Brother love...

Our day started great at the grocery store this morning (with me and the girls)... We got our usual comments, that are always somewhat annoying, but about halfway through the store a woman stopped us and said "are those triplets?" and my dull response "yes." She then said, "oh you are soooo lucky!!!" I said "THANK YOU! Oh my gosh, that's so not the typical response that we get - thank you so much, we are lucky!" Those types of things just make my day...

Bria and Declan were BFF's tonight as you can see from the pictures below... She loves her some Declan!

This picture is actually Aven and Declan on Daddy's back, but Bria and Daddy are having a deep conversation...

Bria and her bro...

Declan was entertaining everyone tonight :-)

Melts my heart...

Declan teaching Bria how to do a headstand...

Here's a video of the Bria/Declan love fest...

Daddy attempting a short lived nap, Aven discovered him!

Aven prepping for the winter...

And Aven's newest thing when she gets into the car - she likes to sit in Declan's seat...

Where is Stevie? Did I leave her at the store today? Ha, just kidding, I didn't - just must not have snapped any pictures of her today :-)

Where's Dada?

All weekend when the doorbell rings (yes, I've already started buying Christmas presents) or the phone rings, Aven points, runs and yells "DADA"! I think they all miss having their Dad and big brother around... Luckily they are coming back tonight and they will have Dad back with them all day tomorrow :-) It's been nice to have my girls all to myself. A few things I've discovered being with them this weekend...

1. They are getting more teeth. They went from temper tantrum central each 20 minutes on Friday to normal almost two year old triplets every 45 minutes by Sunday. I saw one of Stevie's eye teeth coming in and she's usually the first to get them. And I also feel like there are 2-year molars - am I right? Regardless, it would explain a lot about their attitudes this last week or so...
2. They talk to each other and know absolutely what the other is saying. It goes a little like this... Aven - "hey Bria, you run one way and I'll go the other," Bria - "yea okay, hurry, she's on to us, I gotta get to the neighbor's door before she sees me so that you can run out into the street!" Stevie - "hey guys, wait for me." They seriously are out to get me, and it's only going to get worse.
3. You have to master the loading and unloading of the car... I think I have the loading down pat, but the unloading gets a little squirrel... The loading part is pretty easy as they all walk to the car and want to get in (basically so they can run around in the car). You just have to make sure to open only one door, not both sliding doors - I made that mistake and almost lost one! The unloading gets to be a bit like point #2 above and they really don't want to go inside, which it makes it more challenging.
4. They think me telling them "no" is funny. This also goes to point #2 in them being out to get me. They think it's funny when I tell them no, and then they do it and then they all laugh about it. It's not funny (usually) and I'm not a fan. This too, will only get worse. I don't think they are quite there with time outs yet, and honestly I haven't quite figured out how those are going to work - because now when Declan has to go on one, they all laugh and mess with him... It's going to be a challenge for sure.

So those are my life lessons for the day... I also took the opportunity to take a bunch of candids of the girls - I just love taking their picture... I just wish they loved it as much as I did :-)

Aven is a hugging machine... It's hilarious... She just hugs and hugs and hugs... Here she is hugging Bria...

This was Stevie's reaction to my "no" to her spilling her gold fish and then me telling her to pick them up - this is her attempt to pick them up :-)

And her still mocking me...

Aven is crazy...

And this tantrum was brought to me by her taking her barrette out of hair and her hair kept going into her face... If she would actually leave something in her hair, then we wouldn't have this problem, now would we???

Bria stuck...

Happy Bria!

Happy Stevie!

Bria looking innocent...

Bria is really into putting clothes on (like in this picture) and taking them off... Last week I went into their room to get them and I noticed that Bria was sitting there smiling in just her diaper. After I had the moment of "oh crap, did we put clothes on her before she went to bed," I noticed her PJ's in a nice pile at the foot of her bed... She is really into zippers these days - let's just hope I don't wake up to her with poop all over her one morning...

Bria doing her best to create a double chin...

They are such big girls now, they don't even want to sit on anyones lap for their night bottle... I've also come to the realization that after this weekend, they really don't need a nighttime bottle... It's time, they are too big now and don't like it as much as they used to (sniff sniff)...

Bria stealing Stevie's snack - typical...

Our girls!

Avie...

She cracks me up... Her attitude and facial expressions kill me...

Sweet Stevie pie...

This is them milk-drunk... They are crazy! They do this every night before bed now - it's like their second win...

Bria is obsessed with the car lately - here is all of them saying their goodbyes :-)

Girls Weekend!

Andy and Declan went back to Wisconsin this weekend so it's just the girls and I hanging out. It's been a while since I've just had the girls and it's fun! Besides the temper tantrums every 20 minutes, it's been good bonding time... And I'm serious about the temper tantrums, it's like clockwork - tantrums about not wanting to eat something, tantrums about wanting to eat something, tantrums about one sister getting the cup that the other one wanted, tantrums about coming inside, tantrums about one sister climbing something that the other wanted, tantrums when yo gabba gabba ends, tantrums when one sister is sitting in the other sisters chair, and the list goes on and on... I was trying to remember back to Declan at this age and I think it just seemed more manageable because there was only one. Now with 3, it's 3 times the tantrums. No wonder Andy looks like he's lost his soul every day I get home from work :-)

Besides the tantrums, there are moments of adorableness and sweetness... Today I dressed the girls in their Badger gear (which I happened to find in some of Declan's old clothes - plus I found some bonus 3 pairs of shoes for them!) and we had fun at the grocery store (where we saw one of their old daycare teachers) and had some good outside play (which ended with tantrums :-))

Here are some pictures from the day (and last night)... I was looking for new things to do this weekend so I brought up my old doll house. I played with this doll house when I was their age - my grandfather (my mom's dad) made it and we've kept it all these years... I love this doll house. The girls seem to too :-) I am not putting any furniture in it until they are a little less destructive :-)

Aven wanted a turn too :-)

Bria in a box...

Don't worry, she didn't do this herself, this was my remedy to one of Aven's tantrums :-)

Stevie was being creative with her pegs...

And Aunt Em discovered that the girls could use the baby links as bracelets - brilliant!

Mommy let's them eat a lot of meals on the floor when Daddy's away - sshhhhh, don't tell him :-)

Although it's rare that I can get good picture of the 2 of them (or never), here was one from yesterday...  (L to R: Stevie, Aven, Bria)

Aven ready for her day today - love, love, love her shoes! I completely forgot Declan had these when he was little :-)

Bria loving being outside in her car...

Stevie and her wagon...

And Stevie again...

Aven trying to be like me blowing bubbles... The whole allowing them to blow bubbles was an epic fail - note to self, do not do that again...

Avie...

Bria and Aven on their teeter-totter...

Happy Stevie!

23 Months! (Almost)

I know I am a few days early, but we have a busy week, so I thought I would be proactive and post this a few days earlier... It's incomprehensible to think that the girls are going to be 2 in a month... I seriously can't even think about it... About this time 2 years ago I was just about to have my first hospital stint for contractions and was about to go on bed rest. It wasn't even in our minds that we would have the girls in early November. But let's not get nostalgic now, we have another month before we do that...

Here's what the girls are up too...

Aven: Aven continues to be our little diva. She's so much like her brother that I just laugh about it. They look alike, they act the same and she's got the same feisty personality as he does. It should be interesting when she gets older... Here are a few other things (something new I'm trying out :-))

• Nicknames: Avie, Ave
• Favorite thing to do: Whatever she wants... But she really likes to play with babies, tiaras and jewelry. She also gives the biggest hugs and loves to give them. Another favorite is to walk around with a bucket on her head - all. the. time.
• Favorite food: Pretty much anything that we eat, but not a big fruit eater. I'd say her favorite food is waffles.
• Favorite toy: Babies
• Favorite TV show: Yo Gabba Gabba
• Morning or Night: Both - she sleeps the least and if anyone still wakes up from time to time, it's her. We just got a video monitor for their room and our suspicions were correct, she's usually the last to sleep both at night and nap and the first up (just like Declan always was).
• Things she likes to say: She likes to say "more" (often)

Bria: Bria has an adaptable personality, sometimes she's the most needy and sometimes she's the biggest sweetie that just does her own thing. She's a balance between her two sisters. She's a snuggler, a lover, but also wants to make sure she's heard, seen and paid attention too.

• Nicknames: Bri, Bri Bri, B-B, B
• Favorite thing to do: To climb, jump and dance
• Favorite food: Pretty much anything and everything (except bananas), she's our best eater.
• Favorite toy: Play kitchen and food and the riding toys
• Favorite TV show: Yo Gabba Gabba (although she's always been the least interested in TV)
• Morning or Night: Night, definitely not a morning kid... Much like her big brother and Dad, we almost always have to wake her in the morning and she's generally crabby in the morning. Is definitely our best sleeper - first to sleep and last to get up.
• Things she likes to say: Bye-Bye, More and Catch (and she's got this cute little jibber-jabber that's hard to explain - I'll try to get it on video some day)

Stevie: Stevie is still our little angel... She's more of a loner than the other two, I think because she's comfortable in her own skin and doesn't need the constant attention. That or she gets enough attention from Declan since she continues to be his favorite. She's still the littlest by far but is growing at her own pace.

• Nicknames: Sweet Pea (that's what Andy calls her a lot)
• Favorite thing to do: Read books, sit in her pink car and she likes to observe / inspect things... She's very analytical.
• Favorite food: Bananas (she loves them, but her sisters won't touch them)
• Favorite toy: Most of Declan's toys (i.e. cars, etc), books and music toys
• Favorite TV show: Yo Gabba Gabba
• Morning or Night: Morning (mostly) - she will trade off with Aven on who wakes up first. 
• Things she likes to say: Not really talking words yet, mostly jibber jabber with her sissys, she uses her hands a lot. Like she will be talking talking talking and motioning with her hands like we know what's she's saying.

Since it was nice out today I took the opportunity of snapping some pictures. I had the brilliant idea (so I thought) to put them on some rocks thinking they would stay put and be too scared to get down. Well, it didn't really work as I had liked. I seriously need a software that I can just cut out pictures and put them all together to get them all looking at me and smiling... Story of our lives I suppose.

L to R: Aven, Bria and Stevie (all in their colors for future photos :-))

Ha ha - love this one... Not sure what Aven is doing, Bria think's it's hilarious and Stevie isn't so sure about this whole rock thing...

And here comes big brother...

Dec holding Aven's hand (which I'm sure she hates), Bria planning her escape route and Stevie pointing to somewhere she wants to go (which is not on the rock)

I love this one... I just see both Aven and Declan looking at each other in the look of disgust/shock/"whatever" - two peas in a pod... If they only knew...

And then Bria starts to push, Stevie finding something funny...

This is the best I could get - hey, no smiles, but 2 out of 3 looking - I'll take it!

Aven and our "pet" Tommy Tom

Oh Declan...

You know your a mom when...

You are on a nice leisurely 4 mile run and you stop the last mile because you see a woolly bear caterpillar that you know your son would love. So although I only got 3 miles in for the day and I had to carry that thing all the way home, Declan was thrilled! We had a jar all ready (with the lady bug that we had gotten months ago - who died obviously) so we prepped his home and gave him a name - Tommy Tom of course... After talking to my friend google, the beautiful woolly bear turns into a gross disgusting moth - who knew! We will continue to feed it grass and clean his home, until he freezes himself and turns into a moth in the spring - how fun!

We also had Stevie's 6 month review with Early Intervention today. We love the case manager that we have and it was great to see her again!  We meet with her and Stevie's therapist formally every 6 months to check on her progress and decide what we want to do for the next 6 months. Stevie is doing great and everyone is really happy about her progress. She's met all the milestones that we have set for her and we will now reduce the number of days she gets PT. The therapist currently comes twice a week and we will go down to once a week or possibly twice a month. Although she's walking 100% now, she still needs to work on her stiffness and keep stretching her muscles, before she turns pro as a body builder. It will also depend upon what happens with her speech therapy. We don't have her assessment back yet, but we should know if she qualifies in the next few weeks (we'll find out next week regarding the other two girls and if they qualify). So hopefully we'll be changing up the focus for Stevie and we'll determine what we need for the other two girls soon.

We also got some other very interesting news... The school district that we live in has an Early Intervention Preschool program (at the Elementary School that Declan goes to). I've heard about these, but honestly there aren't a lot of districts that either have one or have a decent one. Lucky for us, we live in one of the best school districts in NJ, but what's even better is that this program sounds great! So basically once kids turn 3, they are no longer eligible for state EI and they transition to the school district. Kids have to qualify, but if they do the preschool is free! And better yet, it's for toddlers that have developmental delays and/or speech delays. It's a year away so who knows, but at least we know we might have options! And they don't have to be potty trained for it - because seriously, we won't be potty training these 3 until they are at least 12 :-) It's hard to imagine that we are already talking preshool for these three - ughhhhhh!!!!