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.

Sickness be gone

We've all been sick. I had no idea how hard it would be to have three sick babies at once. I mean NO IDEA. These poor kids just had colds, but it was the first time and my God were we worn out. Grandpa also broke his ankle so we're really a complete mess!! He's getting his cast put on today hopefully and has been a real trooper. What's next, right?

If someone told me that you had to hold babies while sitting up all night to get them to sleep when they are sick, I might have at least been prepared for what was to come. It started with me, then Braddock, then Julia, then Griffin, then Gram, then Daddy. Grandpa was spared but he got the ankle so we'll call him affected, too. Oh, it was so sad to watch them unable to breathe from their noses but unaware that it was easy to breathe from their mouths. And the tears seemed endless. And let's face it, it was just a cold. I do NOT look forward to our next ailment. Griffin has had a more difficult time getting better, and he now has a nebulizer that he uses every four hours to help his lungs out. They aren't calling it asthma just yet but we were told it is pretty common for preemies who had oxygen for the time he did, so we're ready for it. Poor little dude was wheezing. Awful... the whole sick thing is awful and I'm glad it took a year to find out how awful.

But we all seem to be recovering now. My cough is finally gone away for the most part. Summer seems just about over here. We missed the last week at the pool and had to cancel two play dates with the same friend. So we're ready for a new season. I LOVE the fall and I am really excited for the leaves to change and the crisp air to come in. We'll have to decide what cute things they can be for Halloween very soon. If only I could sew!

Our First Photographs

Since they were turning one, we decided it was time to have the kids photographed. We did a search and found http://www.heathermosher.com/. After just a quick look, we knew we had to have her shoot them! She does such beautiful work and we couldn't be more thrilled with the results. The experience was wonderful and really easy -- not a word we use too often with three babies doing anything together. It was very hot that day and it had just rained so you don't see all the mud they were sitting in! We'd pick them up to change them and they were covered so between changes, we were using all the wipes to remove mud. They'd never even seen candy before and here they were holding lollipops -- I was cringing worrying about all those artificial dyes and flavors touching their lips! And I kept thinking what if they are allergic -- what a Mom I am, when push comes to shove, I was willing for look the other way just for the perfect shot. The biggest danger wasn't the high fructose corn syrup but the fact that they kept trying to chew on the sticks -- well, not really chew, shove them down their throats. All turned out fine in the end and besides needing a good bath, they seemed to really enjoyed it. I thought for sure they would be fussy but that wasn't the case at all. There are too many beautiful pics to post right now but here are some of my favorites. Notice how Griffin is holding up three fingers in the last one. It was too perfect!

Birthday Pictures

This is our friend Angela blowing out the candles for her favorite triplets! It was her birthday, too, and she chose to spend the day with us celebrating the kids. Admittedly the pictures here are out of order but I'm just throwing them on to share. It's dinner time so I really need to run downstairs. Our one-year-olds are enjoying as the celebration continues. We've been to the pool four times in the last week. They can't get enough of the water and it is so hot, so it's perfect for us! Okay, more later. We had a nice time celebrating, and it was a Royal Celebration just as we'd hoped!

A Letter to my Babies as They Turn One

My little dears, all three, no one first, no one last:

Today you turned one. I've avoided writing this letter to you all day because as I type it, I can barely see through the tears pouring out of my eyes, and I can't swallow past the lump in my throat. Interestingly, your Mommy isn't sad at all. I'm so filled with love and gratitude to all three of you. If babies can be heroes -- and I truly believe they can-- you three are mine. At this time last year, your father and I watched you struggle, your tiny chests fighting for every single breath. It scared us in ways we could never have imagined until we laid our eyes on you. From those early, frightening moments, you have done nothing but fill us with pride every minute since. And let me tell you, there is no gift in this world more precious than being your parents.

This year has passed faster than any year I've ever had. I feel like it was only moments ago that you were less than three pounds, your faces half the size of the palm of my hand. We had to learn to care for preemies so small, but little by little you grew, got stronger. Those days in the NICU are burned into my memory as if they just happened. In the blink of an eye, we were taking you home. First Julia, then Braddock two days after Julia, and finally Griffin two weeks later (just exactly the order in which you were born). We were up every three hours day and night to feed you, change you, soothe you -- tired beyond anything I had ever experienced before. In another blink, you slept through the night. However tired I was, there was a peacefulness in those moments in the middle of the night that I will cherish the memory of for the rest of my life. You were so little I could hold you all at once. The almost inaudible sighs you made as you were falling back asleep, I still hear sometimes and I smile. Yet another blink and you were rolling over, eating cereal, sitting up, crawling, standing. Bit by bit you have turned into these big, healthy babies who aren't really babies any more. That fills me with pride and breaks my heart all at the same time.

This year with you, I can say unequivocally, has been the very best year of my whole life. It was not nearly as overwhelming or as difficult as I'd imagined while I waited for you to be born. (that's not to say I didn't have difficult moments where I was overwhelmed -- every Mommy has felt that way. Luckily, those moments pass.) You have filled my days with wonder and excitement. For a woman who is always ready to move on to the next thing, you've made it very easy to stay right here with you all day every day, and I know how lucky I am to be able to do that. Not only did I get to spend this year caring for you, I also got to spend it with my Mom and Dad, and that has been the main reason I haven't felt overwhelmed. It had been a long time since I got to see them on a daily basis, and I've truly loved having them here helping us. (I think they've loved being with you, too.)

My children, thank you simply for being you. As you continue to grow, learn and explore this great big world, my only wish for you is a simple one: Buddha says, (and I'm not quoting exactly here)Love the whole world as a Mother loves her child. If you can do that -- knowing what I've learned this year, the love I feel for you three children -- I promise you can never lose!

Happy 1st Birthday.
I love you,

Mommy