The Third Gender

Louise was able to enjoy another Halloween party yesterday, this time at a local park with other kids and their reproductively efficient parents (from the "mothers of multiples" group). She also thoroughly enjoyed trick-or-treating around the neighbourhood last night ("roar!"). Natasha generously gave her a "twin" dragon of her own (as well as an edible treat).

Last night, Louise asked Daddy to put a hairbow in her hair. He shook his head sadly and said, "Mommy is much better at that sort of thing. You don't see boys with hairbows, do you?"

Louise looked at him quizzically and said, "But you're not a boy, Daddy!"

"What am I?" he asked.

"You're a Daddy".

Obviously.

Halloween party - Carolina style

This past weekend we had two Halloween parties to attend. Louise enjoyed dressing up as a dragon whilst Charlotte and Claire didn't protest as we dressed them up as a scare-crow and pumpkin respectively.
The biggest party was organised by Triangle Mommies, which is a local support group for parents. Louise enjoyed getting candy from the various people who had spent time decorating their car trunks (or boots in UK English!) We are rationing the candy one piece a day since she developed a liking for the lollipops. We have added below three videos of Louise enjoying the party.
On Friday we will go around to some of our neighbours to replenish Louise's candy bowl.
Everyone is over the stomach bug we had last week and Charlotte and Claire are sleeping better which is a great relief.

Little Miss Independent

Last Saturday, after "quiet time", Daddy took the girls to Hillsborough to see what the big deal was about the Hillsborough Homemade Parade. There was already quite a crowd, parking was going to be an issue, and C&C were getting hungry. Despite her poorly tummy, Louise was intrigued and wanted to see the parade. "It's okay, Daddy," she said. "You can drop me off here and come back later."

Charlotte is not quite as grown up as her sister, but she has learned to roll over. Now everyone in the family is mobile.

Week of illness

This week has been challenging will all of us, in turn, feeling the ill effects of a 48 hour stomach virus. Louise was first up with her throwing up on Friday night whilst in bed. She let us know and was very well behaved by keeping quiet so as not to wake her sisters. She also didn't add to the mess. She had a reduced appetite and was lethargic for some of the weekend (including a 2.5 hour nap on Sunday - unheard of!).
After that Guy was affected Monday through to Wednesday and Alison Tuesday to Thursday (thankfully not totally overlapping). Charlotte and Claire both have reduced appetites today and Charlotte has a very bad cough. Hopefully by the weekend everyone will be fully recovered.

We have Halloween outfits for everyone but wanted to show one of Louise in a green dragon outfit.

Teething trouble

This week has been hard. Both Charlotte and Claire are teething and waking up, between them, 3-4 times a night. It feels like teeth from both the top and bottom are trying to make their way through.

Louise continues to enjoy her new room and had a new addition - "Flappy" the polar bear. This was a gift from a work colleague of Alison's, and Louise had no trouble coming up with his name! Her imagination is really taking off: she talks about invisible dogs in the house and piggies in the crawl space.

We all went to Lily's first birthday party yesterday (a work colleague's daughter) and Louise helped her celebrate with a great rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song. She also enjoyed the cupcakes.

Charlotte and Claire 6 month visit update

Charlotte and Claire had their 6 month doctor's visit today. They both have grown very well since their last visit two months ago (four pounds in two months!). Charlotte now weighs 15lb 6oz (35th percentile) and is 25 inches long. Claire is 16lb 15oz (70th percentile) and 25 3/4 inches. Both are now well on the growth chart and are tracking as normal 6 months olds which is great since they were 6 weeks early. Claire has already started to show some interest in solid food and tried some yesterday.

Louise is doing great with her new bed, she has gone four whole nights without sleeping on the floor at all!! Her vocabulary has exploded and it is great fun to listen to her having imaginary phone conversations with the grandparents and others.