Say What?

Language development for the boys is very important to Casey and I especially after learning that multiples can have a delay because they get less one on one time talking with mom and dad. We try really hard to talk about everything around them, look at books, sing songs, emphasize sounds, and avoid baby talk. We even bought the "Your Baby Can Read" DVDs - no laughing. Even after all of the effort we put into their language development I have found that they are each other's biggest influence. They all say or don't say pretty much the same things and make the same sounds for words. Watching the boys grow and develop is fun, rewarding, and very interesting. I have found it very strange that the boys will name some animals and make some animal sounds but none of them will name an animal and make it's sound together. It is one or the other with them!! For example they say dog (all the time) but will not make a dog sound. They will make a cat sound (which is a hilarious high pitched screech) but will not say cat. It is pretty funny and I always know when our cat is in the room. No wonder she doesn't stick around for long though!

Although the boys are selective in choosing words to say and sounds to make they surprise me everyday with how many words they understand! They know most of their body parts - head (used to be Isaac's favorite word to say as he slapped his head), shoulders, knees, toes (yes, they follow along with the song), eyes, ears, mouth, nose, tongue, and arms. They can pick out different animals in books and while playing with their Little People farm set. At 16 months old the words the boys are saying are:

dog=daw

ball=baw
up=mu-p

milk=nil

more=mo

snack=na

banana=ba by Drew and nana by Evan - together they make the whole word

DVD=DVD (so funny)

mama

dada

Brewster=B or daw

papa

baby

bus=bu

head=he

blueberry and watermelon, but will they say cat, no!

Evan, Isaac, and Drew will all make a T and S sound but refuse to use them with words! The sounds the boys like to make include:

Elephant - they even lift their arms up like the elephant's trunk

cat

car

truck

fire engine (Drew's favorite)

airplane

owl

cow - Evan is the only one who will make this sound and he says meeeeee

Another word the boys love is toast. No they don't say it, they just laugh every time I say it. They are so funny!

Evan

Isaac

Drew

Park & Slide

The unusually warm February has brought the Egger Triplets outside! And boy have we been needing it!!! We have started taking the boys to parks to help them burn some of their endless energy. I have no doubt that our little plastic slide at home has provided proper daredevil training for Evan, Isaac, and Drew - they are fearless! Evan is especially fearless, he finds the slide and without hesitation goes down head first. Isaac and Drew like to crab crawl backwards to the slide and go down feet first on their tummies. This makes them very hard to keep up with so Casey and I have to be on our 'A' game to keep them wrangled and safe. We have had a few bumps and spills but the boys love it and cry when we have to leave. Mom's lesson learned - always have juice ready when we get back in the car, it makes leaving a little easier! We recently went to Kayak Point and Riverview Park in Mt. Vernon. We loved Kayak Point and the boys did too. Lots of room to move and it is far away from the parking lot which is important because the boys like to try to divide and conquer. Also a good run on the pier is a good way to wind down and prepare for leaving. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures at Kayak Point:( We can't wait for summer and for the boys to start listening and following instructions!!!

Casey wrangling the boys in an open field. There are soccer players to the right and the boys would keep trying to run over there yelling "ba, ba, ba", which is ball.

Isaac on the swing. It is hard to tell but he really likes it.

Casey keeping his ducks in a row heading for the slide. The boys will not walk on the playground equipment. I think that it might be because there are holes you can see through.

I'm trying to get them all lined up to slide at the same time. No such luck. As you can see, Evan is already pushing off.

Isaac going down the slide.

Drew going down the slide. Rubber shoes don't slide as easy as his pajamas!

Evan going down the slide. We quickly learned that this was the "fast" slide as little E-Man bumped his head the entire way down the slide. He loved every second of it!


This was at a park in Bellingham where we first learned about Evan's fearlessness with slides.

Isaac, Evan, Drew, & Casey. What a great day!

Sign Of The Times

Several months ago I ran into a woman at Costco with twin girls who told me that I just HAD to sign with the boys. She convinced me that I did need to do this so I went home and ordered the book she recommended along with a DVD. The book arrived and we tried a few signs while we had a captive audience - while the boys were in their highchairs. It lasted a few days but as I got bogged down in the daily grind I forgot to sign consistently and questioned whether or not I was even doing the signs correctly. As time passed I misplaced the book and completely forgot about the DVD. Bad Mom! Once Casey's work schedule relaxed a little and he was home for dinners, the natural teacher came out in him and he started signing with the boys. They picked it up really quickly and were soon telling me more, or "mo, mo, mo" at mealtimes. The boys also learned a few signs from one of their Baby Einstein videos that they love. We have stuck with just a few simple words but I am truly impressed by them. I know millions of babies do sign language but they are my tiny babies beginning to communicate! It is like watching the evolution of man right before your eyes! The words they can sign are; more, book, ball, bowl, tree, cup, milk, blocks, table, refrigerator, and they have even invented their own signs for draw and bath. Here are some pictures of the boys signing a few of their favorite words.

Evan's version of 'more'

Isaac learning "cup"

Drew loves to tell us when he sees a tree!

"Book" is a very popular sign at our house. I'll try to get a picture of all of the guys doing this one. Shouldn't be hard because I see it a LOT!

Confident Man

Reflecting on a long day of playing hard. Evan is not bothered by his lack of pants. He is a confident man.

Sometimes I wonder what our neighbors think!

Rub A Dub Dub

Three little men in a tub!!!!

The boys love to splish splash!

Party in Evan's crib after bath time!

Riots

Have I mentioned before that my boys are active? I mean really active! There is very little quiet play time at our house. Each boy always wants to be doing what the other boys are doing creating some baby fights (and previously mentioned biting). One thing Evan, Isaac, and Drew can all come together on is destruction! I call it baby riots. They can spend some serious quality time pushing over every toy and throwing all small toys over the baby gate. Casey was smart enough to start placing a toy bin on the other side of the gate to catch some of the mess. Here are some pictures of quality triplet play time.

Yes, they push their slide over!

Sometimes while someone is still on it. Yikes!

You can't tell from the pictures but Casey and I "reset" the playroom several times a day and cycle different toys in and out almost every hour. We try to make it nice and organized so they have room to play but it gets messed up pretty quickly!!!

Yes, Drew is putting his head in the basketball hoop.

At least one good thing comes from all of that destruction!

Cougar Cubs

As many of you may or may not know, Casey works for Washington State University and has become a proud Cougar, making the boys honorary Cougar Cubs, I guess. In any case, he was pretty excited to get them decked out in some Cougar gear. Go Cougs!

All of my guys!

Isaac is probably laughing at some devious plan he has cooked up in his head.

Evan is getting pumped up to do some break dance moves.

Drew doing an impression of a robot:)

Baby Proofing

Baby proofing (or containment as it is sometimes referred to in our house) is supposed to consist of baby gates and outlet covers but if you have ever met my boys you would know that these simple measures just won't cut it! Not only do all of the boys walk now, they run, climb, push, pull, and riot.

Since bringing the boys home we turned our dining room into a baby playland. This playroom is where the boys spend most of their day so we have all the supplies we need for them close at hand. Until recently we had a portable crib set up as storage for blankets, books, and toys and also to use the changing table because there was no way I was going to go upstairs to change every diaper! The crib and the diapering supplies became such a temptation for the boys it was too much for them to handle and they just HAD to get into it. My little Isaac has proven himself to be the mastermind behind the demise of the portable crib. He was smart enough to figure out how to push toys over to the crib and stand on them and pull himself up onto the changing table. Will he stack blocks? No. Will he stack toys to stand on. Yes! Isaac gets so focused on accomplishing his missions that anything or anyone who gets in his way...gets it...and yes, I mean a good old fashioned biting! Poor Evan is almost always trying to assist Isaac with his devious plans and inevitably gets in Isaac's way. Needless to say, we are at the heighth of a biting phase...ugh!

So the last straw happened last week. I heard a thud followed by crying while I was in the kitchen doing dishes. I ran into the playroom to see Isaac laying on the floor by the crib crying. When I got to Isaac I looked up and saw Drew STANDING on the changing table with two fists full of vaseline...and a mouth full! I yelled for Casey to come in and as we got Isaac up (who was not injured) we noticed his head was covered in vaseline and every single item that was in the crib was also covered in vaseline. Evan was quietly standing on the other side of the room and also had vaseline on his pajamas! What a mess!!! After a clean up and lunch we headed to the store to try to solve our playroom dilemma.

Yes, Evan has a diaper wedgie.

So now we have shelves with the lotions and potions out of reach and a bench to change diapers on and allow the boys to safely climb on. A pretty decent compromise! The only problem with the new set up is that I always have a little helper when I'm changing diapers. If they aren't trying to grab the clean or dirty diaper my "helper" is poking or hitting his brother. I guess I just can't win!