A Very Brave Woman

This week Eloise started her 3rd week of school and I started my 2nd week of work. When I dropped her off on Monday she started to cry and stomp her feet and I did my normal sprint out the door. When I came back to pick her up she was smiling and playing WITHOUT a lovie in her mouth. They said she cried for about 5 minutes and then started to play. She is transitioning much better than they expected and we are seeing just amazing improvements with her speech and general demeanor.
Now that we have Eloise on the right track it is time to start to focus on our sweet Mr. Beckett. His weight has always been a concern and now that he is getting seen weekly by a speech therapist, she is able to pick up on some patterns that make her think we should get a physical therapy evaluation. He has always had low muscle tone but he should be getting stronger in his core which does not appear to be happening. You wouldn't really notice it because he is so energetic and strong for his size. But his arms and legs are strong because he is compensating for a weak core. Also, he has some low tone in his face/mouth muscles which is why he drools some and may need more help with forming some sounds. All of this along with his very lean frame lead us to our pedi on Friday for a weight check and just a general check in on her thoughts. She thinks that he would really benefit from going to in class therapy with Eloise and frankly was surprised that they didn't think he qualified. I would love if he would be able to go to class and do his speech therapy and PT if needed at the same time. We'll see. That would be ideal because at this point we have some sort of therapy 3 days a week.
BTW- here are the weights:
MR. BECKETT 23lbs, 11 oz (still not on the charts :(
ELOISE 25lbs
ADDY 28lbs
I originally was thinking that we would potty train her this weekend but I think that we will wait until this week and probably after Thanksgiving. She shows great interest and now will go pee in the potty and has had some dry diapers so I think it is time. BUT, all of the kids had a rough day today and I have a feeling the rest of the week might not be back to normal. That is because I went back to work and today was the first day that the kids had their regular nanny all day.
First let me say that last week was my first week back to work after 15 months (but who is counting). It was quite the role reversal. Our regular nanny would not be starting until this week so Rich was playing tag team last week with a sitter who could only work limited hours. She was here maybe 4 hours a day and Rich had the other 5 hours. The first day I was petrified what I would come home to but it was amazing. The dishes were done, the house was clean and the kids were happily playing- albeit without their hair brushed and wearing some outfits that looked like they were put by someone who is color blind. Usually by about 5 at night my patience is gone and I'm past the point of putting up with any crying or whining and just generally fried. But so far every night when I get home I have so much more patience and am truly enjoying my children which is exactly what I had hoped for. It helps that I just love my new job. I was a little nervous going back to work because I loved my last job at Baylor so much I figured that going forward would be a disappointment. If I had taken a job in a similar role I probably wouldn't have been as happy. But this is a little different role and with more emphasis on the nursing so right now is a great mix. I am practically giddy every morning getting ready for work and feeling like a "normal" person again.
Today was the first day for our regular nanny, Yesenia. She is the brave woman I am talking about. Our kids love her and she has been babysitting a few hours a week since we moved here but a few hours is a totally different story than 10-11 hours a day. Also, the thought of taking all three out into public or to a restaurant or to get all three in and out of the car for Eloise's school pick up is probably terrifying, especially after today. Today no one napped for her. They just screamed and jumped and threw toys the whole time. I didn't hear that they stripped naked but I'm sure some nudity was involved. I feel so bad. By the time I got home they were exhausted. Everyone was exhausted. Addy started to cry as soon as she saw me and clung to my hip for a good hour after. So Yesenia is a very brave woman. It's not an easy gig. But tonight when Rich and I were putting them to bed we were all saying "goodnight Mama, good night Beckett..." They all said, "Good night Senia." as if remembering everyone important to them that day. It was really sweet. Now if I could just get her to come back...

Anyway, I haven't taken too many pictures with my regular camera in the past few days so here are some oldies but goodies.
Addy loves to sit in the doll strollers and yell, "BEEEEECKETTTTT,push." Sometimes she can convince Eloise to do the deed which is pretty cute to watch since normally Eloise pushes around her Pooh bear and lovies.
She was using her lovie as a blanket for Addy and then gave her a Pooh because Addy said, "Baby cry." This is the joy of multiples. Right here. When I sit back and watch this kind of stuff it blows me away.

One of the things that our speech therapist has said to give Beckett to help his jaw/mouth muscle tone is fruit leather or licorice- basically things that are very chewy that he has to work on. Halloween presented a great opportunity.
Milk Duds anyone?



And there's the drool. Poor Kermit didn't know what hit him.

After trick or treating we let the kids rifle through their candy and eat what they wanted. Then the candy fest was followed with a festive orange meal, courtesy of Bama (aka Bambi) to combat the sugar high. Here we have tomatoes from Papa's garden, a pickle (not orange), squash, pita bread, BBQ chips, and Sloppy Lennies (like Sloppy Joe's only made with lentils rather than beef) and apple cider.
Speaking of candy, all of the Halloween candy, all 12 lbs of it, is officially gone. Once my will power broke down and I was eating 15-20 candy bars a night it was time for it to go. I told the kids they ate it all and they've since long forgot about it. Phew. But my thighs haven't.

These pictures were from a few days before Halloween when they were in the dress up mode. Eloise is quite fond of accessories and this day was obsessed with this headband.

Grocery shopping and feeding real or pretend people real or pretend food is a favorite so this is their impromtu picnic with Pooh and friends.

Beads, check. Headband, check. Purse, check. Tutu, check. Ready for the picnic!

Takes a lot of guts to mow the lawn in this outfit.