Wednesday, July 29, 2009

2 year stats

Grammy & I brought the boys to their 2 year pediatrician appointment on Monday. As the Dr and I tried to talk, the boys destroyed the office. So I don't really remember much of the conversation, other than we're going to face potty training this year. I am frightened by this prospect, so let's just assume it's going to happen next summer.

Winston
weight: 25lbs 5oz (18th %)
height: 33.5 inches (26th %)
Wesley
weight: 25lbs 13oz (23rd %)
height: 34.5 inches (53rd %)
Charlie
weight: 26lbs (25th %)
height: 35 inches (67th %)

Edited to add that the Dr diagnosed the fever/virus that the boys had over their birthday: Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease. It is very common and very contagious for young children. Thankfully, they are already feeling better and out of our self-imposed quarantine.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

First visit to the zoo

Valerie (our nanny) and I brought the boys to the zoo for the first time. The boys enjoyed seeing the zebras, giraffe, lion and butterflies up close.
Checking out the zebra

Inside the Butterfly tent


But as with most times when we take them out in public, we are often the "show". The following video is NOT our family, but a perfect example of going out with triplets. This family videotaped their visit to a zoo and all of the comments people made at them, not to them. It's so true!
Triplets and Instant Celebrity on YouTube

Monday, July 27, 2009

July 4th photo

I just received an email from a professional photographer who stopped to take our photo during our town's 4th of July Parade. Here is the photo he just shared with us:
Rob (yes, his shirt says "got triplets"), Winston, Wesley and his flag, me, and Charlie

Precious!

Happy 2nd Birthday! (part 3)

The Big Party That Never Was
(or really, The Family Party That Was Better Than Planned)
Over 2 dozen balloons were supposed to decorate the backyard for their big birthday party

Decorations were ready to go

And over 70 cupcakes were made

But even with the party canceled, nothing was missed. I delivered the cupcakes to neighbors, and the boys spent the afternoon playing with all of their balloons.
Charlie

Winston

Wesley

We celebrated with a pizza dinner (and look - they held their own pieces - no cutting up needed!)

And then blew out their candles (we sang to each individually)



And they proceeded to finger paint with the icing


It was such a wonderful day! The boys' fevers broke by the end of Sunday, when Grammy & Poppy came over to celebrate with us and the boys. Such a great weekend.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Happy 2nd Birthday! (part 2)

We are 2! As you know, we used to take monthly photos of Winston, Wesley and Charlie. In honor of that tradition, here are the boys in their "2" t-shirts. (Poor Wes and Charlie had fevers - you can tell them look sick.)
Win, Wes and Charlie (and their new trains)

Winston playing peekaboo around the chair

Wesley and his trains

Charlie

Happy 2nd Birthday! (part 1)

Happy Birthday Winston!
Happy Birthday Wesley!
Happy Birthday Charlie!

The celebrations began last night, as we brought the boys out to dinner (Wild Willy's, of course). Winston had developed a high fever (102 degrees) last Wednesday afternoon, which lasted about 24 hours. We thought we were in the clear for Wes and Charlie, but as we sat at dinner Friday night, we noticed Charlie was really fussy and refused to eat. We took his temperature when we got home and it too was over 102. I spent Friday baking about 70 cupcakes and preparing for a big birthday party for the boy, so we decided that if one boy was sick, we would still have the party. If two were sick, we would cancel. And this morning, Wesley developed a fever (that just kept getting higher and higher throughout the day - hitting nearly 104!) So we canceled their big birthday party.

But it was a blessing in disguise. Instead of a big party, we got to enjoy time with just the boys and celebrate them. Their fevers left them lethargic, but they still managed to enjoy their birthday treats!

We started the day with a family breakfast (eggs, toast and sausage) and opened gifts from Auntie Ellie, Uncle Kev, Owen and Lucy. The boys didn't stop playing with the trains all day! Aunt Lizzie and her boyfriend Santosh later brought more trains for the boys to play with - they are in train heaven.

Our coffee table made a great train table. Win was so excited to watch the train go down the hill.

Win also is a big fan of cameras.

Snacktime: The boys enjoyed yummy cookies sent from Lala, Bias, cousin Liam, Aunt Traci, Uncle Bruce, cousins Ann, Abby and Brett.
They each chose their own cookie
Charlie

Wesley

Winston

And chowed down!
Charlie

Wesley

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Green!

We've been trying to teach the boys to respond to the question "how old are you?" for their upcoming birthday. We ask the question, then hold up two fingers and say "2"! And then we ask the boys the question and let them answer. Here's how it went:
Us: Winston, how old are you going to be on Saturday?
Win: Green!

It still cracks me up. In other funny expressions, Charlie has come up with a few of his own. Instead of saying "no", he says (every time) "no not". And "more" is "more again". "Yes" is "okay", but only after he suckers you into saying what he wants:
Charlie: (Jumbled toddler words) Gabby big doodah more again (more jumbled toddler words)
Me trying to interpret back to him: You want to watch Yo Gabba Gabba on the big doodah (our big tv)?
Charlie: Okay!

Wesley's favorite expression right now is "MINE!", while pointing at himself. I won't elaborate on how I feel about this...

In other news, one of our amazing neighbors dropped by yesterday with balloons and cookies for the boys' upcoming birthday. These balloons kept them occupied all day!
You will notice that there were 4 balloons: Win claimed the yellow and purple stars, Wes had the cars, and Charlie had the white star

Wesley and Charlie

Winston and Wesley

Charlie (doing his best interpretation of a male model)

Then Win stole Charlie's balloon and ran into the living room

Then Wes joined him and they tried to hide behind the sofa cushions

Wesley

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Splish splash

Grammy, Poppy and I brought the boys to the (toddler) pool today for the first time. The boys LOVED it. They sat on the side kicking, splashed water around and later played with the day care kids who were there as well. We're going to have to do this more often. But we absolutely needed one adult per child because they still like to take off in different directions at the blink of an eye. After the pool, we all went out for pizza. And now the boys are napping - they must be exhausted from their full morning!
(I forgot my camera, so these are all from my phone.)
Poppy, Win, Wes, Charlie and Grammy

They started by sitting at the edge of the pool, and before no time, they were walking around splashing each other...

..and splashing themselves!

All done!

I can't believe it, but the steps are all done (with the exception of the iron railings). The demolition took a few hours, and the steps and walkway were built in a day and half. And that included hand placing and shaping the stones, removing our frail rhododendron, and frequent waves to the triplets in the window.
Wesley, Charlie and Winston loved the trucks!

All done! I think we'll keep the caution tape up just for fun...


Now all we need is a railing so we can actually use the steps.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Demolition Day

When we moved into our home a year ago, the steps and walkway appeared to be in fine condition due to their fresh coat of paint. But the harsh winter chipped off the paint and revealed the truth: cracked cement, loose bricks, etc. The previous owners had painted everything to hide the flaws! The conditions became dangerous, so this week, we are undergoing a complete rebuild of our steps and walkway.
Before

The steps to the sidewalk. You can see the chipped paint, as well as a nice chunk of step missing from the top (and nicely placed on the sidewalk in the left corner).

Demolition

Oh fun! Termite damage! There is supposed to be a wood board under the door's threshold. But thanks to termites, it has practically disintegrated. Tomorrow, the carpenter will determine the extend of the damage, replace the wood and spray for termites.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

An early birthday gift

We gave the boys a swingset as an early birthday gift. And we gave ourselves a fenced in yard to help contain them! After about 2 months of rain (and being stuck inside), both were finally installed. So we spent the morning playing outside - in the unseasonable 60 degrees weather in July!
The slide is so fast, you have to hold onto the boys so they don't fly off. But that didn't stop them!

Wes, Win and Charlie making do with the "big kid"swings and trapeze. We have 3 toddler swings that we'll install later today.

Wes loved climbing the rockwall, while Win enjoyed the swings.

Charlie "flying" on the swing.

Wes making dirt piles on the fence. (This is one of my favorite photos of Wesley ever!)

Win and his dirt piles.

All of the boys playing with the dirt and fence.

After about an hour of the swingset, they moved onto to climbing on the stonewall and throwing the rocks from behind the compost bin.