Two months after the Fab Four climbed out of their cribs and turned bedtime upside down (literally, for Isaac), they finally have real beds! The plain white toddler cots are made by KidKraft, and Ted was able to put all four of them together by himself in one afternoon—well, a week and an afternoon, as three out of four had damaged parts when we received them and we had to wait for replacements (boo for poor craftsmanship, yay for great customer service!).
Here are the kids seeing their new sleeping arrangements for the first time right before bed last night:
Ted and I thought we might be in for a long night of the kids adjusting to being in beds, as opposed to being confined to a crib or laying on a mattress on the floor, but we needn't have worried. They went right to sleep (even sleeping through the horrible thunderstorms that rolled through in the middle of the night), and then slept in a little later than usual this morning; their first nap in their beds has also been a merciful success. I think they like having their own defined space—boundaries are hard to come by when you're a quadruplet!
Many thanks to our abuelitos and Grandma and Grandpa T, without whom the Fab Four might have been sleeping on the floor for many more months to come!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The better to see you with
Isaac finally got his glasses! I didn't think my little boy's big, blue eyes could get any more beautiful, but I was wrong:
So far he is tolerating them very well, keeping them on long enough to read books, do puzzles, and perform various other activities that must seem like new now that he can see what's in front of him. Today he even pointed at a photo on the fridge for the first time and said "mama"—I think he recognized me because he could finally distinguish my face in the picture!
Thankfully, the other kids have been great with his glasses, too. Although they initially wanted a turn wearing them, they lost interest once I explained that now Isaac has glasses just like Daddy has glasses. They know that touching people's glasses is a no-no, so they have left his entirely alone. Let's hope it stays that way!
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| Handsome devil (in Fisher Price wire frames with unifit nose piece, cable temples, and Crizal Avance lenses, ground digitally to minimize magnification) |
So far he is tolerating them very well, keeping them on long enough to read books, do puzzles, and perform various other activities that must seem like new now that he can see what's in front of him. Today he even pointed at a photo on the fridge for the first time and said "mama"—I think he recognized me because he could finally distinguish my face in the picture!
Thankfully, the other kids have been great with his glasses, too. Although they initially wanted a turn wearing them, they lost interest once I explained that now Isaac has glasses just like Daddy has glasses. They know that touching people's glasses is a no-no, so they have left his entirely alone. Let's hope it stays that way!
Monday, February 14, 2011
My messy Valentines
The Fab Four's Grandma T made them some yummy chocolate cupcakes for Valentine's Day. The kids enjoyed eating their treats after lunch today:
No, they reeeeally enjoyed eating them:
Hope you reeeeally enjoyed your Valentine's Day, too!
No, they reeeeally enjoyed eating them:
Hope you reeeeally enjoyed your Valentine's Day, too!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
It'll grow back, right?
A couple of days ago, our weekly angel Tante Gabi graciously brought me a copy of Haircutting For Dummies. I wish I could say that I read it before impulsively deciding to cut Jude's overgrown hair this morning, but alas—I'm afraid the results tell another story:
The poor kid was a model client, but his hair is just so much thinner (and, therefore, much less forgiving) than Isaac's. At least the back looks okay:
I'm thinking clippers would help a lot. Anyone know where I can find some super-quiet ones that won't freak out my boys?
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| Sorry, buddy! |
The poor kid was a model client, but his hair is just so much thinner (and, therefore, much less forgiving) than Isaac's. At least the back looks okay:
I'm thinking clippers would help a lot. Anyone know where I can find some super-quiet ones that won't freak out my boys?
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Snack therapy
Like his daddy, Isaac is rarely happy when he wakes up. Mornings generally aren't a problem because it's still dark out, but after his nap it usually takes him a good 10 to 15 minutes to fully acclimate himself to the bright and busy playroom. In the meantime, he is either pretty out of it or just plain fussy.
A few days ago, after trying—and failing—to get a grumpy, post-nap Isaac to accept his Munchie mug of snacks, I decided to just hold him until he got used to being awake. As I sat on the floor rocking him, Dahlia approached us, dug into her own Munchie mug, and stretched out her arm to offer her brother a goldfish cracker. To my surprise, he accepted—and then he accepted again. A half-dozen crackers later, Isaac was ready to play!
I was struck both by Dahlia's thoughtfulness and by Isaac's humble acceptance of her offer to help. (We all need to be more like both of them, don't we?) Yesterday Lucy decided to get involved, too, and Isaac had both sisters coddling him after his nap. Looks like this boy's got it made!
A few days ago, after trying—and failing—to get a grumpy, post-nap Isaac to accept his Munchie mug of snacks, I decided to just hold him until he got used to being awake. As I sat on the floor rocking him, Dahlia approached us, dug into her own Munchie mug, and stretched out her arm to offer her brother a goldfish cracker. To my surprise, he accepted—and then he accepted again. A half-dozen crackers later, Isaac was ready to play!
I was struck both by Dahlia's thoughtfulness and by Isaac's humble acceptance of her offer to help. (We all need to be more like both of them, don't we?) Yesterday Lucy decided to get involved, too, and Isaac had both sisters coddling him after his nap. Looks like this boy's got it made!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Just a trim
Well, I did it. The boys' last haircut was a full eight weeks ago, but we can't afford to keep paying a professional to cut the kids' hair—so I did it!
My guinea pig was Isaac. While everyone was coloring at the feeding table this morning, I gave him a sucker and got to work. I expected him to fight me, but he was actually surprisingly tolerant of my fumbling attempts to trim his hair:
Sadly, I did not work fast enough, and he got fed up with me before I felt like I was done (does a perfectionist ever feel like her work is done?). Still, it's not the worst hack job I ever saw:
Jude is up next, but I think I might try finding some online tutorials before I pick up the scissors again. Some days I wish I'd gotten a degree in early childhood education; today I wish I'd gone to beauty school!
My guinea pig was Isaac. While everyone was coloring at the feeding table this morning, I gave him a sucker and got to work. I expected him to fight me, but he was actually surprisingly tolerant of my fumbling attempts to trim his hair:
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| "Dad, are you really gonna let her do this to me?" |
Sadly, I did not work fast enough, and he got fed up with me before I felt like I was done (does a perfectionist ever feel like her work is done?). Still, it's not the worst hack job I ever saw:
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Budding Beatlemania
It's no secret that Ted and I love the Beatles. Like any good fan, we listen to Beatles music on a daily basis, we often wear Beatles T-shirts, we own a wide assortment of Beatles DVDs, and we even have a collection of Beatles magnets on our fridge.
Naturally, we also hope that our kids will one day become diehard Beatles fans. Already, Lucy—who often requests "Buddles lusic" (Beatles music)—can identify every Beatle by name, Jude can name two out of four "Booh-doohs" (Paul and Ringo), and Isaac and Dahlia can each pick out Paul. It's a good start!
Lately I've been feeding the kids' fledgling obsession by showing them Paul McCartney music videos when they wake up from their nap. Ted thinks it's a bit much (he's not a big fan of solo Paul), but I've discovered that there's something about Paul that magically cures post-nap crankiness. As soon as I push "play," the kids forget any grievances and pile onto the couch to eat their snacks—and to point out every time Paul is on the screen, of course!
We've been watching Paul videos so regularly, in fact, that if I forget to put in the DVD right away, someone is sure to remind me of my oversight. I suppose it was only a matter of time until Paul made it into one of the Fab Four's imaginative play:
Someone sure knows how to make her Beatle-loving mother proud!
Naturally, we also hope that our kids will one day become diehard Beatles fans. Already, Lucy—who often requests "Buddles lusic" (Beatles music)—can identify every Beatle by name, Jude can name two out of four "Booh-doohs" (Paul and Ringo), and Isaac and Dahlia can each pick out Paul. It's a good start!
Lately I've been feeding the kids' fledgling obsession by showing them Paul McCartney music videos when they wake up from their nap. Ted thinks it's a bit much (he's not a big fan of solo Paul), but I've discovered that there's something about Paul that magically cures post-nap crankiness. As soon as I push "play," the kids forget any grievances and pile onto the couch to eat their snacks—and to point out every time Paul is on the screen, of course!
We've been watching Paul videos so regularly, in fact, that if I forget to put in the DVD right away, someone is sure to remind me of my oversight. I suppose it was only a matter of time until Paul made it into one of the Fab Four's imaginative play:
Someone sure knows how to make her Beatle-loving mother proud!