New Stroller and Evening Walks

We received our new stroller yesterday and we took our first evening walk as a family. We are going to start walking with the boys each evening now that the weather is starting to cool down. The boys seemed happy during the walk. During our first evening out, we met a family with young twins but were still impressed to see a set of triplets.

Grandma Sally's Birthday Weekend

Grandma Sally's birthday was on this past weekend. The boys really wanted to spend the day with their Grandma. So, I dug down deep to find some courage and traveled to Tampa with the boys for the weekend. Daddy was working and was not able to make the trip with us.

On Thursday evening, Mike and I got the boys ready for bed and gave them their bedtime bottles. Once they were fed, we loaded them up in the car seats and Mommy and boys hit the open road. They boys were WONDERFUL on the trip down and I made it in one stretch without stopping. We made it to Tampa around 11pm and boys woke up for a little while while we brought in all of the "stuff" and got the room set up. Once I was ready to put the boys down to sleep, what did I find.... Grandma and all three boys playing... yes, playing... in the living room. It was approaching midnight and Grandma wanted to play! Her words, "I don't want to wait until morning." After convincing Grandma and the boys that if we go close our eyes it will be morning before we know it, I was able to get the four of them to go to sleep.

The next morning, I was getting the boys ready for the day and bringing them downstairs one at a time. Grandma was feeding Jared and I had placed Wesley down on his back to wait his turn. I went back upstairs to get Andrew ready for the day. When I came down the stairs, Wesley was on his belly. He had rolled over for the first time!!! I placed Andrew down on the floor and within 10 minutes, he rolled over from back to belly for the first time as well. The boys were really showing off for Grandma. In addition to the rolling, Wesley also found out that his feet were really neat toys and spent the entire weekend playing with his feet.

Zack spent the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's and was really great with all of the boys. He would play with them and entertain them. At one point he was playing with Jared and when he walked away, Jared started to cry. Once Zack came back, Jared stopped crying. We told Zack that it would not be long before the boys were able to follow him right up the stairs and play on the Playstation with him!

On Saturday, the boys met some more friends and family. Mary and John Landsburger came over to visit with the boys on Friday. On Saturday, the boys met Sylvia and Calvin Lyons. In addition to meeting new people, the boys were able to spend some time with Grandma Pooka and Aunt Joan.

On Sunday, Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim joined us for the traditional Sunday breakfast of pancakes and bacon! Andrew joined in another family tradition, the weekly football picks. He helped Uncle Lance with his picks. During all of the meals at Grandma's, the boys would hang out in the bouncy seats in the middle of the kitchen. They were so cute!

After the boys took their morning nap, Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim helped feed all of the boys and load them up in the truck for our return trip. I was not able to make it in one stretch like the trip down. I had to stop for a bathroom break. I had the boys stroller and I loaded them up and rolled down to the bathroom. This was the boys first experience in a public bathroom. The handicapped stall was large enough for the stroller and me so we all rolled right into the stall. We drew a lot of attention but made it in and out of the rest stop in less than 15 minutes. After our stop, it was nap time. I gave the boys their crib blankets and crossed my fingers that they would drift off to sleep for the remainder of the trip. Jared and Wesley followed my plan but Andrew did not understand why he was in this seat during nap time. He was fussy for a large part of the remainder of the trip.

At 4pm, we were still about 45 minutes away from the house and it was time to eat. I pulled off at another rest stop and drove around to the picnic area. I took the boys to one of the picnic tables and we had our 4pm bottle. I fed them all and changed everyone's diaper. It was really pleasant to have a "picnic" with the boys and the weather was lovely in the shade. Once done, we were back on the road and then we made the last stretch of the trip to meet Daddy at the house!

It was wonderful to spend the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. However, the highlight of the weekend for me was learning that I can travel alone with the boys and survive! I was worried that I would not be able to just take off for a weekend like I use to. After this experience, I learned that the mental cage I had put around Tallahassee is gone! The boys were wonderful during the trip and adjusted really well to a new environment.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!!

Happy Birthday Veronica!!!

We love you Veronica! Wishing you a very Happy Birthday!

Love,

Daddy, Kellie, Andrew, Jared and Wesley

More cute pictures

Here are a few cute pics over the past few weeks......

The boys are getting so strong and will be taking off crawling so very soon (oh my)....

Andrew looking curious while at play.....

Andrew becoming more stable with sitting....

Jared hanging out in the Jumperoo.....

Jared napping in the swing. Now that he has learned to flip over, he works to get onto that tummy no matter where he is.....

Jared and Murray share a special moment.....

Wesley has turned into Mr. Giggles! He just lights up and giggles all the time! His new talent is also the "raspberry."

Aww, sweet Wesley....

We have started to feed two babies at a time and here is Daddy perfecting his method.

The boys at 22 weeks. They are getting so big, so fast!

Jumperoo Time

During the day, the boys love to spend their time in their Jumperoo's and Exersaucer. We like to rotate the boys through each of the toys throughout the day. However, it always seems like Andrew is in the Rainforest Jumperoo. In this video, you can see just a couple minutes of our day. It starts out with Andrew bouncing in his (I mean... the) jumperoo and then you can see the three of them. Andrew is on the left, Jared is in the Exersaucer in the middle/back and Wesley is in the other Jumperoo on the right. It is only two minutes of video but they spend so much of their day like this, I thought I should capture the memory.

The Rainforest Jumperoo is really great for bouncing but it also has a very smooth sway! On more than on occasion, we have noticed the boys slow down in the jumperoo and start to rock themselves to sleep. Here are pictures when the Jumperoo turns into the "Nap"eroo.

Jared napping peacefully....

Wesley catching some zzzzzz.........

Every few seconds, they will still move their feet and rock the seat. It is really cute. Don't worry, we don't leave them like this even though they look pretty comfortable. Once they nod off, we will move them to their cribs.... after we have taken a couple photos of course!

Jared's New Trick

Jared started out the tiniest of the crew at 4lbs 13oz. This was a 1/2 pound less than the Andrew and 2/3 of a pound less than Wesley. Baby J was our last guy to gain control of his head and the last to roll from his belly to his back.

For a while all three boys have been very close to rolling from their backs to their bellies. There has been a lot of twisting but no luck getting all the way over.

Well..... watch out world.... here comes Baby J!!!

On Friday, September 19th, I put Jared on his back on a blanket that was on the floor. I started to feed Wesley. When I looked up at Jared, he was looking up at me propped up on his elbows with a big smile on his face. I was so excited, I said (with great pride) "Way to go Baby J!" Wesley immediately started to cry. I am not sure if I was just too loud or if Wesley was upset that he was not the first to do it since he was the first to roll from belly to back.

Jared is now a rolling machine. If I put him on his back, within a few seconds, he is on his belly. It's like he is showing off to his brothers. Gone are the days that I can put Jared and either one of his brothers in the Activity Gym. If I put him in there on his back, he rolls onto his brothers. "Look what I can do...can you do this..... I didn't think so."It is the beginning of mobility and I am excited but a little nervous at the same time. It was nice to be able to put them all down on the floor and walk into the kitchen to get a drink. When I returned, they were all in the same place. Jared is now rolling off of blankets and when he is on his belly, he squirms enough to make forward progress. It is not crawling but there is definite forward progress.

Here is a little video of his new trick!!!

F-L-O-R-I-D-A ... S-T-A-T-E....

Florida State, Florida State, Florida State.....whoooo!

The boys were able to watch the beginning of the FSU game vs. Wake Forest tonight. While it is the third game of the season, it is the first game on TV. Before the game started, I read the "My First Seminoles Book" to the boys which was a gift from Ms. Hilary. We enjoyed it very much! The boys were only able to watch the first portion of the game but it was enough to expose them to a few FSU traditions. They were doing the tomahawk chop and cheered as Chief Osceola speared mid-field. The boys also joined as we let out a big "hooah" at the first kick-off! From that point forward, the game went down hill for FSU.

I may be the only person out there but, I will have positive memories of this game for a long time as it was the first exposure the boys had to the traditions of the Garnet and Gold! Hopefully by the time the boys are able to remember these games, we will have regained the tradition of great wins and of being the ACC powerhouse!

I look forward to the day that they boys are able to join me in singing the fight song as we spell out F-L-O-R-I-D-A S-T-A-T-E and then one by one they say.... Florida State, Florida State, Florida State..... then in unison..... WHOOOOO!!!!

Watching the Bucs' first home game

The Bucs first home game was today against the Atlanta Falcons. I was able to share this game with the boys and we had a great time watching the game. I spent a little time holding each little fella during the game.

The boys really enjoyed watching the game and with this win, the season is starting to look up. As this was a home game, we were able to play the "look for Grandma" game. Each time they would show the fans, we would look for Grandma but no luck!

Wesley really enjoyed watching the game and was very content just hanging out with Mommy. This is a picture of Wesley on my lap watching the game.

I love Football Sunday with the boys!!

It's all fun and games.....

The boys spent the day home with their Daddy today. The day started as a typical Thursday. During the day, the boys were all playing and the following is a series of photos taken of Jared and Andrew. One thing that has been exciting over the past couple months is starting to see the relationship between the boys develop. These pictures show Jared gently patting Andrew on the head and what started as innocent turns to .... well, you can see what happens......

Hello there big brother....

Andrew looks so calm....

Hey Daddy, look Jared is petting my head.....

Andrew starts to grow a little concerned....

Jared, what are you doing......

OUCH!!!!

The moral of the story...... "It's all fun and games until someone looses an EYE!"

Mothers of Triplets Night Out (MOTNO)

A couple months ago, I introduced myself on a discussion forum through the Triplet Connection. This is an online community of triplet parents that discuss everything regarding their trips and more. Through this introduction, I met Elizabeth, a very nice woman that had previously lived in Tallahassee. She told me about a group of mothers of triplets that get together for dinner every other month. She was able to get me in contact with Julia who coordinates the outings.

Tonight was the first dinner that I was able to attend. Mike was willing to put the boys to bed all on his own so I was able to go straight to the dinner after work. At 7:00pm, I arrived at Chez Pierre and met up with the other mothers. By the end of the night, there were 10 of us that had arrived at some point to enjoy dinner. The ages of the children ranged from almost 5 months (my crew) to almost 10 years old. The children closest in age to my crew are 11 months old.

The group discussed our children, sleeping patterns, school, Halloween costumes, birthday parties, laughed and shared a lot of pictures. It was wonderful to share stories with a group of women who have walked in my shoes and are still going strong with very beautiful children. I mostly listened as they discussed the return to school and the different perspectives of keeping the children together in class or seperating them. I learned quickly that having the support of these women will really be great as the boys get older. The connection was instant because we all share a common experience.

I really enjoyed meeting Julia, Lisa, Gina, Vicky, Betty, Melissa, Margie, Joanna and Abby! I look forward to many more dinners together as my children grow and I reach out for support from those who have been there. Our next MOTNO is November 4th.

One common response that I would get as I would relay that my boys are 5 months old was..... "it will get better." I am loving being the parent of triplets so far so I can't wait for it to get even better :-)

Dinner with the boys!

The boys have been sleeping less during each of their naps and we decided that is was time to begin the transition from three naps to two naps during the day. With this move, there was a larger gap between their "dinner" bottle and their "bedtime" bottle. This large gap left us facing something I have been a little nervous about.... eating a meal not delivered via a bottle.

So, we did it! After much preparation, the boys were stripped down to their diapers and while secured to their bouncers, I delivered the first few bites a cereal via a spoon. The boys were a little unsure of what in the world I was doing to them but overall I call the first attempt a success. I was expecting a very large mess and was surprised at how little mess we actually made. I am sure the day will come where meals look like an all out food war has taken place but that day was not today. I thought I would include some before and after shots of the boys.

Andrew was very concerned throughout the meal. With each bite that was delivered, he was very unsure of this delivery method for his food. The expressions on his face were just priceless. It was like he as thinking... "but Mom, what is wrong with the bottle, it works just fine." He got a little tired or frustrated during the meal and spent the remainder of the meal sitting in my lap as I continued to feed Jared and Wesley.



Jared was a trooper during the meal. When I first presented him with a spoon, he readily opened his mouth like he had been waiting for this day for a while. I am not surprised that Jared would excel at eating as he has always been our bottle champ! Once he starts a bottle, he continues until complete without coming up for a breath. We call him "the machine" when it comes to eating his bottles and this continued over to his first meal via a spoon. You can also see that he found the cereal "finger lickin' good." He followed each bite with a little bite of his hands just to make sure he got it all. Don't tell him that he missed quite a bit on his cheeks!

Wesley was also a champ during his first meal. After the first few bites, he also caught on and was able to take the spoon with minimal difficulty. I am not sure he realized this activity was to receive nutrition and not play time. After a few minutes, he began to play "motor boat" after each bite and then giggle as he sprayed it everywhere. I know this is not appropriate meal time behavior but I could not help but laugh each time he did this. I would laugh and then tell him in a "stern" Motherly tone that this is not polite to do with our food. I am not sure this had much impact as it was said after I already indicated I was amused my his comedy routine. We will have plenty of time to learn manners at a later date.


I give the boys all passing grades on this first meal and I also give myself a passing grade. However, there is room for improvement for all of us. I made way too much cereal and was a bit messy with my delivery style. As we continue to practice our eating, we will all get better. I look forward to tomorrow night and then onto the day that we introduce something other than cereal.

Watch out veggies.... here we come!

We are ready for some FOOTBALL!

With the pre-season drawing to a close, the boys (and their mother) are ready for their first footbabll season. With all of the pre-season games occuring near or following our bedtime, the boys have not been able to watch more than a kick-off or two. With a special thanks to Grandma Sally however, the boys are more than ready to welcome in the regular season and cheer on their favorite Tampa Bay Buccaneers!!! The boys will be decked out in Bucs onesies, with Bucs bottles in hand and Andrew's Bucs pacifier in his mouth.

So, when the regular season kick-off occurs against our division (and family) rivals, the New Orleans Saints...... the boys will be hanging out with their mother chanting "De-fense... De-fense...De-fense.... GO PEWTER POWER!!!" With these new biggest little fans behind them, the Buccaneers are sure to start off this memorable season with a big win.... sorry Saints fans!!!

TAM-PA.....BAY......GO BUCS!!