Dear Hogglets,
Please forgive your mama. You've been keeping me way too busy and I've neglected your blog. I'm going to make an effort to keep up with it quarterly, since we all know there is no way monthly is happening!!!!!
Stats as of June 30, 2015:
Mac - 26.25 lbs; 2' 10.75"
Paisley - 20.5 lbs; 2' 7.5"
Catherine - 23 lbs; 2'11"
Yup, That's right Catherine has taken over on height, and Paisley continues to be tiny but mighty. Our 3 year appointment isn't until January, so forgive the outdated data!
At the end of last year, I made the decision to keep the kids home with a sitter instead of their Thursday outing to the Elaine Clarke Center. While they loved it and were loved there, I found it super difficult to get myself up and ready to work on time, and calling in far too often when one of them was sick. We spent the time sharing between me, their long term babysitter Cristiana, and Pamela, who was new to our team, and started as fill in at the end of last year. In August we said goodbye to Cristiana on a weekly basis as she moves on to more academic work towards pursuing her degree. Pamela has taken over the other day, and the kids loved having her children join them all summer for lots and lots of play! I think Mac especially enjoyed having another boy for rough play!
Mac: My "big boy" as he has taken to referring to himself. He's a boy at the core with a gentle and protective spirit. Loves playing chase and tickle, and fighting the "monsters" with his preferred stick, straw, or pretend weapon of choice. He alternates between that and going through all my kitchen and jewelry drawers. He's looking like a natural athlete (dad's genes, not mine) as he takes to all things sporty.... catch, throw, hit, kick and swing. He loves and invites you to play or sit with him, and is a cuddle bug all the time. He gives sweet kisses and smiles and giggles with ease. He goes through his "grumpy" moments but usually comes out of them quickly with a few minutes of stomping about. His hair grows in patches and after Decembers duck tail cut, hasn't been cut again and goes all over the place. Although this may have changed by the time this has published as his bedtime conversations of last night included "tomm I'll get a
Haircut"... We will see if we can find somewhere open on Christmas Eve! He's talking up a storm, but I find myself interpreting for him most of the time, and even I have a few moments of confusion where we get stuck between a few similar words.... He started the year with no interest in what his clothes are, but is ending it by only wearing "soccer shirts" and "digger shirts". He has not attempted to remove his shoes. He loves it when the others help him, and as the girls are saying "I do it" he is saying "you do it". He's been practicing his phrases and "no way" still makes him smile.
His favorite toys are his lovies, then his tool box, and his spoon. He's had a few recent moments where he has engaged in some figure play, but he's most often convincing Catherine into fighting monsters with him. He'd be a TV junkie if we let him. Sitting in his red chair demanding shows.
He still loves to be held and carried, and is the limpest noodle when he's in my arms. He whines at bedtime if I've forgotten to lean down and give him a real kiss and a cuddle.
He sleeps throught the night most nights, with occasional transfers to get back to sleep. In the middle of our bed, he is still as a lot, and if he wasn't giving off heat you'd forget he was there. He sleeps on his back or his belly usually with a halo of lovies and the stinkiest held to his nose.
He tends to have one object that he latches onto in addition to his lovies. It has changed from a wooden spoon to a stick, to a cardboard tube, to a spinning toy, and currently a candy cane. He'll keep tabs on the object throughout the day and put it on his table at night. (His table being a giant Amazon box turned on its side).
He acquired a little crescent shape scar
On his forehead when the celebrating at a friends birthday got out of hand and he ran into the coffee tabs with his head. He has a super expressive face, with many expressions and eye cuts too... He's the most difficult to get a picture of, since he's always on the move!
He requested "treats" from Santa this year.
Catherine: Pam calls her "flaquita", which is a perfect description. She is tall and SKINNY, with piano player fingers (or hands like Uncle Jim, my moms brother). For me, she reminds me of Ellen, all legs and a persistence to figure out the challenging things. She's a curly blond, and gets fabulous curls with her beach hair. She loves to cuddle when she wakes up, and can be as sensitive as she is rambunctious. She's the most attached to her "monkey" and still sleeps with her right thumb. She's in love with all things pink, especially her "pink tutu dress". I have to convince her that sometimes it needs to get washed, or she would live in it. At the playground, she continues to be the most hesitant, but will persevere across the wobbly bridge and has zero fear of the super big slides. She identifies with "scary" and uses it appropriately when she is worried about something different. She has a true sense of her self, and can easily answer yes or no to something.... but confuses everyone because she shakes her head no to say yes, and says "no" to mean "no". She's mostly soft spoken and has a sweet little voice. Except when she's upset or frustrated and then she gets a little shriek and swats. She's the play partner to both Paisley and Mac, and they'll look for her to come play. She's enamores with the idea of Santa this year and uses a gruff voice to say "ho ho ho merry Christmas everybody!". When we met the big guy himself earlier this month, she first confirmed "he's gonna eat me?" And when I negated that theory ran into his arms.
She requested "chocolate and peanut butter treats" from Santa this year.
Catherine is certainly the most attached to me, and it is rare that she chooses someone else to help her. Although it does happen. She forms special relationships, where she seeks out lap sitting and cuddles, especially with her grandma and our good friend Mary Beth.
She's the girly girl in the family, with a favorite color of pink, and a choice to wear dresses all of the time. She's recently acquired a princess crown and it didn't leave her head for a few days. She cried the other night because I changed from a dress to my PJs because she "wanted me to be pretty in my dress".
She's the quickest to cry or fuss and has plenty of "injuries" when her brother and sister bump her. She acquired her first real scar under her chin when she split it open slipping on her blanket on the kitchen floor, and can still tell you the tale several months later. I do think having multiples make some of those reactions a little different as we tend to clean and tape them up at home vs carting all three to the doc to get it checked out.
She's the most varied diet of the three, with veggies, fruit and meat all making her list with ease. As we end this year, her length has her wearing 3T but almost exclusively leggings bc her waist still fits 18mo pants.
Catherine continues to be our best sleeper, often sleeping an extra hour both in the morning and at nap.
Paisley easily holds her own despite being smaller in stature. She's the accountant of the pack. Making sure we are all together and everyone is following the rules. She can get stressed out when things aren't going as anticipated but is easier to console now that she has expanded language.
She is the talker of the three, telling stories, having conversations, instructing the play of her brothers and sisters. Her language at the end of this year is clear and complex. One of my favorites that has gone away was calling tissues "tushies".
Her sleep is still the most hit or miss and she is most often the first up and has an extra hour or two in my bed. When we travel it takes her the longest to settle in to a new environment for sleep. She's a wiggly noisy sleeper, and often needs some butt pats or rocking to get back to sleep. Some of her issues tend to be digestive and we have been addressing them and having greater success sleeping through the night. She's warmer than the other two and spent most of summer sleeping in just her diaper. She's recently started requesting PJs again since its gotten colder.
She's the most protein based in her diet, and has limited fruits she will eat. She loves blackberries, and enjoys watermelon. Grapes and bananas are a maybe. She is not interested in strawberries, which Mac and Catherine adore.
She smiles with her eye closed and understands the power of batting her she's at daddy.
We spent the summer with our friends Lise and Adeline at the YMCA pool or play dates around town. They love going to hippo hop and the zoo. And it still takes me about an hour to get everyone dressed and out the door. Although the girls can put on their own shoes some of the time.
We made it on our first family vacation this summer, when I scored a last minute condo for the first week of August in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It was a two bedroom on the pool on the beach, and the kids loved it. I have to say, they take after me a bit in their desire to chill at the pool all day, but venture out for some sand digging.... Unfortunately, the ocean was in the midst of a jellyfish outbreak, so wave playing was kept to a minimum. Darren and enjoyed the fact it was across the street from a fresh seafood place and ate peel and eat shrimp on the deck most nights.
We took another beach trip, this time to Corolla, NC at the invitation of our friends the Pfisters. This trip on a grander scale with lots of bedrooms filled up with friends from all over. Once again the kids loved daily access to the beach and pool, and I loved getting to spend the week with friends who I just don't see enough!
We made it up to Nashville for thanksgiving with both the McGuire and Ditenhafer aunts and uncles and all 7 little cousins running about!
I've taken a few solo weekends with the kids to mobile to visit the Pfisters at their in laws and we just got back from a weekend at cabin in NC with my good friend Anita, and her children Adele and Atticus. She introduced us to a little yoga and gratitudes before bed and we've continued this at home.
And we will finish with Christmas here in Atlanta with grandma and grandpa McGuire and aunt Angela.
Nana and grandad were able to visit earlier this year, and timed it so they overlapped with my parents and gave Darren and I a week away. If you're a grandparent, this is truly an amazing gift to give your children :). Nana has made it back by herself and we continue to enjoy the technology benefits of FaceTime with family near and far! Grandma comes for a long visit a few times a year, and has a lap good for books and snuggling.
Our weekly schedule includes music lessons and swim with coach austin. Everyone loves music, paisley is still a little unsure about swim :). We did mommy and me ballet this summer and will be signing up again for the winter.
We're on day 2 of potty training... And rolled up all the rugs. Fingers crossed this is a quick process!
I just try to keep up. I described it to Darren the other day as cleaning up and active volcano. So instead I try to focus on stopping and playing in the moment, sometimes while the house is erupting around me.
I'm sure there is plenty I have missed, but in an effort to get this out before another month passes... I'm hitting DONE!
Hope you are all doing well! Thanks for sharing this journey with me!
Take care,
Julie
