Crawling with Bob

I can’t believe it’s been this long since updating on how the babies are doing! I guess there’s enough going on that it gets put to the back of the line, but wow! It’s been like 3 months A lot happens in three months!
We have 3 crawlers….or should I say explorers? It only took a few days for Paulie to figure out how to do it (he started with the rocking on hands and knees, then took off). Logan was only about a week after that and Ella about another week later. It’s funny though b/c they each have their own different crawling personality. Paul likes to explore - he wants to do anything and everything EXCEPT play with his toys. He goes for the TV cable, the step to the living room, the floor heating vents or lamps….and don’t think he’s deprived either - the triplets have taken over an entire room in the house and there are about 50 toys in there! All in all though he does pretty well….a few falls, but he’s learned to navigate the one step to get into our living room - where he likes to bang on the foot pedals of the piano! Logan is the lazy crawler - he gets to where he wants to go and then lounges with whatever toy he had the energy to crawl for. It’s really the funniest looking thing b/c he rests on the floor on his side and lifts his leg up and down - like he’s posing for a swimsuit shot in SI or something! I’ll post a picture of it b/c it’s worth the look : ) Ella is our mischevious mobile little angel. She reminds us of John Turturro’s character in Mr. Deeds b/c you’ll put her down on the floor, turn around and get something and then she reappears somewhere entirely too far away for her to have crawled there. It’s “very, very sneaky” like he says in the movie.
Some other activities that we’re going through - cereal puffs and baby food (lots of puffs and baby food!) To give you an idea, as of right now they’re eating the following every day (per kid): breakfast = cereal mixed with 3.5 oz of fruit (one-2nd foods container) + real fruit (usually banana) + 7 oz bottle of formula, lunch = 3.5oz vegetable + 3.5oz fruit + sippy cup of water/juice + puffs + 7 oz bottle of formula, dinner = 3.5oz veg, 3.5oz fruit + sippy cups + puffs + 7oz bottle of formula….So, needless to say - Christi is busy all day and I’m busy with her when I get home! They usually eat pretty well unless they’re tired/cranky or if it’s a vegetable they don’t like - they like all fruits, but are unfriendly with peas & carrots!
The reason why I titled this “Crawling with Bob” was to convey the crawling update, but to also explain that our boys have really tried to verbalize and vocalize over the last few weeks, but mostly all that is distinguishable is “Bob”. And it’s really more like “Bawwwb”! I realize that most babies do this and might even be common in their vocabularies, but the way Logan and especially Paulie say it with such conviction - it’s hilarious. We have a video that will be posted asap of Paulie doing it - he makes this face that is just crazy and yells “Bawwwb”. It looks like he has bitter beer face while he’s saying it - and yet I laugh so hard : )
I hope this finds you all well - we appreciate the interest in the babies and we can’t wait for their last round of RSV shots Tuesday so that we can make our way out of the house a little more! If you ever want to drop us an email, send it to paul@paulandchristi.com or christi@paulandchristi.com - we’d love to hear from you.

PAUL

wow…finally got a chance to drop a quick note on the babies!

we got through all our December doctor appointments and already got their RSV shots for January…I made it through my pre-spring one week class and it went pretty well - thank you to everyone that offered help during that time…Christi and I appreciate it!

the babies are doing new things all the time now…it seems that they’re going through growth spurts every other day!

Paul is now doing the full range of baby talk (baa, maa, daa…) and he loves to hear himself sing. He holds his bottle by himself now. He is crawling…but strangely enough, only on his back. When we put him on his belly to move he just wiggles and puts his arms out looking like he’s skydiving! Paul is big on grabbing anything that’s in his reach - hair, shirts, Jake, etc. He’s probably the best/cleanest eater of the trio. He’s back to having trouble sleeping through the night, but hopefully it will just be a short phase…

Ella is sleeping well and getting close to sitting up on her own. She’s not eating her baby food very well - she takes incredibly small bites and sometimes won’t finish…that must be why she’s still tiny compared to her brothers! Ella is the most interested in Jake - he makes her laugh whenever he goes trotting by…she’s also grabbed a few clumps of his fur! She’s definitely a happy baby - she can always dish out a big smile to make a rough day go a little bit smoother.

Logan is an absolute monkey! He loves to climb and scream and laugh and eat. He is the most eager to get his bottle or get the spoonful of whatever is being fed at the time. He’s been finding his bink and putting it in his mouth wherever it is. Logan is really strong - he pulls himself up wherever he gets the chance and loves to stand. We’re trying to force the sitting up first, but it seems like he’s going to be walking before he sits! He’s also trying to hold his bottle - probably in the next couple days…

I’ll try and give some more info before a month next time!

PAUL

Cardiology and seeing old friends

Well, the babies had their 6-month well visit and got their RSV shots for December (they will get their 6-month shots at the end of December. Everyone is doing well - we cleared up a lot of our questions with Dr. Jill and the babies have started solid food now! We also made it to the triplets’ cardiology follow-up from their days in the NICU. They wanted to have them see a cardiologist to check their heart murmurs to ensure they either went away or were not anything to be monitored. Well, we’re thankful to report everything went perfectly and they do not expect any of the three back for checkups! 100% clean bill of health!

Believe it or not, we still have THREE more doctor appts this month. One of which is the preemie clinic at Rainbows so the doctors that delivered and cared for the babies when they were born can see/track their developmental progress. We can’t wait to catch up with our old friends at the hospital - they haven’t seen the babies since we left and likewise, we haven’t been able to see them! We’re hoping to catch up with as many as possible while we’re there….

As far as Christi and I go, we’re exhausted. Christi really needs some help with any aspect of daily life that we can cover (we’re thinking about maid svc since it would be cheaper than a babysitter/nanny to come and help with the babies). Anything we can do to allow her to have 15 mins to herself is an amazing “gift” to her! I’m of course better now that my MBA class is finished until Jan 5 when I go back again! Only 1 intensive course and two more semester course until I escape graduate. The intensive course is going to be a nightmare for me, but even worse for my poor wife….I go to school on SAT 1/5 from 9-5, MON-THU 6-10 (after working from 8am) and then SAT 1/12 from 9-5. That’s the whole class, but it basically means that I’ll be away from home for a week straight! Anyone reading this that can spare some daytime babysitting help or nighttime help should email us and set something up (we’d appreciate any help that’s offered - schedules permitting!). The more people the better, but keep in mind that we’re going to put you through the Purell-wash each time we see you! In the spring my courses will only be one weeknight and one weekend night (unless I can’t take it and have to take a summer course instead!).

We still haven’t sold our house - please email me (paul@paulandchristi.com) if you know anyone interested in buying. It would be a great investment as the market is sure to turn around eventually - we just can’t wait it out!

I think that’s enough for now - sign up for automatic email updates on www.paulandchristi.com and leave us any feedback/questions in our emails!

PAUL