One of the most asked questions I get when I'm out is basically what are they? I get a lot of guesses regardless of what the girls wear. If they even wear a bit of blue they are assumed to be all boys, two boys, at least one boy. Well, today I had the best experience. I ordered bows that actually stay in the girl's hair from Hair Clippy No Slippy. These are special bows that are guarenteed to stay in even the smallest amount of hair and for Rachel I have found no other bow that actually works.
So, today the girls went out in all blue with white bows in their hair and NO ONE thought they were boys. It was wonderful :) Our story is also going to be featured in the Hair Clippy No Slippy's website/catalogue in the future so I worked hard today to take some pictures and thanks to their new favorite DVD (God Made Animals) we were able to get them all to sit still long enough to take some photos. Enjoy the results - I think the girls look great :)
P.S. Alyssa and Rachel are walking quite a bit so my goal this weekend is to get it on video to put on the blog. Plus, I will keep you updated as to when the girl's pictures go public.
So, life is funny. Just when I think I have everything figured out it changes. Whenever we go places people like to peg the girls one way or another: the quiet one, the friendly one, the contemplative one, etc. I don't mind because sometimes they're right. Truth is I try to do the same thing but in one day everything changes.
Since turning one I have taken the girls from four bottles a day to two - one in the morning on the way to school and one in the evening before bed. The other meals they get milk in a sippy cup which they are not very fond of. Those of you who have been keeping up with us for a while know that Rachel was once very hard to feed. I had to fight her to take a bottle while Julianna was always easy and pleasant. Draining every drop and often her sisters.
Now they have reversed roles. Rachel really likes food and it's very cute to see her clean her tray. The girls can pack it in. Today, she stuffed everything in her cheeks and her little cheeks were bulging out and she was still trying to put more in because one of her hands was empty! This is Rachel??
On the other hand Julianna is refusing food. Hates it - doesn't want anything to do with it except to throw it - she does like to do that. She wants her bottle back and is pretty angry about not having it. Mean mommy that I am, I'm not giving in. Hey, those bottles take a long time to clean with all their parts! She does, however, like juice. A lot. I think it's all she had for dinner tonight.
And the once easy Julianna has turned into a bear. She gets fussy at the dinner table and fussy in the van. I don't know if it's because she's hungry or if she hates facing forward. Hard to tell.
The truth is we can make lots of guesses about who they are and who they will become but someday they will be different people that may or may not reflect their personality traits at this age. It's fun to try though.
On a different note Alyssa has more than surpassed Rachel, she's left her in the dust. The last one to roll over or crawl is the first one to walk. I mean really walk. Rachel was the first to take more than one step in a row but Alyssa is moving across the floor. She's getting faster and taking more steps at a time. When I think about it I'm not surprised that Julianna is last (although I know this was my first prediction because she did everything else first) - she can crawl at the speed of light. She is fast on her knees!!
Due to requests I am posting a link to the Power Point presentation that Kirk put together for the girls. It's too big to put on the blog directly. Also, it may take a while to load and there's no music. So just imagine Edwin McCain singing I Could Not Ask For More and Green Day singing Time of Your Life (aka Good Riddance) and you'll get the emotional drift.
We were having fun taking videos of the girls today and as it turns out each girl has their own seperate means of transportation. Some go farther than others and some go in circles. Enjoy!
Julianna has chosen to go by horse. A little old fashioned but she seems to really enjoy it. In fact, she will throw a fit if she is removed from said horse and will get angry at any sister who decides to try and ride it. A big thank you to Miss Leah for giving the girls this horse for their birthday. Julianna especially loves it. (sorry it's a little dark)
Okay, this is just the funniest thing: Rachel driving a car. I tried to get a good shot of it but of course whenever I taped she would stop and start, stop and start. This is Rachel driving Caleb's battery operated car. It is absolutely hilarious to watch the tiniest little thing you've ever seen driving a 4 wheeler! Okay, Kirk doesn't think it's that funny but it made me laugh. Even funnier when she'd hit a wall and since she has no idea how to turn she'd just keep hitting the button to go. Then she'd get off like a pro. Again, this video is a bit dark too. And a big thank you to Kaitlyn and Grandpa for some turning help.
And lastly, Alyssa chooses to walk. Well, almost. She really is doing very well with the walking - has surpassed Rachel in her skill. While Rachel's steps were not a fluke - she can do it when she wants but rarely wants, Alyssa is taking strides across the floor. I tried really hard to get video of it today but as you can see she just didn't want to cooperate so I promise to keep trying. Even so it's very cute.
And just where were the girls going in such a hurry? To the pool table of course! What more fun then rolling balls on a table? And, note that today was pajama day for all the kids. Just ended up that no one got dressed. The girls are wearing their Christmas pajamas to celebrate the first day of the Christmas season.
I apologize for not writing yesterday to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving but it got busy around here and Kirk and I actually got to go out last night.
So, from our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving. We had the pleasure of having my parents company for Thanksgiving and are so grateful that they got to spend a week with us. They leave tomorrow morning and we will miss them again. Distance is hard.
For once, we got to use our dining room and put the girls in their toddler chairs (held in by a belt) so they could join us. None of them really ate much. We are working on that. In fact, they had only 2 bottles today. This is HUGE for us.
On another note, the girls have been home for one official year. A year ago today (was Thanksgiving last year) we had our first night with the babies. Sleeping with two small babies on my chest is not something I could ever forget. That and getting absolutely zero sleep. Those girls made so many peeps all night! Now they do much better and their occasional peeps are much louder...
Sorry for the delay but I didn't get many pictures on my camera. Fortunately my dad thought ahead and took enough for me to be able to share the day with everyone.
I think the day went well and we had a good time so many family and friends. Thank you to all who came out and helped. One year down, seventeen to go.
My mom and I took the girls to the doctor for their 1 year check-up today and everything looks really good. They are growing well and are perfectly normal developmentally. This is good news. The hard part for me will be weaning them off the bottle and getting them to eat more food! I am stressing over this.
Anyway, their weight/height breakdown:
Julianna: Weight: 22.3 lbs 70th percentile Height: 30 7/8 inches 95th percentile She can now face forward!
Rachel: Weight: 18.11 lbs 12th percentile Height: 28 3/4 inches 40th percentile She must still face backwards :( Poor Rachel.
Alyssa: Weight: 20.1 lbs 35th percentile Height: 30 inches 77th percentile She just barely made the cut.
Other stuff: Rachel had a minor allergic reaction on Saturday to the cake in her face so she is being sent to the lab to have some blood drawn to see if she is allergic to any foods. With a strong family history of allergies (my mom) it's best to see if she actually does have allergies. I'm praying not but she could be allergic to eggs. Great.
We now have new car seat arrangements in the van and we'll see how that goes. Kirk installed two forward facing seats so Julianna and Alyssa have brand new car seats thanks to his office's shower gift from last year. Rachel, however, is still stuck in her old seat facing backwards. She and Julianna are in the middle still but we have moved Kaitlyn up a row and Alyssa back. At least for now we can fit all five kids in the minivan. I guess this is a good thing but I don't know what we're going to do about vacations!
Oh my word, oh my word! We have survived one entire year of having triplets. It just doesn't seem possible that we have had one Christmas, one New Years, one 4th of July, one Kaitlyn birthday, one Caleb birthday all with the girls. Hasn't it been longer then that? Ha! Okay, it feels like it.
So, in honor of their birthday here's a comparison:
On 11/16/06:
12:00 AM - finished my last meal - no more eating for hours
On 11/16/07:
12:00 AM - just getting into bed after talking to my parents who did make it in safely though a bit delayed.
On 11/16/06:
7:00 AM - tons of nurses in my room, lots of discussion about an IV, more nurses promising me I could rest but here they were bugging me again. Oh, and I was on the contraction monitor and consistently contracting.
On 11/16/07:
7:00 AM - not up yet - I get up at 7:30 to get Kaitlyn and Caleb ready for school - they made it on time again today - go me!
2006
10:00 AM - still waiting, still no IV - no one could figure out if I needed a huge needle or a small needle. The big needle meant I wanted some anesthesia which meant the nurse couldn't do it and we had to wait for an anesthesiologist to numb the area first. Also, being bugged by people drawing blood over and over because they forgot a test. And the girl drawing the blood just wouldn't leave because oh my word! I was having triplets.
2007
10:00 AM - giving the triplets a few birthday presents. Don't they just love it?
2006
11:00 AM - having lots of contractions - the monitor is constantly spiking and I'm beginning to feel them. Go figure I'd have consistent contractions for the first time the day of my scheduled C-section. I was checked - no dilation :( I am also starving and very thirsty. Let me tell you - I slowly drank that water to take my Synthroid - it was all I got.
2007
11:00 AM - eating a very good Thanksgiving meal at Kaitlyn and Caleb's school. Lots of turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberries. Lots of dessert and drinks too. Definitely not hungry or thirsty :)
2006
12:00 PM - by this point I had been wheeled out of my room and placed into a prep area before my C-section. Still on the contraction monitor and still contracting. My scheduled time was noon but kept getting put off due to emergency C-sections. Finally got my IV and ended up being the small needle so felt stupid getting anesthesia. Wanted to jump the girl two curtains down from me when her husband came to complain to the doctors that his wife was waiting to give birth. I was about to give birth to triplets and had been in that stupid hospital for 6 weeks - I was going first!! Also got asked a few times by the doctor if extra people could sit in to watch a multiples delivery.
2007
12:00 PM - heading home for the week after our meal to put the girls down for a nap and take a small "break".
2006
2:00 PM - in the surgical suite and feeling fine with my spinal since I can't feel anything from my chest down. Thankfully I couldn't see my huge stomach out there for everyone to see!
2:12 PM - Julianna Mabel is born 2:13 PM - Rachel Gabrielle is born 2:16 PM - Alyssa Elaine is born
2007
2:00 PM - running errands with my dad for tomorrow's birthday party while the girls napped.
2006
4:00 PM - babies beat me to the recovery area but I soon follow and am out of it completely. Food is far from my mind! I do remember being wheeled down the hallways with all three babies across my chest. This was my first taste of being stared at by other people as we certainly drew a crowd with that scene.
2007
4:00 PM - getting the babies up from nap to eat their bottles - this is pretty much their last day on formula - thank God! - now we have to work on getting them to eat more "people" food :) Might be cheaper but those bottles are sooo convenient.
2006
6:00 PM - I don't remember as much of the evening as I should - I was in a lot of pain - I know that Kirk let everyone know about the babies and that they were doing fine and eating well.
2007
6:00 PM - Grandpa and Grandma gave the girls their gifts - they also opened gifts from their uncles and soon-to-be aunt. They liked the riding zebra but Alyssa liked it the best :)
2006
8:00 PM - I'm exhausted, they've already brought the babies in a few times but there's no way I can nurse them so we're feeding them bottles. Still in my bed and very swollen. Quite out of it and just so tired. Slowly beginning to drink liquid.
2007
8:00 PM - Singing Happy Birthday to the girls. They had a small cake since the big party is actually tomorrow but they seemed to really enjoy it!
Before Cake:
After Cake:
We survived a whole year with 5 kids! Now we have to get through their party tomorrow! And another year after that...
Today is the girls last day before they're one. I can't help but think about where I was last year. Spending my last day pregnant in the hospital. The thought of having them out was both exciting and terrifying. My mom was in the air heading back from Florida after my grandmother's funeral. Strangely she'll be in the air tonight flying to see us once again so she can be here for the girl's first birthday tomorrow.
As I look back over the past year I can't believe how far we've come. I also can't believe how cranky these girls still are! I spend a lot of my day running away from them as they crawl after me crying. Even Julianna is very attached - mostly to my jewelry though - she'd like to rip that off my neck :) She's also become very attached to a stuffed tiger - I'll try to get a picture of that soon.
No one is truly walking yet. They all will take a step or two but only if they're not paying attention. I'm hoping someone will take more steps next week when Grandma and Grandpa are here. Knowing then they'll all start walking right after they leave.
And that's where we are today, this birthday eve. I am as anxious and excited as I was a year ago as I think of a new year ahead. At least this year I don't have a doctor asking me to wait another week :) And I'm physically much more comfortable which I am certainly happy about.
When I post again the girls will be one. I promise to take lots of pictures tomorrow to document their big day and then again on Saturday when we celebrate the first year with family and friends. A big thanks to everyone who has helped to get us this far. We couldn't have made it without your prayers and support!
Today was Caleb's 4th Birthday and I can't even believe a year has passed since we spent his birthday in my hospital room watching the new Cars DVD. I ordered him balloons from the guest shop and we crammed ourselves on that hospital bed and chair. Not an ideal situation.
But this year I was here. Home with my son in the morning while he opened his gifts from mom and dad. And at his birthday party in the evening. This year I was not missing a thing!
Kirk says twenty years from now Caleb will look back and think he had an awful childhood because he's never smiling in pictures but I do think he had a wonderful day. I think we got a few smiles in there.
The first few pictures are from his birthday at home. He got some new toys and a desk for his room. The rest of the pictures are from The Bear Mill and Pickle Bob's. It was a great place for a party and all the kids seemed to enjoy it :)
Happy 4th Birthday Caleb. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!
So, finally, in the middle of the night just about I have the pictures from our photo shoot from last week. Since it's so late I have no time to do a slide show or anything fun so enjoy them as you scroll down :) Sorry!
And the family picture will be our Christmas card so everyone will get a copy.
No, the color isn't off - it's a special shading - sepia I think. And sorry about Rachel, she just wouldn't smile.
We have a winner in the walking contest - well, right now just the stepping contest. Rachel took two steps in a row yesterday on her own. Surprisingly she seems to be the most stable on her feet while Alyssa, who also took a step of her own, is our fastest cruiser.
I think we all were banking on Julianna being first but she is too busy being crazy (and falling) that she doesn't have the desire to try. She's been the more mechanical one lately. Everytime I unbuckle her from her carseat or highchair she begins to play with the buckles and tries to put them back together. So funny. She has also begun playing peek-a-boo. Hopefully I'll get some video of that soon.
Haven't gotten the pictures on the computer yet but they are great and I bought too many. Christmas for family is covered :) Sorry to spoil the surprise!
And Julianna is doing fine - the doctor cleared her from everything - wound is fine, no concussion. I could've told them that and saved myself $15 but better safe then sorry I guess.
Also known as Family Picture Day. Also known as Attack-of-the-Shoes Day. Also known as Julianna's-First-Trip-to-the-ER Day.
Thank God this occurred after the pictures:
So, our day was a little more crazy then originally planned and if the Nelson's don't make enough of a scene wherever we go we made even more of one tonight.
The day started out simple enough. I actually got to get my hair done and so did Kaitlyn so we'd look good for our family Christmas pictures/triplet's 1st birthday pictures/Caleb's 4th birthday pictures.
After searching desperately for the 6th baby shoe for like an hour we got there on time. The biggest problem with triplet clothing is that if you are missing just one piece the whole thing goes out the window. No one can wear shoes if we can only find 5 out of 6 shoes!!
So, then we find all 6 shoes but let me tell you - the babies know how to get those things off in a hurry! Kirk and I and the two picture people (ha - literally - we went to the Picture People) chased the babies around and most of the time it was to put their shoes on. Eventually we dumped the whole shoe idea and after I changed them into their birthday outfits was barred by Kirk to even try their birthday shoes. So, I am ecstatic at the picture results but very bummed that they do not have adorable little shoes on in most of the pictures. Please forgive me for that.
When we went back to check out our pictures we found out that they were great and we were all set to buy a bunch when Julianna fell over and hit the bottom of the stool we were sitting on. When I picked her up her head had a huge gash. The nice people from the Picture People called 9-1-1 and after careful examination we all determined that she would be okay. However, to be on the safe side and to see whether or not she needed stitches she was taken, very slowly, by ambulance to Prince William Hospital. Kirk rode with her (on the stretcher too - that was cute) and I dragged all 4 kids behind them.
Thankfully by friend JoRonda was able to step in and help with the four so I could hang out with Julianna and help hold her down while they put "super glue" - you know that hospital glue stuff - on her forehead. She didn't need stitches and as you can see, she is fine:
This is Kirk trying to corral her while the "numbing medicine" took effect - that's what on her forehead.
Completely back to normal. Obviously no concussion. Just wanted to prove to those of us who didn't know that Julianna is certainly the rough and tumble one in the pack! And now, officially, all three girls have been treated by Prince William Hospital this year.
On a side note, if you ever want pictures done the Manassas Picture People are awesome. They called 9-1-1, held babies while we talked to like 12 paramedics (do they have nothing better to do?), one of them helped me to the car while Kirk was off on the stretcher, oh, and they took really good pictures which I was hoping to post here but don't have yet but do plan to go back and buy very soon :)
I cannot believe it! November has come around again! Of course, this happens every year. Mentally I understand this but truly to be here again is amazing. Last year today I was very depressed. You probably figured that out through my blogging but truly, sitting in that room, trapped and realizing that I would now have 4 children in the same month was depressing and overwhelming.
At least this year I have the knowledge already that the triplets would not be born on Caleb's birthday and at the least they would be a few days apart. I am grateful for this but as I look ahead to the next 16 days I am once again a bit overwhelmed! I have to plan 2 birthday parties and somehow prepare for Thanksgiving and keep up with school.
I don't think we are ever truly prepared for all of our parental duties but seriously, did this month have to be so overwhelming??
Anyway, a few things for fun:
On the way to school I was asked by Kaitlyn: "What does p-l-a-n-k-t-o-n spell?" You have the ability to see it all together, I had to hear it from the back row, over the talking babies and then I'm wondering why in the world I'm even being asked this question!
As we pull into the driveway Caleb tells me that he's praying that bugs do not take over the world. What?! "Mom, I've very thankful for spiders and I pray that they don't die because they eat bugs!" Okay. "Bats eat mosquitos so they're good. We don't want the bugs to take over the world." Of course we don't, I concede as I close the garage door and unload 4 kids from the van.
And the babies: they are as cranky as ever. They can say "dada" and "mama" but they don't yet know who is who but at their level as they crawl around any leg is good for pulling up and yelling to be held. Julianna is still amazingly loud - it's a gift!
Teeth count:
Julianna - getting #7 - another bottom tooth has broken through! Rachel - getting #4 - I can't believe she is finally catching up. Alyssa - still just 4 but she shows them off every chance she gets. Kaitlyn - she is on the losing end :) Down another one last night at Chuck E. Cheese Caleb - all his baby teeth - nothing to report.
