Autumn Days

This fall has been a lot of firsts for us, and one to become a quick favorite was trick or treating. The kids were so excited about getting dressed up. Braden was a frog, Daniel was Tigger and Kayla was a Ladybug. They kept pointing to each other's costumes and saying "frog, tiger, lay-bug". While they didn't understand the whole concept of trick or treating or even what candy is, they really got the hang of it quickly and loved walking up to each house and ringing the doorbell. I think their favorite part was once we got home, they poured all of their candy out and then picked it up and put it back in their buckets. They did this over and over again until Daniel realized that if he chewed on the wrappers enough, there might be a nice chocolate suprise inside! That was the end of playing with the candy.


The whole family out Trick-or-Treating.

My cousins came to visit a few weeks ago and we took advantage of a perfect warm fall day to go to the pumpkin patch. It was SO much fun since this pumpkin patch came equipped with a tractor ride and an exotic petting zoo! They really enjoyed seeing all the different animals and looking at the pumpkins. It is great to see them enjoying these kinds of things for the first time. And we love the fact that it is so much easier to get out with them now.


Looking for the perfect pumpkin


All in one Big Rocking Chair


A fun tractor ride out to the Pumpkin Patch


Braden loved the little pigs


A race to the pumpkins



At almost 2, here are some of the kids' favorite things:


Kayla

Reading books Pretending with her kitchen toys Wearing dresses Helping mommy with laundry Her pacifier - she is the only one left using it but only for naps and night time Sleeping!

Braden

Repeating everything we say :) Playing ball Pretending with Little People Talking on his cell phone Eating Listening to music

Daniel

Watching Elmo Singing (current favorite song is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star) Playing Ring around the Rosy Climbing on everything he possibly can Building with his mega blocks His bear - he MUST have it for sleeping!

And finally, all three sound asleep after a long day

Summer Fun

Summertime means lots of fun outside and we've all been enjoying the fresh air. The babies know exactly what it means when I say, "time to get your shoes on" and they run to the closet and anxiously await their sandals. Braden has even learned to go to the door and side "ou-side, ou-side?". Too cute. Besides the recent heat wave, we have been able to go out and do some fun things like using our new little swimming pool and taking a big trip to the zoo. (see pics below)

At 19 months old now, they really keep me running all day. My parents come over almost every day for a couple of hours to help out, which really gives me some sanity! They play hard now and love to run, run, run. I find myself wanting to keep them busy so we go to storytime at the library once a week and have playdates with friends to help wear them out.

Little personalities are definitely showing themselves now. People ask me all the time if they seem different, and I always say definitely! They are three very different people and it's so fun getting to see them develop.

Kayla is my girly girl. She is very feminine but yet holds her own with two brothers. She is the smallest of the bunch but I've seen her pin her brothers with little effort! She loves to read and will bring you book after book after book until finally you have to cut her off. She will definitely be my little book worm. She is also mommy's helper. She loves to help me do laundry and loves to clean up too. Kayla is also our best eater when it comes to eating a variety of foods. She'll try anything and there isn't much she doesn't like. She can really eat too and will literally stuff her face! In fact I have to monitor how much I give her at a time because she will try to put everything in her mouth at once. So funny coming from the peanut of the group! We love our little Kayla girl, and she already has daddy wrapped around her little finger. :)

Braden is definitely the dominant personality of the three. He tends to be the leader and if he wants to do something, the other two like to follow along. But he also really cares about his siblings and if one is crying, he has been known to go up and give them a hug or rub their back. So sweet! He is also the biggest talker. He is saying all sorts of words now and communicates really well with us. He loves to try to mimick us as well and imitating sneezes has become one of his favorite things. Braden is very observant too. He took up baby sign language really quickly and remembers things we would never expect him to. Braden is also very social. In fact in our storytime group at the library, he doesn't hesitate to go right up to other kids and hand them toys or try to play with them. He also loves girls. He's been known to plop in the lap of any female who walks through our door! Sweet Braden boy, we love watching him grow.

Daniel is our shy guy. He definitely is more hesitant in new situations, but once he's comfortable, look out! He loves to laugh and his laugh is really contagious. Nothing cracks him up more than his brother and he admires Braden so much already. He also seems to be our most independent child. He can sit on his own and play for a long time without needing any attention. He studies everything he does and loves to figure out how things work. Daniel is also a cuddle bug and every so often will need to find mom and dad and just get some love. He is our little energizer bunny too. The boy will just run and run and run until you literally have to stop him. He has the best smile too and he knows just when to turn it on just to melt your heart and make you forget whatever you were mad at him for. We are so proud of our precious Daniel and the little person he is becoming.

Obviously with three very busy bodies, our blog posts have been scattered to say the least so please forgive us. I guess things won't be slowing down anytime soon though so this will probably be a norm for us. But we hope this at least helps you stay in touch a little and we'll do our best to keep the pics coming. Lots of love from all of us until next time!

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Zoo:

All set and ready for the day


Grandparents were on hand to help out


The Cousins having fun together


The babies loved being with their Aunts & Uncles too


Mimi & Braden taking a walk together


Braden having fun with Aunt Heather


Wiped out at the end of the day


And just a few more Swimming Pictures:

Catching up

Almost 18 months! Where does the time go? So many updates, I hardly know where to begin. Since our last post, everyone is walking or should I say running all the time. All 3 can now climb stairs, completely feed themselves, say a few words, and follow instructions. They are in fact becoming little people and we are more and more proud every day. Their new mobility is in fact more challenging in some ways as they have us running quite a bit these days, but it is exciting to now be able to go to the park or even go out to eat. Things I couldn't even dream of last year!

We had a bit of a challenging winter/spring. This winter I think the babies caught every possible cold out there. One would start with a cold and soon all three would have it, and just as they were coming out of it, another one would surface. It was miserable and I was pining away for spring and warmer weather to chase all the germs away. I'm hoping that all that will just make their little immune systems even stronger for next year.

A couple of months ago, we also faced some scary times with Braden. He had a seizure one day as a result of a fever that sent us to the emergency room. He was put on antibiotics for an ear infection and the fever, and improved very well. However, ten days later, he seized again but this time no fever was involved. After another trip to the ER, we were transferred to another hospital (where they were born), and he spent 4 days undergoing tests and observation. After everything they were unable to determine the cause of his seizure, but as a prevention, put him on anti-seizure meds. He now takes it twice a day and has been doing very well ever since. We will see a neurologist periodically for the next couple of years to monitor him, but we are hopeful that this won't happen again. I couldn't have been more proud of him through everything. He had been poked and prodded more than any child should be, but kept smiles on his face. He was quite the trooper and we're so thankful to God that he's ok.

Below are some pictures that capture more of what's been happening around here. Again, apologies for another long gap in our posts! Hope this helps to catch you up.


Back in March, we took the babies for their first hair cuts! Despite some jitters, they did very well and we couldn't believe how different in made them look. For the first time, they really looked like toddlers!



We've really been enjoying our time outside these days. These pics are of their first time playing in our backyard. Kayla and Daniel were actually afraid to walk on the grass at first, but they eventually got used to it. It's so awesome to see them exploring the world. Everything is interesting to them, the grass, the rocks, the dirt. I love watching their faces when they see something new. If only all of us would look at God's beautiful creation like this every day!



This was a recent fun development. I have one cabinet the babies are allowed to play in. Well Daddy decided to show them how to climb in the cabinet one day, and that was it! It became a regular occurance and they often fight over who gets to climb in first.





These are just a few family pictures from cousin Mya's baptism and Easter Sunday. Mya is 10 months old now and the babies are starting to really enjoy playing with their cousin. I'm sure it won't be long before they're all running around together!



Kayla, Braden & Daniel, getting cuter every day! They recently had a check-up at the NICU follow-up clinic (we go periodically for developmental tests since they were born premature). All 3 were right on target if not ahead in their development. These babies who were 4 pounds at birth are now completely caught up to where they should be. Thankful doesn't even begin to describe it!

One Foot in Front of the Other

Well, it's obviously been a very long time since we've updated you on our three. We thought maybe you would like to see what we have been up to rather than just reading it. We hope you enjoy these videos.




Braden was the first to start walking. He was so proud of himself and expected us to clap every time he took a few steps.





Kayla was walking soon after Braden. She loves to follow us around and always seems to be right under our feet.





Daniel was the last to walk. He was always in such a hurry that he pretty much went straight to running. And he still tries to walk so fast that he seems like he is always on the verge of losing his balance.





Rich was spinning this toy and all three of them thought it was hilarious.





The babies love their Diaper Time. This has become somewhat of a nightly ritual. They seem to come more alive the less clothes they have on.