Bath Robes

Shortly after the kids were born, we received these really cute bath robes for them. They were way too big at the time, but we were finally able to put them in them the other day after their baths. It looks like they like them!

More Birthday Fun

Yesterday was the kids 1st birthday party (Sniff! Sniff!) I can't believe they are already a year old. Time sure does fly when you're having fun! The funniest part of the day was when we brought the kids into the living room where their gifts were, they all 3 immediately crawled under the table to get to them and started unwrapping one of the gifts. It was pretty funny since they've just learned how to open presents in the last few days (and it wasn't time to open presents yet). I guess that's something we've learned as parents of triplets is to "go with the flow" at times. Even if it's not the official time to do something, I guess it's okay to let them have some fun (although many of you who know me, know that I am very organized and structured person which makes it challenging to "go with the flow" at times. I think maybe giving me triplets is God's sense of humor and telling me to "lighten up" a bit!) :) Anyway, the party was lots of fun! They still could care less about the cupcakes...go figure! Oh well ! I am sure next year they'll be all over them. I guess I should enjoy their lack of interest in sweets while it lasts...

That's Alana with Daddy (fourth picture) and Alexa standing at the coffee table (third picture).

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET BABIES!!!

Happy, Happy Birthday to my 3 amazing babies! We have spent the day remembering back on a year ago. We were so scared, so terrified! Our 3 precious babies were born so early and were so little and fragile (read the "Birth Story" blog post for more details). It is such a miracle that they are 100% healthy today! It truly is a blessing that they are all doing so amazingly well. They are trying, desperately, to catch up to their 'birth" age. I think, about a month ago, they got tired of being referred to by their "adjusted" age that they decided to close the gap and catch up. They are all 3 pulling up and standing like 3 little monkeys! They disperse in 3 different direction when we let them down. It's pretty crazy!

Yesterday, was their actual birthday and we decided to take a trip to the SF Kaiser NICU where the kids were born and spent 9 and 11 weeks. We got to know the doctors and nurses so well that we wanted to show them how amazing the kids are doing. We lucked out and quite a few of our doctors and nurses that we knew were there. It was fun to show off the kids! It was also a surprise to run into my "high-risk" pregnancy doctor. Both Eric & I became really close to him through all the scary parts of the pregnancy, delivery, and post-delivery. So, it was a special treat to see him and for him to see the kids.

We gave the kids a cupcake (banana muffin) with frosting on it for their birthday. All 3 of their reactions were very different. Josiah doesn't like anything new the first time he tries it, so his response was to just stare at it. He didn't really care. Alana got excited when we put it on her tray, but then looked at it suspiciously. She didn't want to touch it and, definitely, didn't want the frosting on her fingers. (She is truly my child! I hate my fingers dirty or sticky.) Alexa surprised us the most by literally diving in. She immediately put both her hands on it and started finger painting with the frosting. She had frosting in her hair, eyebrows, eyelashes...pretty much everywhere! None of them really cared much about eating it, though.

Eric's parents, aka "Grandma" & "Grandpa" Jardine, got the kids a bunch of really cool birthday presents. One of them was an all-terrain radio flyer wagon. When Eric's dad arrived this morning he put the wagon together and they took the kids for a walk this afternoon. Eric and I were on our way home when we turned the corner and saw Grandma & Grandpa pulling the kids in their new wagon. It truly was one of the cutest things I have ever seen! I made Eric stop the car so that I could jump out and go see them! I love my sweet babies! :)

3 Little Monkeys

Every time I walk into the kids bedroom after they've been sleeping, I am always greeted with the biggest smiles ever. Ever since we first brought them home, they have always woken up super smiley and happy. It's actually one of my favorite times of the day, because they are always so excited to see me. Recently, every time I walk in their room they seem to have mastered something new. First they learned to roll over and would be on their tummies. Next, they would be on their knees and now they are all standing, jumping up and down like little monkeys. They all have their own crib now, but it's fun to put them all in the same crib and to watch them interact. Alana & Alexa have learned how to exchange pacifiers through their cribs. And Josiah was sitting with his legs sticking though the crib bars recently (3rd picture). They definitely keep me entertained!

My Aunt Jamie came over this past week and brought the kids some gifts for their birthday, which is this coming week. They had so much fun ripping off the paper and playing with the boxes (they really didn't care what was inside).

That's Alexa lounging in the chair with her feet up while drinking her bottle. She looks so grown! We don't actually let her sit in the chair by herself yet, since the concept of gravity hasn't quite sunk in yet...

Josiah fell asleep on Eric's chest earlier this week after he had woke up quite distraught. Dad did a great job of getting Josiah to fall back asleep and managed to put himself to sleep, as well (last picture). :)

Sit N Spin

At the last SF parents of multiples consignment sale in April, Eric decided to buy a "sit n spin". It wasn't quite "age appropriate" for our little ones yet, but he bought it hoping to have the kids play on it soon. Well, he decided to put it in a corner to store it and low and behold...they found it! It's quite a unique one in that it plays rather loud rock n roll music when you push the buttons on the top. Well, one day a few weeks ago, Josiah was roaming about in the dining room when we started to hear some loud rock n roll music. It was pretty funny and since then it has been a big hit. They can't sit n spin by themselves, but with our help we can twirl them around and have alot lot fun. At first, we thought that if we took the part that sticks up off they could still play with the spinner part without getting hurt. Well, our little fearless mighty Mo (aka Alana) decided she could take a spin all by herself and ended up with a rather large bump on her forehead (see previous posts). Anyway, the sit n spin has been "retired" until they are a bit older and able to play with it without any major casualties. Until then, we did get some cute pictures of them playing on it before it was officially confiscated...

Happy Father's Day!

Today was Father's Day and we went to my sister Janet's house to celebrate all the father's in our family. We got a picture of all the grandkids on my dad's side. My brother, Bill and I are sitting on the blanket with all the kids, along with cousin, Maddie. It was a great day and lots of fun celebrating all the dad's!

The kids are all big enough now that we are able to use our "triple" stroller. Our friends, Bob & Beverly got us the triple stroller as an amazingly generous gift earlier this year. The kids had to all be able to sit up well on their own before we could use it. So, it was fun to be able to take our first stroll with all 3 kids in the the same stroller. They loved it! They really enjoyed all being so close together (Josiah kept grabbing Alexa's hat). However, the triple stroller sure does attract a lot of attention! People are fascinated with triplets!

We also invested in something called a "playzone", or as Eric refers to it, the "corrall". It gives us a place to put the kids to play and to be "contained". It's fabulous! I don't have to worry about them getting into anything they shouldn't be. I took a great picture of Eric with the kids in the "corrall" earlier this week.

Bumps, bruises and Rasberries

We have a house full of kids that are completely mobile. Josiah has been pulling himself up on anything he can find, including inside his crib. The first picture was taken about a week ago and it was great to have everyone looking at the camera. What the picture doesn't show is that moments after I snapped a few pics, Josiah lost his grip from the walker and tipped over with a marginal floor impact. He was recovering on his own pretty well until Alexa decided she wanted to get a move on. She made several attempts to push Joe out of her way, using the walker as a bit of a snowplow and then it turned ugly. Alana rolled and bounced her head on the floor and then Alexa decided to join in realizing that if everyone else was in tears she should too.

Last night, I had some trauma of my own. Alana had just finished practicing standing by the coffee table and I sat her down in what I thought was a safe place. Sure enough, as Rebecca and I both watched, each with a baby in our arms, she rolled with increasing accelleration to make full impact with her forehead on the bottom shelf of the coffee table. Of course, the The tears flowed immediately and did not stop for at least 15 minutes.

I watched the rasberry get bigger and bigger during this entire time and my own fear started as I realized that each of them will get hurt at some point. In this entire process of being a parent, I have moments where reality of three kids hits. That heavy reality of providing(food to college), protection (bruises to bullies) and permanent chaos. It is only momentary but it is a reminder that I am in way over my head. Thankfully, these are just moments and don't last long at all and are quickly replaced with the smiles that soon follow.

The Window

We have 2 large windows in our living room that the kids love to look out of. We've pretty much always had barriers in front of the windows, such as the jumperoo and exersaucer. However, since the kids are all mobile now they've found ways to get around them. The windows have locks on them and they can only be opened a few inches. So, I am not worried about them being dangerous, but I am still attempting to keep them away from them as much as possible. Well, the other day, Josiah climbed through the bottom of the exersaucer and looked out the window. Eric climbed out onto the balcony and got some good shots of him from the outside. He has also started pulling up on things and standing. Alana & Alexa have also started pulling up onto things to their knees and feet. It seems like just a month ago they were just starting to learn how to roll over. I think they're on the accelerated plan since they were 3 months premature. They sure are making up for lost time! :)

Retreat

Every year our church goes on a weekend retreat. This year, Eric says, "We are going on the retreat, right?" I said, "Are you crazy? I am not taking 3 babies on a retreat!" After several discussions and strategizing, we decided to give it a try. We invited my friend, Kelly, to come along to help with the kids. We got a great shot of her in action (second picture). She was an amazing help and the weekend was super fun. We had our own cabin that we set up with our 3 pack n plays and mats. The cabin had 4 bunk beds and a big open space in the middle. There is an amazing amount of gear that you need to bring when you have 3 babies...crazy! But, we ended up having a lot of fun and the kids did super! They are such troopers and I think we could take them anywhere and they'd have fun and make every one else around them smile...

Are we cool or what?

My mom bought the kids some sunglasses awhile back. From the first day, Joe loved his! We could put them on him and we would wear them all day. As you can see from the pictures...he thinks he is too cool! The girls wouldn't keep them on for very long, but we got some cute shots. My favorite is the one of Alexa (first picture) who looks like she is pondering life or maybe just finished reading a good book...

New High Chairs

After searching for the perfect high chair, we finally settled on ones that are more compact and can fit in our "breakfast nook". You wouldn't believe how huge most full size high chairs are and how much space they take up. They seem to really like the new chairs and enjoy the new scenery.

We say that Josiah is like a little lion in his cage when he is in his crib. He "roams" from corner to corner and sucks on every square inch of the bumper and he likes to reach over the top of the bumper outside of the crib like a little lion cub.

We also found Josiah "sneaking" into his closet the other day (bottom picture).

That's Alexa waving from the basket (second to last picture).