Boys, boys, boys

I really don't have time to update this blog, which is clear to everyone who (tries to) read it! :) I just wanted to put a quick update of our boys and their current selves.

Calan - 31 months old
Really is the sweetest big brother I've ever seen. Truly loves his brothers and shares with them willingly (most of the time). A wiz at puzzles (even the 50 pc ones) and anything he can "solve". A bookworm at heart. We have come across some delays in his gross motor skills (running, jumping, etc.), so this is being addressed. Very inquisitive and loving sums up my sweet baby (he's still my baby) Calan!

Finn - 1 year
A true mama's boy at heart. He is the strongest little guy (or not so little guy) i've ever seen, but still loves to be held. He says mama, dada and gaga (my mom) and tries to say other words occasionally, but he really prefers to point and grunt! :) Our most physical boy, he is the true definition of boy - loves to climb and go go go. He is our earliest walker at 12 months. Looks like mama and has my temper too (eek!), but as quick as he is to anger, like me, he is quick to move on. A sweet, sweet soul that just wants to be anything BUT a baby!

Patrick - 1 year
Now, this is our baby model. Sweet as sugar, but he does bite (literally)! That said, Patrick is probably the easiest baby of all 3 because he really just enjoys being alive! A sweet boy with beautiful eyes and an easy laugh. He really loves people and being in the middle of it all. He also LOVES to eat (even though he is the smallest) and loves to feed others too. Our little actor, you may see him in the movies one day!

Calan, Finn and Patrick

I got this idea from Laura, so thank you! Just want to make notes of our little guys personalities at their current ages.

Calan - 2 years, 2 monthsStill a sweet, sweet brother to F & P. LOVES other kids and loves going to the park to play with Conor or Max and Sam (2 year old twin boys we see regularly at the park). Smart as a whip. Talks like a 3-4 year old. He can remember anyone's name...even if he's met them just once months ago. Still strong minded. And still likes to cry/scream if things aren't going his way. I told him about 2 weeks ago if he wanted to start using the potty then he'd get a treat if he goes "pee pee" or "poo poo" in the potty. When I was changing his diaper 2 nights ago, he said "i want to use the potty" so I obliged and happily put him on it. He hopped off immediately and said "i want a treat". Good Lord! He is a ham indeed! Sometimes he'll even say "i'm funny". Calan is a delight (most of the time) and really enjoys being social. He has been going through a "mama" phase and has been clingy to me more.

Patrick - almost 8 months
This boy is a talker. He already says Da-da...to Neils. He also says Ga-ga (for my mom). What's the deal with Mama?? He is a sweet, sweet, cuddly boy and just loves to be held. He also loves to be looked in the eye. He doesn't like being left alone for any length of time (i.e. to leave the room and change Finn or Calan's diaper). But as soon as you return, he's fine. He sleeps for 12 hours a night and has 2-3 naps a day. Patrick is so very sweet, but also dramatic. He'll let you know when he's mad! He loves his brothers and just smiles and smiles when Calan pays him attention.

Finn - almost 8 months
This boy is a MOVER and SHAKER. He is crawling (army style) very quickly all over the house. He rolls, crawls, catapults himself wherever he needs to go. We call him our puppy, because he loves to find a shoe or sock to chew on...OY! Finn is for sure the wild man of the group and God help me that he doesn't send me to an early grave with all his antics. At only 7 months old, he is so very strong and doing so many physical things that Calan didn't do until later. Putting him down for a nap is like a wrestling match. Good thing he's able to fall asleep on his own pretty well if left in his crib when he's tired. He does sleep for 11 hours at night and takes naps (usually short naps). He is a sweet boy who loves to smile and laugh. Finny laughs with his whole body and it's the cutest thing ever!

A day in the life.....

Here's what a "typical" day is like at the Goodwin home in August 2011 - Patrick and Finn are now 5 months and Calan turns 2 next week!

6:00 (or sometimes earlier) - Finn or Patrick usually wake up - sometimes at the same time. Calan will wake up around 6 or 6:30 am as well. I get all 3 boys downstairs (or put Calan with Daddy in bed to watch a show on Sprout). Feed Finn and Patrick their bottles (8 oz) and give Calan his sippy with milk. If he's downstairs with us he watches a show while I feed them.

7:00 or 7:30 - breakfast for Mama and Calan. Usually oatmeal and egg whites for us both! He sometimes requests a muffin, so I'll give him a Vitatop, which is basically just a 100 calorie muffin top, instead of oatmeal. He gets applesauce too sometimes. Patrick and Finn sit in their seats at the table and drool over our food. Today, I fed them some rice cereal, since they had eaten at about 5:30 am and they were acting hungry again.

7:30 - Niki (our nanny) arrives and Daddy leaves for work. He usually doesn't get up until 7:15, which is fine b/c mornings are not his thing and we like to be cheery in the AM :) I go upstairs to start my work day around 8.

8 - 9 Usually P or F go for a nap about now...maybe at the same time but not always. If it's Tuesday or Thursday, Calan goes to Heart and Hands play based pre-school. If it's Monday or Wednesday, we have a helper come for Niki. This summer it has been Nathalie, our 13 year old neighbor. Niki's sister, Shelby, who is expecting a baby in December will help us when Nathalie goes back to school in 2 weeks.

The remainder of the morning is spent playing outside with Calan or taking a walk to the park. Usually with the double stroller and Niki will wear P or F in the carrier. The boys eat 8 oz every 3 hours and have rice cereal in the morning and at dinner...but they don't really eat that much of it yet...still trying to get the hang of eating! Finn sooo wants to be big and eat regular food, but the poor guy just gets frustrated that it's not going down fast enough!

11:30 - noon - lunch for Calan and then his nap. He is still in his crib, so if I'm working from home (Monday or Friday usually), then I'll take him up to his room and read him a story and lay him down w/his monkey. He uses a pacifier ONLY at naps and bedtime, and it's been that way since he was 1. He doesn't associate it with the day time, so I don't know if we'll take that away soon. If I'm not here, Niki or Nathalie put him down. He sleeps about 2.5 hours these days!

P and F have been napping in short spurts lately...about 4 45 minute naps/day....wish they'd combine 2 of them for a 1.5 hour nap each time! They are rocked to sleep. They are no longer swaddled (F-never really liked it, so we quit at around 3 months, P-really liked it and we quit around 4.5 months).

3:30 - 4 If I'm out of the house seeing clients, I usually get back around this time and if Calan's at school I pick him up between 3:30 and 4. I let Niki go around 4. I really enjoy my time w/all 3, but it's WORK trying to get them all pacified enough so I can make dinner/do stuff around the house. We sometimes go on a walk around this time.

5:00 - 7:00 The witching hour. This is when all 3 have needs that must be fulfilled at the same time! So we have to have 2 people here at the WH! We feed all 3 (and us) around 5:30 or 6. Then we bathe P & F every other night, Calan every night b/c he gets DIRTY with all the playing he does. If it's bath night for all 3, we go upstairs around 6:30 to start the process of bathing them. If it's just Calan, we usually wait until after P & F go to bed (around 6:30 or 7) and then bathe him in our tub.

7:00 - 7:30 Calan gets bathed and then we watch Kipper (a short, british cartoon) for about 10 minutes. He tells us when he's tired by getting off our bed and walking to his room. :) To put the little guys to bed, we hold them while we watch Calan's show until they look tired and then we take one of them to rock them for about 2 or 3 minutes (on a good day) to put them down. Then we do the same thing with the other one. Calan picks out a story in his room and I sing him a song and put him in his bed. He usually talks himself to sleep or plays around for a few minutes and then nods off by 7:45 ish.

Then, after they're all in bed, I finish up the chores and FINALLY sit for a minute, before I go to bed around 9! All that work makes me tired! :)

You have your hands full!

If I hear that phrase - "you have your hands full" - again, I will literally scream! When I'm out with all 3 boys alone or even with another person (Neils, my mom, Niki), I ALWAYS get at least 2 or 3 people who will comment on our "situation". I am getting a little tired of hearing that! Yes, we do have our hands full and then some, but no, I don't need everyone who approaches us to reiterate that glaring fact. The other day, when I had Patrick and Finn in the stroller, I decided to let Calan walk to the park (it's about 1/4 mile from our house, if that). This was a bad idea. He decided to park himself on someone's lawn about 5 houses down and just have a little sit. I tried to be patient and ask him politely to come on to the park, but he said "no, no, no" in his cute little sing-songy toddler voice. Okay, I tried to pick him up and then the tantrum came....full force...he dropped. I picked him up again...dead weight...tried asking again...no way! During the middle of this scene, two ladies walking their corgie's walked by and asked...."twins?" me - "yes", them - "how old is he?" me- "almost 2" them - "wow, you have your hands full!" me - "no, i'm cool. can't you see how much fun I'm having! I'm also pregnant with triplets and so excited to have 6 kids under the age of 3!" That's actually what I should have said but instead I just nodded while trying to pick up Calan again. We didn't make it to the park that day - needless to say, but I did learn my lesson. Always wear a baby and so I have room to put Calan in the stroller during a 2 year old tantrum!

Big Boys

We had our 4 month Dr's visit on Thursday and confirmed that our premature boys have caught up and then some! Official stats below:

Patrick: 16 lbs 14 oz
Finn: 17 lbs 12 oz

Whoa nelly! Calan was 15 lbs 14.5 oz at 4 months. The Dr. noted that Finn behaves like a 6 month old physically and Patrick's right on the mark for a healthy 4 month old! What makes Finn more advanced is that he is stronger (neck control, etc), he rolls from front to back AND back to front, and he tries to crawl....literally. He can move himself about 2-4 feet when you put him on his tummy, so we have to watch him very carefully. Patrick is a little ahead of Finn with the types of "talking" noises he makes, so they balance each other out well!

C'mon Patrick

The little boys are 10 days shy of their 4 month mark and doing great! They both roll (from their tummy), smile ALOT and giggle. Finn is especially giggly and loves to get his diaper changed and will laugh constantly while on the changing table. He also likes to sleep and does so from about 7:30 pm - 6:30 am! Yay Finn. Patrick is a sweet, sweet boy who just loves to be held and gives sweet smiles when you pay him attention. He eats more than Finn but is smaller. He likes to see Mommy and Daddy so much that he still wakes up at midnight and around 3:00 or 4:00 am....C'mon Patrick, get with the sleeping program! :) We love to see him too, but the middle of the night is not the preferred time to visit!

Calan started an in-home, Waldorf style (play-based) pre-school last week on Tuesday/Thursday. He is doing well once he's there but he does cry when Neils drops him off. The teacher/owner of the school, who's been caring for children for nearly 30 years, said that it takes about 15 days (of attending) for the children to acclimate. I hope that's true. I did get to observe him last Thursday without him knowing I was there for about 30 mins and he did great! He was having a snack with all the kids and was having fun! It was so great to watch him without him knowing, because I got to see how he did when we aren't around. He has also been napping on a mat in the same room with all the other kids!!! I am astounded by this, as he's only ever napped well in his crib. Kudos to his teacher for being able to get him down! Here's some pics of the boys from about a month ago....I'll have to upload the others from my camera sometime in the next century!

Chaos

It's been too long since I've posted, but with good reason...our life is pretty hectic around here with a 21 month old and two 2.5 month old twins. Their arrival was hectic and then there was the NICU stay. Then Finn came home after an 8 day stay in the NICU and Patrick was 5 days later. We felt so blessed to have our whole family together. Since then life has been chaotic but full of love. The little boys are changing so much and have grown from their birth weights of 5 lbs 10 oz (Patrick) and 5 lbs 15.5 oz (Finn) to 11 lbs 12 oz and 13 lbs respectively, at 10 weeks old! They are smiling and cooing BUT not yet sleeping through the night. When I asked our pediatrician if that was normal, as Calan slept through the night at 10 weeks old, she politely said that we were pretty lucky with him! Still, I pray every night that I don't get that 2 am wake up call. We keep the boys on the same schedule so when one eats, they both eat. I feel like Finn could probably sleep longer, but we don't want them eating at different times because then we'd just be feeding someone every hour!

Here's a little run down on all 3 fellas and what we've learned about them so far (the little guys):

Calan - a sweet, sweet, sweet big brother who wants only to give kisses to his baby brothers and to participate in "tummy time" with them (he says tummy time anytime he sees them on the floor!). Occasional near-2 year old tantrums are starting...God help us. Calan loves other children more than anything and is very social. When we drive by a park, he chants "kids, kids, kids" and says "get down" with much force. He is starting a play based preschool in June 2 days a week. We hope he loves it!

Patrick - Baby A, born 2 minutes before Finn. Looks eerily similar to Calan's baby pictures and acts eerily the same. LOTS of personality and tons of facial expressions. You know when this one's mad too...just like big brother. But when he's happy, he's oh so happy, smiling and so cuddly. I think he'll be an actor with all his facial expressions and dramatic looks :)

Finn - Baby B. Moved constantly in the womb and still does. I think we may have an early crawler (not now, but wouldn't be surprised if he crawled/walked early). Mr. Cool and laid back...not too bothered by his brother Patrick's screaming...just sleeps right through.

And there they are...I hear someone crying....until next time!