Building our Garden

Today was by far the nicest day we've had in a long time! It was beautiful here in West Michigan! Spring FINALLY seems to be arriving. For real this time.

Now that we've had a chance to venture out into our yard with this lovely weather, we see that clearly it needs some work (that would be an understatement!). 

There's a lot we'd love to do outside the home. While we'd love to change/ update the color of the house.... that's not in the cards. At least not for many years. We'll have to make the peachy color work.

In the short term though, we'd like to expand the deck, power wash the deck and house, paint the deck, build a new garden closer to the house, and plant some flowers around the house. 

First up is getting the garden built. Since I'll be having a baby in about 6 weeks (what?!), I told Chris that I'd be fine not building a garden this year and instead just shopping at our local farmers market but Chris really wanted a garden. Colin did too. Those two.... two peas in a pod I tell ya. So- it's their project. They created the garden plan together and have been slowly working in it. By that I mean, moving the dirt, picking up the lumber, and planting seeds indoors. It's just been too cold and rainy to do much work outside.

The garden area currently looks like this:

Yikes.

Hopefully by the end of this weekend, that dirt pile is looking more like a garden. I'm pretty optimistic because the weather is supposed to be beautiful. Which means, you can bank on us being outside all. day. long. 

Tonight, Chris started building the raised garden beds. He had A LOT of help :-)

I'm not sure how Chris gets anything under those conditions (having so many "helpers") but he is so patient, always teaching them.

Belly photobomb!

Meijer Gardens Butterfly Exhibit

Today we took the boys to see the butterfly exhibit at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. We'd kept hearing about this exhibit and how great it is. So today, we finally went!

The boys LOVED it!

Basically, you walk through a conservatory and there are all different kinds of butterflies everywhere. It was so fun to see how excited they got with all the butterflies flying around. 

I love days like this when a simple outing breaks up the monotony and reminds me how special it is to  be their mom and watch them grow. I love watching them experience new things. The world is still so new to each of them.

Today I loved being able to see the awe and wonder on their faces as they took in their surroundings. A room filled with butterflies. 

I tried to get a group picture when we first walked into the conservatory but my efforts were quickly thwarted!

I couldn't compete with butterflies soaring past!

Me and my boys. All five of them :-)

March madness

My husband made us waffles this morning... yum! Totally satisfying my pregnancy appetite this morning. I was even able to take my waffles and sneak away hide for a few minutes, which is how I've found myself here. Blogging, looking out the window over our backyard and eating waffles in peace and quiet. Lovely. It's the little things....

The best part of my waffles though?

Our homemade maple syrup. I gotta give props to my husband who I thought was loosing his mind when he started making his own taps out of piping and asking me to save all milk containers.

"I'm going to start making maple syrup" he announced one day early in March.

"How do you even know how to do that??" I'd replied.

That's often my response to his project ideas because I don't have a clue how to do stuff like this! If nothing else, I'd have to read up on it or take a class. But he just knows.

So- for weeks in March, Chris would jet outside whenever he had a break (or needed a break from the chaos- haha!), and I'd watch him quickly collect the sap and monitor the burner boiling the sap in our back yard. Seriously, this guy was boiling sap for weeks (it takes about 36 gallons of sap to make about one gallon of syrup).

I teased him a lot about it but here I sit on this spring morning enjoying delicious homemade maple syrup from our backyard. It's sooooo good! And we have lots more jars to enjoy over many months.

A week of firsts

On Tuesday Colin started soccer. He was nervous about it and truthfully not even really that interested in playing. However, we thought it could be good for him to branch out beyond tools and construction, learn a little about soccer and be part of a team. We also thought it would be a nice way to meet other families since we still feel so new here. Chris is the team coach so that made it a lot easier to convince Colin to give it a try.

As I sat on the sidelines with the trips, I could see Colin beaming ear to ear and I felt so relieved. He was having fun! 

Phew!

The triplets were SO itching to get out there too! Especially Everett! They all kept yelling, "Me next. Next!" 

Their day will come. 

Everett finally getting a chance after the game

Carter, Finn, and Everett

The kids practice for 30 minutes and then play a game for 30 minutes. During the game, Colin hardly touched the ball. He basically just ran around following the crowd. If the coaches had been keeping score, we would have lost (they don't keep score at this age). But that night in Colin's bedtime prayers he said, "Dear God, thank you that I am such a great soccer player."

I'm so thankful that it was such a good experience and I hope his confidence continues to build. 

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The other first we experienced this week was meeting my niece Reese Annabel. Oh. My. Goodness is she cute!!! People always say that about a new baby but seriously Reese is beyond cute! Off the charts. And that's my unbiased opinion. The boys loved spending time with cousin "Mimi" and meeting baby Reese. I loved catching up with my sister-in-law. Oh how I wished they lived closer.....

Colin and Macy

Feeding Reese with lots of helpers!

 Reese is one of the most chill babies I've ever come across. She was totally fine with lots of little, sometimes awkward hands helping and others crawling all around us!

Happy Easter!

Better late than never :-)

 Speaking of better late than never, this morning I found a stack of Christmas cards, all addressed and ready to be sent. Obviously they never made it to their destinations. Apologies if you wondered why you never received a card from us! I was thinking maybe I should just send them and act like sending Christmas cards in April is totally normal.

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Boys, we had a lovely Easter but it came right on the heals of Everett, Finn and Carter's birthday and at the end of "the birthday month". The fact that you all plus your Daddy have March birthdays is super fun and super exhausting by the end of the month!

A few days before Easter, I realized that I hadn't done any planning for Easter outside of "we'll go to church". Mom-mom however, had it all under control! She offered to make Easter dinner and when I said, "Yes please!" she brought all the fixings for it. She also brought all the Easter baskets, fillers and eggs for a hunt if we wanted. Oh and she also gifted you guys the shirts that you're wearing in all the birthday pictures in this post, this post and now this Easter post. hahaha! They were such a blessing because I hadn't given any thought to what you'd wear for the birthday party. You wore them three days in a row and miraculously, no one spilled on them!

Silly Easter bunny hid your basket in the oven, Colin. You thought that was too funny.

Carter 

And there was a little basket for el cinco too. So sweet!

Uncle G and Cooper were there too!

Egg hunt! (in your winter coats..grrrrr....so over this weather)

Everett and Carter

Colin

Everett

Carter

Finn and Everett

Finn, you were only interested in figuring out if there was candy inside the eggs. Sadly, there was not.

So that was Easter, which capped over a busy yet wonderful birthday month! 

The Trips Turn Two- Part Two! Party Time!

The trips turned two on March 29th which I wrote about here. We had a low key day because we planned to really celebrate on Saturday. 

Chris and I decorated the living room the night before. Colin and I went out and picked up a bunch of balloons for each of them and tied them on their chairs. We also picked up Winnie the Pooh decorations. Carter, Finn and Everett love the Winnie the Pooh movie- pretty much demand that it's turned on whenever we're in the car! But when I looked for Winnie the Pooh birthday decorations, I had no luck. Well, I did have some luck because low and behold, there were Winnie the Pooh baby shower decorations and we made it work! 

Everett made quite a birthday entrance Saturday morning by falling all the way down the stairs. It was 6:30 a.m. and it scared the crap out of us. It scared him too but surprisingly, he was unhurt. Kids are so resilient! The balloons waiting on his chair also helped dry the tears pretty quick.

Later that day, Aunt Katie arrived with even more balloons! 

Colin wanted to get the boys their own power tools (also kind of a gift to himself since he picked ones that coincidentally he also "needed"). He's no fool. Each of the boys now has their own tool box with a few power tools inside. Colin was SO excited for them to open his presents and the boys loved them. As a side note, I should have gifted myself some ear plugs for when they are all turned on at the same time :)

We got the boys a baby doll. I wasn't sure how they'd respond to it or if they'd be into pretend play with a baby but given that we're having a baby (in only about two months!), I thought having a pretend baby around might be a good idea. They've really surprised me by how interested they are in playing with the baby. Especially Finn. He was so cute on the day of the party. He kept carrying the baby around and even took him outside where he pushed him all over the yard, stopping to feed him a bottle every now and again. They'll be such good big brothers!

As a side note, I could write a whole blog post on how frustrating it is to shop for a boy baby or any pretend baby supplies. Every store I went into sold 99 percent girl dolls (it took me three stores to find a boy doll). I had the same experience years ago when shopping for a baby boy for Colin. I wanted a boy doll since we're having a baby boy. Also, almost all the accessories are pink. Nothing against pink but seriously does it ALL have to be pink?? It's all so catered to little girls. However, I think it's also important for boys to have opportunities to play house and care for a baby. Anyhoo....

Aunt Katie was generous enough to bring our favorite cupcakes (again!) from Chicago. YUMMMM!!! 

 Happy Birthday Carter!

Happy Birthday Everett!

 Happy Birthday Finn!

Happy Big Brother Day Colin!

It was such a special day! 

Not all of our family could be there as everyone lives out of town, but our parents, Chris's sister Katie and my brother Gavin were able to make the trip and it meant so much to us. We couldn't have made it through these first two years of raising triplets without their support, so celebrating with each of them only seemed fitting!

Everett's home!

Everett in the hospital... he took many loops around the third floor during his stay! 

Everett is home and doing much better! We were able to bring him home yesterday afternoon but I was too tired to write an update. He was so happy to get out of the hospital and we were so happy to bring him home. He came home with a nebulizer that we'll continue using until his cough is completely gone. He's also on steroid medication. As to why this happened, it's most likely related to the fact that he was a preemie. Though Finn and Carter do not have this same issue, Everett's lungs were probably not as developed when he was born. When we remember back to their birth, Everett was the only one of the triplets to have difficulty breathing just after delivery. He was intubated for a day or two as we remember (those early days are a bit fuzzy!). He may also have underlying allergies which we plan to investigate. But for now, we're just happy to have him home!

When Chris and I pulled into the driveway with Everett, I could see Colin, Carter and Finn pressed against the front window. When I opened the car door I could hear them yelling with excitement. When we walked in the front door Everett was pretty much tackled with hugs and kisses.

I'll never forget it.

Everett's the one in the middle getting smushed with hugs and kisses.

In truth, the morning Everett was hospitalized (hours before he started having trouble breathing), I'd texted my friend Candace saying that I was pretty convinced I was raising criminals. "Who stole my darling children?" I'd asked her. Of course I don't really think they'll grow up to be criminals but on that particular morning they were making a good case for it, believe me! The constant fighting over toys, the whining, the demands for snacks after they'd just eaten a large meal, dumping bins of toys all over the play room for the fun of it, knocking pictures off the walls and laughing, making me chase them for diaper changes (not so easy in your third trimester)..... and oh the noise. The constant noise! By 10:00 a.m. I'd about had it, hence my text to Candace. She has multiples too and can always relate.

Anyway, just six hours later I was rocking Everett in a hospital room which was quiet except for his soft cries and the oxygen machine running. All I wanted in that moment was to be back home with Everett and in the middle of all the craziness. I rocked and thought about our morning and how I'd take broken picture frames, a messy playroom, the constant noise and even the fighting, over a quiet hospital room any day. Sure it's an obvious choice but occasionally you need a reminder. Life is good and all that hard stuff that comes with raising children is actually a blessing. One day the house will be quiet, the kitchen will be clean, the boys will be grown and I'll miss their antics as active, little boys.

For sure I'll get overwhelmed by them again and I'll send more texts to Candace asking things like, "Is it too early in the day to drink wine?" :-)

But not today.

Nope. Today, I'm too busy appreciating them, soaking up the noise, laughing while chasing them down for diaper changes, reffing fights over toys with a new found patience, and giving thanks that we're all together, playing in this messy playroom.

Everett's homecoming also reminds me that although they fight over completely ridiculous stuff like who gets to play with the red car (even though there are fifty other cars to choose from!), their bond as brothers runs so deep. They did NOT like Everett being gone. They weren't complete.

Now they are again.

Feel better Everett

Our Everett is in the hospital. He's finally fallen asleep. I'm typing this in the rocking chair next to his crib (which looks more like a cage) and hoping we can both get a good stretch of sleep tonight.

It started yesterday when all of the boys woke up with runny noses. Their runny noses appeared nothing more than a minor annoyance to them and didn't seem to slow them down one bit. Except for Everett. His runny nose turned into a respiratory issue (don't know the medical term) which in just a few hours had him struggling to breath (pretty darn scary). This has happened before, back in February and in December but it never developed this fast nor was ever this bad. Usually after a few nebulizer treatments he's on the mend and breathing better. This time though, hospitalization was inevitable.

:-(

He's been such a trooper but he wants to go home (so do I!). By late afternoon today he'd had it and kept bringing me his coat, crying and saying, "Go". How badly I wish we could just pack up and go.

But he's doing much better and so we're hopeful that he'll be released tomorrow.

Now to get some sleep.....

Lunch and some oxygen

Love this little guy

The trips turn two!!!

We've just come off of a whirlwind weekend celebrating the triplets birthday (which is Colin's big brother day) and Easter. I've been so exhausted today recovering from it all, which is why I haven't had a chance to upload any photos!

The triplets officially turned two years old on Friday. Friday morning I took a few pictures of them to commemorate the day, and the rest of the day we just spent time with them doing the things they love. The weather was beautiful and sunny (just like the day they were born) and so we played outside, went on a walk and took them to the playground.

Chris and I found ourselves feeling so sentimental remembering the day they were born, the weeks leading up to their birth and the gratitude we felt on their birth day that they'd arrived safely and were healthy. We felt so blessed not only that they held on until 34 weeks, but that their birth was such a beautiful experience and that I was able to have a natural delivery. 

Still, they were so tiny and fragile and seeing them hooked up to machines and monitors made it easy to worry about their future development.

How far they've come! Today they are active little guys who never seem to slow down! They are talking more and more everyday. Some of their favorite words to yell are, "Mommy!!!!!" (over and over) or "NO, MINE!" when a brother tries to grab a toy. They are loving, feisty, curious and hilarious. They are each so different in look and personality and yet they have an undeniable deep connection to each other. 

Finley, you are so sweet, observant, sensitive and talkative. The words you say out of the blue crack us up daily. Last night you called for me from your crib and I said, "I'll be there in a minute." To which you said, "Alright Mommy!" I didn't know you knew the word, "Alright". You are such a caring boy. If you see that someone is sad, you really notice and try and help by bringing a pacifier or luvie to them. You love to cuddle and I love to cuddle with you! I could snuggle on the couch with you all day Finn! You look exactly like my baby pictures. 

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Carter, you are an animal lover and love to sit with me at the window and watch the birds and squirrels eat from our feeder. You love to chase Olive and pet her. You are so funny and love making us laugh. You don't back down from a fight. If someone tries to take your toy, watch out! You like to sleep right next me whenever you get the chance (I love that too). You and Colin have a very special bond and you guys are thick as thieves lately, always together playing, chatting, laughing and causing trouble! 

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Everett, your hugs are to die for. You give them so freely and without warning. You wrap your arms around whoever you're hugging and squeeze so tight. You're never in a rush to let go. And your laugh..... It's outrageous and contagious! You are a brilliant combination of being easy going and yet super determined. If you want something (or don't want to do something) there's no convincing you otherwise. You'll eat whatever I cook up! Most people say that you look like your Pop-Pop or your big brother Colin.

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And just by the way Colin, you are an AMAZING big brother and we couldn't be prouder of you! It's hard to believe that the triplets are the age you were when you became their big brother. 

Ready to add 10 more little toes to this picture. :-)

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***** On Saturday we had a lovely birthday party with our families who made the day so special. I'll post pictures from the party tomorrow :-)