Sweet 16 months!

Top 16 things I love about 16 months:

16.  Lilibeth is the best little walker!  It took her longer than the boys, but when she got it, she got it!  

15.  The babies are loving each other... Sweet story # 1:  Klint calls the babies (usually Jack) a "turkey" when he is being silly.  One recent morning, Lilibeth was touching Jack's face and laughing during breakfast.  He looked confused, then realized that she was playing with him.  He smiled and called her a "tur-tee."

14.  Sweet story # 2:  I had just finished dressing Lilibeth in a new outfit.  I put her down and said, "Boys, doesn't your sister look pretty?"  West immediately ran up behind her, patted both of her shoulders and said, "Pretty!  Pretty!"

13. West and Jack LOVE to climb on the sofas.  This makes me a little nervous, but they seem to be aware of heights.  Let's hope so, or ER here we come!  Our stained concrete floors are not looking like the wisest idea with three toddlers!

12.  Speaking of ER... Jack made his first visit in the last month.  He LOVED it!  Really!  He was running and fell just before his nap and I thought he hurt his mouth.  He cried and was OK pretty quickly, so I put him down for a nap.... Bad move.  He slept well and woke up happy, but then threw up his milk after nap.  A call to the doctor resulted in a referral to the ER.  Thank goodness for grandparents... they hurried right over so Klint and I could take Jack.  (I learned my lesson when I took Lili B. to the ER by myself in October... If you can avoid it, do not go alone!)  Poor little triplet... loved his "special time" with mama and daddy (even though it involved a hospital!).  He thought he was on a hot date with the parents!  We had a great ER doctor who advised us to skip the head CT and monitor him.  He was just fine!

11.  I wish I were the kind of mother that kept track of all of the words West, Lilibeth and Jack are saying...  here are some of my faves:  Turkey, bed, "no-no" (usually spoken to one another as a 'word to the wise'), dog (West pronounces it like the good Texan that he is "dawg"), bye-bye (West somehow knows when I am giving my final instructions to someone before walking out the door and starts saying "bye-bye" (not sure how I feel about this ;) , hello (Jack says it anytime the phone rings and West pronounces it "heh-whoa," shoe, socks, everyone loves a "hat" around here!  Also, everyone loves to say Papa and Duke... these babies, I am afraid to report, are insulting their grandmothers.  Ben and Fancy are tired of being overshadowed by these grand-guys!  I know I am missing several words... We are amazed by these three daily.  This seems to be a time of huge growth... Today on our walk all three were able to correctly answer the question, "Where do you live?"  Smarties!

10.  Klint and I love this for several reasons:  When it gets to be bedtime, Klint will say, "Are you ready to go to bed?"  West marches off like a soldier to the nursery, saying, "bed"!  If he does not quickly get a following, he looks back as if he is saying, "Now folks!"

9.  I love Lilibeth's big girl ponytail.  We have waited so long for hair and she is getting some... along with curls!  Which reminds me, she loves to say, "knock-knock" and beat on a door!

8.  I LOVE Lilibeth the teeny tiny librarian.  She is rarely seen without a book in hand.  She has started babbling and very deliberately pointing things out in her books.  She keeps trying to school these boys!  Nothing makes her angrier than a brother or two trying to "borrow" a book.  She has not mastered that part of her job as a librarian.  All three also say, "book."  Fancy is so proud!  Ben brought Lilibeth a "sparkly book" for Valentine's Day.  She would not put it down.  Just before bed, Klint said to me, "If you don't want her to have that in the bed, you are going to have to take it away from her, not me."  She slept with her book!

7.  The boys love a rocking horse.  We have two from Ikea from our sweet friend Nancy, and for Valentine's Day, Ben and Papa brought a real-deal rocking horse that says, "Neigh!"  Giddy-up!

6.  Klint started a game with the babies where he calls out a food on the table and all three hold it up in the air for him.  They all think this is grand... like some form of Baby Culinary Jeopardy.  Oh, West was the first to say a two word phrase... "green bean"!

5.  Everyone loves a scooter around here... Aunt Bev, Arrica and Alicia gave them a tractor, a red car with a horn "beep-beep!", and a lady bug for Lilibeth, Jack and West's first birthday.  Our home is toddler freeway with these contraptions!

4.  New favorite menu item... spinach and cheese quesadillas (in my head I am using the Napoleon Dynamite pronunciation of that term).  Sadly, I am certain I use it with the children, too.

3.  The babies still love the train, but now it is used as a jungle gym.  They crawl in and out, say "choo-choo" and now pull each other around!

2.  Klint and I are so blessed by both sets of parents who are always willing to give us a few hours away... it is so precious to see our children being adored by their grandparents and the babies running to the door to meet them.  Having a little time away makes us enjoy this time even more.  Soap box:  The past 16 months have been such an amazing blessing. Having said that, it is quite a bit of work (as many of you know all too well).  I have been more and more aware of single parents, and parents who have a spouse who puts in long hours away from home.  If you are reading this and have a friend, or a neighbor who is "in the trenches" with small children, please consider helping out for a few hours.  Because we had three all at one time, our friends and family have been very well aware of our need and have been so giving of themselves.  I think often of those who do not have such a community in their lives. If you can think of someone, please call and offer your help today!  A few hours makes such a big difference in the life of the whole family.

1.  Jack, West and Lilibeth have become little cuddlers!  This is new and makes me SO VERY HAPPY!  I spend lots of time on the floor with one, two and sometimes three in my lap.  Life is good!

Look at these big kids!

Look... we fit in our fridge!

My little lunch bunch

Ohhh... magazines are kind of like books!

Look at this.... sharing!

West loves a puzzle

I did not choose this because it is a flattering photo... I thought it was funny that our first experience with beets made the whole kitchen look like a crime scene.  Yes... it's lunch and we're still in our PJ's.  Don't judge :)

Daddy's hat is West's favorite accessory

Val... our new horse

Giddy up, giddy up go to town...

This makes me laugh... I get about 50 shots like this one before I get one of at least two in the frame and looking in the same direction.  Happy, happy Valentine's Day!

Happier now...

Beautiful boy

He's saying, "tractor"

Lilibeth with her new sparkly book

One night Jack started kicking up his leg.  We laughed, then he laughed and pretty soon we were all high kicking and laughing hysterically!

Choo-choo!

All passengers must be seated before the train departs

Still trying to get a good Valentine's Day pic... dang that screen!

Ben and the beloved Sparkle book!

Papa is one fun guy!

Big boy in a chair.  Future teachers of my children:  Regardless of what this looks like, I am working hard on "sitting on your pockets in a chair."

Handsome fella

What kind of mother takes her children to Target shoeless in February?  Me, that's who.  I am eating so many ugly words from my former childless life!  By the way, it was a balmy February day...