My BIG girls!

This past Spring, we had some professional pictures taken of the girls and I'm finally taking the time to post them. I had to keep them under wraps for a few months because they made great Mother's Day/Father's Day gifts for grandparents! I was thrilled with some of the great photos that were captured. Although I have these three running through the house all day, it doesn't hit me how grown up they are until I see pictures like this.

In the past, I have had the girls wearing matching or coordinating outfits when they take formal pictures, but guess what has happened as they've gotten older? They now have opinions about what they will wear and of course, each have their own favorite color. SO....that just meant I had to back off a bit and let them choose what they wanted to wear. I'm glad I did as their personalities just come through a little bit more in the pictures.

Riley in yellow, Alyssa in pink, Makena in purple

A little 80's flashback


Cute....even with the flamingo pose!

Sisters!

Candid, but adorable

Makena

Alyssa

Riley

Wordful Wednesday and Growing up

With each passing year it always amazes me how much easier things get with the girls. Well, some things get easier while other things get worse. Whining, bickering, annoying each other on purpose, and disobeying on purpose have not gotten easier! BUT, when we are out and about, I can actually have a conversation with other adults without worrying about where the girls are every.single.second.

Case in point, it is softball season and both of my nieces have softball games every Saturday. So the last two Saturdays we have hit the softball field/park to show some family support. AND I CAN ACTUALLY WATCH PART OF THE GAME! Last year I had to drag the girls out from under the bleachers so they would stop playing with the nasty sunflower seed shells that someone had spit on the ground. Or I couldn't stop them from climbing up and down the bleachers, either tripping/falling or bothering other people who were trying to watch the game.

Now, they run off and play like big kids.

This is huge people! Can I get an amen?!?!?!

My big girls with cousin Sophie...taking a break from their scooter patrol around the park.

My niece Katie on the pitching mound! It is SO much fun to cheer and scream for her. I LOVE every second!!



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The Fashion of a four-year old

It is ALL about dresses, skirts, and tights in our house right now. As soon as we walk in the door at night, the girls strip off their clothes and put on tights and a dress. I do the complete opposite and get in my jammies as fast as I can!

When Riley waltzed in the room wearing a sleeveless summer dress, I explained it was too cold to wear that in the middle of winter. Being the 4-year old fashion diva that she is, she promptly went upstairs and put a long-sleeve shirt under the dress and came back downstairs happy as could be. "Seeeeee mama? I'm not cold!"

I think that was the same night that the girls talked me into letting them wear their dresses and tights to bed. Life has been all about picking my battles lately, and that was one I was willing to give in on for one night.

Dear Santa,

Please send tights, dresses, and skirts for Christmas!

Love Riley, Alyssa, and Makena

Fashion Statement

It's starting. Little by little, the girls are starting to make choices about their outfits. Today it was black socks. But they had to be pulled up high or else it was no good. Maybe she was channeling her inner 70 year-old and hoping to hit Hometown Buffet for the 5:00 p.m. early bird special?

Got jammies?

I have this habit of stocking up on things for future use. This includes clothes for the girls. Who can pass up clearance sales with drastically reduced prices? I end up hitting the end of the season sales and stock up on clothes that the girls will wear 6-8 months from now. So far, I have done well in guessing correctly what sizes the girls will be wearing and it is nice to have that next size up when they grow out of something.

Now that fall is rolling in, I have brought out some of the warmer jammies for the girls.

Riley was my first victim child to try on a new pair of pajamas. Poor girl could hardly breath they were so snug. I was afraid she was going to split the backside wide open if she bent over too quick.

Oh well, everything else I bought DID fit.

If you see the girls walking around next spring with a butt cheek peeking out of their skirts, you'll know I should have bought the next size up.

I forgot to mention in the last update, that we have added a new form of imprisonment to the girls' cribs. Check out the crib tents that we had to purchase after Riley managed to catapult herself out of her crib in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. She woke up in the middle of the night and Steve was trying to get her to go back to sleep.....she got scared when he put her back in the crib and she must have clawed her way up the side of the crib and threw herself overboard in an effort to get back to daddy (this all happened in the dark). I think it was a fluke incident and she isn't actively trying to climb out of the crib on a regular basis, but we aren't taking any chances.

Riley is showing her diapproval over the new accesory on her crib! Makena is exploring her sister's digs in the background and thinks the tent is kind of cool...little does she know that she will have a tent of her own sometime soon.

19 months old

The girls are finding more ways to get into trouble and keep us busy babyproofing the house as they figure out how to get into places they shoudn't be! They seem to be growing taller everyday as they manage to grab things off of the table and counter tops. We are also seeing the girls use more baby signs and are starting to hear more sounds and words. Riley's new favorite word is "no-no" while shaking her finger at us. She has also started to scold her sisters when they have done something wrong...hoping to catch that on video sometime soon.

The trio managed to squeeze in the laundry basket together AND I was able to take a picture with everyone looking at me...quite the accomplishment these days.

Makena is trying to figure out how to get the dishwasher open. Unfortunately, when I lock it to keep it shut, they turn the knob and turn it on. So far, we haven't figured out a way to outsmart them. For some reason, I don't think this will be the last time I say that!

Here is what happens when they actually get the dishwasher open....

Makena continues to be my best vegetable eater. Here she is trying out broccoli for the first time.

Alyssa managed to squeeze herself into another tight spot...not sure what she was after, but she needed our help getting unstuck!

18 months has come and gone....

And our babies are growing up!

It really is hard to believe that it has been a year and a half since they were born and all that we have been through since then. The girls have come so far. Most people who meet them would never guess they were born at just 25 weeks and 1 day gestation. We are so thankful everyday for our little girls. So what's new in the Quilao house?

The girls are now only getting one bottle a day and the rest of their milk is given in the sippy cup. This is a picture of the girls drinking their milk before bed. The best part is that they drink it cold, which means they don't have to wait for the milk to get warm and less screaming tantrums I have to hear!

Daddy likes to share his ice cream cones with the girls. They all wait patiently for their turn as he gives them all a lick!

The girls are highly amused and entertained by walking around the front room with their blankies over their heads. They look like 3 little zombies bumping into the walls, each other, and tripping over toys...while laughing, of course.

Our table in the nook has now become a mini jungle gym for the girls. They climb in between the bars and try to hang from the top like little monkeys.




This is a quick video clip of the girls playing in the table. Riley manages to get herself inside the bottom of the barstool and needs help from mom to get out!