First Thanksgiving & First Snow for the Girls

We got back today after being in Binghamton for a week for the Thanksgiving holiday. My mom and I drove together with the girls on Saturday and then Dennis arrived on Wednesday after work. My parents had their work cut out for them helping me with all the feedings (3 solid meals a day on top of bottles). I am still nursing but the babies get bottles as well. The nights were hard without having Dennis by my side when a baby (or 2 or 3) would wake up, but my parents were such a huge help and it was nice to have more hands during the day. The girls were showered with attention and love from 2 sets of grandparents, great grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins and friends all week. It was great to see so many people and to be able to get out a couple of nights.

The girls enjoyed looking out the window to watch the birds and their first snowfall with "Pop Pop". They had lots of fun with the Sullivan/West kids and Madison and Robby Baxter. They loved their baths in the kitchen sink (especially the big bubble bath when Pop Pop put in too much soap) and all the floor space to roll around (and scoot) on. Molly's first tooth came through during our stay in Binghamton as well. So exciting! She makes the cutest expressions with her mouth as I think she likes feeling the tooth. Molly and Madeline are getting around so much now between their rolling and scooting. Tess gets from her back to her stomach easily but gets stuck or else just prefers to stay in that position. She sticks her arms out to the side and looks as if she is flying...so funny. We call this her Superman position.
They are still doing pretty well with the solid foods and have almost tried all the fruits and vegetables. Molly is the best eater in terms of being quick and clean. Sometimes you can't get the food in fast enough for her. Madeline is a good eater but is the messiest by far. She loves to put her hands in her mouth with the food and grab onto the spoon. Tess is hit or miss and is on the slower side but she enjoys sitting in her high chair. She really loves her bananas most of all. We actually have the Spacesaver chairs that go right into the dining room chairs and they are great. Dennis parents bought one for us to keep up in Binghamton as well which was great to have.
So, the girls had their first Thanksgiving and it was a really nice day. I took Tess over to the Reyen's for a bit because the others were sleeping (Molly was having a nice snooze on Dennis stomach). Then we had my mom's side of the family over to my parents house for dinner. It was a hectic day with trying to coordinate naps and feedings and I was feeling really out of it from sleep deprivation. But, it was a really special day and such a different Thanksgiving with all the babies in the house.

The girls adjusted pretty well to their new surroundings for the week but they didn't sleep great. Well, I should say that Madeline was up to her old tricks with crying a lot going down and waking up during the night which we thought we had kicked prior to leaving for Binghamton. So, my parents didn't get much sleep because you can hear her loud and clear with her high pitched cry. It was a bit of musical cribs all week trying to figure out what the best sleeping arrangements were. Before Carolynn/Steve/Henry were in town we had Madeline in her own room. When they came to town, we were afraid to put them all in one room for fear of them all getting woken up if Madeline cried during the night. So, we had Madeline and Tess together with me and my parents graciously took Molly in their room. She did great but Madeline still kept my parents and I up but luckily Molly and Tess slept through her crying even though they were in the same room. We had only one night where all three slept through the night and that was Thanksgiving night. It was fabulous. Although my poor parents didn't even get to enjoy it because they had decided at 9pm that night to ensure themselves of a good nights sleep and checked into a hotel. They had their bags packed, a bottle of wine, bottles of water and turkey sandwiches and were off to enjoy a good nights sleep. We felt terrible that we had taken over the house so much to the point where they had to get a hotel room!! They are amazing what they do for us.

So, we were able to purchase a new minivan...the Toyota Sienna and we love it. It was so nice to have it for the trip back because my mom and I could sit back there with the girls and entertain them once they started fussing. It will be nice some day to use the DVD feature too. It was kind of bittersweet to say goodbye to our 4Runner and former life.
On the Soap Opera front, I have a couple of pictures to post below that someone sent me from an ABC website. These scenes either got cut or haven't aired yet because we have not seen them.
Looking forward to getting back in the swing of things in the comfort of our own home this week and hoping the girls do well tonight!!


Tess

Molly (I think)

Molly

Molly

Molly