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 :-) 

"One more and you could have a basketball team!"

Oh if I had a dime for every time I've heard that one....

Can you guess the feet?

But today, while we were at the shoe store, it sort of felt like I was corralling my own little basketball team, trying to get them to focus on shoes!

My mom (who is feeling much better since this post), Amelie, Colin and I took the babies to get their first pair of shoes! We ended up getting them at Piggy Toes because I read that they were old school, measure their feet and recommend shoes. For their first pair, I really wanted a good, solid pair of shoes that I knew would fit their feet well.... maybe last the summer?? Dare I hope?

The nice man at the store (Michael for any of our city friends) took such good care of us! He immediately honed in on one sneaker that would be a good fit for what we were looking for.... and came in three different colors.

Colin also picked these out for himself, all by himself.

He used to be into the color blue, but apparently red is the new favorite for summer.

Once the shoes were on the trips feet, we lined them up, snapped some pictures and alternated between screeching, "Ahhhh, how cute!" and boo hooing, "Can you believe they're such big boys now?!"

nope

nope

Close enough! 

We're 11 months today!!!

Carter is thrilled about it, Finn isn't sure yet, and Everett just wants to crawl off and get into something.

Never the less, they are wearing their party pants!!! Thanks Aunt Madeline!

My sister in law made these along with the pillows you see in some of the pictures. I'm so genuinely  impressed by people who can sew, paint, and do other crafty things like that because it is not a talent of mine for sure! 

Fancy pants!

Looking good Carter!

Everett

The weather was beautiful in Chicago today and so we opened the sidling glass door and felt the (kinda) warm breeze flow through the screen door. It kept blowing the curtains open and Everett kept playing peek a boo with them while laughing hysterically.

 I see you!

"I'm going to throw this pillow!"

And he did. Luckily it missed the camera.

 Even amongst the daily quips of "That guy grabbed my train track (or car, tools, snack... you name it)!" and yes, the occasional pushing and shoving, there are such tender moments shared between brothers. I need to remember these moments especially during what seem like long days of brother drama!

Like when Colin suddenly walked over to Carter and softly said, "I help you."

And he did.

 Or later when he put his arm around Carter, leaned in and said something sweet.

Or this moment.

Possibly the most exciting part of the day was when I waved to Finn across the room and to my surprise he lifted his arm and clearly, purposefully, joyfully waved back! It was so exciting and heart melting! I snapped the above picture just after his arm came down.

Oh, you little guys are growing so fast....

Busy busy busy....

That best describes our weekend!

Friday was a long day. First thing in the morning I decided to give the babies a bath because, well, they needed one desperately! And because they LOVE getting a bath. So at 7 a.m., by myself- well, expect for Colin's "help" I gave them a bath. It was fine until I realized that the bath chairs were broken. Two of the chairs won't even clip together and in turn, the babies can wiggle out of them- not safe! I swear, as rarely as we actually use these bath chairs, I can't see how they'd break so easily. I'm so annoyed that they're basically useless now and yet the time and energy it would take to try and return them also feels daunting.

So bath time consisted mostly of me trying to hold the babies in the seats while washing them and reminding my helper that it isn't a good idea to pour the water directly on their heads. Getting the babies out of the tub, dry and dressed was no picnic either. Why do I get myself into these situations?? I should've waited one more day so that Chris would be home to help!

Colin had a rough day in terms of listening and sharing, then Carter spiked a fever so I put him in the Ergo carrier on my back. Just when I was thinking, "How brilliant, I can just carry my sick baby close to me but still have free hands to care for the other kids. This will be fine!" he puked all over the back of me. Seriously, I was picking banana chunks out of my hair the rest of the day (no time to shower of course!).

My husband had plans to go out with his college friends that night which was fine- except that this happened to be one of those, "oh my God will they ever settle and go to bed?!" nights. They finally did and I quickly treated myself by ordering pizza, opening a bottle of wine and propping my feet up on the couch for mindless t.v.


Saturday flowed much smoother! We got out the choo choo wagon and headed back to the Purple Monkey Playroom. This may very well become a Saturday tradition for us! It's just so wonderful to have an easy, close to home, family activity that we can do together. Plus, this play space is set up beautifully. It's bright, very open and super clean.

Sunday we dropped the kids at my in-laws and headed up the west coast of Michigan for some exploring. It was freezing but really lovely. We also ended up bringing Everett with us. I wasn't sure if he'd somehow be thrown off by not having his brothers around for a whole day. Rest assured he was fine and seemed to love the one on one attention from mom and dad! It felt great to have time with him alone and we continue to try and make that happen for each child when time allows. We also laughed about how odd it felt caring for only one child. The days when we toted around one child seem so long ago.

So that was our long weekend. Friday was hard, Saturday was lovely and Sunday was a fun adventure. All in all, not so bad!

Here are a few pictures from last Thursday. My boys are constantly reminding me that the best toys are so often not technically toys at all. This blue storage bin was the hit of the week! Colin would take "tickets" from the babies and then give them each rides around the kitchen while they laughed and laughed. Especially Carter! He couldn't get enough! It's still rare to find an activity that all the boys can truly enjoy together but I realized that I need to think more simply about this. Blue bin = toy everyone could enjoy together for hours! Who knew??