Zoo Trip

Today I got to go on my first field trip of the year with Kaitlyn. Last year I made it to everyone but this year I have been mostly stuck at home because of the girls. Kirk graciously stayed home all day with them so that I could take Kaitlyn and Caleb to the Reston Zoo. We had a nice time though I really missed Kaitlyn's old teacher and her classmates. It felt weird without them. She was the one who was always with Kaitlyn on all her other field trips and would take pictures of her for me. She was very gracious in those things and I am still sad that she is gone and therefore all the more grateful and happy that I was able to go along with Kaitlyn today.

So, just wanted to share a few pictures of our fun (and hot!) day.

My two cuties: Kaitlyn and Caleb:



Feeding the animals. Mommy would not do this but the kids jumped right in and began feeding the goats and sheep. We even saw baby rabbits that were born this morning.




Pony Rides. The kids had a great little ride although Caleb took a little encouraging to finally get on and take a ride but apparantly he told the girl walking the pony around that he loved it and wanted to ride ponies when he grew up :)




My real-life monkey!



Caleb as a peacock - take notice of his alligator (from the gift shop) to the left of the peacock. He made sure that I got it in the picture - such a boy! (Thankfully)



Okay, so this cow just freaked us all out. She weighed about 900 pounds and had these massive horns. Kaitlyn was a little nervous when she (and all the other cows and even the buffalo) chased the wagon as we drove away.

Routine Changes

Oh good grief, these girls are driving me nuts!! Someday I'll be holding this over their heads :) They need sleep, I know they do but do they want to sleep? No, they don't. Well, the real deal is that they want to sleep but some sister or another wakes up screaming and the other sister must investigate and if that sister is crying well, it must be bad enough for another one to join in. Usually it's because Julianna is having some kind of movement issue and gets stuck somewhere so she starts screaming and Alyssa looks over to say "what's wrong with her?" and Julianna screams more so maybe Alyssa thinks she needs to tell me what's wrong because then they both go off and I have to go check.

Mom's solution: the basement! It's my secret weapon :) Grab the culprit out of her crib, scurry her down 2 flights of stairs, swaddle her again and stick her in the pack n play. Seems to work. The other two can settle back down and the third seems to be happy with her new bed.

Maybe now I can get back to our 4 hour schedule - the past 2 days the girls have been up early and way off schedule. They're making mommy nuts!! Didn't they read the books?? And, no, they are still hating solid food except for Alyssa a little bit.

This is life with triplets - mostly just survival. Everyone who has been here knows the crazy time we have just rotating babies and keeping them from screaming their heads off all the time. That and entertaining a 3 year old little boy :)

At least Kaitlyn goes to school every day and can entertain herself though when she's here she likes to make the girls laugh which is fun. And if you're wondering she's doing pretty well at school. Our zoo trip got rescheduled for next Monday instead of tomorrow due to the weather but I'm looking forward to some fun pictures then (the girls are staying home with dad).

Steps Forward and Setbacks

In an attempt to return my life to normal or at least make me believe it is I'm attempting to get back into one of my old loves - writing. Along with writing fiction comes reading it. Unfortunately I have about no time for either so instead I've signed up for a writing course that can start me over a bit. We'll see how it goes. Maybe someday I'll finally be published :)

Also, Rachel seems to be doing really well on the Podee bottles. We just started the new medicine yesterday so I'm not sure if that has kicked in or not but we've actually stopped fighting her at feedings which has been a huge blessing.

As for other things, naps are going poorly - someone is always screaming and keeping the others awake making the girls miserable later in the evening. I have to figure out what else to do to makes our days easier. I've never had this problem before!

And even worse, yesterday Kaitlyn's teacher was let go because of financial issues at her school. Our family is devestated. We all loved her teacher very much and somehow it feels like someone close to us has died. Two other kids have left her class because of it so now instead of 6 she has just 4 and a volunteer parent who is now teaching. Kaitlyn is doing okay but has asked me a number of times why it had to be her teacher. Breaks my heart...

More Pictures

I've been meaning to put up some more pictures by Sally and Jenna but haven't gotten to it - we've had a few things since last weekend :) Finally, here are some more of the great ones - can't put them all since there are so many, sorry!











As you can see, photographing triplets is a big job. Because of Alyssa's crabiness we got more good pictures of Rachel and Julianna but in trying to be fair I've posted the same amount of pictures per child :)

Golfing

I hate golf. Sorry for all of you who love it - I hate it. Kirk and I don't play it but every year Kaitlyn's school does a big golf fundraiser and being the nice school goers that we are we do our part to contribute and Kaitlyn gets to "golf". Wanted to share some pictures of the next Tiger Woods. Not! And his big sister :) See how little I know about golf? I wouldn't even be able to name one female golfer. So thank you to all of you who sent in donations to Kaitlyn's school - they were greatly appreciated and earned her a gift certificate to Toys R Us which burned a hole in her pocket and required a trip there last night. Of course, the entire way home Alyssa screamed at the top of her lungs all the way home - miserable.

Some pictures of my happy golfers. Maybe it was just the beautiful day that got us all in a good mood and thankful to be out of the house!

Rachel's Treatment Plan

Today was the big day to see the GI. Finally, after a month of waiting and fighting we have a few new options to try and we'll see how things go. She will be taken off of the Zantac and switched to the stronger drug, Prevacid. This should help with hopefully help with the pain she is probably feeling due to a irritated esophagus. It could take 2 weeks to see a difference. I hope not!

We will also be adding rice to her bottle in the hopes of thickening it up and maybe she will take that better. It would be very helpful if she would take solid foods but so far she doesn't seem to like that any better. Have to keep trying...

We take her back in a month to see how things are working. At least the doctor gave me something new and not just "I don't what to do with her". We are also going to try and fight her less - she needs 20 ounces a day to live and she usually gets that but not a whole lot more. Hopefully she will soon. Right now she weighs 12.8 pounds which is a pound weight gain since last month. Not a lot but every little bit helps. I have no idea what Julianna weighs but I'd have to guess somewhere between 15 and 16 pounds - she's a BIG girl!

Today we also went and visited a new friend, Jeannie, in the hospital on bed rest with triplet boys. We saw a lot of my old nurses, sonographers and the doctor that delivered me. It was nice to get back there and hard to believe how long ago that part of my life was. It did feel really good to be able to walk out of the room on my own :) Although they were all a lot quieter in me!!

Thanks for your prayers and please keep thinking and praying for Rachel - we all want this to get better.

Alyssa Likes It!

After a full month of attempting to get the girls to try solid food, Alyssa actually seemed to like lunch today but she absolutely does NOT like being strapped in a chair on the bench. I had to move her into her regular feeding chair which are these blue rockers from Fisher Price (they become toddler rockers for later on provided the girls don't ruin them with their...well...fluids). She actually opened her mouth and swallowed!! Made mommy's day :) Julianna and Rachel are still quite against it.

Speaking of Rachel, she is still against food of all kinds. Julianna will at least take a bottle and by that I mean sometimes as much as 10 ounces. Is a baby even supposed to eat that much at one sitting?? At the same time Julianna is doing this Rachel has probably completed 2 maybe 3 ounces (on a good day) and is refusing to eat more. Then comes the battle and if we're really, really, really having a good day we can get a full 7 ounces in but usually we give up around 5 and pray she doesn't wither and die.

We go to the doctor on Thursday and if he so much as mentions that baby's grow at different rates I will hand him Rachel and tell him I will be back to get her in a week and she'd better not be dead!! Sorry, one of the downfalls to having triplets is that doctor's think you are stupid when you bring up a concern about one baby because all they can say is that baby's are different and I can't expect Rachel to eat like Julianna. Well, of course not, how many babies actually eat 10 ounces at a feeding?! However, is it too much to ask that my child eats? I mean, food, not just her hands...

I will let you know how it goes. As for mommy, I saw the endocronologist yesterday and it turns out my thyroid is off again and is now underactive - for those of you who don't know I have struggled with Grave's Disease (hyperactive thyroid) since 2002 when I had it mostly removed. It was under control but now it is out of balance again. I guess it explains my exhaustion and I thought it was just the babies!!

Tax Day

Did you do your taxes? Today taxes are due and the girls have something they would like to say...



Even though they look a bit shocked - the girls are very proud that they could contribute to their diapers and formula fund :) Three big tax deductions! The best reason to have triplets. No, I am kidding. They really are a lot of fun, most days...

And, if you remember like I do, 5 months ago today the girls were born. Some of you can't believe how time has flied. I'm not sure I would go that far but I am surprised that we have almost survived half a year with triplets. Many days I think I can't do one more day but yet somehow we keep going and get through it. Your continued prayer and support is much appreciated!

Three Beautiful Girls

So of course I think my girls are beautiful but now I have pictures to prove it! A big thank you to Sally and Jenna for spending the morning snapping photos of the girls. I'll post more in the days to come but wanted to share these today :) For those of you who STILL can't tell the girls apart they are from top to bottom: Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa

And here is an example of how the morning truly went! But you gotta admit, even while screaming they're still adorable :)

Our Big Outing!

And by big I do mean big. Yesterday I took the girls, Caleb and my good friend Lisa Z. to the mall for a triplet get together. For once, I was not the main attraction! Wow! There were five sets of triplets, two sets of twins and one set of quads. One of the sets of twins has older siblings - a set of triplets!! But they stayed home and mom came out with "just" the twins :)

Lisa Z. and I met the quads in Gymboree (no one is surprised that I was there!) and she was impressed that I had two older children and triplets - I was impressed that the woman had 4 babies! Two girls and two boys. Aaahh.... And they were just 3 months old but make that 3 weeks old by adjusted age (they were born at 30 weeks). It was nice to get out and know that I'm not alone but heck, in my case it was just nice to get out and go shopping again :)

Not to leave Caleb out - he had a great time on the Merry-Go-Round and at the kids playplace. He's a good big brother.





You may remember these boys from a previous picture - yes, they are the same ones - in order from front to back: Christian, Tommy and Jack. I can't say that my girls were making a good impression on them! We were hoping for more of a group photo but there were quite a lot of us and way too many cranky babies - the oldest of the group were 14 month old GGG triplets - we were the youngest - by 3 days to these boys.

People always ask if things are getting better with the girls. In a way I would say they are but in others things are getting harder. They are in my least favorite baby stage right now - more alert but still unable to do very much of anything. They test the waters at naptime and are often up screaming. Rachel becomes more difficult and still isn't eating well. I know that every day is one of survival and we are getting closer to the good parts but still when all three are screaming and Caleb or Kaitlyn are asking for something I find myself wishing time away even though that means the girls will at some point be mobile!

On a good note Alyssa seems less fussy these days and more excited to play. Julianna talks a LOT and when the girls are all three together and fascinated with something it is a joy to watch. They even seem to talk to each other when they are playing near each other. And, the other night Kaitlyn and Caleb kept them all occupied while I worked on dinner and cleaned the kitchen. Big sister and big brother are beginning to enjoy their roles. Mommy and Daddy can't wait to see all five our little ones running around and play together - preferably in the backyard to keep the noise level down a bit.

First Family Dinner

So, yesterday we had our first family dinner! The first time the girls sat with us as we ate and "ate" with us. Okay, so it was just their bottles but they seem to want nothing else. I keep trying. I'm considering skipping cereal and just feeding them fruit. I mean, come on, that cereal looks pretty bad anyway! I wouldn't touch it either. Just wanted to share some pictures and thoughts from our first meal.



Julianna's thoughts: "Don't even think about taking this bottle from me!"



Rachel's thoughts: "My hands are much more tasty. Please don't give me that bottle thing again. Give it to Julianna, she'll eat anything."



Alyssa's thoughts: "Does this lady ever stop taking pictures of us?" She's probably only thinking that because those were her dad's exact words as the rest of the family waited for mom to finish up the photo shoot. :)



Okay, so we got these 3 eating. Now to fight the other 2!!

Happy Easter

He is Risen!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I'm sorry I wasn't able to post yesterday the day got away from me. I have no idea why... Anyway, we had a great day in church worshipping our risen Savior and the kids got a few "gifts". I ran all over the place for those Webkinz. Man those things are hard to find. The girls got the one toy in the back - what do you get for babies whose siblings have it all?!

Pictures of the "Quads"

It's our first photo shoot with our friend Lauren! Aren't we adorable in our matching outfits? Alyssa's head was getting in the way but at least we all stayed in good moods for a minute for our moms to snatch a shot. Someday we'll be out running together and we'll be harder to tell apart but for now aren't we so much bigger than Lauren??!!

We're Outside!

Aren't we adorable in our summer clothes?



Julianna



Rachel



Alyssa


Wow! What warm weather we are having. It has gotten us out of the house a bunch and it's just great. The girls are loving things. And since this week is Kaitlyn's spring break she and Caleb are having a great time playing with friends and together outside. Gotta love it :)