Happy Birthday Grandma!

Today is Grandma Hildebrandt's birthday and I wanted to wish her a very, very happy birthday. A year ago today I was sitting in the hospital hoping and wishing the girls would have been born today to share a birthday with her. Unfortunately that didn't happen and the girls (or I) held on another 19 days. Oh yea, the countdown to their birthday is in full swing. The countdown to Grandma and Grandpa's visit is also on and will coincide with the babies. Yea, a week of back up - I'm so excited. Oh, and there's Thanksgiving. At least this one I won't be in massive pain recovering from a C-section.

And a little bit late - pictures from the kid's spirit week. They had a great time last week and also had a great Friday night at Family Fun Night. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and I am hugely disappointed. Anyway, here's the rest of the week except for Monday which was crazy hair day. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn's hair didn't look much different that it usually does (she has her mom's hair) and Caleb refused to let me do anything to his hair so there really wasn't much of a picture opportunity.

And again a big Happy Birthday to my Mom!! I love her so much and am thankful for her every day. I also miss her a lot since she's so far away...

Adding Pictures

Here's my pictures from the weekend now that the photo upload is working...

The girls at Toy Box Farm:



First time on a moon bounce...



Julianna (Aunt Christina has dubbed her the "Cute Brute")



Rachel with her famous model pout.



And here's Alyssa on the moonbounce because she refused to sit still on the ground - I'm pretty sure the "princess" hated the grass :)



Kaitlyn and Caleb (the sun was in his eyes so he wouldn't cooperate)



Kirk with Alyssa and Julianna at Mrs. G's fall party.



Rachel having fun - at least there's a smile this time!



Trying to get a picture of Kirk's pumpkin - it's the Superman one on the left.

I Love Fall

Most of you know that we don't celebrate Halloween but that doesn't mean that I don't thoroughly enjoy all the festivities associated with this time of year. I love pumpkin patches and hay rides and fall parks.

Today we got to enjoy a few more things about fall at another fall park and a friend's house for pumpkin carving/chili eating contests. Kirk didn't win, I mean the kid's pumpkin didn't win but it looked great :)

I am making an attempt to upload pictures but Blogspot is having trouble getting them to upload so I will try again later this week.

Please check back - this week is Crazy Week at Kaitlyn and Caleb's school where they have lots of fun dress-up days to celebrate fall and I will be taking pictures of them as well. I missed this week last year because I was in the hospital so I am excited to be home for it this year. Hopefully we'll get this thing up and working!

26 more days to go till 1 year (still looking for a location for their big party...)

The Countdown Begins...

It's official. The girls are 11 months old which means in just 31 (long) days they will be 1 years old and it officially means that I will have survived one entire year of having triplets. This I can't believe.

A year ago I knew my 36 week mark and was counting down to that praying every day that they will come earlier. This year I know better. These girls are stubborn and determined. That certainly hasn't changed!

Official accomplishments at 11 months:

Julianna: 6 teeth, able to giggle and laugh at anything, can also shake toys, is willing to fall out of anything, has tipped over chairs and swimming floatation devices just by leaning over, cannot walk but is trying very, very hard.

Rachel: 2 teeth, has the hugest smile I've ever seen as well as the largest blue eyes, these are scary big still, still the smallest but is also into everything, would prefer to be thrown in the air and worn on my head as a hat - gets a giggle every time, loves to climb especially on me, cannot walk but is also trying very, very hard.

Alyssa: 4 teeth, the quietest and clingiest by far, has an amazing ability to crawl after me in tears, head down, wailing but she knows where I am and will find me, if she cannot find me she can sit in the middle of any floor and wail, very loudly. Loves her big sister and laughs when she is funny, still looks a lot like Caleb, very much the baby of the family. Cannot walk but does not care, she can stand very well though and sits on her princess butt with care.

Those are my girls. They are so different and so alike. The countdown to the birthday and the party have begun. As well as the walking. We'll see who does it first and what they accomplish in the next month. Maybe Rachel will get some more teeth...

Teddy Bear Picnic and A Walk Around the Block

For some reason my life goes from uneventful with nothing to post about to lots of stuff in one day. I guess that's how life works.

So, today Caleb's class had a Teddy Bear Picnic which was very cute. His teacher had all the kids bring their favorite teddy bear and then they made PB&J sandwiches after turning the bread into teddy bears. It was very cute. Of course, Caleb had to bring the biggest bear but he looked adorable!

Caleb with his HUGE teddy bear!



Caleb eating his fun lunch...



And tonight we got to do something we've done before but not quite like this. Last night we picked up from another mom something I've been wanting for a long time - a triplet wagon! The girls had a great time though since it's an older model it doesn't have seatbelts to hold them - a fact the girls greatly exploited - except Alyssa who hunkered down and made sure she was no where near the edge. Julianna, of course, managed to find a way to fall out head first while we were at a stop.

Check out how cute they are!

The girls on their way out for a walk:






I had to get a shot of Alyssa hunkered down in the seat - it was very cute - she enjoyed her view from there...



I tried to get a shot of the other two being crazy - no, it wasn't that dark the flash just made it look like the middle of the night. Hate that...

Pumpkinville 2007

Today the girls had their first trip to a pumpkin patch. I had their outfits all set but of course, they were orange sweater jumpers with long sleeved shirts with matching tights and boots. A little too warm for this weather! Oh well, red is a fall color too :)

Next time they will be decked out in their fall clothes and just maybe we'll let them out of their stroller long enough to take pictures of them with bigger pumpkins. Maybe not...

First Game

So, today is an excellent example of me not being able to be in three places at once. Try as I may I have not been able to clone myself into more than one person. Or grow a third arm... Well, you get the idea.

Anyway, today was Kaitlyn's very first game that she was set to cheerlead at. That was at 4 and I had to be somewhere else at 3. I finished as quick as I could but the 45 minute drive to her game meant I was to arrive just as they were leaving. Yep, missed everything.

Got back to the school in time to pick her up. She was fine with it but I was very sad to miss her first cheerleading experience. Instead of first-hand pictures I took some shots by the front door. Of course she looked adorable and posed very well for me. I had to say she was a great sport about the whole thing.

Caleb rode with me and was very sad to miss his sister doing her cheers. He also did very well and fell asleep for the whole ride home. Made it very quiet for me as I'm pretty sure I'd already heard "Mommy" or "Mom" about a thousand times today :)





Next pictures of her cheering will be at the actual game, I promise!!

Last Year

On this day last year I began having contractions and Kirk rushed me to the hospital to have them stopped. At the time I thought the girls birth was close. Maybe not that day but surely very soon after.

Last year today I was admitted to the hospital and spent the night in a labor and delivery room. I got no sleep and was on monitors and IV's. By the next day they decided I wasn't in labor would would be staying till I gave birth.

Last year today was very hard. I had to leave my family behind to try and save three little babies I didn't even know.

As I approach the baby's first birthday next month my mind is constantly realizing where I was a year ago and just how far I've come.

A year ago...



Today...



I am soooo grateful to be on this side of things! The girls are getting more fun and more active. Instead of sitting in a bed waiting and worrying and wondering what things will be like with three babies, I almost never sit down to wait or worry but I do still wonder what it will be like next year :)

As for the picture I got these cool blocks that are A, B and C but the girls were not very cooperative so you can't see the A. Sorry!

The Truth About Triplets

So many people stop me in the store these days and they want to ask me about the babies and how they are, etc. An interesting comment I usually get is "just wait till they're moving in all different directions." It got me thinking that there are a few triplets myths out there so here's a little bit of the truth:

1. Triplets do not go in three different directions - they go in one - mine.

2. I do not need 3 of every toy except for the good ones - like my car keys, my remote controls and my home phone.

3. Large toys are a must because all three want the same thing at the same time. The only problem is that no toy is truly big enough because they all want the same spot no matter what.

4. Crying rarely means that a child is injured. It usually means:

a. "One of these other babies has climbed on top of me - get her off!"

b. "I can't find you and I must, absolutely have you and see you right now, mommy."

5. The only one feeling guilty about not spending quality time with each baby is me. They are perfectly content to fight each other over my lap and don't even notice they have sisters except:

a. at 7 AM when they are all supposed to be asleep

b. when one sister is on top of another (see #3)

6. Be very careful when distracting one baby with a toy it will most likely backfire and attract both of the other babies resulting in another fight leading to the crying you were trying to avoid in the first place!

7. Every once in a while they do notice each other in a cute way and giggle and grin at each other and attempt to play together. These are the fun times that make me sit back and smile at them. So cute.

And those are a few thoughts about caring for triplets. The past two weeks have been a bit rough since the girls have been extra cranky. Thankfully they are all feeling better but the crying hasn't stopped.

On the one hand this age is much easier for me because they will sit and play with toys and they can move around to get to other toys that they like. On the other hand I am usually the thing that they like the most and would much rather sit on my lap or have me hold them and when one wants me, they all do.

Here's to surviving yet another another month and another stage of triplet girls!