Dedicated Dedicated Dedicated

Sunday, we finally had the triplets' Baby Dedication!

We wanted to make sure my parents could participate, and since my Dad's a pastor, it's kind of hard to him to take off a Sunday to come down to Jersey from CT. Plus, there's that whole travel schedule thing. We needed to make sure my Pastor of World Outreach Father was actually IN the country! I'm so glad we waited, our pastor asked my Dad if he'd like to preach! How cool is that? My Dad...preaching...at my church! Way cool.

For the past few months, I've wondered how this dedication was going to happen...logistically speaking. When our pastor calls our family up, there are 2 adults and 5 kids. Two of those kids can walk on their own...3 need to be carried. I'm sorry, but I don't trust Zoe to carry a baby up to the front of the church! Not to mention all the "chronologically challenged" congregants that would have a heart attack watching that! Thankfully, Shane's sister walked up with us as the entire extended family came to the front to show their support and dedication to these babies.


Even though our babies are triplets, we wanted to make sure each one was individually brought before the Lord. Our pastor made sure that happened. Shane's father held Cole, my father held Eli, & Pastor Wes held Ava. Each of them prayed over the baby they were holding. It was so beautiful. If I was technically savvy, I'd be able to post the video...but alas...I'm not! Someday though, when I have a moment (maybe 18 years from now), I'll transcribe each of those prayers and update this post to include them. For now, take my word, each prayer was unique to that child and really a blessing over that baby.

Enjoy some of the moments through these pictures:

Cole wanted to eat PopPop's microphone!

Eli wanted to play with Granddad's face!

Ava was busy trying to figure out who was holding her!

Spring is Here!

Do you know why I love spring?

Because of this...

and this...

and this...

Baby chub is SO yummy!
I love their chubby elbows...and chubby knees...and the chub behind the knees...
...and chubby little toes...
...oh my goodness...
...the toes...

Only 2 Months Late

So we're almost nine months into this triplet thing, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about their 6-month Developmental Evaluation. Sorry. This was harder than I thought it'd be!

Call me naive, but I had no idea what to expect when I walked into The Center for Child Development. Honestly, I didn't even really know why it was that we were going...or what was supposed to be accomplished. I was excited, but a tad nervous. I love my babies and am SO blessed with their amazing good health & safe delivery. But somewhere, deep down inside me, I'm waiting for a foot to drop. I'm waiting for someone to say, "Hey, these kids aren't as perfect as you think they are." Not the greatest outlook on things, I know, but I'm just being honest.

So...I was a little nervous.

Since each baby was going to take approximately 30 minutes to evaluate, the Susan Bell RN, MSN, APN, CPNP ("Nurse Bell" for ease of conversation purposes) recommended splitting the appointments 1 baby & 2 babies. Nurse Bell said just to bring the "one" in the best mood to the first appointment, and we'd hope the other two would cooperate when it was their turn. So, Eli (my easiest, BY FAR) came with me (& Grammy Christgau) to the first appointment (way back on 2/27).

Nurse Bell brought us into her office and helped Eli "warm up" to her. In other words, all she had to do was say "good morning" to him, he smiled, and she was in! Nurse Bell put Eli in a wooden doll highchair. He was so cute sitting there like a big boy! She put all different toys in front of him (one at a time) to see how he'd treat them. For instance: a big, awkward silver cup - to see if he'd use both hands together to manage it; spread out blocks - to see if he'd gather them and play with the ones in his periferal vision; a teeny tiny pellet (about the size of a Sudafed pill) - to see if he'd start fine motor skills of raking at it or using two fingers to grab at it; etc. Nurse Bell also took measurements, asked a TON of questions, and observed him outside the highchair (in my lap, on the floor, etc.) It was SO interesting.

Each baby was (eventually) going to go through the same round of exercises. So, when Nurse Bell put Eli (my not quite 16 pounder, at the time) in the highchair, all I could think was, "How on earth is Cole going to fit in there? He'll look like a stuffed sausage!" Not to worry, he fit fine (even though he weighed in at 21 lbs. 7 oz. that day). When Nurse Bell put the tiny little pellet in front of him, he looked at it...raised his eyebrows...and slowly looked up at her as if to say, "Are you kidding? You put me in a highchair...that's generally where I am when I eat...and you put that TINY little thing in front of me? I'm hungry. That's not worth it!"

A few days ago (okay, it might be weeks, by now) the summary write ups came in the mail. Here are my favorite lines from each:

Eli - Behavioral Observations: Eli was alert & very cooperative & smiling throughout the evaluation. (For anyone who's EVER met Eli...this sums up his life...EVERYDAY!)

Cole - Physical Findings: Large male. (Is it me or does he sound like he's 60 years old and 400 pounds!?) This is right after they listed his "Growth Parameters" which included him measuring in the 97th percentile for weight when plotted on a premature growth chart at his corrected age.

Ava - Fine Motor: It's not so much what was written here, but she refers to the fact that Ava picked up the tiny little pellet. Apparently, she wasn't supposed to be able to do that. Nurse Bell got a shocked look on her face and began to panic that she wouldn't be able to get it back from Ava. Even though she was 29 weeks old (23 weeks corrected age), she "measured" at 32 weeks.

All in all, they were great reports. They'll go back for another evaluation in 6 months. But for now, they don't need any therapy of any kind. Praise the Lord.

Fun Friday Follies

I read this on a "pretend friend's" blog (that's what Shane calls the people who's blogs I read faithfully) this morning. It made me giggle, so I thought it'd be a great Friday treat for you, too. This is especially true when your "Third Child" is triplets!

Okay, so I'm just stalling so you have something to read. I PROMISE I did start the Evaluation Blog. Look for it this weekend. Hey, blame Shane. He wanted to watch Lost on my laptop last night. Apparently, my screen's bigger than his! =) Yeah, me!

Enjoy:

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
___________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don’t bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn’t do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month
___________________________________________
The Layette :
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn’s clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby’s little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can’t they?___________________________________________
Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress–a whimper, a frown–you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing
___________________________________________
Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby’s bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
___________________________________________
Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby’s diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
___________________________________________
Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.
___________________________________________
Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
___________________________________________
At Home:
1st baby : You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn’t squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.
___________________________________________
Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

Random Rambles...

It's been almost a week since I last posted? Where did those days go? What have I been doing?

Well, it's REALLY hard to blog while we're watching Season 4 of Lost on my laptop. So I guess that's the biggest problem. I'm not 100% sure I'm going to stick with Lost, since I'm angry about the way Season 3 ended. But you don't care about my TV habits.

Then there's that pesky 5k I'm trying to run in. What in the world was I thinking? I'm not a runner. CLEARLY, I suffer from temporary insanity...and stubbornness (since I refuse to quit now).

Third - the blasted impetigo outbreak here in our house. Not really an outbreak, since only 2/3 of the triplets got it. But it sounds so much more time consuming if I call it an outbreak. There are only a few days left of antibiotics and Cole & Ava are looking great. As far as we know, we only infected one other kid. But then again, we sort of stopped talking to everyone...so maybe we spread germs elsewhere and are just ignorant (isn't it bliss?) Seriously, if we did get you sick...we're so sorry.

And of course, I got distracted by a new project: Dropshots. A new way to store my pix online. It's so easy to share. I'm a goober...I sound like a commercial!

OH - and I've got kids and a husband!

I promise, I'll work on the Developmental Eval tomorrow! Not that there's anything exciting in that blog-to-be but it'll be good to have "for the record".

Home Economics 101

As part of my "Mom Duties", I volunteered to bake, once a month, for Zoe's "snack recess" at school. Well, this month, we had to make brownies. Not difficult, right? I mean, it's pretty simple, actually: Open box. Pour mix in bowl. Add water. Add oil. Add eggs. Stir. Pour into pan. Bake in oven. Cool. Cut. Put in little zip lock baggies. Send to school.

I got a little caught up on the "CUT" step.



Seriously! Am I a moron? Why can I not cut brownies? I felt compelled to send a note with the brownies, "I'm sorry it looks like a 2 year-old cut these brownies. Apparently, I missed Day #1 of Home Ec when they taught us how to cut the brownies we made."

Pretty Typical...but news in our house...

There are 1001 other things I should be blogging about (such as the triplet's 6-month developmental evaluation), but alas, I'm about to share a story that only slightly varies from one that most every mom can tell:

Zoe rides the bus to & from Kindergarten everyday. On the way home, there are only 2 little girls on that bus. That's right - - - TWO! And today, that made it rather easy to figure out what happened. Only, it took me 2 hours to notice their activity of the day.

Since deciding that she wants to grow out her bangs (a decision that was made last summer), Zoe's taken a keen liking to headbands. Her current person favorite, is a fairly new one that ties behind her neck. Sometimes, in her haste to tie it, Zoe gets her hair stuck in the knot. That's what I thought happened this afternoon. Oh no...you just caught on to where I'm headed here.

Yes, there was a haircut!

So there was an emergency trip to Supercuts.

Apparently, the other girl on the bus asked if she could cut Zoe's hair. And, apparently, Zoe said "no". But, apparently, that didn't end the conversation. Thus, there was a new hairstyle. At least there will be fewer knots to brush out in the morning. Personally, I think it's a cute "summer do".

There was a phone call to the other mother and then a phone call back from the "hair dresser" apologizing. But the call that lasted the longest (& probably was the loudest) was the one I made to the transportation department. How can a bus driver, who's only got 2 little girls on his bus, not notice that 1) there are scissors on his bus & 2) they're being used to cut hair!?!?!? Does this freak anybody else out? I'm really glad it wasn't her BANGS that were being re-styled.

I Love Their Conversations

Before I start this story, you should know that there's a bank being built on the corner of the intersection right by our house. It's a very fancy looking bank. And, apparently, Zoe's recently learned that it's going to be a bank.

Tonight was one of those nights that I HAD to get out of the house. (Long story, short...Ava & Cole are sick with a pretty bad skin infection and it's throwing them all outta whack.) So I went to Life Groups at VERY Cool Shannon's house. On the way there, we pass the new bank. That's when the conversation happened:

Z: Ty, see that bulldozer over there? They're building a bank.
T: That looks like a house, not a bank?
Z: It's a bank, I know, because I'm 5. You're only 4.
T: Well, I'm smart...right Mom? Zoe, what's a bank?
Z: It's where you go to buy money. Like when Mom says "no" when we want something. It's because she needs to go to the bank to get dollars.

"Buy Money"??? I was cracking up!

The rest of the way to Cool Shannon's, every time we passed a (somewhat) big house, Ty would ask if it was a bank!

Spring Break

What comes to mind? Sun...fun...warmth...relaxation...beaches...sleep...

Snap out of it Amy! You're a mom now. Spring Break has a WHOLE NEW MEANING! It now means you have to find ways to entertain your Kindergartner who's not used to being home all day...everyday! Yikes.

Yes, last week was Zoe's Spring Break. I survived. Barely. It was a nightmare. It was like Halloween, all over again. Every time I stopped short, Zoe would run into my backside! The girl REALLY needs to work on finding ways to entertain herself.

Praise the Lord for Lindsay! She did a great job keeping the kids busy with tons of fun. They did art projects, made cookies, experimented with recipes (peanut butter playdoh, anyone?), and went on outings (Unbelieva-bills).

Unfortunately for Ty, his week had an unexplainable illness for 24 hours. Out of NOWHERE, poor kid came in from riding his bike on Wednesday with a 103.2 fever. No other symptoms. No other complaints. Just a fever...that wiped him out. So, he laid in my bed and watched a triple-feature movie special: Madagascar, Curious George, & High School Musical. Never once fell asleep. But boy was he cozy. Every hour, his fever got lower. By morning, he was fine. Go figure.

Shane & I were feeling a little guilty that there wasn't anything spectacular planned for Zoe's break. He's been working really hard lately. I've been crazy busy with the babies. We really thought it would be a great time to go away for a night or something with the big kids, but that week was the end of the fiscal year at Shane's work, so it just couldn't be done. Instead, we decided to take them out to dinner on Thursday and then to their first "Movie Theater Movie": Horton Hears a Who.

I was nervous. Yes, this is Seuss. Yes, it's a "G" movie. But this is ZOE! It took 5-6 attempts at Finding Nemo until she actually watched it (and even still, she hides her face or leaves the room at some of the more "scary" parts). She won't watch Curious George - she gets nervous because he gets into trouble!

Still, we thought it would be fun.

Sure enough, 5 minutes into the movie...she was begging to leave. Thankfully, I had my phone. I let her play with it. It worked! She sat on my lap and anytime she got a little nervous or scared, she typed away on my phone or drew pictures! When the scare was over, she was back into the movie! There were some tears at the end. (Yes, actual tears.) ***SPOILER ALERT*** She was heartbroken that the flower with Who-ville was going to be dropped into the boiling liquid. But, she made it through the whole movie...and even commented that she wanted to go to the theater again someday! Of course, she wants to see My Friends Tigger & Pooh on the big screen next time.