Sunny days are here again (temporarily)

This has been a VERY wet summer according to the locals. So we take advantage of every sunny day (or at least non-raining day) to go outside.  Soon enough we'll be in the true rainy season and I'll regret any time I didn't spend with the kids in the yard.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow have been/will be super warm for Ireland. I actually put the kids in sandals. They were a little weirded out at first, but quickly got the hang of it.

Gordon's feet crack me up. 

Adele wears these sandals with socks all the time.

Walt fell and scraped his nose first thing, but was okay after that.

Playing with bottles filled with rocks.

They follow each other around now. It used to be they shot in 3 directions, but now where one goes the rest often follow.

They also follow each other in what they do.  When Gordon got on the ground, the other two did, too.

They found this pot and had fun for a long time just filling it up with rocks.

Walter added a new word today, 'kick.'  They all love playing with balls indoors and out and are learning to kick.  He's been adding a new word about every 2-3 days lately.  

Every day, they play together a little bit more.  We'll go in for baths and they've discovered drumming on the toilet lid is so fun.  But it is more fun when they all do it together and they encourage each other to hold their hands in the air, then start drumming at the same time and stop all at once.  They also love running up and down the hall while 'stopping' and 'going' at the same time.  And if one decides to crawl, the other two quickly decide that looks like a lot of fun.

Naps are different, too.  A couple weeks ago, I started just calling them down the hall for naps. Now they march along with me for naps and head straight to their crib and wait to be lifted up.  Bedtime, however, is a completely different story. They take forever to fall asleep at night and adjusting their bedtime doesn't seem to matter. 

We've basically been sick for 3 months straight now. They fight off one virus only to pick up another (with the occasional infection thrown in.)  I know part of it is moving to a new country, but a big part of it is simply their age and how much more exposure they are getting.  For the most part, they are rarely too miserable, so we just go about our day in a normal manner.  

They are still doing the creche one morning a week and while they cry like crazy when I drop them off, they now don't cry long. And when I come to pick them up I watch them on the monitors and can see how much fun they are having.  Plus, I feel like I've seen a big jump in their development since they started going. During the winter when it is cold and rainy here, I may up the number of mornings that I take them.  We'll see!

The kids are so fun, but also super frustrating. I was finding I was losing my temper more often than I liked. Plus they are really picking up, and imitating, many of my behaviors, so I wasn't too happy about them seeing me so frustrated. I read an article from Parents magazine that offered a few tips and I've been trying to follow those the last couple of days. It hasn't changed the kids behavior yet, but it has changed mine and I like it, so I'll see if I can stick with it.

Here's to constant change!