Boys and their toys

The boys got an early (thanks to unexpectedly quick shipping!) birthday present from Grammy & Poppy: a Choo Choo Wagon. I've heard from numerous triplet parents that this wagon is a necessary item, and often replaces the stroller altogether. Poppa, Nanna and I put the wagon together (after he put together Rob's workbench...more on that...) and we took the boys for their first ride when Grammy & Poppy arrived. As a side note, Rob and I feel so fortunate to have parents that truly enjoy each other and want to spend time together! So it was nice to sit down and have a big family meal after the boys went down to bed.

Grammy buckling in Charlie (I love how he's staring at her, as if to say, what are you doing to me?), Nanna with Winston, and Wesley bringing up the rear


And they're off!



What a great walk it was! The wagon is fantastic - so easy to pull and the boys loved it. By the end of the ride, Charlie was turned around in his seat, chatting with Winston, and Wesley was leaning over the side, touching the moving wheels with his fingers.

Rob came home from work to not only find all of us (wagon included) in the driveway, but when he stepped in the garage he noticed a surprise. Poppa and I went to Home Depot today, and he went on a bit of a shopping spree to get Rob setup for tools at home. He spent the afternoon putting together a workbench and setting out all of Rob's new toys...I mean tools.
A Daddy explaining each toy to his son

An excited boy


And speaking of toys, as I write this, Rob and Poppa are in the living room installing the 46 inch flat screen TV Rob just bought. (It was a well deserved and long awaited I-made-it-through-seminary gift.) Talk about giddy.

The Sickhouse

It's official. The boys (and I) all have a stomach virus. Winston's symptoms started on Tuesday, mine on Wednesday, while Wesley and Charlie held off until Thursday. Thinking that this was a 2-3 day bug, we were concerned that as of Sunday, Winston was still sick. So I spoke with the doctor yesterday, and he said it was a virus that could last 7-10 days. Fantastic. He recommended what he called the BRATY diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, toast and yogurt.

The miracle is that this is only the second time the boys have been sick. The first time, it was a head cold which I proceeded to get from them. Fortunately, Nanna & Poppa were visiting that time as well and were able to care for all the sickos. After two sick visits, I'm hoping they do want to come back!

The Shiner, Day 3

You probably thought I was kidding about documenting the progression of Charlie's Shiner. We've moved onto green!



Separated at birth...


We have been enjoying our visit from Nanna and Poppa. The boys have loved every minute of it, despite the fact that all 3 boys have a stomach bug. Nanna has taught the boys "patty cake" and now Wesley and Charlie will clap whenever they want to sing it. Charlie even started making a kissing sound back at Nanna this morning when she was blowing him kisses. Winston has been a quiet cuddle bug, as he has suffered from the stomach bug the worst so far.

It's unfortunate that this has happened during their visit, but without them we never would have been able to clean out our old apartment today. It was bittersweet cleaning out the old place - we spent many moments reminiscing. To think when we moved in there 5 and 1/2 years ago, we were newlyweds, didn't have a dog or three children! I sat in the old dining room/nursery, thinking back to how that room once held many dinner parties and holiday celebrations, as well as our newborns once it was transformed into the nursery. We will miss our landlords, neighbors, dog park and location. It was a special place for us, and we were blessed to have lived there. But we are even more excited about new house. Our home.

The Shiner, Day 2

Here we are, the morning after. The swelling has gone down, but look at those beautiful purples and reds! If it were in the sky, it would be a gorgeous sunset. But unfortunately for Charlie, it's on his eye.

The Shiner

Remember a few days ago how we excitedly talked about the boys' first bath together and how great it was? Yeah, the next day they started crawling and exploring the bath more (including trying to crawl through one another). As Nanna and I bathed the boys tonight, Charlie decided to try to stand and hold onto the faucet. But before he got that far (and before we could stop him), he slipped and bumped his eye socket on the handle for the drain. Crying. Frozen peas. Giggles. It's a good thing he has a high pain threshold (like his mama). So I thought it would be fun to document The Shiner, since I imagine it will be with us for a long time, complete with fun colors.

Charlie & The Shiner


And because they are adorable...
Wesley (can you tell he's teething?)

Winston

I'm hoping the boys will smile for photos again. But I'm thinking we'll be lucky if that happens in the next 20 years. You'll also notice the photo is a little blurry. That would be thanks to little greasy Bunnboy fingers grabbing on the camera lens.

Fun outside with Nanna & Poppa

Summer was here today after many days of nasty thunderstorms, so we took advantage of the day and played outside.

Wesley and Nanna

Winston and a bucket

Charlie on the move

Poppa, Winston and Charlie

The backyard...see if you can spot Julep. Here's a hint, look for that patch of sunlight on the right.

11 months old

I can't believe it - one month from today, we will have 3 one year olds. I can't believe it! The boys are all over the place. They are so active - crawling, sitting, pulling up, cruising from place to place, babbling up a storm. Thankfully, they are great eaters and nappers. Some of their favorite foods right now are blueberries (frozen in a mesh feeder bag), hot dogs, veggies burgers, fish sticks, sweet potatoes, cream cheese and cucumber or avocado sandwiches, bananas (Charlie will say "nana" when eating it), broccoli, cauliflower, peas, yogurt, cheese, watermelon, pineapple and of course, cheerios.

This will be the last month of these on-their-backs-just-in-their-diapers photos. It's nearly impossible to keep the boys still. We will do a one year photo, but it will have to be a little different. They're not babies anymore...
L-R: Winston, Wesley & Charlie

Wesley taking center stage and blocking his brothers (It looks like he grew an extra arm!)


Nanna & Poppa are here to enjoy their boys, so we're using the time to get as settled as possible. They saw them only a month ago and have been amazed at how much the boys have changed. It's a good reminder - it's easy to lose sight of their development when you see them everyday. But we definitely know how active they are by how exhausted we are at the end of the day!

Our sweet little girl

Now that we're in the new house, we couldn't figure out where Julep went at night to sleep. She would leave her bed in the living room and head off to bed, wherever that was. (Okay, we didn't look that hard and it's not like the house is that big.)

Well, we found her - she was sound asleep in the dark, empty playroom. Apparently she now sleeps on the boys changing pad. (Which is now on the floor of the playroom, due to the fact that they wiggle and flip too much to be changed up on a changing table.)

I'm not sure if this situation is more unsanitary for Julep or the boys!

Piper's party

We spent an incredible summer day celebrating our God-daughter Piper's second birthday. The boys enjoyed their first swim in a kiddie pool. Well, Charlie sat right down and started playing, Wes enjoyed standing in the water (but not sitting) and Win was a fan of bouncing on the side of it. Whatever works. They also tried hot dogs for the first time - much to the amusement of everyone at the party. I was sitting on the ground with the boys and Rob brought over a plate of chopped hot dogs - and I was basically mauled by all 3. They were climbing, scratching, pulling to get closer to the plate of food. You would have thought we had not fed them in 3 days! They devoured the hot dog and started yelling for "more". (As a side note, they have bypassed the baby sign for "more" and now just yell it when hungry, which is often. When at home, they slap their hands on their trays in addition to the yelling. Their mother should really teach them some manners...)

And apparently, the 2/3rds of the boys see lawns as a salad buffet. Charlie enjoys ripping up handfuls for grass and shoving it in his mouth. He will even look back at me right before he puts in his mouth, as if we're playing a really funny game. Wesley, on the other hand, slyly hand-picks the small twigs and leaves that he consumes. At one point, he even tried to fit a pine comb in there.

In the kiddie pool

Piper, Wesley & Adam


Rob bouncing Win on the side, Charlie enjoying the water, Wesley standing with Adam

New bath, new bedroom

Half the reason I was so excited to move into this house was to have a bathtub in which we could bathe the boys. In the apartment, we were still bathing them one at a time, in a bath seat in the kitchen sink because we had a bathtub with those glass doors and medal sliders. So tonight was our first attempt at bath time - for all 3 at the same time. It is amazing how fast we were able to bathe them! Previously, it took us 45mins- 1 hour (with the ones who were left waiting often fussing because they were, well, just waiting). I think it took us not even 30 minutes from start to finish. Although, I do think we benefited from the fact that it was new to them and that next time they will try to crawl and stand and maul each other and splash and play. But we'll take it. Below are some PG photos... Yes the tile are pink. And better yet, the trim is black!
(L-R: Wesley, Win & Charlie)


The boys' new bedroom. (Thanks Ellie for the reminder than it's not a "nursery" anymore!)


Bedtime bottle. I have no clue what we'll do when they outgrow their bouncy seats! Good thing they go to 25lbs...

The play room

Wood panels be gone! Well, we still have the panels, but they are hidden by paint.
Before (The previous owner's office. Excuse the terrible lighting.)

After (Work in progress. Excuse the end of the day mess.)


The tunnel
We picked up a tunnel for the boys at Ikea (the large blue thing in the photo above). I pulled it out this afternoon and they loved it. I opened the tunnel, put it on the ground and everyone wanted something to do with this beast. I sat on one end calling the boys from the other. Charlie immediately crawled through with a huge grin. When he got to the other side, he came through again and crawled back. Repeat, repeat, repeat. He was giddy and so proud of himself. Then he decided to change it up a little and would sit in the middle and try to roll it, and then he played peekaboo by coming in and out of the tunnel. Then he moved on to throwing his body on the outside. He explored every inch and possibility of this new toy in the span of 5 minutes, and then moved on to something else. But it was very sweet, much later he crawled in with a book and just stayed in the middle flipping through the pages.

I spent time with Wesley and Win, trying to encourage them to crawl through the tunnel. So I got on my belly and started in, head first. Yeah, that didn't work out so well. So for Plan B, I decided to throw a toy in and they would crawl in and get it and come back out. And they did a great job. Wes would get the toy and then sit in the opening, playing with the bait. Win crawl in on his belly and reverse out like a truck backing up.

Things that would have been great to know...

We love our new home, but as these first few days pass, we're learning the ins and outs of this lovely abode. In the first 2 days, we have discovered:

- The hot water in the upstairs bathroom only works for the bath, not for the shower. So we can only take showers downstairs. This was discovered after a long, sweaty day of moving.
- The dryer doesn't have a vent, so the basement is like a rainforest when it is running.
- Some cabinets in the kitchen don't open because they are blocked by the oven. (This is a big deal in a kitchen with few cabinets!)
- The floor (or walls) are not level. We spent last night putting together a large Ikea bookcase. While walking into the living room, we put it down in the hallway and noticed it was rocking back and forth, as if it were on a see-saw. Nope, just our floor. And it's funny to see the bookshelf now up against the wall - but only at the top. It's still an inch or two away from the wall at the base.
- How to get our voice mail. We just got Verizon Fios installed and apparently our voice mail is now digital and we have no clue how to get it.
- Our town is apparently dry! We're not sure why Noah our friend/realtor didn't mention this (he probably did and we didn't listen). But as with everything, he has all the answers. Need an electrician? He's got a guy. Need an insurance guy? He's got the number. So when Rob called him joking that our local Trader Joe's didn't have any wine (it was a really long day), he had the answer and sent Rob 2 miles to the town next door.

We're home

Yesterday was the big move and we were overwhelmed with the support and love from our friends and family. I dropped the boys and Julep off with Grammy & Poppy yesterday morning for their first overnight (without us). When I returned to the apartment, friends were already carrying bookshelves out and loading the truck. These strong folks packed up our entire apartment by noon! Although, we underestimated the size of the Uhaul that we would need. We also packed up the 4 cars that headed to the house, and still had to leave a number of smaller items at the apartment. Unpacking seemed to go even faster, and they even helped put together the cribs, our bed, table, couch, etc so we would feel a bit settled. We made a second trip back to the house and loaded the Uhaul again, and John B even came back to the house to help us unload again. After returning the Uhaul (back by our apt), we finally were home and could sit around 7pm. To celebrate, we opened a bottle of wine (2000 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 Cabernet) that we purchased on our trip to Napa in 2003, and have been holding onto for a very special occasion. But of course, our dinner options were limited, so we ate cold pizza, leftover from earlier in the day.

And of course, I woke up at 6:30am even though the boys aren't here. That is now considered sleeping in! Today is Father's Day, and Rob is still sleeping. So I'm off to wade through the boxes in the kitchen and see what I can muster for breakfast. He mentioned last night that it is odd to have his first Father's Day and that this is the first time he's woken up and the boys are not home. Good thing we'll see them later today to celebrate and bring them to their new home.

Thank you Adam, John H, John B, Carl, Tim, Kristy & Blake! Thank you Ellie for cleaning the house! Thank you Grammy & Poppy for watching the boys and Julep! Thank you Nanna & Poppa for coming up to help us unpack! Thank you to everyone for your prayers! We would not have been able to do this without you.

Mobile!

We knew this day would come, but it's amazing how our lives have changed drastically in an instant. Not only are Win and Wes crawling, the other morning we walked in the boys' room to find Winston standing in his crib, holding onto the side. The next morning, Wesley was standing in his crib! Now all Win and Wes want to do is practice this newfound skill. So as a result, when I sit on the floor with them, I have 4 arms, 4 legs and 20 fingers clawing their way up my body. Often Charlie, who previously was content to go on his adventures and not look back, will see both his brothers with me and will come over and want to be with the pack. Now would be a great time to have a third arm. It is really quite sweet. And I have to remind myself of that as I dodge the face slapping, scratching and hair pulling. (I look forward to the day that I don't have the wear my hair in a ponytail.) But I think it's the way they say I love you, since they constantly pull each other's hair. Wes has also somehow learned to tackle. This morning, he was so excited to have Win sitting across from him in the crib, he threw himself forward and bear-hugged Win (so he basically tackled him into the side of the crib). Come to think of it, he did the same thing yesterday, tackling Winston into the metal base of the jumper (not fun). Is it too early to sign him up for football?

They also have decided they much prefer finger foods over baby food. Apparently it takes too long for the spoon to come around again when I'm feeding three. So this is helpful in that I don't have to spoon feed them anymore, but it means I'm constantly cooking. We are still introducing new foods and we don't eat at the same time as the boys, so I'm basically cooking 7 meals a day (3 for us and 3+snack for them). And they eat A LOT. You would think they are growing 16 year olds. I can't begin to grasp how much worse our grocery bill is going to be! At least they will be off of formula in 6 weeks!

Here are some sweet photos from today.

While on the jumper, Wesley started laughing hysterically for 5 minutes straight. (Look at all those teeth! He just got his third bottom tooth.)

Winston thought it was funny too.

And I swear there is a smile behind Charlie's hand. (He's chewing on his finger since he's teething- his next two bottom teeth are on their way.)


And in other news, Rob has his first overnight business trip since the boys were born. The timing couldn't be worse as we are moving on Saturday, but it is what it is. Say a prayer for us! And last weekend Rob took Julep to the vet because I felt a lump on her left side. Four hundred dollars later, they told us it was part of her rib. How that happens on one side, and below her ribcage is beyond me. Great timing all around!

A man and his pickup

Rob is the proud father of a new pickup truck. He has always talked about wanting a truck. (I'm not kidding. I'm sure he mentioned this the first time we met...) And then we moved to Boston and he dreams were shattered. Trucks are not good city cars. Good thing we're moving to the suburbs! As if he needed a reason, he figured this would be a good investment now that we will need to haul all of our trash and recycling to the dump (don't get me started on the concept of a town that doesn't pick up garbage), as well as large home items (to me this means Ikea runs, to him it means Home Depot). He (the car) is currently going through initiation into the Theta Beta Beta fraternity that we are, by making continuous nightly trips to the new house to drop off more boxes.

We have a history of naming our cars. It started with the Mamagurk (the Rav4). Then as we progressed in size, not to mention it was bought when I was carrying triplets, the minivan is named Big Mama. We've been discussing potential truck names, with Bunndaddy being the current favorite.



And I'm not joking when I tell you that during my first ride in the car, the country song "Pickup Man" came on. If you're not familiar (I wasn't), the lyrics go something like this: There's something women like about a pickup man...

Everyday is Christmas

The boys have rediscovered a book and cannot get enough of it. It sings "O little town of Bethlehem" every time you open it - complete with blinking lights (stars) on the pages. We were in the middle of getting dressed for the day when they all decided to play with it together. Such a sweet moment. Especially now that the boys want to play with each other, but do not understand the word "gentle"...


Winston likes to spend every moment practicing pulling himself to a standing position. But he only knows how to do this with one of us. So the other day, using our fingers to pull up on, he stood up in the crib!

And it seemed like on Saturday, Wesley just bloomed. In one day, he started babbling the "mamama, dadadada, babababas" and was making forward progress on the floor. He will pull his legs up under him and push himself forward. Whereas Win is starting to crawl more military style.

This move cannot come soon enough. The 3 boys and I are stuck in the living room (with door closed), completely out of space. Charlie is all over everything and knows that when I put him in the jumper its because I need to contain him so I can go warm bottles. And the toddler seats to their stroller should arrive in the next few weeks, so we'll be able to take walks again!

Paneled playroom: 1, Me: 0

You may or may not know, but I've been dying to paint the walls of my home for a LONG time. The idea of painting makes me giddy. And besides the desire for more space and a home to raise our family, the whole reason to buy a place is because I haven't been able to paint in any of our rentals. I went out and bought the Benjamin Moore paint deck and I look at it at any free moment (I'm not exagerating). That's how excited I am.

Or was. Until I met the dreaded wood paneled room.



The idea of painting beautiful wood may make some of you squirm, but I hate the way it looks. And it's going to be the boys' playroom, so it needs to be fun and bright and playful. I had two days when Cortney was watching the boys, so I borrowed supplies from Ellie, went to the local hardware store, asked their advice about primer and got started. After two days, I was able to actually complete about 2/3rd the space (3 walls, no trim - I couldn't reach it without a latter!). But it was exhausting because it was just me. And it was so difficult to paint since between each panel is molding that runs vertically, with about 4 deep crevices. And the fumes from the paint were enough to disturb my asthma. So after a long, hard battle, I had to admit defeat.

The paneled playroom won. And I had to hire a painter to finish the job. I'm feeling a bit defeated. But in the end, we will have a yellowly-orange (that's right - it's a playroom!) with white trim and shelves. Take that panels!