4 Month Check-Up

In case you haven't noticed the babies have grown. They have all made it onto the growth chart for newborn babies! Madison is in the 10th percentile for weight at 11lbs 12 1/2oz. She is in the 15th percentile for height at 23 1/2 inches... Yay, Madison!  Tyler and Carter are both in the 25 percentile for height at 24 1/4 inches.  As you all could guess Tyler is still beating his brother a bit in weight, he's 14lbs 15oz and in the 50th percentile.  Carter is not far behind though holding steady at 13 lbs 10oz and in the 25 percentile.  Way to go boys! All three babies are happy and healthy!  We are doing something right because so far no one has been sick.  Let's keep our fingers crossed with this RSV season nearing that these babies continue to stay healthy. The doctor was so impressed with our growth that he says we can move off the preemie formula to the regular formula with less calories, (yes we use Similac, but none of our formula was affected with this recall thank goodness).  I am so proud of my little munchkins and can't believe they are already 4 months old!  We love you guys!

Boys Being Boys

I just thought these two pictures were really funny.  Its like they just heard their Daddy yell "Kids!?!" Carter gets scared and points to Tyler while Tyler just sits there with this guilty perma-grin on his face.  Sweet little Madison knows she has Daddy wrapped around her little finger so she just sits there looking innocent.  I wonder which one of them did it...

  

Now Tyler no longer has that grin on his face because Carter tattled and Carter is saying, "Sucker!" because he talked his way out of trouble.  Again sweet little Madison is just caught in between these two crazy boys and all their shennanigans!  I bet Carter learned this from his Aunt Rebecca she always was the quiet, sneaky one.

Oh what have I gotten myself into?

 

Just Another Good O' Monday

Not too much going on in the Ballew household. Jeremy was away all weekend on his annual hunting trip; so the babies, mom and I had a big relaxing weekend. We did get a chance to go out to Bobba's surprise birthday party. We had a great time and the babies enjoyed the new environment. Today for our playtime I decided to switch it up a little bit. I let the babies hold onto their texture balls (thanks Melly!) and they had a good time. I think Tyler is going to be a pitcher because he kept throwing (or dropping but whatever) it down. Carter wasn't quite sure about this big ball. He pretty much just let it sit on his tray or in his lap. Madison now she's gonna be an all-star, she held 

onto the ball the longest. I was sure at least one of them would get their mouth on the ball but it turns out no one was interested in tasting it. Hope everyone is having a happy Monday, we love you all!

4 months old

So in celebration of the babies being 4 months old I will give you a break and just show you some pictures.  I hope you all enjoy!

Carter, Tyler and Madison

Daddy cuddling with all three,
he hates it when I put pictures of him up!

Daddy giving love to Tyler.

The babies had just all started screaming for bottles
and by the time we were all changed and ready to go they
were passed out again! What a hard life these babies have!

Carter cracking himself up with his fish bouncer.

Madison and Carter having play time on the tummy mat,
notice they aren't on their tummies!

First time at church with the babies.  Such proud parents!

Is it Called Babysitting if You're the Dad?

Hello everyone! What a busy start of the week so far! This weekend was very hectic as well. Mom and I got to go across the street to my neighbor's baby shower and Jeremy had the kids all by himself! Everyone at the shower asked whose watching the babies...my anwser, their father of course! I wasn't too worried about anything because let's face it I would hear the sirens after all! When I came in I was surprised the house was dark...Jeremy and all three angels were asleep, (it was too sweet). Tyler laid across his lap and the other two sweethearts in their bouncers right next to him. I guess this time alone with the babies gave Jeremy some type of empowerment because on Sunday I had plans with my dear friend Shannon and Jeremy didn't want the kids to miss church. He said he wanted to take them and would meet me afterwards for lunch. Hesitantly I said ok, Jeremy loaded up all three babies got them safely to the nursery and afterwards back in the car. Shannon and I were a little late for lunch so I told him to just drive around until we got there.  Jeremy had other plans, he wanted to go get us a table. When we got there Jeremy had the stroller (bus) pulled up next to the table and waved like nothing was new. Little does Jeremy know that all this independence with the kids is going to earn him more time alone with them.  I think this dad is ready for a Girls Night Out!

Play Time

Good morning all, today we have some pictures of the berries playing. I just love the "Bumbo" shots because it makes them seem so big! They are all doing good at playtime. We have trouble with tummy time but that's most likely because we don't do it often enough. Believe it or not it's difficult trying to schedule in time for that everyday. With that said they hold their heads up great; we will just have to work on those pre-crawling muscles. Tyler has learned how to pick toys up. Madison and Carter still need to have them placed in their hands, but once they get them they can hold them nicely. Their favorite toys are sets of keys you can see them in the Bumbo picture.  Also we received a green frog at one of our showers that plays music and the cheeks light up, they love this thing! It can stop all screaming, it's great! Madison and Carter love their Ocean Wonders bouncer seat. It has an option to let the child make the music turn on. I'm certain they don't know how, but they both get so excited when they jerk and that music turns on or changes. You can even hear Carter laughing (may just be baby noises but I think it's giggles) while he's sitting in the chair by himself.

 I'm sure I'm biased, but don't they have the cutest smiles?   

Tornado Warning!?!

I'm sure you want to know how does a mother of three 4 month old babies react to the tornado sirens going off, right? Well the first thing is stay CALM!  Grab the babies, nanny and pillows and rush to the bathroom.  Then the crying begins because, really, could you have this at any other time than a feeding time...of course not!  So I first checked to make sure I wasn't going to get swept away.  Next, I rushed to get the bottles (thankfully already warmed), I grabbed a flashlight, and now come the real necessities a bouncer for the third baby, my water bottle, and don't forget the camera (we had to document for the blog!) and lastly a stool to sit on because there is only one throne in the bathroom. Now we were as prepared as can be.  We first documented the occasion with photos, then fed the babies.  Thankfully this storm was traveling fast and when we finished with the bottles it seemed clear to come out because it was really hot in the bathroom with all five of us huddled.  We survived our first tornado storm without too much stress.  Now for the fun part... the pictures!

Swimming at Lolli-Pops for Labor Day

Today we had a great time! The babies got to go swimming for the first time with their cousin Tatum. I'm not quite sure they knew exactly what I meant when I said lets go swimming, but if no crying means they had fun...we had a blast! We put Carter in first, he was a bit puzzled by the soggy diaper feeling. Next came Madison, after the initial shock she seemed happy. Now Tyler as usual had to have his trademark squeal but I think he really enjoyed it as well. We will have to try this whole swimming thing again, too bad we waited until the end of the swim season to try it out.  Over all, we ate too much food while relaxing and visiting with all the family. Thanks Lolli-Pops for having us all over! Now hopefully the babies are ready for a long night's rest.

Three's a Crowd

Tyler came home July 6th.  We are finally a happy family under one roof.  We had to have a heart monitor to let us know if and when he stopped breathing or his heart rate slowed down.  It was far louder than any machine in the NICU, but we were thankful for it and his getting to come home.  Our plan was to have him sleep in a crib in our bedroom until he got off the monitor.  We put Tyler, Madison and Carter in the crib, but it didn't take long to realize that they wouldn't be able to share a crib together.  Here is a picture of Madison letting the boys know who rules the roost.  We moved Madison and Carter into their cribs in the nursery.

Madison and Carter come home

On June 12th Madison and Carter came home from
the hospital. It was sad to have to leave Tyler but exciting that two of our babies were coming home. Jeremy and I packed up what seemed like months worth of stuff, (it's amazing how much stuff little people have) and set off on the 25 minute car ride. It wasn't too far into the ride when I told Jeremy I couldn't see the babies and we needed to stop and check on them. Jeremy without any hesitation pulled over the car and we both got out and looked at the babies. Amazingly enough they had not moved! So back on the highway we went. A few exits down the road one of the babies made a noise and Jeremy and I looked at each other. Jeremy was ready to pull off again and asked if I wanted to. With my bravest face I said, "Nope, we're gonna have to get used to driving and not being able to see them so we might as well start now." We made it the rest of the way home without too much of a commotion. Once we got home we didn't have much time to show the babies around their new pad before it was time to feed with that never ending 3 hour feeding cycle. Afterwards, the babies were exhausted from their long travels and passed out in Madison's crib but not before they scooted closer to one another. It seemed they missed being squished next to one another.

Tyler's First night in his big boy room!

Friday, September 3, 2010 was a big night for our little Tyler. He joined his brother and sister in their nursery for the very first time.  We think he was excited about his new surroundings because when we laid him down he was wide eyed and looked all around his crib.  He didn't make a peep until Saturday morning. (I know this because I stared at the monitor all night long!) He was even happy when we went to get him up, smiling and excited to see us.  Now I'm not sure if this is coincidence or not...but all three cats slept with Jeremy and I for the first time since we brought the babies home.  Do you think they were happy we kicked Tyler out?