11 months- It's the Final Countdown!

Buckeye Babies!

The final countdown is on! Less than one month until our little peanuts have their first birthday. I am preparing myself for some major mommy tears! For now, I am soaking up every second of our 11 month olds. The past month has brought SO many changes. Babies are on the move! Majorly. They can go wherever and get into whatever at a moments notice. And they are so FAST! They are also much more into feeding themselves whatever they can get their hands on. My homemade baby food no longer impresses them too much, but we still use it to top them off. We still need to introduce meat, fish, chicken, and other proteins. I am seriously slacking in that department because I am just not sure what to give them. That will have to change in the next month. They still have bottles in addition to food, but they are cutting back on the amount they drink from their bottles. We continue giving them sippy cups, and they are doing so much better with them in the past month. They are all able to tip them up and drink away! Only water so far, but we may try to put some formula in them in the next month to see how that goes.

Aleah's First Day of School

Oh, did I mention that we closed on our new house? We are so excited! We are hoping to move by Christmas. We actually closed on our house on a Wednesday, and we did not even go over to see the house for the first time until Sunday. Does that say anything about how busy we are and how little time we have? We have so much going on and coming up that I just do not think that it is possible to get in there before Christmas. My mom's birthday, Aleah's birthday and birthday party, family pictures/first birthday pictures, Halloween, baby's birthday and first birthday party, and my parents going on vacation. Add to that the normal life with quads and both Chris and I working full time, and there isn't much time left! That's okay though, we aren't in a huge hurry, and we want to be able to move in (and unpack) a little at a time. We had our first trip to Sam's Club, and our first time eating in high chairs when we went out to eat. My parents, Chris, and I also got to get out of the house for a night (with some help!) to go to my grandpa's roast at the Elks Club. It was HILARIOUS. I had not laughed that hard in a long time. He was a great candidate =) Chris and I also took the kids back to where it all began- The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. We visited with the nurses that took care of me as well as the nurses at the NICU. It was so weird to be back! That walk from the parking garage to the NICU brought back so many memories. I also got the chance to be part of a Q&A session for expecting moms of multiples that OSU has. So much fun. I love doing things like that.

We have also had 2 sicknesses over the last month. Luckily, I haven't gotten sick either time (so far), but the babes have not been so lucky. The first round was some sort of stomach bug that caused lots and lots of projectile vomit. Poor kiddos! The past few days they have all been swapping a cold around. Runny nose, congested, miserable. It has been rough to say the least. This just goes to show how important it is to keep our kiddos away from the germs. We will be doing another quarantine this winter, although it won't be quite as strict as last winter. But, the babies will be at home for the most part, and we will be washing hands and doing everything else we can to keep the germs away. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get your flu shots. Everyone that sees the babes will be required to have a current flu shot. Also, if you have been sick, please stay away! Sorry, but the littles need to stay well! Because they are preemies, their lungs are not fully developed until they are 2, so they are much more susceptible to getting RSV and other respiratory illnesses. We do not want to take that chance! We have gotten a lot of use out of our choochoo wagon in the past month. The babies LOVE it. It is seriously a miracle worker when it comes to making the babies happy. I think that they love that they can see all around and also that they each have their own space. Bonus- it is much harder for them to fall asleep before bedtime in the wagon than it was in the stroller, but it can still be done. One sad bit of news from this month, we lost our kitty Booger. He was such a good cat, and he got me through a lot of rough times during law school when I was locked in a room studying by myself for days on end. We will miss our little Boogs, but we know that he is no longer in pain and he is happy in kitty heaven.

Can everyone please say a little prayer that these babies start sleeping better? Between the two illnesses, cutting lots and lots of teeth, and just the normal getting up in the night, we are not getting nearly enough sleep around here! Chris and I are SO TIRED! We are lucky that his mom helps us on the weekends so we can try to get some extra sleep, but the past couple of weeks it has taken two people up for a lot of the night to keep the babies happy and to get them back to sleep. It has been rough to say the least, and we are worn down. I can't remember the last time I got more than 5 hours of sleep. So, be thinking of us! Typically, just when we start to complain about the babies' sleep habits, they get better. So far, that has not worked this time haha. Jackson Jackson is SO BIG! He is a crawling and standing machine. He stands without holding onto anything frequently, and we think he will be taking his first steps in the next couple weeks. He could do it, but he just doesn't realize it yet. Jackson has 4 teeth- his 2 bottom and his two canine teeth on the top. Jackson aka vampire. His hair is getting very very long, and it is wavy like mommy's hair. Jackson has bright blue eyes, and the cutest little giggle. He is VERY ticklish, and he loves wrestling around with his daddy on the couch. Jackson is the biggest binki thief!!!!! He goes around stealing everyone's binkis all day long. He is altogether just a lot more rough than the other three, but they are quickly learning how to tell him to back off (and it is not always nice). Jackson is a comedian. He loves to interact with you. He can clap, give high fives, give kisses, and play peek-a-boo. Jackson loves to be held, and he is still a little cuddle bug. He loves to play under their quad table, and he frequently tries to crawl inside the dishwasher. This boy is a climber, and he is totally crazy!

Owen My little bean. Owen is growing quick! He loves table food. Owen has 2 teeth- both on the bottom. He is working hard on the ones on top though. He has straight blonde hair and dark dark brown eyes. Most everyone says he looks like his daddy most which is funny because there were multiple times we saw ultrasound pictures of his profile and said he looks so much like Chris! Owen is such a stinker. He is a climber, and he can get on top of anything. He loves to try to climb the stairs, and he is actually pretty good at it. Owen can clap, give high fives, play peek-a-boo, and he is getting the hang of giving kisses. The boy has a little temper! He gets SO mad and he just screams (think pterodactyl ) and shakes with his fists clinched. Owen definitely tells you when he is not happy or when he wants something. Owen is much sturdier than he was last month, and he doesn't fall nearly as often, which is a relief! He is very curious (and nosey), and he is obsessed with the cat food. In all likelihood, he has probably eaten an piece or two. Our little O keeps us on our toes!

Dylan Baby dill. Momma's boy. Lately, everyone has been saying that Dylan looks like me (finally!). He is such a sweetie pie. Dylan goes through little stages of being totally content and then he will have an "off" week where he wants to be held a lot. Overall though, he is such a good boy. He is getting around much better than he was last month. He stands up constantly, and he LOVES to jump. He gets the biggest grin on his face. Mostly, he loves to treat the couch like a little bounce house and just jump all around. It is adorable! He is not necessarily crawling like his siblings, but he does get up on all fours and he can get around (just not as far or as fast). I think that he might skip crawling because he is mostly standing, and in the past couple days, he has been practicing standing without holding onto anything. Time will tell! Dylan is still a great eater. He will mostly try (and more than likely love) anything that you put in front of him. He has 2 teeth- one on the bottom and one canine tooth (so weird). Dylan can give fives, and he talks up a storm. He has the most beautiful blue eyes (like Nina) and curly brown hair (like mommy). Dill Picks is such a happy and content baby!

Millie You can definitely tell that Millie is the girl of the family already! She has major diva moments, and, during those times, it is her way or the highway. There is no tricking her or changing her mind. Millie is nosey and crazy. She loves to bounce around and dance. She still wrinkles her whole face up when she smiles which is just the cutest. She talks A LOT. She is our best sleeper (at the moment). Millie can give fives, clap her hands, and give (very sloppy) kisses. Although I am not convinced that she is not just trying to bite my nose instead of give me a kiss. Mills still only has 2 teeth- the bottom ones. I don't know if she is ever going to get another! Millie crawls all over the house, and we often find her a Jackson teaming up to get into something. Millie has eaten a piece of cat food in her day (we have since moved all of the cat's stuff), and she loves to torture the cat. Which the cat incidentally also loves (weird). Millie has lots of stranger danger still, and she would rather be with someone she knows WELL. Millie loves her sippy cup the most. She will chug that water so fast, and she is so thrilled about the whole thing. Little Miss Mills- our beautiful baby girl.

Thank you all for keeping up! I know I type a lot, and, if you make it through each month, I commend you! Stay tuned next month for the babies' first birthday celebration. Don't mind the crying mommy in the background of all of the pictures =)