Terrible 2s? Or just Misunderstood Toddlers?

Apologies abound, this year has flown by, and once again I find the blog extremely out of date.

The triplets have grown so much since the last update and are doing everything you would expect of a toddler: Talking more, playing harder, more inquisitive "What's that", and INTO EVERYTHING!!! They are such a handful these days.

They love to go bye bye, and will often throw a tantrum first thing in the morning if we don't get them dressed to go somewhere. Gabbi and Nate will even claim "I'm poopy" to get you to take their pajamas off, and then they won't let you put them back on... clever.

They are very attached to each other... Jack and Gabbi are "Where's Nate" anytime that he is elsewhere, i.e. still in a nap, or not quite ready for bed.

They are good at sharing... most of the time. New toys still garner a fight now and then, but for the most part they are pretty good. They will get their sippy cups for each other, or get toys they think the others might like, it's quite precious.

We've been taking them outside a lot more lately, as the weather permits, and they LOVE that. Going to the park, or up to the cul-de-sac, or just playing in the driveway really gets them going. Now getting them back inside... that's the hard part.

Nate is not banging his head as much these days, I'd say only about 10% as much as he was before... very relieving for us. But every now and then Gabbi or Jack will try it to get something they want... but they don't have the touch and end up actually hurting themselves enough to bruise.

We went to Lake Chelan and had a lot of fun. We took Cori with us and she helped wrangle the kiddos as we tooled around the lake shore and all the accompanying parks and toys etc... They loved to throw rocks in the lake, but of course a duck's interest was peaked by the action of things being tossed into the water. Jack just kept throwing rocks in the water, and the duck kept looking to see if they were edible. Gabbi actually fell in the lake, it was only 12 inches deep, but in late March... it's very chilly.

Sophia is almost done with the first grade and is spelling and reading like a champ. She's always doing something, and in the rare chance she's not, of course she let's out a "I'm bored" even though she just finished up with 3 play dates. Sophia likes to play Rock Band 2 on the Xbox and does a pretty good rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" on the vocals.

We just celebrated Jack, Nate and Gabbi's birthday and that went pretty well. The weather held up so the kids played outside most of the time, and no one fell into the pool (relief). Jack of course wanted nothing to do with the "Happy Birthday" singing, and kind of freaked out... but then once he got a taste of the cake he cautiously enjoyed it.

I could write for hours about their antics, though I'm sure you question that with the lack of content I put up. I hope those of you that still check this out find it entertaining.

Seriously though... this year could be rough, they are into everything... Serenity Now!

Duvall White Christmas 2008/2009

2008 went out in a grand fashion... with record setting blizzards and flooding... I'm just waiting for the locusts to come ;)

Jack, Nate and Gabbi are getting much more vocal these days... not always a good thing :P

Jack likes to mimic noises he hears... the garbage disposal, the garbage truck, sounds on the TV. While Nate has picked up the ever familiary phrase from Dora "Backpack Backpack". Gabbi is asking for "movies" which sounds a lot like "mommy" and also wondering where her brother is "Where's Nate" which comes out more like "wess nt".

They are also becoming much more proficient at getting into things, a skill I am not so happy to see them develop further. We have to take some of their toys out of the room because they have been moving them around to use them to get up onto things (counters) or over things (gates) and get access to things they shouldn't, like gas stove tops. I've had to double all the child locks down on the cabinets, and nothing can be in arms reach, or they will have it.

They are also becoming more affectionate towards each other. When one of them is put in a timeout, i.e. Nate for hitting Jack, where they are put in a pack-n-play in another room, the other two will come up and pound on the door demanding Nate's freedom. It's really pretty cute to see how forgiving they are. They also will give each other hugs, and while it may not look like much of a hug when the one receiving isn't aware it's a hug, but instead a possible attack on whatever they may possess at the time, I can see the intent and it too is very cute.

Nate is starting to show quite the temper. Maybe it's after months of being the doormat, but something has made him a bit more moody lately. He's started to hit the others and throw himself around a bit more... hopefully it's short lived.

Sophia continues to be the best big sister ever, as she is constantly helping out and doing her best to be a good example. She wants to change diapers now, which is sweet, but I'm afraid of what poorly changed diapers may lead to (yikes) as I've seen a few over the past couple years.

In the video included you'll see some of our Christmas dinner with the family, as well as some of the tin foil ball they managed to create while our backs were turned. Also more of the snow we had and some of the kids reactions to it.

Thanks for still reading... if you are :)

You better be good, you better not pout...

Boy, with those stipulations the triplets are in for some stockings full of coal.

They are into everything these days, and "No" does not really stick with them. They love to climb onto the dining room chairs (which are actually stools), pull baby wipes out of the package every chance they get, find a phone, remote, or anything with buttons and run away with it, and clammer at our legs to be picked up, even when you are already holding one.

Gabbi is still ahead of the game and likes to "help out" whenever she can. She'll bring me a diaper when I have one of hte other kids down to change them, even if I already have a diaper. She'll point out when a door is open that shouldn't be, and she is now refusing to eat with her fingers and demands a spoon/fork and plate, even though she really can't use them yet.

Nate is hot/cold, he's either all smiles, or he's pounding his head (literally pounding) on something, the floor, his crib, a toy... etc... It's quite awful to witness and I can't help but wonder if he's killing some much needed brain cells for later. The doctors say it's normal and that it's a self soothing technique... but when it happens at 3:30 in the morning... it's all but soothing for the rest of us.

Jack is a tank. He rumbles and stumbles around the house with little regard for how he will stop. He'll often bowl one of his siblings over and take a nose dive himself. But he just gets up smiling and keeps on rumbling around.

Sophia is in first grade and doing great! She's been a really big help around the house lately, I'm hoping once Christmas is over it continues, and it's not just a ploy to brown nose Santa. She is reading really well, and likes to read everything... EVERYTHING... signs on the road, contents of packages in the pantry, your e-mail over your shoulder.

We took them for Santa pictures, and of course none of them wanted anything to do with Santa. We then took them to dinner afterwards at the Cheesecake factory, and they finally made it uncomfortable for us to go out for dinner. Jack was quite content, but Nate was anything but happy and was tossing his food left and right, and Gabbi was doing the same thing until she got a plate and spoon, and then she sat perfectly content, even though there wasn't much eating being done.

Snow came heavily here, especially for Western Washington and while Sophia has had a blast, the little ones really aren't that keen on it. Probably because we don't have the right attire for them all yet, and so one false step and their little hands are submerged in a snow bank, and then it's no smiles from there.

They are wonderful and I love them to death, but they have definitely reached an age of self declared independance and stuborness. Serentity Now!!

I'm going to try and post a compilation video of the pictures we've taken recently over the holiday vacation.

Summer 08 Comes to an End

Thanks to Cori for capturing great pictures all summer long of the kids. Not as many of Sophia in here as I'd like, but then again, she was out playing all the time with her friends, which is the best a summer can get :)

The little ones are into everything these days, any door, gate, cupboard left open the kids know about before anyone and they make a beline for it. When things get quiet... it's time to worry.

Gabbi is picking up more words than the boys, and can already say "eat", "What is it?", "Who is it?", "Dog" which comes out "Go -d" because Kim has been trying to teach her to say "Go Dawgs" so she things that any dog is a "Godawg"... silly Kim, "GO Cougs" is so much more natural ;)

All the kids like to give hugs now, and it melts my heart when I get home from work as they all come up and give me a hug. Of course they also now have huge seperation anxiety when anyone, I mean anyone, leaves out the front door. They throw themselves at the windows by the door and cry till the person is out of view.

We don't get as many looks out public these days, as I think it's less obvious that the kids are all the same age. Even though they are the same height and weight, they must not look as "Triplet-ish" as they did as babies.

The First Haircut(s)

So we finally broke down and decided to get the kids some haircuts.

Gabbis didn't need to change much, but both Jack and Nate were starting their mullets going pretty well. It was kind of sad to cut Jack's curls, but we cut 'em of and he looks pretty sharp.

The video here shows the pictures from that day, and I think you get a pretty good story from it.

Gabbi wasn't really sure what to think, and put on her pooh lip pretty early on... even when she was all done.

Nate was typical nate, and put on his big smile, surrounded with looks of confusion.

Jack... Jack needed to hug mommy and make sure she was okay with what was going on (wink, wink)

at the end you'll get a good glimpse of sister Sophia and her up-do from mommy for Whack Hair Day at a camp she attended.

What else is new...

All the kids are walking now, some more than others, and they are a riot. Any open door, nook, or cranny they think they can "escape" they beline it for. They truly desire to be anywhere but where they currently are.

They are learning their sign language bit by bit, and so far have "More", "Eat", "All Done", and "Milk" partially down to one degree or another.

They love playing in the pool, especially Jack who loves to splash and splash and splash.

They love going for walks and rides in the car... and are pretty easily entertained just by seeing new surroundings.

Cori is doing a good job with pictures, so I will have fuel for my blog ;)

Puddin' Paintin'

I thought I'd try something new and post a collage of pictures video instead of invidual pictures... let's see how it goes ;)

Cori, the wonderful nanny you hear so much about, decided that an activity for the kids was a good idea. So in the spirit of Bill Cosby she let them do some Puddin' Paintin'. Gabbi stayed pretty much her fairly clean self, and Nate and Jack did themselves proud by using their faces and hair as a canvas as well.

Right after my last post of the kids being healthy for a month... they all got sick :( and we had goopy eyes and runny noses everywhere.

It also coincided with my trip to visit my mother and sister in Yakima. Sophia had a cough, Nate and Jack had goopy eyes sealing shut when they slept, and Gabbi was alright... until we got home and then it was her turn. You'll see a picture of her in the video where she looks a little under the weather... thats how we all felt for a number of days.

Sophia learned to ride her bike without training wheels tonight... good for her! She learned like in 30 minutes... 25 on the 4th, and then 5 minutes tonight and boom... she was off.

Not much new has happened with the kids since the last post... they are all about the same, but Gabbi is walking, but chooses only to do it sporadically.

Nate is still all smiles, and seems to like to stay up later then the other kids.

Jack is super happy in the mornings... and super crabby at night.

All Near Walking... What are we in for?

It's been over a month since my last blog on this, shame on me, but kudos to those of you still sticking around awaiting something new and exciting!
















The kids are doing great, and I think we went a whole month without any of them sick (YEAH) (Knock on wood).



Here's how things are shaping up:








Nate: Pretty quiet and content, until he gets pushed over by Jack that is. He's quite the eater and will eat pretty much anything put in front of him. He's caught up to Jack and Gabbi in the near walking category, which is a nice surprise because it took him forever to learn to crawl. Nate also has the most teeth, I think Sophia counted 6 (some are still coming in) but of course this makes him look a bit goofy when he smiles :)









Jack: Jack has become the most needy of the three at this point. He's learned to whine when he wants something and likes to be picked up and cuddled, which isn't so bad is it. Jack is a fussy eater and if you want him to try something you need to force it into his mouth the first time, and then after he realizes it's not bad, he'll feed himself from then on. Jack is also the bully right now, and always wants what the other kids have... that used to be Gabbi's MO, but now it's Jacks. Jack is all smiles in the mornings, and loves to jump up and down in his crib. His smile is infectious and you can't help but pick him up and snuggle him.









Gabbi: She has become the petite eater. She doesn't take handfuls of food and stuff it into her mouth like the boys, but instead eats one piece at a time. Her tray, chair, and floor area are compartively clean compared to the boys. Gabbi no longer seems to be "Crabby Gabbi" or "Grabby Gabbi" but instead she had jumped ahead to "logical Gabbi". One day Nate had her favorite toy, and rather than go and just take it from him, as "Grabby Gabbi" would do, she instead took another toy, set it down next to him, and waited for Nate to set down her toy. Sure enough, Nate set down the toy that Gabbi wanted, and picked up the other toy, where Gabbi proceeded to pick up her desired possession and scurried off with it.













(Jack and Gabbi watch the dogs)






The kids all really love to watch the dogs whenever they get a chance, and you'll hear little screeches as the dogs go runing past the window the kids are looking out of.









Sophia is quite the big sister as I'll often go out to find her reading to Jack, Nate and Gabbi in the morning in their cribs, or playing with them in the family room while Kim and I are getting ready. She really is a huge help. Sophia is about to finish up Kindergarten, and has been tearing it up this year. She's reading really well, and had a speaking part in a recent performance for her class. She also had her second ballet performance, which these pictures show a bit of, she's the second from the left.

The hardest thing now is trying to change the kids diapers in a reasonable fashion. Now that they are all moving, and now that they are all getting their own need for mobile freedom, it has become quite the task. Jack and Gabbi scurry for the wipes container at any chance and will be pulling out yards of wipes before you even catch on they have it. The butt cream is a highly desired object by all three kids and they all make a beline for it whenever they see it. Getting the kids to lay still while you change a diaper is nearly impossible, as they flip, and flop and move everywhere, so it's all you can do to hold onto them to keep them in one place so feet and stuff aren't dipping into the poo. Then to cap it off, the two kids whose diaper is not getting changed, find it entertaining to try and come over to see what is going on with the diaper that is getting changed. One will grab for the wipes (much needed wipes I might add), while another is grabbing for the soiled diaper(s), and the one being changed is arching their back in a very advanced wrestling maneuver that I have yet to learn how to overcome. Kim and I often break a sweat these days while changing diapers...



Toodles for now... I'll try and be better about updating... really I will.