The week in Pictures! (and a few videos)

It was a wonderful week last week. My dad came down to help out with the boys since James' parents went on vacation. We had a great time. Here are a few pictures we took from this past week.

3 videos and some pictures

So I had to take Grant in to the doctors this week because he got a really tough cough. So, the doctor put him on a nebulizer. He does not like it one bit. He hates to have anything touch his face unless he puts it there, so we have been fighting a bunch with him. When we took these pictures, he was actually being good.
So here a a few pictures from the last couple of days.

Ethan Alex and Grant all in Alex's crib. Every once in a while the boys will wake up during their naps and I will put one or two in another's crib. They were happy for a while but then Ethan got mad. I almost didn't get this picture.

Grant, Alex, and Ethan dressed alike (a rarity around here) just because!

They were all watching the lights on Alex's toy. Ethan had pulled his o2 down to his chin.

Grant, Ethan, Alex, and Jet chillin' out watching Mommy clean her room.


Alex was playing with the mirror, he was HILARIOUS with it.

Ethan with the mirror

Alex was sitting playing with the other two and thought that Grant was the funniest thing he had seen in a while. Grant played with Alex a bit towards the end of the video.

Trip to Gillette and new trick

James, the boys, and I went to Gillette this weekend to visit the family, go to my best friends' daughters 1 year birthday party and her shower for her new little one on the way. It was a crazy weekend, but we made it.

The boys didn't really have a great weekend, but they did ok. They were pretty spitty (as in spit-up a lot). Grant got a cold, and didn't sleep through any night we were there. That made for long nights for both Mommy and Daddy. We were tired but we got to see some good friends and family.

Grandpa Rigsby got to hold 3 of his 7 grandkids.


Alex also surprised me this weekend. He sat up on his own for a few seconds. I got video of it after he had been doing it for a few seconds.


The boys also got their last Synagis shot for this RSV season this morning. That threw off their entire day, so today was a bad day too. However, we did get an update on their weights!!

Alex - 15lbs 6.5ozs
Grant - 15lbs 10ozs
Ethan - 12lbs 15.5ozs

Grant and Alex are so close to each other it is basically not even measurable anymore if they have clothes on. Sometimes Alex might be heavier than Grant if he has a full diaper or something!! :) Ethan is so close to the 13lb mark that if he would have taken a bit more for his morning bottle, he would have been over. Oh well.

So, soon I will be on my own with these boys. The in-laws will be leaving to go back to ND in just a few short weeks, after a week long vacation to Phoenix. I am trying to figure out how to still be able to go in to work a couple of times a month. My aunt is coming to visit for a couple of days in April, so I have part of April covered. But, I still have to figure it out regularly.

James and I have thrown out a couple of ideas, but the cost of paying someone to come watch the boys is pretty up there. It would basically wipe out what I would earn in that day. Plus, we don't know if just one person would be able to handle the boys. (James and I can, and we trust some family too, but the boys can seriously be a handful sometimes.) Oh, so who knows. Any ideas and suggestions would be a great help.

We have to say congratulations to two sets of new parents. Our friends Dan and Jessica had their new little one, Ryder, on the 10th. And our friends Kristen and Dave, had their third little one, Libby, on the 13th. Congratulations to all of you on your new additions!!
Well, that is our update for now. I know I get a few people to read this, but if you do, please leave a comment. I would love to know who reads this. Thanks!

4650 and counting....

DIAPERS that is! I calculated our total usage of diapers since the boys were born, 7 months ago! They have used around 4650. That is including the 2200 they used in the hospital. So far at home we have used around 2450. Luckily, we have only had to buy probably 100 of those. We were extremely lucky to have diapers given to us at our showers. I did the math, and if we were to have bought the diapers ourselves (that we have used since the boys came home) we would have probably spent about $1100 just on diapers already! That is A LOT of dough for such small things.

So, the boys are 7 months old today! I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. They are getting to be so big and strong. They have really good head control. Tummy time has given way to roll-on-to-your-back-so-you-don't-have-to-be-on-your-tummy time! Except Grant has decided that he is too lazy and doesn't want to have to work. So he just screams or just lays there like a limp noodle. He used to be the one that would flop over right away. Now he just likes to lay on his tummy. Every once in a while we can get him to move. We're working on it.

We are also working on the sitting upright. The boys do well supported sitting, like in their highchairs, bouncy seats, bumbo chairs, but can't quite sit on their own yet. But, they are only about 4.5months adjusted, so they are on track fairly well for that age. In the picture to the right they had just finished eating rice cereal and their first taste of apples! Notice who is lurking in the background. I am sure Jet can't wait until the boys are old enough to start throwing things on the floor. He will get fat, unless we take him for lots of walks!!

We are working with Ethan and Alex to stand on their feet. They don't get the concept that you should stand with your feet flat and legs locked in so you don't fall down. They will stand supported, like in the jumperoo, but they can't transfer that concept to outside that support. I try and work with them a lot on this. We are massaging their feet, legs, and putting pressure on them to "awaken the nerves" as the therapist puts it. Hopefully we can get them to transfer the concept soon. Grant has the standing concept down pat, and really would rather stand all-the-time!! We have to make him sit. It is quite the challenge.

They all love to giggle and talk. Not a lot of consonants in their "talk" yet, but they are slowly working on that too. Once in a while you will hear Grant using "m" with a vowel, but that is usually when he is waking from a nap talking or crying.

Speaking of naps, I think we are going to start cutting the boys' naps from 2.5 hours to 2 hours. They seem to sleep better at night if they don't sleep as much during the day.

Grant and Alex have started to notice each other. The other day I was holding Grant while Alex was in the jumperoo, and Alex thought Grant was the funniest thing he had ever seen! He giggled and laughed and then giggled some more. I wasn't moving Grant or anything. He was just sitting there, but Alex loved it. Then Grant watched and laughed at Alex blowing raspberries today while we were having dinner. (Of course Alex was blowing raspberries while he had oatmeal in his mouth.) Ethan just isn't quite to the point where he notices his brothers too much. Although, they do all play together and know that each other is there. They will touch eachother and hold hands once in a while. I even caught Grant stealing Ethan's toy the other day. It was quite humorous.

Here is a video of them playing together.


Alex - 7 months old!!


That was then...

This is now!!

Grant - 7 months old!!

That was then...

This is now!!

Ethan - 7 months old!!

That was then...

This is now!!!


Just amazing isn't it??

Grant wants to help feed himself!!

Grant wanted to help feed himself his oatmeal tonight!

He wants to help with the spoon but doesn't quite get that concept with the bottle. Eventually he will.

Weekend Events

Friday was an eventful day! We took care of our friends' baby boy in the morning for a couple of hours. It was fun having 4 babies to take care of! Adding another baby to the mix is really not difficult, and his schedule was right on track with our boys', so he did well.

Here is Ethan and Logan. He is almost the same size as Ethan, though he is 4 months younger than Ethan! We were happy to have him here. Ethan enjoyed playing with him too.

Grant

Alex

The afternoon was down time, since I gave the grandparents the afternoon off. So the boys and I played with their Valentine's teddy bears (that are as big as they are). They had fun playing with them.

That evening, grandma and grandpa came back to take care of the boys so James and I could go out. We got Nuggets tickets from his boss!! They were awesome seats too. 3rd row, just left of center court! We went out to dinner, went to the game, and enjoyed our date night. It was a nice night too, so we walked slowly back to the car (which was parked about 15 blocks away).


Saturday, the boys got to try sweet potatos for the first time. They loved them. Daddy got to feed them to the boys.

We also got to visit with my aunt, great-aunt, and cousin who came to visit Saturday. We took the boys with us and went out to eat. It was the same restaurant that we took the boys to the first time we went out with them, and all the waiters and waitresses were ooo-ing and ahh-ing over how much the boys have grown in 1-2months. They all remembered us too! It was kind of funny. We had a blast and it was great to see family.

We got our triplet stroller this weekend!! We bought it from my sister, who has 4 now, so she has a quad stroller. But it is AWESOME! I will be able to take the boys places by myself now!!! Here is a picture of it off the Peg-Perego website. Here is a picture of our actual stroller being used by the Nebelsick kiddos and my parents. Our boys are quite a bit smaller right now. Their feet don't even hit the end of the seat to where it bends!!
So, Sunday, we took the stroller with us to church, took the dog with us (but left him in the car during church), and went to City Park after church. We went for a walk. I pushed the stroller and Jet walked James! It didn't last very long because the boys were crabby, but it was our first outing in the stroller. It got them used to it to. We put their coats from Uncle Doug and Aunt Kara on them while they are out in the stroller. They seem to like them. They do look cute in them.


Other than crabby boys on Sunday, we had a pretty good weekend. We should have a good weekend next weekend because we get to see a LOT more family. That will be another post. So, tata for now.

Yesterday was a good day for the boys and I. I gave the grandparents the day off so they could enjoy being outdoors, or do errands or whatever.

The boys were good for me all day. No fussing, barely any crying. They went down for their naps easily and quickly. All in all, it was wonderful. We even tried going on a walk. I had Ethan and Alex in the double stroller (we dont have our triplet stroller yet) and I carried Grant in the front pack. I also attempted to take Jet with us. I'm sure I was quite the sight. We made it around the block. I think I might have gone farther, but the sun was really bright, the boys didn't have sunglasses or sunscreen on, and Jet just was being a pain to try and control with everything else.

But, hey, we got out some!

Here are a few pictures from yesterday.
Grant


Alex

Ethan in an exer-saucer we just pulled out of the shed. He loved it.

The boys all lined up, with Jet in the middle, watching Wheel of Fortune. The love watching the wheel spin. Colors colors everywhere!!


Here is the latest video of Alex. He was "dancing" to the music I had playing on the tv.

This video is just of the boys playing on the floor. They were talking an chewing on the blanket.

Emotional over a bassinet...

So, I took away the bassinet from Ethan yesterday. I think it was harder for me than it was for him. Actually, I am sure it was harder for me than Ethan. He did just fine in his crib for naps and all of last night. He even, almost, slept through the night last night.

There is something special about the bassinet. It was my grandmothers. Every child that has been born since has slept in it (at least once) too. My mom and all her siblings, and all their children, and my sisters kids, and my boys. Ethan has slept in it the longest (since the last 10 years at least). He needed to have that enclosure around him for the longest time. He wouldn't sleep any other way.

Now he was getting to long for it, and we needed to transition him to the crib. I didn't want to do it so soon. That means he is growing up! I was going to just try it for the nap time then let him have it back for night time, but he did so well during his nap, I decided to just go "cold turkey." He didn't seem to mind. Oh well, my babies are growing!!

Here are the other two in the bassinet.
Grant

Alex (the blanket is like it is because we put him in there just for this picture, he wasn't sleeping in it at the time.)