Easter Photo Shoot

I know it's not Easter yet, but I couldn't resist posting the pictures my mom & I took today. The outfits are from Eric's mom, Grandma Jean.

Book Worms

We've been trying to read to the babies on a regular basis. It's amazing that when we read they actually will look at the pictures like they are really reading it with us. We got some cute shots of the 3 of them "reading" to themselves. They are going to be so smart! :)

Josiah has rolled over and over and over!

The babies had their very last Synergis shot today! Whoohoo! Because they were born so premature, they have needed to get a shot once a month for the last 6 months to help prevent RSV, a very serious virus that can affect premature babies. No shots are pleasant, but these shots seemed to be especially bad. The babies have handled all of their numerous vaccinations so far with minimal crying and discomfort. However, every time they had to get the Synergis shot they would scream as if they were "going to die" for a very, very long time! It was extremelly traumatic for me! I am happy to say thay they finally received their last shot and they don't need any more vaccinations until their 1 year check-up. Yeah! That's 4 months of no injections!

Josiah rolled over for the first time last Monday and hasn't stopped! We lay him down on his back and within seconds he's on his tummy with a big grin on his face! Such a little show off! :) The girls will be soon to follow any day now. They swing their legs around with such force that I am afraid when they do actually roll they'll be quite surprised. Josiah has also just started to hold his own bottle, when he feels like it, that is. Most of the time he is happy to let us hold it for him, but yesterday he did hold it for almost the whole time...quite exciting!

Alexa has got her first cold. I noticed yesterday afternoon that her nose was running and within a few hours, she started coughing and running a low fever. She's a trooper, though! She has developed the sweetest little whine that alternates from high to low pitch. She woke up a couple of times last night crying, probably because she can't breath as well through her nose. But, other than that she's been pretty good. They are all sleeping through the night from 8pm-5am, fairly consistently (unless, of course, someone is sick or has tummy problems). Sometimes, they'll even sleep until 6 or 6:30am. Praise God! We are trully blessed with amazing babies! I think we''ll keep them! :)

Sleepy Alexa

We shared a few months back about how Josiah communicates that it is bedtime. He still sleeps with his hands behind his head. Alexa has a few personality traits that are coming through in her bedtime ritual. When its close to bedtime she whines a bit. Originally, we thought that she was communicating that she wanted to be held. After rocking her for a bit and trying to get her to calm down, we just put her in her crib. Immediately, she stopped crying and put her hands up near her eyes, took a few sucks of her pacifier and was off to sleep. It turns out she was just saying, "put me to bed!" Thankfully, it didn't take us long to figure out her communication methods. She has started practice mumbling and is probably the most structured in her speaking so far. She says ma mo ma ma ma na all the time. Below is a picture of her in her sleeping stance....

St. Patty's Day Fun

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My mom has really taken to doing her own personal "photo shoots" of the babies. So, she decided to do a "St. Patrick's Day"shoot and she got some really cute photos. We also got a cute pic of the 3 of them enjoying some "tummy time". My sister, Janet, recently gave us a pair of super cute Uggs that Casey and Jake wore. So, we couldn't resist Joe in his Uggs and diaper...he thought he was pretty cool! :)

Riding the train

Alana has a little toy that hangs from her car seat with a ring on the bottom. She loves to hold the ring as we are driving around town. I have joked quite frequently that it is like she is riding the muni train holding the strap to balance. Rebecca and I took just Alana for a walk this afternoon and it was only appropriate that we took the train back from the beach. After a few stops, she was very ready to get off the train It turns out that we think she was looking for her strap to hold!

Getting So Big

Did they all 3 really fit in one crib? This picture of all 3 in their very first crib reminds me of how far they have come and how stinking big they are! The next picture is of them all lined up ready for their rice pudding and applesauce. They've actually come to enjoy their solid meals, which thankfully are only once a day for now. After feeding all 3 solids (quite a messy job!) I look forward to the ease of feeding them their bottles. The last 2 pictures are of the crew all dressed up for church (note that our church is an informal one). I couldn't help myself on the last photo because very rarely do they all 3 cry at the same time, and especially rare is it to get them all 3 crying in the same photo. I guess they are not always "happy campers"! This, however, was towards the end of a very long day in which they missed their afternoon nap. They behaved like little rockstars at church, but, started melting down once we got home. Oh well! At least I am still smiling! :)

Random Moments

These are just random moment pictures taken last weekend. We love the one of Josiah kissing Alexa on the cheek...too cute!

Baby Dedication

This Sunday, we dedicated the babies at our church. I want to apologize to anyone who would've liked to have come and didn't know about it. I definitely dropped the ball in getting the word out, and the day approached must faster than I anticipated! So sorry! Anyway, it ended up being a really nice dedication. Basically, a dedication is a sort of "giving back" to God what He has given us. Eric & I have committed to raise our kids up in a Christian home and to teach them to love and serve God. We hope that they will come to know Jesus at a very young age and that their lives would be used to glorify Him and to bless others. The dedication was a time of thankful celebration of the precious gifts God has given us! I wrote a "letter" to the babies that I read during the dedication and I will post it below for those of you who weren't able to be there.

Eric & I just want to thank everyone who has already helped us in so many ways, whether it be providing meals, diapers, help during feedings, etc. We, definitely, couldn't have made it this far without you! We greatly appreciate all of the continuous love and support from all of you!

To Our 3 Precious Miracles:

The news that we were expecting 3 little ones was met with fear, panic and disbelief. However, to our surprise each one of you has brought us more love, joy, awe and wonder than we ever imagined.

"JOSIAH" your name means "GOD SAVES". The sparkle in your eyes and huge smile that you so freely give can brighten any room and bring a smile to anyone's face. I Timothy 6:11-12 says, " But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called."

"ALANA" your name means "LITTLE ROCK". You are by far the most feistiest and spunkiest of the bunch. You are our little social butterfly who never wants to miss a beat. Your high-pitched squeal of joy always makes us smile. Ephesians 1:16-19 says, "That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!"

"ALEXA" your name means "DEFENDER OF MEN". You are our sweet little cuddle bug. We can't help but smile and laugh at your infectious giggle. Colossians 1:9-10 says, "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."

Each one of you is so precious and so unique in your own special way. We love you so much more than we ever thought possible and we can't imagine our lives without you. God has been so good to us and the blessing of you in our lives has shown us the meaning of Grace. We now understand "undeserved favor". Today, we thank God for giving you to us and as we dedicate you back to Him, we promise to love you unconditionally and to do our best to show you His love. We pray that you would come to know Jesus and His love for you at a very young age and that you would grow up to love Him and serve Him with all of your heart, mind and soul.

We love you so much, Josiah, Alana and Alexa!