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!

Dinner Out

We have lots of family & friends in town this weekend for the babies dedication tomorrow. So, Eric & I made plans to go out to dinner with some friends while his parents watched the babies at home. However, at the last minute we decided to bring everyone along for a family "dinner out" for the first time with all 3 babies. A bit scary, I must say! We ended up going to the restaurant that Eric & I had our rehearsal dinner at for our wedding. So, it was fun to bring the babies. To our surprise, the babies did exceptionally well! I don't think we'll be bringing the babies out to dinner on a regular basis, bit it's fun to know that it's possible!

Wrestling Match

So, Alana has become quite the little wrestler (she is wearing the purple polka dots). She is still the smallest, weighing in at 11 lbs 8 oz, but is quite the fiesty one! With a little help from daddy in placement, of course, she enjoys being the "queen of the mountain". As you can see, Alexa isn't half bad, as well (she is wearing the multi-colored polka dots). Alexa now weighs 12 lbs 7 oz, and Josiah is a whopping 15 lbs 15 oz! Yikes! We had a NICU follow-up appt this week and the doctors were all very excited and encouraged that all the babies have come so far. They are all right on track for where they should be developmentally, for their adjusted age (based on when their due-date was compared to their actual birth date). Yeah, guys! My little over-achievers! :)

First Solid Food

Alexa taking in the new texture of rice cereal.

Alana

Alana

Josiah says, "Yuck, Mom...what are you thinking?"

Josiah smiling just before actually tasting the rice cereal.

At their last doctor's appointment, their doctor said we can start trying solid foods whenever we felt ready. Well, that was about a month ago and I wasn't quite ready to make the leap yet. However, a couple of days ago I decided to give it a try with some rice cereal. All 3 of the kids weren't too excited about this new texture in their mouths. None of them liked the taste and we got some funny faces, in the process. Each day it gets a little better and I am sure soon enough they'll be enjoying a nice steak dinner!

Virtual Babysiting and Ski Championships

Yesterday, we dialed up my parents on Skype and the kids gave them about an hour of entertainment. We just pointed the webcam at the Jumperoo, Exersaucer and rolling chair and they got to see real time the kids in action and talk to them the entire time. Each of the kids has really taken to their Jumperoo toy. We have a pair of shoes to provide added traction and to prevent blisters. Alana had some serious blisters a few weeks back and the shoes have avoided that trauma. On Friday night Joe was in the jumper and every time I came in the room, he would start jumping like crazy. Alana does a little Jig dancing from one foot to the other in pretty good rhythm.

Josiah has started to recover from his cold. We took him to the doc last Monday because he was congested. He has not lost any joy all week but has been stuffed up and coughing on occasion. I got a little of his bug last week too and am recovering as well just in case you were concerned. Alana was able to pin him today in a little wrestling match (see photo below).



Finally, we've really tried to keep the kids from watching any TV. But, every once in awhile we turn it on and they become completely enamored (hence, why we try to avoid having the TV on when they are in the room). Last weekend was the World Alpine Ski Championships and Alexa was completely excited to watch! She was in her roller chair and pushed it right to the angle of optimum viewing. I can't imagine what it will be like to be chasing her down the hill saying, wait for me!!!

Supermom

Yesterday, Rebecca got her first try at managing the babies solo for more than a couple hours. My mom left yesterday to go back to Vegas and Rebecca's mom is sick. I worked from home so I was available in an emergency but intentionally let Rebecca do her thing. As it turned out, she didn't need help. I was a mere observer for most of the day and was exhausted just watching. Rebecca has been referred by her friends as Supermom. I could not agree more. She is able to move from Alana to Alexa to Joe spending special time with each one while managing to keep them all happy. Supermom indeed to handle three kids with such joy. We won't be giving up our parental support anytime soon but what a joy to watch Supermom in action.

A year ago we told our small group how we were so afraid of having three crying babies and the challenge of figuring out what to do. Molly, our friend told Rebecca to envision three happy babies and how special that would be. Thankfully, our fears did not come to pass and we get the joy of three happy babies, most of the time at least.

Future Plumber

Great Great Grampa Jardine was a plumber, Great Grampa Jardine was a plumber and Grampa Jardine thinks he is a plumber. Looks like the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree:-)

If we only know...

One year ago today, Eric & I went to our very first ultrasound appointment to see our precious baby. We were super excited to meet the little "peanut" that had been created inside of me. The doctor doing the ultrasound looked at the screen and said, "Oh...there's two!" I immediately said, "What? What?" and looked away from the screen in fear. Eric says, "Oh my gosh...twins?" with a little excitement in his voice. Seconds later, the doctor says, "Oh...there's another one!" with fear in her voice! I immediately began to sob and said, "No, no, no! This cannot be happening!" I had just come to accept the idea of having one child...not three! Eric's excitement turned to panic as we stared at each other in disbelief. How could this be happening? This was not part of the plan! We left the doctor's office with feelings of fear, terror, panic and disbelief. How could we possibly take care of 3 babies? Well, after several weeks of serious prayer and seeking of God, we came to realize that God does not give us more than we can handle, and if for some crazy reason He had decided to give us 3 babies all at the same time...He would give us everything we needed! It wasn't easy and took some time, but, at some point we turned the corner from being terrified to being ecstatic about what God had in store for us. We were still scared of the thought of 3 babies, but we knew that this was the plan that God had for our lives, so we might as well embrace it!
A year later, the babies are 7 months old and we couldn't be more thankful for the amazing gifts of these 3 precious lives. Its been a rough year since we first found out that we were expecting triplets, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. We are triply blessed and can't imagine our lives without them! We love you Josiah, Alana, and Alexa! :)

Happy Babies

Sorry its been so long since I posted, but it has been a busy week. Eric was able to get away for a short ski trip/Super Bowl Guy weekend in Colorado. So, the babes and I packed up and headed to Vallejo to spend the weekend with my parents. We had tons of visitors and lots of help! Anyway, I just wanted to post some random pictures. The first one is of Alana in their Jumparoo (notice the sneakers for extra jumping ability!) Alexa is the one smiling really big on the green changing table. Josiah is smiling with his tongue hanging out (his newest favorite thing)! The last picture is of the bath assembly lane. Its quite a feat to get 3 babies bathed and ready for bed...but, lots of fun!