Random Stuff...

The boys are asleep (and snoring) so I figured it’d be a good time to post.

The boys are growing and doing more each day. They are laughing every once in a while. Most of the time it’s completely unexpected too. Nick’s first laugh was while he was asleep. He was lying on Grandma Carol asleep and just started laughing. It was hilarious. It didn’t even wake him up and he kept doing it. We tried to video tape it, but the combination of low battery and stubborn baby (he quit as soon as we grabbed the camera) meant no video. It wasn’t long after Nick started laughing that Alex and Logan did too. Always figured Logan would laugh first since he’s always so smiley. Nick is usually the “serious” one (I say “grumpy,” Adam says “serious”).

They are also starting to notice each other more. Especially during feedings/burpings. I’ll have one next to me and sit the other up to burp. Usually one of them will look at his brother and start smiling and sometimes even try to talk to the other one. Of course, the other one is oblivious to his brother talking to him. It’s still cute. We have sat two down facing each other and they usually notice each other then. It is cute watching them talk to each other (or the bear – they get so excited!).

Another new development is crunches. They are starting to lift themselves up like they were doing a crunch. It looks like they are trying to get out of their chairs. Along with that, they are doing better at sitting up. Not on their own yet, but they can sit up for a while with only minimal assistance. Of course it’s funny to see them sway and start to fall to one side. Still no rolling though.

We sat them down in front of the TV for the first time last weekend (or two weeks ago, now I can’t remember). Can you believe it? My children and they didn’t get to watch TV for the first 3 months of their lives?! Well, they loved it. We turned on a Baby Einstein video (Baby’s First Moves) and put them on the floor in front of the TV. They all were watching and cooing at the TV. A little while later we noticed they were all getting fussy (not unusual, but they were so happy for so long!). We turned around and realized the credits were rolling. Seems they were upset it was over. I guess that’s why the Baby Einstein DVDs have a “repeat play” option. It never has to end! Thanks to Cousin Sydney for sharing her Baby Einstein videos! That is what we’re watching now (although I think I’m the only one awake – again I reference the snoring).

Over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, I took the boys down to Decatur for a visit We visited Uncle Brandon at work (Target) and Grandma Carol at work (Decatur Memorial Hospital). They both enjoyed showing the boys off to their co-workers. We also saw Great Aunt Barb at DMH. One of her co-workers talked some of the nurses in another area of the hospital into letting us use their baby scales. So we got an un-official weight for each boy. They still had their clothes and diapers on, so the weights are probably slightly off, but still close…

Alex: 12 lbs 14 oz.
Logan: 11 lbs 13.4 oz.
Nick: 13 lbs 9.4 oz.

After that, we went to Hometown Buffet and had dinner with Uncle Matt, Aunt Denna, Cousin Mattie, Aunt Barb, Great-Grandma Kreher, Great-Grandpa Brandy and Ruth (and of course, Grandpa B, Grandma Carol and Uncle Brandon). Then it was back home to see daddy. The boys do pretty well in the car. They definitely like the faster speeds though. Especially on the way home, they usually get fussy in town, but once I hit 65 mph, they all calm down and sleep… until I get to Bloomington and have to slow down!

The last piece of news I have today (and possibly the best) is about sleep. Sleep is something Adam and I don’t get much of and they boys of course fight (which is kinda cute). But, they have had a couple of really good nights where they sleep longer. Last Friday night/Saturday morning they slept until 5:30 before we had to get up and feed them! Then Monday night/Tuesday morning they slept until 3:45!!! I know, that is earlier than 5:30, but the big difference is I didn’t have to get up once to put a pacifier back in or anything! Usually I’m up at least once or twice to calm a fussy baby by either giving him his pacifier or bringing him to bed with me. Then if another one gets fussy, I play musical babies. I know… I shouldn’t start the habit of bringing them to bed with me. But until we start putting them in their own beds, the best plan is to remove the fussy baby before he wakes up his brother(s). So when I didn’t have to get up Monday night at all, I was ecstatic. Plus, since they still need an over-night feeding and we need to get to work, 4:00 is the latest we can let them sleep. So it was perfect. They might have actually slept longer too, but Logan woke up when Nick started sucking on his (Logan’s) hand. Nick isn’t as excited about taking a pacifier, but he loves to suck on fists, his or his brother’s!!

Well, I should go get ready for baths. I’ll leave you with a few pictures…

Grandpa with Nick and Alex

Alex and Logan Reading

That thing's operational!

As promised... here is the video from last weekend up in Minonk. The ceiling fan comes alive!

Busy Weekend...

Hey there! This is Alex, Logan and Nick and we wanted to post our first entry onto the blog. We did a lot this weekend so we though we’d share.

Friday Mom and Dad took us to the grocery store. Nick and Alex rode in the double stroller with dad pushing them and mom pushed me (Logan) in the cart. Everyone kept looking at us and counting to three. I thought adults could count higher than that. Grandpa counts to at least 5 with us… sheesh! Other than lots of people telling us how cute we are, nothing too exciting.

Saturday Aunt Audrey came by to play with us. Then we got baths right after lunch. Kinda seemed odd to bathe with so much light coming through the windows. Usually we get our baths at night. Anyway, shortly after we were done, Mom and Dad packed us in our nice warm car seats and we went for a ride. We think they said we were going to Minonk. Nick, you better tell them about church. Yeah, it was pretty cool. Alex and Logan slept through the whole thing, but me… I wanted to see more. The best part about it was when I screamed, my voice echoed off the high ceilings. Mom said it sounded about 10 times louder than usual! Very cool! I eventually fell asleep once the music started and everyone was chanting together. Next thing I knew is we’re at Grandma Judy and Grandpa Barry’s house. Dinner time!

The best part about dinner… the fan! Did you guys notice it too? It was spinning! Mom even got some video of us watching the fan. We were pretty mesmerized by it. I think she’s going to post it soon (as soon as she can figure out how to get it off the camera!). After that, it was back into the car seats and we all fell asleep again.

Alex, did you check out the place everyone went to for dinner? Yeah – it was Mona’s in Toluca (http://www.bernardirestaurants.com/index.cfm/id:10). We were the fourth generation of Benningtons to eat there. Every once in a while I’d barely open my eyes to check out the situation. You two slept through it all. Not only did we impress everyone there with our cuteness, but we even impressed Grandma and Grandpa with how good and quiet we were. Next thing I knew is we were getting back in the car.

Sunday, Uncle Brandon came up to play with us. We got to show him how much we like the toy he gave us for Christmas and he let all three of us lay on him and watch his cool touch iPod while Mom and Dad were in the other room with their friends.

Well, it was a busy weekend, but we behaved the entire time. And now, today, we’re three months old! It’s hard to think that we’ve been here this long.

Back to Work

Well, I'm back to work. After 6 months off - including bed rest and maternity leave - going back was a little rough. I had to think hard to remember what floor I worked on! Actually, it's getting up at 5 am that's the killer. But if that's what it takes to be home with the boys sooner... I leave while Adam is getting ready. Then Dawn (our nanny) comes over so Adam can leave for work. After a day at work, Adam's home to relieve Dawn and I'm home in time to help feed the boys.

Speaking of the boys, they're all doing great. They're awake and alert a lot more each day. They smile a lot and are even starting to "talk" more. They've outgrown most of their 0-3 month clothing so we've moved on to the next size. They really enjoy playing on their activity mat or at the "kick the bear" toy. They even bat at the toys now with purpose (and not just because they're twitchy) - they know it starts the lights and music back up. Personally, I like it when we can catch them talking up to the bear!

In all, I'm glad to be back at work. It's more mentally challenging and socially fulfilling... but I do miss the boys (and my naps)! I guess that's what weekends and 3 am feedings are for!

Dinner Out...

Last night was our first attempt at dinner out with the boys. We went to Carlos O'Kelly's because it has nice big booths and a layout that is easy to get around with three car seats. Alex, Nick & Logan did fine, although Alex fussed just a little.

It felt good to be out with them. We haven't taken them out much due to the fact that its cold/flu season and its difficult to move three babies around. And dad has been worried about what it will be like when they decide to revolt. But we found out that noise is really pretty well absorbed in a restaurant, so its not so bad if someone is crying.

It was kind of awkward for Tiff & I, however. Lots of stares from other patrons. More than a few questions from neighboring tables and gasps from others when they thought we "just" had twins and then we pull a third baby out.