Six Months Going on One Year...

Don't worry, I'm already planning their one year party even though they're just six months. :) This is the sight at our house when bath time starts.


Bath time became much easier as we approached the 5.5-6 month mark. I put on Elmo's Favorite Songs and take one baby at a time back to the bath. At first they weren't that interested and usually whined or cried for 45 minutes (that's how long the video is and my time goal for bathing all three babies). Now they actually pay attention which makes my life SO much easier! I'm not rushing in the bathroom and baths can, most of the time, be relaxing for the babies! Leah, BY FAR, loves Elmo the best. She is totally oblivious to everyone around her and laughs sporadically while watching. It's hilarious and I always feel bad taking her away to get cleaned. They definitely know now that after Elmo is done, bottles are next. So if the bottles aren't in mouth less than a minute after the show ends, I'm in trouble.

What's better than Elmo and hand sucking?? YUM!


At six months, we have finally put away the swings and bouncers!! We weren't using those things anymore and they were just taking up space; however, the jumparoo and exersaucers have taken their place. Why does baby stuff have to be SO big? Most of the day, though, they all prefer to be in their Bumbos so they can be upright and are definitely getting better at sitting. The had their six-month check up and immunizations last week. This went surprisingly smooth and they all did great! This time we did do things differently though. We took the Baba Buddies and after they had all been weighed and measured, we put them in their car seats and started feeding their 10am bottles. Then as each baby's turn came for shots, we burped them, handed them to the nurse, then immediately started feeding them again right after. I didn't do that last time and they all whined/cried for a while, fell asleep, and had their bottle really late after arriving back home. This threw my whole day schedule off which I'm not a big fan of. :) Soooo, the bottles were emptied, babies were satisfied, and they all had a GREAT nap (thanks to Tylenol) when we got home. Although the process at the office worked great for us, I don't think the nurse appreciated when Zachary spit up on her after we had burped him. She said she didn't care but I could tell she was annoyed.

ANYWAY, here's my six-month update for each baby. I forgot all the paperwork at the appointment so I can't remember everything exactly.

CALEB: We finally caught this guy smiling on camera!!!


He now weighs close to 19 pounds and is sticking true to the 75th percentile for his corrected age. His head size is around the 75th as well with his height lagging a bit behind. We're not very tall around here so hopefully he catches up. He is the most cuddly baby you'll ever meet and just lays his head on your shoulder when you hold him. He is SO good with his hands and quickly grabs whatever is in reach and wants to bring it to his mouth immediately. He usually is the toy stealer probably due to his huge paws and strength. We might see a ring leader emerge soon from this kid. His hair grows at an alarming rate and we've already cut it twice in six months. He has recently figured out how to scream and does it VERY well when he is excited or tired. It really is so loud when he screams and often Zachary starts crying as a result. Hopefully he'll grow out of it soon because after a while it can get obnoxious. He loves to listen to the book, "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?" with all the sounds. He still doesn't take a pacifier but likes a burp cloth near his mouth to suck on. Weird....but whatever works.

Caleb wears a size 3 diaper but could easily move to size 4. He's growing out of all the clothes we own and wears a 9-12 month in most everything. The funny thing is that he's not really chubby. He has very few rolls but is just thick! We sure do love him though.


LEAH:

She weighed close to 16 pounds and has now moved up to the 50th percentile. Her head is in the 75th and height in the 50th. Her hair has finally started to grow! I'm so excited. It's very thin and light so it's hard to see but it is there. We seriously cannot get enough of this girl. She smiles all day long and we won't be surprised when a fly flies right into her mouth! She is very much an observer and causes little trouble around here. She lets the boys do that. She just watches everyone even when there are gobs of toys in front of her. She just waits for someone, anyone to look at her so she can flash them a gummy grin. She's still not very vocal but will laugh out loud if you get her going. Peek-a-boo seems to do the trick and the rhyme: one, two, buckle my shoe. She also loves Dr. Suess books and as I said earlier, gets giddy over Elmo. She's content to sit in your lap and suck on her hands although she does like the activity mat and jumparoo for short periods of time.

She is in size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothing. She is chubby and petite all at the same time and just so dang sweet.


ZACHARY:


Unfortunately Zachary's weight dropped off a bit and he's back down into the less-than-third percentile. He was up in the 10th for his weight. He only gained about 4 ounces in the past several weeks despite the fact that his total ounces/day has actually increased. The pediatrician isn't concerned just because there is some growth there and he has had reflux issues. Strange though because he's eating more now than he ever has! So it all didn't make sense to me why he wasn't gaining more. The truth is, however, that he is the most active/crazy/hyper baby ever. Always moving, kicking, rolling back and forth, etc... He's seriously out of control. I'm nervous for this one. He may give us a run for our money. So I think the lack of weight gain is because he just burns through everything he eats. I even have to triple swaddle him at night because he is so squirmy. So even though he's kind of crazy, he is so fun. Definitely babbles the most out of the three but is still so sensitive to loud sounds and surprises. My favorite time of the day with Zachary is after his bath when he's wrapped up in his towel. He turns on his side, curls up in a ball, and just laughs. It's so funny.

He is in size 3 diapers by default as that's just what we have around here. They are a bit big but do the job fine. He wears 3-6 month clothing and I'm so anxious to put all of that size away very soon!

These past couple weeks Clark's younger sister has been here visiting. She was here when we went to the doc appointment so that was a HUGE help for me. She also graciously babysat when Clark and I went to the consignment sale and we even got to go see a movie as well! Besides that, it was SO great to have her here just to give the babies some much needed attention. I sure enjoyed a clean, organized house while she was around too! I'm so glad the babies got to meet their Aunt Karlee! Then Clark's other sister, Tisha, came in this past weekend to join the party. It's always nice to have the adults outnumber the babies! We're grateful she got to meet the babies as well and we all had such a fun time just hanging, entertaining babies, eating lots of Mexican food, talking, playing baby shower games (Tisha is pregnant), and watching the Bachelor finale! We can't wait for the trio to meet the rest of our family members! Thanks for coming Tisha and Karlee!


*Elmo was on pause in the picture above so they were all in a trance following the little icon that floats around on the TV when a DVD pauses. Pretty funny.