Easter~Part 2...The baskets

Our Easter 2013 morning!

Bella woke up and came downstairs to find 2 big Easter baskets. Since the trio was still in their room, we brought them upstairs along with the kiddos' morning sippies of milk.

 Watching Big Sis open her stuff...

 Then it was their turn.  Things got a little crazy but included lots of movement, laughter and good ole excitement! It was hard to get good pictures but these capture a bit of the craziness.

After all the excitement, we all went downstairs to have some yummy breakfast!

I'm thinking next year four baskets will be necessary.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Making Valentines

Last year, we made heart crayons for Isabella's Valentines...

This year...trying to plan ahead... 

I did my Pinterest search for Valentines Day early (or I thought)...

Perhaps you've seen these Valentines "You Rock" or the "You are Alright"

 So cute! 

I didn't want to give Big Sis too many ideas or she'd have a hard time deciding or want me to keep searching...and yes she knows what Google is!

I was kind of excited, these were so cute and we wouldn't be handing out candy hehehe...but then one night she says, "Mom we don't have to do those, we can just come up with our own design!!"

And just like that my Pinterest bubble was busted!  I even offered to buy them!! How easy would that be?

But the excitement in her eyes convinced me to let her "design" her own Valentine.

We even took a trip to Michael's with the trio in the choo choo wagon last Monday.

Timing was perfect because that very same day we got the info that we needed 29 Valentine's.  She was responsible for writing her friends' names and signing her own.  We were warned to start right away!

So instead we folded, she wrote, we stamped and stuck stickers on...

I think the fun lasted one or two days, then they became a chore.  Luckily letting her pick out the treat for her friends over the weekend brought back the excitement.  

We still have 11 more to do...And someday we'll have about 90 to do! 

4 Lil Turkeys and a Developmental Update

A few days before Christmas and here are some Thanksgiving pictures....

 For the first time, we brought in the trio's table to the dining room! The kiddos were excited.  The trio were not big fans of the turkey, I think most of it got thrown on the ground (happy dogs) but they ate everything else and especially loved the stuffing.  Isabella, on the other hand continues to stick to what she knows.  This year though we convinced her to try some of the sweet potatoes...oh the joys of a very picky 6 year old!

The kiddos are sporting mommy made turkey shirts! I am not that crafty so very proud!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving.   In the ten years we have been married, it was our very first one with just our family.  Though we missed seeing the rest of our families, I will admit that it was very relaxed and quiet...well as quiet as our household can be.  And I loved how we didn't  have to rush anywhere.We had turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, homemade mac n cheese and pumpkin pie. 

The trio continue to meet more and more milestones... all three are walking! Yes six more little feet walking around and they are getting better and better each day.  I am so bad at keeping track of dates for this stuff.  I do know Sofia has been walking for awhile now, she was followed by Carlos and Marcos was barely beginning to take step on November 30, the day of their 18 month check up.  Our pediatrician, physical therapist, and staff from Early Intervention are quite pleased with their developmental progress. These past 2 weeks have been a bit tough, the kiddos haven't gone anywhere, they've been sick with a cold...lots of yucky noses and a little bit of coughing. I am so thankful they are receiving another year of Synagis.  Though definitely not fun at all, now that they are bigger and smarter.

We are still having issues with Marcos's ears, his ear drums to be more specific.  He has tubes in but for some reason they are not doing what they are supposed to do.  We are going back to the ENT and a speech evaluation is currently in the works.  Carlos and Sofia have both passed their last hearing test.

Isabella is becoming even more and more helpful. She can play with them more and even help carry one upstairs.  She can take them out of exersuacers and pack n plays...of course we find this out after its done.  She can entertain them so much and their faces light up when she walks into the playroom.  She loves that all of them walk now. She continues to be in the highest reading level in her class and I am making an effort to dedicate a bit more time to her writing.  My big girl did awesome during the Holiday singing performance and is super excited to be off from school for 16 days!

Thankfully all noses cleared up just in time for Christmas!  And we are ready as we are going to be, the tree has been up since December 1, our stockings are hung, Christmas cards are out and we have family in town!
The countdown is on....Happy Holidays

A very late Halloween post!

Its been hard to keep up with this blog...in between the three littles and big sister, the ridiculous amount of laundry, cooking, school pick ups, play dates, teething and sickness, I've had very little down time. I can't even remember whom it started with but the trio has managed to take turns being sick almost the entire month of October. We have had fevers, runny noses, and one ear infection. Luckily the colds have not hit their lungs and we are managing just fine. Sofia even finished a round of antibiotics without getting a nasty rash. She is the only one who has begun taking albuterol but only once a day. I'm praying it stays that way. Most of the trio's first winter was spent doing nebulizer treatments every 4 hours...if you do the math, that's a good chunk of the day, something we'd like to avoid.

Luckily we made it out on Halloween. Our day was busy, and the trio and I made it to sissy's parade at school before 9 am that morning. Our lil dinos got lots of attention.  I even agreed to let people take pics! Reality is, I may be around these people for years...so I try my hardest to put on a smile and ignore all the comments we get. After all,  the attention is just part of what comes along with triplet land...and besides it was Halloween and the trio was looking adorable!

Here they are watching big sister's parade.

3 lil dinos + 1 candy corn witch

After our busy morning, lunch, nap and snack, we headed out to the Petaluma Outlets to do some Trick or Treating.  Mommy was so happy daddy left work a few hours early.  We even had time to grab Starbucks! It was perfect for us.  Very slow paced.  Not too, too many people and we were happy to be out as a family.  

 Guess which lil rascal managed to turn herself around even with the strap on?

Not too sure what we are going to do about that...

Once we got home, it was time for daddy day care.  Big sis had a party at 5:30 so I warmed up the trio's dinner and ran out the door.  She did lots of trick or treating.  It was a cold and wet Halloween but it didn't stop us one bit. I can now say I've trick or treated in the pouring rain, with rain boots and an umbrella!

 Will the trio get in on some of the goods next year?  Hmmmnnnnn.....

I'm predicting....YES! Hope your Halloween was as much fun as ours.

Let's hope November is a better blogging month.  After all, it is Prematurity Awareness month and we have a lot to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving 2011

Carlos, Marcos and Sofia,

On this Thanksgiving Day and every day, I am thankful that you were born with such might and ready to fight, you can finally breathe all by yourself after all those attempts. I thank God everyday your lungs allow you to finally cry.  I am thankful you can see, you can hear and you have good muscle tone.  I am thankful all of your surgeries were a success.  I am thankful you like to eat, your weight gain has amazed us all.

I am thankful…for the strength God gave us to get through all the ups and downs of  your NICU stay, for our family and friends' support, generosity and kindness, for everyone that has come into our lives after your birth, for every doctor and every nurse that has taken care of you since the day you arrived.

I am thankful for every person who has helped feed, change, burp and hold you, for every smile you give me and for every sound you make, especially your coos and ga-goos, for our snuggles and all the kisses you let me give you, for your smell, even when you’ve spit up all of mommy's milk.

I am thankful for your daddy who loves me unconditionally and for your sister who understands so much...I am thankful you have made me such a strong person, a better person and overall a better mom.

I am thankful God gave all three of you to me; our family is now complete. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! And thank you for reading our blog! Hope to post a pic of our three little turkeys later.

Check out one of my favorite blogs, Life with Jack, for her Thanksgiving Post!