Milestones

The other day a friend asked me what I thought was the biggest milestone the babies had reached so far. Of course, sleeping through the night was a biggie, but I think for me, the biggest milestone happened when the babies were about 8 months old. About this time several things happened. First, the babies transitioned to two naps per day, and I was able to get all of them on the same schedule. They ate at the same time, played at the same time and slept at the same time. Until that point, there really wasn’t a time of day that I could count on having some time for myself to get things done. Around 8 months the babies became a lot better at eating finger foods, which meant that meal times could be managed with less help. It was also at this age that the babies started crawling and scooting, which meant that they could entertain themselves a little bit.

About 8 Months Old: Kyndall, Rustin, Kaydence, Ryder and Kassidy

My friend also asked what future milestones I was looking forward to. Here is a list of the ones that came quickly to mind:

Top Ten Milestones I am looking forward to in 2009

1—The ability to eat with a fork and spoon
2—Talking
3—Talking in sentences
4—Old enough to be allowed into the Nursery at church (2 more Sunday’s to go!)
5—Ability to drink from a regular cup without dumping the contents into lap
6—Kyndall gaining enough weight to face forward in her carseat
7—Being able let them out in the front yard without all of them immediately heading for the street
8—Ability to walk up and down stairs (without looking like they are going to tumble to the bottom at any moment)
9—Ability to put on clothes by themselves
10—Switch from parallel play to more interactive play with each other

You might have noticed that "potty trained" is NOT on the list for this year----I don't think I will be able to brave that one until 2010!!

In other news….my mom was in town this week and we had a great time! As you can imagine, with five babies I don’t get out of the house much because. It is wonderful having my mom here because with an extra set of hands, we actually can get out. During this visit, we planned an outing every day---we went to Sam’s Club (twice), the mall, IKEA, the outlet mall, and lunch at Chili’s. We don’t actually accomplish a lot of shopping on these trips because people stop us to ask questions about every three feet, but we really enjoy just getting out----and it makes the day pass amazingly fast! Below are some pictures from her visit:

Eating Chick-fil-a at the Mall foodcourt: Kaydence, Kyndall, Ryder, Rustin and Kassidy

Eating Cheerios with bowls and spoons for the first time: Ryder, Rustin, Kassidy, Kyndall, Kaydence

Waiting for a Table at Chili's: My friend Halli, my mom, Kaydence, Kyndall and Kassidy

Me (Rachelle) with Ryder and Rustin

Kassidy checks out the toddler plate they brought out---the cherries, orange, olive and cheese were arranged in a smiley face

Riley on the new stilts "Mimi" (what the kids call my mom) brought him

Kaiya

Kassidy--the next American Idol

Kaydence

Rustin wearing the earing he stole from Virginia

Kyndall

Ryder kissing the baby doll (or maybe he is trying to eat it...)

While my mom was here, we tried to take a group shot of all the babies. They were not very cooperative, so this is the best we could do!

Kaydence, Kyndall, Kassidy, Ryder and Rustin

The boys: Ryder and Rustin

My favorite shot from the group picture attempt!

Milestones