For the sake of completeness

After seeing my photographic comparisons of Ted and the Fab Four yesterday, friends have been asking to see side-by-sides of me and all the kids, too. And since we're nothing if not equal opportunity around here—here you go!

Suzanna at 2 years old, Isaac at 2.5 years old

Suzanna at 2 years old, Lucy at 2.5 years old

Suzanna at 2 years old, Jude at 2.5 years old

Suzanna at 2 years old, Dahlia at 2.5 years old

We already knew that Jude and I are twins, but I think Lucy resembles me a lot here, too. Which is weird because, in my last post, I was sure she looked like Ted. I guess she must be the perfect combo!

Daddy's turn

Since I posted photographic proof that Jude is my mini-me, several people have wanted to know which of the Fab Four most resembles Ted at this age. Naturally, I couldn't resist digging up his 2-year portrait to compare to current photos of the kids.

While most people say that all four of them look just like me, some maintain that Isaac is Ted's carbon copy. As for us, we've always thought that Dahlia is the one who favors her daddy the most. Looking at these comparisons, however, I'm shocked to realize that Lucy might actually take after him more than any of the other kids—their eyes are different, but check out the nose and mouth. What do you think?

Ted at 2 years old, Isaac at 2.5 years old

Ted at 2 years old, Lucy at 2.5 years old

Ted at 2 years old, Jude at 2.5 years old

Ted at 2 years old, Dahlia at 2.5 years old

Da(hlia) Vinci

Dahlia's come a long way since I first introduced the Fab Four to crayons. For her, meaningless scribbles are a thing of the past, and when she puts crayon to paper (or, as is more often the case, magnetic pen to Magnadoodle), not only does she have a plan, but she also possesses the skills to execute that plan.

We first noticed her emerging talent back in April, when I found her drawing what appeared to be a bunch of balloons (note the real balloon in front of her). Based on her subsequent subjects of choice, however, I soon came to suspect that she was actually trying to depict our family:

Over the past couple of months, Dahlia has been working hard at refining her portraiture technique. First I observed her experimenting with adding hair, and more recently I noticed that she was getting better at placing facial features, such as eyes and mouth:

Not bad for a 2-year-old, huh? Still, her previous essais are nothing compared to her latest masterpiece. Yesterday, she wowed us with this picture, which she claimed was a self-portrait:

It's hard to say who was prouder, her mommy and daddy—or the artist, herself!

I'm not saying she's going to paint the Mona Lisa anytime soon, but ... maybe someday?

Mamá's boy

When the Fab Four were babies, people would often say that Lucy was my mini-me. As the kids get older, however, it seems that more and more people are sure that Jude is the one who looks exactly like his mommy. We've always thought that he looks more like my brother and dad instead, but when Ted saw Jude's snapshot in last week's nicknames post, he was struck by how much it resembles pictures he's seen of me as a little kid. Of course, when he told me this, I just had to dig up my second-birthday portrait and make a side-by-side comparison with the "Judo" pic:

Suzanna at 2 years old (left) and Jude at 2.5 years old (right)

Notice the eyes, the nose, the bow of the mouth, the shape of the face ... pretty freaky, huh?

Drinking games

Believe it or not, I've managed to survive my first two years as a mother of quadruplets without drinking a single drop of coffee. Ted, on the other hand, has steadily become more and more dependent on the stuff. Every morning, he brews himself a pot, and you can be sure that Jude will always be on hand to supervise. I suppose it was only a matter of time before the son followed in his daddy's footsteps:



But while Jude may have fun pretending to enjoy a cup of joe, I wouldn't expect him to act like he's drinking a Diet Coke anytime soon:

The girl is mine

ATTITUDE!!

I have no idea where she gets it ...

Master of precision

Remember Isaac's obsession with the red and yellow toys? Well, yesterday I caught him systematically lining them up, checking their alignment, making adjustments, and then starting over in a new location. Check out our little perfectionist at work:



See how he doesn't even let his sisters' interference get in the way of his master plan (whatever it may be)? He is calm, he is focused—and he is most definitely a little Ted!

Color matters

Isaac has an unusual quirk: When he plays, he often likes to have TWO of whatever toy it is that he's playing with—and those two toys are usually red and yellow. Allow me to demonstrate:

Isaac prefers to play with the red and yellow cars:

Isaac prefers to toss the red and yellow balls:

Isaac prefers to roll the red and yellow nesting barrels:

And Isaac prefers the red and yellow stacking cups:

If anyone dares to take one of Isaac's red and yellow toys from him, he freaks out. The only way to calm him down is to retrieve the purloined item; with both toys back in his possession, he is as happy as a clam.

I've been trying to come up with an explanation for this rather odd behavior. (He doesn't have any developmental or language delays, and the kids' 18-month autism screening threw up zero red flags, so I'm not worried about that.) Here are my theories:

1. Isaac may be a wee bit obsessive compulsive. (Kind of like his daddy, ha!)
2. Isaac may be color blind. (The condition runs on both my side and Ted's, so it would not be surprising if this were the case. It could be that red and yellow are more brilliant and, therefore, more attractive to him than other colors.)
3. Isaac may be a combination of 1 and 2.
4. Isaac may be merely acknowledging his ancestral Spanish heritage:

Whatever the case, I'm willing to bet this kid is gonna want ketchup and mustard on his hot dogs the minute he figures out that it's an option!

Lookalikes and more

As I promised to do a while back, I scanned a baby picture of me to compare it to a photo of Lucia at the same age:

Suzanna at 3 weeks

People tell me all the time that Lucia is my mini-me, but looking at these photos together, I'm not so sure anymore:

Lucia at 9.5 weeks (3 weeks adjusted)

I wish I had a 3-week photo of Ted to post for the sake of comparison, but the earliest one I have of him is his 1-year portrait. I did take pictures of the other kids when I took the one of Lucia, though, and I can't decide which one (if any) most resembles my own baby picture:

Jude at 9.5 weeks (3 weeks adjusted)

Isaac at 9.5 weeks (3 weeks adjusted)

Dahlia at 9.5 weeks (3 weeks adjusted)

In addition to posting new pics of the kids, I wanted to give everyone an update on Jude's echocardiogram: As I suspected, it showed no signs of a hole in his heart! Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that all is well with the little guy. For the past few days, both he and Isaac have been constipated, probably because of the rice cereal we'd been giving them to combat acid reflux. Since Jude no longer shows signs signs of reflux and Isaac's seems to be under control with twice-daily doses of Zantac, we've stopped the rice cereal on the boys (as well as giving them sugar water and using the infamous lubricated Q-tip method) in an effort to get things moving again. No luck yet, but I figure it's gotta come out sometime, right?

Despite the boys' troubles, the girls are still on rice cereal (and Zantac in Dahlia's case) for their acid reflux. Their systems seem to handle it just fine, and although they do eat less than the boys, they are steadily gaining weight: At the girls' 2-month appointment yesterday, Lucia weighed 8 lb. 6 oz. and Dahlia was 8 lb. 8 oz. Yes, the little runt has surpassed her sister by 2 ounces! I think that Lucia is going to have to stop looking in the mirror and get serious about eating if she is going to keep up with Dahlia.

Lucia admiring the baby in the mirror

As for me and Ted, we are exhausted but seeing a light at the end of the tunnel in the sleep-deprivation department. For the past week and a half, the babies have been sleeping at least 5 hours in a row, and on two nights, three of the four slept 7 hours! If we could just get all of them to agree to sleep that long at the same time, we'd be all set. I didn't let the lack of sleep prevent me from meeting with my Moms of Multiples group last night, though. I had such a great time talking to and laughing with them that I didn't get home until just before midnight (just in time to prevent the Civic from turning into a pumpkin!). The babies even got a play date out of it: This morning I met one of the triplet moms at a park, and we sat with the babies (making sure no one got too close to them) while her kids wore themselves out on the playground. It was exhilarating to be in the outside world and know that I can manage four babies somewhere else besides home and the pediatrician's office. I need to stop procrastinating and get around to ordering a quad stroller soon!

First trip to the park
(left to right: Lucia, Isaac, Dahlia, and Jude)

Feed, burp, change, repeat

Those four words just about sum up what the last 2 weeks have been like for us. The quads are currently on a 3-hour schedule, and by the time we feed and change all of them, it's almost time for the next feeding! Needless to say, there has been little opportunity for picture-taking, let alone blog-posting. But the quads turned a month old yesterday and I know people are anxious for news, so here are a few updates:

Isaac is our champion eater and regularly downs his 3 ounces of formula in record time. We couldn't miss a feeding if we tried because he always starts making noise about a half-hour before mealtime! All those calories are paying off: Isaac is the most alert of the four and is growing like a weed. He is doing really well at holding his head up and even found his thumb a few days ago—no amount of tugging would convince him to take it out! Everyone says he looks like a "little Ted," and I agree.

Isaac snoozing in his crib (21 days old)

Lucia eats the least out of the four and has been having a little problem with reflux about once a day. We can already tell that she is very strong-willed: If she does not want to eat any more, she vigorously shakes her head until the nipple comes out of her mouth, and sometimes she even shoves away the bottle with her hand! Lucia has my Grandpa M's eyes and everyone says that she looks a lot like me; the resemblance was confirmed when I found a baby picture of myself yesterday (I will scan and post it when I get the chance, but it might be a while since we don't have a scanner at home).

Lucia lounging in a Boppy (26 days old)

Jude is just about as big as Isaac and is generally a very calm little dude. He has been struggling with gas pain for the past week, but I've been giving him simethicone drops and that seems to help. He is a very observant little boy and loves to look around. The first time I fed him in front of the television, he craned his neck to see the screen (I think he's going to be a TV junkie like his mama!). His receding hairline is starting to fill in on top, and I think he looks a lot like my brother's baby pictures.

Jude not napping in his crib (21 days old)

Dahlia is our second-best eater and her little face is really filling out—I think she might be getting bigger than Lucia! Her mouth is still so small, though, that she has to use "special" bottles with slower-flow nipples so that she doesn't dribble out half of her feeding. When Dahlia's eating, she loves to stare at you with her beautiful eyes that are ringed with dark, curly eyelashes. Although the NICU nurses claimed that she was a feisty one, Ted and I have yet to see this side of her (knock on wood).

Dahlia hanging out in her car seat (27 days old)

Hopefully I'll be able to post more often now that our help schedule is in full swing. Ted and I seriously don't know what we'd do without all the wonderful friends and family that have been pitching in with feedings, laundry, bottle washing, and housework over the past couple of weeks! And now that Ted is going back to work tomorrow, everyone's help is going to be more vital than ever, especially at night. It's a joyous yet anxious time for us, and all we can do is continue to trust in the Lord's provision in our lives. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your continued prayers!