Wisconsin Vacation

From August 9-18, we visited Brian's Mom's family and some friends in Madison, Wisconsin.  We planned the trip pretty last minute but we were able to make our schedules work and even make it for a baby shower while we were there.  None of Brian's extended family had met the girls so we thought it was important to bring them with us to meet everyone.  We flew to Chicago, rented a car, and drove the 2.5 hours to Madison.  We felt this would be better than having a layover and the flight times were better as well.

In these 10 days, we saw all of Brian's family and did so many things around Madison.  I say I traveled to Wisconsin with babies and came home with toddlers.  They learned so much and could walk so much better when we got home.

WARNING: Picture overload ahead.

 

We stayed at Brian's Mom's Aunt and Uncle's beautiful home on Lake Monona.  They had an awesome basement/playroom and backyard for the girls to run around.

 

 Sunday was Brian's cousin's baby shower.  Here are the girls having fun at Aunt Sandy's house.

On Monday, we headed downtown to the Madison Children's Museum.  The girls' had a blast.  Afterwards, we walked the square to get them to fall asleep and then we enjoyed lunch at the Tipsy Cow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the afternoon, it was back to Tom and Di's for lunch/playtime outside on a gorgeous day.

 

Pure joy... this baby LOVES to be thrown in the air.
 



Whoops.
 



 

Lovin' on Nana.



 



 

Sam loved this bucket.  She carried it around everywhere, putting things in and taking things out.



Dinner at Ella's Diner.  It was a carnival in there and the girls were easily amused by everything around them.



 

First carousel ride.  Sam was not a fan.

 

On Tuesday, we hung out with family and watched all of the kiddos play.  The girls had a great time at the park down the street.

 

 



Sam was mostly interested in the cut up tire pieces on the playground floor.



 

Wednesday was a very busy day.  We arrived at the Vilas Zoo at 9:30.  It was a well-kept, nice, small, and FREE zoo that the girls loved.  This was the girls' 4th time to a zoo and every time we go they are more involved.  Taylor waved to every animal she saw.  Mallory growled like a lion at every animal she saw except for the lion, since she thought it was our dog.  Sam was in awe of all the animals. 

 

I was so surprised when we walked by the carousel and how excited Taylor was.  She remembered what a fun time she had 2 days before and wanted to ride really bad.  So Brian took Taylor on the tiger, I hopped on the lion with Mallory, and Sam was quite happy watching from the sidelines with her Nana.



 



 

From the zoo, we drove to my MIL's friend Judy's house.  We had an amazing lunch and got to swim in her pool.  The girls' also enjoyed their first popsicle.

 



 

 

Dinner that night at Aunt Sandy's and Uncle John's house.

 

 

And this is when Taylor decided that Nana was her favorite.

 

 

Playing Peek-a-boo with Daddy.

 

 

On Thursday, we packed up the girls and drove to Milwaukee to visit Brian's cousin Tina and her family. 

 

 

Tom and Diane have this yellow lab statue and the girls would go CRAZY over it.  They would say Ryley (or A-Rha) and run to it, give it kisses and hugs.  It was the sweetest thing ever.  They sure did miss their puppy from home.

 



 

 

 

 

On Friday, Tom took us on a boat ride on Lake Monona.  It was a gorgeous day and the scenery was beautiful, even with the sound of 3 screaming babies.  They disliked the life jackets the moment we put them on and someone was crying the whole time.  Poor babies. 

 

 

 

Saturday morning was Little Gym and we were able to make up our class in Madison.

 

 

More love for fake Ryley.

 

 

Lunch time on Saturday.

 

 

Saturday afternoon we went to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens.  The grounds were beautiful and picture perfect.

 

Taylor talking to her Grandpa on her altoids phone.



 

On Sunday, we went to Brian's uncle and aunt's house to hang out with family.  The girls enjoyed their first ride on a golf cart.



 

 

 

 

 

Monday we drove to Chicago and then flew home.  Sam slept most of the time, Mallory fussed a little because she was coming down with a cold, and Taylor played the whole time.

 



 

It such a fun trip and I'm so happy our family was able to meet the girls and spend time with them.



Triple Play: 14 Months



How old?  14 Months.
 

Our weights? estimates S: 17.5ish lbs  T: 19.5ish lbs M: 18.5ish lbs
9 Months size clothes fit well and I'm in the process of cleaning out the closet of all the clothes that don't fit and putting in the 12 months stuff, however most of it is still a little big.

Our sleeping patterns?  Still doing 2 naps at 10:30 and 2:30.  These go pretty seamlessly lately.

Well... we did it. Yep, we turned off the monitor.  The girls are definitely old enough to sleep through the night and they have slept through the night inconsistently since they were 5 months old.  Brian and I are tired and made the decision to turn off the monitor earlier this week.  Our house is small so we can still hear them if they stand up and start screaming and decided that if we get woken up, we will let them cry for 15 minutes and if they are still crying, we will go get whoever is crying.  They are getting much better at not waking up to others screaming.  Lately, the waking in the middle of the night has just been for someone to hold them, so we need to break that habit.  So far so good.

 Our eating schedule?  At 8 AM they get sippy cups of milk and breakfast, 12 PM they get sippy cups of water and lunch, 2:15 PM they get sippy cups of milk and a snack, 5:15 PM they get sippy cups of water and dinner, and 8 PM they get an 8 oz bottle of milk.  They are getting better at drinking a little more milk at breakfast and snack time.  Taylor has been doing really well with cow's milk, however she prefers the taste of breast milk so likes to steal her sisters' cups.  We have started introducing cow's milk to Mallory and Samantha. They are up to 1/3 cow's milk and 2/3 breast milk.  It looks like they have grown out of their dairy allergy, yay!

 Our favorite foods? The new favorite is pancakes.  I found this super easy recipe of bananas, eggs, and cinnamon that make yummy pancakes that the girls devour.  I feel like I'm feeding seagulls when they eat them every morning.  I love them because now Sam is getting eggs in her diet.

Sam also likes cantaloupe, watermelon, hot dogs, bananas, and toast with peanut butter.
Taylor likes avocados, hot dogs, watermelon, peas, turkey, and cantaloupe. 
Mallory likes eggs, turkey, hot dogs, cantaloupe, peas, green beans, avocados, noodles, and bananas.

So as you can see, their tastes are pretty different.  Above are the only foods Sam will eat, Taylor will normally try most things, and Mallory is our little vacuum (except watermelon and toast with peanut butter).  So putting together a meal for them can be difficult sometimes and there is normally a lot to choose from.

 

Our likes? Little Gym class, being free to walk around the house, grandparents, new toys, going for walks, playing behind the rocking chair in their room (which they aren't allowed to), and going to the pool.
 
S: Sam is loving Ryley these days.  She will seek her out to give her a hug or touch her nose.  She loves to giggle and be tickled.  She loves to surprise you with a big hug while you are playing.  She makes the cutest Woody Wood Pecker laugh.  She LOVES watermelon and its amazing how much of it she eats everyday.  Sam is beginning to bounce like she is dancing.  I can't wait to have dance parties with my trio.

T:  Taylor loves for you to play with her and doesn't like to be left alone.  As soon as you put her down in her room, she goes from crib to crib checking to see if she can reach in for a pacifier (which she also loves).    She is a Daddy's girl and loves when he tickles her.

M:  Mallory is starting to play games with her sisters and us.  She will snag a pacifier out of her sisters' mouth or steal a toy and take off in the other direction and sometimes try to hide it.  She thinks its hysterical.  If she sees a sister getting hugs and kisses, she will squeeze herself between us.  She loves to sit in my lap and I will not even realize she has placed herself there sometimes. She has her animal noises down... sheep "baa", cow "mmm", lion "grrr", elephant (raises her arm).
 
 Our dislikes?  When a sister steals a toy (most of the time, its Mallory), when we are hungry or full, trying new foods, being cooped up in the play pen, falling and getting hurt.
 

Our favorite games/toys?  Peek-a-boo, reading books, forward rolls, floats/balls/rings in the pool, and their jumperoos have become a favorite again.

 

Our milestones? 
S:  Walking and growing in an enormous molar on the bottom right side.
  T: Walking and stacking cups, knows her nose and ears.
  M: Walking, signing and saying "More", says Mama, Dada, and Nana.

Things we do to make Mom and Dad smile?  When they learn something we are trying to teach them, giggling, playing nicely together, spending time together as a family of 5.
 

Our pictures  (It ONLY took 4 adults to do these pictures.  The just want to move!)

 

Appreciation Dinner

Brian and I have known for a while that we wanted to do something special for all of those that helped us raise our triplets this past year.  We had someone here helping me everyday for at least the first 3 months and almost every day since then; and there was someone here every night for almost 6 months.  We had people give us large gifts to buy diapers and pay for hospital bills and we had friends and family bring us meals at the beginning.  To say the least, we are very blessed and loved by those around us and we wanted to reciprocate that thoughtfulness in some way.  We decided on an Appreciation Dinner not long after their first birthday.  Brian and I did everything on our own, without help.  We shopped, cleaned, cooked, made gifts, and served dinner to everyone that came.  We really wanted to honor those that helped us and show them that we appreciated all of their hard work.

 

 

Sidenote: Those are cake batter truffles and they were delicious!



 

Here is the family.  I made the banner behind us that says Thank You.  I somehow never got a good picture of it.

 



The girls were so happy.  They were getting lots of attention and they were FREE!  I let them loose in the house for the first time (for an extended period of time) and they loved it.  Of course, now they think this should happen all of the time.

 



 

The night ended up being really nice.  We were able to visit with everyone and spend time with those close to us.  Everyone had fun playing with the girls.  There were some people that weren't able to make it and Brian and I just want to thank you again for all of your hard work and support while raising these three beautiful, smart, energetic baby girls.  We are so thankful to be loved and as they say, "It takes a Village".

 

Thanks :)