We had a wonderful Christmas at the Ryans. I think the girls especially loved hanging out with their cousins.
They also LOVED Barb's collection of animatronic singing snowmen.
Click on "Christmas" under "Collections" on the right side of the page to see more Christmas photos.
The girls’ hair is starting to become somewhat of an issue. Especially Lily’s – it seems to grow straight forward, and is starting hang in her eyes. And Julia’s curls have become rather unruly. Somewhat reminiscent of a brillo pad. So we’ve been experimenting with hairstyles.
The easiest thing to do with Lily’s hair is sweep the bangs back into a little clip. I’ve discovered a wonderful website, www.hairclippy.com, and may well bankrupt us buying hair clips for Lily.
But I think my favorite look is the pigtails.
Tim was very upset when he saw Julia in pigtails. As in “how dare you defile her glorious curls” kind of upset. He prefers a headband, but I’m not sure Julia agrees.
This is what happens when you leave three 1-year-olds unattended with your shopping bags...
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Pick one baby and carry her to the dining room, coaxing the others to crawl behind you.
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Get all babies into chairs.
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Buy yourself a few minutes by throwing some Cheerios onto the trays. Eve and Julia will eat them, and Lily will amuse herself for a while by dropping them onto the floor.
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Heat up some food for Julia (mac & cheese, soft cooked veggies, etc.), cut into small pieces, and put on her tray. Marvel once more about how the one with no teeth will eat anything you put in front of her. Only put a few pieces on her tray, or she will stuff her cheeks like a little chipmunk.
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Pick Eve’s bib up off the floor and put it back on her.
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Start spoon-feeding baby food to Lily. Attempt to give some to Eve as well. Wonder if it’s possible for a baby to shake her head violently enough to cause brain damage. Give Eve more Cheerios.
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Put more food on Julia’s tray.
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Pick Eve’s bib up off the floor and put it back on her.
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Keep feeding Lily. If Eve starts watching the spoon, try again to get her to eat some. It is imperative at this point to act like you don’t care if she eats it or not. Singing a cheerful tune like “If You’re Happy and You Know It” may help. Do not make eye contact.
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Give Julia more food.
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Go find a bib that snaps in the back to replace the Velcro-close bib that Eve has once again thrown on the floor.
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When you’ve fed Eve and Lily as much as they’ll take, get the bottles out.
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Give Julia more food, in hopes that she will keep eating while you give Eve and Lily their bottles (this is unlikely).
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Hold one bottle for Lily and one for Eve. You probably have about 40 seconds until Julia starts shrieking for her bottle.
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Set Lily’s bottle down and hold Julia’s bottle for her (while still holding Eve’s).
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When Lily starts shaking her bottle violently enough to paint the ceiling with milk, set Eve’s bottle down and hold Lily’s for her (while still holding Julia’s).
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When Eve throws her bottle on the floor then starts screaming for it, set Julia’s bottle down, pick up Eve’s bottle, and hold it for her (while still holding Lily’s).
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Continue in this manner, using Cheerios as a stalling tactic when necessary, until Lily is done (she chugs like a frat boy and always finishes first).
Here’s where things might start to get a little tricky.
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Lily will want to get out of her chair, but there is no way to supervise her while holding Eve and Julia’s bottles. Try distracting her with Cheerios, bottle caps, pieces of paper, songs, funny faces, or whatever else you can think of. Be creative. Common household items can prove to be highly entertaining to a baby, especially if it's something you don't usually let her play with.
Like this:
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When Julia and Eve finish their bottles, wipe hands and faces. Be prepared for them to writhe, scream, and otherwise act as if you’ve dipped the washcloth in battery acid before applying it to their tender skin.
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Remove babies from their chairs. Turn the dining room light off so you won’t have to look at the disaster you’ll be cleaning up later.
The aftermath:
Feeding in progress:
Last year at Thanksgiving, we had two tiny 5-pound babies just home from the hospital, and one still in the NICU, struggling to learn how to eat without choking then dropping her heart rate, causing alarms to sound and nurses to come running. (That was fun.)
Today, we had a wonderful day. It was gorgeous out so we went to the park and played on the swings.
Eve had a good time:
Julia had a good time:
Lily had a REALLY good time:
But mostly we just hung out together.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I've been meaning to start a blog for the girls for... oh... about a year now. I hope this will help keep friends and family up to date. The blog gets its name from the girls' nicknames, given to them by their father shortly after they came home from the hospital. I thought a good place to start would be with the slideshow I made for their first birthday. Enjoy!
