August Blog -- We're getting big!

Hi Everyone!

The quaddies are almost a year old (birthday coming on August 29!). They have grown more and more amazing each month. They are literally all over the place- crawling, standing, climbing, and barreling each other over enthusiastically.

Sam and Sofi (Team S) are roommates, as are Matt and Nat. They all sleep through the night and wake up each morning to play and ‘talk’ to each other for 20 minutes before they start calling for mom and dad. They are eating a mixture of baby food and grown up food – shredded chicken, rice, sweet potatoes, yogurt, blueberries, bananas, and Cheerios seem to be the favorite foods. They babble constantly (Dada, Mama, Baba, Lalalala A-Duh?) and can imitate a lot of sounds and gestures. Sam can say “Ah-Cheese” with great gusto, which is the sneezing sound in a Spanish song they like.

Summer has been fun. We are taking swim lessons twice a week and took a Kindermusik “Sign and Sing” class. The quads are always a big hit. We also like to fill the kiddie pool with a couple of inches of water and have play and bath time in the pool after dinner. They crawl all over and splash, and are getting good at blowing bubbles in the water.

Taking care of the babies is truly a team effort and we all love it. Dan’s cousin, Natalia, has come from Argentina to stay with us through December and the house has filled with a mixture of Spanish and English. Naty and Melissa’s cousin Danielle help tremendously with the babies. Kelli and Kaitlyn have spent a lot of time of us during summer vacation, and of course the grandparents love the babies to death.

Here are some long overdue pictures. Enjoy!!

Everyone is standing, in one form or another. Gates have become key!



Naty bug is silly and happy. She is very agile and fast; she also has a good eye for detail. The other day she picked up a blade of grass in the pool and studied it from all angles for over ten minutes. (The boys would rather just eat it). She loves to blink her eyes, wave hello, play with her turtle washcloth, and jam to music. Favorite song: Bon Jovi: You Give Love a Bad Name.



Sam is jolly, fun, and tender. He is big and strong, but also very loving. He loves to bounce on daddy’s lap, play hard, and then to cuddle and read books. His favorite book is Eric Carle “From Head to Toe.” He can pick it out of a pile and rushes over to your lap with a grin if you start reading it.



Sofi is a little angel. She giggles and cuddles all the time, and sucks her thumb when she is feeling shy or tired. She laughs whenever her brothers and sister are happy and loves to share and play. She is very deliberate and thoughtful…. she took the longest to crawl, but when she started it was in perfect form. Favorite Friends: Her sister Naty and her thumb.



Matt has been called “picaro” in Spanish. That means he is playful and mischievous. He is very charming and has a wide array of looks that he knows are adorable. He is very independent and expresses his dramatic side when you interfere with his free will. He loves to crawl fast, chase Morgan around the house, and knock over towers. Favorite song: Prince: 1999.



Mommy and Daddy love us.



Danielle and Naty are always fun.



Swimming is great!



Being a quad can be tiring. (Sam can sleep in the strangest places).



We love Kaitlyn and Aunt Kelli.



Grandparents (and Great Grandparents) are fun!



The quads make our big family even bigger. :)



P.S. --- There are lots of new pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/dsalinasd.