3 in the bath

I am in a fog today because both my son and I couldn't sleep last night. Daddy thinks it's because he wasn't home (he worked from 2 to midnight). Perhaps he's right. I got probably less than 3 hours of sleep because once I was finally able to fall asleep, the boy woke up.

Anyway, I have nothing to share. Even if there was, I'm too comatose to notice anything. So here goes. Here's a picture of my three little ducklings on their first bath together.

Big Bro enjoyed playing with the girls' hair.

a night at the state fair

With all the fun we had at the country fair, we thought we'd try the state fair. So we had planned on going after the kids' nap (for Big Bro to recuperate from Soccer earlier in the morning). But things rarely go according to plan - the boy didn't nap. Fortunately, he fell asleep on the way there.

Here is what greeted us right at the entrance. Big Bro was immediately transfixed on the Native American Dance. It was a great dance, and the music was live.

Thing 1 on the left, Thing 1 on the right.

For $5 and a chance to catch fish 3 times (which he did in less than 5 minutes), he won a lovely neon green monkey (which he now has to take with him to bed). The know the toys are cheaper bought outright, but Big Bro sure had fun winning them.

This was the girls' first carousel ride. The girls had could ride for free; we had to pay for Big Bro and Daddy's ride wrist bands. I didn't get a wrist band since the chances are low that we'd all be riding together. So on this picture is Thing 1. I was going to make them all ride the second time to swap Thing 1 with Thing 2. But at the last second, I asked if I could go with Thing 2 and the operator let me in! So the carousel was the one and only ride we all went in together.

Daddy, Big Bro and I had our first fried Oreo. Surprisingly, it was actually pretty good. :-)

eating on the table

I tried the girls on Big Bro's sponge bob table, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. This is snack time, and on the menu is Graham Bug Bites cracker (milk free!) and cut up bananas. I also gave them a fork to try out for the first time. I find the fact that their feet do not reach the floor very cute. (Thing 2 on the left, Thing 1 on the right)





At one point, Thing 2 looked like she was trying to get off the chair, so I stepped in and helped. But based on her loud whailing, she didn't want to get off. So I had to sit her back in. She was then happy again.

Big Brother was snacking on the big table at the same time, so I had to check with him that it was alright for his sisters to use his table. He said yes. I suggested that we buy a square table, in order for everyone to have a space. He said no. He said he wanted to sit on the big table. But I may look at a square girly table anyway.

walking shoes

We found out at the shoe store that Thing 1 is size 5 Wide and Thing 2 is size 5 Regular. So I dug out Big Brother's box of baby shoes to see if there is anything the girls can use. I found a brown pair of sandals that I bought for dressy occasions. Unfortunately, by the time the dressy occasion came, the shoe was already too small. But as luck would have it, it's size 5 Wide! Yay!

Here is Thing 1 looking like a sassy big girl on Big Brother's baby shoe.



And here she is walking in them. The clanking sound is just hilarious. And her stance... very funny. By the way, I was not choking her at the end of the video.



Then there is a matter of this red Wiggles which has become a source of some loud noise. As was obvious from the previous videos, everyone wants it. Daddy and I agreed that we may have to buy one more. I think we can get away with just one more since of the girls is content just pushing whoever is on it. We'll see.



Thing 2 and Big Brother "playing" together. Thing 1 has been whisked away to bed at this point to keep the peace.

nap times

The girls were supposed to be taking a nap, instead I find this. I was hiding the entire time with just my arm and camera sticking out. But they did finally notice me toward the end, at which time they started calling "dadadada". Thing 2 is the one that keeps turning her head. Silly thing. Daddy said, "it must be the lacquer!"

That is baby towels wrapped on one edge of the cribs, since they've been chewing on it. Unfortunately, crib bite guards (if you notice those 2 long pieces on the floor in front on Thing 2's crib, they get pulled up and thrown out regularly) are only for flat/straight edges so I had to come up with a contraption myself. Then one day they were able to pull off the towel and chewed the wood some more (to the point of splintering), hence Daddy's lacquer comment.

In September, Big Brother started preschool 3 times a week instead of everyday. At the time the girls were napping 2 times a day (11am and around 3 pm). With Big Brother napping at 1pm (2 hour nap). The first Tuesday was tough because after the girls woke up from their morning nap, it's time for Big Brother to take his. And when Big Brother woke up, it was the girls' time for their afternoon nap. It was tiring because I never had quiet time for myself. I tweaked the girls' nap time and put them down at 10am for 1 hour nap, and then at 2pm for the afternoon. This allowed me 1 hour of alone time from 2pm to 3pm when Big Brother finally wakes up.

But for the past 2 1/2 weeks, the girls to to sleep at 10am without a problem. At 2pm, when I put them in their cribs, they stay awake for about 1 1/2 hour before falling asleep. I've moved the afternoon nap to 2:30 and then to 3pm, but the same thing happens. For the past 2 days, they don't fall asleep at until close to 5pm!

Today, I decided to start with 1 nap. Instead of napping at 10am, I kept them awake until after lunch at 12pm. They were of course supper sleepy the whole time, but they made it. I was hoping for a 2 hour nap once they finally went down, but to my disappointment, they only napped for 1 hour. I didn't get them out right away hoping they will fall back asleep, but no such luck. It'll be an early bedtime tonight, for sure. Hopefully they transition quickly. It'll be great to have them nap with their big brother on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is so much fun!

Daddy worked on Sunday, so today he took a day off. We decided to spend the morning in the Botanical Garden. It's beautiful! We had a chilly start to our day and thought we all would be shivering the whole day, but the sun finally came out. There was barely anyone around, so the little man had the run of the place. The children's garden was awesome and had a great big tree house that was stroller accessible. The girls were able to walk/crawl around.

We left right at lunch time and headed to the mall. Unfortunately, the great outdoors made everyone sleepy, but the mall is just 10 minutes away. Big Bro had a 10 minute power nap and didn't sleep any more after that.

We also stopped over to the shoe store to look for 'real' shoes for the girls now that they're starting to walk. The Robeez they have is not for outdoor walking at all. But we had no luck.

Here are some pictures from the Botanical Garden. We took the camera with us, with freshly charged batteries, but NO memory card. Oi! Thank goodness for phones with cameras.

Thing 1 plays on the bench, while Big Brother plays on the sand (in the background). Daddy and I had to work on keeping the girls from joining him. We knew they'd be having sand for lunch if we let them.

With all the excitement, the kids had a late morning snack.



The magnificent tree house!



Thing 1 (pink) and Thing 2 (purple) playing in the tree house. Big Brother was here too, but he was too speedy to be caught by my camera phone.



Daddy and the kids on the way out. Big Brother was fascinated by the tree.

We all had fun. There was a minor meltdown in the mall because of the lack of nap, but it was still a fun day. Tiring, but fun.

Thing 2's first steps by herself!

Thing 1 and I were just rolling around on the floor today when out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Thing 2 taking a few wobbly steps toward us. I couldn't contain my excitement, so I bolted up and started cheering her own. Then I grabbed the camera and made her do it again. :-)

After the few steps, I think she realized that she wasn't going to get hurt if she had to sit back down if she couldn't gain her balance. So now she's walking about 3 feet at a time.



Notice the frown she gave me after she fell. As if it was my fault!