Bring It on: Fun outside!

Another wonderful few days in the Deen household, although we didn't actually spend too much time "in" the Deen household over the last few days.

The Sutter Mothers of Multiples program has added on a new thing- an outlet group! As far as I can tell, it's a support/educational group for moms who have been enrolled in the program that now have children between the ages of 0-12months. Last Friday was the first meeting ever, and I am so glad that I went. It was wonderful to get to listen to and talk with other multiple mommas who are facing some of the same challenges and joys that I am with our boys. I brought our babysitter with us to help keep an eye on the boys. Technically the meeting was held during their nap time, but true to form, they all chose to wake up and play during the meeting and I was so thankful that Makayla came with- the boys love her.

I CAN'T WAIT for the next meeting! It was heartening to know that I'm doing alright in regards to taking care of my peanuts. And I don't say that because I'm comparing myself to the other moms and finding them lacking- far from it. But it was heartening to go to the group because I was able to see that I'm not alone in this craziness that is the world of multiples. The challenges that I perceive that I have? I'm not the only multiple momma thinking and worrying about them. The joys of getting to have three little munchkins? We all have them! The facilitator had us each take turns sharing what is the greatest challenge that we're currently dealing with. I voiced mine (worrying about how much individual attention each babe gets on a daily basis), but the ones brought up by others could have just as well come from my mouth too. We also shared how we deal with them, which gave me some ideas for improvements around here. But then... we shared our joys. The joys of multiples!!!!! It can be so easy to focus on the challenges, but strike me down if I ever forget to celebrate the joys! What is the saying- joy shared is joy doubled?!? :) I can't argue with how exciting it is to see all three of them smile and grin at the same time. How amazing it is to watch them interact and coo at their brothers. How wonderful it is to witness them learning something new or reach a new developmental milestone...

We had some nice warm weather over the weekend, so the boys and I ventured outside. While we've gone for many walks outside around the neighborhood (our first one ever, with Jenson and Elliott, was on the day Elliott came home from the hospital!), we've never spent time really "playing" outside. But Friday afternoon was so wonderful, so I packed us up and we headed out to the front yard for our afternoon bottles and playtime! And we enjoyed ourselves so much that we did it some more over the weekend. It's so important for the munchkins to get used to being outside- after all, I've already set the goal for us to go camping this summer at least once! As the weather starts to get warm and stay warm, I anticipate that we'll spend more and more time outside and less time cooped up inside.

First ever bottle outside!

Playing

Elliott

Jenson

Sidney

Smiles on Saturday (Jenson)

Sticking his tongue out to imitate Momma (Jenson)

Elliott

Sidney grins! This kid is ALWAYS smiling

And this is how you get three babies safely out to the front yard for playtime. We go to the front yard for two reasons- to avoid "doggy land mines" in the backyard and to interact with neighbors who are out and about. But I probably shouldn't just leave babies unattended in the front yard while I'm ferrying their brothers out to join them. So the solution? Load up a stroller in the garage with their stuff (blankets, toys, hoppy pillows, bottles, burp rags, diapers, the kitchen sink, etc.), load the munchkins, and wheel it ten yards from the garage to the front yard...