Happy Valentine's Day

Couldn't capture a group Valentine's Day photo, but here are a few snapshots before bedtime tonight.

The boys.

Will would rather me hold him and read 'Where is Spot' again...and again...than take his photo.

Evan looking a bit glum but still cute as a button. He got a fever for Valentines Day. I thought we were finally getting better, hopefully this will pass soon.

Lily is enamoured with her baby brother. She is now saying 'Hoo-den' and still enjoying showing us his eyes, nose and toes. Holden seems to be warming up to her too.

Will seems less impressed and gives Holden the Heisman.

New Shoes

We packed everyone up and made it out to Sandy's shoes yesterday. The kids don't get out much so it felt like a fun field trip. The had a blast exploring the store and everyone got sized properly and new shoes that fit. It was waaay overdue, everyone went up a size or more.

Will went from size 3 to size 4.5 W

Lily went from size 3 to size 5 R

Evan went from size 4.5 M to size 5.5 M

I found Stride Rights like Evan's old ones for Will and Evan got some cool Eccos. Luckily both were on sale.

Lily got squeaky shoes with pink butterflies. She had a blast dancing in them and making noise. We can take the squeak out when it starts to drive us batty but for now it is just fun to see her enjoy them. David thinks it will be a good way to keep track of her too. I think the boys were a bit dissapointed that their shoes don't squeak.

Weekend

Our weekend routine is to give the kids breakfast then pack the trips in their train and go to Pacha for our morning lattes. Now we also have Holden who is carried by David in the bjorn. It is quite a sight to see David with our entire brood in tow.

I still haven't captured a photo because, well, we have our hands full. By the time we get all six of us dressed and the diaper bag packed I can't seem to grab our nice digital SLR camera. I need to power up my point and shoot and keep it in my bag.

This Saturday after Pacha we met up with some friends at our local Taco Shack for breakfast tacos then off to the park for a couples and kids mega playdate.

It seemed exponentially challenging to keep up with our trio with an infant in tow. And it didn't help that it is a beautiful day and the park was packed. Also our toddlers are getting quicker and can dash away in an instant. We seemed to keep losing track of someone.

At one point they were all playing peacefully with the rocks and shovels and we let our guard down. A moment later David noticed that Evan was missing. We both quicky scanned the playscape and I noticed Evan at the very top of the big red slide.

My heart dropped. The slide is almost fifteen feet tall and has steep metal stairs. I called out 'No Evan!' which in hindsite was not the best choice because instead of flinging himself down the slide hands first he started to back up. David ran to the side to catch him in case he fell off and I dashed up the stairs and grabbed him.

We had enough excitement for the day and packed everyone up to return to the safe haven of our protected yard.

The Schedule

When the triplets were born we lived and breathed by 'the schedule'. They came home from the NICU on a three hour feeding schedule. It was not long before they were eating every four hours at night.

They were getting breastmilk but I was pumping, not nursing, so we knew exactly how much they consumed. We charted every feeding, diaper change, medicine dose and sleep time. It helped us communicate with each other, stick to a consistent routine and probably most importantly gave us the illusion of control. Even though actually we had little control with three infants.

Now the difference is we have one breastfed baby and it is not looking like I will have any chance to get him on a schedule.

He eats on demand which has turned out to be every two to three hours often with 'snacks' in between. In the evenings, right when I finally decide to crawl into bed, he gets insatiable and wants to feed on and off for over two hours.

Last night I decided to pump and supplement him with formula to try and fill him up. He consumed three ounces of breast milk, then topped that off with eight ounces of formula!! No wonder I haven't been able to satisfy him. I was worried he was going to get a stomach ache so I tried to slow him down and give him his pacifier after each couple of ounces. He still wanted milk.

The upside was that after this binge he slept soundly for over three hours.

He is already around nine pounds and at this rate he will catch up with his 22-23 pound siblings in no time.

Caring for Baby Brother

The kids are cute with Holden. This afternoon Evan came up to Holden and planted several kisses on his forehead. At one point Will brought me Holden's clothes and socks while I was nursing him. Lily helped me change his diaper and brought me the diaper cream and even when and put it back in it's place without me asking. It is amazing to see our babies grow up and interact with us on a completely different level. And I'm so glad they already are fond of their new brother.

Point of No Return

We are finally moving forward with our renovations. Our delays cost us three months of extra rent and numerous architecture hourly fees for adjustments to comply to new regulations. But we are ready to put that behind us. There is no turning back now - our kitchen is completely demolished and walls have been removed. It is both exciting and frightening.

The remains of our kitchen. As bad as it looks, we can also start to visualize how open and livable our new floorplan will be.

Bottles

I'm not sure how I'm ever going to get my children off of bottles. We gave them up several months ago, but brought them back when they were sick. Now they are more persistant about having them. Evan now says 'me ba' 'me ba' when he wants his bottle.

We have successfully given up the morning bottle. It took a few days suffering through morning fussiness and thrown sippy cups and then they adjusted. I think nap bottle is next to go, but have been holding off since we have been transitioning from one nap to two. That was enough change for one moment in time. We have recently stretched the nap time to start at 12:30 and the last two days they have slept over two hours. So we may just be about there with the new schedule. So it may be time to try and drop that bottle. But they sure do love their milk, especially the boys.

My mom had to return to Florida this week but David's parents are still able to come and help us out several times a week. We are lucky to have involved family to pitch in and spend time with the kids. It is great to see their eyes light up when they see their grandparents. Will, Evan and Lily have also had a chance to form an even stronger bond with dad these last few weeks. David took two weeks off from work and since I have been up through the night with Holden he has been getting up every morning with the trips, changing them, dressing them and making them breakfast.

I've been spending most of my time with Holden and miss spending as much time with my other children. I find myself nursing Holden in the evening and trying to read them books at the same time. I want to begin to find ways to spend one on one time again with each of my babies in the following weeks.

Buggy

Holden is doing well, despite catching an upper respitory infection from his siblings. He is a bit congested but he is sleeping and eating well and seems content. I was concerned about his respiration rate being elevated - it has been consistently above 60 breaths per minute and it should be closer to 40 - so I took him to Children's Hospital over the weekend. The wait was long unlike our last visit but the news was good. The doctor was fine with his breathing and verified that his lungs were clear and that he does not have RSV or the flu. So we are just letting him sleep a bit elevated to help keep the passage ways clear. He seems to be doing a bit better already.

Will, Evan and Lily were diagnosed with sinus infections last week and are on their third round of antibotic this winter season. They also seem to be turning the corner and feeling and sleeping better. I can't wait for this bug season to end and have happy healthy babies again.

Playtime with Uncle Jason

Lily is impressed with Uncle Jason's coloring skills.

Baby Latte

Evan enjoying Starbucks on a sunny afternoon. Evan kept vying for my coffee. I thought that if I gave him a sip he would realize that he didn't like coffee. It backfired, he loves it.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Many of you may not know, but Groundhog Day is an important holiday for the Freas Family. David's dad grew up in Punxsutawney and his great great grandfather's brother Clymer Freas, editor of The Punxsutawney Spirit, is credited as one of the founders of Groundhog day.

Usually we throw a party and make the secret family ground hog punch recipe. This year we were busy with our new baby and almost let the holiday slip by unnoticed.

Luckily David's parent's decorated our house for us and our neighbors gave us a special Freas Family groundhog.

Phil, aka 'seer of seers' 'prognosticator of prognosticators' saw his shaddow this year predicting six more weeks of winter. If it is six more weeks of weather like today that is fine by me.

Beautiful Bride

Family Time

Great Grammy Clare gets a chance to hold her twelfth great grandbaby Holden.

Grammy Clare with Evan.

Lily Clare

Great Grammy Clare with David and Will.

Rehearsal Dinner

Christy and Chris kicked off their wedding weekend with a festive rehearsal dinner at Austin's Salt Lick, argueably the best barbecue in town and perfect Texas venue for the many out of state guests.

The lovebirds with David and Chris's fun loving and warm parents Mary and John. We feel lucky to have Chris and his parents join our family. Looking forward to building memories over the years to come.

Aunt Faith, Great Grammy Clare, Aunt Betsy with Holden.

In this photo Unlce Ben, Uncle Charlie, Mother of the Bride Clare, Aunt Jules, Aunt Barb, Aunt Patty and Uncle Bill.

It was a mini family reunion with four of Clare's five siblings making the event and a handful of cousins plus the special treat of Clare's mother Clare attending. Bill's sister Barb and her husband Bill were also able to join as well as their son Scott and his wife Kim.

Father of the bride giving a heart warming speech.

Holden Hears a Who

Lily is talking a blue streak these days. When she tries to say 'Holden' she purses her lips and says 'who' 'who'.

I'm happy to report that Holden has recovered from his jaundice, no more daily trips to the doctor for blood draws.

Unfortunately Saturday I started getting a horrible allergic reaction. Later I found out it was likely from the glue that they use for c-sections. I got hives a couple inches above and below my incision, great big welts that started out itchy and ended up burning. Luckily most of the pain didn't set in until after David's sisters wedding - more on that beautiful event in a bit. I spent most of Saturday night absolutely miserable. The on call Dr. fit me in first thing Sunday morning. I had a mini breakdown and left with three scripts and several over the counter remedies to ease the pain. By the end of the day it was tolerable.

Settling In

Holden is settling into the family nicely. It is the 'honeymoon' time where newborns are sleepy most of the time but he seems to have an easy going temperment, a big appetite and sleeps peacefully. He does have a bit of jaundice that we have been monitoring closely. Hopefully tomorrow's blood tests will begin to show some resolution.

Will, Evan and Lily like to give the baby kisses and point out his nose, eye, toes or share their bottles. They seem to delight in having a baby home with us, especially Lily. It appears we are lucky that they are a bit too young for the jealously to set in. Or a least we have not seen it yet.

Nursing is going well so far. Except that my body seems to think I have three babies to feed again. The milk coming in is more painful than the c-section recovery. I've had to pump in addition to nursing to get at least some comfort, the upside is that Dad and Grandparents have been able to participate in the bonding of feeding time.

Meanwhile, it's normal busy routine for the triplets. At some point we will need to figure out how to share bedtime stories with four.

Dell and Microsoft Go (RED)

My other baby, my big project, launched today. Dell announced it's partnership with Windows and (RED). Dell and Windows will contribute from $50 to $80 per sale of a (PRODUCT) RED system to the global fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.

I led the development of the of the www.dell.com/joinred site that launched today in the US as well as merchandising on Dell.com and joinred.com. We will roll out the launch to over 30 countries next week.

Keep an eye out for our Dell (PRODUCT) RED commercial to air during the Super Bowl next weekend.

C+C Wedding Factory

This weekend my sister is getting married. What a big day for the Freas family! It's heartwarming to see my sister so happy. I'm looking forward to having a brother-in-law and fortunate that Chris fits really well with my group of friends.

Jennifer and I have made plans to have Marah and Carmen care for the trips Saturday while Holden gets to attend the wedding with us. Plenty of family is in town and it will be great to celebrate with them.

I'm going to sneak a camera with me to capture some good pix, so stay tuned.

Daddy Day Care

Last night Holden snoozed for 15, fed for an hour, repeat. Poor Jennifer.

We get a call this morning on our home phone. Caller ID shows a Hispanic name. Carmen should be here any minute. I am worried.

"Uno momento" and I pass the phone to Jennifer whose Spanish is getting quite good now a days. The look on her face says it all. Carmen isn't able to make it until tomorrow.

Today is our anniversary and we were hoping to be able to get out and enjoy some time with each other (with Holden in tow of course). Not gonna happen.

It was a joy to spend the day with Lily, Will, and Evan as it turns out. I'm not saying it wasn't exhausting. And I'm still hoping that Carmen shows up tomorrow. There is a sense of satisfaction in going morning to night with them.

A montage of the days events:

The trips enjoy a slice of apple in the playhouse.

Jennifer takes Holden to first doctor's appt. He passes with flying colors.

Evan tries to break out of the backyard again. And he would of got away with it too if it wasn't for his meddling father.

I take the trips on jog in the triplet stroller. A cold front has come in. Lily steals the blankets from Will and Evan and covers herself three deep in warmth as they protest. Smart girl.

A neighbor dropped off dinner for us tonight thankfully. Best pot roast I've ever had.

Homecoming for Holden

Holden and Jennifer are released from Seton.

You ready to head home, Holden? He looks pretty cozy in that carrier...

The welcome party.

The trips are the midst of dropping on of their two mid-day naps. And it is painful. Evan copped a few z's, but the rest of the crew was at it all day. Can't wait until Carmen get here tomorrow.

The Calm Before the Storm

Tomorrow Jennifer and Holden will be heading home. Today we have Mara (a super-nanny who cares for another set of triplets) and Grammy Clare helping. I had solo morning duty from 6:30am to 9:30am, but after that Gloria was up and and Will and I were able to bring Jennifer her Pacha latte fix.

After the 11am nap I had some free time. While I considered spending it watching football and drinking heavily, I decided upon a more prudent path: 2 hr nap, trip to Lowe's, 6 mile run, in bed by 9pm (before the Giants game-winning field goal in overtime btw).

Tomorrow Carmen will still be recovering from her surgery. My anticipation of a full house is laced with fear.

First Hellos

Today Will, Lily, and Evan said hello to their new brother and checking in to see how their mom was doing. Evan immediately smiled and said "baby".


"Hey, his nose looks like mine!"


Will decides that he'd rather hang with mom.

"Wait a second. I used to be the baby!"

Grammy is smitten.

Holden gets some good cuddle time with GG. Lily is intrigued and seems ready to be a big sister.

Who are all these little people? I recognize their voices and they look familiar...

We finally got out of there to let mom and Holden take a nap.

Holden

Introducing Holden Emmett Freas.

At 7lbs 14oz and 19 1/2 inches, this little guy is quite the looker. Gloria, Jennifer, and I had a side bet going on which of our kids he most resemble, finally picking Lily, Evan, and Will respectively. Turns out he looks most like Holden, but you be the judge.

Everyone is healthy. Tomorrow morning I'm bringing the trips to see mom and meet Holden. I predict changos en la cama.

Happy Birthday Gramma G!

Today is my mom's birthday. She was hoping she would get to share the day with Quattro but he has decided to stay put a bit longer.

She came for Christmas and is staying with us until two weeks after Quattro's arrival to give us a hand and get to know our new little love.

We had a simple celebration. We just went out to the movies and saw Atonement with a couple friends. It was a good romantic movie, perfect for a low key Monday night.

Are we ready?

Friends keep asking us if we are ready for Quattro. I have no idea. I have this feeling I've been to nonchalant about the whole thing and am going to be surprised at how unprepared we are.

But then again, the sleep books won't disappear and mega baby stores will not close once he is born.

We will just have to re-learn as we go. In many ways it will be an entirely new experience. Presumably a baby straight in our arms and to our hospital room. No NICU nurses to guide us every step of the way and get him on a three hour eating/sleeping schedule before we go home.

I didn't get to nurse much with our trio. I may get to experience that closeness and bonding in a whole new way too.

It is hard to know what to expect and to anticipate how he will fit into our lives. Will we think one baby is a piece of cake after our experience with three infants. Or will not having regular night nannies throw us for a loop? Our trio are 16 months old, how they are going to react to us bringing Q home and into their lives?

Three more days and we will see...

Playhouse

The playhouse arrived and David put it together right after work so the kids could check it out before bedtime. He barely had the frame up and they were already smitten. Evan is probably the biggest fan, he went in and out the door maybe a hundred times last night. They ring the doorbell, open and close the shutters, sit at the little table and chat on the phone...over and over. They could barely wait this morning to get their shoes and jackets on before heading outside to play.

Grandfather Bowl

Each year we participate in a family football bowl honoring both paternal and maternal grandfathers. Eight families participate plus Great Grammy Clare. Our team had quite a showing this year taking home the family trophy and had several top contenders. Evan, Will, David and his mom each had 18 wins and had to go to the tie breaker to fight for second place with Evan securing the honor. Lily had 15 wins and I had only 13 wins. Next stop, Vegas.

See announcement below:

DON LEWIS IST TIME WINNER!
FAMILY TROPHY RETURNS TO TEXAS!

Don Lewis maintained his lead and was the out-right winner with 19
correct picks same as the Vegas Pros.

David Freas and Sons, along with their Grammy
Clare(Freas) all picked 18 and led Team Freas to the Family Trophy
victory with an 16.2 average edging out the Appelbe/Lewis and Cole
clans with 15.2.

Following are the official unaudited results:

1st Don Lewis $52
2nd Evan Freas $36
3rd David Freas $16
4rd Clare Freas 0
5th Will Freas 0

Since Evan Freas is an amateur (not pro) and cannot receive money prizes, the Bowl Commission has decided to put his winnings along with his coaches winnings in escrow for his education fund!

Congratulations to all winners and thank you everyone for your participation.
Commissioner Bill Freas

Picnic

Austin has had a slew of warm winter weather recently, very different from last January's record lows and ice storm.

Thank goodness we have been able to get outside. It is much easier to keep everyone happy outdoors where they can run free. We've had lots of picnics with our new table that Grammy and Papa gave us for Christmas. And since we are on a corner lot with open fencing we get to visit with all of our neighbors and their dogs as they walk by.

There are three boys next door, ages 9 to 12 and they like to stop by and entertain our gang. It's a nice break for me. Today Evan figured out how to climb the fence to open the gate latch and he walked right out while we were not paying attention. Fortunately the boys next door saw him and captured him before he made it to the street.

Mamacita

We've been talking to the kids a lot about the baby and showing them my belly. They each have there own baby dolls to play with. The baby dolls get hugs and take baths with them. I didn't think they were really grasping the concept of me being pregnant but just the other day I discovered Lily putting her doll under her shirt. So she may be getting it just a little bit.