Thursday, April 30, 2009

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Here it is, ladies and gents: Video evidence that the boys are officially on the move.




Sam was the first to start crawling, and then Isaac (though he's not show off his skills in this video!), and finally Alex. Sam started deliberate forward motion early last week, Isaac was moving by mid-week, and by Saturday, Alex was in on the fun, too.

The big baby gate arrives next week, and watch for Nike stock to take off soon as I invest in shoes to keep up with this crew.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Wrapup on Grandma Alice's Visit

Grandma Alice has been gone a couple days, so the house is less organized and doesn't smell nearly as yummy as it did when she was here. (Those homemade carmel rolls will be the death of me, I swear. Oh, but what a good way to go!)

I've been lax in posting while I was enjoying time with my mom, but I'm back now. Here are some pics of Grandma Alice's visit for you to look at while I warm up that last carmel roll.


Grandma and Amelia make the dough for homemade carmel rolls. I wish you could taste them. Actually, I don't. That would mean I had to share.


Amelia took over the mixing bowl and made her own "dough." Not quite as yummy as Grandma's.

Grinning for Grandma!


Isaac gets his first taste of ice cream. He loved it. Sam was a little unsure at first because of the cold, and Alex didn't like it at all!


Grandma Alice and Alex.


Grandma Alice and Isaac.


Grandma Alice and Sam.

We're looking forward to a lot more visits from family in the next month or so. Aunt Susie is coming, then Grandma D. and Aunt Allie.

Grandma D. and Susie haven't seen the boys since December, so we predict they'll be shocked at how big the babies are now. They will also be grateful that we're not getting up all hours of the night now. (Can I get an AMEN! to that?) Aunt Allie hasn't seen them since they were just three weeks old, so she'll be even more shocked.

Hope you're ready to do some heavy lifting this time, ladies. These boys are getting big!

And Amelia can't wait to have her M&M party with Susie and her Cheetos party with Allie. Nothing says love quite like junk food.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Fun with Grandma Alice

Everyone's having fun with Grandma Alice in the house. Yesterday she and Amelia made cookies before Amelia even got out of her jammies.



Grandma Alice and Amelia make chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

I'm pretty sure Amelia was taste-testing the chocolate chips before she even had breakfast. She helped count and measure everything and got to push the cookie dough off the spoon onto the pan. The best part of that job was licking the cookie dough off her fingers between every cookie!

Later that day, Amelia was busily playing stickers while we were tending to Sam and Isaac. Turns out she was playing stickers with Alex.

Or perhaps I should say ON Alex...


Amelia and Alex play stickers.


Let's take a closer look...



I guess the lack of hair makes Alex's head a pretty good palette for stickers. Sorry little buddy!

Everyone's gotten plenty of holding time, but Grandma Alice says the boys are so heavy now that she's not coming back until they can walk. I'm not sure that will be easier!


Isaac hangs out with Grandma Alice during supper.

We are getting awfully close to an announcement about crawling. I'll keep you in suspense on who might be the first to make the big move!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Grandma Alice Returns

Yesterday Grandma Alice came back for a visit. She saw the boys last in January, and they've sure changed a lot since then! Now they are grabbing for their bottles, hollering for food when they are in their highchairs being spoonfed, and getting oh so close to crawling. They had her laughing all day at their antics.

It some ways it's a lot less hectic than when Grandma Alice was last here. In other ways it's more hectic.

The boys eat less often, but consume more. And spoonfeeding three boys at once ... whew! Sometimes I can't shovel fast enough!

Gone are the days of plunking the babies down and finding them in the same spot 10 minutes (or even 10 seconds!) later. They are mobile now, even if they aren't quite crawling. And they do get in each other's faces and take toys from each other already, causing the occasional bout of tears.

The boys go down more easily for naps, but demand a lot more attention and energy when they are awake.

Tomorrow I'll try to post some pictures of Grandma and the gang, but now it's time for me to catch some zzzzs.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

A Walk..Make That A RUN In The Park

What a beautiful weekend! We finally got a warm spring day on a Saturday, so we packed a lunch, loaded up the whole crew, and headed for the park.

Now that sounds fairly easy in theory, but it looked like a minor military campaign by the time we got four children, two strollers, a bag of bottles, diapers, wipes and toys for the babies, a blanket, Amelia's ball, and a cooler loaded up.

Once you accept your role as pack mule, it gets easier.

The boys made the day a breeze by taking their bottles and then taking a nap.

Daddy & Alex

Sam & Isaac snooze in the stroller.

While the boys ate and snoozed, Amelia played on the slides and the swings, and chased the ball around while Jeff and I took turns chasing her.

Amelia gets a new 'do from the slide!

Amelia scopes out the playground equipment.

We ran into some friends there, so we had a chance to catch up with Cassidy and Adam while they kept an eye on their little guy, Caleb. It's been a while and we've all had a lot of changes going on, so it was great to chat while we enjoyed the sunshine and the kids got some fresh air.

After a little lunch, we loaded everyone up and headed home for Amelia's nap time and another bottle for the boys. As we were getting the kids in the van, someone saw most of the car seats and asked, "Twins?" Jeff replied, "Only if you don't count the third one." HA!

Almost as funny as his remark that it was a "buy two get one free" special at the hospital when they were born.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Flashback: Telling the Family

One year ago about this time we were telling family that we were pregnant, and later, after the first trimester was over and the risks of losing one of the babies dropped considerably, that it was triplets.

We were able to tell Jeff's parents in person that we were pregnant again by putting the message on Amelia when we saw them at Easter.

Proud big-sister-to-be.

We decided to share the triplet news by video call so we could see Grandma and Grandpa D.'s faces. So, we sent this ultrasound picture for them to open during the call.

The babies say hello to the family.

Jeff's mom looked at the picture and wanted to know what three parts of the baby she was looking at. Jeff said, "Not three parts, Mom. THREE BABIES." That elicited a round of "WHAT?" from everyone, and a lot of commotion ensued. Mouths were hanging open in disbelief, and Grandma D. kept covering her face with her hands, she was so excited and shocked.

We, of course, had (mostly) adjusted to the news by then, so we really enjoyed seeing everyone else's reactions.

Jeff and I talked to my parents on the phone, but we told most of my family by email. I believe one of my brothers summed up what everyone else was thinking when he sent an email that said "holy smokes!" (Editor's note: I had to clean that up since this is a family blog!)

I waited a couple more weeks before I told my office that I wasn't just pregnant -- I was pregnant with triplets. I worked with mostly women so the news brought lots of squeals and a general "ohmigosh" reaction. The best though, was when a male colleague wandered by just after I made my announcement and wanted to know what all of the hubbub was about. Someone pointed at me and yelled, "Three babies!" He just stood there with his mouth open and finally said, "In there? Really? Where are you hiding them?"

I certainly wasn't able to hide them for long!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Last Toothless Grin Disappears

The last toothless grin in our house has disappeared. This morning, Sam was sporting his first tooth. Amelia's been waiting for it, and she happily stuck her finger in his mouth to confirm that he did, indeed, have a tooth. He took the toddler attack surprisingly well.

Sam shows off his no-longer-toothless smile.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A Glimpse of Trouble to Come

Today I was feeding the boys mashed bananas and cereal in their high chairs.

Daddy takes on the troops.

I got a glimpse of the future when Isaac looked at me and, with a mouth FULL of food, blew a raspberry, showering me in bananas. I am not kidding when I tell you that his brothers watched him do this and their faces LIT UP in delight before they joined in.

I am in so much trouble.

Jeff and I think that spoon-feeding multiples would make a great Wii game. More mouths could be added for each new level, with bonus points for neatness and degree of difficulty, such as feeding two babies while holding a third on your lap. Or for dodging banana showers.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Another Tooth!

Alex has joined Isaac in shedding that toothless grin. His first tooth made its appearance by this morning. I worry about my grocery bills when that boy has a mouth full of teeth and a perpetually empty belly!

Alex, sporting his first tooth!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday as much as we did.

Amelia's Easter artwork. Too cute!

This was the first year Amelia understood and was excited about the Easter Bunny and her Easter basket. And, thanks to help from some neighbors, we all got to go to church as a family, which was a wonderful celebration in itself. The boys were very good, and so was Amelia, but then she usually is good in church. She tends to talk a lot, but she says "I talk quietly, Mama."

Amelia and I made cupcakes for Easter dinner dessert, and we even loaded everyone up a second time to go to the park for an hour after Amelia got up from her nap. All in all, it was a great day.

Here are some pics. I couldn't get Amelia and the boys together. No one had enough patience for that!

Amelia "paints" Easter eggs.

Look what the Easter Bunny brought!


Dad teaches Amelia how to peel an Easter egg.

She's got it all figured out!


Sam, Alex and Isaac in their Easter overalls.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

McDonald's

I took Amelia to McDonald's for lunch today as a special treat.

When we were in line to order our food, she started singing, "Old McDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O."

The she looked at me and said, "Do you get it Mom? It's funny 'cause we're at McDonald's."

She's right. It was funny!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Six-month Checkup

We took the boys to the doctor today for their six-month checkup. Everyone is doing great.
Here are the stats:

Sam: 16 lb. 3 oz. - 30th percentile
Isaac: 14 lb. - 5th percentile
Alex: 16 lb. 3 oz. - 30th percentile

You read that right. Sam and Alex now weigh exactly the same. We knew Sam was getting close in size to Alex, and sure enough, he caught up. I attribute it in part to a nasty cold that Alex has had this week that has put him off his food a bit. If you saw that boy eat solids, you'd figure that his brothers would never be able to catch up!

Isaac is still a little light, but has stayed on his growth curve, so we're not concerned at this point. Many HOMs are not even on the growth chart at a year, let alone six months.

All of the boys are the same length -- about 25 inches. I have it written down, but I'm too lazy to get up and look for it right now.

Everyone seems to have handled the vaccinations well, but we gave a dose of Tylenol at bedtime for good measure.

* Edit: All of the boys are 26 3/4 inches long. That's the 55th percentiled for height.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

An Easter Blessing

A week ago I asked for your prayers for my Uncle Tim who was deathly ill. I am thrilled to report that he is on the mend and the doctors are discussing moving him out of the ICU. As it turned out, he didn't have influenza. He has gram negative strep in his lungs. If he had this in any other part of his body, it would be called "flesh-eating disease."

Uncle Tim is off the ventilator now, but still receiving oxygen. He is still receiving dialysis to help clean the sepsis out of the blood, and because in the course of this disease his kidneys shut down. He could regain kidney function in 4-6 months.

The doctor says Uncle Tim danced with the kiss of death twice. His recovery is beyond amazing. It truly is miraculous. What an amazing story of new life this Easter season!

Uncle Tim has a long way to go still, but he's here to make the journey. So thank you to all of you who said a prayer or sent a positive thought our way. Our prayers were answered.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Celebrating Six Months of Craziness and Joy

Today Sam, Isaac and Alex are six months old. It's hard to believe that half a year has already passed since we welcomed them into this world. Perhaps that's because time flies when you're having fun...or because the sleep deprivation has completely warped my sense of time.

It feels like this occasion warrants a special photo post or a video, but I haven't had time to put anything together, so this will have to do.

SAM
Sam, your hair gets redder every day, but your temperament has sweetened up greatly. When we first brought you home nearly everything led you to throw a fit. You would scream so hard you couldn't even draw a breath, and your face would get bright red. Amelia called you, "The boy that hurts my ears."

These days we get more giggles and smiles from you than screams, though when you get upset you do get very upset!

Sam, you love morning more than any other time of the day. You are almost always the first to wake up and you babble away for a while before demanding breakfast. These days you will drain an 8-ounce bottle, while your brothers will take 5 or 6 ounces.

You love to play with your feet right now, and I just love your big grin and the way you "talk" to me so seriously when you are on the changing table.

I love you, Sam. And I thank God that you are part of our lives.

ISAAC
Isaac, you are the smallest of the bunch still, but you know how to hold your own with your brothers. You were the first to get a tooth, and you started sleeping through the night the same time as your bigger brothers -- even though I was sure I would be getting up with you at night for a while because you were the littlest.

You are a very active boy. You LOVE to kick and splash in the bath, and you are really starting to enjoy the doorway jumper. I suspect it won't be long and your brothers will be trying to keep up with you.

I love to bury my face in your hair, as soft as duck down. I love to watch your face light up when you are amused, and boy do you have a pout that comes out when you are upset!

I love you, Isaac. And I thank God that you are part of our lives.

ALEX
Alex, how can anyone resist your big cheeks and huge smile? As soon as you learned how to grin, you have hardly ever stopped. You have rolypoly thighs and a rotund belly that lead us to call you the Baby Buddha.

What you love most is eating! You'll eat a good bottle, but give you something solid and stand back! From the second I first held the spoon in front of your mouth you knew exactly what to do. You are always the last guy to finish eating, and we already joke that I'm going to have to get a paying job just to keep you in food.

Alex, you are the leader of the pack when it comes to moving. You were the first to roll, and now you're up on your hands and knees, rocking back and forth and contemplating crawling. Any day now you will be officially mobile. You already will roll across the floor to get what you want.

I love your big chuckle and baby grin, and your (mostly) easygoing nature.

I love you Alex. And I thank God that you are part of our lives.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

It's Raining, It's Pouring

We are having typical Midwestern spring weather. Some days it's beautiful and we can play outside and other days it's cold or rainy and we're stuck back inside.

Amelia is not a fan of the rain.

So lately we've been singing a lot of: "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring." You know the song.

The other day she was singing it when all of a sudden she stopped.

Her face lit up.

And she sang, "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is daddy!"

She thought it was very funny.

So did I.

Jeff chuckled, but only a little.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Night Owl

Amelia is a bit of a night owl, and while she comes by it honestly (from me), I wish she would fall asleep faster. It's not unusual for her to lie in bed for an hour or even two before she finally falls asleep. Generally she's very good about staying in bed and being quiet while she tries to go to sleep. I just hate the fact that it takes her so long! Especially because I know she needs her sleep. But, you can't force a child to sleep, so I've learned to accept it...more or less.

While Amelia moved herself to the big girl bed a while back, she's been going back and forth between the bed and the crib for the last months or so. Then the other day, she climbed into the crib by herself. We had suspected she could do this, but for whatever reason, she doesn't think she can climb out. So, I made a big deal out of it and told her that means she's too big for the crib now and on her birthday we can take it out of her room.

I gave Jeff the heads up, and he made an equally big deal out of it when he came home. Amelia was all smiles, talking about what a big girl she is and how she doesn't need the crib anymore. She's been very, very good about sleeping in the bed ever since.

From the time Amelia was a little baby, we've played an ocean sounds CD in her room all night long. (Hey, when your child doesn't sleep, you'll try almost anything!) We joke that she's going to think she grew up on the coast. In the last week, she's asked for the "Mama bird song," that is on another sleepytime CD we sometimes play as we get ready for bed. The song is "Hush Little Baby," and the lyrics are, "... mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird." I chuckle every time she says "mama bird" instead of "mocking bird."

I did have to go in the other night and turn the sound down a couple notches. I was slowly going crazy hearing the occasional snatch of that song over and over and over. When I'm old and senile and shuffling around the nursing home in my slippers you'll all know why I keep singing the "Mama bird song" endlessly.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Sweet Little Feet

About two weeks ago, the boys discovered their feet. Now whenever we get one of them on the changing table they immediately try to get their toes in their mouths.


Alex


Sam

Isaac

They are currently obsessed with their feet, and so am I!

Sam


Just look at those little jelly bean toes!

Isaac

Couldn't you just eat them up?

Alex

Yum!

So little.

So perfect.


So precious.

SO MANY!



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Ready for Our Billboard

My brother Dave works at General Mills, and he and his wife sent these onesies for the boys. I think they are ready to be featured on a billboard somewhere, don't you?


Isaac, Alex and Sam: General Mills label babies.




Sam: Cute as a Biscuit



Isaac: Little Sprout


Alex: I love my Cheerios (and all other food, too!)


Brothers: Isaac, Alex, and Sam