Although the boys are growing up way too fast on one hand — you know how sentimental mommies get about that kind of stuff — their growing independence is definitely a welcome change on the other hand.

Houston & Gabriel strut w/ their cool shades.

Houston, who will be 3 in June, is our enthusiastic little helper, assisting Mommy with chores and Daddy with yard work. He also saves Mommy grief during double-doody diaper changes, the morning-milk-and-meds routine and other stressful times by being a willing and able extra set of hands on the scene. (Now if I could just get him potty trained and to sit still in his chair during mealtime, life would be dandy!)

And Gabriel and Zeke, who will be 18 months old this Friday, are rapidly leaving their baby days behind and tackling toddlerhood and all of its big-boy developments with gusto. (Now if I could just get them to stop throwing their sippy cups and utensils during meals, life would be swell!)

All of this, of course, means a tad more time for Mommy, giving me a greater sense of control and helping to restore a smidgen of order here around the zoo. Sure, raising three wild boys will never be easy, but I am grateful for the kids’ small steps toward self-sufficiency and appreciation of teamwork.

The 3 Amigos celebrate Daddy’s 32nd birthday.

Speaking of teamwork, Stephen and I have had two consecutive Saturdays of yard work productivity. Stephen’s raised-bed veggie garden — a long-term goal of ours — is finally a reality, our compost pile is officially more user-friendly, our foundation beds have been pruned and weeded, and we’ve tended to some of the many other little outdoor improvements on our to-do list.

But the accomplishments took some major give and take on both of our parts. For instance, Stephen tended to our lawn with the riding mower, while I fed the kids, and then I got the harder-to-reach spots of the yard with the push mower, while he played with the boys. It was that first Saturday in April that I realized these seemingly small feats could never have been accomplished a year ago. Man, how times have changed.

The last weekend in March, Uncle Adam came to town to catch an Unknown Hinson show. This was about the third or fourth time I’ve attempted to see “The King of Country Western Troubadours” live, but there had always been a snag. This time around, however, Granny and Grumps were on kid duty here at the house, and come hell or high water, Mama was gonna see some music!

In fact, the last live show I had attended was when Daddy and I saw Scott Miller & the Commonwealth about a week before Houston was born. Needless to say, all of us geezers had a great time getting raucous with the downtown club dwellers, and it took me about three days to recover from all the fun.

“We should eat chocolate bunnies every day,” screams Zeke.

Our Easter was wonderful. We started our day with a yummy waffle breakfast and celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with our church family. Then the boys feasted upon chocolate bunnies at lunch, and we rounded out the joyous occasion with grilling by Daddy and an acoustic show of super hero-inspired songs by Mommy.

That afternoon was also notable for Gabriel, who got to go on a one-on-one trip to the grocery store with Mommy. Unlike Zeke, who has been on many solo medical visits, and Houston, who obviously has spent much time away from his younger brothers, Gabriel has just always been part of the posse. It was seriously the poor child’s first time in a grocery cart! The G-man had a ball and (other than the freak who approached me about my “Socialism Isn’t Cool” bumper sticker and got an earful of education from yours truly) the trip was a smashing success.

That reminds me … I ended up removing the stitches from my index finger myself. I figured with a good pair of tweezers, a magnifying glass and some grit and determination, why wait four years to try and get a leg (or finger) up on Obama-care.

“Bunny cakes & jelly beans are the absolute best,” Houston tells Granny w/ a giggle.

Other stuff:

• April 5 was Daddy’s 32nd birthday. He took the day off from work. The boys enjoyed his time at home and Mommy made him birthday muffins, since her cake-making skills leave something to be desired.
• That same day I broke out the sprinkler for the first time this spring. The twins hated it and screamed in horror, and Houston ignored it, choosing the simple hose as a preferable activity.
• Everyone has since fallen in love with outdoor water activities, thank goodness. I take these opportunities to have Houston go commando (sans pull-up) and get all the boys involved in making sure Daddy’s garden and Mommy’s flowers are good and drenched.
• Sadly, April 7 was Miss Heather’s last day for weekly childcare. She has been such a blessing to our family, and Mommy wonders if she could have survived the first year and a half of raising three kids without her … seriously. “Thank you, Miss Heather. We love you!”
• Zeke is now adamantly shaking his head “no” and meaning it. His affirmative utterance has morphed into a full-fledge “uh huh,” and some of his signs include “flower,” “apple” and “bird.” He also enjoys doing a “bear” sound.
• Gabriel is now articulating his boisterous versions of “hat,” “Daddy,” “kitty cat,” “hi” and “bye.”

Zeke (left) & Gabriel love trucks & Miss Heather.

• The twins laugh hysterically whenever Houston tries to create an “echo” while everyone’s eating outside on the deck. For some reason, that makes for good toddler comedy.
• Gabe and Zeke have been getting their legs stuck in their cribs a lot lately. With such flip-flopping sleeping styles, I’m surprised I haven’t yet had to saw their cribs to free their chubby little knees. A hardy “thanks” goes out to Miss Shawn for her speedy help on one of these occasions, and Daddy’s strong hands on all the rest.
• Houston can handily count to 30, with a number or two missing here and there. He is also mastering the “ABC Song” (both the traditional and “Super Why” versions) and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
• Houston is attending children’s church again. Even though he’s not yet potty trained or age 3 (supposed requirements), the setting is a much better fit for him than is the church nursery. He absolutely thrived being in there with all the big kids this past Sunday.

Photo wise, there are quite a few new additions at the end of the March – Part 2 gallery. Click the top sunglasses pic see all the March – Part 3 shots; the wide-mouth shot of Zeke to view all the April – Part 1 photos; and Daddy’s birthday pic to check out all the April – Part 2 fun.

I’ve been attempting to write this blog for days now, but Stephen and I have been experiencing some major challenges with Houston’s naps and nighttime sleep, which is obviously negatively affecting our waking state.

It all started on Christmas Eve, when Houston woke up around 1 a.m., saying “Taz bite Suhs-tuhn” (translation: “Taz bit Houston”). Not sure why the the Tasmanian Devil pillowcase he has been sleeping with for months all of a sudden scared him, but that was his story. We let Houston crawl into bed with us, even though we knew this would insure a restless night’s sleep for us, since Houston is one heck of a flip-floppin’ little dude, constantly awakening us throughout the night.

Moreover, we don’t want to set a pattern of having kids constantly sleep with us; I mean, every now and again is fine, but our boys need to feel comfy in their own beds.

After devouring Santa’s leftover cookies, Houston breaks in the new sliding board.

Then a day or two later, Houston fought his nap vociferously and ended up falling asleep much later in the day than normal and awakened to a dark room with no night light. He said “Suhs-tuhn see bad goiz” (“Houston saw bad guys”) and further explained that that was why he needed to either sleep on the couch (something he has never done) or in Mommy and Daddy’s bed in the future. Again, we caved and let him fall asleep in our bed, while Daddy played a computer game in our darkened bedroom, and then stay in room our again that night.

After the bad-guys story, Houston began complaining about monsters and shadows. And then to top things off, Houston surprised us one night by showing up in our hallway well after bedtime, just standing there, looking sad and clutching his ho-ho blanket. In other words, he finally figured out how to crawl out of his crib or just found the proper motivation to do so.

From that point on, we have not only had to contend with a very stubborn Houston (I wonder who he gets that from?), but also a very mobile one. We censored his TV watching, taking out anything we thought might have inspired these antics in him, and talked with him repeatedly about how Mommy and Daddy would never let bad guys into the house or scary monsters get him in bed, but we are still unsure as to whether this is really a case of fear or just a simple power struggle between parents and child.

Zeke wonders, “Should I battle Houston for possession of the door or try to steal Gabriel’s book?”

Every night has been a battle, but last night was the crowning jewel. Our self-willed boy went to bed around 8:15, but persisted in breaking out of his crib fortress, so Daddy put a childproof cover on the inside of his doorknob to keep him from getting out of his room and wandering around the house while everyone else is asleep. Then after subsequent escapes, we would find him in a well-lit room, standing in the middle of his room or sitting on his changing table.

I even went so far as to take the bulbs out of his overhead light (yes, our tall boy can now reach all of the light switches around the house while standing on the floor). Each time we would take away something of value to him: first, ho-ho blanket and his Spider-Man action figure got confiscated out of the crib, and then we began taking away privileges, like watching TV or playing with Hot Wheels.

Houston finally fell asleep around 4 or so this morning and only slept in till 9. Houston’s current punishment: he can only use brothers’ little-kid toys while playing with the dudes, or he can read books or do puzzles. That’s it. And he can earn back all the things he loves as he starts to obey Mommy and Daddy’s rules and wishes. No, we don’t expect perfection. What I told him tonight was that he has to go one whole day being “pretty good.” Not too much to ask.

Grumps assists cuddly-boy Gabriel w/ opening gifts.

We also pulled his hand-me-down toddler bed down from the attic last night. Once we get a safety rail (due to his nighttime tossing and turning) and assemble it, I think sleeping in a big-boy bed may help matters, as well.

Even though Stephen and I were walking zombies today, my brilliant husband came up with a different tactic for tonight: I tucked Houston into bed and simply stated that once I turned off the lamp, Mommy was going to sit in the rocker in his room and read to herself by night light till he fell asleep, and no talking was allowed. It worked! And it only took about a 1/2 hour. Plus, it would’ve probably even taken less time if our fool-cat Stanley hadn’t rapped at the door just as Houston was dozing off.

Not only was Christmas Eve the beginning of Houston’s sleep troubles, it also has the distinction of being only the second day in Houston’s life in which he hasn’t napped. See, after being extremely well-behaved while running errands with Daddy, he nodded off for about 5 minutes on the ride home, obviously tricking himself into thinking he was rested.

Well, he wasn’t and Houston’s dinnertime behavior was quite atrocious. In fact, he decided to hit the handle of his spoon when the convex end was buried deep within a heaping bowl of mac and cheese. The result sent goo and noodles flying across the table, hitting me in the head and even landing some on the ceiling.

Zeke tries to sneak away a gift all for himself.

As a result, Houston got sent to bed without dinner, wasn’t allowed the duty of leaving out cookies for Santa and was denied the highly anticipated task of breaking off the very last link in our Christmas countdown chain. We decided that all that was punishment enough and that Santa would indeed visit Clan Dillingham, even though there had been some naughtiness afoot.

We did concoct a story that Santa left a note, explaining that he and the elves only assembled the tower and sliding-board section of their jungle gym since Houston had been leaning toward the naughty and, as a alert to stay on course with being nice, the swing section would have to wait. Santa’s note also said that Houston should heed this one and only warning or else Santa won’t be visiting Clan Dillingham next Christmas.

Granny and Grumps spent the night after Christmas, brought the kids a ton of gifts from them and extended family, and allowed Stephen and I get to go out childless for a few hours. Then Gramsey and Papa visited the following day, too. The boys went wild with excitement over both sets of grandparents hanging out all at the same time — smiles and giggles abounded! To view Part 1 of our Christmas merriment, click the top photo of Houston sliding and click the above photo of Zeke to check out Part 2.

New Year’s Eve for Mommy and Daddy consisted of listening to Phish’s millennium concert, which we attended together 10 long years ago; catching some of Willie Nelson’s live concert on XM; watching the Times’ Square ball drop; and then beginning 2010 by watching a few season-four episodes of “Lost” on Netflix. Party hardy, baby!

Cowboy Houston snuggles up w/ his doting “Ganny.”

Other notables:

• Stephen, who happens to be the best husband in the world, gave me a gift certificate for an hour-long full-body massage at a fancy spa for Christmas.
• The twins have gotten much tamer in the living room, so much so that I can leave the room for brief moments now to get a cup of coffee, change a diaper, use the bathroom, etc.
• We decided to try our hand again at potty training Houston, since his size-6 diapers (the biggest money can buy) are beginning to chafe his inner thighs.
• Gabriel nods “yes.” Both twins shake their heads “no,” but they also do that for fun, even when it’s not appropriate. (I think they just like the dizzying effect it gives them.)
• Both boys did the sign for “hat” today and are also trying diligently to say “ball” and “dada.”
• Houston can often be heard singing the “nah nah” song, which is inspired by the Batman TV show theme. But it simply goes, “Nah nah (insert super hero name here).” It sometimes includes family members names, as well as pets.
• Houston also likes to “read” by pointing to letters on the page and randomly calling out the alphabet and numbers as he makes his way through words.
• We did a furniture swap between the boys’ rooms, moving Houston’s tall dresser into the nursery and the twins’ shorter dresser into big brother’s room, all in an effort to keep the twins from pulling down electronics. What a pain.
• We also had to do a crib swap (again). Because Gabriel is so rambunctious in bed, he often gets his leg stuck between the slats. We decided that easily freeing him, but more often from one crib would be better than rarely, but painfully and painstakingly freeing him from the other.

Ah, the splendors of parenthood!

We headed to Granny and Grumps’ mountain house for Thanksgiving — our first road trip with the entire posse since April.

Sure, it was exhausting: the packing, unpacking, repacking and unpacking again; the stress of keeping the twins controlled and/or restrained in their new environment; the long drive up, with Gabriel screaming and Houston crying, “Go home;” and the long drive back, with Houston whining about wanting to live in the mountains with “Ganny.” (Our drama dude, Zeke, did the best while on the road, just chilling and sucking his thumb.) However, the family fun made it completely worth the effort.

Houston as a snowman while @ the choose-and-cut tree farm.

The funniest memory happened on the day we decided to buy our first choose-and-cut Christmas tree from one of the many tree farms that pepper the slopes of Western North Carolina. While trucking up the steep hill to Sugar Plum Farms, we remembered that the mini-van was on empty when we got to the mountains two days earlier. We decided to stay on course to the farm, since we had almost arrived.

Then Granny informed us that the only gas station en route home only took cash, so we figured that left us only enough money for one tree. Sweet Granny, who was already lending us the cash, said we could use the dough for our tree, instead of hers.

I had wrapped the boys up for the cold day, but didn’t have any gloves or mittens for them, and didn’t realize how treacherously chilly the wind was. Stephen and I held the twins while we waited in line for the hay ride up to the top of the mountain where you choose your tree, and Granny kept Houston busy visiting Santa and exploring the grounds. By the time our ride had arrived, Gabriel and Zeke’s hands were freezing, and our arms were fatigued from holding those heavy hoodlums for 1/2 hour.

Houston sits proudly w/ Franky the Fir atop the clan mini-van.

Despite our elements, the boys loved the loud tractor-pulled ride up. But the second we arrived, Granny and I decided to hop back on and take the twins back to the van for warmth and bottles. Granny tended to them, while I went to find her then-lost camera. On the way to the gift shop (which is where Granny left the camera), I noticed the long line of cars with families waiting to claim their trees. I talked with Darryl, the co-owner of the farm, who was in charge of tying trees onto people’s car rooftops; I explained that we didn’t have enough gas to sit in line and asked if we could retrieve our tree tomorrow. He said, no problem.

Meanwhile, Stephen and Houston were on the mountaintop for tree duty. Not quite sure what to do, Stephen asked some other folks who seemed in the know (they had their own gloves and a saw), and they said to find the tree you want and saw it down. Saw-less and chilled to the bone, Stephen asked a Mexican laborer to chain saw the tree he and Houston picked out for us: a perfect 4′ Frasier Fir, that we lovingly named Franky the Fir.

Once we gathered up the troops, Stephen put the van in neutral for our downhill departure, and we virtually coasted into to the gas station. Already having a good laugh about our zany adventures by the time we got back at Granny’s house, we decided that choosing and cutting a tree from Sugar Plum Farms would be a great way to kick off our yearly holiday traditions. But next year, we’ll be a lot more prepared.

An initially reluctant Zeke finally accepts the stylin’ mohawk Mommy gave him.

Last Wednesday, the twins had their appointment with the pediatric gastrointestinal specialist, Dr. Clark. He said Zeke has acid reflux and prescribed him Prevacid, and informed us that Gabriel was at the tail end of his infantile vomiting and didn’t need any further treatment (unless, of course, the puking was to rear its ugly head with a vengeance). Stephen and I had pretty much surmised both of these diagnoses, but figured we might as well bring both babies to the doc, just in case. To make sure Zeke’s condition isn’t something else, he is getting a diagnostic x-ray/fluoroscopy procedure done on 12/23.

Here are the stats from the appointment: Zeke’s weight is 22 pounds, 14 ounces, and he is 30″ long; Gabriel’s weight is 23 pounds, 10 ounces, and he is 29 3/4″ long. The fact that Zeke weighs less, but is taller than Gabe has allayed my paranoia that Zeke’s incessant puking had somehow stunted his growth. Plus, the doc said both boys’ measurements fall within the “normal” range for their age.

The medicine seems to be helping Zeke, although it has not yet been a 100% cure. Zeke still tends to be a bit pukey in the morning and then it fades as the day progresses. It has, however, noticeably improved. Not only does our Z-Bird seem happier, it’s also so much more enjoyable playing with him now that he doesn’t constantly wreak of vomit and we’re not so anxious about the next impending mother-load of goo to drop. A welcome change, for sure.

A delighted Gabriel shows off his newly acquired walking skills.

Yes, Zeke has had a rough ride in his short life: being the stuck twin during TTTS, and having the CCAM, lung surgery, the umbilical hernia and now reflux. But Zeke seems to have lucked out of one minor thing that has stricken both of his brothers: sensitive skin. As you know, Houston has eczema and has to be lubed up with special lotions and ointments on a daily basis. And now Gabriel’s often-times splotchy chin and cheeks, and dry, bumpy nose must be tended to with the same zeal. Stinks for Gabe, but I’m sure Zeke is relieved his brother finally got something.

Other happenings:

• Like taking his walking cues from Zeke, Gabriel is now clapping with gusto.
• Yet, Gabriel was the first to do both the “eat” and “more” signs. Zeke followed suit.
• Gabriel still really likes to dance, especially when Mommy’s singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” with jingle-bell accompaniment.
• Zeke points at everything and murmurs cute little sounds about the respective object(s).
• When the cats grace us with their presence, Zeke tries to “meow.” Gabe “talks” excitedly in their general direction.
• Zeke also finds great fulfillment in sticking his index finger up his nose, while simultaneously sucking his thumb — quite the feat!
• The twins are finally finding pleasure in Mommy reading books to them.
• Zeke, already obsessed with blankets, has a penchant for fleece. He and Houston will sometimes play with/battle for possession of Houston’s Ho-Ho blankie.

Miss Heather’s Play-Doh skills are far superior to Mommy’s, as evidenced by this snowman family she and Houston created.

• As if play time isn’t crazy enough, both Houston and Zeke get a kick out playing “ghose” (ghost) by pulling fleece blankets over their heads, while walking around, bumping into walls, slipping and falling down.
• Houston is keen on saying “close eyes” while doing the action and having the aforementioned results take place, minus the blanket. (Yet, he won’t close his eyes to have his face washed during bath time. Curious.)
• Houston thinks all lights we see at night are holiday lights. For instance, when he sees solar lights lining a sidewalk, he excitedly says, “Wook, Mommy. Cwis-mis lights!”
• He also likes saying, “Mommy, calm down,” when I’m boisterously singing Christmas songs, or “Nuff, bruv-uhrs,” when the twins are getting too loud and rowdy.
• On 12/5, we took the kids to see Santa at the mall. Houston asked for a “jungle gym” and talked about Rudolph.
• Not even a week ago was the first time I tended solo to all three boys in the living room. Since then, they’ve greatly improved in branching out of their baby-proofed nursery into the other, more discipline-centric spaces of the home. What a relief they’re starting to turn that corner.

Smothered in spaghetti sauce, Gabriel (left) and Zeke get spazzy after their lunchtime carb fix.

• On 12/12, Houston made his first trip to the vet with Mommy. He liked the adventure, but is still perplexed as to why we put “Bob in box,” as well as why his toy Corvette car has nothing to do with the cat’s trip to the doctor.
• That evening, Daddy and I took everyone to Wal-Mart for a huge shopping trip. I won’t say it was exactly fun, but everyone did surprisingly well (except for Mommy, who was pretty stressed out the whole time).
• Tonight, we took the kids to see a Living Nativity with live people and animals. Houston liked the presentation and loves learning all about “Jee-thus’ birt-day.”

Click the top photo of Houston at the farm to see the pics from our wonderful Thanksgiving up in the mountains. (Thanks to Granny for snapping all these cute shots.)

On another holiday-related note, click here to check out a few recent additions from Granny in the Halloween gallery.

And click the above photo of the twins eating to view all the December pics.