4 Years Old...

It's almost impossible for me to think about the girls being 4 and if I hadn't lived and been exhausted during all of the past 4 years, I'd have thought it wasn't true.  The girls birthdays are always a difficult time for me. And honestly, unless you have a preemie (or 3 of them), it's really hard to understand for people. So I try to stop explaining it and hope that one of these years I won't have anxiety, sadness and an overall dread for this time of the year. Once the birthday passes, I'm back to normal, but the time leading up to it and the day of is very painful for me. It's sad that such a happy time for the girls is a difficult one for me. But I try and focus on them, how amazing they are, how far they have come and how happy they are and know that each year that passes will get better... Enough about that, let's talk about the girls...

First of all, this past year I've really seen them grow into sisters. The bond between them is immeasurable and also hard to explain. Although they have completely different personalities, I see them defending each other, getting in trouble together, laughing together, learning together, worrying about each other when they are not near each other, and just being sisters... I love it and although they don't always get along, I'm confident their bond will only get stronger. At least until they are 16 and one of them dates a guy another one likes :-)

Aven:

Aven was Baby A in my belly... Her water broke at 26 weeks and 4 days which ultimately put me into labor (even though we thought we could stop it for a few weeks). She weighed 1 pound 9 ounces when she was born. She's had a mind of her own, even before she was born :-)

Aven is a bit of the alpha of the triplets. She's very confident, a bit bossy, knows what she wants and will let you know when she doesn't get it. She also tends to be a bit of the mother within the group. She's generally considerate of her sisters and is the best sharer by far. She wants everyone to be involved in something and will get upset when her sisters don't want to do something that she does. She will give you the shirt off her back if she knows it will make you happy. Now this doesn't happen all the time, but if she's happy, she wants everyone else happy around her and will do anything to make sure that happens - even if it means sharing...

Aven currently loves school, stickers, playing dress up, wearing shoes with no socks (ever), riding her bike, reading books, all superheros, playing with all the "boys" (aka Declan's friends), playing legos in her brother's room and doing a wardrobe change every nap time, which usually leads to some crazy things she wears... And, she definitely does not want to grow up. She is not very happy about turning 4 and will make sure she tells you how unhappy she is about it whenever you ask...

I truly love Aven's spirit. She beats to her own drum and is self confident in what and how she does things. She's usually the one that is wearing something nuts and is also the most stubborn.  She tends to be a bit of a tomboy and rarely likes her hair brushed, put in a pony tail or anything done with it. Although she likes dress up and wearing princess dresses, she also likes pairing it with sneakers and a baseball hat. We constantly compare Aven to Declan because at this age (and younger) those 2 are identical.  Same spirit, similar personality and same independence.

Bria

Bria was Baby B in my belly and we used to say how she always had all sorts of room to jump around. It's still like that now, she likes to tell her sisters "go away" if they get to close to her stuff :-) She was our biggest and weighed 1 pound 11 ounces when she was born.

Bria is our love child... She's all about peace, love and happiness - and art! She's our feeler and needs the physical stimulation of hugs and kisses. She's very compassionate and is almost always the one that gets one of her sisters out of time out, or out of their room or out of anything that they are getting in trouble for. She's got extreme care and concern for her sisters when they are crying and often cries when they cry. Because she's our "feeler," she also is the one that is most dramatic about things, but it's usually nothing a little hug and some snuggling can't cure.

Bria currently loves school, drawing, coloring, stickers, riding her bike, ballet class, jumping on the trampoline, reading, reading and more reading. She likes her black hightop tennis shoes and purple is her favorite color.  She's an excellent artist. She'd sit around all day and night just drawing, She doesn't get wrapped up in what her sisters are doing, she just enjoys doing things like art and reading and often does this by herself. I'm hoping that she follows in the footsteps of some of my artist family members :-)

My heart regularly melts when Bria speaks. Often you will hear her saying "I love you Mommy" or "I love you Daddy." And she always says "I love you so much" and "you are so beautiful." She's a kind, gentle soul and lights up our lives...

Stevie

Stevie was Baby C in my belly and was always the smallest - so much so that we didn't even know she existed until after 11 weeks of me being pregnant. She's always been our biggest fighter... She weighed just 1 pound 3 ounces when she was born...

Stevie is our silly girl... She's got an infectious laugh and always wants to mess around with her sisters. She's usually Declan's partner in crime and is up for anything her big brother wants to do.  She's ALWAYS concerned about where her sisters are. If she doesn't see one of them, she'll yell for them or ask us where her "sissy" is... She wants to be sure that no one is left out and that everyone is in on the fun. She'll likely be the one that gets in trouble in school for talking too much because she's always had a lot to say (even when you couldn't understand what she was saying). She's sweet when she needs to be and sneaky when she wants to be - we guarantee you that Stevie will be the one trying to get her sisters to sneak out of the house when they are teenagers, and then tell on them later to get them in trouble. She's very sneaky...

Stevie currently loves school, stickers, playing with her brother, playing in her brother's room with anything that she isn't supposed to have, running (everywhere), riding her bike, going to the park, jumping on the trampoline, dressing up, parties and her friend Maycie.

Stevie is a trip. She's sweet, honest, funny, silly and she's the kind of person that people love the minute they meet her.  They like her name, they like how small she is, but most importantly, they love her soul. Life wouldn't be the same without her and we are truly blessed to have her in our lives...

There is a quote I love by Albert Einstein, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." The girls are my reminder of miracles every day and the world is a better place because of them.

Typical kids picture with Declan's sour face :-)

First Day of School!

I wasn't sure the kids had it in them to wake up early, but they did! And the first week of school went off with success... The only problem is that Aven REALLY wants to ride the bus... Declan really seems to like school and his teacher, so that's great! And the girls LOVE school... They basically pop out of bed asking to go to school. Soooooo different than how Declan was when he was their age :-)

Here are some pictures from the first day... Clockwise: Declan, Bria, Aven & Stevie

L to R: Declan, Bria, Stevie & Aven

L to R: Stevie, Aven, Bria

What Happened to Summer?

I feel like my lack of blogging should have been due to all the things we accomplished this summer... but unfortunately it's not as the kids return to school tomorrow and the summer was filled with a lot of heat and very little checked off our "to do" list... But here's what did happen this summer: Declan turned 7, he is swimming like a fish, he's playing baseball like a stud, he met some best friends who I think he will be friends with forever, he bugged his sisters to death, he decided he liked bananas, then decided he didn't, he tried broccoli for the first time and liked it (but only cold), he picked up boxing and loves it (and throws a mean hook), Stevie turned into our best talker and is using ~10 word sentences, Stevie pooped and peed on the potty (but she's not fully trained), Aven turned into a tomboy but still prefers to wear heals, Bria became an artist who's work I'm sure will be on an exhibit one day, Bria and Aven can "swim" by themselves with their wings on, Stevie is terrified of any body of water besides the bath, all the girls learned how to ride their bikes and push the pedals by themselves (for short periods of time), the girls went to their first movie, the girls have almost given up naps, Declan went to WI to see all his grandparents, the whole family went to Chattanooga (with the girls first hotel stay) and realized we've been to way cooler Children's Museums in our prior lives, the girls and I went to the Atlanta Aquarium with their Aunties and loved it, we had a lot of visitors this summer and then it was all over and we all are returning to normal starting tomorrow.

Declan is going into 1st grade and his teacher is Mrs. Jones - we've heard good and not so good things about her, but one of Declan's besties had her (who is just like Declan) and he loved her, so we have our fingers crossed. The girls are starting 5 day a week preschool at their school from last year - half days, but we are excited for them! They LOVE school and their teachers (Mrs Deb, Mrs Tammy, Mrs Winnie and Mrs Tiffany) and they love them. Declan will continue with Baseball, Hockey, Boxing and Parkour and we are trying to find time to fit in Gymnastics for the girls again as well as playdates with their bestie, Maycie.

Here are some photos from the summer, in no particular order since I need to go try and get Declan to fall asleep since 6:30 AM is going to come early!!!

Aven at Declan's birthday party decided to get into someone's sun screen and us A LOT of it...

All the sisters of the boys at Declan's party... Princesses!

Princess Parade...

Declan, Andy and his bestie (and their dad)

7 year old!

Bria and Aven getting down in the tub waiting for Stevie to poo on the potty...

Per my earlier comment - I'm convinced the reason they don't consistently go on the potty is because they always have an audience and they hate it!

Bria swimming in the pool

Me and the kiddos

L to R: Aven, Bria and Stevie

Silly kids and Declan trying not to break a smile...

Tennessee Aquarium...

Me and Bria

This is how the girls slept (in my bed) in their very first hotel stay... I wasn't all that comfortable. But I'm sure Andy and Declan were great in their bed ;)

The girls at their very first movie - Minions. They loved it!

Me and the girls (Aven, Stevie and Bria)

Oh and Aven gave herself a haircut...

Declan at 1st grade orientation...

The girls with their bestie Maycie...

Declan with his bestie Kayden and Breckin (who are the big brothers of Maycie)

Final summer night of ice cream...

The girls at Declan's birthday party photo booth

Aven

Maycie

Party was awesome (and exhausting!)

Chapter Closed...

This past week it was Declan's last day of Kindergarten... So hard to believe that the year is over already and hard to believe he is going to be in 1st grade next year. We loved his teacher this year and hope he has someone just as great next year! The girls also wrapped up their first year of pre-school and we are excited because next year they get to go 5 days a week for 1/2 days... With the same teachers and at the same school - Andy clearly can't wait and we are both excited about the opportunity for them to catch up in all things. So all and all, with the move down here last summer, the year has been a great one. Now just gearing up for the summer filled with summer camps for Declan and spending some good quality family time together.

Here are a few pictures from the end of school and the end of year school program... Aven with Declan's painting...

Stevie, Aven, Declan and friend Maycie...

Aven was very upset because Declan took "her" picture... And Declan with his buds Kayden and Breckin

Declan in his class for a Mother's day event...

And next to his picture of me (I'm on his right with the big hoop yellow earnings)

Declan and me at his "fake birthday" a few weeks ago because he has a summer birthday...

Declan on graduation day where he got the "friendliest" award - couldn't be prouder!

The girls at their end of year party...

Declan and his 2 buds and our neighbors Kayden and Breckin... Such sweet boys and they have a sister who's the girls age - match made in heaven!

Besides the end of year festivities, we are also starting to have spotty naps (this is what happens when they don't get them) and starting potty training (more on that later).

Bria scaling the shelves in the pantry - these girls have gotten out of control with what they want and when they want it!

Stevie was the first to go pee (and poop) on the potty - she's always been #1 :-)

Girls in the box!

Auntie Em and our friend Justin are visiting for the weekend and we've had so much fun! I wish they could stay forever... Here's the girls and their Auntie...

Declan is currently obsessed with baseball... I mean play every day kind of baseball, dreaming about it, thinking about it and wanting to do anything as long as it involves baseball... Andy and him went to the Braves vs Brewers game yesterday and he was totally engaged the whole time and it went into extra innings... And he got 5 autographs!

Mr. Justin and Dec...

And we invested in this awesome water slide / bounce house... So awesome and days of fun this weekend!

Bria made me take this picture.

Aven and Justin jamming to the music...

The downside of potty training is that when you have an older boy, they all think they pee standing up (hence Bria trying to pee on her sister) and they use random things (i.e. bucket) to pretend poop in and think it's hilarious... Note, there was no poo or pee involved in this instance...

Thank goodness we have privacy in our yard b/c these crazy girls are naked at least 80% of the time...

And then there was Stevie... Note the socks :-)

Such an awesome memorial day weekend with great weather, great people and a fun time... Wish they were all like that!