In the blink of an eye

Isaac's first week in glasses couldn't have gone better. I would put them on him whenever he was distracted or in a mellow mood, and the second he started to fidget with them, I'd make them disappear until I saw my next opportunity to put them on. With this approach, Isaac quickly grew more and more accustomed to his glasses until, just a week after getting them, he successfully wore them all day (except for during his nap, of course). We were so proud of him!

But then ... Isaac scratched a lens. We're not sure how it happened, but it seems likely that he fell and hit them on a toy when we weren't looking, as the mark on the scratch-resistant lens was pretty sizable. It must have been pretty annoying, too, because, after that, nothing could convince Isaac to keep his glasses on. Naturally, we got the lens fixed ASAP (thanks, Uncle P!), and I thought we were good to go.

I was SO wrong.

This morning, while I was fixing breakfast and Ted was changing a diaper, this is what Isaac did to his glasses:

Note lens and screw popped out of the frame, temple rotated 45 degrees, 
and one cable completely removed from earpiece.

Talk about a horrible way to start the day! We don't know exactly how he managed to wreak such havoc on his glasses (he is not a destructive kid, by any means), but one theory is that he might have yanked them off to burrow into his favorite pillow, and then rolled over on top of them (I found the popped-out lens underneath the pillow). I really can't think of any other way that he could have mangled his wire frames so badly—I mean, he's strong, but he's not that strong.

In any case, we realize that Isaac needs close supervision while wearing his glasses. But the fact is that we happen to live with three other little people who almost constantly demand that we divert our attention from him! If only I could clone myself ...

2010 in statuses, part 6

This is the last post in a walk down memory lane, Facebook style. You can read the entire series here.

The last month of the year was by far the most entertaining yet. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: There's never a dull moment around here!

DECEMBER
1  The Fab Four's law: When a repairman is scheduled to come out to the house at the time nap is usually over, the kids WILL sleep longer than they have napped in months. Sadly for me (and my own interrupted and ever-so-infrequent nap), we'll never know just how long they could have slept today!

2  The kids just pointed at the TV and asked for "news." I don't know whether to be thrilled that they want to watch something besides the Wiggles/Laurie Berkner Band, or worried that perhaps they are a tad bit addicted to television. 

Getting their first look at their Little People manger scene
(clockwise from bottom left: Dahlia, Isaac, Lucia, and Jude)

3  The girls just took turns giving Daddy big, long hugs. First Lucy, then Dahlia, then Lucy, then Dahlia. I think Ted was in heaven. 

4  No, we do not have a torture chamber in our living room. I am just clipping Jude's fingernails. 

9  Lucy's favorite word lately is "no-no" ... as in, "Mommy, someone is doing something that's not allowed" (taking off their clothes, trying to climb over the gate, etc.). She even tells on herself. I love having an informant in the playroom!

Reading together on the couch
(left to right: Lucia, Dahlia, Jude, and Isaac)

11  Dahlia just ran up to the fridge, pointed at our Beatles magnets and said, "BEES! Buzzzz!!" Close?

12  Jude is calling, "Cissy! Cissy!" (his word for Lucy) and then running to hide when he sees her coming. Squeals of delight ensue. 

16 For lunch today: Yummy pinto beans (with ham, carrots, celery, and tomatoes), mini corn muffins, smoothies (with cherry yogurt, blueberries, bananas, sneaky spinach, and cinnamon), and grapes. Don't you wish I was your mom? 

Squeezing in together under the sofa table
(left to right: Jude, Isaac, Dahlia, and Lucia)

16 Nothing does my heart more good than seeing all four of my kids running around the living room, playing chase and giggling their heads off at each other. TRUE LOVE. 

17 Tonight Lucy pointed at one of my smile lines and asked, "Ouchie?" I said yes. How else do you explain wrinkles to a toddler? 

24 Someone's turning 2 today! Okay, make that FOUR someones. :) 

Lining up to watch the very exciting garbage truck outside
(left to right: Lucia, Jude, Isaac, and Dahlia)

30 I was awake but didn't even feel the 4.2 earthquake this morning. Probably because Isaac was busy running around the nursery and banging on the walls for a couple of hours before then! 

30 Check out the kids' 2-year stats ... our tiniest baby Dahlia is now almost as tall as our big boy Isaac, and our biggest baby Jude is currently the shortest of the bunch (yes, even little Lulu is taller than he)! 

31 Took the kids out in the choo choo for one last spin on this downright balmy New Year's Eve. ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Cribless Christmas chaos

Scratch the PeaPods idea. When we walked in the nursery today after "nap" time, we found the girls on the loose and the room in disarray:



Seconds later, we discovered that Jude had actually managed to get out, too!



So it's back to mattresses on the floor for now. It took the kids an hour to fall asleep tonight (despite having skipped their nap again today), but I just went in to check on them, and everyone had found his or her own bed except for Lucy—she was sleeping by the door, poor baby!

Desperate measures

Today, on the Fab Four's second birthday, Isaac and Dahlia decided to show us how silly we were to think that yesterday's precautions would keep them in their cribs. Just minutes after putting them into their nap, in fact, we heard Dahlia scream and Ted opened the door to find her dazedly roaming the nursery. And then, not long after he put her back in bed, we heard the doorknob rattle and were greeted at the door by Isaac!

Worried that one of the kids would fall and get seriously hurt, we opted to pause nap time so that Ted could dismantle the cribs to make room for their four mattresses on the floor:

As you can imagine, the kids were way too excited by all the new freedom to get much sleep. In the end, Jude was the only one who was able to catch any shut-eye. This made for a very, very long afternoon with the other three. And by the time dinner rolled around, Isaac was really paying for the lack of sleep:



Since my last post, several of my friends who are moms of multiples have reminded me about crib tents, and the idea is sounding better to me all the time. For the time being, we have set up the PeaPods in the nursery so that we don't have to try to get the kids to fall asleep on open mattresses (and stay there). After today's shenanigans, I just don't think that any of us are ready for toddler beds yet!

Busting out

I almost never go into the nursery after the kids go to bed. Today, however, I thought I heard someone grunting, and—since nothing guarantees a bad nap like a poopy bottom—I decided to make an exception.

Turns out someone was probably grunting all right, but not for the reasons I thought! When I opened the door, I was shocked to see Isaac standing on the floor in front of me ...

Isaac demonstrates his escape method

... and Dahlia hanging out in Jude's crib!

Ted was sure that something like this was going to happen soon, and he was right. To buy us some time while we figure out what to do next, we've scooted their cribs farther away from each other (so that they can't use a neighbor's crib as leverage), removed from their beds anything that could be used as a step stool (including their CozyWedges and pillows), and (for good measure) taken down the glass frames that hung above each crib. Hopefully this arrangement is enough to keep everyone safe for the time being:

Anyone have advice on how to transition multiple 2-year-olds to toddler beds without losing one's sanity?

2010 in statuses, part 3

I'm taking a walk down memory lane, Facebook style. You can read the entire series here.

As the Fab Four approached the 18-month mark, life around the house started to get a little less predictable.

MAY
4 Jude drank an entire glass of papaya juice at breakfast this morning. That's my boy!

12 Baby Einstein, you are my savior on a thunderstorm-y morning like today. 

Practicing sitting on the couch (16 months)
left to right: Isaac, Dahlia, Lucia, and Jude

12 Uh oh. Dahlia puked twice this evening: once all over the living room (Isaac enjoyed splashing his hands in it) and once alllll over her crib. :(

26 Took the kids to visit the high-risk L&D unit and my maternal-fetal specialists' office for the first time today ... fun times, but now I am BEAT. Hope the kids take a looooong nap today.

27 Decompressing after an inexplicably loud morning.

Watching Daddy mow the lawn (17 months)
left to right: Dahlia, Isaac, Jude, and Lucia

JUNE
8  While I'm fixing breakfast, Ted reports, "Lucy just walked up to Dahlia, ripped the pacifier out of her mouth, and shoved the babydoll in her face." Ah, toddler crimes.

JULY
5  Lucy just pointed at Oprah and said, "Mama!" What??!! I rarely even watch Oprah!

26  I hate it when the kids are in bed and a random baby cries on the TV. Freaks me out every time.

First time in the pool (18 months)
left to right: Lucia, Jude, Isaac, and Dahlia

29  Today Lucy ate only ketchup for lunch. No fish sticks, no tater tots, no fruit. Just ketchup. If I needed proof that she is my daughter, this would be it.

30  I'm about to go all vigilante on the person who keeps ringing our bell and running away while we're putting the kids to bed for the night. Yes, I'm old.

Stripping down

Dahlia has been hard at work on a big project: Learning how to undress herself. As you may recall, it all started with the girls figuring out how to pull down their pants and remove their diapers. After that rather alarming development, I began to dress the kids only in one-piece outfits, hoping that the snaps would provide protection against further diaper-removal episodes.

This tactic has been a success in that it has banished bare tushies from the playroom (for the time being, anyway—read on). It has not, however, kept Dahlia from continuing to experiment with clothing removal. Her next challenge was to learn how to unzip and shed her sleepsack. Mission accomplished—this is how I found her after a nap a few weeks ago:

To prevent her from taking off her sleepsack again (and possibly causing further naptime mischief, such as learning how to unsnap her onesie to remove her diaper, or figuring out how to climb out of her crib by gripping the rails with her toes), we started putting the sleepsack on her backwards. Problem solved.

But for how long? Even with the zipper in the back, she can still unzip it up to her knees. And her zipper-mania is no longer limited to just her sleepsack. Last week I found her in the playroom like this, almost completely out of her zip-up jammies: 

Of course, none of this unzipping business matters, as long as she doesn't know how to unsnap her onesie, right? After all, it's the taking off of the diaper that I am really worried about. Well, here's the newsflash: As of a couple of days ago, Dahlia has figured out how to work snaps, too. And she is very happy about it:

What am I going to do with this girl? She will not be contained, but I can't afford for her to have access to her diaper (I shudder even thinking about the possibilities that this could entail!). And I know that if Dahlia is becoming adept at taking off her clothes, the other three are probably not far behind. Could duct-taped diapers really be in my future?

Prison break

Our gated community has been compromised!

Fortunately, I arrived on the scene not long after the attempted escape. From what I can tell, one or more individuals (Isaac being the suspected ringleader) pushed the school bus up to the perimeter of the "secure" enclosure, and then everyone except Jude scaled the bus in order to surmount the gate—all while Mommy was distracted by dinner preparations. Thankfully, they launched over into the relatively non-dangerous area of the hearth and not into the rest of the house, which is far from childproofed!

I keep telling Ted that we need to get a plan together to let the kids have the run of the house, especially now that winter is upon us and we'll be stuck indoors. He is in denial and thinks that removing the school bus from the playroom will do the trick. But I think it's clear that the kids are determined to force our hand!

Pretty soon Isaac won't even 
need to use the school bus!

Telly laughs

Friends often tell me that their kids love to watch the videos I post of the Fab Four. Well, guess what? The Fab Four like to watch themselves onscreen, too. They usually get a big kick out of identifying everyone in the video, and even the most mundane clip can keep them entertained indefinitely. Just the other night, in fact, watching and re-watching a video of Lucy pestering Dahlia gave Isaac a delightful case of the giggles—I hope his sisters can always make him laugh like this!



For those wondering just what was so hilarious, here's the clip he was laughing at (toddler humor—who can understand it?):

Peek-a-blanket

Life at our house has been getting louder and louder, and sometimes it's hard to distinguish between the happy screams and the terrible-two screams. Today I heard a commotion in the living room, so I poked my head around the corner to see if I needed to intervene. I'm glad I looked:



Who knew that a few blankets draped over the back of a couch could provide so much entertainment—for both me and the girls?

Party crasher

With pacifiers, the Fab Four used to go to sleep pretty much as soon as we put them to bed. Now that their pacifiers are gone, however, the kids like to kick off their nap in a slightly more boisterous fashion. I tried to join in the fun today, but apparently whooping, hollering, and jumping in your crib is not as much fun when Mommy is in the room:

Everybody's doing it

The latest fad around here is to bang on the toy box. The louder the better. Isaac is usually the instigator (yes, he still loves to drum!), but his solos don't last long—if one kid is banging on the box, the other are sure to join in sooner or later:



Herd mentality—it's cute now, but I am having visions of mass mischief in the years to come!

Back it up!

Isaac was having too much fun to mind me at lunchtime yesterday. Perhaps I should have tried using reverse psychology?

It might get loud

Warning: Prolonged exposure to quadruplets may promote hearing loss.

Bumming around

A few months ago, Jude figured out how to remove his pants. Since then, we find him in a state of semi-undress just about every day:

Surprisingly, during all this time, the other kids had failed to pick up this pesky habit—until yesterday. Watching Jude slip out of his pants for the millionth time, the girls finally decided to follow suit. And then Dahlia took the pants-free look a step further: In a daring move, she shed her diaper as well:


Since it was bedtime, we slapped the (thankfully dry) diaper back onto her bare bum, immediately zipped her into her sleepsack, and hoped the incident had been a fluke.

It wasn't. Today Lucy decided to try the same trick, this time with a very wet diaper:


I really don't want to see what happens when one (or more) of the kids takes off a dirty diaper, but neither am I quite ready to resort to duct-taping them into their diapers. Looks like the Fab Four will be wearing one-piece outfits from now on—and I'll just have to hope that they don't learn how to unsnap them anytime soon!

CSI: Mommy

A piercing scream. A sobbing child. One bite mark—and three seemingly innocent bystanders.

I hear the sounds of distress and come running to see what happened. In an instant, my extensive forensic training (via true-crime novels and television shows) kicks in, and I begin to process the scene.

Step 1: Interview the victim and the witnesses.

I don't expect to learn much from this part of the investigation, and my veteran instincts prove to be correct. What follows is the official transcript of our exchange:

Mommy: (to victim) "What happened, honey?"
Victim: "Wahhh!!"

Mommy: (to witnesses) "Who did this?
Witnesses: *crickets chirp*

Step 2: Examine the scene.

I have responded quickly enough to ensure that the crime scene remains undisturbed. I observe that all three witnesses are standing in close proximity to the victim. Witness #1 is holding a car, witness #2 is holding a ball, and witness #3 is holding a night-night; the victim is empty-handed. Notably, the victim's arm shows a clear dental imprint:



Step 3: Process the evidence.

This is where my photographic memory comes in handy: I quickly compare the laceration to my mental dental map of the victim and each of the witnesses. My analysis not only rules out a self-inflicted wound, but it also allows me to identify (and sternly reprimand) the perpetrator within seconds.


Case closed! Can you figure out who holds the dubious distinction of being the first member of the Fab Four to bite a former wombmate?

Is that your final answer?

Newsflash: "Baby" is no longer the most popular word around here. I'll give you one guess as to what has taken its place:

Candid camera

Almost every time I try to tape the kids doing something cute, they stop as soon as they see me and/or the camera. This morning was no exception, so I decided to try something new: I improvised a "hidden" camera by perching my camera on the half-wall that separates the living room from the kitchen, hitting the record button, and then ducking behind the wall. As I'd hoped, business-as-usual resumed as soon as I disappeared!



I know the kids aren't supposed to be running on the couch, but how can I be upset with them when they're having so much fun together? Hopefully this new indoor toy (which made its debut this afternoon) will help to redirect some of those climbing compulsions:

The Fab Four check out their new schoolbus
(l to r: Dahlia, Lucy, Isaac, and Jude)

17 months old ... stayin' alive

Our living room has undergone a makeover during the past month. Actually, several makeovers. Not because we're redecorating, but because we're rapidly discovering that "baby-proofed" does not equal "toddler-proofed"!

Scaling fences, climbing on tables, tipping toy boxes, running on the couch—we've seen it all and more in the last few weeks. Ted has spent a lot of time moving furniture around (and around) to make the living room as safe as possible, but as soon as we think we have a foolproof plan, the kids (*cough* Jude *cough*) immediately find a way to subvert it. Just yesterday morning I about died when I turned to see Jude clinging to the top corner of the couch like a little, sideways koala!

Being naughty!!

I know, I know—everyone tells me that kids are resilient and that it's normal for them to fall (after all, that's how they learn, right?). Nevertheless, visions of horrible accidents flash before my eyes when I see my four little monkeys behaving so dangerously. I'm not a worrier by nature, but I do find myself praying that the Fab Four will make it to the 18-month mark in one piece!

An increasingly rare moment of sofa zen

The next (admittedly extreme) measure would be to completely remove the furniture from the living room (as we know other families of multiples have done). However, our house is tiny, and there's simply nowhere else to put our stuff. Oh, for a basement ...

16 months old ... a day in the life

Now that we don't have daytime bottles or a morning nap to deal with, the Fab Four and I have been getting out a lot more. Which means that we're running into a lot of strangers with a lot of questions for us. The most frequent comment is, "You sure have your hands full!" (Yes, I do.) Many people want to know whether it's hard, whether I'm worn out, and whether the kids sleep all night. (Yes, yes, and yes.)

Another common question is, "How do you do it?" Well, besides a lot of prayer and a great husband, I have to say that the key is a consistent schedule. The babies came home from the NICU on a 3-hour schedule, and we've just adapted that routine as they've grown. Here is what a day with 16-month-old quadruplets looks like for me:

7am: Wake up! Anyone who wakes up before this is out of luck. Sometimes one or more kids will sleep later than 7, but we never let them sleep past 8. Everybody gets a diaper change and then plays with Ted while I unload the dishwasher, assemble and fill sippy cups, and make breakfast.

8am: Breakfast. I feed and clean up the kids while Ted gets ready for work.

8:30 to 10am: Playtime. While the kids entertain themselves, I clean up from breakfast (wipe off table and floor, rinse bibs, refill cups, load dirty dishes), prep lunch, make myself as presentable as possible, and usually change a couple of dirty diapers. Around 9, I pop in a DVD (usually Baby Einstein) to keep the masses under control.

Learning sign language in the morning

10 to 11am: WALK! By this time of the morning, all of us need a change of scenery. Doesn't matter if it's hot, cold, or raining—our mammoth stroller can handle it all! Once in a while (usually on the weekend, when Ted can come with us), we all pile in the van for a change of pace.

11:30am: Lunch. I feed and clean up the kids, and then I strip them down to their onesies. Each kid gets a diaper and wardrobe change while the others run around and have a good ole time. My back is usually killing me by this point.

Engaging in a staring contest with the neighbor's dog

12:30pm to 3pm: NAPTIME! While the kids sleep, I clean up from lunch (see breakfast cleanup routine), get lunch ready for me and Ted, eat in front of the computer, fold laundry, pick up toys, etc. People always assume that I nap while the kids sleep. This is rarely an option!

3:30pm: Snack. After the kids eat, I wipe the table and bibs, prep dinner, and then it's time to change diapers. A few times a week, friends come over during this time to entertain the kids and help me out for a few hours. This is a LIFESAVER.

Trying their first Peeps (thanks, Abuelita!)

4:30 to 5pm: Walk. The kids really enjoy leaving the house, so I try to fit in two walks a day. Sometimes this doesn't happen, in which case there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth (by both me and the kids).

5pm: Dinner. I feed and clean up the kids, and then I strip them down to their diapers. They run around like I just freed them from prison while I clean up from dinner and fill their bedtime bottles. When I'm done, it's time to put on their jammies (and usually change a couple more dirty diapers). "Naked time" is coming to end, however, as a couple of the kids have become a little too interested in messing with their diapers (!!).

6pm: Musical education hour. Ted is done working, so he breaks out the CDs and teaches the kids what good music is all about. During this time, I hang out with them, finish my chores, get a shower, chill in front of the computer, or do whatever else I need to do. If it's bath night, we skip musical education and stick the kids in the tub (we started bathing two at a time this month, but I'm still not brave enough to try all four at once).

Lucy and Dahlia's first bath together

Jude and Isaac's first bath together

7pm: Bedtime bottles. Everyone drinks their bottle while watching "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy." Everyone, that is, but Lucy, who weaned herself from the bottle this week and now drinks a bedtime sippy (big girl!). After bottles, we brush teeth and do a last round of diaper changes.

8pm: BEDTIME!! The kids are in bed, but the day isn't over yet: Gotta pick up the toys, finish any cleanup that didn't get done, fold laundry, watch "Lost" or "Survivor" (the only two shows we can't miss), pay bills, go to the grocery, etc. Oh, and figure out what to eat for dinner. Around 10, we hit the sack and pray that no one wakes up during the night ... gotta rest up to do this all over again tomorrow!