Raising Cavebabies

New year. New babies. I can't believe how much the girls are changing each day.  I kinda felt like you could see gradual changes on a weekly or monthly basis during their first year, or maybe that's all I can remember.  Now, I feel like they're evolving in to these amazing little toddlers each and every day.  I'm not sure if being one year old officially qualifies you to earn the title "toddler," but that's what we're going with.

What's really noticeable is their behavioral changes.  No more than a month ago, I have slight recollections of coming home to a relatively quiet, albeit busy, house.  Now, I walk through the door and you'd think that Meg had come up a with a pay-per-scream payment agreement whenever they see Dad.  More specifically, whenever they see Dad and then he disappears temporarily.  In short, the girls are getting much more temperamental and have no issues with letting us know what they like and don't like, with Dad disappearing being on the major "don't like" list.

We really started noticing these changes about a month ago.  At first, we thought maybe they were just being a little fussy on a particular day or maybe someone was teething.  When it didn't stop, we realized we had a bigger problem on our hands--we had toddlers!  What do you do when you realize you have toddlers and were just finally feeling prepared to take care of babies?  Well, you ask your friends, you read other people's blogs, or you read a book.

We enjoyed reading The Happiest Baby on the Block, so of course the next logical step was to read The Happiest Toddler on the Block.  Genius!

We're still in the first couple of chapters, but one of the first concepts discussed is how your toddler's brain is developing.  Basically, for the next few years, we'll be raising these cavemen-like creatures--or cavebabies--who are totally right-brained and have no ability to reason or exhibit anything remotely close to patience.  I think I innately knew this about toddlers, but to read it in a book and have it confirmed as a description for the next few years of our lives is something completely different.  All I know is that I'm going to have to adjust my perspective if I'm going to survive, which is something I plan on writing more about as I get through the book.

How do you deal with cavebabies?  What do cavebabies like to do?  Well, they don't like being cooped up inside all day.  So, you get them outside as often as possible.  We were fortunate with the weather here this past weekend.  It was incredible.  We took the girls to the arboretum and the zoo on consecutive days.  To all experienced parents, you're probably saying to yourself, "what's the big deal?"  Well, we've struggled to find a way to get all three girls outside of the house on a regular basis with all of their doctor's appointments and therapy.  When you combine our schedule with the ridiculous heat we've had this summer, the result is a lot of cushy, spoiled, air-conditioned babies.

Besides some grunts and cries of frustration when everyone wanted to stand up at once, their behavior was so different.  Stroller walks count a little bit, but putting down a blanket in the grass and just letting them crawl all around is what they really need.  We're praying for a really long fall and that the winter holds off so we can get them out of the house as much as we possibly can.  Thank goodness for the Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football app on the iPhone!

The girls, getting excited about their trip to the arboretum







For a while, I really didn't think Sophie and Izzy looked too much alike, but now I see it a little bit more.



Maddy, thinking twice about putting her feet down in the stream







"No way Jose!"




What's cuter than baby feet?



Izzy wasn't so sure about this plan.

"No way Jose!"


"Ah, this isn't so bad."




Sophie was pretty fearless.  However, I think she was disappointed we didn't bring her bathing suit.







While the other girls were a little apprehensive, she was ready to dive right in.



"No, don't eat the rocks!"







A little B&W for ya!



All of my lovely ladies.





"Hey dad!  When are you going to get in some of these pictures?"


Consoling the babies


Somehow, the girls all fell over at the same time.





Maddy likes to fly







Sophie can clap on demand.  However, the squishy face is optional.



"How big is Sophie?  Sooooo big!"




Maddy has fun clapping, but she still needs a little guidance to get the job done.



This one's getting printed on canvas and going up on the wall!





Izzy is so ticklish!



She loves to stand up all of the time now.  Even though she can't pull herself up yet, she'll stand for hours.  Ok, minutes.













Not sure we've ever seen Sophie's extra chin on display like this before :)



Next up...the baby toss!

Sophie


Maddy


Izzy


If you like B&W, enjoy!


Now, here's some color to brighten up your day.





If you're wondering what happened to Izzy's oxygen, we decided to take it off.  Her O2 sats have been between 96 and 98 and with as mobile as she's become, we've seen her tubing get wrapped around her neck several times, especially in the middle of the night.  There's still the risk that being off of the oxygen could have an effect on her pulmonary hypertension, but we'll get that check out in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, we decided it wasn't worth the risk.