Say Cheese!

Here is a sampling of some of the fabulous photos our friend Scott took for us. Check out his portfolio at www.scottstater.com.

And Baby Makes Six

We're expecting our FOURTH baby, a complete miracle and spontaneous surprise, in January 2008.

Life is quite a journey. Not long ago we considered that we may never be able to have a child. Now we are well on our way to having four children under two. It is daunting, but we have a lot of love to give and are fortunate to have a very supportive family.

It is too early to say for sure, but it looks like we will be having another boy!

Photo by Scott Stater http://www.scottstater.com/.

First Emergency Room Visit

The new Dell Children's hospital opened last Saturday, just in time. We had our first (minor) emergency which felt more major in the moment.

Evan went to pet Max who was sleeping peacefully on the couch. Max typically runs off or bats a little with his paw if accosted but this time he used his claws and got in a tangle with Evan's lower eye lid. He rushed over from changing Will and untangled the two. It looked terrible, he called me out of the shower, I quickly dressed, we packed every one up and headed out.

The new Children's hospital is beautiful and very close, nice to know with three children. They were friendly and expeditious. There was almost no wait.

Evan was a trooper, he smiled at the staff and only cried a bit when the doctor was cleaning his eye. Once the blood was gone it didn't look bad enough for stitches and they sent us home with a topical ointment and antibiotics. Whew!

Evan with the culprit. Anyone want a friendly lap cat?

Happy Independence Day!

The Rosedale 4th of July parade is something we have been looking forward to for a while. The last couple years David and I have been the sole spectators as most of our neighbors are in the parade but this year we were excited to have three reasons to participate.

Will, Evan and Lily enjoying the festivities in their new Radio Flyer ATW. Austin has been deluged with rain this past few weeks leaving the surrounding lakes with record water levels. The 4th was no exception. But the rain did not deter us and let up long enough for the parade and festivities to follow.

Lily and Evan eager for the parade to begin. This is much better than napping!

Will getting into the patriotic spirit.

We were joined by lots of new friends in the neighborhood. Sam, Camden, Lauren, Jack and their parents.

Bill, Clare and uncle Jason also joined in the fun.

Will, Evan and Lily's first taste of watermelon, itsn't life sweet?

Lily patiently working her way through her first piece of watermelon. She ate two whole slices.

Boys Nine Month Check Up

David took the boys to their nine month check up.

Here's the lastest update:

Evan
Height 28in (45th percentile)
Weight 18lbs 4oz (20th percentile)
Head 45.5cm (45th percentile)

Will
Height 27in (15th percentile)
Weight 18lbs 3 oz (20th percentile)
Head 44.5cm (25th percentile)

Good news about Lily too, the doctor talked to David more about her heart murmur. She thinks it is an innocent murmur, which means it is likely not harmful. Our pediatric cardiologist appointment is Aug. 6th.

I'm not so small!

Grammy's 90th

We took our first family vacation to Grammy's 90th birthday celebration in Seven Springs Pennsylvania. Check back soon for a slide show with more family photos.

It meant a lot to us for the babies to meet their great grandmother Clare. We love you a bushel and a peck.

Lily, Will and Evan joining the family get together in their pjs and grammy tee's before bedtime.

Aunt Christy and Uncle Chris.

Grammy with five of her eleven great grandbabies Walker, Nathan, Evan, Lily and Will. Hopi, Zach, Eli also attended the celebration but left earlier in the day so we missed them in this photo. Sophie and Benjamin didn't make this trip but we hope to see them sometime soon. And we are still all eagerly awaiting the newest addition Owen born on Valentine's day and due to arrive from Korea in October.

Sisters, Faith, Hope, Clare, Jule and Besty with Ben in the background and mom Clare in front.

Siblings in birth order Faith, Hope, Clare, Jule, Ben and Besty with mom Clare.

Evan, Will, David, and Lily in our cabin.

Freas Steverman family.

Back: Bill holding Evan, David holding Will, Jennifer, Chris

Front: Clare holding Lily, Grammy Clare, Christy



Traveling with the trio. It took us twelve hours to get there, more to get back. I'm too traumatized to post about it. But it was worth it.

Chimney Swifts

This year we got another family of chimney swifts in our chimney. And like last year their nest fell and we had these four baby swifts in our fireplace. The chimney is their natural habitat, evolved after their home of hollowed out trees began to dwindle. The migrate through Austin each year and many live in chimney's across Rosedale. You can see them emerge at night and fill the twilight sky. They typically move in and are gone within a month and always in spring so it doesn't conflict with fire season.

Of all nights, it happened the night before we left on our trip. At least it was not while we were away. After much debate and a consultation with the swift guru who happens to live in Austin we were able to put them back in the chimney.

How you may ask? I fashioned a nest out of a basket lined with a square of t-shirt. We put the remaining nest in the basket along with the four baby birds. David had to break one free as it was still stuck in a part of the nest.

Then david put them up above the damper and sealed off the fireplace and propped the next with cardboard. Soon we could hear the parents returning to feed them and happy chirping.

Update:

Upon our return we continued to hear happy chirps. Although later we found out that Isabel our housekeeper found two dead birds in the house. Another bird escaped after we returned and Jo our cat quickly caught her. We had tons of rain and I think it loosened our fireplace blockade. We still heard lots of chirpping and flapping of an adult swooping down to feed them so we know some survived. Eventually they grew up and flew away. Swift care is a lot of work.

Next year we need to remember to block off the chimney before they arrive.

Cruisers and Climbers

Here are a few photos of our crew in action.

Evan takes his first steps with his new red wagon.

Nice dismount. Big improvement from the let go and see what happens method.

Lily has a turn.

Lily and Evan cruising together.

Climbing on the table has become big fun.

Lily Clare

The boys. Will in the wagon.

The gang.

Laundry Days

I completely underestimated how much laundry would be involved with triplets. I mean, how much dirty laundry can three little babies have? We seem to be doing laundry constantly.

At least they are starting to help out.

Lily checks for any more clothes, Will supervises.

All done mom!

Evan takes one last look to be sure. Yep, all good here.

Who knew laundry could be so much fun?

Will loves the camera, he is the only one who will pose for my photos.

Cute baby, hey, what's in your mouth?

No, can't have it mom.

Lily Nine Month Check Up

Grammy Clare took Lily to the doctor today for her nine month well baby check up and to make sure her eye and ear infection cleared up before we fly up to Pennsylvania for the family reunion. I've been swamped with work because of the upcoming product launches and need to get things wrapped up before we head out of town, so I greatly appreciated the help.

The good news is that Lily's ears and eyes seem fine and she is still growing strong and catching up in size. Clare said that Lily was very talkative at the visit and only cried for a bit when she got her shot.

Lily's stats:
Weight 17lbs 13oz (30th percentile)
Height 27in (45th percentile)
Head 44.5cm (70th percentile)

The bad news is that the doctor also discovered a heart murmur and referred her to a cardiologist. We won't be able to make an appointment until after our trip. I have no idea how serious it is but from my quick web search it sounds pretty common and often not a cause for concern.

I'm glad Clare was able to take Lily to the doctor by herself, seems like she got a more thorough exam. I'll be taking the boys next week after our vacation.

Happy Father's Day

David's first father's day. Three times over.

Come on dad, we know it is only 6am, but we are ready to play!

Lily Eight Months

I'm trying to chose photos from the babies eight month old pics. Let me know which ones you like best.

Evan Eight Months

Will Eight Months

Garden

I tried to capture a photo of the babies in the garden this evening to show my mom how well her flowers are doing. This was the best I could do, they were more interested in the plants and the rocks than me. The flowers look great, thanks mom!