Happy Halloween

We still need to get some good pictures of the kids in their costumes so I will post more tomorrow. Nathan was a Bumble Bee, Reagan was a Lady Bug and Riley has a little Butterfly sleeper and also a Pumpkin sleeper.

Tonight we just went to Uncle Larry's and took a couple photos there. Poor Nathan was tired and sick. He fell asleep on Uncle Larry's Kitchen floor and then when we got home he got sick in our kitchen sink...poor little guy. But you do get to see his little stinger on his costume!

Riley is 2 Weeks Old

We had our first snowfall yesterday (Oct 28th), I think we got about 6 inches but a lot of it has already melted. A nearby town just a few miles away got 16 inches of snow! The weather is just crazy here because next week we are going to have record highs of 60 degrees for November!

Above are two pics of Riley that I took today. She is now just over 2 weeks old and i think she is starting to fatten up a little. Her legs were so skinny last week and now she has a little tiny bit of meat on her bones. We don't go to the doctor until the middle of November, but I can't wait to see how much weight she has gained by then.

I tried very hard to get a picture of all three kiddos but it was very difficult to get Nathan and Reagan to stay laying on the floor. I don't think that the twins are ready for a sitting picture with Riley just yet. We really have to constantly keep an eye on them when Riley is out because they don't understand that they need to be gentle just yet. Nathan has tried to feed Riley a cheerio and he almost threw a heavy ball on her today. Reagan likes to climb on top of everything including the dog and the cat so I wouldn't put it past her to sit on her baby sister.

And last but not least, here is a video clip of little Riley with the hiccups. I had just changed her and she was getting ready for her bottle. She is eating about 3-3.5 oz at a feeding but will sometimes take up to 4 oz already. It just amazes me because the twins only ate 1-2 oz up until they were 3 months old. I guess there is a big difference in feeding when you compare having twins early and having a singleton born past her due date.

Some More Cute Pics

Here are just a few pics from today. Gram got the kids these cute little Snoopy sweatshirts and we think the kids look hysterical with the little puppy dog ears on their hoods.

Here is quick video of the kids playing in the sand:

It's getting colder

Last weekend Mom took Nate and Reagan to a Halloween festival in the Poconos while dad stayed home with baby Riley. The festival had a giant sandbox filled with all kinds of fun climbing equipment and play houses. Nate had a blast playing in the sand, but it wasn't long until Reagan escaped the sandbox and took a mad dash for the exit. There were also all sorts of animals like sheep and llama and they had free rides for all kids under two so the twins took a quick spin in a little army tank.

Nate and Reagan had lots of fun but as usual it would have been a better situation if there was another adult there with Mom. At one point poor Mom was actually stuck because both Nate and Reagan were throwing tantrums and she couldn't get either one of them to hold her hand and walk. It took a few minutes until Nate settled down enough that Mom was able to pick him up while Reagan walked holding Mom's hand.

This week it got pretty cold out so Mom decided to fill up the old water table with sand and let the kids play outside. Reagan actually climbed on top of the water/sand table and sat on it. I wish that I would have gotten a picture of that.

This is the picture that the nurse took in the hospital right after Riley was born. This picture was used to identify Baby and Parents as an added security measure to the bracelets. I had to scan this picture in so the quality isn't that great, but it is one of my favorite pics that we have, even though we all look terribly exhausted.

Here are just a few pics from today. We had Riley in a cute little newborn pink outfit from Walmart. I just love this outfit, who would ever know it was Walmart?




We took Riley to the Pediatrician today for a weight check and she was 6 lbs and 15 oz so she is actually past her birth weight now. That just shows how well she has been eating since she left the hospital at 6 lbs 8 oz. We didn't get any shots today, those will wait until her 1 month appointment.

And here are just a few pics of Nate and Reagan from today. Reagan is so very interested in her baby sister. She has been using her doll baby and giving her doll baby a baby bottle while Mommy and Daddy feed Riley....it is just the cutest thing ever.

And just compare the pic below of Nathan to the ones at the top of Riley. I really think that they have similar noses and facial features.

We are home!

Well, yesterday Riley was released and came home with mommy and daddy. Mommy is still very sore and is having a hard time moving. Daddy seems to have caught what mommy, Nathan and Reagan had last week and is not feeling well so he needs to stay away from Riley according to the pediatrician.

Riley goes to her first doctor appointment tomorrow to get her physical so we are looking forward to that as we want to make sure she isn't catching anything from dad. Last year I got a "world's greatest dad" t-shirt from the twins and if I get her sick that could be in jeopardy this year.




Reagan is already turning into mommy's little helper and likes to give Riley plenty of love including kisses. Reagan also learned how to feed her doll with a bottle like mommy does for Rily. Nathan doesn't really seem to interested in the baby. Overall they have been pretty good except for wanting to climb on mom and dad when holding Riley.

Both Nathan and Reagan have recently discovered that they can climb on the kitchen chairs and like to sit on big people seats. Because we only have one in the kitchen they often fight and occasionally push the other off. Nathan also likes to push it over to the sink so he can reach the counter better. Apparently Nathan had a few things he wanted to get off his chest yesterday so he had a message for everyone.

Both Nathan and Reagan really like Mac N Cheese (at least for this week). We are trying to teach them to feed themselves without using their hands but it is a process. Reagan has picked it up much quicker as she is usually much better with fine motor skills. Nathan would likely be ahead if we could somehow arrange his food into a pile that he could jump into.

The family services people came and conducted an evaluation on both of them Wednesday. Because neither of them speak yet we are eligible for in home assistance with a therapist. They will be coming out once a week to help us teach them communication skills. They had no concerns about any type of disorder or other health concern but thought we would benefit from professional assistance with teaching techniques. Looks like Riley is going to be the biggest winner from this as we will now know how to raise her right!

Welcome Riley!!

Riley Marin LaFayette arrived this morning at 3:38 am. She weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Shortly after birth she was evaluated and scored a 9 9 on the APGAR, yeah!! Mommy went in to the hospital at 7 to have a simple procedure to help her dilate and the doctor accidentally broke her water. No turning back now! They introduced the Pitocin between 11 and 12 and mommy began labor. We were the only ones in labor so the nurse was in the room almost the entire night which made mommy very happy. She was also very nice. At about 1:30 mommy wanted the epidural but the resident doctor who was working with our doctor thought she didn't need it yet. Booooo. Mommy had a very rough time with some very strong contractions until they finally gave it to her shortly after 2. She actually bit daddy very hard during one of the contractions. The nice nurses both checked mommy a little after 3:00 and found her to be fully dilated but the mean doctor said he thought she was only 8. Boooo. A couple of minutes later mommy knew it was time and the doctor was called back. Mommy was very strong and was able to push Riley out in about 5 strong pushes. Daddy got home for a little sleep around 6:30 and will be going back after the kids wake up from their nap. Mommy is trying to nurse herself and Riley did fantastic. On her first try she was able to go for over a half hour before we had to break her away. Riley came into the world letting everyone know she was here! She cried and cried and cried. Afterwards she cried some more. Below is a picture of the official weigh-in. On a separate note, Nate and Reagan are having their evaluation tomorrow morning with family services to let us know where they rate on a developmental level. We know they are behind with the talking but hope they will be able to give us some tips. We will also probably qualify for in home assistance with a counselor. We are excited for the chance to work with someone who can teach us better techniques in developing language and hopefully find a magic bullet to deal with food throwing but doubt that will happen.

Christmas Shopping

Well, I have started to kinda look around for cute toys for the kids for Christmas and this toy on Walmart.com just caught my eye so I looked it up on YouTube and to see it in action. Nate and Reagan are too young right now but I'm thinking that I will be trying to convince Daddy that they need this toy for the summer. I love that they would gt lots of exercise using it too.

It's called the GiddyUp Pony or GiddyUp Cycle

Fall Pumpkin Fun

On Saturday Gram and Mom took the kids to a farm with a corn maze and some baby farm animals. We took the leashes and left the stroller behind. Nathan did really well holding Gram's hand but Reagan wanted to do her own thing and had some really loud tantrums that involved laying on the ground and screaming at the top of her lungs. Mom's camera batteries died while we were there so I only got a few pics.

Today Dad took us out to eat at Bonanza. This is probably our last meal out as a family for some time since Mom is being induced on Tuesday. We are hoping that Riley will make her appearance by Tuesday afternoon but there is a small chance that Mom may be sent home from the hospital with Riley still in her belly. The doctor thought it was worth a try to do an induction this week but if Mom's body doesn't cooperate they will send her home and try again next week. We will try to keep everyone updated on all that is going on this week.