Finally fall?

The month of October certainly flew by - other than the first weekend, either Travis, or I, or all of us were out-of-town.... I'm guessing that's why the month went by so quickly. We're looking forward do some time at home before the holidays hit!

I'll be updating on the girls a bit later, but did want to share a couple of videos of the girls that we uploaded today. For all the grief they may sometimes give us, they are the highlight of each and every day. This age is too funny - each of them with their own opinions growing by leaps and bounds each day! They've become opinionated about the bows in their hair, what they wear, even the color of their diapers! I'm sure the hilarious-ness will wear off quickly, but for now I just love seeing their personalities bloom!

First video is of Hadley and Brynley holding hands walking back and forth in our kitchen/hall area... not sure where they got this from, but it was amusing. Especially since Hadley was basically pulling Bryn around at first (then Bryn decided that it was kind of fun). They also decided to walk like hunchbacks at one point during the video. The girls couldn't figure out how to have everyone hold hands - and to be honest, I'm pretty sure that Ryann wasn't all that thrilled with the idea (she's still a little scared of her aggressive sisters). However, the video ends with hugs all around:

This video was taken at the zoo - we went for a bit this morning before going out to lunch. There was some music playing, which the girls LOVED. It wasn't too crowded so we let them out to roam and dance - Hadley chose to stay in her stroller (that opinion/stubbornness shining through). I didn't do the greatest at capturing it on video - but Bryn started to bust a move - cracking us up.

Some videos

I uploaded some videos awhile back, but can't remember if I ever posted them here... a couple are from quite a bit ago, but the Mega Blok one is more recent.

Mostly Hadley dancing

New Mega Blok table! and the official "Cheese" smile

Throwing Mega Bloks is apparently a lot of fun.

Fall-ish...

It may still be warm out - but we managed to get the girls pictures taken while at the cabin for Labor Day weekend... they were NOT cooperative, but Marcy did a fantastic job from the preview she sent us thus far! Since not everyone is on Facebook, I thought I'd go ahead and share what we've seen so far! 

The girls continue to amaze us - they're so dang smart at this age. Way smarter than I give them credit for most of the time! Don't let them fool you, they understand way more then they let on - the little stinkers! Currently, they're talking and signing machines - soaking up everything they hear and read. They still love books - a good thing since I think at current count we're at a million... you'd never guess there are teachers in the family! In addition to Baby Signing Time (BST), Elmo has begun to climb in status in our household - apparently "melmo" is very funny and very exciting to watch. I can't say I mind adding Sesame Street to a list of approved TV shows... anything is better than BST over and over and over! The girls are also beginning to master the use of forks and spoons - and boy to they LOVE their utensils. Try explaining to them that frozen peas should be eaten with their fingers - they don't buy it for a minute and try very hard to use their sfork or spoon - dropping a million peas on the floor in the process. Even the dogs are starting to bypass peas - they've had enough. The girls are also starting to like to "dip" - more ketchup please! For awhile they would simply just eat the ketchup - well after the initial introduction that is, which is a completely separate story - but now they're into dipping. Unfortunately, they have no standards and dip EVERYTHING into the ketchup - hotdogs, turkey burgers, carrots, beans... yep, you get the picture here. Funny girls. Finally, they LOVE LOVE LOVE looking at pictures - maybe they do take after their mama just a bit! I put all the pictures we've had lying around into some cheap albums and its become a favorite activity. They're getting pretty good at identifying people too... 

Expert level identifying Grandpa and Papa and "B" (Aunt Bre)

Advanced level identifying Gama and Grandma (there's still some confusion there - to clarify I was going to teach them to say nana and figured Grandma Phyllis would love being called Nana if they could actually say Nana. Problem isn't saying nana - they do that great - it's that they sign BANANA at the same time! oh well)

Average level identifying Aunt Hilary (I need some more pictures please!) and Tade (what Ryann calls Uncle Cade)

Enjoy some of this cooler weather that's FINALLY rolling in!

Brynley - can't believe Marcy got one of her smiling... of course mama was holding her...

Hadley - this expression is soo her! She's our busy girl!

Model Ryann - I think she's trying to get a gig somewhere...

We'd given up trying to get a "Nice" family picture - my expression says it all: "Whatever"...

19 months and growing...

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I’ve had all these grand plans to finally update our blog – yet NO follow-through… Let’s be honest – at the end of the day, after the girls go down, all I really want to do is sit, have a glass of wine, and watch some TV – preferably a mindless comedy. By the time we pick up, get organized for the next day, do some of our own laundry, work-out (sometimes), and occasionally eat – it’s almost 9:00. What we SHOULD do is go to bed, but instead we sit and watch that mindless comedy/drama/reality show(s) and go to bed at 11 wishing we’d gone upstairs earlier. When will we learn? My guess is never.

However, the time has finally come and I’m motivated to make note of what the girls have been up to… their poor poor poor baby books are going to be the laughing-stock of their class. Dang, my bad again.

Considering I haven’t posted anything since June 13^th – let’s just say the girls have changed “a little” since then. Not only have they gotten much faster, they’re also talking and playing WITH one another (again, occasionally). Instead of going back to June and starting from there with the updates, I figure I’ll start with the present and work backward… that way at least I’ve documented the now!

The girls had their 18-month doctor’s appointment a week and a half ago (at 19.5 months – see we are ALWAYS behind!) and it confirmed the fact that they are growing! Not only that, but the doctor basically said we can forget about the fact that they were preemies – pretty much all caught up! I’ll start with Ryann – my OCD forces me to follow the Baby A- Baby B- Baby C route.

Ryann Gale Miles * 19 ½ months * Height 33 inches – 75^th Percentile! That’s 2.25 inches in the last 3 months! * Weight 22 lbs 6.5 oz – 16^th Percentile (yep, our girls are long and lean) * Head Circumference 46.5 cm – 42^nd Percentile * Winner in the Tallest and Heaviest Competitions

Brynley Cade Miles (peanut) * 19 ½ months * Height 30.75 inches – 14^th Percentile (grew 2 inches and was squirming and screaming the whole time) * Weight 20 lbs 4.5 oz – 2^nd Percentile (was weighed twice since the first time they thought she only weighed 17 lbs!) * Head Circumference 46 cm – 28^th Percentile * Winner in the Littlest Competition

Hadley Marie Miles * 19 ½ months * Height 31.5 inches – 30^th Percentile * Weight 21 lbs 2 oz – 5^th Percentile * Head Circumference 47 cm – 56^th Percentile * Winner in the Biggest Head Competition

Overall, the doctor was impressed with their general health – despite the fact that the girls screamed pretty much the ENTIRE time we were in there (we were assured that this is “normal” behavior… whatever). We’ve been super lucky thus far as far as colds, flu, etc.… please knock on some wood for us! I was a bit concerned with their weights – but he pleasantly told me that long and lean is the way to go. The bump that won’t go away on Hadley’s head is some long-sounding word, with the important part being that it will eventually go away and is nothing to be concerned about. Brynley’s fever the week before, and rash over the weekend was explained as Roseola, apparently kids get it and it shows up as a fever for a few days, followed by a rash – they don’t occur simultaneously which is what confused us! Guess it’s not terribly contagious since the other two didn’t get it… or perhaps we knocked on enough wood!

We can’t get over how BIG the girls seem all of the sudden. It hits us at odd moments – Ryann reaching up and twisting the door knob – when did she get big enough to do that?! We’ve found that all our good “hiding” places for TV remotes, phones, lovies, pacifiers, etc. are no longer very good – since Ryann just simply reaches up and grabs them off the table to hand to her sisters… so nice of her to share? I’m amazed by how much they understand… they’re too dang smart. I’m sure all parents think the same thing, but they seem to learn something new every day – it’s a joy and privilege to experience! We’ve had such a fun summer with them with trips to Missouri and Iowa, the girls’ first overnights at Grandma and Papa’s house by themselves, swimming, splash parks, trips to the zoo, the St. Louis Magic House, and time with family and friends! Best of all, I was there to enjoy it with them… I successfully defended my dissertation on June 18^th [finally], which made for a much happier and less stressed mama! I’ll be following this post with individual updates on each of the girls!

Ryann sharing toys with Papa

Ryann at the zoo

Hadley not so sure about those teeth

Ryann in her favorite tutu

Afternoon snack, watching baby signing time and waiting til mama isn't looking to feed Tehya

Ready for fall - in their track suits!

Brynley: say "Cheese"

In St. Louis with cousin Adam

The Stonner Ladies!

Family picture in the pool

Brynley enjoying some pool time with mama

Bryn, Hads, & Ry - you want us to stop playing for a PICTURE??? (they take after their father)

Hadley: IOWA SWEET CORN!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Celebrating with mama!

Cheerin' for Charly!

Run-aways - they're in Iowa and mom and Dad are in Nebraska!

Quick News...

   Summer is here and I am almost DONE with my education... I defend on Monday, June 18th down in Dallas. An extra prayer or 10 is very welcome.
   Anyway, just a quick update - we're all alive and well. Girls are enjoying the warmer weather and their new-found independence. And they've gotten FAST! I keep buying more stuff for the backyard  - at least there's a fence that keeps 'em contained. New tricks you ask? "Hi" "Bye bye" are favorites. If you mention you're leaving Ryann is the first to say "Bye bye" and sends you off with a few kisses and a wave (no tears for that girl!). This morning Travis got a kick out of Ryann and Hadley sitting and saying "Hi" to each other for awhile. They have also gotten pretty good at dancing and will twirl on command, quick feet (demonstrated in video by Ryann - WHILE in the water), and finding their belly buttons (frontal nudity entails), nose, ears, eyes (watch the poking), tongue(s), toes, and we're working on knees. They will tell you what a lion, cow, dog, sheep, pig, owl, and duck say and will show you what a snake (tongue in and out) and bunny (nose sniffles) do. Hadley & Brynley can find whatever you name in the "Find-it" books (and they will bring the book to you OVER AND OVER), while Ryann has become an excellent builder (megablocks). We stay very busy and are absolutely loving their little/BIG personalities... most of the time that is! Longer update will come next week - AFTER my defense. A couple videos can be seen: Little Mimics and Pool fun. I have a ton more pictures but haven't yet uploaded them - trying to go through and delete some before uploading and haven't quite found the time.
 

Cute, funny, and smart?!

   We're in trouble... not only are our girls cute and funny, but they're smart too! They've become little sponges - which we've discovered can be both good and bad. Ryann mimics anything and everything we do, we might want to start watching what we say and do when she's around! Grandma Miles has decided the girls pick up sign language a lot faster than we as adults do - it's so wonderful that they can sometimes tell us what they want! Not a lot of words yet, but they're coming... things are sounds less and less like "da" and more like actual words. Ball and dog are still the words of the day/week/month, but we've heard "bir" (bird) and "duh" (duck) mixed in there as well! The girls are also excellent at telling us what a cow, lion, snake, dog and bunny say (yep - pretty random animals).
   There are more and more moments throughout the day where it's actually somewhat quiet - aside from when they're napping! They'll play together or by themselves more up to 20 minutes... we all kind of hold our breath when this happens, because you can never tell when the moment will come crashing down. All the girls like to "give love" - however, we're not sure if they think they have to hit someone before giving the love? I believe it has to do with the fact that after the hit we always tell them "no hitting, say sorry" (actually starting to sign sorry - though I doubt they have a clue as to what it means!) and "give love" - ergo, the association with hitting and love? Not exactly sure how to correct it... definitely our parenting skills are a continuous work-in-progress!
   The grandparents have been my heros over the past month coming and helping out with the girls so I can stay late and work every night! While I hate missing out on my time with the girls, I'm so thankful to have their support while I work to finish up my dissertation. It will be done this summer - and once it is finished this mama is going to have herself some toddler-time!
   A quick run-down on some new things learned.... Bryn is walking more and more every day! That girl does things on her own pace. Hadley thinks it is super funny to close her eyes while walking - causing her to run into toys, furniture, the dogs, and her sisters... all very hilarious. Ryann has mastered twirling, fake crying (thanks Gama), and may now run faster than her mama! They all are very good at finding "duck", "puppy", or "teddy" (depending on which book we're reading). Hadley has also figured out the gates - now having to lock one and blockade the other with a chair - otherwise she goes and gets the dog bowl to tell us "aachk aachk". They seem to pick up new things daily - a huge thank you to Mollie who has worked with them on their signing! Otherwise things are pretty much the same... same crazy busy busy busy girls! I've posted some videos of the girls from the past week - one's before bed, they were wound up! and a couple are them running to watch Ellen - guess they really like her show!

Babies gone wild - Hadley and Brynley were racing around the room chasing one another... they wore me out just watching!

Ellen is on!!! Watch those dance moves!

They love to dance!

The "stats"...

   The girls had their 15-month appointment last Friday and I'm pretty sure we were the talk of the office upon leaving... Hadley and Ryann put on a show - as did Bryn in a completely different way! Travis was able to meet us for the appointment as well, which ended up being a blessing. While I have no doubt that Mollie and I could have handled it - man-on-man was so much easier. So, to recap the visit...
   We each manned a baby and headed into the office... Ryann wanted to walk in, which made Hadley want to walk - however, while Ryann will take your finger and walk WITH YOU, Hadley does NOT! She would much rather head in the opposite direction. However, we did all make it into the office... While I checked us in, Ryann and Hadley explored the waiting room - yep, we were THAT family. I should mention that no one else was around, and after a few minutes we did each gather our assigned baby. Thank goodness we didn't have to wait long before they called us back - the girls were NOT excited about being held.
   Once in the examination room the girls could run wild - and boy did they. I think the office has learned from experience and now sends in TWO nurses to get through the questions and vitals. I sat and answered questions about each of the girls... allergies? no; concerns? no, well... maybe; how much eating? drinking? pooping? how many words? walking? You get the picture - but wait, TIMES THREE! Meanwhile, Travis and Mollie got the girls stripped down to their diapers for measurements. Hadley and Ryann were troopers, didn't mind sitting on the scale and getting measured (height and head circumference); however, Bryn was less than enthused... and this was the non-invasive part! This is also when things got a bit wild - for whatever reason Ryann and Hadley kind of went nuts. They were exploring every inch of that room - running around in their diapers... to be honest, it was pretty cute and the nurses were laughing - but wow. We were already tired and we still had the exam and shots left! While we waited for the doctor (and his resident) to come in, Bryn sat on my lap and watched Hadley and Ryann dance it up on the exam table - they loved the sound their feet made on the paper and put on quite a show. We also had time for a quick milk break - our appointments are long so we come prepared! The doctor(s) came in and the fun started all over again. I "got" to hold Bryn and she - I was told - acted very normal... meaning she was crying, yelling, and squirmy throughout the exam. Meanwhile, Ryann sat ever so still and let the resident do the entire exam while she studied everything - that girl cracks me up. Couldn't have two more opposite personalities in her and Bryn. Hadley didn't get as upset as Bryn, but wasn't exactly cooperative for her exam. But whatever, they all checked out just fine... phew. But wait, still not quite done... time for the shots! Thankfully the nurse was speedy and since there were three of us, the process went much smoother than when we have to switch out with the stroller! The hardest decision? what order to go in... Bryn went first - wasn't happy about it, but recovered quickly. Then Hadley, and then Ryann... only Ryann did the silent cry and then about melted my heart with her sobs - poor baby doesn't cry like that very often. The entire appointment lasted just shy of 75-minutes... not too shabby (yes, sympathy please). Mollie, the girls and I headed home while Trav went and got a quick 9-holes in (he had a tournament the next day and needed to practice). All in all, a successful trip... and it made me thank God that the girls have been pretty healthy thus far, because the appointment sure wore ME out! Girls' stats are below - all following their own growth curve nicely. Oh, and I learned something new - "moo" (or other animal sounds) counts as a word! Who knew?! Therefore, when asked how many words the girls know... I did NOT answer correctly - I only count real words... whoops! They'll just look that much smarter at their 18-month appointment this way! Pictures to come later...

15-MONTH STATS:

Ryann Gale: Height = 30.75 inches (55.97%); Weight = 20 lbs 4.5 oz (11.39%)... she grew almost two inches!
Brynley Cade: Height = 29 inches (10.30%); Weight = 18 lbs 5 oz (1.27%)... we're pretty sure that's not her height, because she her and Hadley stand next to each other there isn't too much of a difference!
Hadley Marie: Height = 30 inches (32.09%); Weight = 18 lbs 14 oz (2.71%)... however, her head circumference is in the 78th percentile!

Gone are my babies... Hello Toddlers!

I think it's official - my babies are gone and in their place are three feisty, fun, and stubborn toddlers! Such a transition - and for the most part, it's been good. They love their new-found independence and are playing more by themselves and with one another... without interference from mom, dad, or Mollie! We absolutely adore it when they play with one another - it's pretty fascinating to watch.

After a week and a half with Gama here to help out so I could log a bunch of hours working on my dissertation, I took a break from the office and enjoyed a day with friends and family! Ashley, Joe and Holden (and Baby Fandel) came over yesterday from Des Moines for the night/day and we made the most of it! We went to the zoo for the first time this year and the girls enjoyed it much more than last summer! Lots of pointing and "da-ing"... everything is "dah" - cute and annoying at the same time. Ryann saw lots of birds (and signed "bird" at every sighting) which made her very happy (sorry Grandma Miles). Hadley liked the Tigers (she "roared" at them) and Bryn was pretty happy petting the goats. Best of all, we got to enjoy the zoo with the Fandel family - pretty good start to Easter weekend!

Bryn is still mainly just walking back and forth between people - but we can tell she's wanting to walk more and more... she's just much faster at crawling. Instead of walking on her feet - which is very risky - she enjoys walking on her knees around the room... Between the worm-crawl and now the knee-walk, we will have lots of stories to tell! Ryann seems to have gotten her first molar - or some tooth in the way back... which explains some of the crabbiness earlier this week. Hadley is as stubborn as ever and still quite the high-stepper. Her walk is hilarious - elbows bent so her hands are up next to her armpits and then she highsteps it... not sure what to make of her walk, but it looks like Brynley will have that same gait. It's fun to watch at any rate.

While I was at work, Travis and Gama gave the girls a bath the other night... they took a video of their splashing, and splashing, and splashing... it's a bit long - but fairly entertaining! To watch: http://youtu.be/c1r7i5WLoV4. And below are a few pictures from the week...

Take a moment...

   PLEASE take a moment out of your day this week to click twice to vote for the Wright family... Two of their triplet girls are battling leukemia - as a tribute to the hospital they are receiving treatment from, they have entered a "family dance-off" in an effort to win $30,000 for the hospital. All it takes is TWO CLICKS and you can vote from your work computer and from your home computer... I've pasted some additional information below. THANK YOU! 

   Hey everyone! Our family has entered a dance off competition online and we NEED YOUR HELP! A few weeks ago at the clinic a nurse told us of this dance off competition and said she thought of our family when she heard of it. So, we made a video, and now we need votes!!! If we win, we thought we could use the money on Ryleigh’s Make a Wish trip which we’re taking in October, and also Children’s Hospital would win $30,000!!!!!!
    Everyone is allowed to vote 1 time per day/IP address (computer). So, we’re asking everyone to vote once at work and once at home each day for the next several days to help us get enough votes to move on to the next round!!! We think it would be awesome for Children’s Hospital to get $30,000…they’ve been so wonderful to our family!! TO VOTE: GO TO
www.FamilyDanceoff.com/videos/triplets-boogie AND CLICK VOTE. It’s that easy!!!! We would appreciate you passing this info to anyone and everyone you know to increase our votes:) And remember, you can vote 1 time each calendar day!!!Thanks so much!!!!!!!
    Oh, and Steve and I had to be in the video per contest rules…so you’ll see us strutting around at the end like (that’s the reason)!!!!   Thank you! Andrea (Wright)

A day in the life of...

   Do you ever find yourself wondering what a day with triplets is actually like? It is something we often find ourselves trying to answer - because there really is no explaining it, rather we just get through each day and then breathe a little sigh of relief at night when they're all in bed. Now, don't get me wrong - I love how full our days our and cannot believe how lucky we are to have such fun, sweet, ornery, and healthy little girls... but bedtime takes on a new meaning with kids - and I'm pretty sure every parent out there would agree to that! At any rate, I thought I would take time to try to document what a typical day is like in our house - mostly so I can hold if over the girls' heads later on in life... Ha!

6:45-7:30: Rise and Shine! The time has varied tremendously over the past couple weeks with daylight savings time and the girls fighting that cold. Before that we were all getting up right around 7:00 AM - I have a somewhat stubborn rule about the girls not getting out of their crib before 7:00, though I was having to alter it a bit. With the time change we're back on track! The tricky part in the morning is if they all wake up at the same time... I can only carry two down at a time meaning I leave one not so happy little girl up in her room while I take the other two down. However, for the most part, they don't all wake up in the morning at the same time... they save that for naptimes!

Milk is the number 1 priority after waking up and stretching - no time for a diaper change before hand... so they get their bottle (we're switching the morning bottle to a sippy this week - fingers crossed) and I change their diaper(s) while they eat - multitasking is the name of the game! All three of the girls like to eat anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4th of their bottle and then take a playbreak, lots of energy to expend in the morning. We all play for about an hour or so and then head to breakfast around 8:30. Playtime in the kitchen is a favorite - they can demolish the "tupperware" (mostly glad, ziploc, etc.) cabinet in no time flat. They also are quick to point out if I forget to pick up the dog food/water! They play around the kitchen while I get breakfast ready... typical breakfast: cheerios to start, banana, blueberry-oatmeal pancakes (egg casserole this morning) or cinnamon-swirl toast or french toast. Sometimes we do a smoothie and/or cereal - kind of depends on the day. I try to mix it up, but have decided breakfast variety is hard.

9:00: Faces wiped, back to the playroom, time to get dressed... let the chaos ensue. This is kind of a crazy time - they go from playing really nice to fighting to playing to dancing to crying to... It kind of deteriorates as we get closer and closer to 10ish (the magical nap time).

10/10:30: NAPTIME! Ahhhh - peace and quiet. Time to pick up the first mess of the day, clean up breakfast dishes, get sippy cups ready for the rest of the day, laundry, etc.

Noon-ish: Back up and at 'em. After a quick diaper change the girls play for awhile before sitting down for lunch. They eat around 12:30 or so. Typical lunch: LEFTOVERS! What a range they eat... We do some kind of "main course" (ex: meatballs, chicken nuggets, fish, mac n cheese, lasagne etc.) with a veggie - carrots are still a huge favorite (sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, beans - all varieties, peas, etc.), and a fruit with grapes and blueberries being their faves (strawberries, pineapple, apricots, kiwi, oranges, peaches - they haven't met a fruit they don't like). We have been blessed with good eaters... thus far. I've heard that the picky-ness will make its appearance soon (fingers crossed that it might skip us).

1:00-3ish: PLAYTIME!!! It's been so nice we've been able to go for a walk as of late, but really the girls just play during this time - in the living room (we have designated play areas for the different parts of the day.. dorky, but it saves us all from getting too bored). The girls have their sippy cups at some point during this time, though it varies as to when and how much they even eat.

3:30ish: NAPTIME! Again, pick up the destruction... it's so funny to me how we go from a small mess to a big mess so quickly. The girls each like to play "only child" (up first and alone from a nap) and I'm amazed at how clean things stay.... until the next one/two get up! :-)  Their afternoon nap ranges from an hour and a half to two hours - we get them up by 5:30 at the latest. Kind of late compared to other kids, but it works for our schedule. They eat a little more of their sippy and maybe a snack. Sometimes we go for a short walk or play outside before dinner.

6:00: Dinnertime... We've been pretty good as of late about all eating together - sort of. Rather, I cook and get dinner ready for us all (cut up for the girls - yes, my hand is sore). Trav feeds the girls and then we both stuff our faces quick in-between getting more food for the girls. Then it's time to clean up (again)... I find this the most exhausting part of the day for some reason. Sometimes the kitchen gets clean straight away and other times it waits until the girls are down for the night - depends on their moods.

6:30ish: PLAYTIME/DANCE PARTY... we sometimes put in a video for the girls to dance to, play megablocks, tunnel chase, or even jumparoos (still like them). Whatever they find entertaining, we do. They hit the wall right around 7:15 at which time we open up the gate (literally) and the girls rush to the stairs to head up for bedtime routine.

Bedtime routine: Climb the stairs... sprint to the right (into mom and dad's room) or toward the outlet - both hold great amounts of fascination - while mom and dad say, "come here". Heard them all into their room to play for awhile. After about 10 minutes Trav goes to get the bath ready while I chase around naked toddlers. Bath time - Dad does the baths (all three in the tub at the same time) while I get everything else ready - bottles out, boppys/pillows ready, music on, pjs and diapers out, etc. Whoever is crabbing gets out of the tub first - we lotion, diaper, dress pretty quickly and then it's time for baby #2. This is the most challenging part of the routine - three tired babies who realize it's close to bedtime and that bottle. Once they're all dressed we head downstairs - one of us carrying two and the other carrying one... Bryn likes to help turn off all the lights (I showed her once and now she LOVES to do it). We get downstairs and shove the bottles into their bellowing mouths - they have very little patience at this point. The girls take breaks at this point and go get us books to read, or chase each other around for a little bit longer... We've given up control at this point and let them go for about 10 minutes before putting on their sleepsacks and settling them down. They go down about 8:15 these days... ahhhh. Once they're in bed we finish picking everything up and breathe a sigh of relief - shocked that another day has passed.

And that's our day... The weekends don't vary too much from the weekdays other than the fact that Mollie is on day duty as opposed to one of us. Weekends are a bit easier since there are more people around - except that I've been trying to work over the weekends. Lately we've had lots of help from grandparents around the weekend... the girls love the company and so do we! although sometimes it makes for along week as we adjust back to "normalcy".

I think that probably the biggest difference with triplets/multiples is that you're even more "on" all the time. What I mean by that is that we really can't leave to do the dishes or go make the bed or anything else you might run quick and do. While we try to let them play alone or with each other quite a bit -  we have to be "on"/around since tackling/hitting/(and recently) biting happens quick and without cause. It's been so much fun to see them increasingly play together every so often... such entertainment! The other difference might be the planning/thinking that is never-ending... this is probably true regardless of how many kids you have, who knows... all I know is that last minute plans are a thing of the past for us for the time being!

Update: Hadley is still high-step walking (about the cutest walk I've ever seen); Bryn has taken a few steps here and there (more of a side-stepper, still very risk-averse); Ryann is running faster and figured out how to climb onto the front couch (yikes). We also discovered two more teeth in Ryann's mouth yesterday - when did that happen? I still need to check out Bryn and Hadley... sneaky devils! Some recent pictures are below! Happy Spring!

After their nap - Hadley and Bryn

Such a big girl... Ryann

Look-alikes...

Grandpa & Ryann

Grandma & Ryann

Swinging on St. Patrick's Day

Hadley Marie - 14 1/2 months

Brynley Cade - 14 1/2 months

Ryann Gale - 14 1/2 months

Please Vote...

PLEASE take a moment out of your day to vote for the Wrights - a family with triplets here in Omaha. Two of their triplet girls have Leukemia. They would like to use their winnings on their Make-A-Wish trip in October. It takes two clicks! You can go back and vote each day through March :)

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It's official - TWO toddlers...

   Hadley has joined Ryann and is now high-stepping all over the place... that is how she has chosen to walk, it's the funniest, cutest, oddest thing I've seen in awhile. Not that that should surprise us since Hadley has always liked to do things her own way. I can't wait to see how Bryn advances to this stage - after her worm-crawl nothing will surprise me!
   For the last few weeks - or longer - Hadley would take two or three steps and then lunge/attack/fall at us - all the while finding it hilarious. However, all of the sudden Monday night (3/5) and then again Tuesday morning (3/6) she took ten or so steps and didn't lunge/attack/fall at the end. By the end of Tuesday she was toddling here and there... no big deal! So different from Ryann who was much more gradual. I suppose Hadley had the benefit of watching Ryann for the past month or so! It takes her about 10 steps to go three feet - she takes tiny little steps, and she high-steps it for whatever reason, resulting in a pretty funny gait!
   We've encountered our first cold... poor Bryn woke us up coughing on Sunday - though we didn't know who the culprit was, by the time we'd look at the monitor or get in the room she'd stopped! I even went into their room and tried to wait them out... however, Monday morning Brynley revealed herself. It's gradually gotten worse and I called the doctor's office today - verdict: a cold... for now. We're to keep an eye on her and watch for signs of an ear infection (fingers crossed we can hold off on that one for a bit longer). Her poor little nose is so runny and her cough just about breaks my heart. We've got the humidifier running, Bryn's crib popped up, and a honey-apple juice cocktail - now we're praying that we can keep the other two from catching it (though we've already heard a cough or two from Hadley).
   On the bright side - spring is definitely in the air and the girls are looking forward to getting out of the house more often! I don't think I've taken their 14-month picture yet... better get on that! The girls are also looking forward to some more visits from Gama and Grandpa and Papa and Grandma! Aunt Hilary and Jeremy are also coming up at the end of next week... I sense some spoiling in the air!