Three Birds, One Stone

Today, I took my 3 little boys to their doctor's appointment.  Brock for his 4 year check up, Curtis for his 2 year and George for his 9 month.  I ventured to the appointment with all 3, by myself.  When I am out with my boys, I get a range of comments, looks and behaviors.  Mostly, everyone just smiles, opens doors for us, and waves to one or all of the kiddos.  Every so often, I get a "God bless you".  Which I both appreciate and am confused by...God bless me for what?  Not ripping my hair out, or melting down in public while wrangling 3 children  ages 4 and under? For being calm?  For procreating?  The nurses all commended me for getting my children undressed, inspected, re-dressed, and vaccinated rather smoothly and without too many tears; George got his flu shot, give him a break.  All the meanwhile, I was carrying around and enjoying my caramel latte from Bella Napoli.  Didn't even spill, and got to finish it before it got cold.  For that, I commend myself.

At this point, taking 3 children out in public is routine.  It is no longer a daunting procedure.  I am not saying it always goes smoothly.  On rare occasion, we have made abrupt exits, cut meals short, or left an event all together.  I am also sure I have let the children do things that some might frown upon.  Perhaps, I have let them wander a little too far from my side.  Or climb on an unoccupied booth.  Or let them go on a little too long talking to a stranger.  Lastly, I am not trying to say the whole procedure isn't exhausting.  By the end of a day with more than one errand with all three, the thought of putting one. more. child. in a car seat is almost sickening.  I am merely saying, I can do it.  And it can be done successfully, more often than not.

Perhaps, some of why I feel so confident, is that my oldest is no longer a baby.  He is FOUR.  That is like "little kid" status.  And, according to his specs today, he is the size of an average 5 year old...at the 97th percentile (40lbs, 43.5in).  I think he literally grew 2 inches overnight, because his 3T pants went from fitting ok, to looking like highwaters and his 4T pants went from dragging on the floor to just barely the right length about one week ago.  Brock continues to amuse and amaze us daily.  His new thing is to discuss his dreams with us.  He loves puzzles and can do most of a 60 piece jigsaw.  He favorite cartoon is Sponge Bob Squarepants.  And his most used phrase is "Aww, nuts!"  His best friend in school is Alex. And, everything is a negotiation with him...but that's not new.  Just the defiant 4-year-old thing is strong with this one.  Can't blame him, look at this parents.

Curtis continues to be the most laid back, easy child.  I would go so far as to call them the Terrific Twos with him.  My favorite Curtis habit is his love of books.  Especially these big "Look & Find" books.  He will bring you a book, then climb into your lap - because books can only be listened to from someone's lap, duh. You ask him to spot something and he finds it, points to it and says "right deerr". He is a parrot.  Repeats EVERYTHING.  Doesn't remember it all.  Only uses 3-4 word sentences.  But if he doesn't know how to say something, he does not hesitate to make something up with a random string of nonsensical syllables. He also continues to be a bit more wide than tall at the 80th percentile for weight and 75th for height.  In fact he almost weighs as much as he is tall, 32lbs & 35.5 inches. 

George is ready to hang with his brothers.  He is standing for short periods of time, and toying with the idea of taking a step.  As soon as he spots one of his brothers lying on the ground, he goes for it, and tries to wrestle with them.  He likes to wave and say "bye bye". He also correctly says "ma ma" and "da da".  By far my most advanced child, vocally.  Being the third boy, I feel like he is going to be so much trouble.  He just soaks in the other two's behavior, and even laughs at their mischievousness.  His favorite activity is bath time.  My swimmer for sure, he dunks his face, slides down the sloped end of the tub, splashes, kicks, squeals and makes a sprint for the bathroom door the instant he sees or even hears it open.  Lastly, as we all know, George is most famous for his many, ridiculous and silly faces.  The most popular?  His stink face, as we so lovingly call it.

And, if you want birthday party suggestions, having their 2nd & 4th birthdays at the Ceramic Cafe was great.  Quick, easy, fun.  Loved it.