Bad Hair Days

Not having any hair myself, it's been a while since I've had my own bad hair day.  However, in our house, there are plenty to go around, even if I'm only a jealous spectator.  In fact, it's one of the things I look forward to most each morning--waking up to see how much partying each of my ladies' hair did that night.  I know, it's the small things :)

There are so many variables that go in to each morning's stylings--the time since their last bath, whether they slept with pigtails in, whether some remnants of food were forgotten in their hair, etc.  The one thing that's the same though, each and every morning, is the smile that it puts on my face and the pictures that magically appear which inevitably scream to be taken.

Enjoy their latest creations!

Sophie, thinking "Who cares about hair?  Where's my breakfast?"


Izzy, even more shocked than I was at this particular hairstyle


Maddy, looking like she stuck her finger in the socket

While Mom Was Away

I've always appreciated my wife, but I've recently earned a greater appreciation for what she experiences on a day-to-day basis while managing our girls' lives.  This past weekend, she temporarily disregarded her motherly duties and flew to Nashville to participate in a wedding with some close friends of ours.  I was supposed to be with her, but we're not ready to unleash our girls on anyone yet, so I stayed at home for some father-daughter(s) bonding time.

Honestly, after the first couple of days, I was thinking to myself, "Hey, this staying-at-home-with-the-babies thing isn't that tough!"  And that's when it happened.  The girls sensed it--Dad getting comfortable.  I let my guard down and they let me have it.  My sweet, sweet girls disappeared, at least on the surface, and were replaced with these screaming, unhappy near-human beings.  Seriously, don't they know that crying only adds snot on top of snot that's there from the colds that all three of them shared?

In reality, it wasn't all bad.  We read a lot of books.  We shared a lot of laughs.  I laughed, they cried.  They laughed, I cried.  We cruised around the neighborhood in our choo choo wagon, while stopping to check out the fallen leaves.  It wasn't enough to experience the colorful leaves through her senses of just sight and touch, Sophie wanted to taste the chlorophyll to truly understand what leaves were.  I got puked on (several times).   But in the end, we all escaped unscathed physically and emotionally (mostly).

Meg's return was a blessing.  I truly think the girls respond to her differently than they do to me.  It's not that they don't love me, because it's obvious that they do, but there's something about Mom and the girls know it and, believe me, I do too!

The alternate title for this blog post was Where Does Snot Come From, Really?  I mean seriously, it's like there's some internal faucet in there whose handle's been broken off.  

Even with a monster cold, Maddy was pretty unfazed.  She's very proud of all of the teeth she's getting though and isn't afraid to show them off (front four on the top and front four on the bottom)!



I can't stop cracking up when I see this photo.  You should have seen the bubble slowly growing.  I actually had time to run and get my camera!  She put a lot of effort in to this one!



There's nothing like the smell of your baby's breath when they have a cold and can only breathe through their mouth.  Listerine anyone?



Even when crying, she's still beautiful.

An Abundance of Loved Ones

There was another action-filled weekend at the DeBauche house.  We had friends and family welcomely invade our home.  I meant to post these last week, but each and every day got away from me.

Last Saturday, the girls' great grandma, Jane, their great aunt, Patti, and their cousin, Becky, all drove down from Green Bay to spend the day with our little ladies.  The very next day, our good friends, Laurie and Errick, as well as their son, Hudson (I've posted pics of him before), drove over from Grand Rapids, MI to meet our girls for the first time.

There's never enough time to spend with your loved ones, but I love being able to look back and remember all of the smiles and laughter.


Laurie, with Sophie and Hudson


Sophie, exploring the patio (note that she's walking everywhere now!)


Laurie, reading everyone a book


What do you do with a pool when the weather gets cool?  You fill it with balls!



Maddy, with her great aunt Patti


Sophie, trying to convince aunt Patti to let her eat her camera


Laurie, reading with Hudson, Sophie, and Maddy




Laurie and Sophie


So, Izzy was just cracking up at Becky reading this story.  Check out Izzy's face over the next three-photo sequence.  I love that girl.







Izzy, recovering from her laughing fit




v





Patti and Maddy




The last time their Great Grandmother Jane was in town, all of the girls were in the NICU.  It was so great that she could come down and visit and allow me to make some memories with her and each of the girls.

Great Grandma Jane and Sophie










Great Aunt Patti and Maddy


Maddy, not necessarily sure about the grass on her bare feet


The thinking man lady


Meg and Izzy


Great Grandma Jane and Izzy












Izzy and Great Aunt Patti




Izzy was feeling incredibly photogenic that day.





Great Grandma Jane and Maddy












Before my grandma left, I really wanted to make sure that I got a photo of her with all three of the girls.  Of course, the photographer in me wanted to bring out a little light, but it proved to be much more difficult than I imagined.  Not surprisingly, it wasn't the light that was difficult.



We tried to do this outside, but I couldn't get the girls to stand in the grass.  Even with three helpers, we just couldn't get the shot.



So, we moved inside on to one of the couches.  Aside from Maddy almost flying off of the couch face-first, the girls survived and I got some really fun shots!