8 months old (with videos!)

I really love this age.  Sam is not yet crawling.  He's still content to ride along in the carrier. He still easily falls asleep in my arms.  And he is so, SO adorable!

Samuel: 22lbs 8oz, 28.25"

Amelia: 18lbs 12oz, 27.25"

Marley: 17lbs 2oz, 27"

And now for the videos!!



He can't get down from (or up to) sitting on his own, yet.  I mean, he can, but it involves falling on his face, so I usually just help him:)



Playing one of his favorite games!



I love that there are tons of "floor raspberries" videos that YouTube recommends after you watch this one.  Apparently, this is a common thing among babies this age.



Okay, one more. You might want to turn your volume down for this one.

Wipin' butts and takin' names

Jeff gets back tonight, and I only had one nervous breakdown while he was gone. Yes, I realize there's still time, but I'll count that as a success. Hooray! AND the house has been thoroughly de-sick-ified. HUGE hooray! Thanks for all the well-wishes. I think we are all better now - just in time for summer!

ETA: Oh, right. So, as the parent of three young children, I've recently been thinking about the massive amount of time I spend wiping butts.

Baby butts: Wiping baby butts is the most time-intensive. Generally, there are multiple poops each day. Plus, there are poopy diapers to deal with afterward.

Potty-training butts: During this stage the actual wiping gets easier (usually), but a lot of time is spent waiting for the poop's arrival. And when there's a miss...just, yuck.

Big kid butts: We're SO close to being completely potty-independent now. But five year-olds still need help wiping, and the learning process is a bit...messy.

So, by my calculation*, I spend roughly 65% of my day taking care of the potty needs of others.

*I didn't actually do any sort of calculation. This number may be a little off.

Enjoy some random photos!

Crappy Father's Day!

Marley was the first to get hit.  Last weekend he threw up in the car on the way home from Nai Nai and Grandpa Boston's house.  We thought he was just car sick.  Then he threw up every hour all night long.  Jeff earned his Daddy stripes by "sleeping" in a chair in the living room and holding a bucket under Marley's head each time he needed to hurl.

We managed to have a somewhat normal week, even making it out to see a Mariner's game one evening!  Then, it was Amelia's turn.  Poor girl came out of her room at one o'clock in the morning, covered in puke.  Jeff headed back to the chair to be the official bucket holder.  Sam and I stayed quarantined in our room, hoping that it would pass us by.

No such luck.  By Saturday night, we were all violently ill.  Except Marley.  He was fully recovered.  And full of energy.  Since no one else had an appetite, he figured he should get to have whatever he wanted for dinner.  He requested Huevos Rancheros.  He got a bowl of cereal.

There was no breakfast in bed or fun family outing for us on Father's Day.  Jeff and I took turns cleaning up poop and puke off of everything and everyone in the house.  I have never done so much laundry in my life.  Seriously, being this sick is terrible under any circumstances.  But, with both of us basically unable to function and still having to take care of Projectile Vomit Baby, Diarrhea Girl, and Super Peppy Boy, it's amazing we all survived!

Well, at least we have so far.  I'm really hoping the worst is behind us because Jeff is out of town at a conference for the rest of the week.  Wish me luck!  I'm also hoping he orders himself breakfast in bed one day to make up for the plain piece of toast and watered down apple juice he got for Father's Day.

And here's what the kids had to say about their dad earlier in the week, during happier times.

Marley: "My dad makes blueberry pancakes for breakfast.  He plays Mario with me.  We went to the baseball game and he got me a bag of peanuts and it was really yummy.  I love my dad because he loves me.  And I love that he is the best dad ever.  And that is the end of my story."

Amelia: "I love to play with my dad and I love when he sits next to me when we're eating dinner.  And when he gives me Rice Krispies for breakfast and all that stuff.  When I'm sad, daddy plays my special calm down music for me.  Marley says it's sleep music, but I say it's calm down music."

Sam: "Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da!"

Edit: Here are a few photos from the game. Check out the awesome 2nd row seats Jeff scored for us!

Seven Months (already!)

I'm desperately trying to stay on top of my record keeping here at Franklin Forum Central.  I'm not succeeding.  If only I could outsource the blog.  Oh well, here are my sweet seven month olds, anyway.  Enjoy!

Samuel - 22 lbs

Amelia - 18 lbs

Marley - 15 lbs

Six Months

Sam, at 6 months, is a blur of activity. Seriously. For a baby that is not yet crawling, he sure moves a lot! I tried to take his picture on his 6 month 'birthday' in April and got these.

Then, I tried to capture him a week or so later and got these. Still blurry. Oh well, I guess night time iPhone photo shoots are not the best:)

At any rate, he's a bundle of energy and growing like a weed.  A weed, I tell you!  Here's a little about 6 month old Samuel.
*Can sit well, unassisted. Can't yet get to sitting on his own, though.
*Can roll both ways and get around a room pretty quickly just by rolling.
*Is very grabby and tries REALLY hard to get his hands on anything within reach (or just out of it).
*Hair is probably his favorite thing to grab, especially his sister's.
*Is extremely entertained by peek-a-boo.  Especially loves the elaborate version where Marley sneaks around, crawling under furniture and such, so he can pop up unexpectedly and yell peek-a-boo at Sam.
*Thinks his siblings are hilarious.
*Has the greatest, most wonderful sounding laugh.
*Likes to empty containers.
*Has two little teeth on the bottom.
*Enjoys feeding himself sweet potatoes, apple sauce, yogurt, prunes, chicken, asparagus, carrots, and more!

Sam loved the tofu soup (among other things) at Dim Sum.

*Weighed over 20 lbs and was 28" tall (90th percentile!) at 6 months. (Here's Marley and Amelia)
*Wears 12 month size clothing.
*Has rolls, upon rolls, upon rolls.
*Drools a lot.
*Is beginning to be interested in books (for more than just eating them).
*Sleeps next to us (mostly) in his sidecarred crib.
*Wakes up 2-3 times during the night to nurse.
*Easily takes a bottle.
*Loves his binky, and almost always needs it to fall asleep.
*Plays alone happily for extended periods of time.
*Cries and fusses when he's tired.
*Babbles da-da, ba-ba, and ma-ma.
*Is very social and likes to be noticed. Almost always smiles back when someone talks to him.
*Is a pretty laid back, patient guy.

Here's a baby with bunny ears

Before my very eyes

I know it's so cliche', but these kids are seriously growing up too fast!  The days, weeks, and months are just flying by.  I can barely keep up with them in real life, forget life-documenting!  But, I'll try anyway.  Here are all my babies at 4 months old.

Marley: 12 lbs, 24.25 inches

Amelia: 14.5 lbs, 25.5 inches

Samuel: 17 lbs, 26.5 inches

And at 5 months...

Marley: 13 lbs, 24.5 inches

Amelia: 15 lbs, 26 inches

Samuel: 18.5 lbs, 27.25 inches