The Three Amigos

Some of you may know that our dear friends, Jennifer and Derrick, had triplets in the middle of December. As is common with a higher order multiple pregnancy, the triplets arrived very prematurely at 27 weeks gestation (a full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks). Each baby weighed in under two pounds. They have been in the Neonatal ICU since birth.

It's been a long two and a half months for Jennifer and Derrick, but last week, two of the babies got to come home, Maddux and Nola! And, less than a week later, the smallest of the three, Little Luce, got to come home, too!

They are all doing extremely well and a growing bigger and stronger by the day. I know that things are crazy at the McCloud house. But, I also know what a huge blessing it is for them to have all of their babies home! Here is a picture of the three reunited cutie pies. We already love them and can't wait to meet them! Oh, and if you'd like to follow their story, click on the link in the right margin entitled McCloud Party of Five.

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In case the little bird at the top of this page didn't tell you...we are having another baby. I'm at the end of week 16 in my second trimester and my due date is August 8th. Other than some of the normal pregnancy aches and pains, everything is going well. We are going to find out what we are having and my ultrasound will be sometime the week of March 23rd. Another question that we are asked often is what Ford thinks about it. We aren't keeping it a secret from him, but we haven't told him yet. Ford gets fixated on things and since it's such a long way away before the baby is here, we're just going to wait. I'm afraid he would ask me every day until August where the baby is!

In other news, this is what we've been up to in February. We were lucky enough to have a few beautiful and warm days this month. One day, we met one of Ford's school friends at the park. Emma and Ford are best buddies. Emma's mom is from New Zealand and ironically, we went to the same college (at the same time) and we share the same birthday!
Ford isn't scared to try new things on the playground. He's daring but also pretty careful (in a little boy kind of way). It's a nice combination.

This is after going to the park. I just thought Ford looked like such a little boy with his pirate hoodie and cap.

If Scott gets home from work in time, he always gives Ford his bath. Scott's brother, Greg, got Ford a CD for kids that has Beatles' covers (it's actually pleasant to listen to, unlike many children's CDs). So, Scott turns the music up and lets Ford take a bath in our bathroom. Daddys always make everyday things fun. Now, Ford always request the Beatles when it's bathtime.


Ford also loves to take showers in our bathroom. We have a hand-held shower that can be adjusted to just his height. He'll stay in there and draw and play as long as we will let him. Look how little he looks in the great big shower.



We started potty training Ford on February 14th. He's doing amazingly well with only one exception...son, you got a panty on yo head:

I picked Ford up from school the day before Valentine's Day and we went to get ice cream at Maggie Moo's. Ford picked his favorite color, green:

On Valentine's Day, our cute little coffee shop, Ugly Mugs, had a concert for kids. Some local musicians played for all the neighborhood children. Scott and Ford went and Ford LOVED it. We are hoping they'll make it a monthly event.



Ford is crazy about all things Lightning McQueen including these pajamas that he got for Christmas:

The other morning Ford got up before we did. Sometimes he plays with his trains quietly (he thinks if he "wakes us up" we'll make him go back to bed. I heard him tell Lefty the Cat to stop meowing because he was going to wake up mommy and daddy). Anyway, if he gets really quiet, then you know he's into something he's not supposed to be. I got up and found him reading books here:

Well, that's about all for the month of February. We are excited that it's almost March and can't wait for spring and warm weather!

It's Potty Time

Ford wore big boy underwear ALL DAY yesterday without ANY accidents. We were out and about and he even used public restrooms! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ford Saying the Blessing

Big Boy Bed and other Milestones

Turning three has meant some big changes and new adventures for Ford (and us). Ford had his first visit to the dentist. Let me just tell you how incredibly proud I am of my son. He went into the dentist office and got into the chair just like he'd done it a million times. He did so well that the sweet dental hygenist said she wished all of her little patients did as well as Ford. He was such a champ!

The hygenist gave Ford a little starfish that had teeth, so Ford got to brush his teeth:

OK, you should really click on this picture and make it bigger so you can see the starfishes teeth. They are hilarious:

On Saturday, we made an impromptu trip to Sam's to get Ford a big boy bed. I'm probably going to get my old twin bed to use at some point, but for now, we just have a mattress and boxsprings. I was a little bit worried about Ford staying in his bed, but he's been perfect! This is his third night to sleep in his bed and he doesn't get out until morning. Again, I'm so proud of my little boy! There aren't many, if any, milestones that have made me sad since Ford has been born. But, I'm a little bittersweet about Ford's big boy bed. He won't ever sleep in his crib again and that makes me tear up a little just thinking about it. He's getting so big.
Scott reading bedtime stories to Ford:

Look how little bitty he looks in the great big bed:


I'm posting the following picture just because I think it's cute. I bought a large pack of juice boxes and there were three different flavors. They were sitting on Ford's little table and he put each car on the juice boxes and said, "look, they match." I was impressed!

That's all for now. I think now that the holidays and Ford's birthday are over, I'll be able to keep up with my posts!