Christmas '08

Today, Nana & Pa headed back to South Carolina, so I know Christmas is officially over. We had such a great holiday this year. We spent Christmas Eve with lots of family and friends and 5 babies. It was a very fun evening. Everyone arrived around 6pm and we waited until the babies were in bed (at least my 3!) at 7 before having dinner. I love watching newcomers experience our traditional Polish holiday meal Wigilia. It's an 7 course meatless meal with the main dish being peirogi. It takes some getting used to I think, but this is how I've celebrated Christmas Eve every year of my life, so I know nothing else. JP was so excited for Santa. We had been tracking him on the NORAD website all day and he would run upstairs giving the group updates on where he was. The holiday elves again left him and his siblings pajama's while he was at the Christmas Children's Mass. Their note had said to get some sleep and in the morning their would be lots of treats. We (as I think nearly every parent does) had told JP that he didn't want to be on Santa's naughty list. When he found the pj's he ran and told Joe he just knew he was going to be on the nice list now because the elves said he would be getting treats!!

Christmas Morning we woke up and found that Santa did indeed come bringing JP his metal detector he wished for. He also brought him a game and large dry erase book. The babies each received a new stuffed animal toy too. I had saved and gotten Joe a new TV, which I managed to keep hidden, so he got a big suprise this year too. Sean, Anne and George came over to eat breakfast and open gifts and then headed off to Anne's family. We were able to spend the rest of the day just relaxing and enjoying all our new gifts. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

On Saturday evening, we had the 4 babies baptized. They all did so well and each one looked more precious than the other.













Here are the links to all the photos:
Christmas :
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=11inays5.6z0mmlwh&x=0&y=-t2rizq&localeid=en_US

Baptism :
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=11inays5.1tw7hx01&x=0&y=-7uwqe1&localeid=en_US

Fun with Veggies

I think almost everyone should have received our Christmas card by now, so I thought I'd post it. I decided at the last minute to go for something a little different. In the morning before school, I had the kids all looking nice and thought I had taken the perfect "Christmas card" shot, but even after trying to correct it, it came out too dark. So, that evening, dreading the thought of another planned "photo session", the kids were enjoying peas for the 1st time. I asked JP to run over and snapped this. The funniest thing was that even though JP looked so cute in the morning, I received a call a 3:15 from the school nurse that told me he had fallen running to his bus. When he got home, he had blood all over his nice sweater. Thankfully, you cannot see the red mark on his nose. Also thankfully, you cannot tell he put his t-shirt under his sweater on backwards that morning!

The kids have been enjoying most foods until tonight. While Caitlin and Ryan did not mind thier green bean/oatmeal dinner, Madison had another opinion.






















Caitlin had some green beans to spare.















I was singing one day and turned around and saw this-6 eyes peeled on me. I'm not sure if they thought my singing was good or bad!




















Where's Ryan? JP decided to build a fort "around" Ryan.















The "other" Christmas card photo.

Let There Be Peace On Earth

On Tuesday, Joe had his Holiday Celebration assembly at school. All the kids sat in the bleachers with the parents on the floor in chairs. I was so impressed that JP had learned about 9 songs from his music teacher. He along with kids in K-8th grade all sang them together. They sang songs to represent all different holiday celebrations- Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza. JP says he doesn't want to celebrate Hannukah, but he just really wants a Dreidel. He asked if we could just make one out of clay, please! I thought the assembly was super cute and just another sign of how big he's getting! Here is the Bill Roberts Elementary singing "Let There Be Peace On Earth":

Today I head to his classroom for their holiday party where I will assist in snowman making and cookie eating. He is out on Winter break after tomorrow. I'm sure he'll keep busy though, as Nana and Pa are set to arrive tomorrow afternoon for 10 days. It's beginning to feel like Christmas around here!

777 - Lucky Number Seven Months Old Today

Full (& a little messy) after dinner.

The babies are now 7 months old. Joe always says we won the baby lottery! As we don't have a routine doctor's appointment this month, I thought I would just give a little update on each one:

Ryan- We still call him "Largie" on a daily basis around here. He's growing so fast and already in 9-12 month clothes. Ryan will probably be the 1st to sit up on his own, he's getting pretty close. I expect him in the next month or so to have it down. When he's on the ground he will roll over and over. He doesn't realize yet how much he is getting around, but I'm sure he will soon and start getting into things! Ryan is the best eater, but worst sleeper of the group. All the babies go down at around 7 pm. We usually will hear a cry from him around 4:45 or 5 am. Although we do not get him and he will quiet himself down until around 6:15, we wish he would learn a little something from his sisters. All 3 still share the same room and are usually not bothered by each other's cries. I'm pretty sure he is going to be a Mommy's boy. He is starting to look more and more like JP did when he was little and I can see him acting like him also. Those who know JP know he was a big Mommy's boy! (I don't mind one bit.)

Caitlin- We call her the sweet one. She is a smily girl and loves her Daddy! It's funny, Madison doesn't seem to really prefer Mom vs. Dad, but Caiti has definitely chosen! She is our talker. She can say dadadada, but I think is just starting to realize that we think it means something. If Joe hears her say it, he will come out of his office or wherever and say "Yes, you called me?" He thinks its the greatest thing to have such a big fan! Caitlin will usually go along with the plan of the day (nap, eat, etc.) without too many complaints. I do say usually though, because like the 5-year-old in this house they all want to be in charge sometimes! Caitlin is our shy one though. When someone she is not familiar with comes over, she will get upset. The other two really don't mind new faces, unless they see Caitlin get upset first. She can roll over, but is not quite ready to sit up yet.

Madison- Oh, Madison. We call her "pepper". She is a fiesty one. I call her "doll baby" too because she is so small, but I think she is the toughest of the 3. This girl is so darn cute but she's our screamer. If she's not happy, she doesn't cry, she screams. I think she is always trying to figure out just what is going on around here. Talk about wanting to be in charge! Madison will try and sit up even more so than Caitlin. I can see her crawling first because she will be so determined to do it. It's so fun to see how their personalities continue to evolve!

All three are eating 2 meals a day along with their bottles. They all will fit 3 naps in throughout the day. Not always at the same time, but that's the one thing I haven't been strict about. It's my only one-on-one time with them while another is sleeping. As they begin to move around I think I will have to become more scheduled on naps though. The other 3 of us : JP, Joe and I continue to do well also. We are so blessed with three healthy and for the most part, good natured babies. Like everyone else, we just take one day at a time and try and have some fun as we go!















Caiti excited for Christmas!
















Brothers playing
















Caitlin & JP

















Maddi & her blue eyes




Here's about a minute of the babies doing what they do...

It Made My Day

Overall, JP is a pretty sweet- but he is 5-year-old boy and does have his moments. Joe is out of town and when I can't get JP from the bus I always wait for him in the front of our house. Yesterday, he and another boy on our block thought it would be funny to go up the alley and hide in our garage. I was on the phone with the boy's mother thinking he went to his house when the two came out. Needless to say I was not very happy. It's moments like these when being alone with 3 babies and a 5 year old can be tough.
About a half hour later, Ryan was upstairs in his crib, Caitlin was sleeping on our main level and I had Madison in the basement with me. JP came downstairs and told me Ryan started crying. I said "Thanks for telling me, I'll go get him." JP replied "Mom, do you want me to go upstairs and laugh him up?" I don't know why but this offer to help made me feel all better. It made my day.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot like Christmas

That's a lot of stockings!
Joe's Mom knitted them all
over the years.
They're so special to us.
I always joke with Joe about
his being so old!







We've started getting ready this past week. We seem to get about one project done a day around here. Long gone are the days of getting all the Christmas set up in one afternoon! That's OK, I know it will all get done. I even got to sneek out on Saturday with my girlfriend and finished all my shopping!!
One funny story I should add. Joe and I were having a hard time figuring out what to get JP this year for Christmas. He likes just about everything, but is not "into" any one thing. We asked him one afternoon what he wanted Santa to bring him this year. He replied "Oh, I already told him what I wanted." ?!! We said how? He said that he told him one night in a dream he had. (oh great!) I asked him if he would tell us what it was and at first he said no. Then he told us that he would just whisper it to Mom (phew!) The secret wish: a metal detector. (Would have never guessed that one. But you know if you are really looking for some "good" treasure you need one of these!!)
Here are a bunch of pictures from the past week:




















The boys picked out the tree this year.




















Joe had an audience setting up the tree. We will now call this the baby/tree room!



















All the boys.



















Mom on lights and garland.



















JP & Mom on the ornaments.


















The babies admiring our work!















Madison checking out an ornament.















Getting closer to being able to sit up.

















Making cookies.



















Joe's favorite part of making cookies.


















JP & Maddi















It's getting a bit more challenging to get a good Christmas card picture.















Getting closer.




















Cute Caiti.




















Good job Ryan!

Buses are cool!

JP is so funny. He is such a "big kid". He told me the other day that he is almost in 1st grade now! I told him he had a little while to go on that one. He had a big event this week (about as big as they get in Kindergarten). His bus route changed and they have added another stop- and now picks up his good friend Will. I always laugh about his bus ride because it lasts a total of about 15 minutes. The district requirement to be able to ride the bus is living more than 1 mile from the school. I think we must live 1.001 miles!

Joe is taking an interterm finance class at DU this week. He took a week's vacation to do it. It actually sounds pretty cool. He has been going all around Denver to different businesses such as Coors, Morgan Stanley, Channel 7, etc. and meeting with their finance departments to discuss challenges they are facing. I told him I thought it sounded interesting and he told me it is, but also pretty depressing. I guess that makes sense, talking to finance people during a recession! Anyway, JP found out about all these trips and got all excited. He asked his Dad if he got to take a bus to all the places. Joe told him that they all just drove in cars and met there. JP said "Cars are so boring, buses are cool!"

This is how I picture JP when he goes off for the day:

6 Month Check Up

Yesterday was our 6 month exam at the pediatrician's office. The kids did great and everyone was very impressed with their growth and development. The doctor even measured both of the girls himself because he couldn't believe they went from the 3rd percentile to the 25% & 55% in height.

Ryan: 19lbs, 13oz (85%), 28 inches long (90%), and 17.75 inches head (80%)

Caitlin: 15lbs (25%), 25.75 inches long (55%), and 16.5 inches head (30%)

Madison: 14lbs, 2oz (20%), 25 inches long (25%), and 16 inches head (7%)

He said it was interesting to see their different personalities. All the kids cooperated while he examined them, but their reactions were all different. Ryan was the least sure he wanted the doctor to look at him and kept trying to grab his instruments and wiggle. He said Caitlin acted like nothing at all was happening to her, and Madison watched every move he made acted like she knew just what was going on. We had to laugh because he pretty much had them pegged. JP was home sick from school yesterday, so he took a quick look at him too. Luckily his ears and throat looked good, so that was a relief. We put off their immunizations until Friday because we had their 1st set of RSV shots today. The doctor didn't to risk any fever or side affects that would prevent them from getting the shots.

Today went fine as well. We will go every month thru March to get the dosage of medication that will help them fight off RSV if they're exposed to it. Now we're just home getting ready for a quiet Thanksgiving. We decided to stay home this year because we thought the kids were going to be getting shots 2 days in a row and thought we should just take it easy. I just made a pumpkin pie (makes the house smell good!) and will make the turkey dinner tomorrow. We got movie Wall-e from Netflix and I bought the game Twister which I think JP will love. We have so much to be thankful for this year that it should be nice to sit back and enjoy it all. We hope all of our families and friends have a great holiday too!


The Girls

Messy faces...









Maddi












Ryan














Caiti



And when did you start eating solid foods?

When Someone's Not Happy

If somebody's not happy around here, they let you know it. It's amazing how different each of the babies are, even in the way they complain. Caitlin "tells" you when something is not right, Madison will scream at the top of her lungs and then look for a reaction and Ryan, well he just cries until you come get him. Luckily, they can usually all be calmed down pretty easily. I couldn't imagine if this went on all day long!

Everyone is now eating 2 "meals" a day on top of their bottles. Cereal mixed with fruit in the morning and a veggie at night. These kids are not getting any cheaper! They continue to become more aware of what's going on around here. Just about anything that JP does is great and they are starting to notice each other and touch, talk to, or hit the person closest to them.

We're getting set for the kids to be baptized right after Christmas. We waited until baby George was born for them all to be christened together. Ryan will wear JP's outfit, Madison will fit into mine and I found a great deal on a new gown and bonnet for Caitlin. We attended the required class last Saturday and all the babies including George did great! Even JP sat there without complaints for an hour. I bribed him with a trip to McDonald's if he did good. He just can't resist a trip to the PlayPlace! When the class was over the Deacon asked the 20+ people there if anyone one had any questions. JP spoke for the whole group and said "No".

JP is really into art and building things these days. He is always creating something new. He asks me what would be the "coolest" thing I can think of for him to build with his blocks. He is starting to read and write more and more too. People have brought in used greeting cards for the kids to play with at school. Joe came home with a baby card for his siblings yesterday. I thought it was so cute and he did such a good job with their names . A little girl in class taught him how to make snowflakes by folding up paper and making cuts. I have a feeling I will have bits of paper all over the house for the next several months!

George came to visit last week and he fit right in!






















Joe and one of his many cool buildings.






















This is what happens when you don't supervise you 5 year old painting.

















How cute is this?

6 Months Has Flown By Already!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Bathtime

We go through so many bibs around here everyday, I didn't realize at first that I grabbed a different holiday for each kid this afternoon. I guess having triplets is like Valentine's Day, Christmas & the Fourth of July all rolled into one!

So, today was bath day at our house. I recently realized I had not really taken any cute "baby in the bath" pictures of the kids, so today was the day. JP had to get in on the action too. He was playing downstairs and decided to write all over his hands and arms with marker (he said he was making tattoos). He usually takes showers these days, but off to the tub he went.

Tomorrow, there is no school because of Veteran's Day. JP was invited to his 1st sleepover at his friend Will's house. We are anxiously waiting to see if we will get a late night call to come get him. There are about 4 boys and Will's parents are taking them to a Denver Nuggets basketball game. Joe dropped him off tonight and all the boys were running around saying "Go Nuggets!". JP says "I'm going to yell- Go Chicken Nuggets!"(yep, that's our kid). I guess then all the boys started running around shouting that. We wish Will's parents lots of luck!!

Madison

























Caitlin

Ryan

JP helping to put lotion on.