Weekend Update

This weekend was pretty relaxing around the Murphy house as far as our weekends normally go that it... Pat was home from work on Friday since he had conferences during the week and he got to spend some alone time with the trio. They played outside, took a walk, and even napped! The day before they had tons of visitors so they were still recouping from that. Aunt Kathy S stopped over- sorry we ate your cookie desert! Grandma M and Aunt Robin also stopped by for a visit. They had the joy of helping with lunch. Helena of course made sure that they earned their visit by being a pain in the butt during lunch. She is definitely trying to assert her authority recently and does not want ANY help in the feeding department. She also has started the ever so cute habit of picking up a piece of food to put it in her mouth and then instantly touching that hand to her hair. She knows she’s not supposed to and will even start to cry before you tell her not to do it. She will use a fork but she likes to put that from food to her ear so we’ve got a little bit of a battle going on recently.

On Saturday morning we took the kids to Freedom Hill to get their H1N1 vaccine. The whole process took about an hour. Most of that time involved us standing in line outside with about 1500 other people. Good thing the weather was nice! We do have to go back for a second dose in about a month but I’m hoping by then that their pediatrician’s office will be giving it. Katie put up a huge fight and ended up with a pretty good bruise on her leg because of it. We took them home to nap afterward and then went up to their cousin Nora’s first birthday party in the afternoon. It was in Davison so we had over an hour drive to and from. All three of them had a great time but I still think Katie enjoys playing with the “big” kids the most. She just goes out and joins right in! She is not shy at all and doesn’t let them push her around. It’s great to see! Seamus is still the shy one. It takes him a while to warm up to people and even when he has sometimes little things will set him off. His Uncle Tim went to help him off with his jacket and he just burst into tears. He had seen Tim plenty right before and was even held by him for a while but for whatever reason he wasn’t having it. Seamus has also developed the lovely habit of screaming at the top of his lungs. He does it at dinner, in the car, at the store; pretty much anywhere he feels he needs some attention. We’ve tried to ignore it but when he has been doing it for long enough his sisters like to join in. Not so cute! So anyone out there who has any suggestions let us know!!

All in all the kids are doing great. They are all growing and asserting their independence which is a great thing but doesn’t always make for a peaceful house. We figure that since they were preemies they want to make sure they hit those terrible two’s a little early. We definitely have 3 sets of broken listeners around our house recently! Along that same note, Pat and I had a discussion on Sunday about how hard it is sometimes for us to let go and let them just be normal kids. We both really noticed it at the birthday party, Saturday. Pat thinks he’s just being too protective but I’m not so sure that’s really it. We have had to be so structured to just survive with 3 little ones that sometimes it’s hard to let go of that structure. Especially since we know that we still will have to pay for letting go. (We did on the way home when they had missed a nap, it was almost bedtime, and we still had an hour’s drive home! My ears are still ringing!) I sometimes think even people who have a few kids cannot begin to comprehend what we go through on a daily basis. Yes we want them to get out and play, but they are only 17 months old and any parent who has a toddler knows that they need to constantly be in your sight. How does that happen when you’re outnumbered? It’s fine when we’re home and in a baby-proofed locale, but what about when we’re not? How do we just let them go? I guess that’s something we’re going to have to figure out with the holidays right around the corner. Until we do though, I feel stress coming my way… Speaking of stress, I have conferences this week. 2 nights and an afternoon of meeting with parents! Can’t wait! Enjoy the Thanksgiving greeting courtesy of Pat having too much time on his hands at work!