One year checkup and Santa

Everything went well at the dr. on Monday. So, I hear. My mom and Jim took them. They had to get 2 shots--glad I wasn't there for that. They were cleared to be done with formula. It will probably be more expensive for us now though b/c we got almost the whole year of formula free and now we'll have to pay for the milk. We are mainly going to have them on soy milk, since that is what Alli has to drink because of her allergy. It could be very dangerous if she accidentally drinks from one of their sippy cups. But, I'm glad they do not have any allergies and we can give them cow milk if we have to and we don't have to watch ingredients in everything they eat. And we got to turn their car seats around! Yay! So much easier.
Here are their stats....

Jimmy 27lbs 4oz (92%) and 30 1/4 in (70%)
Cassie 20lbs 5oz (30%) and 28 1/4 in (25%)
Jenna 19lbs 5oz (20%) and 28 in (20%)

Wednesday night, we took the kids to see Santa at the Parents as Teachers Christmas party. Terrible weather and Jim wasn't too thrilled with going and let me know about 100 times how dumb of an idea it was, but oh well. We got some cute pictures and Allison really loved it. She ran up to Santa and sat on his lap and told him that she wanted 2 Toy Story(s), 2 cars, and a Barbie. Then we felt bad b/c we had to bump her off his lap so he can hold the babies. We took a picture of her by herself too. I think it was my sister Jane that said she was so mad when our brother Billy came along because it was always her and Jackie sitting on Santa's lap. Then Billy came along and she always had to stand :) haha! So, I think there is a picture where Jackie had to stand and Jane got to sit with Billy on Santa's lap.
(Alli, Jimmy, Cassie, Jenna)
Jimmy, Jenna, Cassie
The babies are standing all of the time and always crawling on us like little puppies. Even Jimmy started pulling all the way up on Tuesday and now every time I look he is on his feet. Here he is smashing Cassie into the corner. They hate the gate when they can't get into the kitchen.
And here they all are playing with Alli, or most likely, trying to get whatever she is playing with!

Happy 1st Birthday to Jenna, Jimmy, & Cassie!!!

Yesterday was the triplets first birthday. I really can't believe a year has gone by! I woke up early and shopped with my sisters. I didn't think there were too many great sales if they are really trying to boost the economy! But, I did get some stuff bought and found a few good deals. I wanted to make it home by noon, since they were actually born at 12:08pm and 12:09pm. So, I made it, but they were sleeping. Jim's parents were here, my mom and Ann and Matthew stopped by also. Allison helped me make cupcakes and wrap all of their presents. Took a little longer, but she really enjoyed it and felt like a huge helper. We spent the rest of the day with the kids at home. We go to the dr. for their 1 year well visit on Monday. Hopefully we are off formula and we can turn their carseats forward :)

I decided to do a comparison so everyone can see just how far these babies have come in a year.
This is Jenna the day she was born. She weighed 2lbs 12oz.
Here she is enjoying her birthday cupcake. She is now the smallest of the three (I think she weights ALMOST 20lbs), probably because she burns off so many calories jumping and bouncing and being so hyperactive all of the time. Everyone always comments on how active she is. And she is the best eater and easiest to feed. I hate to say this, but she is the whiniest of the three. She has 6 teeth now (although only 3 of them are fully in) - maybe that is why she has been so whiny :) Not sure if she is saying 'mama', but it kind of sounds like it when I tell her to say it, but she could just be babbling. She giggles so cute and its very contagious. Oh, and she is crawling and pulling up everywhere and anywhere. She is the most daring and starts to let go of things to stand also, but doesn't last very long.
This is Jimmy the day he was born. He weighed 3lbs 1oz. Notice how big his preemie diaper was on him!
Here is Jimmy enjoying his birthday cupcake. He was the biggest, and obviously still is :) I think he weighs ALMOST 30lbs. Jimmy has 3 teeth. He is so laid back and only cries when he is hungry and tired. He loves to steal toys from his sisters. Anything they have, he wants it. From having two brothers of my own that acted the same way growing up, I guess this just comes naturally to boys :) He still scoots on his butt, and is so cute doing it. He goes really fast and actually gets air under him he jumps so high. He pretty much is only pulling up to his knees. He smiles so much and is such a happy baby. He is screaming/talking a lot lately.
This is Cassie the day she was born. She weighed 2lbs 8oz. See her little chest all sunk in....I hated that! You could see how hard they had to work to breathe.
Here is Cassie enjoying her cupcake. No longer my little peanut, she weighs ALMOST 22lbs and passed Jenna up. She has such chubby cheeks and is getting pretty chunky. She has 6 teeth and you can see all of them when she smiles so cute, which is very often. She babbles a lot and is starting to talk syllables. Lots of babababa, dadadada, etc. Such a sweet little soft voice. Crawls and pulls up everywhere. Still sort of a little mischief maker. She plays so good with Alli, Jenna, and Jimmy.
And here is Alli enjoying the fruits of her labor
Since we are having the big bash next week, we let them open the gifts from us yesterday.
Cassie was climbing all over the box for about 10 mins, before she started eating all of the paper.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This isn't the best picture of us, but its the only one we took today (can you tell its right before we left? hah!) and its truly what I'm most thankful for this year. Last year at this time, I was on magnesium sulfate, trying to hold these babies inside of me. They were going to put me back upstairs to antepartum because my contractions had subsided. But, then overnight, these babies decided they were not going to wait any longer. So, tomorrow is their big first birthday. I'll still be doing all of my Black Friday shopping and then celebrating with them the rest of the day and night. Jim's parents are supposed to be coming over also.

So, we went to my moms like we always do. Always so much good food. I did a pretty good job of not stuffing myself too bad. It was fun, but a little stressful watching over 3 babies, even though everyone did help us out a lot. I just wish they would nap sometimes when we go places :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now its time for Christmas :) Yay!! My favorite day of the year!

Jimmy's First Haircut

Well, our son Jimmy has A LOT of hair, so we decided it was time to get some of it cut. Didn't want him to have a mullet. But I also still wanted him to look like a baby, not quite a big boy. I let my sister, Jackie, have the honors of giving him his first haircut. I think she probably has done everyone's first haircut in our family. Anyway, she just cut a little of the top and some from the back, but he was pretty squirmy, so the back could probably use a bit more cut. I think he might have been sick of people messing with his head....we went right after his helmet appt. That also went well. We are done with the helmets! I pretty much just told the lady that we were done with it....he never wore it and would take it off after 2 mins anyway. I'm happy with the overall improvement with the shape of his head. I've sent off the appeals to insurance for Jenna and Cassie within the last two weeks. They are supposed to reply within 15 days, so hopefully we get some good news soon! Would love some or all of our money back!

Squirmy little guy! I'm surprised he didn't get cut at all with the scissors!Don't look at me! I look like crap and I always close my eyes! But Jimmy looks so cute so I had to put it up to show off the finished haircut.
He fell asleep on the way home. But I gave him the messy hair look with some gel.....so handsome!
The girls are constantly pulling up on anything and starting to cruise a little. Jimmy has pulled up all the way, but we just stood him up this time. He isn't too good at it yet.Here are some random pictures of the kids playing.


I love Jenna's eyes in this picture!

Jenna is the resident wiggle worm! She is so bouncy and always moving. She hardly ever sits still, which makes her so hard to hold, even though she is the lightest of the three (or four ;)
I was trying to take a picture of her and daddy and she was already bouncing away.
Right after I took this picture, Jimmy pulled Jenna down and she was on top of him and he was just hugging her. It was so sweet. They were both giggling so cute :)
Not sure what else there is to update. We've been busy with work, appts, and my uncle's funeral this week. Looking forward to turkey and all the good stuff tomorrow. Good night and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!!

Video of Jenna & Cassie

We had a good weekend. Friday night two of my friends babysat for us, so we went out to dinner at the Drunken Fish (no sushi for me, thank you!) and then to the Funny Bone with Dawn, Nathan, Teson, Matt, and Janet & Jamie. It was fun, but I didn't feel that good and I was so tired during the show that I kept falling asleep. I wish I could have enjoyed my night out a little more. Thanks so much Carrie and Cathy!!!

Saturday, just did some grocery shopping in the morning, then Dawn came over and we took all 4 of the kids out to Alivia's 1st birthday party. It was way out in Millstadt, so I'm glad we drove together. And of course, I couldn't have done it alone without promised help--Dawn and Sheila helped me at the party, as well as everyone else there :) It was a nice party and good food :) Jim couldn't go because he already made plans to play poker. That didn't work out so well for him...he was home early :(

Today I finished birthday shopping for the triplets and went to church...that's about it. Jim put up some Christmas lights, but we ran out of staples, so hopefully we can get some tomorrow and finish. I really like the lights---we went retro and got all new colored bulbs this year and got rid of the white icicles. Oh, Jim also went today to pick up a play yard for the babies...its pretty much a big playpen, but you can break it apart and block off certain areas, such as behind the TV! We cannot keep Jenna from chewing on the wires!

Also, my Uncle Jim passed away from cancer this weekend. Please keep his/our family in your thoughts and prayers. I'm sure its going to be a hard holiday season for them this year.

On to some pics.....feeding time
Such a smiley boy--and he loves to show off his clapping skills
Showing off her teeth...she has 5 and I think I see a 6th coming in on top
Alli showing Mommy some love
Jenna excited about her new hat
Cassie liking hers also

I thought this was cute. I walked into the living room and Alli was watching TV like this

Lack of updates

Sorry for the lack of updates.....I'd say I've been really busy, but nothing more than usual. Actually, I haven't been doing as much. I guess I've been doing more around the house, trying to clear some stuff out and organize a little better. I keep sending everything Ann's way :)

I've also been slacking taking pictures. Here are a few to hold you over until something exciting goes one. Like a first b-day party in a few weeks! They will be one on 11/28, but since its Black Friday, I'll be shopping all day (I know, some people think I'm crazy, but I love it!). We'll probably have a little celebration that night, but then the big party is scheduled for 12/6.

Let's see.....all of the kids have pulled up all the way, but Jimmy only once or twice. Jenna and Cassie are always doing it. Its so cute. I really think its getting easier, but it is a lot more chasing down the hallway, into the kitchen, or anywhere else they are crawling (or scooting on their butt :)) They are eating almost all table foods now, so I'm saving some money on baby food. Just ran out of the formula and we still have 2 weeks to go, so hopefully I'll find some more free stuff---anyone??? We are looking forward to being off of work for Thanksgiving next week.

Thurs we are going to a happy hour for our friend Don. Then Friday, my two friends Carrie and Cathy offered to babysit for us, so we are going to find something to do. Maybe even just dinner and a movie. Thanks you guys! Saturday we have a 1st b-day party for Alivia (my friend's daughter) and Jim is playing poker. Dawn and Sheila said they will help me at the party---gosh, all of my friends are so great :)

This is a picture of Grandma and all of the toys that she brings over
These are just of Alli and Jimmy and Jenna last week when it was raining in the house

A few updates

Jenna started crawling last weekend when Jim was in Seattle. She pulled up for the first time three days ago. Cassie and Jimmy can pull up to their knees, but can't quite make it all the way up like Jenna. She also had a top tooth come through.


At last, she got the beer ;)
We didn't do much this weekend. Friday I went scrapbooking with some friends. That was fun. We didn't do anything on Saturday. Jim's parents came in town, so we just hung out. Nothing on Sunday really either. Jim and his dad pulled the aggregate rock from the porch - its been halfway gone since the spring and I just thought it looked really hoosier. Looks a lot better now, even though our concrete has cracks in it. We will probably get a new porch poured in the spring.

Alli played in the leaves for a little bit. She loves to be outside.

Last week on Election Day, Ann came over and watched the kids for me so I could vote. Took me 15 mins. So, she went....took her 2 hrs! And of course, all 5 kids were up when it she was gone :) Anyway, I left the room for about 2 mins and I come back and see my girls picking on Matthew. I'm sure it was Cassie's idea.
Oh, one last story. So, Thursday, I vacuumed about 7:45am. Got the babies out of bed about 8:15. Changed Jimmy's diaper, then Jenna's, then Cassie's. Well, Cassie was really wet and Jenna was really hungry, so I went to the kitchen for ONE minute to make Jenna a bottle. I left Cassie's diaper off so her butt could air out for a minute. I'm walking back from the kitchen and see something small on the floor in the living room. I had a feeling it was poop b/c I had just vacuumed! So, I see Cassie with her naked butt crawling down the hallway and another little turd by her. I get her diaper on and clean up her mess. As I'm scanning the room for more poop, I see Jimmy chomping on something. SO, I run over to him and he starts smiling and a little rabbit turd (or should I say Cassie turd) falls out of his mouth. I'm grossing out, trying to think what I need to do. So, I'm getting a wipe, thinking I would clean out his mouth a bit and I see him chewing some more. I go back over to him and do the finger swipe in his mouth and out come 2-3 more little turds. Sooo gross!!! I don't think he actually swallowed any turds, but he had to have the taste of it in his mouth! So I started wiping his mouth out with a diaper wipe, but didn't know what else to do, so I made him a bottle to wash it down :)
And no, Ann! I didn't get a chance to get any pictures of it :)

I just love when my mornings start off like that!!!!

God is good!

My mom was in a car accident on Monday morning coming over to babysit the kids. Thankfully she is okay and was not injured, although the car was totaled.

Today my mom called me and told me my brother Brian was in a car accident this morning. Once again, Thank God he wasn't hurt and neither of his passengers were hurt badly. And I'm glad his baby wasn't in the car. His truck is messed up, as well as his trailer and work stuff (he owns a gutter business).

So, I just wanted to write to myself on this post :) I'm saving all of these post and some of them are more for myself and my own memory.