Story Time and the Botanic Gardens

After walking the bank last Thursday (see my last post), we stopped by the library on our way home.  It just so happened to be story time.  Our local library has story time for toddlers and for "babies."  We were there for the toddler story time, and it was a bit too advanced for the girls.  They didn't know what was going on.  I was afraid to take them out of the stroller because once they have the freedom to walk around, they scream when I try to put them back in the stroller.  Screaming at the library would be such a nightmare, and it's not like I can just carry all three of them out of there while pushing the stroller.  This could get interesting.  Next time I'm going to go to the "baby" story time, but I'm still scared to take them out of the stroller.

This morning we took the girls to the Botanic Gardens again.  It was much nicer this time because Katie and Izzy-B can walk around.  They had a lot of fun playing.  True to form, when we put Katie back in the choo-choo wagon to go to another part of the gardens, she screamed.  UGH!  At one point, kids got into our empty choo-choo wagon and their dad took them on a ride.  We didn't say anything because they didn't leave the area we were in, but it took them a few minutes to figure out that it didn't belong to the gardens.  The dad was pulling the kids around, but it was the mom who realized it belonged to us - of course!  It was really warm and sunny when we first arrived, but it soon turned a bit chilly.  The last time I tried to use the sunglasses, the girls kept taking them off.  This time they left them alone. 

Sold. Closed. Broke.

And when I say broke, I mean broke.  We closed on our house today.  It happened pretty fast.  We went under contract just 16 days ago.  The buyer paid cash, so that made the whole process faster.  On the one hand it's a major relief to just be done with it.  On the other hand, we were taken to the cleaners.  The highest offer we received and the one we accepted (after negotiating, of course), was less than what we owed the bank (it wasn't a short sale though).  Plus, we still had to pay closing costs and the 6% commission. 

Yesterday morning, I walked with the girls to the bank to take out every last penny of our savings and take out a large chunk from our line of credit to bring to closing today.  Now, I have to pay interest on a loan just to sell our house.  I feel like I never want to own a house again.  It was supposed to be such a great investment, but it ended up being a money pit.  We put at least $30k into renovating and updating parts of the house, and we still had to bring nearly that much to closing.  Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. 

We specifically set up closing so that we didn't have to meet the buyer.  I don't want to know anything about him.  I know his name, and that's enough for me.  He doesn't get possession of the house until next week.  We still have to move all of our furniture (for staging) out of the house.  Because the closing came so quickly and there were crucial deadlines for objection this week, we didn't want to move the furniture out in case it fell through and then the house wouldn't be staged for future showings.  We don't have room for most of the furniture at our new house.  We're going to be living in a cramped space for a few weeks.  I'll post most of it on craigslist, but I'd also like to have a yard sale.  We can't do that for at least three more weeks because of existing weekend plans.

I am sad that the house the girls came home from the hospital to is no longer ours.  It also had the most amazing yard and garage.  I miss that part of it.  However, we bought high and then had triplets.  Our financial situation changed so much that we just couldn't afford to stay there anymore. 

Now, we start fresh - we do our best to pay off the last of our debt and start saving again.

Our first house - notice the huge garage to the left behind the white fence:

Male Visitors

The girls had two male visitors today.  First, our friends brought over their 6 month old son, Wyatt.  He's adorable, and he's big!  He's 9 months YOUNGER than the girls, but he weighs as much as Katie (21lbs).  Wyatt was quite overwhelmed by all the chaos in our house.  He was not a fan of the crying and screaming and toy sharing. 

Later in the afternoon, the girls had another male visitor.  Sam (from yesterday's post) grabbed his dad's hand and pulled him out the door saying "babies, babies."  As they got closer to our door, Sam was saying "girls, girls."  SO CUTE!!  He came in and played with the girls in their upstairs playroom.  Then we went outside and set up the Step 2 water table that I bought today.  When we first went outside, it was warm.  Everyone got soaked, and the clouds quickly rolled in.  All four kids were shivering.  The girls and Sam are going to have a pretty great summer together!

A Busy Day

We had a busy day yesterday.  My cousin graduated from high school (congratulations Clint!), and we went to his graduation party.  It was the first time the girls met my dad's side of the family.  They roasted a pig, so the girls enjoyed some pork and pasta salad.  My cousin blew bubbles for the girls.  Katie had a great time walking all around.

Maggie with her great aunt Pat

Izzy-B with her cousin Nichole and her great uncle Louie

Maggie chewing on the party decorations

When we got home, we enjoyed the beautiful afternoon on our lawn with our neighbors.  It has been raining like crazy here, so our lawn looks pretty amazing! 

Izzy-B with our neighbor Emily, who happens to be an identical twin.

Katie checking out Rally

Our neighbor Dan with his son Sam, who is 6 months older than the girls

Izzy-B checking out Sam's ride

Katie with the ski poles

Sam's mom Liz took Sam, Katie and Izzy-B on a ride in the choo choo wagon.  Sam loves it! 

Maggie has discovered the art of nose picking. 

And eating it too?!?  Yuck!

Where's Izzy-B?

Ahhhh - now I can see!



After the girls had dinner, a bath and went to bed, we had a BBQ with the neighbors.  This is going to be a great summer!!

Showing off her skills

I have a really hard time getting the girls to show off their skills in front of other people or even in front of the camera. This was a rare video I got of Maggie. 

The Climbers

I've had a giant foam block covered in fabric since I was little.  I used to put my saddle (it was small) on it and ride it like a horse (we had horses when I was little and again throughout middle and high school).  The foam has had many uses over the years.  My parents had it recovered several years ago.  Unfortunately, they didn't consult me with the fabric choice.  Oh well.  I now have had it in the girls upstairs play area.  It was a great object for them to cruise around and a good place for me to sit without having three little monkeys trying to sit on my lap at once.  A couple of weeks ago, this is what I found:

Maggie and Izzy-B learned how to climb up on it.  I was about to shoot some video, and right before I started Maggie fell off. 

Once Maggie is up on the foam block, she can't get down unless she falls. She would sit up there and scream until I would help her down. Then, she'd turn right around and climb back up. She took a backwards fall off of it right in front of me, and I immediately moved it out of the play area. I miss my seat. Katie is not a climber.  The only thing she climbs up is the stairs. 

Fifteen Months

I know many of you have been waiting for an update on the girls.  I've had so many things that I've wanted to write about, but I just haven't found the time! 

Here is a quick summary:  Katie is nearly a full time walker.  Izzy-B is still just taking a few steps at a time, and, of course, little miss Maggie still can't stand without holding on something.  She keeps trying, and she's getting better at it.  She's finally standing flat-footed more often, which makes me feel so much better about her development.  Last week, I took the girls to Costco by myself.  It wasn't so bad.  It's hard to shop with a baby strapped to your chest, but I really appreciate that Costco has room for two kiddos in their carts.  We finally finished the basement project, which is allowing us to make room in the finished part of the basement for another playroom for the girls.  I'm really excited to finish that, but we need to buy another long fence with a gate to keep them from getting to the computer.  There's lots of babbling going on, but I'm not convinced that there are any real words yet.  Possibly some mama and dada, but I'm just not sure.  Yesterday Maggie started making "esss" and "thaa" sounds.  They can follow some directions, like clap and wave.  They can also identify someone else's nose and their own ears.  Maggie also pointed to her toes for me a couple of times.  Lastly, Maggie is a super duper climber.  She is incredibly strong, and she can climb onto the couch by herself.  Her foot has to nearly be as high as her head for her to accomplish this.  She is quite flexible too!

Anyway - I plan on being more diligent about posting.  I would ideally like to post everyday.  I'm sure there will soon be lots of funny and cute stories for me to share as they begin to talk and walk.

This morning the girls had their fifteen month check-up.  They're doing really well.  They haven't been in for a sick visit even once!  *knock on wood*  Maggie had to have a nebulizer treatment today. We brought a machine home to continue treatments for a couple of weeks.  The doctor could hear some wheezing in her chest, which we assume is a carryover from the cold her had a couple of weeks ago.  He thinks it will go away on its own, but he recommended that we go ahead and do the treatments.

We did their 15 month photos yesterday.  It was such a difficult photo shoot.  There's no way I could do that every month!  Izzy-B was the most difficult; I'm surprised we got any decent pictures of her.  She would NOT stand-up.  The group shot was nearly impossible.  We dressed them in their Easter clothes since I didn't get any good photos of them on Easter.  Grandpa Jack bought the girls these clothes. 

Katie:

Weight - 21lbs 2oz - 25%
Height - 30in - 30%
Head - 46.1cm - 50%
Teeth - Three on the bottom; four on top
Clothes - 12mo

Maggie:
Weight - 20lbs 10oz - 17%
Height - 30.25in - 50%
Head - 45cm - 25%
Teeth - Two on the bottom; four on top
Clothes - 12mo

Izzy-B:
Weight - 19bs 2oz - 5% - still my little peanut
Height - 29.5in - 25%
Head - 46.1cm - 50%
Teeth - Two on the bottom; four on top
Clothes - 12mo