Changes in Sleeping Arrangements

For the last week (the last month really, but especially the last week) the triplets have not been napping so much. This is a problem because it's evident at around 6:00 each evening that they really, really need their naps. We can tell who didn't nap on any given day by who is screaming and crying that evening for no apparent reason. It's been tough. Really tough.

So, yesterday we made the decision that the girls needed to be in separate rooms. Really, they were the culprits when it came to nap avoidance. Their beds were right next to each other, so they would just lay there and chat. Then they would get excited and start yelling and screeching to each other. There was just no stopping it.

We decided to move Juli into the spare room, then move KJ's bed where Juli's bed was, and then Elisha's bed where KJ's was. We were attempting to make it a little exciting for all of them. They each got to have their bed in a new location. After we moved everything around things looked promising. They were each getting in and out of their beds and excitedly declaring that "This is Juli's bed!!" or KJ's bed or Elisha's bed. It was really cute.

Then came bedtime. Juli was telling us as soon as she got up the stairs that we had to move her bed back. She didn't want to sleep in a room all alone. The crying and tears that ensued when we left the room were unbearable. We went back in, Gretchen went to console Juli and assure her that everything was alright, I went in to quiet down Elisha and KJ who were boisterously explaining to me that Juli was crying in the other room. After a couple of trips in and out of the room, and several attempts to calm Juli down we realized that we were going to have to revert to the "cry-it-out" method.

Gretchen and I turned off the monitor and sat down to watch some TV. We could still hear Juli crying from the monitor in our bedroom, but because it was further away the volume was bearable. After about 20 long minutes things finally quieted down. Their rooms were quiet, they were all asleep.

This morning KJ woke up early, as usual, and I went up and told him he could come downstairs. The girls remained asleep, which was a very good sign. When the girls did wake up and KJ and I went up to greet them, all three of them almost crashed into each other at the doorway between their two rooms. They were all very excited to see each other. It's really amazing to see the special bond that's forming between them. They really don't like being apart from each other for long periods of time. Of course, you can still tell their siblings because when they are together, they almost always seem to be fighting over something!!

The Gopher

At some point last week I remembered something that KJ used to do when the triplets were about one and a half or two years old, a little while after they were able to walk reliably on their own. I remember at times they would each pick out some toys to play with and sit by themselves and play for short periods of time. During this time, I noticed several times, that KJ would abruptly stop what he was doing, his head would shoot up as if out of a gopher hole, and he would scan his surroundings. Once he spotted his sisters, it appeared as if he was evaluating what they were playing with and deciding if he wanted those toys or not. Once he made his decision he would either go back to playing with what he had, or rush over to either Juli or Elisha and take whatever they had. Of course, the screaming and crying would ensue shortly after he stole the toys from them. But it was a fun process to watch up until that point.

Triplets and Bridges

I'm not sure what the fascination with bridges and tunnels is, but the trips have been announcing every time we travel under a bridge. It started out as "going through a tunnel", but we have since corrected them and told them that we were just going under a bridge. So now each time we travel under a bridge, we hear a chorus of "goin under bridge!!" from the back seats. It's very cute, but can also get quite annoying on some stretches of road.

They've also carried this fascination over to play time. They have a little Thomas the Tank Engine set that has a bridge. Each time the trains go over the bridge or through the tunnel they announce it the same way they do in the car. Again, very cute, but it gets old really quick!!

Triplets at Cleveland Browns Family Day

This weekend we took the kids to Cleveland Browns Stadium for Family Day. We really just walked around the stadium a bit and sat in the Dawg Pound and had a snack. We didn't stay long, but it was a nice way to spend a Saturday morning as a family.

Mommy's Little Clone

Elisha is so much like her mother that I often refer to her as "mommy's little clone". This theory was strengthened this weekend when Gretchen found a picture of herself as a child. You be the judge: