't as interested this time. She's actually our best food eater - so maybe she ate too much food before cake.

I'm including a few pictures of the party. Enjoy.

Have to share some cute pictures!

Daniel and Nathan

Emily is sharing a story with you.

Watch me walk!

Daniel, Emily, and Nathan

Emily, Daniel, and Nathan

Although I wasn't going to write until they turned 1, I have some cute pictures I have to show you. The children love to smile - but these were the first pics I had where they almost all smiled together. You can see Daniel clapping in one picture and Emily's two teeth. I am excited to announce that Daniel cut his first tooth this morning and Nathan is soooo close.

New activities - let's see. Nathan loves to climb up the fireplace and stand up. Daniel loves to change the controls on the television. Both Daniel and Emily love walking using the walker, and Emily likes to stand without holding on for short amounts of time. All three love to make noise, and sometimes I think they are saying dog or mama or dada - but not always at the right time.

They turn one a week from today, and we have a busy week planned. We went to a Playgroup Halloween party today where our football players and cheerleader got to play with four bumblebees, a puppy, a tiger, and two deliciously cute M&Ms. The kids were adorable but wouldn't sit still for a group picture. We'll post some pictures next blog. We did miss Leila and her boys at playgroup today. Tonight, we are going to a neighborhood Halloween party. Next week, we are going shopping, getting ready to turn one, and have all four grandparents coming at the end of the week to celebrate with us!

Enjoy the pics and have a Happy Halloween.

11 Months on Tuesday

Can they really be this old? I look at them every day and sometimes think they are growing before my eyes. Other times, I think they are so little - after all they are my babies!

It has been a hard couple of weeks. After much anticipation, we left to go to Florida for Will's business trip. As we left the neighborhood Nathan vomited all over himself and the car seat - leading us to begin an exciting adventure with the stomach virus. Nathan's lasted over a week and Daniel's lasted 3 days. I won't go into the gross details, but at least we were able to see my grandmother twice, hang out with Will's family and my family. Will's sister, Jen, was even able to introduce the children to her colleagues.

We returned with my parents who stayed with us another week when Will went away on his business trip. Emily came down with the stomach virus then. It was another rough week. The boys were still irritable and sleep was very minimal - actually still is. We are excited Will came home last night but sad that my parents are leaving today. I like having one or more adults per child at night. We're wishing for more sleep soon.

The children are continuing to grow through all this and were able to smile even when feeling awful. It's fun to watch them cruise around. They are all getting more sturdy on their feet. Daniel has had a few fun conversations with the dog. She barks and he talks back. This can go on for minutes or until I get my camera. Then it ends. It is such fun to watch. He also is cruising Nathan used a push toy for the first time yesterday at play group. He went a few feet forwards twice. He doesn't want to get in the correct position behind it as he wants to play with the gadgets on the front, too. Emily is cruising everywhere, likes to shake her head and can stand not holding on for up to 30 seconds. She and Nathan have had a couple of great laughing conversations. I am including a video of one at the bottom, albeit a little fuzzy. How can you not laugh at babies laughing together? I was thinking that maybe they haven't changed as much this month. Then I read last month's blog again. The children love to stand up and look out the window (or eat the window). They are standing more than anything else (which leads to a few bumps and bruises now and then). Their favorite toy now is the toy that someone else is playing with. They love their race car and steering wheel. They're in the process of learning how to roll a car. It is cute!

Someone asked me what I do with the comments. Each blog and comment gets saved on a Microsoft Word document. When the children are older, they'll be able to read their blog and the comments people make. Thanks, Rachel - you have been a comment queen!

Ten Months on Sunday

Hi all,

I feel repetitive when I say that so much has happened again, but it's true. Life is incredibly busy at the Share Household.

First of all, the children are mobile, and we are very busy childproofing as we go. I didn't know you could move so fast by scooting around in a military crawl. We spend a lot of time playing with them on the floor. Having the playroom is wonderful, but I know they'll outgrow it in no time.

We were lucky enough to have my sister, her two amazing children, and my parents here to visit. I think my sister is wonderful being able to work with two different age children 24 hours a day without a break. And I thought my job was hard. Luckily her husband should be home (hopefully for good) in October. I pray for his safe return all the time. We started the trip off strong with visits to the park, the zoo, and ImagineIt! Museum. Unfortunately, my guys wound up with strep throats, ear infections, and colds. It put a little damper on the trip, but I am so happy they came. It was great to have my parents help, and between 5 kids, I think we wore them out!

This week we hosted playgroup for the first time. Including our trio, we ended up with 11 children ages 9 months through 14 months and 8 were boys. It is really neat to see so many children in the same room getting along or doing their own thing without many tears. It was also a great experience for the adults to relate and talk. I've included a picture.

Let's see what's new in our traits and skills.

Daniel is becoming very verbal. He loves to make sound effects and have you respond. He then giggles and does more. He always waits for the response. He even will do it to Dicey when she barks. He can climb up on his knees and loves to military crawl using one leg more than the other. He can go pretty fast. Today, we saw him do a real crawl and he stood up for the first time! He loves the tunnel I bought and playing with the clear plastic cubes. He doesn't always like when his brother and sister get in the way of his playing or when Nathan uses him to pull up or chew on.

Nathan is a very fast military crawler. I'm not sure I can keep up with him sometimes. As of yesterday, he can stand up on his own holding on. His laugh is contagious, as usual, and he loves to climb all over me or his siblings. His favorite toy is the one his siblings are playing with. I saw him race Emily to a toy yesterday. It was kind of funny. He has eaten 1-2 of the dissolving snacks, but he doesn't know how to gnaw or suck on it yet. He also loves to make a fish face.

Emily is a standing machine. She wants to stand everywhere (even her crib sometimes). She can cruise slowly - she has gone all the way around the ottoman. She can do a real crawl and military crawl. She has been a little grumpy because she is getting the first tooth of the family. Boy is it sharp. Her favorite toy is the stand up piano, and she also loves the cube.

All three love books and will race across the room to get to whatever book I am reading. I have to hold it high up or it becomes a climbing toy or a chew toy. They do love when I read and giggle at the animal sounds. They also like peek-a-boo. They love their baby food now. Mixed vegetables are a favorite, but they like lots of fruits, vegetables, and oatmeal. We are down to four feedings a day. We are also beginning to work on sleeping through the night. Our doctor said that they are beginning to have more of a memory and they now know Mommy and Daddy are next door and will come when called for. Therefore, we are trying to let them cry it out a little. It's getting better in just a few days. I look forward to sleeping through the night again soon. It is so sweet when they play together intentionally and talk/laugh together. We saw the boys playing a version of peek-a-boo one day and it made us smile. The hard part of all this is that with the climbing and moving come more falls, bumps and bruises. I hate to see it, but I know it is a part of growing up. So is my new role - that of a JUNGLE GYM. It is fun to have them crawl and climb all over me, but it is exhausting! I am tired at the end of every day.

As a final part, our contract came to renew or set Veroniuq free to find another family. I look forward to having her here a second year and will take her out to the South African restaurant as soon as we all sign the contract. She knows she will be working with the children more on her own next year, and she is looking forward to the challenge. In the past couple of weeks, she has spent more time with the children on her own and has fed all of them at once and gotten them down to nap. She knows it will get easier and harder when they feed themselves.

The pictures are a quick sampling of our month. The first is a snapshot of all of my parents' grandchildren together for the first time! We started our family trip at the swings and zoo. The next picture is of the men in charge of feeding and a snapshot of me reading to the kids. I've included one snapshot of playgroup. We discussed it as a group and think it looks a lot more intimidating than it really is. They get a long wonderfully! Finally, we have the outfits we wore on the first day of football season. Daniel wore the Georgia colors, while Emily is a Gator fan. Nathan sported Will's team, FSU. Enjoy, and I'm sure I'll have a million new changes next month. Please wish us no more ear infections!

Almost 9 months - what a difference a month makes!

Hi all,

Wow - it has been a busy month. Sorry I didn't write sooner, but time disappears! The children have grown a bunch. Daniel is 18 lbs 14 oz, Nathan is 19 lbs 9 1/2 oz, and Emily is 16 lbs 12 oz. They have gotten so big. Their lengths are now about 27 inches, so we have had to change the car seats this week. That is a huge transition. A big thanks to Lt Sims from the Alpharetta Fire Department for installing the seats on a 1 hour notice! Going from the snap and go (easy but heavy) to having to carry them to and from the car is a huge transition. I'm still working on the easiest way to do that, but the new car seats seem so comfy! It also means I have had to change strollers. I'm still working on the positioning for that as I don't want them to lean forward and hit their head on the seats in front - or more commonly pull the back of the seat in front to make a lovely teething toy. We are also working on ear infections. Through the last two months, I have had 40+ days of giving antibiotics: Nathan had, then Nathan and Daniel, then Nathan, now Daniel. Emily escaped them the first three checks, and I didn't have her checked this time.

We have had a lot of firsts this month, and I think it is going to make for a very busy August.

Daniel has started giving high fives - at least bringing his hand to you. It is very cute. He is still rolling all over the room and can pretty much get to most things. He still goes backwards but can get on all fours and rock first. He has gone forwards like a frog once or twice, but I'm not sure it was intentional.

Emily sat up on her own for the first time last week. She has only done it successfully once but has gotten close many times. She goes from her belly to a crawling position, then into a sitting position. Her leg still says close to her body so her balance is a little off, but it was very exciting to see. She also rocks in a crawling position and goes backwards well. She ended up in the kitchen the other day.

Nathan is officially going forwards. He gets an intense look in his eyes, puts his hands in front of him and then on his belly pulls his body forward (almost a military crawl). He may be like his Uncle Dean and go that route! He also might be entered in the Nathans hot dog eating contest. He tries to eat everything, from toys to his siblings, to us! Things get to his mouth in record time (or his mouth gets to things). He has earned the front seat of the stroller because there is nothing to chew on! I think he is getting a tooth, but I have thought that for a while.

They all like to babble and talk - and I hear lots of Dadadas and bababas and squeals. I think they are thinking about trying to stand. I see effort, but on things they can't get a good grip on. I think this is a busy month.

On that note, it is time to baby proof the house. I think we may have enough gates, but it is time to start protecting everything. I think we'll be gating them into rooms (living room, bedroom, and playroom) instead of using play pens.

Will's mom and Joel came to visit and had a great time with the children. I wish they could see their grandparents more often. They are so good with them. We tried going to swing on the swings at the park (too hot at 9 am) and took them out to dinner as a family. I was a little under the weather, but it was nice to be able to know things were covered while I slept! They did a great job!

Pictures - I am attaching one of each and also the first video of Nathan creeping. It was his first day - so he only went a few inches, but it was a very exciting day for us! At top is a picture of Joan reading to the children, then Emily, Daniel, and Nathan.