15 months old!

Wow, the babies are officially 15 months old now. I guess I shouldn't say babies anymore but rather toddlers. They are growing so fast and becoming so independent. From time to time, I think about this time last year when they were 3 months old and still feeding every 3-4 hours. Although in some ways things were busier then, however, in other ways it's busier now because they are so active and walking all over the place and in different directions!

We've had a lot of transitions here lately. One of the biggest changes is that the babies are now completely off of formula and taking whole milk. Seth and I didn't realize how much Enfamil formula we had stocked in the garage, so when they turned one, we still had quite a bit left so we decided to just take our time with the transition to whole milk. Our pediatrician said it would even be beneficial for them to continue to have formula for a little longer because of all the nutrients, especially the iron. Well after months of mixing 3/4 formula and 1/4 whole milk, then half and half and finally 1/4 formula and 3/4 whole milk, we made the final change this week just as we finished off our last can of Enfamil. Overall, the transition went pretty smoothly. Mischa was the only one that didn't seem to like the taste of whole milk initially, but now she doesn't mind it as long as it's warm. One of the best parts about the babies taking whole milk is the cost...not having to buy Enfamil by the case anymore is a nice savings for us. :) Since we were switching them to whole milk, in the past 2 months we also decided to slowly stop giving them as many bottles and gradually change to sippy cups, as well. Currently they are taking a morning bottle of milk when they wake up and a bedtime bottle about 30 minutes before bedtime. They have adapted really well to the sippy cup during the daytime and with meals, so we're thankful for that. The only problem is that they don't really care which sippy cup they grab and tend to all share all 3 cups, so keeping track of who drank what gets a little tricky sometimes.

The babies are also slowly transitioning from two daytime naps to one. Madeline tends to only need one long daytime nap, whereas Caleb and Mischa still need two daytime naps. We lay all three babies down for their first nap at 10:45 am, and as soon as Caleb and Mischa wake up about 1 and a half hours later, we take them out of the nursery while Madeline sleeps in until lunchtime at 1 pm. She's usually good for the day and can wait until bedtime at 7 pm but the other two still get fussy in the late afternoon if they don't have their second nap. Overall, it's working out pretty well. I can't believe there was a time when they would take several naps during the day...I forgot what that was like! Sometimes my only chance to get things done around the house or workout is during their naps, so I've learned to really get as much done as I can while they are asleep.

Speaking of working out, Seth and I have been having a little "friendly" competition with each other since we both recently got Fitbit pedometers. These are the coolest little gadgets. We challenge each other to who can get the most steps in and burn more calories. He's at work during the week and gets a lot of steps in at the office, where my steps mostly take place in the house caring for the babies. With three babies running around the house, I usually get more steps in than him. It's a good way for us to stay healthy and we love challenging each other. In fact, we even have other family members joining in on the fitbit competition (Grandma Lynn and Aunt Sharon)!

Seth and I were just talking the other day about the unique and individual personalities of the babies. They are all SO different from each other, it's quite amazing. Madeline, the oldest, tends to be the most mature of the bunch. She sleeps very well, she eats anything you put in front of her including all her vegetables, and she doesn't mind occupying herself with some toys or books. She's the most easy going of the bunch. We always refer to her as a "big girl" because she just seems older than 15 months. Then there's Caleb...oh boy, where do I start? Let's just say he needs the most entertaining. He tends to follow us around the house and wants to be thrown up in the air, tickled, or taken for walks. He prefers more adventurous types of play. He tends to nap the least amount and will often wake up the girls by screaming from his crib. He sure does have the cutest smile though and he knows when to flash it. Mischa is the shy one but also has a sassy, quirky side to her. It takes longer for her to warm up to strangers but she's very particular about things, as well. She loves to read books with mom and dad but knows exactly which books she wants read to her. She is the pickiest of the three when it comes to food. She does not like to be fed anymore at all and will turn her head away now matter how much coaxing you do. So, we've learned to just let her feed herself as much as possible. She also has this amazingly playful side to her and loves to giggle a lot. Honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better bunch of kiddos...we are so lucky!

Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Madeline

 

Caleb

 

Mischa

 

Triple trouble

 

Madeline

 

Mischa shopping

 

Seth and the babies

 

The babies playing in a play yard

 

Mischa loved this tunnel so much

 

Sleepy Madeline

 

Good morning Caleb

 

Mischa and her lamb pillow

 

Next week we are so excited for Isaac to visit for his spring break. We are planning to spend half the week in Reno and the other half in San Francisco visiting with family. We will be sure to take lots of pictures and post them on here soon!

 

 



Happy Valentine's Day

Hello! I decided to sneak in another post since I have a little extra time tonight. While Seth was at work today, I had a great day with the babies. We took a long walk to Starbucks, the grocery store, and we even stopped at a nearby nail salon that I like to go to for pedicures so I could show the lovely staff the babies. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the temperature was 55 degrees which is pretty warm for a winter day in Reno. The babies had pieces of pumpkin bread from Starbucks (one of their favorite treats thanks to Dad) and they got Valentine's balloons from the grocery store. I'm always so thankful for the time I get to spend with the babies during the week, especially now that I've gone back to work part-time. I truly feel like I have the best of both worlds with being a stay at home mom the majority of time but also getting to spend 1-2 days a week at work. I honestly couldn't ask for anything more!

Madeline

 

Caleb...he recently discovered his nose and his finger is constantly in it :)



Madeline and Mischa "reading" their new Valentine's books

 

In the past few weeks, Mischa has really become interested in books...it's the cutest thing

 

She even prefers to look at books during diaper changes...ha!

 

What a silly girl

Too funny!

 

Caleb and his crazy hair

 

Madeline eating a strawberry

 

Sweet Mischa

 

On our walk today

 

Us at Starbucks...poor Madeline got scared of the barista

 

Mischa, Caleb & Madeline Valentine's Day 2013

 

Madeline, Caleb & Mischa Valentine's Day 2012

 

Here's a video from tonight

 

 





 

And here's a video from last weekend at the museum



 





Hope everyone had a sweet Valentine's Day! XOXO



14 months old

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. I've been meaning to sit down at the computer and upload pictures and update everyone on the kiddos, but somehow never get the chance to lately. Although everything has been great here recently, we did experience our first sickness with all three babies, and let me say, it was ROUGH! A few weeks ago Caleb started vomiting and having diarrhea, then Mischa started with the same symptoms, though milder, and finally Madeline got it. All of the babies had poor appetites, were really fussy, and overall, did not feel good. My mom and I were so busy that week with cleaning up throw up, changing numerous diapers, and changing the babies' clothes several times a day, not to mention all the laundry, that we could barely keep up. It was definitely one of the hardest weeks we've experienced with the babies thus far. To top it off, my mom and I both got whatever stomach bug they had even though we tried so hard to wash our hands thoroughly and frequently. I think we went through an entire bottle of hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes that week. Both of us only had a 24 hour version but after experiencing the same symptoms the babies had, I can definitely understand why they didn't feel good. I not only had a poor appetite myself, but I felt generally weak and ached all over. The poor babies would just lay in our arms and they didn't want to eat, drink or play which is so unlike them. Although it's inevitable that they will get sick, I am definitely dreading future illnesses because having three sick kids was really hard. However, looking on the bright side, I've seen babies get hospitalized with severe vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration, so fortunately, no one was that severely sick. In fact, we didn't even need to see the doctor that week, so we truly are lucky considering that things could have been a lot worse. Seth and I are so happy that everyone is back to normal here. Our house has returned to it's loud, chaotic, normal state which we love.

The latest obsession with the babies has been climbing up on the couches now that all three can do it independently. There's something they find SO exciting about climbing up and jumping on the couch that it's actually quite funny until someone falls off, which happens almost daily. Seth and I have had lengthy discussions on what to do about this - let them climb up, not let them climb up, put pillows around the couches on the floor to cushion their falls, turn the couches around all together, teach them how to get down properly, etc. I think our answer to this latest phase of theirs changes everyday but we are trying to teach them not to climb up on the couches altogether because they don't quite get the concept of getting down safely nor do they understand that if they stand near the sides or the edges, they will fall down. Either way, it's almost a full time job just preventing them from all climbing up lately! We have done a pretty thorough job of padding every inch of floor around the couches just in case and we've both learned that this is just another phase that will pass eventually.

Since it's still been chilly outside, we've been taking advantage of the Discovery Children's museum downtown.They have a big playroom for one year olds which the babies love. They can walk around and explore different toys, go down a slide and take rides in their wagon all throughout the museum. There's even a mini coffee bar that Seth and I always stop at to get coffee and treats. The museum workers are so nice and know our three babies when we walk in since we tend to stand out! We've also taken the babies to the mall a few times to also keep them entertained. They love riding in the wagon even at the mall. Whenever we walk around the mall, we always stop and get chow mein noodles for the babies and they love them!

I think in the last post, only Caleb was officially walking. Well, now Mischa is walking up a storm too. It's pretty cute because she looks like she's got one wooden leg. So funny and adorable! Madeline is the last to start walking and is taking 5-10 steps and then falls down. If she's in a hurry, she'll revert to crawling, especially if she needs to get to a toy before her brother and sister. In the teeth department, now Caleb has the most teeth and has beat Mischa's ten teeth. He's got 4 molars coming in and Mischa has two. I haven't seen any molars yet for Madeline but she did finally get all four top front teeth. She's got a little gap between her two front top teeth...I guess that's the trend lately...(Michael Strahan, ha ha). So, overall, everything has been fantastic. We are so thankful the babies are over their sickness and doing so much better! Here are pictures from the past few weeks.

Madeline, Caleb, Mischa

 

Madeline having fun at the museum

 

Caleb at the museum

 

Mischa and a spiky bouncy ball

 

Mischa and Caleb with their friend, Sasha

 

Madeline

 

Mischa...love that little face

 

Wagon rides around the museum

 

Me with Mischa and Madeline

 

Bath time and mohawks (well, except for Madeline)

 

 Mischa

Caleb...what a nice smile

 

Madeline...she loves that construction hat

 

 Marvelous Madeline

 

Colossal Caleb

 

Magnificent Mischa

 

And last but not least, proof of the couch climbing madness!

 

 

 

Thanks for checking in! I will be sure to post another blog entry soon and I'll upload videos too! :)

 





Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Wow, it's still unbelievable that it's 2013 already! We had a wonderful holiday with lots of fun with the family. Isaac flew in from Hawaii and spent a week with us. He was such a big help with the babies. It's still amazing to us that he's a teenager now. In fact, we all celebrated his 14th birthday on December 29th. Seth and I always joke about how we are going into debt every December with 4 kids' birthdays that month PLUS Christmas...Yikes!! We better start saving up for next December now!

In addition to Isaac being here, GG and auntie Maia spent a few days with us to celebrate Christmas, Isaac's birthday and New Years. We had so much fun hanging out together. The babies enjoyed spending time with the family. I love when we have family visiting from out of town because the house seems so much more lively and festive for the holidays. Seth and Isaac got lots of snowboarding time in which was great since we finally had tons of fresh snow. I got to spend time with my sister-in-law, Maia, getting manicures/pedicures together and we braved the cold weather to go for walks when the babies napped. GG read lots of books to the babies while she was here and of course they loved that. She always brings new books for the babies whenever she visits, so thanks to her, the babies have quite a book collection already. Overall, it was a wonderful holiday!

Now that the holidays have passed and our guests have left, things are back to their normal routine here in the Klein household. Seth is still enjoying his job at Box. Any job that offers free delicious daily catered lunches, in addition to numerous stocked kitchenettes with tons of snacks and drinks, plus free Ipad mini's for all employees is sure to be a good one! No wonder he loves his job so much. :) I'm still working Fridays at the hospital which has been fabulous. There's something so great about having my one day at work where I can be around my awesome coworkers and patients that makes me feel so good. Even though I am always sad leaving the babies in the morning, I've been so energized and happy to be working. There's such a perfect balance for me between being a stay at home mom on most days, but also getting the opportunity to work and use my nursing skills to care for patients, that makes me feel complete. Although I've been working late on Fridays so I miss saying goodnight to the babies since they are already in bed by the time I get home, I know that I have 6 other days out of the week to cuddle, hold, play and snuggle with them, so it's a great balance.

Now that it's been a couple weeks since Caleb started walking, he is constantly on the go! He gets so excited to be doing something new and he's quite risky, too. He'll walk across the entire kitchen and living room wobbling on his two feet all day, back and forth. It's so adorable to see him walking between rooms with the occasional fall, but then he gets right back up and keeps going. Madeline and Mischa are both where Caleb was a few weeks ago in terms of walking. They take a few steps and then fall down or they constantly cruise while holding on to different pieces of furniture. I'm sure it will be in no time that they are walking as good as Caleb. Wow, just one year ago they were tiny little babies that slept most of the day and now they're vibrant, exuberant toddlers!!!

Here are pictures from the past few weeks...enjoy!

 Isaac with his birthday cake

Happy 14th Birthday, Isaac!

 Madeline at PF Chang's

Mischa, me and Caleb

Isaac at Mt. Rose

Silly boys forgot their jackets that day...Brrr!

Dad taking the babies for a walk

Here's a video of Seth taking the babies for a walk

Caleb getting into stuff as usual

Mischa playing peek-a-boo under the fish tank (yes, we finally locked the cabinet doors)

Typical day in our house

Isaac, Madeline, Mischa

The babies love playing with Dad

Mischa practicing her walking skills

Madeline, Mischa, Caleb

Caleb hanging out with Dad

Mischa playing peek-a-boo behind the high chairs

happy Caleb

Madeline and big brother Isaac

Us at a friend's party

And lastly, here's a video showing what goes on when I'm at work