Fall Festival

We took the kids to the neighborhood Fall Festival today. They were too young to do much more than people watch. They fussed when I put them in their costumes at home, but boy, oh, boy did they enjoy the sights! Walter is in front, Adele in the middle, and Gordon in back with their dad and one of our neighbors.

They really loved watching the little train drive around.

I found a spot with decorations where I could get a photo. Actually, Jeff noticed the spot and it worked great.

Then we took them home to get photos on the front lawn. Gordon thought the grass was awesome. Walt & Adele not so much at first. They are in birth order -- Walter, Gordon, Adele.

Here's Walt the bumblebee

Here's Gordon the dragon lizard

And Adele the ladybug

Tough Days

It has been a tough few weeks with Team Berube. The kids have been fighting night time sleep. We gave them a few days of offering comfort, soothing, and letting them stay up a little later. But eventually we figured out it was an 'awareness' related issue and not a physical/pain issue, so we had to let them cry it out. None of them ever fussed for more than 20 minutes, but it is so tough!!

The days are also a little tougher as the kids are becoming more aware. They want my attention more, which is fine, but sometimes even my attention isn't enough. I try to take them out on errands and other fun things, but I also have to keep them from getting overtired. I've discovered a nice compromise is having us all play in the family room while Baby Einstein videos play in the background. They especially love "Baby's First Moves." We like to practice waving, clapping, and the other moves shown in the video. My kids have been starting these various milestones on their own, but they really respond to the kids, and especially puppets, when they do them onscreen.

We tried out a new cart at Target at our last shopping trip. It made my trip so much easier!

Water tastes better to Gordon from his sister's cup.

Adele plays in the ball pit having a great time.

Jeff took this photo when Walt was trying to do other things. This is his "WTF do you want, Dad?" face.

I don't know why the kids ended up sitting on top of each other, but I know they were up to something!
We woke up this morning to chilly weather So we broke out the fall clothes. Adele, of course, has adorable outfits. But I especially want to point out the awesome cuteness of the boy's Henleys.
And sitting in our chairs like big kids!

Our First Trip to the Zoo

We loaded up the car after the morning naps and took the kids to the Austin Zoo. The Zoo is a non-profit that takes only rescue animals. Last time I went (with my niece), I remember them talking about rescuing some of the cats (they have jaguars, tigers & lions) from a drug dealer bust and another that was being sold at a gas station. The zoo is about a 45 minute drive and by the time we hit a McDonalds drive-thru and made it down there, it was time for lunch. So first we sat at the picnic table and fed the kids lunch while roosters (!!) roamed around us.

Next we started touring the animals. I mostly took them to see the big animals. I wasn't sure if they were old enough to get anything out of it, but the kids started noticing the animals in their enclosures and pointing and watching. Especially Adele and Gordon!

They have a feeding section and that's where the kids really got into it. They are too young to feed the animals, but they loved watching me feed the llamas and goats.

Walt watching Mama feed the llamas.

These two llamas had a definite pecking order. I was feeding the one on the right until the other one looked up. Once the left one started eating, the right one deferred to him.

This goat was sleeping until it saw me come up to the gate. Then it didn't want me to leave. Most of the animals were pretty sleepy and didn't care about the food, but this goat was my new best friend.

The tigers were out!

Jeff got quite the workout pushing the stroller around those hills. I need to buy a double and a single stroller since I plan for us to start doing more stuff like this. When the kids start walking, I can't wait to take them on the zoo train ride. We had a great day. The kids were very well behaved and took their afternoon naps on the car ride home. I'm so glad we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather at the zoo!

Photo Bomb

I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd posted an update. Looking back through the blog, I feel like I post updates all the time, but it is really more like twice a month. That's not very often considering how many photos that I take! LOL! I'd posted quite a few of the group shots to Facebook, but most of the individual shots are 'blog exclusives'. Ha!

The kids are doing well. The early childhood intervention team came over to do an assessment and said the kids are low (though passing) in communication and very low (a zero) on their 12 month gross motor skills. However, they all scored the same, which is what is most important at this time. We're going to work on a few things and see how they do at 16 months before referring for physical therapy or anything like that.

We had our 1 year appointment on Oct 6th. Their weights and lengths were:

Walt -- 30 3/4 inches, 21lb 1oz, Gordon -- 31 1/4 inches, 25lb 1 oz, Adele -- 30 3/4inches, 19lb 2oz. I have some LONG babies!

The boys have started stalking me when I go into the kitchen to fix meals or bottles. I look down and see this --

Walt was first to get his hair cut. I finally realized I couldn't see his face anymore and so I chopped it myself. I didn't do the best job, but boy is it nice being able to 'see' him.

It is cool enough in the mornings to need pants. And a few days we've had to leave the pants on all day!

We still enjoy taking the kids to eat at Mighty Fine Burgers & Fries. I feel like we should put a little plaque on the table where we sit every time.

Lunch is a messy affair, but my kids are slowly turning into good eaters. They love blueberries & bananas. I knew they liked toasted cheese sandwiches, but this week they started eating ham & cheese. They also LOVE sweet potato fries and are starting to get into chicken. They love Mighty Fine burgers, so I may have to try ground beef at home, too.

The kids and I spend a lot of time playing in the living room. These shots are from Oct 17.

Walt

Gordon

Adele

I took the kids to MY favorite place -- Starbucks. They seemed to enjoy themselves just looking around and eating a snack while I had some coffee. It was a nice way to get out of the house for a bit.

These monogrammed shirts were a present from my friend Lisa. I found the bow for Adele at the resale shop.

These candid shots are fun because all the kids happened to be in profile. We are going through a SUPER fussy phase. So I put Baby Einstein videos on the tv while we are playing. Our favorites are the ones with animals.

Walt

Gordon

Adele

Today I hosted a play date in the morning and the cleaning ladies were here in the afternoon. So to get the kids out of the house for a few minutes, I took them on a quick walk to the mailbox. Little did I know, crazy hair would be the result!

Grandma and Grandpa S

Grandma and Grandpa S (my parents) stayed in town after the birthday party. The kids have been having a great time! They've been to the park, fed the ducks, taken us shopping for kids' clothes, and, of course, Mighty Fine burgers & fries. That's our favorite restaurant!

I also bathed the babies together so my parents could play. The kids had a great time and were showing off for their grandparents.

The babies have also had a lot of fun with Daddy. They all love their daddy very much (obviously) but the boys especially go nuts. When Daddy comes home, they crawl over to him and hold up their arms to be picked up. And if he gets on the ground, the boys are all over him.

Walt relaxed in his Daddy's arms. He was actually laying down until he saw the camera come out.

Gordon decided he wanted in on the action.

I always am either driving the van or sitting in the front passenger seat. So with grandparents in town, I sat in back with Grandma and the kids. The kids thought this was great. Adele and Walt.

Gordon

I found a few more photos from their birthday that I wanted to share. Here's a photo showing about half the babies that were in attendance. We had quite the crowd!

After their afternoon nap, we had the kids open their gifts. They never quite got the hang of ripping the paper, but Adele started figuring out new toys were appearing and she got super excited.