Sunday, March 24, 2013

Hooray For Fish

Another St. Patrick's Day has come and gone.  And oh, how times have changed.  I remember waking up PT (Pre-Triplets), frustrated with myself because I had forgotten, yet again, to pick up some cool looking St. Patty's Day green shirt that might make me look a little more fun and that much more like I might possibly have an ounce of Irish in me, but ready to put my game face on for the festivities that laid ahead that day.

This year was different.  There would be no Irish bar.  There would be no Irish Car Bombs.  However, there would be fish, just without the chips.  Fortunately for me, several years ago, I found a long-sleeved shirt that I can wear every St. Patrick's Day (as I long as I keep my weight in check).  There was no thinking.  I knew exactly in which drawer to find my hibernating green reminder of my PT days.  No lounging around with coffee this a.m.  This St. Patrick's Day morning was about efficiency!  We had three little ladies who were about to make their first visit to the aquarium, specifically, the Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago, and we needed to get them ready to go.

We had tried the zoo last fall, but it turned out the girls were just a little too young.  I remember pushing them around for what seemed like miles, which they liked, but also remember them not really looking too far past the fences and guard rails at the animals who were waiting to catch their eye just beyond.  This almost-spring trip would be different.

Plus, we needed to get out of the house.  The winter seems like it's lasting almost half of the year and, besides some weekly classes that serve as a welcome respite from the confines of home for Meg and the girls, we're all just cooped up in the house.  Bring on the sun!  Bring on the warm weather!  On this day, we at least had the former.

On a side note, I'm getting really used to people who continue to gawk and comment on our triple-y blessed status.

"Yes, we sure do have our hands full."
"Yes, we're probably 'done' now, but it's amazing how intuitive you are to know that we may not be having any more kids even though you've never met us." and,
"Yes, I'm also thankful that you didn't have three babies because I definitely wouldn't want you to kill yourself."

One final note on the photos.  I shared the girls' St. Patrick's Day photo last week, so these are from the rest of the day.  Sophie was the last one to get in the car, so I grabbed a quick photo of mom and daughter as we were hurrying out the door.  Glad I did :)

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Three sisters checking out the gigantic aquarium.  They were incredibly cute as fish after fish swam back and forth in every direction. You can't tell from the picture though.  I guess fish are camera shy.

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Meg and Izzy (though Izzy looks like she's ready to move on to the next exhibit)
Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Sophie is pretty big into sharing kisses these days.  Who am I to stop her?  I'll wait for that until she's a teenager and it's not me she's wanting to kiss any longer.
Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Everyone learning about coral
Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

This was only their second time in public having lunch in cafe-provided booster seats.  We had an educational trip to Panera Bread in January where we learned that our girls loved to throw their food on the floor immediately after having it handed to them.  This time, we were a little more prepared and they were a little more experienced.  Don't let me fool you, I would've hated to have been the clean-up person at the cafeteria who came behind us.  Though, they've probably seen worse.

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

L to R: Izzy, Maddy, and Sophie
Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Sophie, making faces at one of her sisters
Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

While it's way beyond the scope of this post, Izzy actually WANTED to drink some of the PediaSure by mouth!

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Maddy
Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

I tried to capture it on video, but missed it every time.  "It" being that whenever Sophie would put down her food to take a drink, look at the people passing by, or pay attention to some other distraction, Maddy would ever so nonchalantly slide her hand over and quietly take ownership of Sophie's temporarily forgotten, and forever lost, treats.  Toddlers must have short memories.  Sophie didn't seem confused, she just asked for more like she finished what she was just working on.

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Sophie made the connection: fish = seafood = see food
Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

We were pretty much on the go, trying to keep our little ladies entertained, but I did get to catch a little bit of the sea-life.

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

I think my favorite exhibit, even though I was stung by one several years back and contemplated having a friend pee on my leg to make the pain go away, was the jellyfish exhibit.  It was incredible.  I know the lighting had something to do with it, but they were truly magnificent.  And, no, I decided against having anyone else shower my leg in urine, in case you were still wondering.

Probably my favorite one.  I swear that I keep going back to look at this photo.  It's beautiful.  Almost like an orange bouquet of flowers near the top.  Truly exquisite.
Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Sunday, March 17, 2013

The DeBauche Babies Return (by Meghan)

Wow! It's been two and a half months since we've written a blog! I apologize to our friends and family who have missed the updates. The good news is we will do our best to fill you in on all of that missing time, and we have a lot of great stories and pics in the cue.  Jeremy and I are planning to commit to a blog per week for the rest of March and April. This is humorous since I just recently told most of my friends I was planning on writing a blog-a-day in the month of March. Here we are on March 17th and I'm just getting the first on out there. It's surely not for lack of interesting things to write about.  Every day the girls are getting cuter and more fun and Jeremy is taking pictures like crazy. Our problem simply is extreme lack of time. There just aren't many spare minutes in the day and by the time we get to have time to sit down, I'm typically so exhausted I can't seem to string words together to do any writing. We've realized Sundays are good days though. With both of us home we will figure out a way to get some triplet updates out to you.

Since it's been so long, I figured we could start off with a good old fashioned update on each girl.

Sophie

Current weight: 23 lbs.  Current height: 32 inches
Little miss Sophie is really starting to turn into a big girl. There are many stories we'll share with you about her growth. At the end of the day, the best thing about Sophie's growing is that she is getting to be so much more fun. She makes us laugh every day and her small graduations are making life for mom and dad much easier.   Although she's a bit camera shy, Jeremy has been able to capture some great pics of sweet Sophie.


Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Izzy

Current weight: 19.5 lbs.    Current height: 29.5 inches.
Little miss Izzy is growing stronger every day. Unfortunately, she wasn't growing very much at all over the last few months, but we've been working with the dietician to make some aggressive changes to her feeding regimen, which seem to be making a big difference for her. She's definitely happier and much more interested in copying everything that Sophie does. She loves to joke around with us and gets such a kick out of herself when we laugh. We're feeling so much better that we've been able to get her reflux under control and now she has many more laughs than tears.

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;


Maddy

Current weight: 22.5 lbs.  Current height: 32 inches
Sweet, laid-back Maddy is our godsend. She is a blessing to a triplet family. While the other girls are in and out of time-out during the day, I'm not sure I've even had to tell Maddy "no" yet. She is almost always content, patient, and self-directed. Unfortunately, while these qualities make our life so much easier, they are also signs of some developmental delays she may have. We still don't have any updates on a diagnosis, but she's making progress, in her own way, every day. We'll definitely get into more details later, but for now enjoy these cute pics of our sweet little lady.

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

It's getting so fun to watch the girls play together.

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;

We hope you had a fun St. Patrick's Day!

Jeremy DeBauche Photography: DeBauche babies blog &emdash;