Well Cultured Fun With Yogurt

As the girls continue to grow, we're doing our best to make sure they get the opportunity to experience all sorts of new sensations.  While I'm not a huge fan of the aftermath of giving the girls a tray-full of yogurt, it sure does make for some great photo opportunities.  Plus, the girls seriously had a blast.  The yogurt on the other hand, well, not so much.  Of course, we're always hoping that one day, Izzy will get a taste in her mouth that she just can't resist.  So far, yogurt isn't it.

For the most part, it was a great way to waste 20 minutes of time and introduce them to finger-painting at the same time!



"Really dad?  Now is the time you choose to take today's picture?"





Sophie, thinking that the spoon was part of the meal




Maddy, lifting her head up just long enough to show dad her big brown eyes


"Just wait until clean-up time when you discover all of the yogurt in my seat."


Izzy, flashing me a smile even though she was still trying to figure out whether she can deal with the yogurt

It REALLY Does Take A Village

Almost two weeks ago, the girls, Meg, and I went down to Springfield, IL for Uncle Buddy's 75th birthday.  It's about a three-hour drive for us.  However, while preparing our traveling circus for another road trip, I began dreading what I envisioned would be a 10-hour marathon with three kids on my back.

I'm not sure why I was feeling this way.  The girls have actually been really good in the car on longer trips.

More fear began to pile up when I started thinking about the fact that we'd have to put all three girls together in the same room for naps and bedtime, something that they're definitely not used to.  At home, several months ago, we decided to split everyone up.  Because of Maddy's reflux at the time, and Izzy's all-night feeding fests, they would wake one another up with the smallest amount of noise.  Meg actually pushed for this move for a while and I was adamantly against it.  I felt so strongly about them needing to be near each other, like they would miss out on some major bonding time.  After many nights of interrupted sleep, I finally gave in, separated the cribs, and we haven't looked back since.  Each girl now sleeps in her own room and, for the most part, sleeps almost 12 hours straight each night thanks to Meg's sleep training.

The downside to this approach is that if you're ever in the situation where they need to sleep together, you're probably going to be in for a long night.  They're just not used to each other's subtle noises.

I should probably tell you that I follow this pre-travel ritual with some predictability.  It usually goes something like this.  As the trip gets closer, I start thinking of reasons why it's going to be difficult to go.  I start thinking about how busy we've been and how it would be nice to enjoy a weekend home.  I get a little cranky.  Meg had to push me around a little (figuratively, not literally) to get on the ball.  But, without fail, I always have a great time and am so glad we took our adventure!

Well, this trip would be no different.  Even though it was brief, we had such a great time with everyone and were so happy that we could be with Buddy for his 75th.  What's really impressive is how it all comes together and what makes it so enjoyable on these trips.  So far, all of our trips over two hours long have been to see family.  While you're probably putting two and two together in your head right now, I'll make it simple for you.  The family makes all of the difference.

As soon as we arrived at the party, we had people grabbing babies and doting over them incessantly.  What a treat that is!  I love my babies, but you're looking at (reading about) two exhausted parents.  You wouldn't have known though.  With so much help and so much interest in the girls, Meg and I actually got a chance to have a drink and hold a few conversations.  It didn't hurt that the girls were on their best behavior, too.  I also think we're quickly getting over our preemie-driven fear of dirt and germs and found a corner of the room where we staked our claim and let our girls run crawl wild.  In reality, the girls love being around us and didn't wander to far from home base, unless a loving relative swooped them up and took them on a tour of the club.  It was one of the most fun nights we've had in a long time!

The lesson I've learned is that, with the right perspective, life almost always works out the way you want it to.  This village, this family, really helps make these times easier.  I won't kid anyone and make it sound simple to travel with one-year old triplets.  It's not.  But, if you can get the car loaded, not forget any kids, and get the car started down the road, you've already won half the battle.

I've already thought about my next blog topic, as some of these feelings deserve a bit more attention.  Until then, here are a few pics of the family and the girls.  Surprisingly, even to myself, I tried to not pick up the camera so much and really focused on spending time with the girls.  Good choice Mr. Jeremy, good choice.




Kiel, attempting to entertain the insatiable Sophie


Izzy, being a party animal!




Buddy, in the green shirt, calling all of his family up front with him


At times, we definitely felt like we were at the zoo, except we were the main attraction!


Maddy, in her party dress

Raising Cavebabies

New year. New babies. I can't believe how much the girls are changing each day.  I kinda felt like you could see gradual changes on a weekly or monthly basis during their first year, or maybe that's all I can remember.  Now, I feel like they're evolving in to these amazing little toddlers each and every day.  I'm not sure if being one year old officially qualifies you to earn the title "toddler," but that's what we're going with.

What's really noticeable is their behavioral changes.  No more than a month ago, I have slight recollections of coming home to a relatively quiet, albeit busy, house.  Now, I walk through the door and you'd think that Meg had come up a with a pay-per-scream payment agreement whenever they see Dad.  More specifically, whenever they see Dad and then he disappears temporarily.  In short, the girls are getting much more temperamental and have no issues with letting us know what they like and don't like, with Dad disappearing being on the major "don't like" list.

We really started noticing these changes about a month ago.  At first, we thought maybe they were just being a little fussy on a particular day or maybe someone was teething.  When it didn't stop, we realized we had a bigger problem on our hands--we had toddlers!  What do you do when you realize you have toddlers and were just finally feeling prepared to take care of babies?  Well, you ask your friends, you read other people's blogs, or you read a book.

We enjoyed reading The Happiest Baby on the Block, so of course the next logical step was to read The Happiest Toddler on the Block.  Genius!

We're still in the first couple of chapters, but one of the first concepts discussed is how your toddler's brain is developing.  Basically, for the next few years, we'll be raising these cavemen-like creatures--or cavebabies--who are totally right-brained and have no ability to reason or exhibit anything remotely close to patience.  I think I innately knew this about toddlers, but to read it in a book and have it confirmed as a description for the next few years of our lives is something completely different.  All I know is that I'm going to have to adjust my perspective if I'm going to survive, which is something I plan on writing more about as I get through the book.

How do you deal with cavebabies?  What do cavebabies like to do?  Well, they don't like being cooped up inside all day.  So, you get them outside as often as possible.  We were fortunate with the weather here this past weekend.  It was incredible.  We took the girls to the arboretum and the zoo on consecutive days.  To all experienced parents, you're probably saying to yourself, "what's the big deal?"  Well, we've struggled to find a way to get all three girls outside of the house on a regular basis with all of their doctor's appointments and therapy.  When you combine our schedule with the ridiculous heat we've had this summer, the result is a lot of cushy, spoiled, air-conditioned babies.

Besides some grunts and cries of frustration when everyone wanted to stand up at once, their behavior was so different.  Stroller walks count a little bit, but putting down a blanket in the grass and just letting them crawl all around is what they really need.  We're praying for a really long fall and that the winter holds off so we can get them out of the house as much as we possibly can.  Thank goodness for the Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football app on the iPhone!

The girls, getting excited about their trip to the arboretum







For a while, I really didn't think Sophie and Izzy looked too much alike, but now I see it a little bit more.



Maddy, thinking twice about putting her feet down in the stream







"No way Jose!"




What's cuter than baby feet?



Izzy wasn't so sure about this plan.

"No way Jose!"


"Ah, this isn't so bad."




Sophie was pretty fearless.  However, I think she was disappointed we didn't bring her bathing suit.







While the other girls were a little apprehensive, she was ready to dive right in.



"No, don't eat the rocks!"







A little B&W for ya!



All of my lovely ladies.





"Hey dad!  When are you going to get in some of these pictures?"


Consoling the babies


Somehow, the girls all fell over at the same time.





Maddy likes to fly







Sophie can clap on demand.  However, the squishy face is optional.



"How big is Sophie?  Sooooo big!"




Maddy has fun clapping, but she still needs a little guidance to get the job done.



This one's getting printed on canvas and going up on the wall!





Izzy is so ticklish!



She loves to stand up all of the time now.  Even though she can't pull herself up yet, she'll stand for hours.  Ok, minutes.













Not sure we've ever seen Sophie's extra chin on display like this before :)



Next up...the baby toss!

Sophie


Maddy


Izzy


If you like B&W, enjoy!


Now, here's some color to brighten up your day.





If you're wondering what happened to Izzy's oxygen, we decided to take it off.  Her O2 sats have been between 96 and 98 and with as mobile as she's become, we've seen her tubing get wrapped around her neck several times, especially in the middle of the night.  There's still the risk that being off of the oxygen could have an effect on her pulmonary hypertension, but we'll get that check out in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, we decided it wasn't worth the risk.