Terrible Two & a Half's

My three "angels" :) Emily, Addy, Hailey

This pic kills me cuz it so shows their personalities. Addy is trying to be the big sister of the bunch and listen to mom and get everyone together for the picture. Hailey is being the little stinker and trying to do her own thing. And Emily is like "Get this silly headband off of me!"

Hailey, Emily, Addy
Here the girls are at the Y for an Easter Eggstravaganza. They got to meet the Easter bunny, play in jump house, etc. They had a blast!

As their shirt says "BEST BUNNIES!" Emily, Addy, Hailey

Hi there! So...I dare not say it...but Addy and Emily are both done with their potty regressing I think! They've been doing AWESOME again at staying dry and have been going #2 and everything (for the most part) in the potty! Woohoo! Soooo happy about that. I think they regressed because they didn't like going on their little potty's in the basement. For one, they were always freezing cold..and for two, what fun is it if you don't get to flush it? :) So..now that things in the kitchen are more manageable, we can go on the "big potty" again. Phew! So glad it was short lived (I hope anyway!)

BUT....the girls have sure been acting up the past couple of months. OHhh man. Somedays I think I'd take the no sleeping newborn stage any day over dealing w/ 3 two year olds. :) I love so much about this stage - seeing them get so proud of themselves, seeing their minds learn so much, communicating with them more and more, watching them interact together, etc. BUT...they sure know how to wear on Mom & Dad's patience! They LOVE to tease each other, take each other's toys, pull hair, knock down their sister's towers, you name it. Anything to get a rise out of their sister...or out of me! And, they love doing things "Myself! Myself!" So getting their coats on, shoes on, etc. takes a LOT longer now. Even buckling themselves in the car is a big deal. And now they care about and fight about the silliest things. Like who gets to sit where in the car...who gets to wear which boot - even if they are the SAME boots, who gets to sit on which side of mommy's lap, etc...and the list goes on. So...we have assigned "days" now...each day of the week someone gets to have a "day" where they get to have 1st pick on everything. Usually that actually works and they are satisfied because they know their day is coming soon. But still, it's just lots of refereeing and time outs and all of that fun disciplining that I get to do all day long. It'll pay off, right??

The worst has been at bedtime. They were doing VERY good in their big beds until a couple months ago. Little Miss Hailey especially likes to get out of her bed and bug her sister's. At first, we put her back in her crib as a punishment...which worked for a while....until she started realizing that she could go to sleep much faster when she was along...so then she started to LIKE her consequence. OH dear. So then..we started taking away blankie's, treats, gave time outs, and then resorted to spanking - NONE of which worked! We were like "what ELSE can we do?" Why won't she GET it? Will she EVER get it? Ahh! But THEN, last night and today during naps, we did the "super nanny" trick where you stay in their room and sit on the floor and stare at the carpet and just wait quietly for them to fall asleep. I have no idea why this worked, but it DID! Soo great! It was like they were so confused why we were still in there that they just went to sleep and stayed in bed! It was FABULOUS and WAY less frustrating to just sit there in silence and pray for them and listen to their chatter. So funny. I about burst out laughing so many times listening to them talk. It's kinda scary because so much of what they say is stuff that I say to them all the time! They kept saying "Good job sweetie!" and all sorts of talk like that. So cute. So...if anyone out there is having trouble with their toddlers getting out of bed, I'd highly recommend the staying in their room thing - they were out in like 25 minutes which is WAY better than an hour and a half of marching back into their room with punishment after punishment! I hope everyone has a GREAT Easter!!!

Kitchen & Potty update

Hey!!! We're surviving over here! :) So far, I feel like the whole project is actually going pretty fast! We're only 2 weeks in and SOOO much has been done already! This past weekend we were able to paint like crazy....then today the floors went in...and then tomorrow the cabinets go in! Woo hoo! Then it'll just be waiting for the counter tops! Can't wait! Thankfully, the weather has been pretty nice so we've been able to be outside a lot and grill out. Grandma Kathy offered to have us over once a week for a meal so that is a huge help...and our friends have had us over too! Can't wait to repay the favor in our new kitchen! :) So, things have been going pretty well! The only thing that ISN'T going well is potty training! Blah!!! I do NOT understand these little kids of mine. For instance, Emily was seriously pee-trained for a month, not ONE accident - only poop accidents. And then she did fine the 1st week and a half of the kitchen remodel..but then NOW...she's all of the sudden having accidents! Part of me thinks they are just having too much fun playing outside that they don't want to come in and do their duty. Hailey too - she's like totally regressed with kills me cuz i KNOW she knows HOW to do it! Addy is doing the best as we speak but it can fluctuate too with her depending on our what we're doing. I am so mad at myself for putting them all in pull ups the 1st week of the remodel because that really messed them up. They just started going in their pants again cuz they feel so much like diapers. I just did it cuz I didn't want to deal with poopy underwear and having to drag that through the torn up kitchen to the laundry room to clean it.... Ahhh...oh well... I'm sure they'll pick it up again after the kitchen is done. It is just so hard to swallow the fact that they are having accidents now that I KNOW they know how to hold it! So confusing and frustrating! Oh well - we'll keep plugging away! Here's some pics!

"Emmy - let's hold hands!"
"Okay - ready?!"
"Go!"

Playing downstairs - AEH

Watching....

Mr. Jon on stilts! All eyes were GLUED on him! Great entertainment for the girls!

Our big dumpster! :) After the snow melted, Ryan put "Frosty's nose" (charcoal) in the dumpster. Everyday, the girls keep asking to see "Frosty's nose" in the trash. Then, the other day, we were playing outside and the girls wanted to go sledding but I said we couldn't because there was no more snow! I asked them where all the snow went and they said "in the garbage." :)
Hailey directing traffic
Emily, Hailey, and Addy playing in the kitchen
2 wknds ago, we drove to Iowa City to see college friends who just had their first baby girl. The girls had fun "babysitting!" Here's our friend Evan getting worn out with 3 MORE girls! :)

Looks like Hailey was loving the road trip... :)
Coloring in the basement... (EAH)

Our Kitchen Adventure :)

Hi Hi. Well, posting might be a bit lacking in the next few weeks just cuz life is going to be crazy! :) This past Saturday, we gutted our kitchen and began a big remodel! So exciting!!! I seriously love remodeling, seeing how the process works and then the end result. We are knocking down a wall to make more room for our kitchen table as it sat in a walk way before. So...we'll see how it goes! We're completely moved in to our basement and it feels like we're on a camping trip or something - living out of boxes, paper products, etc. I'm getting kind of excited to try out new grilling recipes and crock pot recipes. I had some freezer meals stocked up but we won't be able to use our oven much longer so I better use one up tonight! The girls are having fun 'watching' the worker guys go to town on our kitchen. They would probably sit there for hours and watch if it weren't dangerous. They're making friends fast though with all of the guys. One of the workers even said he has 3 little tool belts for the girls so that should be fun. :) I just don't want the girls to watch them bash the wall in with a hammer because you KNOW they'd start to try that on their own. :) Oh dear.

So, so far, it's been going okay! We've been staying out of the house for the most part and otherwise hanging out in the basement. This whole process would be a lot easier if the girls weren't potty training and IF we had a bathroom in our basement. But oh well, it'll be an adventure! Guess Ry and I like to keep life exciting! :)

They said it could take about 6 weeks or so....here goes nothing!

All eyes on the 'guys' :)
The girls' make shift bathroom in the basement.

Where I do the dishes...

Our make shift kitchen in the basement. Gotta love it!
Playing outside! It's funny how we actually get EXCITED here in Wisconsin when it's above 30 degrees. It feels WARM so we can actually go play outside! The girls love it! I can't WAIT for spring!

Back to "Normal"

All dressed up for church, wearing their scarves from Aunt Pauline. :) (EAH)

Hailey in Ryan's sweatshirt. :)

Well I think we're back to "normal" around here. Ryan ended up getting sick the night of my birthday....and then somehow Hailey never got sick! I don't know HOW she managed that one but it's GREAT! All I know is it is SOOO much better dealing with the stomach flu when we all get it on different days. Last year was the WORST when we all got it the same time on the same day!!!

We are still hanging out in the bathroom a LOT as far as potty training goes. Emily and Addison both pooped on the potty the other day so we get SOO excited when that happens that we have to call Daddy at work to tell him. :) Em was hilarious. She tells you that she went "poops on the potty" and then you say "yay!" and then she says "My push it ouuuutt." So funny. :) Emily and Addy are doing awesome with it but Hailey is off and on with it. Sometimes, she tells me and goes on the potty and sometimes she just has an accident. Oh well - she'll get it right?! I know she knows how to hold it...it's just a matter of her wanting to stop playing to go to the bathroom. We're getting there! It's just hard remembering who went when because half the time they ALLL come in the bathroom but that doesn't mean they all go...so then it's tricky remembering who went when and who I have to take back to the bathroom 10 minutes later! You know I've been living in the bathroom too much when I asked someone at a store where the "potty" was and I was all by myself. So embarrassing! :)

And then there's bedtime. The girls have been doing great at night in their big beds..but naptime has been a struggle and I am NOT ready to give that up! They've been climbing in each other's beds and taking things off the walls and having WAY too much fun in there. So then I started putting them back in their cribs for naps...but then they jump around and get hyper in there too so that doesn't work. It takes forever getting them to fall asleep. This is the usual process.

Potty for all of them. All 3 go in cribs. Wait a little bit. Go back upstairs and tell them to stop jumping and lay down. Wait a little while. Go back upstairs and take one of them out of the crib and put her in her big bed. She falls asleep. The other two still goof around. Go back and put the 2nd one in the big bed too now that the 1st one has fallen asleep. Sometimes this works okay and the 2nd one falls asleep in her big bed and the 3rd falls asleep in her crib. But SOMETIMES, the 2nd one crawls into bed w/ the sleeping 1st one and wakes her up. NOOOTTT a happy mom at this point. I forgot to add in the random "I have to go potty AGAINNN" comments. It's so hard when they are potty training because you never know if they REALLY have to go or if they are just working the system and trying to get out of bed! Ahh! It'd probably be the best if they could each have their own room for naptime...but that's not possible so we'll see what we can do. :)

Anyways - enough rambling today...better get some stuff done!

My Birthday Weekend

Hi! Well I'm the big 29 today. I better make this year a good one since it's the last one in my twenties! Ahh! Can't believe how fast life goes by. I'm so thankful though...and feel so so blessed, mostly with an incredible family and amazing friends!

This past weekend, my mother in law gave Jody and I our birthday presents. We got to go to a Spa getaway weekend with the 3 of us up in Kohler, WI! It was an AMAZING spa and we had a great time. SUCH a treat! I have the best in-laws ever! But, I must not have been able to handle all of the relaxation because Saturday morning, I woke up with the stomach flu!!! BLEH!!! NOOOTTTT fun at all! We had to leave earlier than we planned then so that was NOT fun. But, I just came home and slept all day and all night. Then Sunday I felt fine! This all started because Emily woke up in throw up on Thursday morning...and then was pretty much fine the rest of the day. So I guess I got what she had. No...it wasn't morning sickness. Ha. :)

But THEN, yesterday ADDY woke up from her nap saying her "tummy hurt." She was laying on Ryan...and then threw up ALLLLL over him. Not pretty. But it makes me laugh now when I think about how it all went. Oh man. So she threw up like 5 times last night. Then, my bday started off today w/ Ry bringing me a Starbucks which I LOVEEEE...and then Addy having diarrhea in her underwear and then throwing up. Ohhh man....i HOPE Hailey doesn't get it! Especially today!!!!

Thanks for all the bday wishes already! It's helping! :)

Potty Training Update

Hi there! Sorry I've been slacking at taking pictures lately. Maybe it's cuz we've seriously been living in the bathroom! :) Here's the latest on the girls' potty training progress. :)

Emily - She's doing so great! I feel like she was born for this! (Ha - well maybe we all are..but still...she's a natural!) :) She caught on quickly and tells me every time she has to go. I don't even have to ask her if she has to go. The only time she has an accident is when she poops. How do I poop train now????

Addison - It took Addy a little longer to catch on...but I think it was this past Friday that it clicked for her! So great! Now she is also staying very dry and tells me every time she has to go - even when we're out shopping! This is great - but it also makes things a bit more complicated when I try to wheel my honkin' triple stroller into the tiny bathroom stall by myself only to have her go a tiny bit. Oh the joys. :) The girls also LOVE going potty RIGHT when we get them all strapped in and ready to eat dinner. And it never fails that they all have to go like 3 times before bed which makes for a VERY long and kind of stressful bedtime routine. It is just wild everyday in the bathroom. I wish I could film the chaos for all of you. I have to be on my toes to make sure the entire roll of TP doesn't go in the one toilet....while also making sure that while I'm wiping one girl, I'm making sure the other one doesn't dump her pot of pee onto the floor or on to her sister. It's just crazy!

Hailey - Hailey has me so confused! So...she caught on very quickly, was pee trained for like 5 days straight with hardly any accidents...and then all of the sudden, the day that Addison got it, Hailey decided to regress. I don't get it! It's like all of the sudden she's not interested! Accidents around the clock and she doesn't even act like she cares if she's soaking wet! So weird!!! So...the past 4 days, Hailey has been living in pull ups because I got sick of cleaning up messes. But ...I"m hopeful...because today was the first day in a few days that she started going on the potty again..so here's hoping!!!!

I'll try to get some pics of something other than our bathroom up soon. :) Oh - and thanks to my sister Kara for "remodeling" the blog for me! Love it Sis!!! :)

Yay Hailey!

Hooray!!!! Hailey is getting the hang of it today! She is doing SO much better so I'm so excited cuz I SO wanted to give up the other day with all the accidents! She has only had an accident when I haven't been paying attention to her. She's doing MUCH better! Addy is still having loads of accidents so we'll see if it catches on later this week.... At least she's still clapping and cheering for her sisters when they go! :)

So funny how their little personalities come out even with potty training.

Emily just gets right down to business. She knows when it's coming, runs there, and goes right away. Give out a HUGE smile. Then straight back to playing.

Hailey runs to the potty. Sits on one little potty. Decides she doesn't like the feel of that one. Moves on to the big potty. Nope, she likes the look of the OTHER little potty. So then she gets down and goes to the little potty...then plays with the toilet paper....and THEN she goes. And then as SOON as she starts going she says "M&M mommy?" Hailey is also good at trying to out-smart me. She goes a tiny bit..then gets an M&M...then says "potty 'gain Mommy." Then she goes a tiny bit more...and then gets ANOTHER M&M. That little stinker. :)

And then Addison wants her privacy. She does the best when it's just her and I in the bathroom and she can shut the door. When her sisters are around and everyone is in there, (which is like all the time) throwing toilet paper and switching potties and everything, then she doesn't go. I don't blame her! :)

Oh and P.S., the best part about potty training triplets and all of this running around...I've lost 4 lbs since we started! HA! :)