Happy First Birthday!

We can hardly believe it, but we now have three one year olds! The year seems somewhat of a blur for obvious reasons. In fact, we were just looking back at old pictures and barely recognize our 3 here, last year on Christmas Day.


What a difference a year makes! Every minute of the last year has been an absolute joy. Kayla, Braden & Daniel are thriving and growing and we couldn't be more thankful. Below is a snapshot of a little party we had for them last weekend. It was their first time having sugar and boy did they love it! A great day of celebration. All we can say is God is so good! Happy Birthday sweet babies, Mommy and Daddy love you!!


Opening Birthday Gifts


Party Hats!


Ready for Cake


Birthday Cake made by Mimi


Let them eat cake!


And the mess begins! It took no less than 10 helpers to clean up, but boy did they have fun!

It's the Holiday Season!

I wish I could put into words what the holidays mean to me this year. I am continually amazed at God's goodness and faithfulness to us. What a difference a year makes! Life for us has changed completely, but in the best possible way. He has truly turned our mourning into joy! (Psalm 30:11)
In reflecting on our joy, I want to give thanks for my 3 babies. They are the biggest blessing we could have asked for. Here's a brief update:


Kayla

Kayla is now a little over 17 lbs and continues to be little but mighty! She is quite independent, often playing by herself and being perfectly content to do so. She is crawling all around and pulling up to stand on anything she can find and I think she is quite proud of herself. Kayla also loves to look at herself in the mirror and cries when I take her away from it (look out, vanity is starting early!). She also loves taking baths and I think would be content to sit in water for hours at a time. She is a very good sleeper, naps like a champ and is rarely fussy. But be warned not to take something from her that she wants because she remains our loudest screamer. So little, but boy does she have a pair of lungs on her! She recently started giving us kisses, which is so cute I could cry just typing this. We love our baby girl and are thankful for the sweet, gentle spirit that she is.







Braden

Braden is our big, cuddly boy weighing in at a hefty 22 lbs these days. He is also the tallest of our group so he can plow over the rest pretty easily. Braden is also crawling now (he was the latest bloomer on this), and he's standing too and will cruise around the coffee table or go from table to chair. At times we've even spotted him briefly standing on his own. Yikes! As you may have guessed, being 22 lbs, Braden also loves to eat. He cries almost every time I say "all done". He loves to play with Daniel and the two of them often travel around getting into all kinds of trouble. We tend to joke that Braden has also been through a voice change already because he has the lowest voice for a baby that I've ever heard. It cracks us up! He recently started waving bye-bye, another one of those too cute for words moments. And one of my favorite things about Braden is that he is our biggest snuggler. If I'm having a bad day, my son will always snuggle up with me and give me a hug and as any mother would know, that just makes everything better.







Daniel

Daniel is our ball of energy. The boy is like an energizer bunny and plays hard, whether he's had good sleep or not. I often find myself chasing him down, because he is in fact our instigator. Daniel is about 21 lbs now and has really become more slender, probably due to all those calories he's burning! He has been crawling for a while now and stands like Braden does, only I fear that he will be walking in no time. He has no fear! Daniel continues to crack us up with his "growling". He started growling months ago and we thought it would be just a phase, but he continues to growl at everything; his toys, his stuffed animals, grandpa snoring. :) I don't know where he got it, but it's adorable. Daniel is our comic relief, very vocal and laughs a lot. It is the best to tickle him and just see him writhe around, just plain hysterical. He brings smiles to our faces every day!

Apple Picking

A few years ago, we began a tradition of apple picking. It started just the two of us with my parents and then expanded to include good friends. For the last few years, we would wonder what it would be like to bring our own kids there and often felt like that day would never come. Well, here we are a few years later taking our three babies apple picking! It was a wonderful day and we enjoyed every moment. The babies also did great considering what a long day it was. They loved looking around and watching everyone. We were quite a production with our whole crew, which included 8 adults and 6 kids, but it was so much fun. Here's a snapshot of our day! :)


Braden & Daniel with a bag full of apples


It was a great day with good friends


Grandpa & Grandma had a great time with the Grandkids


Kayla was full of smiles all day long


The boys hanging out with their friends



Along with apple picking, here are some other recent pics of our cuties.


Braden being goofy


They love their Baby Einstein


Lately the boys have been traveling in pairs


Our three cuties around 9 months old

A Day in the Life of Triplets

Ever since the babies were born, we get stopped all the time with questions, but the one we get the most is, "How do you do it?". While I'm sure most people can't fathom three babies at once, to us it is just normal, and honestly we can't imagine having only one. We honestly love being parents of triplets and feel so blessed. But in an effort to give some insight to many of you who are wondering what our life looks like, here is a sneak peek:


6:30ish AM - Babies are awake and talking/playing in their cribs

7:00 AM - We feed them their bottles. Rich then gets ready for work while I change diapers and get them dressed for the day.

8:30 AM - Babies go down for their morning nap and I snag the opportunity to jump in the shower and eat breakfast.

9:30/10:00 AM - Babies wake up from their nap and play while I wash bottles and make up bottles for the day, put laundry in, get their lunch ready, etc..

10:30 AM - My parents arrive (hallelujah!) to help keep the babies occupied while I get things done.

11:00 AM - Feed the babies bottles and then their lunch in their high chairs

11:30 AM - Play time -- go for a walk if it's nice, play with toys, etc.

12:30/12:45 PM - Babies go down for a nap. Again more opportunity to clean, grocery shop (again with my parents holding down the fort!), and do whatever project needs to be done!

3:00 PM - Afternoon bottles and diaper change

4:15 PM - Babies go back up for another rest. They have been dropping their 3rd nap, but I still put them in their cribs to give me a chance to start our dinner and make Rich's lunch for the next day.

4:30 PM - My parents leave. I then begin making bottles for the next two feedings and make enough formula for the next day. (For those of you that are curious, we go through about 76 oz of formula a day, yeah...Costco is our friend for formula!)

5:30 PM - Babies have their dinner in their high chairs. Lots of messy, cute faces!

5:45 PM - I clean up all the mess and finish up our dinner and count down the minutes until Daddy comes home!

6:00ish PM - Daddy arrives home, another hallelujah moment! We try to scarf down some dinner if we can. But if the babies are melting down too much, we sometimes skip eating until after they go to bed.

6:45 PM - Time to get ready for bed, pj's and diaper changes.

7:00 PM - Feed the babies their last bottle of the day.

7:30 PM - Time for bed. And they are very ready for bed by this time and usually go right to sleep.

8:00 PM - Ahhhhh, some relaxation....well after cleaning up from dinner and putting away toys. But still one of my favorite parts of the day.

And to answer another question you may be wondering, no we don't give them baths every day. Baths are quite an ordeal with three, so we do it twice a week and that suits everybody just fine. Until they're bigger and more stinky, simplicity works.

So that pretty much sums it up. Yes, having three is very busy and I'm on my feet pretty much all day, but really what mom isn't? It's part of the job description I think. Everything is just a little more involved, takes a little longer, but it is sooooooooo worth it. Those precious smiles and laughs make any day better. And when all three want to snuggle up with mommy and daddy...wow, who wouldn't want triplets???

As always, we couldn't have a post without some pics. Here's some of the latest.


Braden & Kayla hangin' with mommy


Daniel & Braden having fun in their bumbos

We took the babies to the park for the first time...
Getting ready to go.

They were a little nervous at first, but they ended up loving the swings.

They had lots of fun.


The babies with their cousin Mya in their matching sleepers
(so cute, thanks cousin April!)


Uncle Brian with his nieces & nephews before heading back to college


Fun with the Laundry Baskets