Happy (Belated) Halloween!!

Halloween is officially the triplets (and Evie's in 2007) first holiday. It's pretty boring as a first holiday goes, at least for babies! We put them in their Halloween onsies (we don't do baby costumes-too expensive-and annoying for them!) and got pictures. That's the extent of their celebration.

For Evie we hired a babysitter and took her to a local church for the second year in a row for trick-or-treating (out of the trunk's of parishioners cars) and some fun activities. This year she went as a fairy technically Tinker Belle. She had a delightful time and is enjoying the fruits of our labor (what I mean is that she held the bag and I said "trick-or-treat!" Here are a few picture highlights:







And our "date" with Evie:

3 months

I am going to say this EACH and EVERY month B-U-T...I can't believe my babies are 3 months old!!!! They are growing so fast and have changed so much since those first days in the NICU. Luckily I like to document their lives so even though much of that time is a blur I can still remember the little moments. Though the hardest part is remembering them being so small. No way would I believe that my peanut (Grant) weighed 3lbs, 9oz. Just recently Ella and Grant joined Henry wearing size 3mo clothing and are much more active throughout the day. Shawn was excited at the transition, my heart broke a little. Possibly because my mind is already seeing them as a 3 year old like Evie. The time between 3mo clothing and now seems to be a blur filled with snapshots of big joy and big moments. Here is a synopsis of what the babies are doing now:

Ella:

I imagine sometimes that she will be nicknamed Miley (like Miley Cyrus) because of her BIG smiles. Already I call her Smiley about as much as I call her Sweet Pea. It really doesn't take much to gain a smile from her, unlike her brothers. In fact she wakes up smiling. I think she will be a morning person like Evie. Both of them wake up smiling and happy, singing songs. For an owl like me it sure helps to wake me up and brighten my mood. It's funny but Ella frowns almost as adorably as she smiles. She looks like she is trying to figure out this crazy world. We love when she talks as it is definitely a sweet girl sound, and even without looking we can tell she's happy just by her noises. Ella loves a pacifier but her tongue doesn't know that as it continuously wants to push it out. She often wants it for naps but I can't keep it in long enough to fall asleep. I am doing the weekly shopping today and (also like her big sister) will be purchasing a few different kinds to see if a new model helps with the problem. Ella now eats about 4oz at a time and feedings are approximately 3 hours apart except at night when they sleep about 6 hours. She has a bit of an urping problem caused by a little reflux. She does not seem to be bothered by it but it does make for some wet outfits. Daddy thinks and mama agrees that our baby girl is beautiful. Right now her eyes are blue and she has daddy's dark skin. I'm not sure about the rest of her. Right now she leans towards her daddy and Evie in looks but there is something of me in her too that I just can't pinpoint. I'm crossing my fingers that one of these 3 has my eye color. It is my favorite feature but more then that I inherited it from my dad who inherited it from his dad. My nephew and sisters also have this eye color. Ella's smile reminds me of Evie.




Henry:

Still very much the Chubba Bubba. He has rolls everywhere. I just LOVE a chubby baby!! He will probably switch to 6mo clothes before the month is out. Henry continues to be our easygoing baby. He will lay contentedly under the play mat for over an hour watching the mobile, looking in the mirror, listening to the music and accidentally hitting a toy. In regards to "actual" age, as opposed to adjusted age (which for them being born 5 weeks early is technically 2 months) Henry is developmentally closer to his real age then either Ella or Grant. This is evident by the greater degree of chatter he emits. He has a adorable smile but unlike Ella makes you work for them. There is nothing in particular that you can do that will elicit a smile every time. He continues to be my only breastfeeder and like Ella has a bit of reflux. He does not like to have bottles as much. Henry is the spitting image of his father, except for his eyes and lips which he gets from me. He also has my shoulder dimples, which I am thrilled to pass on. Most often Henry takes his naps swaddled in the swing, much like his oldest sister did. However, when we try to use that same technique to go to sleep at night he throws a major fit. It's a little odd but whatever works for you Henry. Henry rarely takes a pacifier, preferring his hands instead. Unfortunately, his hands aren't cooperating. I've been attempting to get a video of his attempts at corralling his hands but he isn't cooperating either. What it looks like is Henry using one hand to grab the other to shove into his mouth. It's adorable!



Grant:

Grant has changed the most since 2 months. He's much more easy-going and like his brother typically cries for 2 reasons: 1. hungry and 2. tired. He loves his soothie pacifier and can keep it in his mouth easily UNLESS he's tired. Then he doesn't want it and is his way of telling you he needs a nap. He continues to sleep ALL the time on his belly EXCEPT when we flip him over and put him in the co-sleeper for the night. He an Ella have the same eating habits. He is our active baby. He is never still. When Ella eats she has both hands fisted at breast level. Henry typically keeps his arms down at his sides. Grant is grasping at the bottle, your hands, his face etc. When he sits in the bouncer (which he does contentedly) his arms and legs never stop. He is like Evie in this. I don't remember it to this extent but then she was our first and only baby at that time. It's probably the reason he is so thin compared to his siblings. Ella and Grant side by side look similar in weight but if you compare their legs Grant's look scrawny. Very similar to Evie. Putting all three babies together is somewhat like playing "one of these things is not like the other..." The answer is: Henry. He looks like he was born a month earlier. Grant continues to like to listen to his pull-toy elephant which plays "Twinkle, Twinkle." If you don't pull it he will sit and stare at it as if willing it to sing. Grant loves to have you click your tongue. That and smiles from you are all it takes to elicit a smile from him. His smiles are adorable. Sometimes they are only one side of the mouth, sometimes they are full. But unlike his siblings they are these huge, goofy open mouth smiles. LOVE IT! We figure that little man will be crawling first because of his superior upper body strength. He has managed to nearly army crawl his way off the couch several times and can lift his while upper body up. He has even managed to roll over once earlier this month. It's crazy to watch.





One of the most common comments we receive from people when they learn that we have triplets is "you must be busy." Well it's true, we are. BUT we were busy before they came along. It was just a different kind of busy. That was a many meeting, lots of activities kind of busy versus diaper changing, lots of feedings kind of busy. I'm sure you are busy too! When I first learned that we were pregnant with these three I was 1. in shock and 2. a little depressed/scared. This was because I didn't know how we'd/I'd do it not to mention the scare tactics our doctor used to "encourage" us after that first ultrasound (ie bedrest at 20 weeks, early delivery, airlifted to U of M etc, etc) First I decided the doctor was wrong, I mean how would she know what this pregnancy was going to be like or how it would end?? Not only did I prove her wrong (take that S. D!!!!) but I proved all the people who thereafter who were less then encouraging wrong. (Mind you I am NOT talking about my friends). Here we are 3 months into it and we're doing it!!!! We get more sleep then lots of parents with singletons (5-7 hrs) and we are a well-oiled triplet caring machine. AND I'm loving almost every minute of it. Well, let's face it if I said EVERY minute it would mean I love the crying (I don't) and enjoy the 3 year old tantrums (I definitely don't). We don't get out much but I made my first MOPS meeting with all three and soon we'll hit church as a family. Having triplets has had its downs (NICU, c-section, inconsolable crying, pumping) but it also has LOTS of ups. One of these is the opportunity I've had to appreciate the little things about each of them. For instance, if it weren't for having triplets I would never have noticed Grant's energy level, his snorty cry or love of tummy sleeping as much. Or Ella's feminine chatter, inhaled excitement squeals and wide-eyed looks. Or Henry's faster growth, easy-going manner or silly grins. I love that I get to see their individualism so clearly. In addition, I get 3 times the smiles, 3 times the adorable cooing and get to look forward to 3 times the "love you mama," 3 times the hugs, and 3 times the kisses. What could be better then that????

Reflections on my 31st Birthday

First things first, pictures of the kiddos. Because really aren't they more interesting?

Grant & Ella

The kids with their "friend" Ethan, Abi's new brother.

Grant

Ella smiling!

Evie making silly faces. I don't know where she learned it though. Just out of the blue...must've been a classmate at preschool!

Don't mess with me brothers!!! I may be a girl but I'm one tough cookie!

Chubba Bubba

Grant

Henry

Henry & Grant
Ella

I seriously cannot believe that another year has passed. Turning 30 didn't seem like a big deal. But for some reason I've been thinking how crazy it is that I've been on this planet 31 years. That really is a huge chunk of time. Now don't confuse that statement with me saying that I feel old...I don't. At least not on a daily basis. When I think back to this day a year ago I can't believe all that has occurred. I am a mother of 4 under 3. I've been married for 5 years. I've been a doctor and chiropractor for over 6 years. I can't believe that this is my life! Every year since 2008 I've done a scrapbooking project called "a week in the life" which is a picture documentation of our life at the moment. It's fun to see what we are doing now and compare it to last year or the year before. Currently this is what my daily routine with 4 looks like:

5:30-6:45a first feeding of the day, triplets back to sleep til next feeding
7-8a Evie up, mom shower and pump, Shawn off to work MWF
8-9 breakfast for mom and Evie, cup of coffee, empty and load dishwasher, clean kitchen
8:30a Evie and dad leave for preschool T/Th
9-10 feed babies (typically each feeding takes 1 1/2 hours)
10-11:30 clean up, give bathes (Evie M/F, triplets W/Su)
11a on T/Th drive to town to pick Evie up from preschool
12 lunch for Evie, begin babies 3rd feeding (diaper changes before all feedings)
1:30pish afternoon nap for triplets and Evie
1:30ish mom cleans more, pumps, relaxes etc
3ish feed triplets
4:30ish pump, start dinner
5:30-6:30 dinner, Shawn home, feed triplets
6:30-8:30 triplets witching hour, clean up from dinner and Evie toys, Shawn prepare for night feedings and work tomorrow
8:30 Evie to bed, begin triplets last feeding
9:30-11 everyone asleep
2-3a feeding (this can vary)

The first feeding of the day dictates the rest of our schedule. The triplets eat every 3 hours. Typically the first feeding occurs at 6 or 6:30a. I am hoping to move to a 4 hour feeding schedule at some point. Also missing from this routine is activities with Evie, exercise etc. This is unacceptable and I'm working to change that. Love that I have triplets, hate that I feel like nothing ever gets done or accomplished. What gets me through is the following: this too shall pass. How quickly infancy and toddler-hood passed with Evie. Now she is a preschooler. These 3 will soon be too and I will have regretted wishing for this period to be done just so things could be a might "easier." Really though does parenthood get easier?? Or does one difficulty make way into another. For instance, Evie was a TERRIBLE sleeper but so happy that we'd get comments about how happy she was. Now she is a great sleeper but the tantrums happen frequently. Soon we will finish with tantrums and lead into a new pattern of parenting discipline. I am hoping that I am living as much in the present as possible. Learning from if not enjoying those difficult moments for what they are and loving everything in between.

For my birthday I was blessed to receive a "nook" from Shawn and Evie. What is a nook? It is an electronic book reading device. I am currently reading Pride & Prejudice which only cost 95 cents. Crazy the changes that have occurred in the last 31 years. What is to happen in society in the next 31?? I guess I will have to wait and see. It seems like technology, however, is changing faster then I can comprehend or appreciate. For instance, I have no interest in viewing every movie and certainly every television show in 3-D, yet that is one of the commonly heard items during advertisements of the latest release. 5 years from now I will be outdated as everyone else owns a 3-D television and we just bought our first flat-screen. We also don't own a blue-ray (gasp!).

I am very happy to have done SOME scrapbooking. Here is the pages I've gotten done. The first are of my pregnancy. Click on the picture to view larger to read the journaling. The last is of Evie and her best friend Abi. I just love this picture of them. Evie was almost 2 and Abi 18 mo. We are going to attempt our first walk to the park in this crazy-for-October warm weather. Evie and Abi of course will love it. The triplets will most likely be oblivious.

Family & Triplets @ 2 months

Here is some updated pictures including Evie's three year old pictures. They were taken by our good friend Suszi Grudem. I have to say that my Evie is just gorgeous. How did we get such a looker?? And the triplets...A-DORABLE! I am so amazed that I get to wake up to these beautiful children everyday. I am THEIR mom! Thank you God for your most perfect and precious gifts!! May we honor you as we raise them to love and know you!


Ella now weighs 7#14. She is 1oz heavier then her cousin Xander was at birth! She has grown to a length of 19.25in. She is our happy camper...unless she needs her pacifier. Though the picture doesn't show this, she tends to always look happy. Like she is just thrilled with being here and seeing you. She started smiling and cooing last week. She has adorable chubby thighs and belly but still seems like a delicate little girl, even more so then Evie did. She shares some of her daddy's looks but has inherited my lips and shoulder dimples. She LOVES her pacifier but cannot keep it in her mouth, much to this mama's frustration. If she's crying it's usually for this reason. Daddy calls her Ella Bella and I call her Sweet Pea.

Henry weighed in at a whopping 9#12. 2# heavier then both of his siblings. In fact, he weighs at 2 months the same as his oldest sister weighed at 2 months and she was born at 8#3 and he at 5#2. Quite the gainer!!! He is the first (and only) to move out of newborn clothes and diapers. He is now 20.75 in. Henry is our laid back man! Usually cries because he is HUNGRY or tired!! He could care less about a pacifier, despite Evie jamming them in his mouth. He was the first of the 3 to smile and is much more "talkative." We had a bit of a medical "scare" when I found a hernia in his scrotal sac. After a long drive to the U of M to meet with a pediatric surgeon and an appointment that lasted all of 5 minutes, we were were relieved to learn it was just a hydrocele. This is a fluid filled sac that initially starts out like a hernia. The good news-no surgery. It should resolve by 1 year. My favorite moment with him was on our drive home from that appointment when I looked at him and said, "Hi, I'm your mommy!" He gave me the BIGGEST smile ever and since. Yep, definitely wrapped around his finger. His nickname is currently Chubba Bubba.

Grant weighs in at 7#9. Still our peanut but definitely gaining on his sister. He was in the the 1 percentile for everything but his head. He sure has a big noggin. His daddy calls him the Brain. Unlike his brother, Grant is more petite. Even weighing close to Ella's weight, his legs are long and skinny. He may take after my side as Evie does for growth, while Henry takes after Shawn. He is 20in long. Grant has been our more temperamental baby, but we're starting to figure him out. First, he is intolerant to dairy. I am pretty good at staying away from this so the milk he's received from me has been good. However, we had to switch him to soy formula. That has helped A LOT. Second, he is a stomach sleeper. So all naps are done this way. We also start him that way at night before swaddling him and laying him on his back. Like Ella he too loves a pacifier. He is a little better keeping it in his mouth. The biggest thing to know about him is that he is impatient and will quickly fly into a rage if you have not met his need in a timely fashion. He is smiling and talking and unlike his siblings loves to listen to his musical pull toy during diaper changes. His nickname is little man and peanut.

Evie at 3 years

This big girl is as intense as a 3 year old as she was as a newborn. She can be over the moon happy one second and then two minutes later screaming mad.

This big girl loves, loves, loves babies. Bathing babies, changing babies diapers, changing babies clothes, rocking babies, feeding babies. She spends 95% percent of play with her babies. She loves for them to go "nigh-nigh" and even if she hasn't touched the baby in 4 hours she is still playing with it...so DO NOT move it an inch. Babies include her new toy cow figures, barbie and ken, stuffed animals, ANYTHING that she can hold. For the other 5% of play she loves coloring (especially with markers), dressing up, having a "tea party," play-dough, reading/being read to, loading/carrying purses or "back-packs." This big girl loves to talk on the phone. Real or otherwise. She carries one or two in every purse and backpack.

This big girl loves being a big sister. She hasn't shown one minute of jealousy. She loves to hug them, hold them, kiss them and help care for them. She is an awesome big sister. She loves them so much it's hard to stop her from helping them. She loves to give them a pacifier when they are "crying" which is crying nobody can hear but her (i.e. they are happy or asleep). She loves to help with their baths. She is an extra hand that mama appreciates especially when mama's hands are full and someone needs a pacifier or to be bounced. She is ready with kisses 50 times a day for "I-ya, Enry, and Nant" and loves to hold their hands.

This big girl started preschool. The young 3's class at 5 C's. She is still a little shy but really enjoys it. Already we are seeing her mature and blossom including with her art work and independent play.

This big girls best friend is Abi. She asks constantly for her but when mama tells her that she will have to share her toys she frequently tells me "Abi go home!" This big girl does not like to share. Their favorite activity is making a big mess of her toys. at least that is my interpretation.

This big girl loves the Bernstein Bear books, "Do-Do-Do-Dora", bath time, stealing her sibling's diapers, bibs, blankets, burp clothes, bouncers and swings for her baby's use. This big girl believes firmly that possession is 9/10 of the law and will fight to the death about it.

This big girl is very independent and wants to "do it myself." She is stubborn but is quickly learning that mama is more stubborn. This big girl is learning that mama means her warnings and that timeouts are no fun. This big girl is also very determined. We love to watch her perseverance.

This big girl has a big imagination, except when it comes to play food and dishes. We frequently remind her that she is a big girl and big girls DO NOT put things in their mouths including play food and that she has to pretend eat them. There is less room in our fridge currently as we had to make room for her play juice, onion, carrot, egg and random plates and bowls. This big girl is constantly making up songs. What are they about? We are still not so sure.

This big girls favorite things to say are: o-k mama?, I don't want to, why?, no, baby crying? pink, where is da-dee? and tickle-tickle. She talks constantly and has full sentences. Most of the time she is easy to understand, though she does not use all of her consonants.

This big girl loves to dance. Her dancing has evolved from bouncing up and down to adding sways, spins, and side to side hip moves. She loves Sugerland's song "Stuck Like Glue." She loves to run around singing to her made up "naked nance" song, which is done as you've guessed...naked. We are treated to the "naked nance" every evening as she gets ready for bed. If you were wondering at how the song goes it sounds like this, "naked nance, naked nance, naked nance." Occasionally we are treated to a "naked nance" from one of her babies.

This big girl loves "chocolate malk," candy, yogurt, pretzels, hotdogs, oatmeal, cereal bars, fruit snacks, carrots, grapes, and many other foods. She has a good appetite and we hope she takes after us in enjoying most foods but not in the over-consumption of said foods.

This big girl is constantly on the go. We find it hard to get her to sit and eat. She has a lot of beautiful energy.

This big girls nigh-nigh routine includes: potty, "naked nance," diaper undies, pajamas, brush teeth, kisses, "read da book," prayers and then lights out. She likes to have her sound machine running and night light on. This big girl is a champion sleeper and most nights sleeps uninterupted from 8:30pm to 7:30am. This big girl no longer needs diapers except at night and soon we will no longer need them. This is big for her mama and da-dee.

This big girl brings us so much joy! It's been an amazing and beautiful 3 years. We can't wait to see her continue to blossom, explore, learn and love. Year 4 should be a blast!

Happy Birthday, Evie!!

Happy Birthday to our sweet "baby" girl. Thank you for the joy, love and laughs you've brought into our lives. We are so proud of you! THANK YOU for making us mama and dadee! You are the first love of our lives!!!