16 Months Old!!!

Here are a couple photos we got for the trio's 16 month picture. The babies will not sit still for 3 seconds to get a decent shot so we decided to get in on the action and hold them down while Poppy worked the camera to make it a family picture! As you can see, it didn't do much good. You gotta love the shot with all 3 looking away from the camera, Krista putting her finger up her nose and Kiera covering her ears!

A couple days before, I tried to take a picture of the three in their Halloween tees and they were equally squirmy. I had to bribe them with cat shaped chocolate peeps to keep them still!


Finding time for blogging has become increasingly more difficult lately but I wanted to make sure I did a post updating you on what's been going on with the triplets. First, I have to make an important announcement: WE ARE BOTTLE FREE! After several months of weaning them off one meal at a time, we have successfully gotten rid of those darn bottles once and for all! It's now been about 3 weeks and there's no turning back! Now an update on each of the kidlets:


Krista, our little aggressive explorer, tries not to waste a minute while she is awake to play and check out everything/everyone within sight. She wants what anyone else has and we are trying to teach her to share. It is a hard concept to her as she thinks her needs and wants are the only ones that matter. She mostly gives Mommy kisses but once in a while Daddy or Nonna or Poppy get one. She likes to wave or blow kisses as soon as she sees or hears someone getting ready to leave. Krista has been walking since 14 months and has gotten very quick! She has also lived up to her drama queen nickname recently. She really knows how to turn the waterworks on and off. Her round face gets bright red and the crocodile tears start shooting out immediately!

New Words: dog (and whimpers like a puppy when she says it), Nonna, Pop Pop, hat, that, up.

New Signs: eat, hat, shoes, hurt, tree

Tooth count: 7 (4 on the bottom and 3 are coming in on the top)

Newest trick: She climbed into the exersaucer on her own the other day. She used another toy as a stepping stool and lifted her leg over the top. Then she used the superyard gate to get herself into the seat. If anyone had walked in seeing her sitting there, they wouldn't have a clue that she got in there herself except for that both legs were in one hole!

Favorite toy: The toy that someone else is playing with at the time! She is pretty fond of the stacking/nesting cups, push cars and baby dolls.

Strengths:

• Most vocal of the three - can communicate very well
  
• Determined - whatever she puts her mind to, she accomplishes!
  

Areas for improvement:

• Sharing with brother and sister
  
• Eating vegetables - she's become more resistant to eating her veggies in the past couple of weeks and we've had to start hiding them in other foods

Jamison is a sweetheart. He loves to give mommy kisses on the lips and cuddle. He has been working hard on his gross motor skills by walking around with the push car up and down the hallway, standing without support and over the past few days, has been taking steps independently. Often times, we find him with a toy in his mouth while crawling around. When he does this, he reminds us of a little puppy dog! He loves being around his sisters but he is also content to go off into one area of the room to play independently and gets rather upset when someone messes with him. He will then proceed to throw a little tantrum by throwing his head back, throwing a toy or laying on the floor. Most of the time, however, he is very chipper and loves to laugh. Jamison is delighted with music and will automatically start rocking back and forth when he hears it. He also enjoys playing the piano like Shroeder from Peanuts with blond curls sitting on the top of his head.

New words: that, ball, yeah

New signs: more, milk, hat

Tooth count: 12 (4 on the bottom, 4 on the top and 4 molars)

Newest trick: When the bathroom door is accidentally left open, he is the ringleader in gathering the crew to sneak in when no one is looking. He thinks it's so funny to crawl in there and explore.

Favorite toy: Balls of any size or shape and anything musical.

Strengths:

• Happy disposition with a smile that will melt your heart
• He is very obedient by following directions like when I say "Let's go eat" he will promptly head toward the kitchen and wait patiently at the gate until the rest of us get there.
  

Areas for improvement:

• Vocal skills - he speaks the least out of the three. He will start being seen by the developmental specialist from the Infants & Toddlers program (MD's version of Early Intervention) to help with his oral and receptive language skills.
• Confidence in walking - He's so close but usually will lower himself to the floor before trying to take steps, even though we know he can do it!

Kiera is our sweet, petite girl! She loves to be around brother and sister and has been caught several times giving them hugs. She also loves to giggle! Her belly laugh is adorable and makes everyone else chuckle when they hear it. Nonna is especially good at getting laughs out of her. She started walking proficiently around 15 months and Poppy says she looks like a drunk sailor! She is much more cautious in her steps and tends to walk with her legs a bit further apart than she should but it's cute to watch. Kiera has really become fond of pointing in the last couple of weeks and does it many times a day. She's pretty stingy with giving real actual kisses but she will throw kisses complete with sound effects. However, has a phobia of bearded men and is notorious for staring down people with her stern scowl, especially at church.

New Words: uh-oh, Pop Pop

New Signs: hat, eat

Tooth count: 10 (4 on the bottom, 4 coming in on the top and 2 upper molars)

Newest trick: In the kitchen, her chair is closest to the water cooler so she likes to pull out the plastic grate and tray. She is also near the trash can and likes to drop food in it that she doesn't want when no one is watching.

Favorite toy: Books! She loves all of her toys but she goes to books first. She also loves to check out all of the junk mail we get like catalogs and cardstock ads.

Strengths:

• Very loving and sensitive to the needs of others
  
• Great sense of humor

Areas for improvement:

• Vocal skills - she is speaking a bit but is easily frustrated when she is not able to get her thoughts communicated
  
• Gaining more weight - she's holding her own and eats better than her sister but is still on the small side

More pictures to come!