Tailgate Time!

Go Brewers!  Ryan's uncles were in town again this wknd with the Giants so....that means the Kuiper (Ryan's mom) side of the family has a family reunion at the ballpark.  We tailgate, hang out, and then go to the game!  Usually when we go, we sit in the front row, right next to the Giants dugout.  That'll make you watch a baseball game whether you like it or not!  You feel like you'll get hit!  So, since the girls were along, Uncle Duane got us seats behind homeplate which was still awesome.  :)  Even though the seats were great, I think I saw maybe 2 pitches of the whole game. :)  The girls weren't huge fans of sitting down.  They were "tickling" the people in front of us, saying "Hi" to every stranger they met, and clapping every time the crowd went wild.  Addy was especially into it. :)  But Ryan and I were more than spent.  At the top of the 3rd inning we already had to head to the "kidzone" of Miller Park.  Too bad you have to be 4 years old to go down the slide!  Once the girls saw the slide, and then saw that they couldn't go down, we had 3 screaming girls on our hands and then we had to carry/drag them all the way back to our seats.  Oh man.  So then we quick headed up to the broadcast booth to see Uncle Duane.  We got on SanFran television as they filmed the girls up in the booth so that was fun.  Then we headed home at the bottom of the 4th inning.  What a day!  Now we sit at home on our couches watching the rest of the game.  We're exhausted!  Our tailgate started at 3...so it was a long day of chasing the girls around the parking lot, talking to people you haven't seen in awhile, trying to eat dinner, all while trying to keep our 2 sets of eyes on three very fast girls.  It is key that we usually dress them alike because they are so much easier to spot in crowds. :)  Anyway, here are some pics of our big excursion! 
Emily was into it for about.....3 minutes??  
We moved back a couple rows so the girls could run around more.  Hailey was happy now. :) 
Addy pointing at the ball. 
Go Brewers!  Hailey says "Go-Boo!"
Tailgating Triplet Style :) 
Hailey - Addy - Emily 
Hailey 
Hailey and Uncle Shane
Em and Auntie Jody

Development Assessment

Yesterday the girls got to go in for their 18 month development assessment!  (even though they are 20 months, they should be developing right along with a typical 18 month-er since they were born 2 months early)  The appointment took 2 hours and it was sure busy!  Thankfully Grandma Kathy could come too.  There were so many people in the room.  The Physical Therapist looked at how well they were walking/running/balancing on one foot/able to run and kick a ball/jump/stairs/and tons of other stuff.  The Occupational Therapist looked at their cognitive development and fine motor skills.  And then there was a speech therapist there too along with an R.N. and one of the neonatologists that the girls had when they were in the NICU! I think it's so interesting how they test for this stuff but they have all these little "special" toys that the girls get to play with.  They look at how they problem solve and if they know the function of things like if they can point to a bike in a group of pictures if you say what do you ride on without saying the word bike.  So interesting! The therapists all commented on how similar the girls were after doing all the tests in that they are all very task oriented, determined, hard workers.  So that is good! :) Anyways, moral of the story is that our babies are doing SO WELL!  I seriously had to fight back the tears like 10 times.  You could tell the therapists were so shocked at what the girls knew how to do.  They kept telling me they were doing so well and each time they said it, I couldn't even look at them cuz I just got all teary eyed!  I'm so proud of them and I just feel SO grateful that they are so healthy! And they have just come SO far!  The neonatologist says their prematurity hasn't affected them at all!!!  The therapists said for babies born at 31 weeks, at their 18 month assessment, they would be HAPPY if the kids were developing like typical 16/17 month-ers.  And that that is what is common.  But then my girls were overall developing like 21 month-ers and they're only 20 months!  They are doing FANTASTIC and see - I'm tearing up again! :)  I just can't believe it!  We were a little worried that Addison might need speech therapy since she doesn't say near as many words as Emily and Hailey but for speech, Addy is developing like a 19 month-er which is still better than they would expect so WOW!  The therapists and drs. were just smiling and saying "wow - we just love seeing stories like this where they do so well."  I feel so humbled and so so grateful to God.  I keep asking why me?  Why do I get 3 babies and 3 healthy ones?  What did I ever do?  I don't deserve this.  etc. etc.  I'm humbled at our Great God and the way that He has just been walking with us through this whole parenting experience.  It makes me wonder what the future holds for the girls.  I just feel like he's going to use them in huge ways!  I love you Addy, Em, and Hailey!! :) 

The girls have been interacting so much and talking so much more.  It is just so cute.  Emily and Hailey are sick with fevers and colds right now (I had it at the beginning of the week and now they have it!  I took them to the Dr. this morning cuz Emily's fever was 104 but no swine flu so we're okay. ) :)  And I was hoping we could get through the summer without any colds!  ahh!  Oh well.  Anyways...Addy is so sweet.  She's healthy still and so she's been all nurturing like coming up and rubbing Emily/Hailey's back, getting them their sippy cups, kissing their foreheads, etc.  So cute!  Also, when I read books to them (which is round the clock let me tell you) :), I sit on the floor indian style and then they all sit on my lap.  Well, one day, Hailey was sitting in the middle of my lap, Addy was on my left knee, and then Emily was across the room so Hailey started patting my right knee and saying "mi- mi" (for Emily) as if Emily was supposed to come and sit on my right knee.  So sweet!  And the other day I was trying to get them dressed and Hailey was running away from me so I just stopped and said, "emily, can you go get your sister for me and bring her to me?"  She listened!  She went over and grabbed Hailey's hand and walked her back to me.  My heart melts so many times throughout the day.  I love being a mom!  :)   

Boyfriend Tyler :) , Addy, Emily, Hailey

Lots of pink toenails! :) 
The girls have never liked watching tv (which is both good and bad) :) ...but when I wasn't feeling good, I tried to get them to watch it for a few minutes.  It worked for about 10 minutes! :) 
Now Emily's hair is long enough to put in a ponytail too! :)
They loving watching Daddy grill. :) 
Swimming at their friend's pool!  They love it! :) 

Cousins!

What a special treat!  My cousins (above - Hailey, Jordan, Addy, Jenna, and Emily) and aunt and uncle came to visit us for the weekend from Denver!  It was so great to hang out with them and have them HERE!  We did lots of chatting, hanging out, playing with the girls, went down by the Lakefront, out to eat, to the zoo, ice cream, etc.  So fun!  The girls were bawling when they left this morning as they had so much fun with "George" (Jordan) and 'Enna" (Jenna) :)  Thanks SOOO much for coming you guys!!!  
Here we are at the Lakefront (Emily, Addy, Hailey)
Steve and Ryan having swing competitions at the Lakefront. :) 
The whole gang (minus Ryan) at the zoo.  
I REALLY didn't want them to leave either!  The extra help, extra hands, and extra entertainment for the girls were fabulous! :) 
The "quadruplets" :) 
Jenna and Addison...she is SO good with babies! 

Then, Monday night, Grandpa and Grandma Dooyema came over to see the girls since they missed them so much when they were in Africa!  They came back bearing gifts - 3 Maracas!  Too bad the girls started whacking each other with them and one of them busted after having them for only 2 minutes! :)  I had always wondered what the inside of those things looked like! :) 
The girls missed Grandpa and Grandma a lot too.  Emily clung on tight.  Don't go again Grandpa!! :) 

Lake house!

Yesterday the girls and I had a special treat and got to go up to one of my former youth group girls' lake house!  She invited me, the triplets, and our other friend Emily up .  It was so fun!  Ryan was out of town so it worked out perfectly to spend the night. It's crazy how much I have to pack for one night!  Anyways, I'll explain more with the pics. :) 

Here the girls are checking out the new surroundings and the beautiful Lake Michigan! :) 

Emily loved picking up the sand, throwing it, and then saying "Where'd it GO?" 
Here's Emily K. and Addison - Addy LOVED the water even though it was pretty cold.  She is definitely our big fish.  
Elizabeth, Emily and the girls.  They will be such good moms someday! :) They were troopers with the girls the whole time.  I don't think they knew what they were in for inviting triplets up for a "vacation."  I'm so glad they did though!
Elizabeth and Emily 
Okay - now these next photos are crazy.  Elizabeth is very creative...so...she got this great idea that we could let the girls finger paint!  So we put them in little 'smocks' :)  ...and let them have at it!  It was a riot...and the girls were having a blast.  They were FULL of paint.  After the fun was over and some paint had even been eaten, we had to figure out how to get them in the house and CLEAN without having the house look like they did.  Well, we got them to the tub...only to find out we forgot to turn the hot water heater on....so the poor girls had to rinse off in freezing water. :)  So their super fun time quickly turned into a screaming fest.  But, overall, it was fun and needless to say, I couldn't have done it on my own.  :) Below is Emily, Addy, me, and Hailey after it was all said and done.  :) 
Hailey getting started on her "masterpiece." :) 
Hailey painting Emily's toes. :) 
So focused on her painting...
ooops - Emily ate some paint.
Addy and her "smock." 
Walking the beach with 2 of my babies. 
Elizabeth and I - she's headed to New Zealand for a YEAR pretty soon - I'm going to miss her!!!
Checking out the big swing - Emily, Addy, Hailey
THANKS so much for a GREAT time!  Love you girls!!