Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a safe night tonight.  We will be staying in and watching movies.  My eyelid has been twitching all day.  I started having that problem when I was in law school.  It's a definite sign of stress.  So many things are happening in the next month.  I've promised to blog about it, and I will - I just need to wait until 2011!

Overall 2010 has been a wonderful year - for obvious reasons.  The girls have dramatically changed our lives - for the better.  We have big things in store for 2011. 

Maggie finally said "mama" today.  As usual, she's the first!  Every time I start to worry about their development, they surprise me.  I was just discussing some of my concerns (including the fact that they aren't saying mama) with my best friend the other day.  In other news, I can see teeth just under Maggie and Izzy-B's gums.  They have both been a bit fussier than usual over the past couple of days - I guess that's why. 

I have decided not to have a new year's resolution.  I haven't had one in many years.  I think they are a trap for failure.  I do hope to be a better person in 2011.  I definitely don't think I've been a bad person, I just think we can ALL always improve in one way or another. 

Denver has been in a moderate drought this year.  We haven't had any measurable snow fall.  Finally, yesterday it snowed.  We have about 6 inches of snow at our house.  It's VERY cold outside.  We didn't get a white Christmas this year, but we have a beautiful white New Year.

Happy New Year to all, and cheers to a wonderful 2011!

Izyy-B Tall and Proud

She finally did it!  Just last night I put her in a bigger sleep sack - maybe she just needed more room.  She also pulled herself up when playing in the play room this morning.  So, it's definitely official - I have three babies who can pull to stand. 

 

First Christmas

The girls' first Christmas was so much fun.  We didn't put up a tree this year or have any decorations for reasons I will explain in a later post.  Because of that, I'm not sure the girls really had any idea that anything was different.

We lined the girls up in their Bumbos so they wouldn't crawl away. 

First gift - I was so hopeful they would try to open them, but no such luck.

 I had to do the opening for them.

Pillow blankets!  Izzy-B got the giraffe.

 Katie was much more interested in the tag.  I guess that's why the tag says "Remove tag before giving to children."  Katie got the frog.

Maggie got the panda.

 

Second gift - books from Kelley and Dave!

 They weren't nearly as excited as I had hoped.

Next gift - jackets from grandma and grandpa!

Daddy with his girls.  Maggie is such a ham.

Grandma with Maggie.

Katie

Maggie

Izzy-B

Ohhh - what's next?

 Onesies?  Huh - I don't know about this.

Nonetheless - they're mine!  Hands off, Katie!

Grandpa Jack with his girls.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

My parents bought us three very nice car seats for the girls.  They are about to outgrow their infant seats, and we needed convertible ones.  The girls also got lots of clothes from grandma and grandpa.  They'll be looking super cute out on the town this Spring/Summer. 

We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you all did too!

Merry Christmas

Standing, Talking and Teeth!!

Wow - these last few days have been full of milestones.  I already reported that Katie and Maggie are pulling up to stand.  Maggie does it much more than Katie.  Izzy is still stuck on her knees.  I love this picture I took with my iPhone (sorry about the bad quality - Katie on the left; Maggie on the right):

When I brought this toy into the playroom, it took Maggie all of 5 seconds to crawl over and pull herself up to play with it.  Then after about 10-15 minutes she started screaming because she couldn't figure out how to get down.  I just put new batteries in this toy, but at about 1:30am, I kept hearing some weird music.  I thought it was Robin's cell phone.  It was the toy.  Was a ghost playing with it or did the batteries really go haywire that quickly?!?!

I've noticed what I think is enamel under Izzy's gums for quite some time now.  Still no teeth.  I was just checking again to see if she has cut a tooth because she has been crying a lot lately.  The white spot looks bigger, but no tooth.  So, I checked the other girls, and, to my surprise, Katie has a tooth!  It is just coming through her gums, but I can both feel it and see it.  I can't believe it!  She has been a bit fussy with her food lately, but that's it.  Amazing.  I can't get a picture of it just yet (at least not by myself).

The girls have been talking up a storm lately.  Maggie used to be the most talkative, but suddenly Izzy has a lot to say: da-da-blah-blah.  Here's a video of Izzy "talking" with Katie and Maggie playing with a step stool in the background (their OT/PT likes it to be in the playroom). 

Lastly, I cannot believe that we have not had any snow yet this year.  While it has actually snowed three times, the snow has been gone within a couple hours.  I truly cannot remember a year like this.  Frankly, I love it.  The mountains are getting pounded with snow, and we're having a lovely dry winter.  I could get used to this!  We hired someone to do some landscaping work and to fix and paint our deck this week.  Who would have thought we could do this type of work in late December.  We do have more sunny days in Colorado than in southern California, but this is just crazy!  I love it!

Movies

Warning: I'm standing high atop my soap box.

Going to the movies is supposed to be an enjoyable experience.  Obviously, seeing a movie on the big screen is so much better than watching it at home On Demand or from the Red Box.  Why oh why can I never have a pleasant experience? 

I have always enjoyed going to movies by myself.  Now that the girls are part of my life, I pretty much always have to go alone.  It gives me some "me" time to sit back, relax and live in fantasy land for a couple of hours.

There are some great reminders at the beginning of every movie - no talking - no cell phones - no texting.  There's even a great reminder that takes a scene from The Notebook (one of all time favorite movies) and adds random dialog - illustrating the annoyance of talking during a movie.

Do people think they are at home on their couch?  STOP TALKING!!!  OMG - I don't care where I sit or how empty the theater is - I'm always near the talkers.

Today I was lucky enough to have talkers on THREE sides (next to me, behind me to my right and behind me to my left).  The movie I saw two weeks ago, Love and Other Drugs, was very crowded.  A woman and her elderly parents came in late and had to split up.  I had the glorious pleasure of sitting next to the elderly man who smelled.  I had an 80 year old man next to me watching Anne Hathaway's boobs.  Lovely.  At one point his wife looked at him and said, "You're supposed to be asleep."  Ok - that was hilarious, and it made me laugh.  Luckily, he didn't talk.  Do not fear though - his rude middle aged daughter who was sitting right behind me took care of that!  She was literally on her cell phone for 2/3 of the movie.  Part of the time she was talking in her seat, then she moved near the emergency exit, which also happened to be close to my seat.  She paced back and forth talking, waiting for a return call and in-between peering around the corner to watch the movie.  UGH! 

On the off chance that anyone reading this is a movie talker - please stop.  Save the commentary for after the movie or better yet - wait for the DVD and enjoy it at home - you seem to think you're there anyway.

Ok - now on to the movie I saw today - How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd.  I left confused.  How can a chick flick be confusing you might ask.  The answer: zero character development and horrible editing.  I seriously can't even remember the character's names.  I have never felt so disconnected from movie characters before.  More importantly though was the horrible character played by Reese.  What kind of a role model was she supposed to be?  Was I supposed to be able to relate to her at all?  She seemed like she was supposed to be a strong woman (meaning a goal oriented athlete who finds herself in a rotten situation), but then she stays in a relationship with and moves in with a guy she know is a player and is cheating on her.  What?!?!  It just didn't make sense.  Strange movie - I would definitely not recommend it.  If you've seen it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Did I miss something?

In case I wasn't clear before - DON'T TALK DURING A MOVIE!!!

Two are up....

A new stage of trouble.  Yesterday night, Maggie pulled herself up to standing.  She used Robin who was lying in the playroom with them, so I thought it might have been a fluke.  This morning, I came in to get them and Maggie was standing in her crib.  She was so proud of herself.

I brought a large foam block that has a long family history (I played with it as a child) into the play area so they would have something tall enough to pull themselves up on.  Maggie is afraid of the foam block.  She screams when she's near it.  I can't quite figure it out.  Anyway - it worked.  Katie pulled herself up to get a toy that was on top of it.

Poor Izzy-B, she just follows me around grabbing my leg.  She's on her knees, so she's close to standing too.

These pictures were all taken with my iPhone, so the quality is not so good!

10 Months

10 months?  Where does the time go?  I don't really have any stats to report on the girls, so I'll just post their pictures.  They were supposed to be in a themed set of oneies (flowers), but Maggie's got really dirty - no need to explain this one - so I had to change hers.  I didn't change them all because I love how Katie's says "Watch Me Grow." 

Katie:

She's very aloof, and I love how she looks like an old man without any teeth.  So cute!

Maggie:

Izzy-B:

She scraped her head on something, and her left eye looks crossed.  See previous post on eyes.

All together now:

I plan to start blogging more.  My goal is to post once a day.  This next month is going to be very busy (I'll blog about this later), so I guess this will have to be a New Year's Resolution for me.

Pecking Order

The pecking order among the girls is becoming obvious.  Maggie is clearly the top dog, and I think she will be the dominant triplet.  She gets what she wants when she wants it.  Amazingly, the other girls don't dispute her status.  She usually is only interested in the toys being played with by her sisters.  She makes her way over to it, and she takes it.  99% of the time, Katie and Izzy willingly give up the toy and move on.  On the other hand, if someone (me included) tries to take a toy from Maggie - well watch out.  First, she's incredibly strong.  It takes actual muscle force to pull a toy away from her.  Secondly, she'll cry - a lot.

When it comes to Katie and Izzy, the pecking order isn't quite as obvious.  I think Katie is more dominant than Izzy though.  Much of the time, Izzy seems content watching her sisters play.  She's more of the observer.

Katie is by far the best crawler.  She doesn't really seem to care if anything or anyone is in her way.  More than once, Izzy has been screaming because she is stuck under Katie.  Izzy will be on her back, and Katie is on top of her - basically high-centered.  Katie can't get over Izzy, but that's ok with her because she has reached what she was trying to get and is happily playing with it seemingly completely oblivious to the screaming Izzy below her. 

All three girls can get up on their knees.  Katie seems very close to pulling herself up to standing.  Sometimes she is on one knee and one foot.  Really close!

Maggie loves to do yoga.  Her favorite position is downward facing dog. 

Izzy is about to get her first tooth.  I can see the enamel.  So far - knock on wood - she hasn't been fussy.

Santa Visit

After their synagis shot this morning, we packed up the girls and headed downtown for photos with Santa.  We were the only people there; we had a private visit with Santa.  It was nice that we got to take our own photos, take our time with Santa (it's not so easy to get three girls on and off of Santa's lap) and we didn't have to be around anyone except Santa and Mrs. Claus.  Grandma came along to help too.  I had contemplated taking the girls to the Christmas party hosted by my triplets group (only for a photo with Santa), but the thought of having them around 65 other children and their parents was just too much.  I looked into several options including hiring a Santa come to our house (which was not as expensive as I thought).  In the end, we found a location that was not crowded and that allowed us to take our own photos.

On our way to see Santa - Katie has her bib in place to keep the dress clean and an ineffective and too small hat on her head.  Since they only leave the house to go to the doctor, I have not invested in winter hats.

 

Crawling

No words required.

L-R: Katie, Izzy, Maggie.

Giving Thanks

The theme at Trendy Treehouse this week is Giving Thanks.  I am truly thankful for my girls: my flower, my chili pepper and my pea pod.

Check out the other entries here:

Bath Time

I've decided that bath time is my least favorite thing about having triplets.  I don't mean to insinuate that I don't like having triplets.  There are only a couple of things that are difficult.  The other one is leaving the house.  It's a lot of work, and I really dislike all of the attention. 

Anyway - bath time is such an ordeal, and it takes so much time.  Bath time was quite enjoyable when the girls were small and didn't move around a lot.  Recently, it was getting really difficult in the infant tub, so I decided to start using the kitchen sink instead.  My first go at that was a major FAIL!  Their little butts are so slippery.  Luckily, I was telling my friend about my problem, and she told me to put a washcloth down so they don't slip around.  Where was this in the manual?  What a great idea.  I feel so silly for not thinking of it on my own.  Since we've moved on to the sink (with the washcloth), it's much easier to bathe them again.  However, it the post bathtime that I dread.  Trying to dry them off on the kitchen counter has turned into a terrible nightmare.  They squirm and wiggle and grab at EVERYTHING within their reach.  Then comes my least favorite part - trying to dress Izzy.  I'm starting to wonder if she has some sensory issues because she fights it (this is actually an everyday occurrence, and not necessarily related to bath time).  She doesn't like to get dressed.  A friend of mine used to have blog called "Don't Kick The Mommy" (she has since changed the name of her blog), and I used to think that was a funny name for a blog.  Now I get it.  I'm ALWAYS saying - Don't Kick the Mommy.  It happens frequently when dressing them, but it also happens when I'm trying to feed them.  If I stand in front of them while they're in their highchairs, they kick me!!   

Back to bath time.  I don't give baths every day.  I think I'd go insane if I did.  I'm starting to worry about the day that they'll start to need daily baths.  How will I do it?  Right now, I do it during the day, but I know it will be easier to make it part of their nighttime routine.  Hopefully by then, they will be sitting well enough that I can put them all in the bathtub together.  But that seems like it creates a whole new set of problems.  For all you mothers of multiples out there - how do you do it?  If they are all in the tub together, how do you get them out and dried off and diapered while still keeping an eye on the ones left in the tub?

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at our house.  My parents came to our house, and I cooked most of the food - the turkey, stuffing, potatoes and the cranberry sauce.  We ate while the girls napped, but I gave them some turkey after they woke up.  Katie ate the most, Maggie eventually started spitting it all out and Izzy-B just let it sit on her tongue until I took it out of her mouth. 

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who is the best dad our girls could ask for.  I'm thankful for my beautiful girls.  I'm thankful for my wonderful parents.  I feel so lucky.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Little Ballerinas

Last Friday night, we had a major photo shoot at our house.  We took pictures of the girls in three different outfits.  Yes, that means 12 outfit changes, including getting them back in their normal clothes; it was exhausting.  We used some of the photos for our Christmas card, which we have already had printed.  I'm so excited to send it out.  It's the first time that I have ever done Christmas cards.

Katie has started to "dance."  Sometimes when she hears music or if I sing, she starts to bob up and down.  It's so cute. 

Here are photos of the girls in the tutus made by my sister-in-law, Rima, who lives in France.