Toddler Mayhem

I haven't posted in a while for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I'm trying to manage the "toddler mayhem" that strikes my house every day. All three babies are walking with two out of three also running. The boys are very big on climbing and Baxter's reach amazingly increases daily which complicates everything. Nothing compares to the exhaustion from the sleepless nights from the "infant days", but the grandmoms & I break a sweat many days while chasing after, diapering, clothing, lifting, feeding, (etc)these insatiably energetic toddlers. We are also seeing much more interaction between Alton, Baxter, & Charlotte. They are visibly and audibly excited when one comes downstairs after sleeping in a bit later than the other two (awwwwee cute!), they hold hands sometimes while eating in their highchairs, they are talking to each other (in their own cave baby language) and even trying to say each others names. Oh, but most often, they are seriously territorial and possessive with their toys. Charlotte is mostly the toy snatcher, leaving her brothers behind in a crying puddle as she runs away, but Alton & Baxter are beginning to snatch too. I'm so sorry to share this, but I've even seen Alton fight back a few times with some bites. YES...you heard me correctly. Traumatizing. With fear that I'm going to be "that mom" with "those kids", I continuously say and try to show "gentle" after a firm "no" when needed (aka biting). We are also playing catch as a group (the best that we can) to help establish "taking turns". Oh my.... Here are some pics of our trio running/rolling around before getting their pjs on. More to come!

An Early "Happy Easter!"

Things have been very busy here at the Jones household, but I recently reserved some time to take the babies in for a super quick photo shoot at...wait for it...JC Penney's Photo Studio. I'm not big on this kind of thing, but there's something to say for this quick, easy, and inexpensive way to capture all three babies together at once. My camera phone is simply not cutting it and an orchestrated event with our super camera is too much stress for me at this point. So here you have it! I dressed everyone in their adorable matching Straussburg outfits, a gift from Lutron owners Ruth and Joel Spira, and Kreg & I collectively lugged them out to our local mall. I can't help but be pleased...they're just so stinking cute.

3 for 3!

As as yesterday afternoon, we are officially 3 for 3 in the walking department. Alton decided to wow us with continuous 5-10 step stretches across the room. His face was beaming with a proud smile as we cheered him along. Yay Alton!