New toys are so much fun

They've been sick. It's winter so we can't go outside. What to do? Get a Monster Tent! They were so, so happy. Why didn't we think of this sooner?

New Shoes

Braddock's new Skidders from Uncle Jack & Aunt Pat!

Griffin's new Skidders

Julia's new Skidders -- Mary Janes no less. So cute.

Bath time = the happiest kids in America!

I hit a new low. I admit it. I'll even tell you what happened. It's lunch time -- or breakfast -- or dinner for that matter-- who could know which meal? They all run together after awhile. Point is: The kids are eating and as I put the spoon into Julia's mouth, she instantly spit it out as fast as it went in. Not sure the reason for the rejection. But that's when it happened. Without even thinking about it, I grabbed the morsel as it was being spit out, and I ate it. A second later, I realized what I had done. Like a ton of bricks it hit me: I've sunk and there's no going back. You can't undo that kind of thing. I looked around to make sure the kids weren't staring at me in horror because you just never know how the sight of their mother behaving like an animal could scar a child. Nobody seemed to notice. So we'll just move forward and pretend that didn't happen.

Anyway, we have to get the kids' one year blood work done. It should already be done but I've avoided it out of compassion. In fact, I avoided it so long, I lost the lab paperwork. So I schlepped into the pediatrician's office to ask them to fill it all out again, admitting what a disaster I am. They are really kind at the office and willingly gave me new slips assuring me I wasn't the only one. So that's first on my list for next week. I hope they'll forgive me by next Friday. I hate doing it myself, so I can't imagine how three little ones will react to a needle being stuck in their arm that has to remain steady long enough to draw a vial for testing. They wiggle in protest when I try to change their diaper. I'll let you know how it turns out.

These are the most recent pictures. I swear to you they grow overnight and they look a little more big kid-ish every minute. They got the cutest new shoes in the mail this week and they LOVE wearing them. We have all hardwood and tile so the grips on the soles are so awesome. Thanks so much to Aunt Pat and Uncle Jack. I'll be whipping up some of the fancy cupcakes from the book they sent soon, too. It looks complicated but the book says it's so easy even a monkey can do it. Gram's birthday is rapidly approaching so I'll post pictures of my first attempt.

Off and running on this Friday morning. Hot Yoga starts tonight for me and I'm looking forward to it like I'm heading to the Caribbean for a week. Oh how life changes....

Enjoy the winter weekend!

Christmas pictures

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and everything else we've missed!

OK, I'm back! I know it's been awhile,but I can explain. If you could watch our three moving around-- nearly running everywhere, telling us baby-talk story after story, singing, dancing, sometimes rockin' out, you'd see why I haven't updated. It's like the funny farm here and although it is enjoyable, it's tiring, too, and there isn't much free time. Not that that's a great excuse. There's Octomom out there and I've seen her in photos out shopping, so okay, I admit it, I'm just really lazy.

Christmas was really nice and the kids seemed to enjoy it. Granny was here and Gram and Poppy, too, and then the day after we celebrated again with Uncle Brian, Aunt Colleen, and Sean and Sammy! Santa even arrived before we went out to dinner on Christmas Eve. (I hear the gasp when I said went out to dinner, and we learned we won't be doing that again) The kids tried really hard but restaurants just aren't for triplets age 1 1/2. As an aside, an anonymous patron at the restaurant paid $120 of the total tab because they were admiring our family. On second thought, triplets do belong in restaurants, and shopping malls and other places that cost money!

I asked Griffin what Santa said and he looked at me and quietly said, "Ho, Ho, Ho." Sounded a bit like, "Who, Who, Who." I guess all the Christmas books we'd been reading got the point across. They LOVE their books right now. They bring us the books over and over again and we read them over and over again. Most I can recite now -- which is really helpful if I'm holding them because I don't have to turn the pages. Board books are the only kind we can read because they eat or rip regular books. I'm looking forward to the day when everything doesn't go into the mouth! What I'm learning about toddlers: They are DESTRUCTIVE! If we just let them loose in the house -- which is NOT advisable (or often) at all -- within minutes they find the one cabinet that was left unlock; they open any doors they can; they are attempting to swim in the toilet, dumping laundry soap, throwing chairs on the ground, trying to get into the fireplace. I can only describe it as complete insanity. Needless to say, we don't let them out of their playroom or play yard unless we've lost our minds. They are like three crazy people, mumbling to themselves, drooling and stumbling into walls all while smiling.

Now, I'm not complaining. I find the whole scene comical but it boggles the mind how quickly three little people can scatter and the things they can get into. Braddock has figured out the child-proof locks in the playroom. He just opens the doors and drawers at will and looks over his shoulder, smirking as he does it. They are all so smart. I'm stunned by how much they understand and defeated when I realized how much they chose to ignore my repeated pleas of, "Stop that," "Don't touch that," etc.

Julia is the TV police. If it's on, she shuts it off. I guess she's read the studies that TV isn't exactly great for baby development. She also has joined the boys in their dancing. They all love music, and dancing to "All the Single Ladies" is a new favorite thing to do. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard watching the three of them stop in their tracks as the song starts and just start breaking it down. It's as cute as anything in the world. Among his many skills, Griffin is really into pretend cooking. For Christmas, they got a little cooking set from Santa and he is whisking up things like you cannot believe. And if the whisk is hidden in a toy basket, he'll us a big comb instead. They also got a stove and kitchen set, but Santa never put it together so that will be a surprise gift to help the mid-winter fly by!

We've been relatively healthy, too. Griffin got another cold in early December and was still coughing a little bit at Christmas. He ended up with his nebulizer and steroids but that worked well and he's back to normal. It was the first illness that didn't run its course through all three kids so it made nursing him back to health much easier.

Overall, we're so blessed, and especially at the holidays, we looked at each other and just smiled at how lucky we've been. Three healthy, truly happy babies is more than we could have ever imagined. As a new decade starts, we are looking forward to what 2010 has in store for us. I'm still perplexed about how it's possible that in 2010, Griffin, Braddock and Julia will be two years old. Seriously, time, please, please slow down. Let us keep them little as long as we can.

I'll have holiday pictures as soon as I can. I'm having trouble uploading them this morning and if I wait to post, it may not happen for a while!
Happy New Year,

Happy Thanksgiving

Griff giving me either a wink or the evil eye. I prefer to think it was a wink.

Griffin laughing at my attempts to get him to smile at me.

Julia's beautiful silk bloomers. I can't tell you how cute she looked. Her dress was corduroy with the most delicate embroidery. Dressing her is like playing paper dolls all over again. I am never upset if she spits up because there's another outfit ready! Dressing boys is so cute, too, but little girl clothes are just soooo fun.

Braddock being very serious

Thanksgiving greetings to all our friends and family! It's been one of the busier months we've to date. Between chasing three toddlers all over the place and feeding them three healthy meals a day, the days go by so fast! I swear the eating and preparing of meals is most of every day. It's amazing without the formula how much these three eat! The amount of learning and growing boggles my mind, and I'd give anything to slow this time down. Bill and I are thankful for our children, probably three of the happiest little ones around, who bring us more joy in one day than we ever could have imagined. Griffin joined the land of the walking officially this week and is so proud to be there! The first walk half way across the carpet had him clapping for himself completely thrilled. I put video -- not very clear since I just used the camera and not our video camera but it's video! -- of Braddock and Julia walking and then one of Griffin walking, too. I couldn't get them to all walk at once to keep it to one video. We've been trying to take a Christmas picture which has been completely laughable. I don't know why I thought I could just sit them down and ask them to say cheese. I'll post the failed attempts some time soon.

Our Thanksgiving was really nice. It was quiet but most of the food was made yesterday so today was really easy. We are stuffed to the gills now and the kids are fast asleep. Bill already has the tree up, and we're ready to start with the Christmas tunes and treats! No Black Friday shopping for us unless it's online. In fact, a good portion of our shopping is already done. There's no longer time to spend hours at the mall trying to find the perfect gifts. Thank God for the Internet. I just don't know how busy parents survived without it.

Hoping everyone had a great day feasting and enjoying family. I know we did. More one of these days ( I will no longer lie and say soon that way if it is, you're shocked)

Happy Halloween from our three little pigs!

Happy Halloween to all our friends! We really only trick or treated at one house but they loved standing at the door waiting for the trick-or-treaters to come to us! We also had a cupcake with a candle and sang "Happy Birthday" for the second time in their lives. Today was their actual due date and so they are one year adjusted today. We are weaning off the formula and moving to the sippy cups with milk. We have toddlers now officially, three mini walkers who are into EVERYTHING! Now off to eat their candy....

Photo of the Day

Here is Poppy's head. It it covered in Griffin's spit up. The poor guy was playing with the boys on the floor and Griffin, in his excitement, lost his supper. And, yes, I did make my father-- who selflessly helps me and Bill every single day without ever complaining-- wait until I took a picture before I gave him a towel to clean it up. I'm sorry for that but I had to keep the evidence on film.

As breaking news, all three are taking steps. I won't call them walkers yet but they're very close. Braddock seems the most ready to walk but it's still just a few steps and a fall. That he's ready is such a triumph since he wore casts for seven weeks and had his Achilles' tendons cut on both feet. Julia likes to take one step and then dive at whoever is in front of her. She's just fearless. Griffin's steps are more cautious. It's so cute to watch how thrilled they are as they figure it out.

Baby Steps

I have no picture of this, but it's important to note that Julia has taken a few steps. This leads to a quick fall, but they are baby steps nonetheless! Both Griffin and Braddock find themselves standing unassisted, and once they do, there's a drop to the floor. But every time they stand, it's for a longer period of time. So really we're not far from three walkers in this house. Oh, Dear God, that is going to be something.

Photos to come!

Pumpkin Picking

Sean, Sammy and (L to R Braddock, Julia and Griffin)

Sean and Sammy on the spinning strawberry ride with Poppy

Latest family picture!

We had a visit from Uncle Brian, Aunt Colleen and cousins Sean and Samantha. Everyone had a great day at the pumpkin patch. Our kids aren't big enough for the rides but they loved watching their cousins! The weather was really nice and they loved the hay ride to the patch. The only problem we encountered was that we couldn't bring the strollers on the hay ride and after a few minutes in the patch, they became very heavy! Sean and Sam were here all weekend and so they got to play with their cousins. My favorite line was from Sean. He said, "Look, Aunt Nic, the triplet is eating the chair. That is NOT good." Braddock was chewing on the edge of the rocking chair and Sean was right, not good. Sam and Sean were entertaining my three with songs and toys. They love watching the big kids, completely amazed by all the things they can do.

They still chew on every little thing they can, including leaves on the grass, lint on the floor, a four-day-old cheerio stuck to the high chair... Not only do I need more arms, I need more eyes, too. The play yard we have to contain them is working out nicely for their safety. This way I don't find one headed into the bathroom, one to the fireplace and the third towards the door. They really have outgrown their exersaucers and jumperoo. I knew the jumperoo needed to become part of the baby things of the past taking residence (and slowly taking over) in our garage when I saw Julia almost tip it over. The exersaucers are still out in case I need to stash one quickly to get to another. Soon they be garage residents, too.

We're in full birthday mode today. It started Sunday night with our first ice cream cake so the kids could sing Happy Birthday to Uncle Bill. They even helped blow out the candles. Today is Bill's actual birthday -- and a big one at that. (Hint: His age rhymes with Morty) So Julia got up a little early this morning to come in and give her Daddy some snuggles and giggles. All three helped me sign their special cards for their Dad. They will help me today get everything ready for the big celebratory birthday dinner, too. And by helping I mean hopefully they take a nap long enough to let me get to work. I'll let you know how that works out. Happy Birthday, Husband/Daddy. You are very loved.

long time comin'

So this is my update. Long overdue, admittedly, but here nonetheless. There are many things I'm missing but the pics are new. Julia and I went to our neighbor Audrey's first birthday party and this is her in her brand new shoes. She loves shoes -- like her mother -- so we better start saving. Braddock is in blue and Griffin in green in the above photos . And the one of all three in the new play yard. We waited before getting one but it's really the safest way to keep them playing without climbing under the tv or the couch or opening the stove, etc. With three crawlers and standers and wall walkers, it's controlled chaos. And if I'm being honest, it's not always that controlled.

I promise not to only post when the kids are sick, it just seems to be happening this way. Well, they've got the second cold of their lives. And this one was a doozy! Poor Griffin ended up in the E.R. on Sunday morning. His breathing was quite labored at about 4:00 a.m. even after his nebulizer so we took him back to Morristown. The saddest part of the story is that Sunday was the NICU alumni picnic and we couldn't wait to go. It's a big event for the NICU and we are so proud to be alumni... I swear we waited all year for it and .... we missed it. Amazing that we ended up back at the hospital for the first time on the day of the picnic. I'm happy to report that all three are doing remarkably better. It's a scary, scary thing when your children can't breathe.

Now for a brief update of what our life is like. Things since their first birthday have changed so dramatically, I swear I'm amazed every day. All three are speed demons with the crawling but they prefer to pull themselves up and walk using whatever they are holding onto. We call Braddock Spiderman because he scales the walls. They are playing with each other quite a bit. Chase is their favorite game. Julia is usually the leader (and let's face it, we're not talking just about this game...she's in charge of pretty much everything) and she starts crawling as fast as she can, squealing all the way and looking back until one or both of the boys notices. So when she gets their attention, she motors until she thinks they are playing along. Then she stops, sits up, and looks back waiting for them to catch up. As they get closer, she speeds away. They are laughing, she's laughing and on and on they go. Watching this brings this incredible joy, the likes of which I'm not sure I'd ever known before.

I do have a confession to make: My kids are biters. All three. And it really hurts. I'm sure this indicates some failures on my part but I can't worry about that just yet. I need to stop the problem. Julia will come over and act like she's going hug me and then I feel these little choppers sinking into my shoulder. She's got a lot of teeth and she's like a pitbull as far as jaw strength goes. Braddock enjoys biting when they are in the bathtub. Julia or Griff will crawl by trying to reach a tub toy and he sees the flesh and plots his attack on one of their backs or bums. I assume this is part of teething and I've read that we're not to react so as to not encourage it. So I simply say, "No biting. Biting no." Every once in a while, I can't help but raise my voice due to the pain the fangs they've got. There hasn't really been any broken skin so perhaps I'm exaggerating the pain some.

Griffin and Braddock and recently Julia are really into dancing. They hear music and immediately dance no matter what they are doing. This is something the boys seem more into. In the hospital on Sunday, the beeping of monitor was enough for Griffin to move to the beat. It's hysterical to watch!

I have to say what pleases me the most is their little personalities are all really funny. They are so full of joy. They are constantly learning and it's hysterical to see them master a new trick. Julia loves to say, "Yay," and start clapping. If one of even says the word clap, she'll use her skills and clap those hands. Braddock is just catching on and kind of just shakes his hands. Griffin has really taken a liking to blowing raspberries and he thinks this is a riot. It's not so funny when there's food in his mouth but it's hard not to laugh as he does it.

(I started this a couple days ago so I'm just going to post it now even though it's unfinished. If I wait to catch up on everything, I'll never get anywhere)

We're gearing up for Halloween. This year we're going to be the three little pigs and I can't even tell you how cute the costumes are!

Everybody is starting to feel better today, but now the runny noses are out of control and we literally have snot everywhere! The clean up is a constant thing and the laundry is always running. Keeping up with making sure the germs are excised from this house is really a full-time job on top of the full-time job of caring for three sick kids. All I can say is thank God for my Mom and Dad! I don't think I say that enough.

I'll have more one day soon.