Gasparilla Extravaganza 2010

Has it been a year already? Wow, time sure flies. Last year, I packed up the boys to drive to Tampa on my own to attend the Gasparilla parade with Grandma. This year, we are lucky enough to have Daddy home and we all were able to attend the parade as a family.

In addition to Daddy and Grandma, the boys also met up with some new friends! I have been very lucky to connect with many triplet families through the wonderful Internet. When we were planning to attend the Gasparilla parade, I sent out feelers to see if anyone was interested in meeting up with us. The April Adams and her trio were eager to also attend the parade. So, the boys met up with their first set of triplets! Hayden, Hendrix and Hunter Adams are 6 months older than the boys. We had a great time with the Adams trio and I enjoyed talking with April in person. We look forward to making this an annual tradition!
We arrived early so we could meet up with the Adams and get a good spot. It had rained the days before the parade and there was a lot of mud. However, we are lucky that the boys are still happy to hang out in their stroller. Only Daddy, Grandma and I had to stand while waiting for the parade since the ground was wet. However, there was some entertainment to pass the waiting time. There were planes flying around. Andrew, our professional airplane spotter, was on target today with his spotting...
Then there were paratroopers...
And Daddy knew just what would keep everyone happy, a little parade food...
While we managed to stay happy during our wait, we were all happy when the parade started! Bring on the beads, bring on the candy...

The parade was worth the wait, especially when we started everything off with our favorite Sesame Street characters... Daddy's hat is still a little big on sweet Jared...

The double triple strollers were definitely a draw for attention...
Jared and Andrew enjoyed catching the beads and wearing the beads. Wes, thinking he should have been in the parade, would immediately throw back anything that landed in his lap...
The boys and I were so happy to have Daddy with us at the parade this year! Grandma and April Adams may not have been as happy since Daddy (the biggest target around) was grabbing all the beads thrown in our direction. He was so proud...
We were pretty close to the street. It will not be long until the boys are standing right on the rail collecting all the loot...
I enjoy the parade but mostly enjoy watching the boys experience the parade. They spend most of the time in awe of all the sights and sounds...
As Wes was returning his beads to the floats, we were collecting for him. I was confident he would learn to love them later and I was right, as you will see...
The following is a little video of the boys enjoying the parade...

It was a long (very long) parade, almost 3 hours, but we stayed until the very end. The boys were great during the entire parade!
After the parade, we stopped at Denny's for dinner.
Andrew, the constant comedian, entertained us all...

Once dinner was over, Wes cleaned up his place to prove that three 2 year olds can eat without making a terrible mess...

After dinner, we went home to get ready for bed. Before bed, we took some time to enjoy our booty!

Daddy showered all the boys in the treasure!

And they loved it...
All of the boys enjoyed playing with the beads. However, Jared took it to an entirely different level. He started putting them on one at a time and did not stop until he could barely stand...

He could barely move around and was dragging almost as many beads as he had around his neck. He actually had to hold out his arms to try and balance as he was moving around...

However, he LOVED every minute of it! He was soooo proud of himself! Note the cheesy face in this picture... on Jared and on his Daddy in the background. Let's just say this apple did not fall far from the Daddy tree...

It took Wes a little while to come around and start putting on the beads. Once he realized how much fun Jared was having, he got into the act. It's a good thing we were collecting for you little Wessie!
The boys had such a good time playing with their beads. We also had a great time watching them enjoy these beads. We were all laughing so hard at Jared as he kept putting more and more and more beads around his neck. It you are going to do something, do it 100% Baby J!!
We had a great time at the parade and we are already looking forward to next years' parade.

Take care,

The Boys Discover the Joys of DIRT!!!

It is finally starting to warm up in Florida and the boys are able to play outside again! Even though our backyard is full of fun activities for the boys, including their swing set. The boys found the most fun playing in a patch of dirt near the fence. I can't figure out if they were trying to dig their way to freedom or were just excited to get dirty. Regardless of motive, they had a good time....

Daddy indicated that the boys were covered head to toe in dirt with dirt even in diapers! It may have been a mess but a good time was had by all. I love hearing those giggles!

Daddy, thank you for grabbing the camera so I can enjoy these moments!!

Take care,

A Day In The Life

The boys continue to impress and amaze us each day. They have started out life as little overachievers and they continue on this path. What are they doing to overachieve this time? The boys are 20 months old (gulp) and will not officially turn 2 for another 4 months. However, these little overachievers are beginning to act more and more like "terrible two" year olds even before their official birthday!

As they are learning to communicate their needs verbally, they believe that merely the act of saying or signing something should result in immediate gratification of the expressed request. A good example occurred tonight. We have a night time routine to get the boys dressed into their jammies and then we pass out their milk. Apparently, Wes felt he should have his milk before he was in his jammies. As we sat down to get them dressed, he said "Milllll... K" (it's hard to write exactly how he was it but the K is hard and clearly prominent) and began to feverishly sign milk in a very demanding manner. My reply, in the calmest Mommy tone, "we need to get dressed and then you can get your milk." He did not appreciate this reply and decided that kicking, rolling and whining would help drive the point home that he wanted his "Millllll.... K" NOW!!! He completely refused to cooperate and assist in the dressing activity causing a significant delay in getting to his precious "millllllll.... K." Don't you worry, Mommy stuck to her guns and milk was not distributed until we were in our jammies. I look forward to the day when they can use reason to understand they should cooperate more and you get to milk quicker. Dare to dream, eh?!?

This is just one example of many that are signals that 2 is right on the horizon! While there are a few other things the boys do that just make us want to pull our hair out.... like continue to climb on the end tables and reach into the baby-proofed kitchen drawers to pull out scissors and corn cob holders, we still manage to have more fun than I could have ever imagined!

Sunday was a day that was more fun than frustrating. We kept the boys busy with activities which usually distracts them from the temptations to drive us crazy. The first activity of the day was to play with the bubble blower that Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim gave us for Christmas. After breakfast and while the boys were still strapped into their table, we filled up the bubble blower and let the boys take turns controlling the bubble blower.
This model is really great and highly recommended. We had another one but the boys always wanted to grab it, carry it and dump out the bubbles. This one is designed to be controlled by them. It is a tea pot with a handle that controls the bubbles. When the pull the handle down, it blows bubbles until the wand thing is empty. Then they have to release the handle, fill up the wand and pull the handle down again.

The boys enjoyed learning how to use the bubble blower, controlling the bubble blower and when it was not their turn, they enjoyed playing with the bubbles. Apparently Wes thought the motor was a little loud...

Jared was in awe of the mechanical device that distributed bubbles, Andrew was in awe of the beautiful bubbles and Wes..... well, he was Wes... too cool for a bubble blower...

Andrew and Jared really enjoyed this activity....

Wes wanted Daddy to get out of the way of the TV so he could catch his show...

While the bubble blower did not excite Wes to the level of Andrew and Jared, he did enjoy his turn to control the bubble blower and is seen below telling Jared his turn was up...

After we cleaned up from the bubbles, we played for a little while and before we knew it, it was lunch time! We had lunch and then it was nap time. For Christmas, the boys received new toddler pillows from Grandma. At nap and bed time, the boys get to run in the room, grab a book and hang out for a few minutes reading before I collect books and turn out the light. On this day, the boys grabbed their books and we tried to actually lay them down using the pillow and "tuck" them in before nap. Andrew and Wes stayed in this position for the entire book reading time. It was so adorable to see them laying in the crib like big boys...

Jared did not want to lay down. He reads better sitting up...

While the boys spent their reading time resting their heads on their pillows, as soon as I collected books and moved to turn out the light, they reverted back to their traditional sleeping positions. Wes is a minimalist so he throws everything out of the crib. It's a mattress and fitted sheet for this one. Jared lays down tucking his knees under him, throws the blanket over him and tugs George close. While he read sitting up, he is the closest to actually sleeping under a cover. Andrew rolled over to a spot without a pillow and wanted 'his' blanket spread over him while he grabs a corner of it and shoves a fist full into his mouth to chew. The guys are starting to show more interest in sleeping with the pillows but I guess 20 months of sleeping flat on the mattress, it will take a while to make this transition.

Once the boys woke up from nap, it was snack time. After snack, we laid out some paper and passed out the crayons. They colored for a little while and then decided that ripping up the paper was more fun. This signaled the end of this activity.

Shoes - The boys love to wear shoes. They probably love it because wearing shoes signals we are going somewhere and it is usually somewhere fun, like outside! There were some shoes on the counter that they were able to reach and they started playing with them. A little while later, Andrew walks up with a left shoe completely on his left foot! He was able to put this shoe on all by himself and he did the right foot. I was impressed. I gave him the matching right shoe in the hopes of catching this on film but he was not able to get the right shoe on and moved on to another activity.

I was also impressed as these shoes are almost too small for the boys (size 7.5) and we use this pair on Wes because he has the smallest/skinniest feet. We have a hard time putting them on the boys so the fact that Andrew (biggest feet) was able to get it on by himself... impressive!

During the afternoon, the boys played (as evidenced by the toys in the family room) with their toys. One of our newest additions from Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim is the Sit and Spin. This has been an interesting toy to watch them discover. The boys are very creative in sitting and spinning but only Jared has figured out the traditional sit and spin method. He may not be spinning with speed yet but he is spinning...

I have not been able to get video of Andrew or Wes but they sit on the seat and push with their hand on the floor to spin around. They also sit on the handle part and spin the bottom with their feet, like running on a baby treadmill. As you saw at the end of that video, Andrew and Wes are silly characters!!!

Lastly, before this day was over, we were invaded by a bunch of frogs!! Ribbit... ribbit....ribbit....

The night prior to this video, when I told the boys it was ready for bed, Wes started hopping like a frog and quickly the other two followed suit. So that night, I put three little frogs to bed. The above video was taken on Sunday as the boys were waiting on their bubble bath to be drawn. The actually started at the near end of the hallway, hopped all the way to the end and then I got the camera. As such, I only caught the tail end of the froggy invasion!

At the end of the day, being able to kiss these three wonderful boys good night is all I need to wipe away the negative memories of attitudes and temper tantrums! It also helps that they go to sleep without any trouble so we always know that no matter how challenging the day is; it is quiet at 7:30pm!

Take care,

Swing Away Baby J... Swing Away!

The boys received a few baseball sets for Christmas. This has tuned out to be a really good thing because we love the bat from one and the tee from another. Together, these make the perfect set. Each of the boys has started learning how to connect the bat to the ball. Andrew and Wes will hit straight down on the ball. Jared has grasped the concept of hitting the ball from the side. To know Jared is to know that he is a very gentle sole! He has carried this into his style of hitting. I am sure that once say he will be a power house at the plate but until then, I love these powerful swings!

Note: Please excuse the shaky camera action. Frick and Frack had artistic difference on the appropriate camera angle. As such, the each tried to wrangle the camera away from me. I was able to shake them off long enough to get some footage. At the end, I also included a little footage of why some of our pictures have smudges!!!

Swing away Baby J, Swing away!!

Take care,

Thank You Bobby!

Dear Andrew, Jared and Wes,

Today was a major milestone in Florida State University history. The legend of FSU football, Bobby Bowden, coached his last game in the Gator Bowl. FSU played West Virginia. At the start of the game, our team looked a little off but once the second quarter started, it was classic FSU football! FSU won this game 33-21 and allowed Bobby Bowden to retire as he will be remembered... as a winner!

During the game, you guys were napping but were awake in time to see the end of the game. You all spent most of the game playing but please know that you saw his last game. I took a few pictures so when you guys go to Florida State (hint hint) and play football (hint hint), you will be able to say that you watched Bobby's last game.

Bobby Bowden coached at Florida State University for 34 years and I was honored to have been a student during the highlights of his career! I was an FSU student during the season that resulted in the 1993 National Championship. I am sure by the time you read this, that will seem like ages ago. However, your Mommy was there!

I hope you will always be proud to wear Garnet and Gold and continue to chomp and say 'ooo, oo, ooo, oo!' which you already do. FSU is a college deep in tradition and Bobby Bowden is a major reason.

I know there will come a day when you say, "Bobby who?" but I will do my best to continue to educate you about the real gentleman of college football. I also hope that you will have the privileged to play football for someone of his character. Bobby Bowden, we thank you for everything you did for FSU. You will be missed!

Here are a few pictures from this day so you will know you watched this last game...

BYE BYE BOBBY!!!

Take care,

Brush Your Teeth!

Each morning after breakfast, the boys brush their teeth. They get to brush (is. chew on toothbrush) until they don't want to do it any longer. Then, I get the privilege of prying myself into their mouth to give the teeth a once over. We have good days and bad days. On the good days, the boys brush for a long time and don't want me to take the tooth brushes away. On the bad days, the boys brush for a second and then hurl the tooth brushes across the room. On the good days, they open their mouths and let me brush their teeth. On the bad days, it involves one parent holding their arms while the second parent pry their jaw open to insert the toothbrush.

Today was a good day but the boys starting doing something strange with their toothbrushes. These toothbrushes have suction bottoms so they can adhere to the table or other surfaces. What are these crazy children doing now???
Where could they have possibly learned this silly trick?!?!? From their ring leader of course...

Daddy is so silly!!! The boys enjoyed plucking their tooth brushes off of Daddy's head. We actually managed to get a little actual teeth brushing in on this day (see Wes).

I originally could not understand the purpose of a suction cup on the bottom of a tooth brush. Now I know...

Take care,

2009 - A Year in Review

January

February
March

April
May
June
July
August

September

October

November

December

I borrowed this idea from another blogger because I thought it was a wonderful way to look back over the past 12 months. It is just a quick recap of all that 2009 brought to our family; because of course, there was so much more...

I did this post to summarize the year 2008 and decided to continue the tradition for 2009. There is way too much to contain in one post, so I created links to the archives. Just click on the months listed above each picture if you would like to peruse the stories of the past year and see what excitement 2009 brought to our family.

This year started with three babies and somewhere along the way the babies turned into little boys. At the start of the year, they were crawling and learning to pull themselves up. It concluded with boys that are running, jumping, climbing and starting to talk. We had a great year traveling with the boys, celebrating our first birthday and having Daddy take on the new role of becoming a Stay as Home Dad. We expanded our play area from a contained section of the family room to having free roam of the kitchen, hallway and a new play room. In addition, we learned to love our backyard and are now starting to use our swing set to it's full potential. We also experienced great loss during 2009 and the boys have already attended far too many funerals so early in their life.

Our blog was neglected during the later half of 2009. At times, I was two months behind in posting stories on our blog. For those loyal followers, I apologize. As of this post, all of the stories for 2009 have been written and published. I encourage you to access the links in this post to read about our adventures in October, November and December. Even though the date of the post shows the date the event occurred, many of these posts were written within a couple days prior to this post.

My new year's resolution includes keeping the blog up to date! I can not promise immediate stories but I will not let this blog fall months behind again!

With that said, we are ready and excited for the new stories and experiences that 2010 will bring!

Happy New Year and Take care,