LeBlanc triplets: Weekend o Fun

Now that I have your attention...

We're doing just fine here. We even survived Brent's first night away for work. Mary Louise and David slept in their bed until about 11pm and then came running in to join me "in da big bed". No matter, I was up and feeding my munchkin anyhow. "The big kids" eventually ignored my activity and drifted off to sleep. I was amazing to be surrounded by my little lovies all night - and even more amazing to actually get a few hours of sleep with 3 kids 3 and under in my immediate midst.

Everett is absolutely amazing - and I realize how many times I've said that. He just fits so perfectly in our family. Mary Louise and David (no less amazing of course) have continued to shower him with affection: kisses, gentle love pats, alerting me (just in case I might miss something) of any concerns they have about him. Mary Louise absolutely insists on helping with every diaper change. David even offered his froggie to a fussy E this morning and appeared so proud when Everett calmed with the weight of the positioner on his belly.

They still love to "hold" Everett:

(how long do you think it'll take for Everett to pass David in growth?)

Everett has been having some gas issues. (I mean really - not only is he a newborn, but also a LeBlanc. The flatulence cards were certainly stacked against him: see early videos of ML and D!) It bothers him a little - but not enough to warrant intervention other than a nice belly massage or some baby yoga poses (wind pose) for a minute or 2. He's definitely a sleepy nurser. But it's slowly getting better with time. Right now, he nurses most of the morning and most of the evening with a relatively short break for his long(er) nap mid day. He seems very happy, very relaxed most of the time. He does wake quite a bit at night - but also allows a few decent stretches of sleep which is nice. I'm hoping for a little more with some time - and once we get past the first 2 months of wild growth spurts.

Somewhere along the way of Everett's birth and our subsequent hospital stay, Mary Louise and David learned about hunger. They have been eating like mad since we came home! I'm excited to say that our "meals" have become a bit less stressed and more child initiated (rather than me saying, "I think maybe you should eat a little something as you haven't in a number of hours..." and then frustratingly putting a small portion of whatever we have available out for them.) One thing does remain constant: these guys do much much better with fewer choices at a time. We put small bowls of single food options on their little table. They can eat what and when they want, then are offered a new option once the first one is almost done. The key is to offer foods before they get really hungry - which is where their new habit of requesting food comes in handy. If anyone begins to pitch a "hunger" fit, we're out of luck. It's just nice to see them getting a little more excited about eating - and making their own healthy choices.

We had a great day of painting outside this week:

And of course we had to find a way to "get clean" afterward:

I have to mention here that I made a quick phone call to Nanny Pan during this painting session. My side comments during the call included - but were not limited to:
"If you put that in your nose, Mommy will have to dig it out with Q-tips"
"Please don't lick the paint brushes...anymore"
"Don't stick it in your ear either"
"Mary Louise, that's not makeup - and does not really belong in your eyes...incidentally, make-up doesn't really belong in your eyes either"
"I think you have enough paint in your hair"
and finally
"Please don't paint the house, my shoes, blankets, the outdoor furniture and please please don't paint baby Everett. Can you maybe paint him a picture on your PAPER instead?"

(don't think it was all negative - they were praised completely for their mixing and naming of colors, great use of space and clean up efforts - the picture came out really beautifully and we had a grand time discussing and telling stories about it)

"All qu-een!" (clean):

Once a real bath was had, we went to get the mail - Granny's birthday surprises came!! (and can I just say that "real" money is apparently one of the BEST gifts EVER (other than "pack packs" of course - which hold the "real" money nicely):

Mary Louise and David have been asking for days to "go to da gwo-cee dora to buy somp-ing?" (go to the grocery store to buy something...ha - you can tell these kids don't get out that much right?)
*****************************
Mommom made an all to quick trip in this weekend to offer a break and a hand for Brent and I. We ran a few errands with just Everett in tow. We were even able to sneak away after bath time for about an hour for a quick bite to eat!

Some amazing outside time was had - outside "baths" (yes. that is a NICU bath tub - crazy right?)

On Sunday, Brent and I became god-parents to Philip - who is about 6 weeks older than Everett:

I dressed Everett up in a less than masculine outfit...because there are only about 3 months in which a baby can pull off such an outfit...and well, because he looked so stinkin' cute in it!!