COOPER!!

Look what our tiniest peanut did today, all on his own!!!

I know we should be terrified, because pulling himself up means he's that much closer to walking...but we are so darn proud of our baby boy!!

Happy Easter!

9 Month Stats

Will:

Weight: 16 lbs, 10 oz

Height: 26 inches (19th %ile)

Head: 44.5 (34th %ile)

Griffin:

Weight: 17 lbs, 15oz

Height: 26 inches (33rd %ile)

Head: 45 (50th %ile)

Cooper:

Weight: 16 lbs, 1oz

Height: 25 inches (9th %ile)

Head: 45 (50th %ile)

9 Months Old!!

Not sure how it's possible that we have three 9 month old baby boys when we just brought them home from the hospital a couple months ago! As much as I've been reminiscing lately about their teeny tiny days, we've been loving watching them grow!

This is probably the last month that they will all fit on the chair together!

Will

Lately Will l-o-v-e-s to stand up. He's not quite pulling himself up yet, but I am guessing that will come soon. If you're holding him and try to set him down he will lock his knees up and refuse to put his butt on the ground. Will's newest nickname is Lloyd. His hair is growing in straight down which gives him the same haircut as Jim Carrey's character in "Dumb and Dumber.: He has the patience of a saint and for the most part is pretty tolerant of his brothers' antics, such as Cooper crawling all over him or Griffin getting picked up first because he's screaming. Will is certainly not Mr. Innocent, though! He is a bit of an instigator in their "baby jail" where we have all their toys set up. Will can be a bully and has no problem taking a toy right out of his brother's hands. If he sees something he wants, he'll make it happen. He is extremely mobile now and can crawl all over. The baby jail has been a good addition to the bonus room lately to help us keep them contained! He's not really talking yet the way Cooper and Griffin are, but I swear some days that he is starting to use sign language. I'm sure it's just wishful thinking on my part, but it seems like he signs "milk". He still loves to give big sloppy kisses, and has recently started giving "high fives" if you ask for them. He's still wearing 6-9 month clothes, though the 9 months are fitting him better these days!

Mock-Yeah! Ing-Yeah! Bird-Yeah!

Mmmm...Sophie

Bedtime snuggles with Daddy

Griffin

FINALLY we have a baby who says "Mama"!!! It's a recent addition to Griffin's vocabulary, but Will caught him saying it on camera for me the other morning. Griffin has sprouted two teeth in the past month, which means that our normally easy-going baby has disappeared. Man, did he get crabby while he was teething! There have been lots of uncomfortable tears and clinging from Griffin in the past month. Thankfully his teeth don't seem to be bothering him as much now that they've poked through! He also gets very upset lately if you walk away from him, even just for a moment. This is a relatively new development for him as he has usually been pretty independent. He's not as mobile as his brothers in terms of crawling. Don't get me wrong- he CAN crawl, he just chooses not to. He seems perfectly content to hang out on his hands and knees, not moving. He is mainly in 9 month clothes now, though he can still fit into some 6 month outfits. When you ask him for a "high five" he will laugh at you. And for some reason the "Sesame Street" song "Manah Manah" cracks him up. Which means I sing it to him a lot. :)

2 bottom teeth are in!

New favorite hobby- opening drawers

He loves to stick his tongue out and feel his new teeth

Cooper

The baby who never, ever sits still. Ever. He's constantly on the go, and he's getting good at scaling obstacles to get to his target. He'll try to climb around or over anything in his path- toys, our legs, his brothers...doesn't matter. Cooper has a tendency to dish out a lot of abuse on his brothers (especially when he uses them for a jungle gym!), however he's not as good at taking it. He will SCREAM if Will or Griffin gang up on him.  He still loves to say "Dada" all the time, though lately he's also discovered that he can say "baba" and I've heard a couple "mum mums" coming from him in the past day or two. Like Will he loves to give "high fives" and is super affectionate- he gives lots and lots of kisses to us. He still loves to zerbert our cheeks or arms. Cooper is still comfortably wearing 6 month clothes and can even still wear some 3 month onesies. He's recently started pulling himself up to a kneeling position, and he is so. darn. proud of himself when he does! I think he may be our first walker- he's so motivated to get out and explore!

Dad just might get brave enough and take all 3 on a walk by himself! Practicing his baby wearing

No obstacle is too great for Cooper to try and climb over!

They love their jelly cats!

It's been fun to watch their cognitive development in the past month. You can almost see their wheels turning as they figure out how to play with a new toy. Everyone continues to be good eaters and their pediatrician encouraged us to move them up to 2 meals of solids a day. This will be a bit more challenging for us as they still take 4 bottles a day. That means in the span of about 12-14 hours we have to get 4 bottles, 2 solids, and 2 naps in while still allowing time for play! I know most children have this schedule and it's relatively easy. But feeding solids to 3 babies at once is not a walk in the park- there is a lot of work involved! This will be tough for Will as the 2nd feed is going to fall on him during the daytime hours while I'm at work. But we'll figure it out!

Dining al fresco

Watching our sign language DVD

Naked babies in crib jail

Dinner time!

At 9 months, we:

• Sleep 10+ hours through the night
• Love splashing in the water during bath time
• Take 32 oz. of milk a day over 4 bottles
• Eat lots of new foods: pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, pasta, macaroni and cheese, string cheese, and yogurt to name a few
• Can crawl all over
• Still love when mama sings to us
• Will give Daddy belly laughs when he tickles us

Hand-Me-Downs

I've been very sentimental and nostalgic in the past week. I'm sure this has been brought on by several factors- my grandma's passing, the boys hitting another milestone by turning 9 months old, and because I've been sifting through their newborn clothes to give away. Looking at their teeny tiny little outfits that used to be soooo big on them reduces me to puddles of tears. Every. Single. Time. I look at them! It's somewhat hard to part with the clothes because I feel like it's closing a chapter of their lives that we'll never get back. I've kept a few sentimental onesies for each of them. My hope is to collect their favorite clothes over the years and eventually make a blanket for each of them that they can take with them when they leave home for good. Still, it's been very emotional as I pack up the rest of their clothes. I would keep them all if I could!

Fortunately I know that my favorite baby outfits are going to good homes. The beauty of having three babies at once means that there are plenty of hand-me-downs to share with friends! My wonderful work friend Ali just learned that they're having a baby boy, which elates me!! She was such a great support for me at work while I was pregnant, and remains so as I've been transitioning back to work full time. I'm so happy that we can hopefully pass that same support on to her as she gears up to become a mom. Knowing she has a boy on the way certainly helps! Her little guy will have no shortage of hand-me-downs from our crew. As an added bonus, her pregnancy falls almost exactly one year after mine. She is due in early August which means that most of our seasonal clothes will be appropriate for them to use.

The remainder of the newborn clothes are being split between several other friends- a big box already went to friends in California who had their first baby boy a few months ago, and we have some set aside for friends in town who recently had their first boy after welcoming a daughter a couple years ago. I have another friend who's due next month with baby #2. I have a big bag of baby boy clothes for her, too, even though they don't know the gender yet. I correctly predicted that her first baby was  a girl so I'm banking on being correct this time around, too.

As hard as it is to part with these newborn clothes, it's comforting to me to know that I'll be able to see our friends creating new memories with their own baby boys in some of our favorite outfits!

Grandma Wingard

We traveled back to Decatur this week to say goodbye to my Grandma Wingard. Funerals are always sad occasions, but at the same time it was great to see so many Wingard family members that I haven't seen in many, many years. My dad is the oldest of 9 children, and almost all of them have children of their own, who have children of their own. We are a big group when we're all together! My Grandma left behind quite a legacy. This also marked the first time that my whole immediate family has been together since our boys and my newest niece Gabby were born. I loved that we were able to spend time together and meet each other's children while they were still babies!

My cousin Erin wrote a wonderful eulogy and had asked me to share some memories with her so she could incorporate them into her tribute. This is what I wrote:

I have such fond memories of time spent at Grandma's house. Time seemed to slow down there. It was always quiet and relaxing and cozy in her living room. I can vividly remember hearing the tick tock of a clock while we sat quietly on her velour couch in the living room and talked about what was new and happening with the family. She was very proud of her large family and it showed through the dozens upon dozens of pictures that lined her walls, fireplace mantle, and hallways. We looked at the pictures around her house hundreds of times over the years.  She had so many pictures that she started overlapping them- the newest great grandchild's school picture would partly cover up their mom or dad's senior photo from high school.  :)

I remember apple picking parties in her front yard so she could make the year's crop of apple butter and pies. And I remember bonfires in the backyard when all her kids would get together to help with yard work and to get her garden ready for planting. It always seemed like there was something going on at Grandma's house. Even if we randomly stopped by- it seemed that one or more of her kids would have the same idea. Sundays were probably a revolving door for houseguests as all her kids and grandkids came to visit. 

I loved how her Pennsylvania accent brought out the Pennsylvania accent in all her kids (even those who never lived in Pennsylvania). She was "Mum" to everyone. And we heard "yunz" a lot growing up! "Yunz, be careful climbing that tree!" "Yunz, come and eat something." And after dinner, there was always "warshing" to do. :)

I didn't get to spend as much time with her as an adult after I moved away, but I will always have fond memories of spending time with her as a child.

As we collected photos to share at her visitation, I was reminded once again of how important it is to capture memories. The photos we have of Grandma help us remember who she was...I want to be sure my own children have the same fond memories of time spent with their family growing up. Having said that, I have lots of photos to share from our trip back to Decatur:

Grandma with baby boy #4 (my dad is the tall dark haired one in the back)

Grandpa and Grandma Wingard with my Dad as a baby!

How I always remember her

Emry turned 2 on Sunday!

All but 2 of my first cousins made it home!

The 9 Wingard kids

Wingard party of 17