Triton Jaune 5 months

Shazam...suddenly he's 5 months old. And looking more and more grown up! 

For comparison, here is Papillon at 5 Months (and yes, Triton does that same lip-thing that Papillon is doing in the final picture).  And here is Hibou at 5 months.  They all look alike, but Triton is definitely favoring a resemblance to Papillon.

At 5 months, Triton...

....is really long. I don't have his measurements, but he is definitely a tall boy.  We'll find out at 6months just how tall, but for now, he's solidly in 6 month clothes....except for footed pajamas which I really need to switch to 9 month, because we're really stretching them out.

....goes to bed around 8. Gets up anywhere between 6 and 7:30.  Most nights he has 2 snacks in between that, and goes right back down. Though there are some nights when he wakes up in the dead of nights convinced that it's morning. You can tell because he wakes up talking happily. That's never a good sign. That means you can try and put him back down, but he just wants to play and be held!  Fortunately this is not the norm, and hopefully that will start happening less and less. 

...naps...sometimes. Haha. We're in a 20-minute nap stage. So we try and get at least 3 in.  Some times he gives me one longer nap (say 45 mins to an hour).  Still his best naps happen when he's laying on the sofa and life keeps going on around him. The quiet of his bedroom is apparently not his favorite. 

...is exclusively breastfed still and shows zero signs of being interested in food. Except that he gnaws on his fist all the time, but I think that's more a teething thing. 

...doesnt have any teeth yet, but they must be coming! He slobbers like crazy and chews (hard!) on everything.

....is a very social little boy. He loves to watch what people are doing and prefers there to be a fairly high level of activity around him. Sometimes when he's upset, Papillon will dance for him and, oddly enough, it works. As long as she keeps dancing in front of him, he's happy.

...is very smiley and loves to laugh. We've recently found his tickle spots. One night it was right in the middle of his belly. He was like the Pilsbury Dough Boy; poke his belly, and he cracked up. 

...does have some very very very crabby afternoons. I usually blame gas. It generally strikes in the afternoon and it makes him inconsolable. No nursing, entertaining, etc will soothe him. Poor chap. I'm trying to figure out if his gas is linked to something I eat. But to no avail so far.

He's such a cute and we love him to pieces!

(Even when sleeping is rough....)

Duck ponds

Around this time of year when it's getting cold and predictions are for it to be really cold for a really long time, it's important to seize every day where it's moderately nice and get out of the house.  One particularly warm day earlier this month, the desire to get out led us to the duck ponds. Where the ducks were a little extra bold that day...

After feeding the ducks for a time we walked around the ponds an found some trees to pose with.

Then we sat by the bridge and stirred the stream with a stick for a bit

Triton slept through it all. But the fresh air did us all a lot of good!

Thanksgiving

Now that Christmas has come and gone, let's jot down a few thanksgiving memories before the year slips away.

Here are three of the things for which I am very thankful. (Note triton's dapper suspenders)

Uncle E got some time off from the Navy so we got to see him for the first time in a year and he got to meet Triton!

This year we all convened at my grandmothers house for thanksgiving. It was really nice to be there since that is where the thanksgivings of my childhood took place and it had been many years since we had been there.

Mon amour and I were in charge of the food and I think our turkey was the best yet! It was brined, rubbed in butter and cooked "spatchcocked" which allowed us to cook it quite fast at a fairly high temperature. This resulted in an incredibly juicy and flavorful turkey. So tasty!

Triton fell asleep shortly after we started eating and slept on my lap for a couple hours.

Papillon waiting for pie and ice cream.

Watching a few videos on the phone after dinner.

After dinner we drove up to a park near Nannie's house to look around for a bit. Traditionally we would walk to this particular place on thanksgiving but driving was just as good. We took some pictures, threw some rocks in the river, etc.

The day after thanksgiving we did a little family adventure in our neck of the woods. Beginning with the Science Center and ending up at our house for lunch and such. 

Uncle Erik and the girls played a little Candy Land.

And also read a few books.

A lovely Thanskgiving all around!

Triton 4 months

Late again...but here is a little bit about our 4 month old Triton.

At 4 months, Triton...

...has managed to develop pretty solid head control despite rarely being forced to "exercise" with Tummy Time.

...weighs 14lbs 1oz and is 26.5 inches long. Apparently this makes him 25 percentile for weight but they must use a different scale for boys because he is definitely bigger than either of his sisters were at this age. Also he is 90 percentile for height...so if he looks tall to you, it's because he is!

...is still a very happy smiley baby (when he's not plagued by gas. Poor kid gets majorly sad then toots like you wouldn't believe! Then Aahhh! Sweet relief!)

...loves to munch his fingers. And slobber. Is he teething? Who knows, but the slobber is intense! In the words of Hibou, "mom, he's bubbling on his shirt!!!"

....is getting pretty good at grabbing and holding things and even getting those things up to his mouth. The girls applaud any time he successfully picks something up.

....eats whenever he wants. Probably every 2 hours, but whose really keeping track?

....takes 2 or 3 naps (on those days when we are home and I actually put him down for naps...which isn't often) One is usually 45 mins and the other is longer. The 3rd when it happens is usually a quick 15 min bedtime nap. 

...goes to bed around 8 and gets up around 7 give or take. With a few breaks in between. The past week it's been a lot of breaks but I am hoping that is related to his cold and not a regular habit so we won't bother with those sleepless details :-)

...is still very adored by his sisters.

I love these kiddos!

Odds and ends

Just some odds and ends from the month of November (possibly also the end of October).

The girls got new skirts and vests from Grandma L (who is loving retirement and doing wonderful things with her new found spare time)

Lovin' on triton.

Playing train. 

Sleeping through church.

Halloween

It's only more than a month late, but I couldn't help but share some Halloween memories.

This year papillon was Aurora, Hibou was a Bumblebee and Triton was a Frog.

We first celebrated a week in advance with ZooBoo, complete with candy, crafts and free sunglasses!

Aunt Mimi came along for this adventure.

So did Mon Amour.

Then, on the actual day, we actually went door to door trick or treating for the first time ever. Oh the excitement!

We went with some friends and had a blast. And while there are still some parts of Halloween and trick or treating that seem bizarre to me (like, how old is too old? Clearly there is no limit. Also the scary costumes are usually the stupid costumes worn by the people who are just hoping to score some candy. Lame!) we really enjoyed it and will certainly do it again next year! 

My cuties!

Oh and we did end up with a ton of cady which we rationed out. Hibou, being the one with the sweet tooth, carried hers around and lined it up to count if over and over again. Papillon, being the one with a definitive sugar-max, would often ask for candy, taste and then leave it behind only to forget about it. Triton, as the girls would put it laughingly "only gets milk! He's too little for candy!"

Homeschooling - an off week

This year we began officially experimenting with homeschooling. Papillon is officially in Pre-K, so I am keeping my expectations (of myself) pretty low for this year. But it's been good to get my feet wet and get a sense of what things may work well for us in the future.

One thing I have already learned is that sometimes you have good days and some times you have off- days (or weeks...) in terms of what you accomplish.  Last week was one such off-week.  Perhaps I was poorly prepared, perhaps I was over committed, perhaps I was hormonal. But whatever it was, school just wasn't clicking last week. A lot of our activities ended up just being loose-association play time after reading some picture books that we've already read 100 times.

We had one pretty good lesson (I think!). We learned about snakes in our little preschool-co-op. And I think we all had a lot of fun, and perhaps even learned a thing or two!

We had an spoon-egg race with our leathery "snake-eggs" (I'd soaked them in vinegar overnight, it makes chicken eggs nice and soft). 

Perhaps more fun, though was when we "accidentally" dropped them on the sidewalk...

...and smashed them up really well.  (Side note: Eggs, soaked in vinegar overnight smell pretty bad when they are smashed. Yikes!)

That was a good day.  The rest of the week was pretty iffy.

Here we were learning about pets, and making "dog houses" (aka, just building towers with blocks because Mom couldn't come up with anything better to do)

And more on pets...building cages for our play-doh-birds.  Again, basically just playing with playdoh because I couldn't think of anything better.

So yes, and off week. But it happens, right? And as long as they are not all off-weeks, I think we are still succeeding!

So much support

Mon Amour is back to traveling quite a bit, and while I feel like I've adjusted pretty well to parenting all three kids while he is away, I've realized that, more so than even before, I am very dependent on the help and support of others. For those long days, where I just need to talk to a grown-up, or when I need my kids to talk to a grown up that is not me, or when I can't find the motivation to make dinner for just myself and my kids (who may or may not actually eat what I fix), or when the house is simultaneously too crowded and too lonely, I am hugely grateful for all the support I receive from friends and family.

Here's a smattering of pictures of our adventures from Mon Amour's most recent trip.

Nana and Triton. (At Chick Fil A, obviously. We are there a lot when Mon Amour is away)

Helping Aunt Mimi walk Zelda.

Reading with Miss B.

Sharing a sandbox with friends after a sleepover.

And so many more helpers and encouragers who are not pictured!