The Monkeys Visit the Zoo

Today we took Amelia, Sam, Isaac and Alex to the zoo. It was a perfect day for it, a little cool in the morning, but nice and warm by noon. We all had a great time. The boys were troopers about hanging out in the stroller for almost three hours until we turned them loose on the playground after lunch. They wore themselves (and us!) out pretty quickly.  

Our first stop of the day was the monkey exhibit. It sounded a lot like our house at feeding time supper time. The monkeys were whooping loudly and swinging all over the place. Here's what happened when our monkeys saw the REAL monkeys.

Everyone loved the dolphin show and the baby goats. Then there was the rhino exhibit. Usually the rhinos just lay there looking like boulders, but since it was cool and early in the day they were moving around.

"Mom, they are soooo big!"

While Amelia and Daddy took a closer look at the rhinos, I read the information posted. I was particularly interested in this:

Sixteen months of pregnancy, 140 pounds of baby (just one, though!). Sounds pretty brutal, but then there's the trade off: "Time with mother - 3-4 years."

There are days when that might just be a deal I'd be willing to make.

© Trippin' Mama 2010

"Vestigating"

Amelia called today. She was at the zoo and had to tell me that they heard a noise while they were there and, "had to 'vestigate."

The noise was "rahring," according to Amelia.

Turns out they were feeding the lions, and they were all roaring for their food. Amazingly, Amelia was thrilled by this instead of terrified.

She rushed through what she wanted to say to me so she could get back to having fun. Clearly, she's having a great time!

Tomorrow Amelia and Daddy are coming home. I can't wait to see them and hear all about the trip and share pictures with all of you.

Amelia's Big Day

Today Amelia went to the zoo with Mom & Dad while Grandpa D. watched the boys. It was a little chilly out, but we had a great time. I think the last time we went was last summer when I was about 30 weeks pregnant with the boys. It was much easier to get around this time!

Amelia & Daddy together at the zoo.

The dolphin show is always a favorite, as are the penguins. Today we also saw the lions pretty close, and a rooster that was crowing. Amelia did NOT like the rooster. She was scared and wanted to leave as fast as possible. As we went from one exhibit to the next, Amelia kept saying, "I want to see more animals." I think we saw almost all of them!

After her nap, Amelia got to color with her new markers. She colored the Christmas ornament that Grandma Alice and Grandpa Ernie gave her. I'm sure it isn't intentional that it looks like this little house is on fire.

Amelia's Christmas ornament, March 2009. Almost 3 years old.

Then we all got ready to go to church. Amelia looked so cute in her dress that Grandma D. and Aunt Allie picked out. She refused to wear the little sweater that came with it, but I did talk her into tights. When Jeff saw this picture all he could say was, "I'm in so much trouble." Yes, he is. And so am I!

Amelia strikes a pose in her new dress. Thanks, Grandma D. & Aunt Allie!

This was the first time we took the boys to church other than for their baptismal ceremony. They were so good! Isaac fussed a little on his way to sleep, and Sam fussed a little before church started, but all three slept almost the entire time. I think they were trying to lull us into a false sense of security. I still haven't figured out how we can take all four kids without a third set of hands, but it was nice to all go to church as a family.

Sam, Isaac, Alex and Amelia.

Grandpa D., Alex, Jeff, Isaac, Amelia and Sam.

When Grandpa D. was on the phone with Grandma D. tonight talking about his flight home tomorrow, I was in the background shouting, "You can't have him back!" It's always so nice to have family visit, and the boys are growing so fast that they are like whole new kids if you haven't seen them in a couple of months.

We'll have more family visiting soon. We're looking forward to seeing Allie at the end of the month and Susie in May. They'll be amazed at how things have changed around here!

Baby Boot Camp -- The Night Shift

Well, our day campers were better than our night campers. The boys really gave Jeff and I the business from about 9:30 until 2 a.m. Sometimes one, sometimes two, and too often all three were have a good fuss. There simply aren't enough hands, bouncy seats and swings for that.

Jeff, my loving husband, took on the midnight feeding by himself to try to give me and Grandma a little extra sleep. It was a crazy idea, but he got most of the way through it before I realized (from the depths of sweet sleep) that more than just the one crying baby I had left him was crying and came out to rescue him from dealing single-handed with three babies who needed to burp or just fuss.

That time all the commotion woke Amelia, who wanted to get up and help. She and I sang a lullaby to baby Sam, and then I told her it was time for bed and to go ask Daddy to take her. Fortunately his crowd had calmed down by then. Amelia was up a second time about 1:30 and wanted to hold a baby. Have you ever said "No," to a very tired two-year-old in the wee hours of the morning? MELTDOWN!

We woke Grandma up then and Jeff took Amelia back to her room for rockabye and some milk. He got up with her this morning and persuaded her to snuggle up with him for an extra hour of sleep, which they both needed!

I hit the sack about 2:30 a.m., but forgot to set the alarm for the next feeding. The boys went until 6:15 before their feeding though, so I got almost four full hours of sleep.

Now their first two feeding of the day have gone beautifully, Jeff and Amelia are at the zoo, and Grandma and I both took a shower. (Insert Wonder Woman theme music here.) Time for lunch and another 20-minute nap after I prepare bottles.

Home Alone

Well, it had to come to this eventually. Today, Amelia and Jeff went to the zoo without me. I wanted to go, of course. But, if I'm honest with myself I have to admit that I really can't do that anymore. Especially with the last growth spurt, I'm only good on my feet for a max of 10 minutes at a time.

Ah, well. Soon enough I'll be spending all my time on my feet chasing little people!

Still, it's tough to be left behind when they are off to have some fun.

While they are gone, I'm going to sort through a couple bins of baby clothes so we can get some things washed and put away in the nursery. The room doesn't look much like a nursery, yet, but it's getting there! Jeff is putting the closet organizer in this evening, and the last of the painting will (hopefully) get done tomorrow. Then we'll be ready to get all those little things organized.

Several people have asked me the theme of the trio's nursery. My response? "Finished!"

26 Weeks: Update and Photos

Here we are at 26 weeks, and still doing well. Hopefully the doctors will say the same after Wednesday's visit and ultrasound.

We're getting a lot of kicking action these days. It's like I swallowed an octopus! My belly button hurts -- I'm sure it's from the growing, but I have this image in my head of the babies playing tether ball with my belly button, though I know that's physiologically impossible. Here's the latest belly watch picture. Yes, I'm getting big now!

The major victory this week was a trip to the zoo on Saturday. I'm sure it will be my last for the summer. I walked even less than last time, and I still hurt on Sunday. I just can't recover like I used to. But, it was worth it to enjoy the dolphin show and the penguins with Amelia one more time.

Don't forget to play the name game and give us your suggestions for what to name the trio!

A Celebration and a Play Day

Today we are celebrating reaching the 24-week mark in this pregnancy. That is viability for the babies, so a big milestone. Of course, we hope to go another 8-10 weeks at least, but this is a big day!

Since we had something to celebrate, mom was feeling good, and it was a beautiful morning here, we packed up and headed to the zoo. We saw the seals and sea lions perform, and then we went to Amelia's favorite zoo activity, the dolphin show.

To watch her clap and yell when the dolphins first came out -- she was absolutely beside herself with excitement. All Jeff and I could do was laugh. It was one of those moments that you can't do justice to with a photo or a video. You just have to live it, enjoy it, and lock it away in your heart because little girls grow up too fast.

Jeff took Amelia to feed the giraffe. Her report was that she fed the giraffe "orange." It was a sweet potato, but she's right, it was orange. She seemed more excited to tell me about washing her hands afterwards than actually feeding the giraffe.

We had a little lunch and then turned Amelia loose to play on the slides for a while. On the way out we stopped to see the penguins and the polar bear. The polar bear was sleeping, but the penguins were busy diving into the water and hopping back out again. Then they would shake their heads. Amelia was mimicking them, yelling "Shake a head!" and shaking her head.

Although she couldn't keep her eyes open in the car, Amelia was bouncing in her crib within 10 minutes of going down once we got home. She finally settled in about an hour later, so today's nap comes late and will be short. Makes me worry a bit about bedtime!

It's all worth it though, to hear her sing "Like to move it, move it," while she shows me how the dolphins danced! :-)