Winter weather walks

We are still trying to get out and about in this winter weather and this weekend we went for a wagon ride around the neighborhood. No snowpants and boots made the prep much less stressful and the kiddos actually enjoyed wearing their hats and mittens in the house as we got ready.  And they look so darn cute in them!

cheesin' it up for the camera

mittens make it hard to use my hands Mom!

I-man using his teeth to get his mittens off

We checked out a couple of neighborhood snowmen on our walk...

the wagon does pretty well in the snow!

First snowman sighting

best one in the neighborhood!

And Mommy stopped to take a pretty picture of the pretty berries in snow

Triplets First Thanksgiving Feast

It wasn't their first Thanksgiving and they didn't have adorable homemade turkey outfits like last year, but it was the babies' first turkey dinner!  We had a small little Thanksgiving with just the five of us this year, but we still made a pretty delicious feast.  It was really nice to all hang out together for the entire day, which happens pretty rarely because Michelle has so much school work to do.  But she took the day off and it was great to just be together.  Michelle and I enjoyed cooking together, again something we rarely do these days and used to do all the time.  All in all a great Thanksgiving spent with the three little ones we are oh so thankful for.

Avery decided a morning nap wasn't nearly as fun as helping Mama cook

Avery digging into her Thanksgiving feast

Ellie shoving it in too!  She downed the cranberry sauce first =)

Happy little turkey

Yum yum!

After our feast we decided to try a Thanksgiving family shot using the self timer...not too bad...

Well, Humphrey & I were ready for the first attempt =)

Oh Humphrey...you kinda messed that one up buddy

serious babies & puppy

the best of the bunch  & good enough!
(despite cutting Humphrey off because he laid down)

 "Little Miss No Morning Nap" went down for the afternoon nap early and we had some silly playtime with Ellie & Isaiah before their nap

Ellie was loving her accessories!
She picked out the rainbow slipper socks & pink sun hat =)

Mama & Isaiah being silly

First Day in the Snow

Yesterday we got our first real snow of the year and the babies were fascinated with watching the snow falling.  It was super cute and a nice perspective for me as I inwardly groaned that winter has finally arrived.


They kept going to the sliding door and pointing outside and didn't understand that we couldn't just head out as is.  I realized early in the day that we only had two pairs of mittens so I had to run out & grab another pair during their afternoon nap.  We were lucky enough to have a bunch of coats and snowpants handed down to us.  Though apparently, all our hand-me-down sources have girls! =)  We do have a coat for Isaiah, but no snowpants yet so we decided he could rock the purple plaid snow clothes.  I decided his often genderbending snowboarding Uncle Matt would approve. =)  You know how when you go out in the snow to play that you are tired by the time you even get outside after all the bundling? Well now imagine trying to wrestle three 13 month olds into snowpants, boots, coats, mittens on top of getting yourself dressed!  At first it was fun and exciting to try on the new clothes, but the novelty wore off pretty quickly and both Isaiah & Ellie were crying by the time we got outside!  It's hard for them to move in the snowsuits and they are "on the go" all the time now so I think that was frustrating.  It was funny to see their different reactions once we finally made it outside!

well, Avery likes the snow =)

And Isaiah does not! (or maybe he's just mad about the purple?!)
 And Ellie is falling over!

And now Ellie is happy

first sled ride...poor Isaiah is still not a happy camper

Mommy is getting a workout...this sled doesn't like to move

Ellie & Mama catching snowflakes on their tongues

And Isaiah's still mad despite the switch to the wagon

Avery enjoying her snow snack

the wagon was MUCH easier than the sled

finally a happy boy!

A new appreciation

After the last couple of days I have a new appreciation for single parents.  Oy!  It's a lot of work.  We have been doing well and actually having a lot of fun together, but there are no down times.  Not that I feel like there is much down time in our regular day to day two mommy routines, but there is less now, that much I know.  The post bed-time clean up takes longer when I'm on my own and I have get bottles ready for nighttime wakeups since I can't nurse them both (ie Isaiah & Avery) twice each.  (Thankfully, they are drinking the milk from the freezer okay, which they wouldn't do a few months ago!) I also get less sleep and have to get up well before the babies to have bottles and breakfast ready to roll and myself reasonably ready for the day. And that is HARD for me to do because I just want to sleep as long as they'll let me!  Most days with both of us here we can do that because we can tag team the baby workload in the morning and sneak away to get ourselves ready, breakfast made, etc, but that's not happening when it's just me....well not if I want to avoid trying to get dressed with three babies either pulling up on my legs asking for "up" or disappearing in different directions looking for trouble.  So I have been dragging my weary self out of bed and all the extra work has been paying off because things have been running pretty smoothly in the morning.  Thankfully, Hope has been around for bedtime each night..  I think I could do it solo, but I am happy to have the extra set of hands and it means the babies were able to get a bath tonight.

morning milk

We've been keeping busy too, which helps us pass the time.  Yesterday we spent some time at the Y at the end of their toddler open gym and then went over to a friend's house for a post-nap play date and dinner.  It is so so so much easier to go to people's houses when they have already baby/toddler-proofed their house!  These friends have 17mo old twins and a three year old and have a "free-range home" like us, where kids can wander pretty freely without too many hazards to worry about, which is key when you have three toddlers all wanting to explore in different directions.  The kiddos loved playing with new toys and they loved exploring the toddler bed. (I told them not to get any big ideas...it's going to be a LONG while before I'm ready for that!)  I loved the adult conversation and Heather made a delicious coconut curry for dinner to top off the night!

toddler beds are soooo cool!

What's three more?! =)

Today we had another playdate at the library with a family who has a kiddo about 6 weeks older than the trio as well as three older kids and that was fun too.  And the big kids helped me keep track of the trio who are getting more comfortable at the library and thus more prone to wander off exploring. We also had the triplets early intervention team meeting this afternoon.  I'm so thankful for another local MoM who brought us a quiche on Wednesday because that was a super easy and yummy dinner for us tonight! Tomorrow we're headed to the Discovery Space museum in town that their Auntie Jess got us a membership to and friends are coming over in the late afternoon for another play date.  Sunday will probably just be a chill day at home with a trip out for groceries and then Michelle will be home!

playing "row row" on the rocking chair

super sweet....Ellie was kind of obsessed with this chair today

they love this lock puzzle

Flying Solo Round 2

So my last "flying solo" post was from October 8th, 2013 when the babies were six days old and I took the night shift of 10:30-4:30 on my own in the demo room of the NICU.  That was a crazy crazy night, but it was six hours.  Flying Solo Round Two is a bit more of an undertaking because Michelle will be gone for five days and four nights at a conference!  I think this trip will be Michelle's first night(s) away from the babies since that first night of flying solo and she was already missing them before she left!  She's been gone less than an hour and I'm missing her already!

Obviously, we've known this day was coming for months and I've been feeling just fine about it the entire time...until last night when I could feel my chest starting to tighten just a bit as the anxiety set in.  I know that it will be fine.  We will survive and we will have lots of fun.  And I also know that there will be hard times and that I will be so incredibly happy to see Michelle walk through our front door on Sunday!  It seems a little ironic that the times I most nervous about are between the hours of 6pm and 8am, since they should be sleeping for at least 11 our of those 12 hours.  But it's the word "should" that is the key.  Nighttime sleep has never been easy for our trio (well, for Isaiah & Avery anyway) and we were not the lucky ones who have babies that sleep through the night from a couple months old despite the fact that we have a consistent bedtime routine, white noise, blackout curtains, a predictable schedule, etc, etc.  But sleep issues are a topic for another post, except for the fact that those sleep issues and the fact that Isaiah & Avery still typically wake twice a night are the reason I'm most nervous about the nights.  Thus far the only solid winning strategy guaranteed to get them to fall peacefully back to sleep is to nurse them.  We've tried pretty much everything else, and sometimes those things (ignoring, patting, shushing, rocking, etc) work, but when they don't, nursing always does and it always works faster than the other methods.  And I can't nurse both of them twice every night because I simply won't have enough milk.  So I'll be trying everything else first and then trying bottles finishing with a little nursing if needed, but that will likely not be a quick process and will likely mean that I get very little sleep.  I'm not really worried about the days.  I have lots of playdates planned and have already taken food out of the deep freezer so I don't have to worry too much about making meals, but I am a little nervous that the days will seem harder just because I will likely be running on little sleep.

But we'll see, maybe this will all turn our better than we could hope and they'll magically sleep more or I'll find other non-nursing strategies that work and this will mark a turning point for us in sleep. A girl can dream right?!  Wish me luck folks!

Catching up with our 13 month olds

I wrote the notes for this post a couple weeks ago, but never got around to writing it.  I've been having a harder time blogging lately because we currently only have one computer that is working and our internet at home has been painfully slow.  For a while the screen on our old computer wouldn't light up, then that started working again and the keyboard quit.  So I think it's time to suck it up and buy a new computer, unless, of course, Michelle somehow manages to win the Macbook Air they're giving away at her conference this week!

Overall these three continue to keep us on our toes. They also keep us laughing with their silly antics.  They have been so much fun lately and are interacting with each other more and more every day.  It's fun to see them trying to make each other laugh just by giving each other silly looks.  There also lots of sibling kisses these days that just melt our hearts.

Here's the recap on each of our kiddos at 13 months!

ISAIAH

 Isaiah thankfully moved out of his super clingy mama's boy phase this month and has been pretty silly and funny lately.  He can stand for over a minute and can take a couple of steps (and has taken as many as six steps).  He really likes to walk holding our hands and can get pretty mad when you stop helping him walk. He is also showing more interest in climbing and has tried to climb the baby jail fence and the crib.  Isaiah has also figured out how to climb the steps at the playground to keep up with his sisters.  He also mastered one of his OT goals of releasing objects into a container and has been really interested in putting shapes in the shape sorter. 

Isaiah also started consistently signing the word "more" and has been relishing the power of that word.  He uses it most at the table where he continues to be the biggest and most consistent eater.  Isaiah has been working soooo hard on eating with silverware and really likes to try eating with a fork or spoon.  We have recently introduced plates and bowls and silverware at some meals and they're doing pretty well with it.  We haven't had too many flipped or tossed plates. Isaiah also really likes to drop things to the floor so he'll take a drink of water and then drop the straw cup on the floor when he's done and then sign "more." (It's a ton of fun...sigh)  Mister man has also been super into books lately and is the most attentive at bedtime.  He has started pointing and does it the most when reading books.

ELLIE

Our little Ellie-belle really wants to be a walker.  She typically falls after 5 or so steps, but it doesn't seem to phase her and she just keeps trying.  She has taken up to about ten steps and is really working hard to master this new skill.  Ellie has been showing her mischevious side lately getting into everything and being pretty persistent about it.  She is using her new climbing skills to expand her ability to get into trouble.  And she's starting to protest things like diaper changes and getting buckled in her car seat.  

Ellie was the last to get teeth, but now has the most teeth of anyone, with six teeth at least partially through. Our best sleeper continues to be the best, but has been having a lot of early wake ups lately.  She has been very talkative, babbling away throughout the day.  Her two most common phrases are "budja budja" and "ohboyohboy."  She is pretty funny and understands the word "silly" and will laugh when she hears us say the word.  Ellie is also our friendliest baby and the most likely to take off and explore when we are visiting somewhere new.

AVERY

Avery is a true toddler now, toddling all over the place.  She is also climbing on everything including the couch, the ottoman, and the windowsill.  Avery is brave but also smart about her exploration and climbing. (most of the time anyway! she is thinking about climbing into the back of the Rav4 when she's climbing around waiting to be buckled...which she hates just like Ellie!) Avery seems to like doing things like us and has gotten pretty good at drinking from an open cup with little to no help.  She likes to practice this skill in the bathtub (yuk!) so I often have a cup of fresh water in there for her to practice with and hopefully decrease the amount of soapy bathwater she drinks. =)  Avery has finally decided that bathtime is actually fun and often isn't the first one out nowadays.

Avery really took off with signing in October. She signs "more," "all done," "help," "milk" & "dog."  She also tries to say a lot of words though they pretty much all sound like "ba" at this point, but it's clear what she's trying to say because she's usually imitating us or pointing to it.  Avery discovered her belly button and loves to lift up her shirt to show it off and to point to our bellies to have us show her ours.  The belly button discovery spurred her interest in body parts and she can pretty consistently identify belly, belly button, hair, ears, and mouth. Speaking of hair, Avery now likes to help brush her hair and brush our hair and loves to wear bows (for about 5 seconds at a time!)  She knows where her birthday bow is and will point to it and then to her head when she wants to wear it.  Once she has it on she gets a big silly "look at me, aren't I just adorable" smile on her face as you can see in the side pose picture above.