Christmas Countdown!

Last Wednesday John and I celebrated our 14th anniversary! Thursday night we went to dinner and spent the night at the Gaylord Texan Hotel. That place is massive!! It was completely decorated for Christmas---I loved it!

Friday we finally got our Christmas shopping done for the kids. Although I know they will love the new toys, and ripping the paper, they still don't understand what Christmas is really about. Nevertheless, John and I are excited about setting out their new toys Christmas morning! We got them several things including an Elmo Live, fold-out couch, bean bag, and shopping cart. They have been given so many gifts by friends already---we are continually overwhelmed by everyone's generosity!

Things have been busy at home. The kids are really changing so much and are adjusting to their independence, mobility, and siblings. OK, it's just a nice way of saying..They are in to EVERYTHING!

We have nicknamed Aaron "Grabby-Grabberton." He has to touch, grab, and pull everything that is close to him. Aaron likes to snuggle, won't get out of bed without his blanket, and loves to dance. He does some kind of crazy head-bob that just kills us! Aaron loves food and will make an "MMMM" sound when he really likes what he is eating. (Just like Mom). He also says "Touchdown" and raises his arms. Well, it sounds like he says "Touchdown" anyway! Here he is loving on Taylor (TT) and pulling Avery's hair.

Avery has started "running" and does so most of the time on her tippy-toes. It looks so cute! She has dubbed herself "Queen of the Slide" and will push her brothers from behind so they will hurry up down the slide and get out of her way. She is definitely a girlie-girl and will bat her eyelashes at you if you tell her she looks pretty. She is a Daddy's girl--100%! Heaven forbid she get hurt with Dad in the room. The pain is SO much worse! Here is Avery laying on a bear and sitting in my lap. (Not such a good pic of me, though!)

Adam is really fascinated by numbers. The other night I heard something on the monitor. When I became alert enough to recognize what I was hearing, Adam was "counting" in his bed. He says words with the same intonation as "One, Two, Three" and then he claps!! He is the official counter when anyone gets on the slide. Also, Adam loves to dance. He does a move that resembles a good old-fashioned Hoe Down! I couldn't get the video to upload here, so follow this link to YouTube. (That is Dad making a noise in the background!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pjna5N4BEQ

Picture with Santa!

Here is the picture of the kids with Santa that was taken last Saturday on the Square downtown. It's a decent picture considering that: (1) Avery had just thrown a huge fit because I wouldn't let her go up and down the stairs anymore; (2) We were being herded through like cattle; and (3) There are 3 of them! How often do you think I can really get them to all look at a camera and smile??! Ha!

Adam--Avery--Aaron






















Just for fun, here is last year's picture with Santa. Aaron--Avery--Adam

The Sanity Returns!!

It felt SO good to let it all out in Friday night's post! I have gotten several cute emails from people that said they laughed out loud while reading it! Good---that's what I had to do too!

The rest of the weekend was very good. My friend, Christal, and I took the kids to Fort Worth Saturday to the mall. They all rode the Merry-Go-Round and had a great time! We just shopped a little and came home for our Christmas on the Square. The kids had their picture made with Santa here, but I don't have a copy of it yet.

Last night dinner was so amazing! I put place mats down on the table and the kids actually ate off a plate and attempted to use their sporks (spoon/fork)! It was the very first time that not one single cup, spork, or plate was dropped on the floor or overturned! I was so proud of them!!

Taylor and I took the kids to see some very special Christmas lights last night. It is really cool---you tune your radio in to a random station (that is posted in front of the house), and the Christmas lights dance to the music you are hearing over your car stereo. The kids loved it! After each song Avery would clap and Aaron would sign "More." Adam was so enthralled that he never moved a muscle!

The Steelers played the Cowboys yesterday (And won!!) Here are some random pics of the kids in their jerseys.


























































Did I tell you that I accidentally gave Aaron a mullet last Tuesday? I always cut John's hair, so I figured I could cut the boys' hair too. Taylor was holding Aaron when I made two sweeping cuts that were WAY too short! I cut a little more trying to fix it, but Yikes! It was bad! I called my hairdresser in a panic, and she was able to fix Aaron's hair. (And cut Avery's and Adam's too). It was so bad!! Lesson learned...... Here are pics of poor Aaron! The funny part is that when I stared saying "Oops..I've messed it up," Aaron started saying "Uh-oh! Uh-oh!"

I'm not Going to Lie--Sometimes it is CHAOS at our House!

Warning---Long Post! Catharsis ahead....

I had a random request from a blog follower that wanted me to post a picture of the kids crying. Now before you express complete disdain, the reasoning was "Your kids always look so happy, do they ever cry?"

If you know me at all, you know that I am an eternal optimist. I will find the silver lining in the darkest of dark clouds. If all is falling apart around me, the kids are crying, I'm exhausted, I won't post about that. No one wants to hear a sob story....so I just post the good things about our days. Besides, we have so much to be thankful for, and even when days are challenging..it could always be worse!

Having said all of that, I must confess, this evening was CHAOS!! Where do I even begin.....

After I dropped John off this morning at the airport (He is going with some friends to Iowa on a hunting trip. They have BIG white-tailed deer.), I spent the entire day Christmas shopping. It was so great! On the way home John called in somewhat of a panic. He had left his Iowa hunting license and deer tags here! Oh no!! So, I got home, loaded up the kids, and said "Bye" to Taylor for the weekend. We ran to Granbury to the UPS store to overnight John's license. I picked up Taco Bell for the babies for dinner since they LOVE Mexican food. By the time we got home, all three kids where whining and signing "Bite." I quickly unloaded all three and got them to their booster seats at the table. I tore up the burritos, got their water, and split a banana into three for them. Meanwhile, I also sat at the table and tried to grab a bite myself. Things seemed to be going smoothly when Aaron decided to bang his water cup on the table. Adam thinks this is a great idea and proceeds to do the same thing. Avery is saying "No, No" and shaking her head at them. So, I take the boys' water cups away. Adam starts dropping his food on the floor, Aaron follows suit, and Avery begins smacking the table with her water cup. I took Avery's cup away and picked up food from the floor. And so this continues until dinner is over.

After dinner the boys were crying and wanting to be held. Taylor said they didn't nap well this afternoon. I sat on the floor with them for about 20 minutes and got them calmed down. They definitely needed baths, so I started that task. I bathed Avery first. It went without a hitch. I bathed Adam next. When I came back into the living room, Aaron had the remote and was changing the channels. Avery had somehow climbed up on the dining room table and was playing in the food I hadn't yet cleaned. I got her down, took the remote from Aaron, and then took Aaron to the bathroom to take a bath. Upon entering the bathroom, he immediately tore off toilet paper and ate it. Then he peed on the floor as soon as I took off his diaper. When Aaron and I came back into the room, Adam was trying to turn the TV off, and Avery was pouring milk from her cup into the back of the dumptruck. GREAT!

I quickly announced "Bedtime" just so I could get them in one place! All three took off for the bedroom. I put them in their beds and handed them their sippy cups. I let them drink milk while I read two bedtime stories. I never let them drink milk in their beds, but I had to keep them contained!! I was outnumbered and losing the battle!! I took their cups away, kissed them goodnight, and turned off the light. AAAHHHH....after 20 minutes the talking stopped in their room and they were all asleep!

Now the work begins...I cleaned the table, booster seats, floor--picked up 3 towels, 3 wash rags, 3 dirty diapers, and 3 sets of dirty clothes---refilled 3 milk cups---picked up toys in the living room---refilled the diapers--put up clothes....

To answer your question reader--yes, the babies cry. Yes, sometimes they are difficult. Yes, we are exhausted most nights. Yes, it is hard having triplets. But---we would not have it any other way! These are the three most good-natured kids I have ever seen, and John and I are the luckiest parents in the world!

Here are some snapshots I took at the park yesterday: