Triplet's First Christmas

I know I'm a little late with this post but we had so many celebrations that lasted to New Year's and then sickness hit the house so taking care of sick babies took priority.  Here is a compilation of A LOT of pictures from the past month.  It puts together everything for the girls' first Christmas.  It was such a special time to spend with them and with our families.  I know they won't remember it but it was fun to do all of the kid-like things and start our own traditions.  I tried to document every bit and piece (as you can see by the large amount of pictures below).  It went by in a whirlwind but I'm glad I will get to treasure these moments forever :)

 

The Country Club in our neighborhood had an open house with a snow hill and pictures with Santa.  We arrived promptly at 6 PM to find out that Santa won't be there for another 45 minutes.  Yikes, will the girls make it?  They get fussy around then and want to be fed.  But, they were troopers and we made it.



 

 

 

These are just some pics around the house in Christmas outfits.

 

 

 

Grandpa with his granddaughters. HO HO HO!

 

 

Meme with her granddaughters

 

 

You know how tacky Christmas sweater parties are popular right now?  Well, I decided to have tacky Christmas baby outfits.  However, they turned out more cute than tacky...

 

 

Ryley got in a lick.

 

 

The outfits my parents made the girls for our Christmas Card.

 

 

Christmas Eve.  We took a lot of pictures that day.  There are so many cute ones.

 

 

 

And this is one of my favorite pictures of the girls.

 

 

Time to eat some solids... In our Santa hats of course.

 

My precious babies :)



 

Christmas Morning



 

Ready to eat open presents.



 

 

Taylor and Ryley open presents the same way.



 

We packed up and headed over to Nana and Pawpaw's. 

 

 

Nana made the girls the most adorable hooded wraps for when it is cold.



 

We packed up again and headed for my parents house.  Our 3rd Christmas of the day.



 

 Aunt Steph and Uncle Beau getting in some quality triplet time.

 

 

Our first Christmas family photo turned out pretty good.

 

 

With MeMe and Grandpa.

 

 

I think the girls were a little spoiled this year...

 



 

On the 27th we took our first road trip with the girls to the hill country to my Aunt's house.  It is my Mom's whole side of the family and it is always a lot of fun when we get together.  This year was a little different though... there were 6... yes, 6... new babies.  All born between June and August.  Mine made up half of that, but I still think 6 is a lot of new family members for one family and I think it is so awesome that the girls will have (2nd) cousins their age.

 

In order for us to take this road trip, with 3 babies and a yellow lab, it took some strategic planning.  Luckily, my parents were able to follow us so they took Ryley in their car.  We purchased a cargo carrier off of Craig's list for the top of our Yukon.  And, we placed me in the 3rd row of seats so I could tend to the babies while we were driving.  We managed to get there in 6 hours which is normally a 4.5 hour drive.  I thought we did pretty darn good.  We used a crock pot set up in the back with me to heat up the milk so it would be ready to go when we stopped.  My parents had a little area left in their suburban to change diapers and stretch out a little.  I was able to keep the girls occupied while driving by singing songs, replacing pacifiers, and handing out toys (which they proceed to toss off the side of their car seat between the door where I couldn't reach).

 

While at the River House, our family got the larger guest room so we could set up 3 pack n plays and still have a play area for the girls.  It was a fun weekend and I had lots of 'baby holders'.  I can't wait to watch all of these kiddos grow up. They will have so much fun together.

 



 

Aunt Frances with Daisy.

 

 

Although she looks like my babies, this is Rylee with her Grandpa Joe.

 

 

Group pics with all the kiddos. 

 

 

Mallory decided it was time to come up on all fours... on a dining room table of all places.

 

 

This Christmas was so memorable with my baby girls.  I can't wait for years to come and see the excitement and magic on their faces.  I love being a Mom :)



Triple Play: 7 Months



How old?  7 Months.
 

Our weights? (Estimates) S: 13 lbs 2 oz  T: 14 lbs 10 oz M: 13 lbs 7 oz
The girls are wearing 3-6 months and 6 months clothes so we are staying pretty true to age.  The pajamas are somewhat short though so we are in some 9 months of those.
 

Our sleeping patterns?  Well... still no improvement here.  Some days they nap great and others there is always someone awake.  We are all kinda off schedule after taking our first road trip and then everyone has been under the weather since then so I'm not as much a stickler to the schedule as normal.

Our nights have also regressed, unfortunately.  Mallory no longer sleeps through the night and wants to be fed.  The other two like to wake up for food but then just stay awake and play.  And if you just leave them there playing, they want to cry.  So you have to get them to sleep in order for them not to cry so they don't wake the others.  Maybe after everyone feels better and we get back on schedule, the girls will start to have better night resulting in more sleep for me :)
 

Our eating schedule?  The girls eat at 8 AM, 12 PM, 4 PM, and 7:30 PM.  Sam still eats only about 5-6 oz while the other two eat between 6-8 oz.  We added in solids this month.  The girls are all doing pretty well.  Sam was reluctant at first but has slowly caught on.  Taylor can't get enough... whatever it is, she wants more, more, more.  Mallory makes really funny faces when she tries something new but then opens her mouth for more.  The foods they have tried so far are pears, peaches, green beans, and sweet potatoes.
 

Our favorite foods? Breast milk and pears.

 

Our likes? Rolling around on the floor and playing with toys, especially some of the new ones Santa brought.  Singing songs and playing airplane.  The Itsy Bitsy Spider is a hit every time.  They still LOVE Ryley and I think Ryley is starting to love them as well.  Their interactions are super sweet.

 S: Sam is becoming a Daddy's girl.  She smiles so big at him when he gets home from work.  She loves to be tickled and likes to jump around in the Jumperoo.

T: Taylor is happy with a bib or a spoon.  It doesn't have to be a fancy toy (although she plays with those as well) for her to have fun.  She lights up when someone new comes in the room.  She loves to touch different textures and explore new things. 

M: Mal loves to roll around and MOVE.  It is no longer an easy task to change her diaper, she rolls over almost immediately.  She is a Momma's girl and is starting to reach for me to be picked up.  She likes toys that light up and play music.
 

Our dislikes?  Being sleepy around dinner time.  They still fuss and fuss between 6 and 7:30 when they get their last meal.  They also dislike medicine.  Taylor makes the funniest faces, Mallory fights you like nobody's business, and Sam just cries.  Mallory also hates to have her nose wiped.
 

Our favorite games/toys?  Jumperoos or toys that make them sit up.  They love their new wagon even though we have never gone for a ride.  They just like to sit in it.  They like peekaboo and songs using arm gestures. 
 

Our milestones? S: Sitting slightly unassisted and eating solids.  T: First tooth! Sitting and eating solids.  M: First teeth (She has two), coming up on all fours, sitting, and eating solids.

Things we do to make Mom and Dad smile?  Making funny faces when they eat new things, Smiling when we walk in a room, interacting with each other, celebrating Christmas with all of our families.
 

Our pictures

 

A New Year 2014

I think it is easy to say that 2013 was the craziest year of my life.  Such a roller coaster... many ups and downs.  However, 2013 is the year I became a mother and that I will always remember.  Let's recap the year, shall we...

 

-  January... trip to San Diego and finally getting over morning sickness.  Fun times.

- February... Surgical procedure and stopped working.

- March... Bed rest at home then off to the hospital.

- April... Still at the hospital.

- May... Still at the hospital cookin some babies.  Did I miss spring?

- June... the birth of my precious baby girls and my 30th birthday.

- July... learned to become a Mother of triplets.

- August... fine tuned my Motherly skills.

- September... Wow, I have three 3 month old babies.

- October... still being a Mommy and took a trip to Cozumel.

- November... Watched my babies grow.

- December... My babies turned 6 months old and celebrated their first Christmas.

 

Holy cow, 2013 will be my most memorable year.  Now to look forward to 2014.  It is so fun to watch my babies grow.  They are getting to be so interactive with us and with each other.  They are on the verge of all sitting up independently and close to crawling so that will open new doors of craziness in my house.  I can't wait.

 

I've decided to write down some goals for 2014 so I will hopefully stick to them.  Here we go...

     1. Organize the entire house.  Eeek, I'm nervous about this one.  I have a great guideline though that I found here.  52 Weeks to An Organized Home

     2. Transform our office into a playroom for the girls.  Not a small task since our office is a total disaster and catch-all right now.
 

     3. Take the girls on their first boat and plane rides.  Do I see a vacation in my future?

    
     4. Get 9 hours of solid, continuous sleep.  I cannot wait for this one!

    
     5. Finish the girls' baby books.  Something I haven't started but I don't want them to be like 12 years old when I finish their baby books.  Gotta get working.

     6. Find time to work out again.  This may be tough but I don't necessarily need to go to a gym, just find time in my day to throw in some push ups and squats.  I need to get this body back.

And because I can't wait to share... here is a sneak peak of the girls' 6 months photo shoot.  I absolutely love these pictures by Taryn Melgoza Photography.

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

 

 

 

 

 

My Girls at 6 Months Old

My Girls... 6 Months old.

 

All three of my girls are growing and changing daily.  New the past couple of weeks are they found their feet.  I didn't realize a foot can be so entertaining. They also started eating solid foods.  First pears and now green beans.  My girls are so adorable (I'm biased, I know).  Its sometimes the little things that make me swoon... like when they hold on to you for the first time when you are carrying them or how they gently reach for your face to feel your skin and surprise you with a violent nose grab.  My girls are so adorable and cute and just make me feel so lucky every day.  They are starting to get a sense of humor and giggle when we tickle them.  I witnessed the sweetest moment between Sam and Mallory where Sam kept whining and that would make Mallory giggle which would then make Sam smile again.  It was one of those moments I hope I never forget.  I'm sure they will continue to interact but those first moments when they show how much they love each other already just touch my heart.  Here is an update on each of my girls.

 

 

Yes, they have on summer rompers in December.  It was one of the only outfits I bought them and they are just now fitting in to them so we gotta wear them.  And it is Houston, so it was 75 degrees outside.

 

Samantha (Sam, Sammy Sam Sam, Sweet Parakeet, Skinny Minnie)

 

Samantha is such a sweetie pie.  She has the most genuine smile and she even fusses sweetly.  "Sweet Parakeet" came about because Brian was trying to find an animal that rhymed with sweet and Parakeet is all he could think of.  It fits perfectly though because if she wants food or a pacifier she flaps her arms and opens her mouth up wide just like a little baby bird.  Its so stinkin' cute.  Sam is normally really happy to see you in the morning and her eyes just light up when she smiles.  She still feels a little fragile when you pick her up but she loves to be in the air just like her sisters.  She is ticklish so even when you are changing her clothes, she may give out a little giggle if you are lucky.  She doesn't care too much for food (to an extent).  She eats only what she needs and stops (unlike one of my other daughters).  She is doing much better at tummy time and will stay there quite a while.  She likes to kick her legs and jump in the jumperoo.  She is probably the most active in the Jumperoo.  We just started the girls on solids this week and she sits there quietly and looks the other direction like, 'maybe Mom won't see me and won't make me stick that thing in my mouth with weird tasting mushy stuff on it'.  At least that's what it looks like she is thinking.  She tries to be sly and unnoticed so she doesn't have to eat.  At the end of October, her hair started falling out.  I was so worried she would end up with a mullet or a cul-de-sac but luckily it is already filling in again.  Poor Taylor though, Sam already has two sets of hair and she still has none.  She still takes medication for reflux twice a day.  We tried without it a few times and there was a lot more crying and spit up.  She sits up for about 10 seconds on her own but you still need to be there to catch her.  At night, she still wakes up for food most nights and sometimes she is just awake... not fussing, just talking in her crib in the dark.  So, she has been the most challenging recently in the middle of the night.  Samantha loves baths.  She kicks, kicks, kicks her legs and splashes the water.  Sam loves her Daddy and smiles whenever she sees him.  She is just so sweet and I can't get enough of her baby smiles.

Taylor (Tay Tay, Tay Ray, Chunky Monkey, Tootin Taylor, Taylor Tot)

Taylor has a sense of humor.  I have a feeling she will be the one with all of the jokes.  She has passed up the other two in height and weight and her little fat rolls on her thighs are just scrumptious.  She is the only one to go up on all fours so far.  She hasn't crawled yet but she manages to scoot all over the place.  I'll come back in the room and she is never where I left her (Baby cages will be coming out real soon...).  She loves to eat, especially now she loves eating solids.  She whines for more and more and more.  She is almost sitting but needs a little protection.  She doesn't really ever cry... she screams at the TOP of her lungs.  Mostly, this is when she is hungry or really tired.  She loves to touch and feel different objects.  Like tags, textures on clothing, or toys.  She drools A LOT and constantly so teeth may be popping out any day.  She likes to stand in your lap or play airplane.  Her grin is infectious.  She smiles with her whole face and its even more precious when she has rosy cheeks from rolling around on the floor.  She still has little to no hair but she is working on it.  At night, she will fuss for her pacifier and she will scream when she wants food.  She sleeps through the night 4 nights out of 10 probably.  We put her down on her back but she rolls over to sleep on her tummy.  She still loves the light up seahorse when she goes to sleep.  She still is on no medication and takes about 2 oz of regular formula with her noon bottle.  Taylor makes the most priceless faces.  You can tell what mood she is in and sometimes even what she is thinking.  It is written all over her face.  She loves her baths as well and splashes the whole time.  She is the most independent of the three.  A lot of times the other two are being held and Taylor can entertain herself on the floor or in one of the jumperoos for a long time.  I have to make sure to thank her later and give her lots of attention.  She likes blowing on her tummy and when her Daddy tickles her neck with his beard.  Taylor makes me smile whenever I see her and I love her so freakin' much.

Mallory (Mal Mal, Squirmy Wormy, Goober, Booger)

Mallory Ann is our little leader.  Other than getting up on all fours and spitting, Mallory has done everything first.  She is our only sitter right now.  Although she is not 100%, I can actually leave her for a few seconds if I need to.  She is starting to gain more and more balance.  She is so so happy in the mornings.  Most nights, she sleeps through the night.  Maybe a pacifier here or there, but she very seldom needs food.  So I guess that is why she is happy, she is well rested.  She doesn't scream for food either in the mornings which is a welcomed change from the screaming and trying to feed 3 babies at once a few months ago.  Now, they are more laid back in the mornings.  Her hair is growing a lot.  She is catching up with Sam, however, it is a lot lighter in color.  She can still be the "fussy one" but sometimes she is really easy too.  When she gets pissed off while she is on the floor, she does what I call Face Scoots... where she digs her face in to the ground, lifts her butt way in the air, and marches her legs so she slides forward.  She only really does this when she is upset though.  She loves lights and sounds when it comes to playing.  She also likes to be up in the air.  We call it the Mallory Mile when the only thing that will make her happy is to walk and carry her around the house.  The moment you sit down, the screaming will commence, stand up, it will stop.  Ryley has this effect on her as well.  She loves that dog and is so interested in her that I call Ryley the baby whisperer, since 9 times out of 10 Mallory will stop crying when Ryley walks up.  When she started eating solids (pears was first) she was so hilarious.  She would open her mouth for food, you'd stick it in and she made the funniest face like she didn't like it, but then she would open her mouth for more.  She loves this pop up toy and sucking on toys.  Her first tooth popped out today (again she was the first) so hopefully she is not in pain.  Mallory's eyes are gorgeous.  She has large big blue round eyes and I wish I could say she got them from me.  I love that girl with all of my heart.

 

I hope everyone enjoys the holidays.   My girls want to say Merry Christmas! 

(We may have played dress up to make tacky Christmas outfits... I think they turned out more cute than tacky)

 



My Life Right Now... 6 months

It's hard to believe that I'm a Mom sometimes.  I have to sit back and think to myself, "Wow, I'm a Mom and a Mom to 3 babies".  That's crazy to me that I would be so lucky.  It's weird to say, "... my daughters..." like when you first get engaged or married and you refer to your significant other as fiancé or husband.  It takes some time getting used to.  This whole being a Mom thing is just new and I'm still getting used to it.

 

I feel like the past 6 months have flown by.  I know everyone says that about their kids and now I completely understand.  I mean I look back at pictures and its sometimes hard to remember how it felt to hold my itty bitty babies.  They are still itty bitty but 3 times as big as they once were.  How can it feel so long ago but also feel like it went by so fast?  I'll never be satisfied :)  That is why I take sooo many pictures and video.  I want to remember what our everyday lives were like... what we did, how they played, when they napped, etc.  So here is how it goes for us now at 6 months old:

 

6:30 AM: I get up, shower, pump, and head to the kitchen to get bottles ready, eat breakfast, and empty/load the dishwasher.

 

8 AM: Go wake up the girls (normally they are awake and playing in their cribs), change their diapers, maybe play a little in one of the cribs, and then start feeding.  If I'm by myself, one baby gets to play on the floor while I feed 2 babies (one in my arms and one in the bassinet) then switch.  We then play on the floor in their room and I change their clothes.  If they are all happy I'll slip away to start laundry, clean bottles, and get the next round of bottles filled.

 

10 AM: Nap time... No, not for me (I wish), but for the girls.  They have been sleeping in their swings for naps but this week we began the transition to their cribs.  It hasn't been that successful so we are kinda half and half at the moment.  We will see what happens.  While the girls nap, I pump, clean the kitchen, start a project or make a phone call.  At 11:15 I make my lunch and hope the girls stay sleeping while I eat.

 

12 PM: Time for the girls to eat.  They also get about 2 ounces of formula added to their bottles at this feed since they are just now starting to eat more than I can produce for them.  I feed them in the living room.  Normally 2 in boppies and the other gets to play.  Hopefully she is not crying.  After eating, its playtime again.  The girls play on the floor in the activity gyms, jump in the jumperoo and exersaucer, and bounce in the bouncers.  We normally have to rotate.  Luckily we have enough 'things' for the girls to stay somewhat occupied.  We also have a bucket full of toys that they get to play with.

 

2 PM:  Nap time again.  Once they are asleep, I head to pump, then take care of laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc before I do anything else.  If I'm lucky, I may have a little free time to check something off of my to do list or blog (I'm thanking the girls for letting me blog right now).

 

4 PM: 3rd feeding of the day.  It goes about the same as the noon feeding in the living room.  If I'm by myself and the weather is descent, I will pack the girls up in the stroller and we will go for a walk after they eat.  It gets us all out of the house for a little while and I normally look forward to this.  When we get back, I lug all the carseats to the bathroom so I can pump and keep the girls occupied at the same time. 

 

6 PM: Brian gets home.  Hopefully, I have found time to prepare dinner (crock pot meals are on the menu most nights) and we eat.  We will put the girls in bouncers next to us at the table or sometimes let them watch some cartoons.

 

7 PM:  Every 3rd night we bathe the girls.  This is kind of like an assembly line.  Brian and I sometimes switch off who is undressing, bathing, getting them ready for bed, and preparing bottles.  It gets pretty chaotic and there may be a little crying but it gets done in as organized a way as we can handle. 

 

7:30 PM:  Last feeding of the day.  We add rice cereal to this bottle which makes them sleep longer and keeps the spit up to a minimum.  They eat the most at this feeding.  Most of the time at least one falls asleep while feeding them.  Once we put them down, there is not much back and forth.  The girls go to bed pretty easily.

 

8 PM:  Ahhhh, I can take a deep breath and slow down for a bit.  Wait, no, I have a ton to do!  Clean the kitchen and the living room and then take care of all of those little projects.  Lately it has been decorating the house for Christmas and Christmas shopping online or one of us gets the chance to leave to do a little Christmas shopping.

 

10 PM: I go pump and get ready for bed.  I try to get to sleep by 10:30 but that doesn't always happen.

 

3 AM:  I wake up to pump.

 

Mallory sleeps through the night without a problem.  The other two may wake up for a pacifier or food.  We only feed them once 4 oz to tied them over til the morning.  And at 6:30 AM, we do it all over again.

 

This is my life right now and I absolutely LOVE it.  To see those precious smiles in the morning just melts my heart.  I know they are getting bigger and doing new things so I want to treasure every moment I get with them.  They will only be this small once.