Will's First Spiral

A Southpaw? We'll see.

Thanks to our neighbors Zade, Spencer, Helen and Paul for the much enjoyed b-day presents.

One Year Checkup

I called to make our one year appointment yesterday. They had an opening for the same day but not another one for several weeks so I decided to take it - even though I didn't have the SUV. So we walked the mile to the doctor office on our wagon. It may just be more trouble to get everyone buckled in and out of the car seats and into the strollers anyway.

Developmentally everyone was doing great walking, saying a few words, growing well etc. Only concern was Will not clapping, but he was happily playing 'high five' with Dr. Mani and babbling away. He said 'dat' 'dat' and pointed to her stethescope with his thumb. Just like Lily does.

I asked about the MMR vaccine and Autism connection. She refuted it and cited a new study that just came out this week. But she also gave me the option on waiting for Will until 15 months. She says that there are often early signs of Autism and that he didn't really show any besides not clapping but that you really can't tell if children will have Autism until later. That is so scary. I decided to hold off for now. She felt fine with it since there is not an outbreak right now in Austin.

Later last night I was telling David about the clapping and showing Will to clap. He clapped for a while for David. Little bugger, figured out how to get out of his shot :)

They also got Hep A and Hep B shots plus blood drawn for iron and lead tests (the former because of all the toy recalls and the later because we live in a house built in 1939). By the end we had three hysterical babies. We had our nurse, another nurse favorite Vernetta, and our old lactation consultant Linda all helping. Vernetta even offered to stop by on Monday during her lunch break to take the blood tests since they were already upset. Can you believe how nice? But I decided to just quickly get it all over with.

Dr. told us we are good to move completely to milk - no more formula. And recommended that everyone is off bottles before Quatro arrives. Everytime I see her she complements me on being calm and says that is really important for the babies, and especially because there are so many. Am I calm? or is she just trying to encourage me?

The walk home in the wagon was relaxing. By the time we pulled up in the driveway everyone was happy again. Next visit I am only taking one or two at a time.

One Year Stats

Evan
Height 30 in (50th percentile)
Weight 20lbs 15 oz (25th percentile) biggest baby
Head 47cm (55th percentile)

Lily
Height 28 3/4 in (40th percentile)
Weight 19lbs 10oz (25th percentile)
Head 46cm (70th percentile)

Will
Height 29in (25th percentile) getting bigger! last time he was 15th percentile.
Weight 20 lbs (20th percentile) not so chunky like we thought
Head 46cm (45th percentile)

Look how similar Will and Lily are in size, they look most alike too.

Grandma G's Garden Injury

Grandma G got a nasty but seemingly innocuous scratch on her foot and toe doing some yard work at our house. The yard looks terrific, but mom's toe got increasingly puffy and red over the weekend.

We decided yesterday that she should get it checked out so we made a trip to Seton ER. They found a pretty serious infection, down to the bone!

She was promptly admitted to the hospital and is on IV antibiotic. Doctors are still monitoring the situation and have not made any decisions on her care yet. They did mention she could be on antibiotics for up to six weeks. If things are turning around they plan to send her home in a couple of days with an IV. Her blood sugar is also suspiciously high so they are investigating possible diabetes.

Get well soon Grandma G. Babies miss you and can't wait to play with your IV line.

Rite of Passage

We did the unofficial one year weigh in at home this week since I have neglected to take them to their one year check up. Everyone was over 20 lbs so we were able to turn the car seats around. Thank goodness! I couldn't lift them over the back row seats for much longer. And now they can watch more Baby Einstein on the dvd in the SUV. Here we are on the way to David's soccer game.

We have also been transitioning off formula, increasing the ratio of milk to formula by an ounce each day. We should be fully off formula by the weekend. I got really crazy and decided to stop heating bottles too and they are fine with it. I don't want to have to be heating milk.

Next step, get rid of bottles. They are fine with the sippy cups so I just need to make the break. Maybe this weekend. I want to try it out myself just in case we have to adjust the plan or go back to bottles say for bedtime. I don't want to confuse our nanny.

Simplify

I was reading my 'same age' triplet chat group posts and came to the conclusion that we could simplify a few things in our lives.

Someone brought up a couple great questions.

1. How often to you bath your children?

2. Do you dress your children every day?

As it turns out we have been doing much more than the average *triplet* mom. The response for number one varied from every day (like us) to two to three times a week but the majority was towards the later. I have missed a night once or twice but hadn't considered skipping more often.

And it appears that more people than I would think let them run around in diapers all day. I'm fine with that too unless we go out in the wagon or to the park. The babies definitely prefer it.

And come to find out one year old babies only need 12 to 16 oz of milk a day. I'm not sure how to reduce the amount of milk we are consuming. They love it and are drinking 24 oz or more a day!
I think it is time to reassess our 'normal routine'.

Lily in 'boy' pajamas tonight in honor of our new simplified lifestyle. I'm not sure if I can give up bath time yet.

Update on Lily's baths. We have been letting her play in the bathroom while the boys bathe and she eventually wants to get in the tub and tries to climb in. She has had a couple great nights and a couple nights where she is complaining but overall much better.

Playground Etiquite

We've recently graduated from the baby swings to the playscape area of the park. We are newbies but I am starting to develop my own sense of play ground rules.

1. Unattended toys are for sharing.
2. Lend a hand if you see a toddler about to (fall off a step, eat a rock etc) near you.
3. Monitor your children. Especially if your child is (pushing, throwing rocks etc) at another child.
4. Do not leave your child to be attended to by another mom. Especially if said mom is pregnant and trying to look after her own three children. And even more so if your child is aggressive (see rule #3).
5. Do not leave sippy cups lying on the ground unattended. Especially if you don't want another child picking them up. And don't look disgusted when my child picks it up and puts it in their mouth if you do leave it on the ground. And don't look doubly disgusted when your child puts it back in their mouth after you leave it back on the ground.
6. Do not poach another's nanny from the park, especially if you live in the same neighborhood. Really.
7. Have fun.

Do you have any to add? Agree or disagree with any of these? Please feel free to share your playground experiences.

Festivities

Thank you everybody! You know you have great friends when they not only come to your triplet's one year old birthday party with lots of tots underfoot but even appear to be having a good time. We were also lucky to be able to have all the grandparents celebrate with us.

Will, Evan and Lily enjoyed the fiesta too, lots of people to give them attention and friends to play with. They also made out like bandits with new toys including sand box toys, a shiny red rider firetruck and lots of great new books.

It felt right to celebrate the past and look forward to the new year.


Birthday cake round two.

Evan walking. Harper and Lucy, Clare, Jack and Emily in the background.

Evan gives Stuart some stock tips.

Evan hopped onto the truck before it was even out of the box. Rowan, Lily and Will stepped in to take a closer look.

Why did you not fix my hair for the party mom?

Saturday was also the last day of summer. Cooler weather must be right around the corner. Horray!

Holy Guacamole!

We planned a little birthday fiesta for this Saturday. I say little because I tried to keep it casual and limit the invites to 15 or so...but then you add in spouses and kids and the guest list quickly creeps up to almost 50.

Our house is tiny, and it is going to be too hot to be outside. Check out this forecast - 95 degrees on Saturday! We will need plenty of cold beer - and iced juice boxes.

Happy Birthday Little Loves

One year ago today our babies were born.

We feel incredibily fortunate that they are healthy and happy.

Our babies have brought us so much joy in this whirlwind of a year. Here are some of the things that make us happy...

• Lily's dimple (on her right cheek) when she smiles
• Her red rosebud lips
• All the kisses and hugs she gives her animals, even the ones in her book and on her birthday card
• Thumb pointing to all the bugs her book
• Lily's bravery and determination
• Evan's infectious laughter
• When he inspects things to figure out how they work, turning over toys to look at the switches
• Evan's cautious but strong side step walk
• Evan saying 'hey baby' or repeating 'baby, baby' when he needs a hug
• Evan's impossibly long eyelashes
• Will's large open mouthed grin of delight
• His unique baby babble, saying so much that we can't understand with strong emotion
• Will's chubby cheeks and huge bright blue eyes
• Will getting so excited that he throws himself back with joy
• When he lets us cuddle him like a little bear

Happy birthday Will, Evan and Lily!

Glacier

Mystery

A few days ago Lily just instantly started disliking her bath. I can't figure out what happened. It seems like she went from loving bath time to being terrified over night. She screams when we put her in the tub, hysterical. Not just the 'I don't want to do this' kind of cry, she seems really frightened. We keep trying each night but end up having to quickly wisk her out, calm her down and give her a quick washcloth only bath.

Oddly enough, she is fine with the baby splash pool. And she is generally fearless when it comes to other things.

Any ideas?

Quatro

David got his first glimpse of Quatro today. We had our big ultrasound appointment this morning. The one where they examine and measure all the main body parts and organs - the lobes of the brain, formation of the spine, chambers of the heart, stomach, kidneys, even the lips and nose. Everything looked perfect.

We listened to the precious heartbeat and saw him move around. He was quite active today and already starting his practice breathing. They estimated his weight at 13oz.

It is amazing how much more we could see this time around with just one baby to view.

We also got our C-section date, Friday January 18th noon. How's that for planning? With the trio we were told to be ready for them anytime after 30 weeks, so we ended up having our hospital bags packed for over six weeks.

Quatro's face or skull rather. Who do you think he looks like?

David Returns

David arrived late last night, and not a day too soon. I missed him, the babies missed him. They were so excited to see him this morning and distraught when he left this morning. They are all crying in this photo because they each want Dad to hold them.

And I'm tired. I thought we were doing pretty well last week but the second weekend without him really did me in. I'm like a pilot who has exceeded his allowable flight hours, but is still flying. It's dangerous. Lily wouldn't have fallen down the steps at that party if he was there. David is just more careful than me to begin with and I'm more tired and a bit more scattered because he hasn't been here. Today felt like one more day that he was gone because he was at work most of the day.

I took the kids to get shoes this afternoon. Their poor feet have blisters from me letting them play outside without shoes, and these babies need to get outside these days or everyone starts to fall apart.

When I returned I unloaded all three from the car and the strollers over the back seat of the Expedition none the less, five and a half months pregnant. I was holding Evan stepping over the baby gate and knocked it over, fell and caught myself and Evan with my elbow. The gate crashed down on Will. They were both frightened more than hurt and started bawling. Lily joined in upon seeing us in a pile. We are all fine, including Quatro but I realize I am just too tired and have exceeded my allowable flying hours.

I wanted to get to the grocery store today and make David a home cooked meal. The best I could do was put in an order at Santa Rita for dinner. He is off picking it up right now.

Cup Cake

Harper and Lucy Turn One

Lucy and Harper's party dresses were adorable. And look at those pink metallic pedipeds - good taste girls.

Harper on the pony we brought the girls.

Lily loves the White family - including Murdoch.

Jenny is very talented.

Lots of friends to play with.

Party Time

Many Austinites spent the weekend rocking out at Austin City Limits Festival this weekend. We also partied hard this weekend - starting with a triplet birthday party and following up with a twin birthday party.

Caprice, Grace and Hunter turn one.

It was a fantastic party. They went all out with a Baby Einstein theme. Check out that great cake.

Me and Evan.

The boys loved the school bus activity center.

Lily on the go. She is fast, at one point she got away from me and slipped out the door. In two shakes she had walked across the patio and fell down three stone steps. I almost had a heart attack. She was fine, thank god. It could have been really bad.

Lily wanted to get in the bassinet with all the stuffed animals.

Gymboree!

We went to our first Gymboree class on Friday at noon. Both grandmas joined us. It was a blast, better than I anticipated. This may be the most fun the babies have had. These photos don't do it justice. We were too busy playing to take more photos.

Smiles from Evan

Will just getting started exploring.

Lily, our daredevil. She immediately climbed right to the top of the highest play gym. I'm not sure what I was thinking with that outfit Lily. I was going for comfy not shlumpadinka. Sorry baby, you still looked cute with that smile. She was walking everywhere, practically running.

Harper and Lucy were also in our class.

Mr. Peter leads the class with activites like parachute time, bubbles, clapping and signing. We convene for a few minutes then disperse to play and explore. He really knows babies and they loved it.

Sign us up.

Back Country Day 6

Last day out in the wilderness. The guys hiked back to the lodge today. I'm sure they enjoyed their shower, hot meal and beer this evening.

Granite Park to Many Glacier

Distance: 7.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 250 feet
Elevation Loss: 1,500 feet
Difficulty: Moderate

Activities
Day hike to Swiftcurrent Mountain Lookout

What do you think the chances are that they took the extra day hike that was planned for today?

Back Country Day 5

Fifty Mountain to Granite Park

Distance: 11.9 miles
Elevation Gain: 600 feet
Elevation Loss: 1,500 feet
Difficulty: Moderate

One of the guys checked in with his wife using the satellite phone she made them take in case of emergency - smart - why didn't I think of that.

Anyway, we got a bit of info about their adventures. Apparently no one has been eaten by a bear. They were rerouted a bit and had to go farther than anticipated to get an extra campsite since they had five guys instead of the allowed four per campsite so my posts may not be entirely accurate. He said it has been tougher than they expected. Lisa and I were curious how the food situation was going, blister status, and how cold it has been at night, but no news there.