Meeting my triplet "nephews!"

Hi!  I just got back from an amazing weekend in South Dakota visiting my friend Heather who just had her triplet boys 8 weeks ago.  It was the BEST weekend!  First of all, I just love how God answered prayers and gave me perfect driving weather IN JANUARY and that my girls and I were all healthy IN JANUARY so that I could even go!  I'm so thankful!!  I left last Weds. afternoon and Jody came over to watch the girls and hang out here while they napped.  Then Ryan had them Thursday and Grandma Kathy had them Friday.  Then Ryan was with them for the weekend and then I came home Sunday night.  The girls seemed to have a great time with everyone and Ryan survived too!  He may or may not have put Hailey's shirt on backwards for church on Sunday but other than that, he did GREAT!  I'm so thankful to have such great help here so that I could go help Heather!!  

Anyway, so Weds night I got to their house and as soon as I saw the babies, I just start crying.  I cannot believe that we BOTH were blessed with three HEALTHY sets of triplets.  It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.  And to see them so perfect and THREE of them at once.  They had been prayed for for so long!  My mind  (and my heart I think) was flooded with memories of my girls in that adorable baby stage.  And that they were Heather's!  I will never believe this.  So after tearing up, I of course had to hold each one and say hello.  I never wanted to put them down!  I could hold babies all day!  So that night I helped Heather with the 11 oclock feeding so Evan could get some sleep....so then I ended up going to bed around 12:45...and then woke up at 4 for the next feeding....and then Evan's cousin was there so her and I did the 4 oclock feeding together so Evan and Heather could sleep.  That lasted til about 5:30....and then I was "on duty" to sleep by the babies and listen for any spit ups (2 of them have reflux)....well my body is still on normal sleep mode so I didn't go back to sleep after my 4 a.m. wake up time.  And I've never been a napper so that was a longer day!!!  But totally doable when it's not every day!!!!  

It's so funny too because I'm like petrified or paranoid about boys and changing their diapers!  I'm just not used to it and I freak out that they are going to pee in my mouth.  :)  So wouldn't you know it...at 4 a.m. ...sweet little Andrew PEES on me!  Thankfully not in my mouth :)  ...but still!  I let out a little scream! :)  So funny though.  :) Here are my fave triplet boys. :)  Micah weighing in at 10 lbs. 7 oz, Derek is a whopping 11 lbs. 8 oz already!  And then sweet Andrew at 8 lbs. something....  They are TOO MUCH!!!

 Micah - Micah is so sweet.  He has reflux pretty bad and looks like he's in pain when he spits up but he hardly complains about it at all.  He just grunts. :) Such a sweetie.

 Andrew was my little snuggler this weekend.  He LOVES to be held and I love that about him.

 Big boy Derek.  Derek is the little comedian of the bunch.  Something about him is just so funny.  Little faces he makes or how he gets soo excited to eat that his mouth goes crazy looking for the bottle.

 Speaking of bottles.....this is only a few of them!!!

 And I can't wait for the day when all of Heather's kids and all of mine can finally meet...but for now, I just put their pictures together....I wonder if they'll get married someday.. :) :) :)  My girls just seem SO big now!!!

 Andrew, Derek, Micah - It's so neat how the babies would be fussing or just uncomfortable and not wanting to settle down no matter what you would do....so then we'd just lay them on the floor right next to each other.  They'd settle right down and just lay there kicking each other and sucking on each other's elbows or heads and all of the sudden be so content.  Multiples will always amaze me.

 One of Derek's funny looks :)

 Heather's FOUR boys under the age of TWO.   Tyler, Micah, Derek, and Andrew.
And all I gotta say is that Heather is an AMAZING mom.  She really does have the patience of a saint and I give her sooo much credit.  Having another kid on TOP of triplets is unbelievably hard.  JUST when the babies would all be sleeping or quiet....you'd want to take a nap...or you'd want to clean up all the bottles or EAT something or whatever....there would be sweet Tyler who would say "I need mommy" or "mommy play downstairs" or "Don't pick up the babies."  He is just at an age that demands a lot of attention...and a lot of energy!  I was in awe at how great Heather was with him...and how she would muster up enough energy to chase him around the basement or read him books or whatever...even when she was EXHAUSTED.  She'd be nursing 2 babies and I'd be feeding the slowpoke Andrew :) ...and then Tyler would wake up...so then because Tyler loves mommy to get him out of bed...Heather would have to stop nursing two, and then go get Tyler who would then need breakfast or want to snuggle or whatever while 2 babies keep crying to finish nursing.  She is a phenomenal mother and her boys are SOOO blessed to have her.

I LOVE them!  (Andrew, Derek, Micah - and Auntie Shell) :)   One night Heather and I did get to go out for dinner together to catch up without distractions so that was super fun.  And, on Saturday, help came over so that I could take Heather to the mall to for real shop for the first time in like a year!  She kept saying it was the best day and she finally felt "normal" again!!  I love you Heather!!  You are DOING IT!!! And you are doing SO well!  (unfortunately Heather and I must have been too busy with babies that we never got to take a pic of US  - or we didn't WANT to take a pic of us because most days we were in our PJ's all day and hadn't showered!) :) :)

 And then I got to meet ANOTHER preemie!!!  My cousin Janelle had her first baby girl Maci at 26 weeks.  She weighed 1 lbs. 6 oz....so she's been in the NICU a LOOOONNGGG time.  I thought Janelle and I would have so much in common since we both had preemies but wow - there is a HUGE difference with your NICU experience when you have a three 3 pounders versus a 1 pounder.  My girls didn't have to go through HALF of the stuff that sweet Maci had to go through.  It's a miracle just looking at her.  She is now 5lbs. 8 oz and doing so much better!  She will probably be a few more weeks or a month til she gets to go home...and even then she might have to go home on a G Tube because she hasn't figured out bottling while sucking, swallowing, adn breathing all at the same time.  So please keep her and Grant and Janelle in your prayers.  This has been a LONG road for them!! She's already been in the NICU for TWELVE weeks!  Wow!

 Maci Grace

Fun in the Snow

I am loving this Wisconsin winter this year.  It started much later and we didn't even get snow until January!  I kinda like that.  It's been much warmer too which makes the winter much more doable. :)  I feel like this winter is flying by!  The girls were definitely ready for some snow though....so here Addison and Hailey are making a snow family with dad. :) 

 Hailey gets pure joy from throwing snow balls at people. :)

Hailey putting on the finishing touches on HER snowman. :)

 Emily, me, Ryan, Hailey, and Addison  :)

 Daddy's girls :)

 And check out these triplet boys in our front yard last night!!!!!

Christmas in Colorado 2011

 Hi!!  And Happy New Year!  Well this year we decided it was time to go to my hometown for Christmas since we haven't been there for "actual" Christmas for 7 years!  It was so much fun!  I loved being able to go to my home church and be with my WHOLE family for a whole week!  We had a blast!  And traveling with the girls at age 4 is awesome!  Have I told you I love age 4? :) :)   They just knew what to do and were old enough to wheel their little backpacks around the airport and they knew to just sit in their seats and wait for a "princess drink."  Addison probably said to me like 25 times on the way down there "This is so fun Mom."  :)  I love traveling with my fam!  They are troopers!
Above is a pic of the girls in the airport...it was just too cute seeing them wheel around their luggage together.  :) And below is a pic of my sister and I!! :)

 Emily & Grandma Gwen watching everyone open presents...

 Auntie Heather reading a humungous book to the girls. :)

 COUSINS!!  Bryce, Kamryn, Hailey, Addison, and Emily

 And Grandpa and Grandma with all of their grandkids!

 Isn't he a super cute nephew?!!!!

 And the girls had so much fun and my cousins Jordan and Jenna's house.  Jenna is a fabulous babysitter!  I wish she lived out here!!!  Jordan and Jenna also took the girls bowling one day.  They loved it!  :)

 And Denver got a foot of snow the day before we got there.  We haven't had ANY snow in Wisconsin so the girls were pumped to play in it!  I actually think they were more excited to just EAT it! :)  I have about 30 pics of them just eating the snow. :) Em is so intense about it!

 Ouch.  Poor Hailey. :)

 Cousin pic - Addison, Hailey, Kami, Bryce, and Em.

 They sang a LOT of Christmas songs on Grandma's piano ...a LOT.... :) (HEA)

 Watching a movie at Uncle Kyle & Auntie Heather's place....

 Gotta love Beauty and the Beast and cozying up with family :)

 The girls and Great Grandma!  She is famous around here for all the beanie babies that she has! :) (AEH)

Grandma and Kara babysat one day so that Craig and Laura and Ry and I could go up to Copper mountain skiing! Thank you!!  IT WAS SO GREAT!  I really love skiing and we had a lot of fun.  It was PERFECT weather out...not too cold and not too hot.  Beautiful.  

 HAE  

 Okay yes we like to dress up. :)  So got back home in time to go to a New Years Eve party with friends.  It was a Couples Costume party.  So I went as a giant Loofah (you know, that scrubby thing you have in the shower)...and Ryan wore his robe that has his name embroidered :)...and bought some chest hair and a wig and grew out a lovely mustache.  I could hardly look at him that night! :)  But it was fun!!  Hope you are all blessed in 2012!!!