It was supposed to rain this morning, so we'd planned to take the kids to the Crescent Shopping centre to walk around and have some lunch. However, the weather stayed nice and I realized the kids would have a much better time running around in the yard. Gordon is constantly asking to go ou-side, as he says. They got super excited when I brought out their coats (yes, coats in August.) Jeff grabbed the camera and we headed out.
Adele checking out her shadow
Playing bubbles
Give this boy a ball and he is SO happy
The boys are fascinated when the neighbor boys come over and walk on the wall. So, now they want 'up, up, up.'
We knew the weather was supposed to be nice, so we took the kids to downtown Limerick in the morning so we could walk around and I could shop for things for their 2nd birthday. The weather was gorgeous. The kids, however, got tired of downtown and the stroller after the first hour.
After they woke from their nap (or in Adele's case, after she came out of the room having boycotted her nap) we took them outside to run around. Jeff brought the camera, so he captured a number of fun photos.
Adele doing some gardening.
Just awesome.
Walt, having picked up some minuscule piece of whatever, proudly brings it to Dada.
Walt studying his options
Gordon
Rocks and flowers are fun
I just love Walt's smile
Gordon was after the ball
I sat on the steps, so all the kids had to join me. Immediately.
Gordon was having a tough day
Again with the awesome smile
This girl loves dirt
Walt loves to squat walk. It is so cute!
Normally Adele isn't into being tossed around, but today she was all about it!
The kids, specifically the boys, have been quite fussy the last few days. I did a check in their mouths on Monday afternoon and the boys are getting their final teeth. I could actually see one of Gordon's had broken through the gums already. Since the two of them proceeded to cry off and on for almost 2 hours after I checked, I decided I wouldn't check anymore.
Walt has been the most lap-dependent boy since Monday and that is not like him at all. Gordon has mostly been himself, but just very whiny. The whining has even begun affecting Adele, who started showing signs of strain today.
But, I've managed to keep the kids distracted some (though today that was almost impossible) and so we've had some good times amongst the teething.
Last Friday, I had a migraine on the most beautiful day in months, so since then, if we even have 20 minutes of sun, I've been trying to take the kids outside to enjoy it.
She's been giving me the biggest smiles lately
Walt and Adele were cracking each other up over the back of the chair.
Gordon woke from his nap and lay around for 2 hours after I checked his teeth.
After dinner and baths, the boys were MUCH better
The next morning, the boys were back to unhappy
Walt spent the morning on my lap and cried anytime I had to put him down
Adele was in a great mood. Here she's playing with a monkey pillow pet saying "ooh, oooh, oooh, oooh."
That afternoon we went to the store and then outside. That perked the boys right up!
Adele and Gordon sat in the chairs for a while, but Walt just wanted to play up, down, up down.
Building with bristle blocks this morning before our playgroup friends arrived.
Gordon spent most of his time throwing the blocks off the table and having me fetch them.
We'd planned on Saturday to go to Limerick, but Adele woke overnight with a stomach virus, so we had to skip that trip. Luckily, she was much better by Saturday evening. They'd predicted a rainy Sunday, but when I went to the grocery store it was humid, warm, and not raining. So we put the kids in shorts and sandals, then loaded them in the stroller.
Leaving the neighborhood. The sidewalks were wet from the rain the night before.
New baby ducks to feed!They are all clustered together at the top of the photo.
Another shot of the ducks
Waiting out the rain that hit suddenly at the market. Adele was enjoying herself. She kept clapping and saying 'yay!'
Arriving home -- notice the lack of hats, Walt no longer has his bottle, and Gordon is missing shoes! Luckily, we didn't lose anything, but these kids sure like to shed items.
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.
I took a couple cute videos today and thought I'd share them.
Walt building a tower with Dad. He was at this for a long time.
I recently claimed my digital copies of a few movies. We've been watching "Wall-E" lately. The kids, especially Adele, really like the first 20 minutes or so where it is very quiet and just the robots. Here's Adele "Zooming" around with EVE as she flies.
It feels like Gordon has taken another leap in his vocal development this week. He talks almost non-stop, reciting the alphabet, books we read, and verbalizing what he's doing (ball, catch, bounce, kick.)
Walt has added a few new words to his line-up, his favorite being 'juice.' And if he says it, he gets it. Walt LOVES juice. Though, technically what I give him is water with a splash of juice.
Adele continues to say more and more, too. In fact, that's her new favorite word (though one she's known for a while), 'more.' She makes it into a 3 syllable word and often can't tell you what she wants more of, but she says it a lot.
The kids are all starting to play together and interact a lot. I went to pick them up from the creche, where they were quite happy, and watched them on the monitors for a few minutes. It was fun to see them following each other around and interacting, even as the played with (or around) other kids. I'm also seeing it a lot at home. Walter, especially, loves when one of the other kids wants to play the same thing he's playing.
Here are Walt and Gordon playing together.
The place I see the most interactive play is in the bathtub. They even trade toys. Walt loves to give Gordon a toy that Gordon wants so that Gordon will say 'thank you.' It is so sweet!
Cuties in the bath tub.
Of course, sometimes their idea of fun isn't the same as mine, but I let them go at it. *grin* Messes aren't too bad to clean up.
And it is so fun to watch their skills grow and develop. They are running around everywhere now, not just walking. They've even started playing catch with their balls.
Since our toddler playgroup is still on vacation for the summer, we've been meeting up with some of the moms at their houses (and ours.) Walt isn't too into it. In fact, we had to leave our first one early because he and Adele wouldn't stop crying. But this time, Walt was okay as long as he was on my lap and the other two had a blast.
Gordon, right in the middle of all the action
Adele chatting up another mom and little girl.
Of course, playing outside is still one of their favorite things to do.
She held onto these kitchen spatulas the entire morning. Even on our trip to the store.
They were both laughing. Adele at the wind and Gordon at the pure joy of being outside.
Walt loves going up and down this steep incline. He enjoys a challenge!
Of course with play comes bumps and bruises. Walt has started dancing and spinning.
Today he went for the quadruple and ended up with a header into the cabinets.
Silly boy cried more at the ice pack than the bump on the noggin.
As for more interactive play....
Adele and Gordon having fun in the ball pit.
I don't carry a purse much, but I've started to carry one lately so I think this is why Adele finally decided she needed a bag.
