Triplets turn 1!

Well, a year has come and gone at 3 times the speed of normal life. We celebrated by hosting a birthday party with no certain theme, except to thank the many wonderful people who helped us make it to this point in time without losing our sanity.

We had a taco cart...

 And a pictures of the boys every month to see how they have grown this year...

 100 cupcakes and a 1/2 sheet cake that disappeared before I could even blink...

 A huge water jug that we refilled at least 6 times as the temperatures were in the upper 90's (flowers courtesy of my cousin Tiffany)

 A cake eating

 Weston was enthralled that he could make the crowd squeal by tipping his plate

 Paxton was all to happy to assist

 But he did give back Weston his cake plate to play with despite him keeping the 2 cakes

 But no worries, a crowd of kids was anxious to help Weston get back some of his cake

Creighton just kept munching until he ate ALL of his cake

 

Ella found a quite spot to enjoy her cake

And lest we forget... Thea's earring tore right through ear. After an instacare visit (the day after the party), we have been told it will require a plastic surgeon to repair it. Oh joy. Poor girl.

 Creighton learned how to ring the bell on our table

 Weston always crawls on all 4's now!

 And they have discovered the pots & pans cupboard!

 The pictures that were outside marking each month as it passed and the boys grew and changed

Eating cake on their actual birthday... lucky boys

 Weston eyeing Creighton's hat...

 Creighton then stealing a piece of Weston's cake after managing to keep his hat just out of Weston's reach

 Now it was Paxton's turn to attempt to remove Creighton's hat.

 Creighton was safe yet again, and remained capped!

 Drumming on their diaper present. It's a good day when they get diapers.

 Opening their car seats was way more fun from the top

 Mr. Creighton

 And Weston with his crazy hair. Always has food in it and sticks up now-a-days

FAtQ

1. How do you tell the identicals apart?
They have individual personalities now that really help us out. They are getting more distinct in that sense every day. However, if they are not together (say only 1 of them is in a room when I've been gone), I will often get it wrong. I usually need to have them together to be sure.

2. Can the sisters tell them apart?
Makaela is really good at knowing who's who. Thea is a little less consistent. And Ella will openly claim, "I like Creighton the best because I always know who he is. I just don't know who the other two are." She is easily frustrated by the fact that she is often corrected.

3. How is it having them move?
They get harder every day it seems. Although I may be sleeping now that seems to be all I get to do and the only time I get to sit down. They get busier every day and I cannot leave them alone for even a minute or they are eating something off the floor, pulling toys down on top of each other, opening drawers and unloading them, or discovering a new something to get into. And I know that we are only just beginning! They also chase me when I leave a room now and cry when they can't see me. Weston is the fastest crawler, but Creighton has been army crawling the longest and usually leads the charge into discovery (read: trouble). Paxton is usually left behind as he crawls slower and once he is crying he is too frustrated to try any more. The best part is how they just plow over each other like 4-wheel trucks to get to toys. Sometimes the one on the bottom complains, but usually they are all pretty focused on their goal toy. It is really entertaining to watch!

4. Do you still carry more than one at a time?
I cannot carry more than 2 at a time, and it is usually only for short distances because they are so wiggly. They weigh in about 20lbs each (within 1 1/2 lbs of each other) so it gets heavy quickly as well. The most interesting thing about holding them is that they now are fully aware of when someone is being held and they are not. So when I carry them to a different location there are always two left behind crying, and then the 1 sits and cries after I put him down. And if someone is fussy the other two will start getting fussy now (mob mentality). If I pick up one, the other two will always protest as well. So we spend  a lot of time dancing around, singing, and looking plain silly just to get them to stop crying.

5. How is feeding going?
Great! Just in the last few days they no longer leave behind a dust pan full of dropped finger food. It is only about 1/3 full when I sweep. They continue to eat a lot. A typical meal might be: 1/2 bag of frozen peas, 1/3-1/2 cantaloupe, 2 pieces of bread with butter, and 3 graham crackers. So I feel like we are eating a lot, but it is a lot of work to keep up those chubby thighs and cheeks!

6. How is summer going?
Busy as all moms summer is. I am more often than not grateful to have my girls home and around. And the boys do pretty good being out and about. I fee like that it takes me a lot of thought to make sure I pack everything we need for each outing, but I am also getting better at it and finding a few shortcuts (thank you food pouches).

7. How was traveling with triplets? How did they do on the plane?
They were great! We had no major melt downs, they all slept for at least an hour each ride. I could have never survived without my wonderful husband and parents willing to work so hard to help. And Makaela grew into an amazing stroller driver! It was a lot of work, but worth every memory.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Always happy to fill in my loved ones!

Another Month

Another month has somehow come and gone, and time continues to disappear into yesterdays.

Paxton, Creighton, Weston

Weston, Paxton, Creighton

The boys continue to grow and progress, and they are now sitting up and working on finger foods (only dumping maybe 1/2 the food the floor now!). Happy 9 months!

FAtQ... take 2

I thought it was time to post another Frequently Asked triplet Questions. Hopefully answering these common questions will also answer some of your questions (since it is so hard to find time to spend with all of you!). Feel free to ask, always. I am sometimes amazed at what people tell me is interesting as we talk, because to me it has all become so "normal"

"Is it getting any easier?" 
My usual answer is "some things are." But if I were 100% honest I would just say no. I do not feel like today was any easier then a day in October, or January. Kids just change, they don't really ever get easier do they? Whether there are 3 at a time or otherwise. But I still spend a lot of time feeding, prepping food, cleaning up food, dressing, diapering, essentially just going from task to task. What really makes it trickier is that I am trying to be a more "normal" full-time mom again to the 3 girls, so the busy that I feel is what I believe is simply the business of being a mom to 6 fabulous kids. That being said, it is hard to sort out if the boys are actually easier, because in general the days feel just as tiresome and wonderful as ever.

"Are they sleeping?" or "Are you sleeping?"
Yes! The boys haven't been eating at night since just after Christmas. But they continued to struggle to sleep through the night until the very fist days of March. Then of course we got RSV shortly after, and consequently we didn't really get a good run of sleeping through the night until after Easter. Of course, another side effect of 6 kids, usually a couple nights a week someone needs you for something. But I feel like we are on a steady course of sleeping regularly! Hurray!!!

"Are those triplets"
Still the most common question I get asked when I go out. Along with "are they identical" and "did you have them" as well as, "how do you do it" and "is it hard?" Some days we can hardly walk 10 feet without getting stopped in public, but for the most part we are very used to and not bothered by the stares and pointing. After all, if I saw triplets I too would point them out to my kids! The only thing that really upsets me now-a-days is if someone tries to sneak pictures. Why does any stranger need pictures of my kids?

"Do they entertain each other?"
Not really. Mostly they roll on top of each other or kick each other or grab each others faces. Many times while they are playing they will find the toy their brother has more fascinating then the one they have (already) and work their way over to take a turn. Creighton is usually the biggest culprit. If something makes a noise he will want it, find it, and try to get it! They may not entertain each other much, but they entertain me all the time! They are always stuck under something, or into something (the trash is a favorite in the room), or just on top of each other. LOVE them so much!

"Do you feed them with 1 spoon"
Yes. 1 spoon, 1 bowl. Down the row we go!

"I bet you're glad they aren't moving yet!?"
Yes I am! We have purchased a play yard for when they do start moving so that I can leave the room for 2 min and not worry about what they will be into.

New Table

After trying out a few different methods for feeding the boys, Mark finally decided that it was time to simplify. So I ordered some chairs and Mark bought a used table, borrowed a saw, and built us a new table!

It has been sooooo easy to use and clean up! So far, so GREAT! As we have started to use finger foods the messes have only worsened and I am all the more grateful for how this table has simplified my day (at least 3x over!). What a wonderful husband I have, knowing just how to make the day in and day out tasks a little easier, which ultimately makes me oh so happy!

32 weeks x2

The pregnancy lasted 32 weeks (almost 8 of those in the hospital). Today the boys are 8 months old... or 32 weeks (4 & 5 weeks of those spent in the hospital). The last 8 months have gone much quicker since the boys joined our family, and I fall a little more in love each day. What a privilege each moment continues to be to live in this home and be with these wonderful little angels... all 6 of them. And of course my wonderful other half too!

The boys roll all over on the floor and often get stuck under things and in between things. Sitting up is still a work in progress as well as finger foods. They are all about 17-18lbs and together are eating about 9 containers of food a day + a box of 8oz cereal every 2 days + 75oz of bottle every day. 

(That's about 270 containers of baby food, 15 boxes of cereal, and 24 cans of formula every month). 

I just love how chubby they are getting!

Paxton

Creighton

 Weston

 They are amazing!

Early Easter

We put on our Easter clothes a week early since it was the boys first day of going to all 3 hours of church (and it was our first time being late with the boys, so we took the walk of shame, because the bench we require is the VERY FRONT one where we can fit us all. Oh well, it was destined to happen eventually). But I must admit, the boys (and girls actually) were angels today! Mark took Creighton with him to teach Sunday School (with Stake visitors no less), and I took Paxton and Weston in a double stroller with me. We skipped Sunday School so I could try to walk/rock them to sleep and then we went to Relief Society. In order to actually fit into the room we had to open the double door, and Jen Brewer had to help me remove chairs so we had a spot big enough for the stroller to park. However, the boys were wonderful (despite not sleeping any more) and sat in their stroller the entire time with limited help from me! Mark reported that Creighton was held for only a little during Sunday School and then he too sat in his stroller the rest of the time! It was a good first experience, despite feeling a little awkward maneuvering it all as mom.

 

Creighton, Paxton, Weston

After a lot of smiley shots it was time to break it up with something silly.

This last week I also took on the crazy task of making new Easter baskets for the kids. The girls needed this little mom activity, so it was a good pay off to watch them have so much fun putting the buckets together. They turned out great, and despite being a little larger then we wanted, that ended up being a positive when the boys could fit inside them!

 And a few weeks ago we (just a day before the RSV set in) we went to Disney on Ice. It was fabulous fun. It featured Cinderella, Tiana, and Rapunzel. All done very well, but Rapunzel's amazing hair was a favorite part. They did dancing in it like ribbon dancing from the ceiling!