Triplets meet triplets...

Today, in a rare occurrence Andy, I and all the kids were invited to a cook out. I think we were invited because the hosts know just what it's like to have 3 same age toddlers :-) I met Jen at my first Mothers of Multiples club meeting (if  you read my original blog, you would have heard about how excited I was about meeting another triplet mom when I was just barely pregnant with our trio). I've since not shown up to another meeting, but we've kept in touch this past year and we finally got our families together. We had such a great time! Declan was happy that another 4 year old was there and he was in heaven chasing him around and playing. The girls also had a blast playing on their slide and other toys. I think we might need to find an outdoor climbing contraption for these little ones.

Here's a picture of the trios x2... Although none are really smiling, this was a serious feat to get 6 toddlers / babies all in one place sitting still :-) (L to R: Olivia, Aven, Bria, Stevie, Amelia & Tony)

I got a few other shots of the kiddos today as well... Stevie...

Stevie again, I couldn't help it, she's just so darn sweet!

Aven and her baby :-)

Bria hording things...

Aven and Bria "sharing" a stool :-)

Another failed attempt of getting an all kids picture...

Somewhere the kids will never go...

So this week I made my annual trip to Disney for work. Each year we have our executive meeting where the senior leaders of my company get together. It's a GREAT week, with 150 leaders around the world gathered. This is my third year being invited and it gets better each year.  This year I was asked to talk during our "women's network" luncheon about work-life balance and what the company has done for me to help with this. I didn't focus on the work-life piece so much (because I honestly don't have it all figured out yet), but it was fun to tell "the story" to some people that hadn't heard it before. You all have heard the story about the girls birth, NICU, etc, but what I focused on was the support that I've gotten from the people that I work with and for. I love, love, love these people and they are nothing but supportive of me and our family. It certainly makes it easier to leave home every day. That and the amazing husband and father that I've got in Andy.

My mom was here for the week to help Andy out while I was gone and I came back to a clean house, kids fully dressed and only one bloody nose :-) (just a small miss-hap in the bath tube for Bria).

Here's a picture of the girls on their "new" riding toys (L to R: Aven, Bria & Stevie)... The girls are getting so cute now and they have developed their own language with each other. No one else knows what they are saying, but they sure do. We've also seen moments of them playing together. It's not for long, but if you are quiet and watch closely, you might catch it. They are also fighting more - hence the 3 riding toys (all of which were ones we had). We actually went to the store yesterday to get another one, since no one liked the one in the middle because it didn't play music. So what happened? They all fought over the new one. You really can't win with these three :-)

Party time...

Before I get into the partying that we did this weekend, I thought I would update everyone on the girls. We had their 18 month appointment last week and they are all doing great! We love their pediatrician and all the nurses at the doctors office. They all like to play the guessing game on who's who - they always get Stevie right, but are usually wrong between Aven and Bria. I give them the cheater clues (i.e. Bria wears purple hair bands, Aven wears pink hair bands and Stevie wears turquiose hair bands), but they don't like "cheating" :-)

Anyway, the good news is that Aven and Bria seem to be "catching up" in both height and weight. They are both on the charts between the 5th and 7th percentile for their adjusted weight and height. It seems they had a bit of a growth spurt since we were last there (previously they were just barely on the charts). For many preemies they say that they tend to catch up by the age of 2, with micro-preemies (under 2 pounds - what the girls were), it's not always exact. Stevie on the other hand hasn't showed any signs of "catching up" just yet. She's typically been 2 pounds behind her sisters, but now she is 3 pounds, after Aven and Bria's jump. She's still following her weight and growth curve, so it's nothing to be concerned about, it's just that she's not had that spurt just yet. Our pediatrician thinks that she might be a good candidate for a growth hormone if she doesn't do more catching up by the time she turns 2. If you remember, last summer we went to an endocrinologist (basically a bone doctor), who looked at their growth. He asked us to come back when they are 2 to see if we should consider a growth hormone for any of them, so that continues to be the plan. We'll see at that time on how Stevie is doing...

All seems to be on track with Aven and Bria's motor skills, but she recommended to get their speech checked by EI within the next few months if they aren't saying more words. Which has also been the plan. We are to keep up with Stevie's EI for her motor skills and then also take a look at her speech in the next few months. The girls have been talking a lot more, mostly jibber jabber with each other, but we are pretty sure that Aven said 'baby' today and both of them say momma, dada and bye bye. We've also heard Stevie say bye bye. The problem is that they say it and then don't say it for a few weeks, so we usually don't count them as words, but maybe we should?!?!? Stevie has also been standing for a few seconds at a time now. She doesn't always do it, but she has been over the past few days - which is exciting!

So onto the party this weekend. My aunt hosted a bridal shower for my sister and Jeff this weekend and the whole family went down to celebrate. Judy has been out here for a few days to attend and so is my mom and Grandma. It was a great time and all the kids had a ball! My cousins and their kids were there as well so there was more than enough for the kids to do (plus the new pool that my aunt and uncle just put in!) Here are some pictures from the day...

L to R: Stevie, Bria & Aven...

Miss Stevie...

Silly Aven...

Bria was surprisingly brave with all the grass! She honestly had very little fear running around the property... We'll see if she's conquered her fears :-)

Need I say more? This is Aven true to form. Who flashes a dog? Aven does...

Our Declan...

My attempt to get all the kids together for a picture... Fail...

Failure again...

Bria and Aven chasing after Declan...

Aven taking time to smell the flowers...

Daddy, Declan & Stevie...

I love this picture of Aven...

Me and Stevie :)

The girls LOVED the waterfall...

And they all LOVED the dog Holly... Here's Stevie resting her head on her...

And a beautiful picture of the future bride and groom...

Jersey Girl...

This is going to be a hodge-podge of pictures and posts... Let me start with the title of this post. We have Auntie Em to thank for making Stevie a fist-pumping Jersey girl. The video speaks for itself... Andy and Em think this is just the funniest thing ever. Me not so much :-)

Now here are some randoms... Aven standing by the front door, with her purse of course, waiting for Daddy to come home...

Aven standing on their new found favorite toy, a stool...

Bria, with her purse of course, standing on the new "toy"... This was about 5 seconds before her sister, Aven, pushed her off. Oh yea, they like to beat each other up now and Aven does NOT like it when someone else has what she wants or if someone else is getting lap time. This is the start of a few very interesting years...

Bria in another fun toy, a stool upside down :-) She would lounge in this thing all day long if her sisters would let her...

Brother/sister snuggle time on his blankie...

Bath time! We've graduating out of the baby seats and they love being able to move and splash around. Beware, this is not for those that are scared of a little water. I pretty much get a bath at the same time...  L to R: Bria, Aven & Stevie

This is how we roll during bathtime at the Lawry household :-)

Stevie...

My mother's day gift from Declan - so funny and cute!

And a gift that I hope I get for some mother's day. This is brilliant and i'm not even lying. And it's safe! This is basically my dream that won't happen anytime soon (the bike is $1400!), but a girl can dream!

18 Months!

I honestly can't believe that the girls are 18 months today... There are times when I have vivid memories (or nightmares) of when the girls were first home from NICU and then there are times when I can't even remember where the time has gone. I remember the times when I would just wish and pray that we could get past the waking up every 3 or 4 hours and fast forward time. I'm not going to lie, there are times that I still wish we could fast forward time to when they are 5, but now, we are happily sleeping through the night for at least 12 hours (on most nights), we are eating regular food, we are walking (at least 2 are), we are communicating (not all in words) and we are starting to play with each other (or rather starting to fight with each other). It's amazing to see how they have changed... So here's what they are up to:

Aven: Aven has continued to show her personality, which is larger than life. She shows us more and more every day how much she is like her brother, when he was a baby. She's "usually" our most outgoing and fearless. She likes to climb, be outside, explore and give kisses. She also loves to carry around her purse. She seems to like baby dolls the most at this point. She is also hilarious. She's always up to something, always has a hidden agenda and is always showing off. She has said a few words here and there, but nothing "consistent." She can sometimes repeat what you are saying for certain words (i.e. momma and dada), but she usually thinks it's a game and laughs about it. She can sign for "more" and "all done" and waves "hi / bye" and likes to blow kisses goodbye.

Bria: Bria is our happy little girl. She's the one who's personality changes the most. There are times that she's a flirt and brave and there are times when she's a scardy cat. Once she warms up to you, she loves you, but she isn't always quick to warm up. She likes to climb, but then usually crys to have someone help her get down. She also likes to carry around her purse and does like to give hugs to her baby doll. She loves to be outside too, but is terrified of the grass or anything that is not on firm ground (at least that's what it seems like). She's about the same as Aven verbally and can sign a few things, and also likes to blow kisses goodbye.

Stevie: Stevie still isn't walking... No one, including us, seem to be concerned. She is still getting EI two times a week and she'll get there. She's been very cranky for the last week or so, which Andy seems to remember that she was like that right before she started crawling. So perhaps she's getting ready to walk. Although, I think she is still too small and doesn't seem close to walking just yet. She seems to do just fine crawling around chasing her sisters. She also likes to climb, but her height seems to get the better of her in most cases. She's probably the most active with her communication. She might not be saying as much, but she's more consistent about using her signs and is always waving and blowing kisses. She is also always pointing at things and where she wants to go. Andy also swears that she says baseball - it sounds more like "bay baw," but then she points to the TV (which has it on 24/7 at our house right now).

L to R: Aven, Stevie & Bria

And a little about Declan... We've said before that he's an awesome big brother. Although his boyish 4 yearoldness can wear on our patience, tonight he proved his sweetness again. On Wednesday night's Andy takes a class at the gym so he leaves about 20 mintues before the girls bedtime. I was prepping the living room to feed all the girls their last bottle of the night and Declan said "mommy, will you wait for daddy before you feed my sisters?" I told him no, that I was going to do it solo. He said "well then I will help you and feed one of my sisters. Because it will be easier if I help." He's such a sweet little man and growing up so fast...

Family fun times...

Declan is in soccer this spring and he absolutely loves it. And it's honestly the most entertaining thing that I see all week. I just love all the kids running to the ball, yet no one kicks it. I get the biggest kick out of it (no pun intended). The girls love to go and watch as well... Well technically Aven and Stevie like to watch, Bria is terrified of the grass, so she usually sits in someones lap. The last few weeks Declan has scored one goal each game, which he is super proud of. Here are some pictures from soccer Saturday...

Aven and Bria (who is noticing that she's not on someones lap - eek!)

Stevie...

Andy and I also had a fun weekend and got to go out to dinner Friday night. Auntie Em was nice enough to come over and once we put the girls down to bed, we took off and Em and Declan had some good bonding time. Then again on Saturday after Declan's game, Em and Jeff took him for the day / night and did all sorts of fun things and then Declan spent the night with them. It's amazing what one less kid feels like - it's like a little vacation :-) It's so great that my sister lives near us and her and Jeff are willing to watch the kiddos!

Here are some other random pictures and video from the weekend... Aven being a little smarty showing me her belly button, but knowing she was being naughty by standing in her high chair...

What mom, what am I doing? I'm an angel...

What's for dinner? It's Bria!

And on our way to the park for the millionth time :-)