The Best Sound on Earth

The other day, I was in the kitchen waiting for the kids to wake up from their naps. Ellie and Liam were sleeping in their cribs and Lily was in the Pack'n'Play in the other room. Don't feel badly for her though. When she wakes up, she rarely just is quiet. She yells and yells and wakes up Ellie and Liam early. So, for naps, she goes in the guest room. She has a nice set up though, so please don't feel that we are punishing her.

While I was waiting for them to wake up, I heard a noise. I thought it was a first yell, but as I listened, it was something else. It was laughter. Not the adult "ha ha ha" laughter, but a deep belly giggle. Then I heard another, different giggle. I turned on the monitor and sure enough it was the belly giggles of Ellie and Liam. They would giggle and giggle and then it was silent. Then as if on cue, they both erupted into belly giggles for a bit and then silence, again.

I took the monitor in to Jack in his office and we both just melted listen to two of our three angels giggling with each other. We crept upstairs and very carefully cracked the door. Ellie was standing in her crib with a pacifier in her mouth looking at Liam. Liam was on his tummy, lying on the crib bumper and looking at Ellie through the crib slats. Both were staring at each other and then would erupt into a fit of giggles. We watched for a while until Ellie noticed us and the game was up.

Later that evening, after the kids were down, Jack and I were getting dinner ready and we heard the belly giggles again. We turned the monitor on again and just sat and listened. We were able to distinguish all 3 giggles. It only went on for a short time and then there was silence. They had fallen asleep...to sleep like babies.

For those of you who are parents, you know it. For those of you who aren't, there is no better sound on earth than hearing your own perfect children giggling with each other and then falling asleep.

They're Moving!!!

It has been what seems like eternity since I last posted. Yes, eternity is a month when your triplets go from 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 months old.

In the past month, Ellie has gone from rocking on her hands and knees, to pulling herself, to crawling, to pulling herself up on ANYTHING and standing for a while. She gets the best smile on her face when she tackles an object and pulls up with it...like she has conquered the world. She loves to talk and her favorite thing is making a quiet drawn-out sound and gradually getting louder til she is red in the face from yelling. She used to drain an 8 oz. bottle in 7 minutes. Now, she prefers to suck on it, pull it out and study it, talk, check out what Lily and Liam are doing, suck a little more and then want down to play. It has become somewhat difficult to pin her down for the whole bottle.

In the past month, Lily has gone from rocking on her hands and knees, to crawling, to getting into a sitting position by herself. I love walking into their room after a nap and finding her sitting in her crib playing with a toy. Too cute! She is going to be the boss of the group...definitely! What Lily wants, Lily takes. She becomes interested in a toy, but if Ellie or Liam have a toy,s he wants that one. She'll play with it for a second until they pick up another one, then she'll go and take something else from them. Lily often sticks her tongue out and gives a raspberry. While Ellie and Liam may do it because they like the sound they can make, Lily does it with meaning. Lily LOVES the camera and will immediately ham it up when a cell phone camera or a film camera come out. The gummy smile, the cocked head, the goofy grin and the noises. She prefers to have someone hold the bottle in her mouth and lets it drip out of the nipple, rather than actually suck. Oh, the effort involved in that!!! As a result, her feed has been taking upwards of 20 minutes.

In the past month, Liam has gone from learning to sit independently, to rocking on hands and knees, to pulling himself commando-style to get a toy or to get away from one of his sisters. Liam has the sweetest disposition and will whine until someone picks him up. He LOVES being thrown in the air and roughed up a bit. He is extremely ticklish on his upper thighs and will give a full belly giggle. He is a born fish. In water, his facial expressions change and he splashes without fear of water on his face. Baths drench the kitchen with his splashing. He doesn't mind his head going under water. When approached by a sister eager to take his toy, he tries his best to get out of the way, but often gives up his toy and goes in search of an unclaimed one. He is often a climbing object for Ellie and Lily, but as long as they don't pull his hair, eyes, nose, mouth or ears, he is content to help them.

Mom and Dad are doing great with the trio. We look forward to seeing them each morning. Everyday brings something new that they can understand or accomplish. The look in their eyes when they have done something for which they've worked hard, is amazing.

Their one year birthday is coming up and it is unbelievable that a full year has passed. Raising triplets the first year hasn't been the "hell" I was told it would be. It has been one of the best years of my life so far.

Christie