Hair Cuts, Round 2

We were out of our checkup last week in 45 minutes (! for all 3 of them), and had a few spare minutes, so we went to get haircuts for the girls. Emma and Becca's bangs have been in their faces all the time; when I send them to daycare with pony tails, they only come home with them about 15% of the time.

We got there at 4, with our 3 LivingSocial vouchers. The vouchers that say "2 per person." As in, in accordance with LivingSocial rules, I bought 2 and Greg bought 1. First, they said, "Well, we can do one at 4:30 and the other two at 5:00." And I said ok. And then they said, "Well, you can only use 2 vouchers per family." And we argued, and they called someone, and they insisted that two per person really meant 2 per family. Like, if Greg had walked in with Julie 5 feet behind me, we would have been ok. To be clear, both Greg and I were there - - it wasn't like I was trying to use my two vouchers, plus his.

So, because I get, um, mad, I said, "Fine. Cancel Julie." I'm not about to pay for a haircut I've already pre-paid for.

So they cut Emma and Becca. And Greg will take Julie back in a week or two. And then we'll probably never go there again. I haven't been impressed. They trim the girls' hair, but, like, when they do the bangs, there's no attempt to blend the bangs in to frame their face or anything. It's just a straight line across their face, and abruptly there's all of this long hair. I don't know... maybe that's how everyone cuts kids' hair. They seriously spend less than 5 minutes cutting. I don't really get a chance to take pictures. I'm on the verge of taking them to Alison who cuts my hair. Especially for what this place charges for a kids' hair cut.




Anyhow, rant over. Suffice it to say, I'm not a satisfied customer.

But my girls are awfully cute.

Stats

We had our 2.5 year check up last week, which is conveniently NOT covered by our insurance - but we chose to do it anyway.

So, here they are:

Emma:
Weight: 33 lb (88%)
Height: 36 1/4" (64%)
Head circ: 19.7" (90%)

Julie:
Weight: 29.4 lb (60%)
Height: 35 1/4" (37%)
Head circ: 20.1" (98%)

Becca:
Weight: 32.6 lb (86%)
Height: 37 1/2" (88%)
Head circ: 19.5" (83%)

So, our heads are still big, though Julie's is leveling out - - so we can attribute it to the fact that Greg and I both have big noggins, too. She's a peanut, though - a shortie with a big head! Poor thing. :) Crazy to see the height difference between Becca and Julie, too. I mean, it's visible, but to see it in numbers...

One of the questions people like to ask is if they all have different personalities, and they clearly do. The girls also just have completely different body shapes. But it's also crazy to watch the 3 of them develop at the same time - to see nature vs. nurture right before our eyes. Our own little science experiment. :)

Beds update

The girls are doing pretty well at sleeping in their beds once they fall asleep, and I don't think anyone has fallen out of their bed in the last few days. They slept straight through the night on Tuesday night and Wednesday night.

Falling asleep, though, is still agonizing. If we're lucky, they're asleep by 9:30. Becca still wants me to sit next to her and hold her hand. And Julie wants her daddy next to her. They are not ready to go to sleep when we go up there at 8 or so, and then it's an hour and a half of "Get back in your bed." "Lay down." "Please use your quiet voice." "Lay down." "Get back in your bed." "I said lay down."

Admittedly, we'd been having some trouble since we got back from vacation with the girls wanting Greg to sit in there and hold their hands, even when they were in their cribs. We hadn't quite resolved that before we were forced to go to the big girls beds.

I'll bet we get this sorted out right before we go on vacation again.

Lightning

Me: "Whoa, did you see the lightning?"

E: "Fire truck?"

Me: "No, that wasn't a fire truck, that was lightning."

E: "Where'd come from?"

Me: "The sky."

E: "Dis guy?"

Me: "Yes, the sky."

E: "Who dat?"

Me: "Uh, the sky?"

My list of snappy one liners for toddlers is severely lacking.

Look out mall, here we come.

This story begins, as they all do, simply enough.

Emma seems to have grown hips overnight. Which means... All those Children's Place jeans that we lived in last fall/winter? You know, the ones I was able to get for like $6? And that I therefore stocked up on? Yeah, that's right. Em can't wear them.

Luckily I have a friend that I was just talking to recently about the same thing. She recommended Gymboree jeans.

I wouldn't normally spend that kind of money on kids' jeans, but they were on sale, and I had Gymbucks (from all of my clearance shopping) that were about to expire.

But then, 2T or 3T? 3T stuff looks insanely long to me ... but, as much as I'd like to deny it, they are going to be 3 this winter. And I didn't want to lose Gymbucks by ordering the wrong size.

Are you still with me?

So after dinner last Friday night, I wanted to run in to the mall ("the clothes store") with Emma to try on 2 pairs of jeans. We successfully decide on the 2T.

Greg takes Julie and Becca to the gas station and comes back to get us.

And Becca is bawling, "I wanna go to the clothes store!"

We are in so much trouble.

And this is how our first family trip to the mall started.

It ended with Julie sprinting, barefoot, toward the front of Baby Gap, with Becca on her heels. Emma and I were wrestling with jeans (no luck) in the changing room, as she was trying to follow her sisters.

In the middle, they were pretty good and we had fun. And I'll have to admit that Julie, standing in the three panel mirror, jumping up and down about all the Julies, and then kissing them, was pretty darn cute.

Beds

This weekend was obnoxiously hot again, so we ran some errands, but pretty much stayed inside. I took the girls to Costco (Becca has started saying "we got that at the Costco"), and we did pretty well. We picked out some pajamas, and when I decided to put them back, they were totally fine with it. Amazing!

I did run into a fried with twins (they're ~6 months younger than mine) at Costco, and she mentioned that they were moving to Big Girl Beds that night. I totally think she jinxed us.

The girls had "made a statement" before by lifting their foot up on the crib railing, but it's always been for show, and they only seemed to do it when we were in there.

Well, they were up and chatting and giggling on Sunday morning, and when I went in to get them out, Julie was laying with her legs on her crib railing, and her hands on the side of Emma's crib. As in, she was out. All she had to do was shimmy backwards and lower herself down.

So nap time comes around. I'm passed out taking a nap, too, so Greg takes them in, puts them in cribs, and sits with them for a while. Once they had calmed down, Greg came down to eat lunch. A little while later, there's lots of giggling. And it gets clearer and clearer, until it's clear that there are 3 little girls at the top of the stairs. Somehow, all 3 of them managed to get out (luckily, without hurting themselves).

Greg spent the rest of the day taking down the cribs and putting together the Big Girl Beds. (So glad they were already in the garage.) We went upstairs to peek a few times, and they were SO excited about their beds. They didn't want to leave.

When bed time came around, they didn't even want to read stories together - they wanted to read in their beds. So Greg and I just left them alone, knowing full well that as soon as we left, they were up and running around. Fine. They needed to wear themselves out, and there wasn't anything we could do (except put the door stop on the door so they couldn't keep slamming it). Based on our experience with new sleeping arrangements on our trip a few weeks ago, we were prepared for them to not be asleep before 10.

I went back up around 9 when I heard some crying. And yes, it was about 10 before they went to bed. But they really did pretty well. Greg and I sat and held hands while Becca and Julie fell asleep, and then I stayed a bit longer for Emma to settle down. But there was no crying from the girls (except when Emma crashed into the edge of the guard rail), no screaming from us It could have been much worse.

Becca and Emma both fell out of bed the first night, and Julie woke up crying once.

The 2nd night was a little worse... possibly because they weren't tired when we went upstairs, they just wanted to play in their beds. It took a while for everyone to fall asleep. Becca fell out of bed once. And, around 1:30, everyone was up and crying. It took a while to calm them back down again. Well, not a while to calm down, more like a while before we could leave.

Wish us luck tonight! They went down easier, but it was later, and we'd been to the gym.

Last weekend

I feel like we spend a lot of the summer inside with the curtains pulled. But we did get outside last Sunday, for a little while. Sunday wasn't quite as nice as last Saturday, but still bearable for a little while.

We went outside to blow bubbles, play with hula hoops, make snow cones, and sit in our chairs from Grandma and Grandpa S. (Somehow, the snow cone maker and all of the syrups from Grandma and Grandpa G's made it into our car when we were packing up.)



I think my girls are genetically programmed to be multi-taskers. Example 1: Becca playing with the hula hoop while eating her snow cone.




Multi-tasking Example 2: Emma eating a snow cone while blowing bubbles. And then they started chasing the bubbles with their spoons.

Love this one of Becca.

smile

I found this on etsy the other day and it made me smile.

1, 2, 3 ... Rawrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

That is all.

Accident Report 7/19/11, 10:15am

Child's name: Emma

Location where the incident occurred: playground

How did the injury occur: running and playing in the sprinkler and bumped into her friend. Nose started to bleed.

-----------------

Poor kid. She was completely fine when we picked her up that day. I'd like to think that I wouldn't have freaked out if it happened on my watch, but I can't be sure.

Personality and Developmental Notes 7/20/11

Just this week, they've started saying "I got eyes on you."

Julie is obsessed with picking up tiny pieces of trash and handing them to us while telling us it's trash. As you can imagine, this tends to happen in places where we wish she really wouldn't be picking up trash, like restaurant floors. That being said, though, when we're out, they all like to be able to throw out their own juice box.

Speaking of throwing things, Becca loves to throw her dishes in the sink, including bowls still full of dry cereal. Our sink is deep, and she can't see over the counter yet, so she just sort of pushes stuff over. Thank goodness for plastic.

It's becoming more and more common to hear my words coming out of their mouths. They have started wearing the toy oven mitt and cooking things that are "hot" in their toy kitchen. Becca has started putting things in the oven, and saying "I want you get back. This is hot. Berry berry hot." And "Emma, Julie you get back. Oven is hot."

Julie has just recently started to "get" books. Emma, on the other hand, grabs every book we read at bed time and says she is taking them to bed. She has a stack of books in there. We have to replenish the bookshelf every now and then, and we always know where to look for missing books. Anyhow, Julie will now occasionally take a book to bed. And she will sometimes stare intently at them the whole way to daycare. She also will sometimes "read" another book than we are reading at bed time. A few weeks ago, I caught her reading Olivia, and every time she turned a page, she'd say "Dis is Owibia, she is good at lots of things" (the opening line of the book).

She also has had a very teacher/mothering streak right now. When she's reading books, a lot of times she'll hold up the book and point to the pictures and say "See guys? See?" (And yes "guys" is new to the vocabulary now.) While we were on vacation in Vermont, she had this box of cubes, and talking to no one, she'd hold one up and say "What shape dis? Yewwow? Yewwow! What shape dis? Green? No green. Blue? Blue!" (And yes, she still gets "shape" and "color" confused.)

Trip Stats

Total miles traveled :: 2344.7
Gallons of gas :: 103
Miles per gallon :: 23
Days :: 12
States :: 8
Ferry rides :: 2

Time with friends and family :: priceless

Perfect

We got over two inches of rain on Friday (which we really needed), and in its wake, we were left with a seriously unseasonably bearable day.

We slept in until 9:00 on Saturday.

I feel like I need to repeat that.

We slept in until 9:00 on Saturday.

That has never happened before.

We took advantage of the nice day, and took the girls to the park in the morning. They had lots of fun, fought over the swings, played in the mulch. There's a little series of steps ... It's in the background of the picture below (from January), the green "foot prints."

They're spaced a couple of inches apart, and the girls would only do them if they were holding someone's hand. I finally got Emma to take a few steps on her own, and then she was off and practicing. She was so proud of herself. Becca's still a bit hesitant, but Julie was trying it, too.

I mention that because we're kind of up in the air about whether or not to continue with the Little Gym in the fall. We'd like to do it, but they're going to be on the old side of their age group this time around, and we're thinking it's going to be a lot of repeating what we've already done... So, considering the cost, we may take a break and reconsider next year.

We took them to the restaurant at the airport again, and since it was overcast, we got to eat outside. It was great! And the people around us were certainly amused whenever the girls yelled "bye bye" and waved at the planes taking off.

For dinner, we were headed to a new location of one of our old standby restaurants, a little closer to home. But we weren't prepared for how small it (and the parking lot) were. Luckily, on the way there, we remembered another Mexican place nearby that we hadn't been to since the girls were born, but is totally family friendly (and yes, we typically do have a back up plan). So we ended up there, and were lucky enough to get a table outside.

It was just perfect outside. We had chips, salsa, and some of us had fresh guacamole.




And on the way home, I got this picture of the clouds:


Perfect.

Summer Vacation, Part 6

Last Friday morning, just over a week and a world ago, we had breakfast with grandma and grandpa, and then were back on the road.

We had to come up with a longer boat ride for the girls on the way back - - long enough to at least get out of the car - - so we took a different ferry across Lake Champlain. It was a gorgeous day.






We survived the drive back to NJ. Just as we were getting to the state line, though, torrential rain hit. It was that kind of rain where you can't see a think - you can't see signs, you can't see lanes. Awful. Plus, traffic backed up, and the last hour of the trip took closer to 2.

Saturday was the big party my parents had been planning. It's kind of sad to think that the girls are 2 1/2 now, and we still have so many family members and friends that haven't met them! It was so great to see everyone, and get a chance to catch up. And, apparently, I set my camera down at the beginning of the party and never picked it up again. No pictures - - can you believe it? But one of my best friends from college was there, my cousin Aimee and her son, some of Greg's (and my!) good friends from college, a friend I made on the first day of kindergarten, my brothers, my cousins on my mom's side that I haven't seen in forever, "aunts" and "uncles," and I'm sure I'm leaving someone out. (For a lot of my posts, I've been relying on photos to remember stories, so without the photos, I'm lost!). Very very thankful for my family, especially those that worked on coordinating getting everyone together.

Saturday was hot, but both Greg and I kept thinking, "it's hot, but it's bearable. you can't say that about very many summer days where we live." It was hot enough that we got in the pool before everyone got to the party. And, I don't remember how this started, but Greg was spraying the girls with the hose and they were loving it. They'd all run over to him, and then run away screaming. And then run right back to him.

E

Oh, and on Saturday morning? Before meeting all those friends and family? Sure enough, Emma slipped (while watching Uncle Steve and Papa cutting the grass out the kitchen window) and hit her eye on the windowsill. Immediately, she had a small blue bump just to the outside of her eye. And, over the course of the day, sure enough, the bruising spread. And she pretty much gave herself a black eye.


We spent Sunday in style - pretty much in or by the pool all day long. Greg and I both commented that we were just starting to relax! We had lunch by the pool, and when we got tired of the pool, we played golf or played in the little pool. Now, *that* is summer.


We were just a little obsessed with the watering cans.

J

E

R

All of the craziness meant no nap on Sunday. We went out to dinner, and, for something different, we went to the Macaroni Grill. It was the first time the girls had been to a restaurant with cloth napkins. And I have to say, it was awful. The girls were out of sorts without their naps. Then, they brought us our salads (and not the girls' mac and cheese) - so everyone was eating but them. That didn't go over too well, either. And the service was just awful. I can't remember the last time I've had such bad service. We're crossing it off the list.

We also couldn't wait to get out of there because we were headed for ... wait for it ... ice cream! Both of my brothers came, and the girls really enjoyed playing with them, and it was nice to have someone else to chase them when they ran off. We ate our ice cream and then the girls ran and ran.

J

R

J flying with uncle Dan

Herding cats

J with uncle Steve

The perfect way to end our vacation.

Taking a break from vacation posts for tonight, since Greg and I had a rather interesting discussion while we were watching the girls at the bounce place today.

Who will break a bone first?

Will it be Emma, who just throws her body around with reckless abandon?


Or Becca, who is constantly tripping and falling?


Or Julie, trying to keep up with Emma and Becca?

Summer Vacation, Part 5

On Wednesday afternoon, after we got back from the "party house," some strong storms passed through, and we spent the rest of the day playing inside. By Thursday, we were ready for some fresh (and finally less humid!) air again.

Grandma and Papa busted out the bubbles.

Julie taking the express route to popping bubbles.

We also got the balls out when the girls started to get bored.

Even the balls couldn't keep the girls from the lure of the screened porch. They got to work "cleaning" for grandma.

I think Julie told the goose he had a dirty heinie.

And then we just sat around before lunch, looking cute.

After lunch, we loaded up and headed downtown for another 'venture. There's a big fountain at the pedestrian mall downtown. There's a short path from the fountain down the middle of the pedestrian mall where water runs (less than an inch deep?), and I thought it would be fun for the girls to splash around. Of course, when we got there, the water wasn't running down the mall. And the girls weren't impressed by the fountain itself.

So, to make up for another nearly failed 'venture? Why, ice cream of course. Ben & Jerry's. Makes you forget your failed 'venture in a hurry.

E

J. I'd love this pic even more if there weren't a guy in a yellow shirt in the background. But you take what you can get.

R

Chocolate ice cream + summer day = ice cream milk

ice cream milk = ice cream between the eyes

How can anyone pout with that much chocolate on their face?


Without the anticipated splashing in the fountain session, our 'venture was fairly short-lived. So we headed back home and popped more bubbles.

That's Becca and Julie in the background, playing their "go that way" game with the screen doors.

Greg picked up the bubble wand and Emma flipped out. "No daddy, that papa's bubbles." Of course, she didn't mind when Greg made some huge bubbles for her.

One of my favorite pictures ever.

To keep them entertained until dinner, we started coloring on the driveway with some chalk. Apparently, Becca thought I said "chocolate," because as soon as I gave her a piece, she put it in her mouth.

Coloring her fingers.

And once they got bored of that, they literally started running laps around the house. They kept talking about going up and down the "hill," a slight incline where the driveway met the lawn, up close to the house.

Can you believe that was all in one day? Or that they still didn't go to bed until 10:00?