Out of the Mouths of Babes

Yesterday, Ellie was sitting on Jack's lap, looked up at his shirtless chest, touched his chest hari with one finger and said, "Dirty." Funny little beings.

I know that people read this blog and lest you think that every day is just fun and laughter, I'll let the cat out of the bag and officially say that yesterday was one of the worst days with the babies that I can remember since I've been sleeping through the night.

They all acted tired at 8:15am, after waking up at 6:30. Way early for toddlers who have been taking one nap a day for the past couple weeks. So, down for a nap they went. Liam didn't sleep, although he's the one who was basically comatose at breakfast. Ellie slept just 30 minutes and Lily took a nice nap for about an hour. After the nap, the day went downhill.

All day, they all fussed, cried and fought. Even when we were outside and playing, they ran on the lawn whining. No one ate; they dumped everything on the floor. Liam found it unacceptable to be in anyone's arms but mine...all day long. Aaaah, you say. How fun to just hold a baby. Yes, but I have 2 more crankies plus, I have the basic things in life to accomplish, like going to the bathroom, eating, cleaning up after their meals, etc. Difficult to do with a child who won't get out of my lap without screaming and difficult to do while 2 ofther crankies are hitting and pushing in an attmept to also get into my lap.

Acting tired again at 11:30. So, down for nap #2. This schedule was reminiscent of when they were a couple months old. Again, Liam slept for 20 minutes, Ellie not at all and Lily for an hour.
The crankies continued.

Acting tired again at 3:30, plus, there was no way that they'd make it to bedtime without a third nap. Ellie didn't sleep, Liam didn't sleep and I woke up Lily at 5. Bedtime was at 7, mainly for Ellie and Liam who hadn't slept and I thought were for sure tired after spending all their energy whining. No go. All were up til about 8:30 and Liam screamed til 9:30 when I went to bed.

Yes, I do feel guilty for going to bed while my baby was crying. You need to understand that the child was so beyond being tired that me being in there with him would have only stimulated him further. He may be teething, but had plenty of medicine to make him comfortable. You also need to understand that I'd been up with him since 5:20 that morning and by 9:30pm and still hearing him cry, I was just spent. He, along with his sisters, wore me out today. The day was totally off schedule, total chaos and noisy to boot.

Hopefully today will be better. I certainly don't want this blog to be one where I release all of my frustrations, but I do want it to be a real look into parenting triplets. Yes, they are so much fun and I love being with them, but it isn't always pleasant.

Lord, please give me strength for another day. Deep breath.

Happy Easter!

How do you get 3 toddlers to sit and get their picture taken? I guess in this case, you take the first picture and you take it FAST.

Because Why Wouldn't You...

want to play on fried eggs,

or rest on a waffle with butter,

or climb on a strawberry,

or slide on a piece of bacon?

The Throne

Recently, we had dinner with friends whose youngest child is approaching 3 years old and is now using the "big" toilet. My friend offered two training toilets to us and how can I refuse that offer? The kids are only 18 months and I'm not seriously thinking of getting into the nitty-gritty potty training, but it would be a good thing to have around and for them to get used to. Ellie has been telling me when she has gone poo-poo and when in the tub, thankfully, she tells me before the fact. I called her bluff two baths in a row and I lost, so now, when she tells me, I immediately pluck her out of the tub and get a diaper on that little bottom. As long as I believe her, there are no messes to clean.

Back to the potties...I decide to put them in our downstairs bathroom, actually, just outside of it because the bathroom gets small with two training toilets in there and even smaller when there is an adult plus 3 curious toddlers. Anyway, the fascination with the toilets began immediately. They pulled them apart and tried to put them back together. Even more funny was when I came downstairs to find Liam and Ellie sitting on the toilets and Ellie flipping through a book.

3 Very Different Little People

There has been a lot going on at our house. For one, my computer crashed and is trying to get revived. Anyone reading this use a Mac? I think that we are done with Dell and Microsoft and ready for a change.

These kids grow at an alarming rate. I now understand when my parents used to say that watching kids grow really makes you feel old. Today I was able to put pigtails in both of my girls' hair. They looked adorable but because of the way their hair grows and their head shape, I think that piggies favor Lily right now. That may have sounded mean. It isn't meant to be. Ellie has a big round head with a little hair and Lily has a little oval head with a little hair, so when Ellie wears pigtails, her head dwarfs the piggies. She just needs a bit more hair and then the "do" will suit her very well.

Recently, I bought them each a pair of sunglasses from Target. You know how Target has that $1.00 section? What better place to buy sunglasses for 18-month olds than at a $1.00 bin? I bought them because they've learned to say the word "glasses" and are always walking into the room with my sunglasses in hand. No matter where I leave them, they can reach them. So, they now each have their own. Lily took to them immediately! Her glasses are pink with sparkles and look divine on her. She wore them for a better part of an hour, walking around the house with her sunglasses on, collecting valuable items such as: ClearEyes (stolen off Jack's desk), a play cell phone and a rubberband. Liam liked them, but didn't get too attached. Ellie liked hers but was much more concerned that Liam kept dropping his. She walked around the house trying to give Liam back his sunglasses. It went something like this:

Ellie: "Dank u" and handing Liam his glasses.

Liam: "No. Dank u." and refusing to let her put them on him or even hand them to him.

Ellie: "Eeam. Dank u." Following him around holding out his glasses.

Liam: "No."
Ellie: "Eeam Dank you. Aaaah" followed by her whapping him on the head with his sunglasses.

I'm sure that you can guess what ensued...some biting, hitting and tears. All over a pair of sunglasses. They do look mighty cute in them though!

Liam

Lily

Ellie

The babies, well, toddlers are almost 19 months and I've not really listed what their personalities are nor what their likes and dislikes are, so here it is:

Ellie is very similar in personality to her me. She is organized and actually spends a good amount of time in the kitchen stacking bowls and then unstacking them and then restacking and so on. Her favorite activity would be to be left alone with me in the kitchen and have access to the dishwasher, cupboards and silverware. She actually gasps with delight when I open the dishwasher to load or unload. She absolutely adores putting all of the spoons in one container then moving them all one at a time to another silverware holder. She has also developed a mean streak. She enjoys taking blankies and favorite animals belonging to Lily and Liam and then watches in mocked confusion as they cry. When she's told to give them back, she will either run and hide or pretend to give them back only to hold onto them without letting go. She has upwards of 50 words and is beginning to combine them to make 2 words phrases. She is able to walk up and down stairs only holding onto my hand or the railing. She climbs the ladder to the slide by herself adn is able to go down and land on her feet. She loves to climb onto the toychest, walk to the edge and yell out, "Uh, oo, ee!" and jump off. She eats with a spoon and fork and rarely allows anythign to fall off either utensil. She loves drinking from a regular cup and enjoys feeding her food to her brother and sister. She makes me laugh every day and also manages to frustrate me to new levels. She is a frequent visitor to time out but is able to stay in the time out spot until she is calm and completes her sentence. Ellie has 10 teeth and is in the middle of getting her final 2 1-year molars. She loves her pink blankie and her Dog-Dog, a pink poodle from Hanna Andersson (http://www.hannaandersson.com/). To name a few, she loves yogurt, waffles, pancakes, peaches, crackers, chicken, ketchup, BBQ sauce and dislikes veggies, hamburger (except in spaghetti), avocado and blueberries.

Ellie

Lily definitely marches to beat of her own drum. She is a kick in the pants. This child is goofy and loves every minute of it. She reminds me of my sister. Not that my sister is goofy, but my sister was confident in herself and really could care less what anyone thought of her. Lily is similar. She is the most social, initially. When we are out, Lily seeks out people to whom she can say "HI!" She will keep saying "hi" until the person responds or until we are out of view. Lily is content to be on her own and read a book or play by herself while the others are together. She has about 40-50 words and some signs. When we are out in public, Lily is the one I HAVE to watch. She really could care less if I'm around. At the mall, at the park, on the beach, it is Lily who takes off with the wind. She doesn't look back to check where Mommy is, nor does she return to "check in." She just goes. When we were in Hawaii, we usually camped out near the back of the beach and it was a good thing, because it gave us lots of time to catch up to her. She took off for the waves and never looked back. She is a love and gives lots of kisses to her brother and sister. She is gentle, unless a toy is taken from her. I can understand that. Lily hasn't visited time-out but will take toys to Ellie when she is in time out. She loves "Bear" and her pink and brown blankie. Lily has one and a half teeth on the bottom and a half of a tooth on the top. She is getting ready to break through 2 more teeth, which would explain her fussiness recently. She loves to eat blueberries, banana, waffles, pancakes, yogurt, chicken, cheese, , noodles, BBQ sauce and ketchup and dislikes veggies and avocado. Lily may not eat the most, but she definitely eats the most variety.

Liam is a love. No other words to describe him. He is a total sweetheart who loves to roughhouse with Daddy. He is a totaly boy and loves to destroy block towers. He loves to listen to music and flap his hands while dancing. He shows off how he jumps by bending his knees, then straightening them and flinging his head back. He never actually leaves the ground, but in his head he believes he soared. He is hot and cold too. When he's happy, he's definitely happy, but his mood can turn at the frop of a hat, or whenever he doesn't get his way. Instead of just yelling and crying, he goes on a mini tirade. He will quickly turn his back on me and then knocks everything out of his way as he leaves the room to hav a little tantrum. He is the most shy when we are out and about, but will warm up with time. He loves to point out airplanes in the sky and even when we are in the house, he will yell "aaaayyy-pay" if he hears one. he has about 40 words that he uses, although I doubt very much that anyone other than Mommy would know what he was saying. He loves to throw the ball out into the street on our cul-de-sac and watch it roll down the street. He recently began to label each person in our house. He does it when they are in their carseats, during walks, at bedtime or when we are all playing together. He will point at each person and say their name "Momma," "Dadda," "Eyie," "Yeyie." He gets them all right the first time but then starts to mix up his sisters. If he gets too into it or is asked too many questions, he even switches up Momma and Dadda. He loves his "Bay" (bear), Frog and blue blankie. He loves to say prayers at night and yells out "Amen!" throughout the prayer. He loves, loves, loves cheese and likes to eat eggs, waffles, chicken, beans, fruit, crackers, BBQ sauce and ketchup. He dislikes blueberries, veggies and avocado.

I will try to post more stories and pictures, if my computer decides to keep working. As for now, I'm going to go drink some wine and try to catch up on LOST (anyone is welcome to post your thoughts on this very confusing show), unless I decide to use my quiet time to clean the house. I'll let you know what I decide after I finish this glass of "Beaujolais-Villages" Red Burgundy. It is tasty and I highly recommend it.

Done with airplanes!!!

Here are some pictures from the past month in California and in Maui. We loved being with my family but it is nice to be home. I'm sure my family is enjoying a break form us too! The kids loved the sand, but it was always a matter of time before they rubbed some sand in their eyes and then the beach time was over. My brother's family was there and his son Brendan is much loved by the trio, especially Lily. Any brown-haired boy they saw, they pointed and yelled, "B!" Liam ended up with a double ear infection in Maui and Lily had a singe ear infection. Luckily the Dr. there gave Liam an antibiotic shot and he felt much better within a day. The girls absolutely loved the ocean and we had to be hypervigilant because they would just take off toward the ocean not caring at all if anyone was behind them. Liam was much more hesitant about the waves and the noise of the crashing waves. He began to feel comfortable a couple days before we left, which was a bummer, but it was nice to see him sitting in the whitewash and splashing.
No more trips for a while.

Our airplanes trips have been so varied with how we've done things to how the kids have done on the planes. We usually buy 4 seats total and have one baby on our lap. We've tried every combination you could imagine: 1) taking both toddler car seats on the plane 2) one toddler car seat, one in a lap and one on a seat 3) no toddler car seats...one on a lap and two in airplane seats 4) bought a seat for each child with 2 car seats in one row and with 2 car seats but in different rows 5) flown early in the morning 6) flown in the middle of the afternoon 7) flown later at night.

For those of you planning an airplane trip, I can't vouch for any one combination. Having 2 car seats is nice because there is a place to put one if you need both your hands for another child. Also, if they happen to fall asleep, it is nice to have a spot for them. If, however, your children don't sleep, then if they are like mine, they won't want to just sit in their car seat and it becomes difficult because you have essentially "lost" a seat. On one of our flights, I sat in a row with 2 car seats and both children would scream until I took them out, but then I was stuck. I had 2 kids crawling on my lap in one seat because their car seats were taking up so much space on the other two seats.

Having one car seat worked because, again, there was a place to put a child and also an empty seat for the kids to sit or play on.

Checking one car seat with baggage and checking 2 car seats at the gate was nice becuase there wasn't anything to lug through the narrow airplane aisle, however, keeping two children in their seats is difficult. For a shorter flight (2 hours), this combination worked. I brought along some new toys, Fruity Cheerios (only used for special occasions) and the key item.....PORTABLE DVD player with Baby Einstein. This worked wonders and kept them occupied or at least slowed them down a little.

The Hawaii flights (5 hours) were the hardest thing I've been through with the triplets, with the exception of the sleepless months when they were little. What do you do with 3 18-month olds on an airplane where they miss a nap and can't move around like they'd like to?? For those of you reading and are maybe nervous about the flight, it can't get any worse than this....Ellie screamed for about 3 1/2 hours of the 4 1/2 hour flight. I knew she was tired, but she couldn't sleep, wouldn't eat, wouldn't play, wouldn't listen to books, wouldn't watch Baby Einstein, wouldn't walk the aisles....nothing. I tried to keep her from kicking the seat, pulling herself up on the seat in front of us and from generally disturbing the passenger in front of us. I believe that the woman in front of us had had too much to drink and was just a mean person anyway. She had finally had enough and screamed at me. Told me to tell my child to "shut the h*** up." She said that she had flown lots of times with babies on flights and had never had this experience and that everyone on the plane was thinking how miserable my child was, she was the only one "brave" enough to say something. Well, my family (Jack, my brother, sister-in-law, sister and sister's boyfriend) stood up and yelled back at her. The flight attendants were on her in a second and told her to calm herself or they'd have someone waiting for her at LAX. Finally, they moved her to another seat up front and I never saw her again. I think her husband told her to get the car while he and her kids (yes, she was a great exampe for her two yong children) got the bags. Anyway, if I can get through that one, you too can laugh in the face of a crazy woman.

We are going to be here in Denver looking forward to some visits by family. Jack's parents are planning a trip in late March, one of my best friends, Casey, is coming in April and my sister, Molly, is also planning a trip in April or May. Can't wait to see everyone!

Enjoy the pictures!




Liam enjoying some sun and sand.




My Dad and Ellie and Me and Liam



(L-R) Ellie, Liam and Lily spacing out to Baby
Einstein.



Lily and Ellie with their cousin, B.



Liam playing ball at Grammie and Papa's


The Disneyland brigade...Kassie (cousin), Ellie, B, Liam,
Lily and Adisyn (cousin).