favorie past-time

We have already begun to see some personality traits coming out in each of the trio....

Mary is constantly searching for the pacifier..even if she has to grab it out of her siblings mouth! (Which she does all the time...even when she already has one.) Seen above, she is triple-fisting the paci's... I am a little fearful of her stealing habit! (Nothing can stop her from getting that nuk!)

Gabby refuses to stop MOOOOOVING. She is always on the go...crawling and pulling herself up to a standing position. She will stand up, hold and stablize with one hand, and then suck her thumb on the other hand. Drop down, crawl around, and go back to the same spot and pull herself up again...and again...and again. She is building confidence and can now pull herself up to a standing position in her crib (and anything else...that doesn't move on her!)

Ahhhh...Mateo...our dear son. He loves to lay around. (and be upside down.) He can rock on all fours but does not really show an interest in crawling around just yet. He doesn't steal toys from his sisters...and usually lets the girls beat up on him - even giggling when they do!... a true baby brother.

big smiles

There is just something about the high chairs (perhaps the signaling of food???) that = smiles.



mary

gabby

mateo

you know you are having a bad day when....

you notice baby poop on the wall. nuf said?

dinner time ext.

Ureka! I was able to figure out how to download pictures off of the phone camera...not too bad.

In any case... about a month ago, we took the trio to the closest home depot (1/2hr away) for what we thought would be an easy trip. After 2 hours of waiting for them to cut our blinds (because the windows in our house couldn't be a standard size and fit regular size blinds!...humph!!) we had to feed the babies their bottles. So...off to the trunk of the car we went. They were such good sports! They even drank their formula (yuck!) cold (double yuck!!). Below is Daddy feeding them while Mommy pumps in the front seat.

Then, we had to go back into home depot to wait for them to finish cutting our blinds! Yep, 4 hours total at home depot that day. 7 sets of blinds, 2 ceiling fans, and a rod for our dining room drapes.

dinner time

I am not quite sure what is so funny...but inevitably, every time the babies are placed in their high-chairs, they get the giggles. One starts laughing and sets the other two off. They talk and laugh while mommy desparately tries to keep the food in their mouths and not dripping down their chins!

This past weekend, we went to Applebee's as a family. Each Garcia baby had their own high-chair and sat at the table with Mom & Dad. They LOVED it...again, they caught the giggles and were the talk of the restaurant because their laughs were so contagious.

(I am sure it won't be too long before their giggles really get us into trouble!)


mateo loves to hold his carrot and cheese wagon wheel

gabby's giggle - caught in action

"sissy - what is so funny? I am trying to concentrate here!" - mary

we are on the move!

The Garcia babies are on the move! As much as I place obstacles in their paths...both Mary and Gabby can find a way through them. Soon after leaving one room, I hear the pitter patt of hand-knee-hand-knee and I know who is coming before I even look down!

They are curious little georges and love to be into everything! If it isn't the treadmill, it is the laundry basket, or old socks, or stinky diapers! Like your average 8.5mo, they like to put everything in their mouths...the book that mom is reading to them, the edge of a plastic bottle, mom's big toe....(yuck!) and even the treadmill belt.

Every day is a new adventure for both them and me! I am amazed at what they can do, and their "light bulb" expressions are priceless! To see Gabby pull herself up to a standing position, and Mateo realizing that the knob he has been playing with REALLY turns, and Mary...that she can sit up on her own and gain a different perspective melt my heart every time.

They are blowing bubbless...saying "blah blah, ma ma", and every once in a while Mateo throws a groan or grunt in there.

What more could I ask for?

both the girls LOVE to tackle their brother...and he is such a good sport - normally he laughs.

"too many choices...hmmmm....chocolate or vanilla?"

weekend trip to Cleveland

We made a last minute decision to join Aunt Michele and Uncle Jeremy on their weekend trip to Cleveland. What a whirlwind! Although it was a lot of driving for 2 days of visiting, it was well worth it to see our cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents! And we did pretty good in the car, too....just melt downs about 1/2 an hour from our end destinations. Not bad!!

Thank you to Uncle Brett for allowing us to crash at your house, eat all your food, and wake you up at 7am on the weekend!

You will notice that Gabrielle is being held in a lot of the pictures...hmmmm...I wonder why that is??? (hint: could it be that she is the "needy" one of the bunch?)


family breakfast at Gene's place. This was the babies' first time in high chairs at a restraunt!
(michele, mateo, jeremy, gabby, pa)

(hilary, thomas, ed, cas)

(grammy, mary, hilary, thomas)

mateo - "belly. fully of gas. AGHH- I need to let one rip!"

gabby - "let me pause from my eating to show a big sweet smile." (i have everyone fooled!)

mary - "eek! can someone let me out of this thing....i keep sliding off of it!"

grammy & gabby

pa & gabby

babies in the play pen

mateo kissing mary (or biting her ear off... we prefer to think loving thoughts)

belle, kelsey, & gabby...with brett in the background

ashleigh & mary

belle & mateo

brett & mateo (early Sun morning!)

gabby - "uncle brett... I just want to borrow your hat for a short bit!"

loving my siblings....

The babies have finally started to "discover" each other...and they love to crawl on one another, poke at one another, and steal the "nuks" from one another's mouths.... Their giggles are contagious!!!


"hold still, mateo... I think I got all but one of the bugs off of your head" - mary

sisters....

say CHEEEZEeeee

hoods ON

hoods OFF....and ready, set, gooooooooooo

we're not preemies any more....

Just a quick update! Spent the LONGEST..... time at the ped's office yesterday (that is a story in itself) but at least we have some updated weights :
Mateo - a whopping 19lbs
Mary - 1 oz shy of 18lbs
Gabby - 15+ lbs

All are on their growth charts for "regular" babies. (Usually, the Dr's need to adjust the growth charts for preemie babies because preemies take a long time to catch up to babies that are born at regular 40wk gestation....but our babies have already caught up (and surpassed) regular baby standards)...what an accomplishment!!

With growing up comes changes.... they are much more demanding than they were before...wanting "mommy's" attention all the time...being fussy about what to eat and when to drink their bottles....wanting to play more and being picky about which toys they are playing with....starting to crawl and move around (I found Gabby by the treadmill today!) and lots of screaming - both from excitement and frustration. Every day I see something different than I did the day before....

The fun is just beginning...