Happy 4th of July & Happy 5 Months!

It is hard to believe that the girls will soon be 6 months old!  I'm afraid that their first 4th of July will be rather uneventful.  I am not even close to brave enough to take them to the mob scene downtown today & I figure it is not worth messing around with their 8 pm bedtime to take them to see fireworks that they couldn't care less about and would probably sleep through, anyway.  Instead, we will be celebrating by heading to the Lake tomorrow for a couple of days to stay at Grandma & Grandpa's condo.  This will be the girls' first overnight trip anywhere.  Hopefully I will have the opportunity to take Simone and Noa swimming and most importantly, get a little color to my shockingly, blindingly, white skin.  Keeping my fingers crossed that we are able to maintain our schedule with the babies during our little mini vacation.

Speaking of schedules, the girls are 100% committed to their 8 pm bedtime which has been awesome.  It gives me some time after they are down for the night to relax.  I wish!  More like, it gives me time to pick up the house, wash bottles, make bottles, fold laundry, make lunches, etc. etc...  Oh well, it beats trying to do all of that while the babies are awake!  Lia is still my champion sleeper, usually sleeping anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a night.  Mya and Ava are still not 100% on board.  Lately they have been taking turns sleeping through the night.  When they do get up, it is usually a quick change and feed and right back to bed 15-20 minutes later, so we can't complain too much about that.  I definitely can't complain because I still have Mom and Dana each helping with overnights a couple of days a week so I am usually well rested for work. 

We have started baby foods the past couple of weeks.  I was hesitant with as busy as we already are, I just wasn't sure how we would fit one more thing into their schedule, but it has been working out so far.  So far, we have tried cereal mixed with applesauce, squash and bananas.  They seem to like everything, but we are still spending a lot of time scooping it back up off their chins.  It will just take a little practice to learn to eat from a spoon.

Mya

Ava

Lia

Personality wise, they seem to have done a complete 180 from the time they were born.  We used to think that Mya was the calm one, Lia was more on the demanding side and Ava would just kind of go with the flow.  Well, Ava hasn't changed that much actually.  Most days she is content to swing away.  She is the smiliest of the group right now.  If you just look at her and smile she usually smiles right back at you.  And Mya, sure she's still calm, as long as you are devoting 100% of your attention to her 100% of the time.  OK, that may be a bit of exaggeration, but she definitely likes your undivided attention and she wants to be talked to all the time.  She can go from perfectly  happy to hysterical in a matter of a heartbeat if she feels ignored.  She is just a bit of a princess. She is also a bit of a stinker.  If her and her sisters are laying on the floor, she will maneuver a way to turn her entire body around so that she can kick the crud out of the other two.  And Lia, well, Lia is usually just a fat, happy baby.  As long as you don't miss her feeding time, she is usually good to go.  The look of excitement on her face when she gets to try a new food is priceless!

Everybody just hanging out being happy, then...

Mya scoots around and gears up for one of her powerhouse kicks.



 

"Come on, let me have my fun!"

It already looks like Mya is trying to talk Lia into something...

The most exciting event of the past month was the birth of my niece Audrey.  I can't wait for all the girls to start having playdates.  She was born on June 16th (yes, another June birthday) weighing in at 8 pounds 15 oz..  She is definitely a sweetie.  It astonishes me to think that the girls were less than half her size just 5 short months ago.  It's hard for me to even picture anymore!

Matt and Audrey

Another big deal around here is that Noa is now a TV star!  I think that I have mentioned that Noa is a bit of a dinosaur nut.  Well, check out how he managed to turn his news interview about T-ball into the Noa Dinosaur Show!

Noa just had his last day of summer school on Friday, so he has a little bit of time off until his real first day of kindergarten.  This summer school program is awesome because I feel much better about him going to school now and I know that he will be prepared and confident on his first day.

Simone has spent the summer so far doing what most pre-teen girls do...hiding from her parents.  She has spent the vast majority of the summer hiding out in the "cave" in the basement, only emerging when threatened.  She has done a better job of helping with the girls lately, especially when grandma or nana are here.  She has actually even changed a few diapers!  She enjoys picking out their clothes for nana, although I am amazed at how she manages to find something not pink to put on them every day!

Well, duty calls (ie babies scream), so I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!  Here are a few more pictures from the past month.

Lia

Mya

Ava

Ava

Lia - wearing my first attempt at making a tutu

Ava, Mya, Lia

Mya, Ava & Lia - Tummy Time before they start screaming

Ava, Lia and Mya - Happy 4th of July! - decked out in red white & blue