We've Made it Through Four Now!!!

Okay. Last night without bottles? I said last night that the kids went down after 20 minutes and they made it through the entire night, no problems. They even slept a little later than normal. Since the kids have been waking up at 7:30 I set my alarm for 7:00 so I could make them a special breakfast. My alarm went off and there was only heavy breathing. I got up and started on my specialty, french toast (from scratch), for the kids. (They had a rough ending to their night and I was so proud of them I had to do something special for them.) I heard the princess start in around 7:20, but nothing too crazy. I finished making their three slices of french toast and went in to their room. They were awake and so happy to see me. It relieved some of my worries because when I put them to bed without their bottles they were not very happy with me.

We got to the table and I started putting their french toast bites (with peanut butter and syrup) in front of them. THEY LOVED IT. The thing about french toast is it is a little bit chewier than the regular toast they are used to getting. I swear, Laine had about 9 little squares of french toast jammed into his mouth at one time because I was circling the table as quickly as normal, but they weren't eating as quickly as normal. They couldn't get enough, though. They were mad at me again because we ran out. Even one of their normal favories, a fruit cup, didn't make them happy. Anyways, we finished breakfast and took a bath. (How about that Mommy, three days in a row with a bath.)

We spent the rest of the morning watching our Baby Einsteins that emphasized animals. I had to get them ready for their afternoon adventure. They went down for their naps and I got their diaper bags ready, did some laundry, and got the house picked up. Lainie came over to help with our afternoon excursion, and when they woke up we ate an early lunch of veggies, some fruit, and some yogurt. We put on our shoes and they were very unhappy with my decision of putting on sunscreen. I know, though, that they have my complex with burning after 1 hour in the sun.

We got to the zoo and all started off well enough. We went through the amphibian exhibit and they really liked the turtles. When we got to the jungle I said to my self, "Self. They really enjoyed this last time. Lets do that again." I made a poor choice. It is so humid in there and I was sweating like a banana in a monkey cage. I think that my little buddy Laine got some sweat/sunscreen mixture in his eyes because he got mad about something. His eyes got really red and he was not happy. From the time we got out of the jungle on, Laine was in my arms. He wouldn't have it any other way.

Right after the jungle exhibit we did run into a friend of a friend of a friend. We met one of our local High Order Multiple buddy's sister-in-law. I didn't catch her name (Lainie did all of the talking...I am kind of a jerk), but she is the Hanson Triplets' aunt. I will say it is kind of neat being "recognized."

Probably one of their favorie sites, the geese, they came close and even squawked a couple of times.


I'm not sure what we are looking at, but the Towers are interested.

Beautiful Danna kept her hat on the entire time. She didn't want to get her head sunburned and she did not trust that I put enough screen on the top of her head.

This is the part of our trip where I am saying, "My belly is bigger than that bear's belly. I can beat him up so don't mess with me."

Finally we see an animal that we recognize off of Baby Einstein.

This is poor Laine after the Jungle.

Forrest is pointing at the turtle saying, "That turtle looks as lazy as you, Daddy."

The turtles were probably one of their favorite exhibits.

This caught all of their attention.

They really liked the exhibits that were low to the ground...for obvious reasons.

When we got home from the zoo, they were pretty worn out. They wanted Lainie or me to hold them. I was sitting on the couch and we were waiting for dinner to cool. Pius waddled up to me and tried to climb up on the couch to sit with me. Here is a replay of the conversation:

Pius: "Wah. Wah. Poor me. Daddy pick me up!"

Me: "Pius, I think you are going to live. Toughen up buddy."

Pius: "Wah. Wah. Pleeeease Daddy, pick me up."

Me: "C'mon Pius. Daddy is tired, too."

Pius then gives me the saddest, sweetest face of ALL TIME. Think: the cat in the Shrek movies when he is showing his kitten face. I am serious. Osama bin Laden could have been sitting there and he would have picked him up and loved on him. I have NEVER been suckered into anything ever like I was then. I picked him up instantly and we had a good cuddle for a couple of minutes. I think in Moni's absence I am getting soft.

As for the rest of the night...pretty normal. I set a timer to keep an actual time on how long it took the kids to calm down and go to sleep without bottles. Surprise, surprise, Danna was the last one to finally give up. 18 and 1/2 minutes without a bottle and she was the last one asleep. I am so proud of all of them giving up the bottles as easily as they are. My only worry is their dairy intake. They won't take their milk as well if they aren't left alone with it in their cribs. I have tried to make up for it by feeding them more yogurt, but I still worry a little.

That does it for day four. Thanks for everyone keeping up even though Moni isn't doing the blogging. I know she is missing the kids like crazy, and I like to think that she even misses me a little.

Until tomorrow night,

B, P, F, D, and L