Two weeks ago we finally had the one-year appointment and made the transition from formula in bottles to milk and sippies. The first night, Sawyer was very sad. He missed his before bed bottle. That bottle was his friend. He has always been the slowest about taking a bottle because he did more licking and suckling than sucking and eating. He cried and cried a very, very sad cry. It broke my heart. Adam finally took over and put him to bed. It took him another hour. I felt like the world’s meanest mom.
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/Thanksgiving was wonderful! We went to visit my family, and half of us were there. My brothers Eric and Leo and their families joined us. In all, there were 24 people, including kids. Actually, half of them were kids. Young kids. We take Thanksgiving dinner very seriously in this family, and this may have been the best yet. The turkey was juicy, the potatoes were divine, the company was good, everything was perfect. The only thing that could have made it better would be if my other 2 brothers and sister had been here. The kids were awake for dinner, and liked a lot of the food. They had dressing, corn pudding, rolls, turkey, mashed potatoes (with gravy!), the works. I think dressing was less of a hit with Kimball, but that is more an adult taste. Of course, Sawyer liked everything.
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/On the drive down here, Adam wasn’t with us, so it was an adventure for sure. We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel. They had chicken tenders, french fries and macaroni. I used a sanitizer wipe on the table and just put their food on it. They liked everything, and made a huge mess with the macaroni. I had left the bibs in the car, and they had cheese all over themselves. It was like glue on the table. I wiped up some of it with a wet napkin and stacked the plates, but it was still a mess. The bus boy’s face was priceless. I felt bad for him, especially since I waited tables in college, but with 3 babies, there was only so much I could do. They were done and ready to go.
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/While we were visiting my parents, we took a trip to Gatlinburg, mostly because Adam wanted to get me some funnel cake. I had really wanted some when we went to the apple festival, but by the time I was ready, the lines were over an hour long. We walked around, had lunch at a pancake house, where the kids had their first scrambled eggs, and syrup. They also had their first funnel cake, and let’s just say it was a hit. And they were very disappointed when it was all gone.
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/Speaking of food, our kids eat so much. For breakfast they eat Cheerios and crackers or pancakes, 12 ounces of yogurt and 8 ounces of cottage cheese (I mix the yogurt and cottage cheese), and even then they don’t usually stop me, I just stop. For the other meals, together they eat a very large adult portion. Like restaurant size. For their afternoon snack, I was doing things like cheese and crackers, but when Brinlee ate about 4 ounces of cheese anda bunch of crackers for a snack the other day, I decided maybe we need a fourth meal. They eat like maniacs, but that’s ok. I’ve heard it slows down, and there will come a time when they lose interest in food, and I’ll worry about that. So for now I’ll just be glad they are packing it away.
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/Sawyer has been improving a lot with his self feeding. He does great with crackers, bread, quesadillas, green beans and larger items. We’re still working on smaller things like meat and little cut up vegetables. He also does this cute little puckering thing when he chews. He looks like he wants to kiss you.
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/Kimball loves to feel like he’s in control. He doesn’t want you to hold his hands and help him walk around, but he DOES like to stand behind me and push me around and make me walk. He thinks he’s steering, but I decide where we go. He just laughs and laughs the whole time.
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/Brinlee has had a growth spurt, and is still eating like she’s going to grow another 10 feet. She’s still tiny, but I think she’s finally outgrown her 6 month onsies and shirts. She is actually in 12-month clothes now!
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/The other day in BRU, my MIL was pulling the babies in the the choochoo and I was lagging behind. She passed a lady who said, “Wow, I feel sorry for that mom.” I came up and in a disgusted voice said, “I don’t.” She started backpeddling and said something about how she has a hard time with her 3 year old and 9 month old. I responded, “Oh, well, my kids are really good, so I don’t have that problem.” And walked on. I could hear her telling her kids, “Look at the lucky lady with three babies!” Whatever lady, I’m so gone.
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/Our last bit of news is that Brinlee, Kimball and Sawyer are going to be big brothers and sister come next spring. We are expecting our fourth child. We’ll have 4 kids in 18 months! And though it is absolutely no one’s business but our own, I will satisfy everyone’s curiosity and tell you that, no, it was not a surprise. We actually did this on purpose. We don’t know what we’re having yet, but I’ll announce it when we do. This pregnancy has been much easier than the last one, thankfully. I’m tired, but what mommy isn’t?
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/It’s kind of like being pregnant for the first time because everything is so different. I’ve enjoyed the normalcy of it all, though I did like having an ultrasound every 2 weeks before and knowing the genders at 14 weeks. I suppose waiting 2 more months to know the gender is a small price to pay for a normal, healthy pregnancy. Also being able to wear normal maternity clothes the whole pregnancy and gaining a normal amount of weight is a novelty. It will be nice not to have to carry all that extra weight or worry so much or be on bed rest or feel so terrible. We’re excited!
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/Our first pizza. MMMMMM. Pizza.
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/Brinlee and daddy preparing to feast at Thanksgiving.
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/Kimball and Daddy ready to eat. Sawyer was still asleep at this point, so he didn’t get in on the picture action.
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/The kids decided to help fold laundry!
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/We’re not sure who is driving this bus.
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