Triple Sensation: Witching Hour

It's been a while since I sat down to blog -- Jan has been taking care of most of the blog "heavy-lifting!" The days have been long and filled with feedings. Much of the stress we have experienced with feeding problems and schedules is behind us but, from time to time, the girls take sadistic pleasure from watching their parents stress out when they fail to take a reasonable feed. Hopefully, this trend -- stressing the parents out -- will fade away soon; at least until adolescence!

In any case, these girls have been growing beautifully and their doctor has declared, "they are perfect: I cannot find anything wrong with them!" They relish cuddles and gazing into the eyes of their parents (or big sister). In the past week, we have begun to notice signs that they are interested in, and are seeking, greater interaction with those around them. There have been some wonderful outbreaks of smiling around here and, for once, it is not just the parents and big sister performing! The first hints of cooing and cawing can be heard in the quiet moments.

Speaking of quiet moments, there seem to have been fewer and fewer of them lately. The girls seem to collectively have decided that 7-9 PM is a witching hour and the perfect time to give air to any complaint. When the three of them get going, there is little that can settle your blood pressure, no matter how much you focus on remaining calm. The longer the three of them wail, the tighter you clench your jaw and the more snappy and punchy we become with each other! Often, the best solution is to bundle the girls up and walk them around the block. The cool summer evening air seems to do wonders to settle them.

We have finally rigged up our two double chariots for expeditions en famille. One chariot accommodates two babies in slings, while the other accommodates one baby in a sling, with Jennifer sitting beside her. There will be no bike trips this summer, but perhaps by the late fall, and certainly by next summer, we will be able to strike out for longer distances. For the meantime, we are now freed to go for longer walks (in the hour and a half we get between feedings), and even head out to our wonderful local cafe (the Cabin Cafe) for lunch and/or their absolutely smashingly decadent espresso malt milkshake (DOUBLE YUM!). It's nice to get out of the house now and then, even for a brief step. Jan made a venture out today with the four girls on her own to the neighborhood park while I was on a brief outing. It's great to have capacity to get out of the house when we can!

We have continued to make micro-progress on a few projects around the house, while trying to maintain our focus on creating quality time to be with Jennifer. This often means trying to involve her in our errands, chores and projects. As I have said to more than a few people, this family is going to have to play and work together! In truth, Jennifer loves to be involved and help out (see pictures below). I had her helping me repair a gate to our garbage hutch, which required that a plank be nailed to the frame. I remembered an old little hammer that was gifted to me from my grandparents: one that I had delightedly used as a child when I was a young boy. I pulled it out and gave it to Jennifer. I started a few nails for her and let her have at it. A few bents nails later, we were all enjoying some big smiles. Objectively speaking, she is such a sweet lovely girl and I could not love her more. She makes me laugh with joy every day and, if she is any indicator of the fun that is to come when Caitlyn, Emily and Heather grow older, we had all better fasten our seatbelts!

I cannot say enough about our helpers -- Madelyn, Allanah and more recently Ivy -- who have been coming by regularly to give us help with Jennifer, or cuddling babies. We could not appreciate them more if they were our own, extra set of arms and hands, grown for the sole purpose of keeping up with the busy domestic routine that four young children impose on a household! Mana from heaven! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Anyways, it's late and time to begin closing out the evening with the feeding of babes, cleaning, ablutions, etc. Needless to say, I should go but, before I do, a few pics for your viewing pleasure!