First Day of Preschool!

Everett, Carter and Finley had their first day of preschool today! They did awesome! Mommy on the other hand was way more emotional than she expected! (More on that in a minute.)

This was kind of funny to me. So in my mind, I thought maybe the boys might wear cute, coordinated but not too matchy matchy outfits on their first day..... because wouldn't that be cute?? :-)

Small problem. You see, these are the same boys with whom we've been so mindful about always reminding them that they are each their own unique, special, person!! They are not just "the triplets", they are Carter, Finley, and Everett, each special, unique and different! So on their first day of school, it should probably be no surprise that they each had a clear, unique opinion about what they wanted to wear, and coordinating outfits was no part of it. Each choice was different and each choice was so fitting to their personality.

Carter wore his sports shorts with a funny (and orange- his current favorite color!) alligator shirt. Finley wore comfy pants (because comfort is everything) and a shirt depicting a shark fishing for pizza (because.... fishing!). Everett went for arguably the most sophisticated choice, a collared polo with corduroy pants.

So them.

After taking a few pictures on the front step, we start the drive to preschool. And I am so not even emotional about this. I mean, it's just preschool, it's just a few times a week for short periods of time, and they are SO READY!

And then I glance back at them in the rear view mirror as we sit at a stop light and for some reason all I can think about is the day we brought them home (same minivan, smaller carseats) from the NICU. 

That was just yesterday, wasn't it??

I remember when we got the okay to bring them home from the NICU, feeling like I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

This picture is blurry because I'm booking it with these babies!

I COULD NOT WAIT TO GET MY BABIES HOME.

That night, when they were finally home, under our roof, fully in our care, it was such a relief (not that they weren't getting amazing care in the NICU, because they were! But for obvious reasons, it feels good and comforting to have your babies home, under your own protection, love and care).

And since that day, they've been in our care. For awhile we were admittedly a little overprotective, worried about germs and the like. There are few people I've trusted to care for them when we can't.

But now we begin the process of nudging them out of the nest with the smallest of first steps. Preschool, just a few times a week, for a couple of hours. 

No big deal.

And yet, glancing at them in the rear view mirror and remembering how far they've come......it suddenly feels like a big deal.

We are so proud of them! Already, they are even stronger than they know.

Be good to them world. 

There's a Lego in My Coffee

Something happens to my sweet children around 4-5 pm. They become crazed wild men who cannot be tamed. Picture: high decibels, racing around the house, wrestling and tackling each other, which then often turns into real fighting, and just generally getting into trouble. This is often when I try and put on a t.v. show so that maybe I can put away some toys or prep dinner, but sometimes even a show doesn't work.

Today around that golden hour, Owen decided to open a bag of chips and dump them all over the kitchen floor. Then, he decided to pour out a very large container of small beads (beads are much harder to clean up than chips.) Picture me in slow motion pleading, "nooooooooooo" while lunging across the kitchen toward the beads, which were already going everywhere. EVERYWHERE. There was no stopping the damage.

And FYI, Owen thought the whole spectacle was pretty hilarious.

So I did the only thing I could do, I made a pot of coffee, poured myself a cup and then sent as many children as possible outside so that I could catch my breath again.

Then, and I kid you not, I found a Lego in my coffee. A LEGO, people. IN my coffee.



However, soon after the lego in my coffee incident, suddenly, and without warning, all of the children were happily occupied. It was, dare I say.... quiet and serene.

So here I am, venting blogging, sitting on the back deck, enjoying the warm breeze, and this is my view:



Colin, Finn and Everett are quietly beading.

Owen is for the moment, happily playing by the sandbox.

And Carter, is asleep on the couch.



AHHHHHH...... 

Deep Breath......... 

Re-calibrate.... 

Feel the breeze and the beautiful warm air....... 

Remember that Chris will be home shortly.....

Breathe..... 

Breathe..... 

Breathe.....

No doubt things will get crazytown again, but not in this moment. Not right now.

I hope that you too, find little moments to catch your breath, amongst all the busy, and enjoy your weekend!

Thank God for beads! They can make a huge mess (if a certain toddler spills them), but they also keep kids happy and occupied!

How far you've come, my babies

So here's the deal. I realized that I have A LOT of posts that were written but for whatever reason, never published. I'm pretty sure that I got distracted by the kids and forgot. So I thought, in the spirit of "Throwback Thursday", that I would actually hit, "publish" on some of these. Each Thursday, if I can remember :), I'm going to publish a post that I wrote sometime in the past.

This post, was written late last fall and I happened upon it today in my draft folder. I saw the title and thought, "Hmmm, wonder what this is about." It's timely for me to stumble upon it, because the triplets will TURN FOUR ON SUNDAY! I'm feeling all kinds of sentimental this week! 

..............................................................................

Carter, Finley, Everett, Owen and I stayed in our pajamas most of the day today, right up until it was time to pick Colin up from school. It was awesome!

Usually, we do something on Tuesdays, either out and about in the community or meeting up with friends. But today, we decided to stay put and it was so refreshing. We played, we did finger painting, beading, play-doh, coloring, reading and watched some episodes of Inspector Gadget while eating grapes and mini pizzas. I'm so happy that we chose not to send the trips to school this year and can enjoy days like these. For our family and our situation, getting this extra time with them before they start formal school was the right decision.

Still......Some days??

Some days I feel so overwhelmed by the immensity of raising these little people! I love them more than anything, and also..... they drive me bonkers sometimes. Sometimes, I feel so overstimulated by the noise, the toys everywhere, the constant truck and construction sounds they make while playing, the fighting, the whining, the crawling all over me......

It can all feel so hard. 

Then last night, long after the boys had finally fallen asleep, I was rummaging through a desk drawer looking for, of all random things, a bookmark. Instead, I stumbled upon this photo:

It's the first ultrasound we had of the triplets, when we learned, to our shock, that we were expecting triplets.

The picture stopped me in my tracks and I stood there thinking,

"That's Carter, Everett and Finn. That's Carter, Everett and Finn!" It seems so funny and amazing that it's actually THEM in there. Because at the time, of course, we never could have pictured who they would be, their funny, unique personalities, lively spirits and amazing laughs. 

At the time of this ultrasound I was in shock and worried. I wondered, "Would they be okay? How premature would they be? Would they be healthy? Would Colin be okay with three babies joining our family at once? Would we be able to handle three babies arriving at once??" There was so much unknown and so much to worry about, it seemed. 

I wish I could go back to this ultrasound day and tell the me laying on that table wide eyed and scared that, "This is going to be so fine. One day these little blips on that screen are going to be healthy, loud, independence seeking, non-stop talking, whining, active three and a half year olds. They along with their brothers, will be driving you bonkers with construction noises and exuberant play, on a daily basis." That would have been music to my ears. It still is really.... I just forget sometimes how far we've come together.

I think God knew I needed that reminder last night. 

Thoughts on Blogging and Our Week in Review

This post was written on Saturday but in the midst of life, I didn't have a chance to hit the publish button until now :) 

I've been struggling a little with this blog lately. There are weeks that I want to recommit to writing more regularly and then there are times when I think about closing this chapter and shutting the blog down completely. The "keep writing" part of me is the part that loves to write and document pieces of our life in this way. But it used to be easier, both the finding the time to write and the what to write about parts.

The boys are getting older and there are no more times when everyone is napping and no more super early bedtimes. Those used to be the times when I'd get on my computer and blog away. The boys are up and active as ever, morning until night. They eat more. This means that I'm cooking more, which takes up a lot of time (at least for me, I'm not the fasted cook in the world). Most evenings, you can find me cooking in our kitchen, preparing for the next days inhale of food. I refuse to feed my family crap and in turn, meal planning and prep takes time. Time I used to spend blogging.

Also there seems to be SO MUCH going on day to day. There's so much good, so much busy, and yes, there is still so much that's challenging about parenting five young children. Teasing out what to put on paper (err, computer) seems overwhelming at times, especially when I'm not writing regularly.

And then there's this. Those times when I consider closing this chapter in our lives stems from the fact that our boys are getting older, and as they get older I become less comfortable putting their stories and pictures on the Internet. The boys might grow up and appreciate the fact that I've blogged parts of their lives and stories here. They may enjoy reading it. That's my hope. Or, and this is my fear, they might grow up and resent it. I'm trying to find a balance between not putting too much out there (in all forms of social media), yet wanting to document our days together. I'm trying to balance wanting to write honestly from my heart about my experience of motherhood (the good and the hard) but at the same time, not putting too much out there in this medium. I'll always write but which outlet is best at this point in my life, I'm not sure. I am not a mom who is great about creating baby books or even hanging pictures. Only my oldest has a semi thrown together baby book. So blogging works well for me as a way to capture our days. And when I look back over posts, I personally enjoy remembering days spent together, days that I'd almost forgotten. But it's not about only me and in turn, I'm thinking through where to go with this blog.

Bear with me as I sort through my thoughts about this.....

In the meantime, here is our week in review!

I mentioned in a previous post, that we do not have as much help with the boys anymore. In fact, I think that we have the least amount of help we've had since the triplets were very young. We still have our nanny and she's like family to us by now and phenomenal with the boys, so we're so thankful that we were able to work out a schedule that keeps her in our life and yet fits with the level of help we need right now.

Being able to parent my boys without help has given me renewed confidence and enjoyment in parenting. There was a period of time when the triplets were younger, I was pregnant with Owen and Colin was no more than 3 or 4, where felt impossible (and unsafe) to go anywhere with my children alone. That was hard and again, thank God we found wonderful help to get us through. But we're through that period now and on the other side! I can take all of the boys to drop Colin at school and then the triplets, Owen and I can go have adventures and then pick Colin up again at the end of the day, all together. The triplets can now follow directions, put on their own shoes, and almost buckle themselves into their car seats. When we're out, they stay by me. They can tell me with words how they're feeling and what they need. This all makes life a lot easier!

The boys started soccer this past week! Chris is the coach and on a six kid team, we take up four of the slots!

Colin in the red pants, Everett to the right, then Carter

Finn decided to watch, this time. Owen, reluctantly watched, but wanted to play in the worst way!

Finn, Carter and Everett attended Nature School on Thursday morning. It's a once a month program put on by our local nature center. I decided not to send the boys to preschool this year so it's nice to have these little school type experiences every now and again. They loved it!

 Art, art, art!

The triplets love doing artwork and so we do a lot of it these days. As soon as Owen goes down for nap, the art supplies come out and they create, create, create for hours. It's becoming one of my favorite times of the day.

And today, kind of on a whim, we headed up to Grand Rapids to check out the West Michigan RV outlet show. Basically, lots and lots of RVs, pop-ups and Motor Homes were lined up and ready to be viewed. The boys thought it was so fun to run from camper to camper checking them out. "Let's get this one!" they'd say, after every single one. We'd love to buy a camper so it's fun to see what's out there and dream about adventures we'll have together camping as a family. Hopefully someday!

Afterwards, we hit up Potbelly's. Yummmmm.

Goodbye cribs, hello big boy beds!

The boys received a letter today which arrived all the way from the North Pole. It was from Santa and apparently Santa has a few big gifts that he can't haul all the way to Mom-mom and Pop-pop's house for Christmas (aka, not all the gifts will fit in our minivan!).

So tonight the boys left out snack for Santa and his Reindeer and they are SO excited to see what Santa brings.

I'm excited too because I know how thrilled the triplets will be when they see three BIG BOY BEDS under the tree. From the first time someone asked them what they wanted for Christmas, they've always all said, "I want a big boy bed like Colin." It surprised Chris and I when we heard that because we hadn't ever discussed it with them. But it had obviously been on their mind! I think they are going to freak out with excitement!

Tonight amongst the busyness of bedtime, I almost, almost forgot that tonight will be the triplets LAST night in their cribs. When I realized this, I had a little twinge of sadness (and ran to get my camera!). My teeny little babies are growing up and it's happening so fast.

But that's part of the deal right? New exciting milestones means we must also say goodbye to stages past.

So, goodbye cribs

Finn, little does he know what awaits him in the morning :)

And Owen, Merry Christmas to you too! You get a BRAND NEW CRIB! Your pick :)

Just what you wanted, right?!

(Owen, who is almost 7 months doesn't have a crib yet. I refused to buy a fourth crib, I mean seriously! So he sleeps with us and seems perfectly happy with that but he'll need a crib eventually!)

Clan of brothers

Well... I wrote this post a few weeks ago and thought I posted it. Turns out I didn't! So here it is.... and it still makes me smile thinking back on that sweet afternoon watching the boys play. :)

Today, when were all playing on the floor in the playroom I decided to lay Owen on his tummy with the support of his Boppy pillow (you know, to get in that tummy time and also so that he could watch his brothers from a new vantage point). It was the first time he'd used the Boppy pillow in that way.

As soon as I put him down he was surrounded by his brothers!

Brothers wanting nothing more than to be a part of his experience.

They smiled at him, brought him toys, stared into his eyes,

and even dangled their stinky feet in his face in case he wanted a sniff. {BOYS!!}

Actually, I think Carter wanted to show him how dirty his feet were. 

Owen seemed to love it all though. He was thoroughly entertained!

I love how they *love* Owen and how they embraced him into their little clan from the start. I realized watching them, that Owen will always have this. He'll always have big brothers looking out for him and that makes me happy. It makes me happy for all of them, that they have each other.

Although it can be exhausting day to day, moments like these remind me of the positive aspects to having triplets and children close in age. It's like having built in best friends for life!

"Want this toy? How about this toy? Or this toy?" and on and on....

Go big or go home!

 I recently took Everett for allergy testing. He was so brave! I'm glad that we finally have specific information about what he's allergic to so we can help him feel better. That night I was thinking about what a great kid he is and remembered that I'd written this post for him back in January but had forgotten to hit, "post". So I'll post it now. 

Love this kid.

Our smiley guy

Dear Everett,

I walked by your door tonight, a full hour and a half past your bedtime and heard you whimpering on and off. You weren't demanding to be attended to, but it sounded like you couldn't get comfortable or fall asleep. It's not really your style to scream for help at night.

I couldn't help myself. I opened the door and crept past your brothers who were fast asleep (they scream for help if not!), and sat next to your crib. I could barely see the white of your eyes in the dark but I knew you were watching me. I slipped my hand through the bars and you grabbed hold. Tightly. "I'll sit with you," I whispered.

Everett, you are such a loving boy. You make the people around you feel so good. You have a great, big, outrageous laugh that in turn make us all laugh and fill with joy. You pause to give great big hugs in the middle of building towers and racing cars, as if to say, "Just because."

You like to sneak up behind me when I'm sitting on the floor, throw your arms wildly around my neck and start laughing (as if I won't know who it is).

But I know it's you. I'll always know your hugs and I'll always know your laugh. There's no mistaking either.

There's an intensity about you. "Go big or go home!" could be your motto. You're unafraid so much of the time. You march into Sunday school as if you own the place, casually waving 'goodbye' to us. You warm up to new people the fastest. You try whatever you see big brother Colin doing even if we think you're too little.... and you often succeed at whatever you're attempting! You are determined. If you don't want to wear a coat, well then, good luck to anyone trying to get a coat on you! If you want the apple up on the kitchen counter, well then, you WILL find a way to climb up there and get it. And you'll probably leave a trail.

You love big. Big laugh, big heart, big hugs. We are so lucky to get to experience you as a son and tonight as I sit holding your hand through the crib bar, watching you slowly drift off to sleep, it's all I can think about.

I love being your mom.

Everett on Colin's bike last weekend. My 5 lb. baby looks so big in this picture.

Beaches and Bones

Summer is officially here! 

We basically spent the whole day at the beach.

We tried out a "new" beach this morning, one that is about a 10 minute drive up the lake and even less crowded. There were only two other families on the whole beach. We enjoyed ourselves so much (well, except for one minor snafu that I'll describe in a moment), that after naps, we headed right back out to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. 

These sort of beach days remind me of what drew us to Holland, MI. In the dead of winter it was getting hard to remember, but I remember now. Amongst other reasons to settle here, we liked the idea of living near the beach. 

I took this picture this morning, just before "the incident".

Lovely, right?

While I was nursing Owen and therefore a little tied down, I noticed Finn walk to the side of our blanket and pick up something that he was calling a stick. 

"Look Mommy, a stick."

Only, I immediately realized that it was NOT a stick. It was a bone. A rather large, probably deer, bone. It was in a pile of bones. And suddenly I realized that the smell I'd smelled when we'd laid our blanket down, wasn't just a random bad scent (Having five boys, four in diapers, I dismiss a lot of random scents). This time however, the smell wasn't coming from us. Nope, it was a rotting carcass. Basically, we'd set up camp right next to a rotting carcass with a pile of very large bones, that my sweet curious Finn had just picked up. How I didn't notice this when we arrived, I'm not sure.

"OH MY GOD! No! NOOOO! Put that down! Finn, PUT THAT DOWN!!"

Unfortunately, this has the opposite effect that I'm going for. Instead of deterring them, my words just peak everybody's interest. I could see the others starting to run over and all I could picture was them all picking up bones, or worse, diving into the bone pile. Seriously, it could happen.

Thank God our nanny, Jordyn was with me and has lighting quick reflexes. She pried the bone out of Finley's hands and blocked the others from getting into it all.

We tried wiping Finn's hands with baby wipes but the smell was just not coming off. It was disgusting. All I could envision was him putting his fingers in his mouth. OMG.

So although we'd made quite an effort to get down to the beach, we packed up our stuff and left.

I washed every, single, thing that even touched that beach. Including myself and the boys.

But we weren't deterred that much. Apparently it takes a lot more than a rotting carcass to keep us away from the beach on a bright, sunny day!

Because after naps, we headed back to the beach that's closer to our house.

Beach bound! That's one choo-choo wagon and one double stroller and a bag full of shovels and buckets.

Ahhhhhh..... summer. Soak it up!

"Are those ALL your kids?"

Today was the official opening of the Farmer's Market. We were SO excited!!! Love love LOVE the Farmer's Market.

Jordyn, who helps me with the boys, and I loaded up the kiddos and headed there this morning. We took two double strollers.

And here are just a few of the questions we got during the approximately 45 minutes we were there:

"Are those ALL your kids?"

"Are you running a daycare?"

"Those aren't ALL your kids are they?"

"And you're having another?!"

"Is this next one multiples too?!"

"Aren't triplets rare??"

"Are they quads?"

And overheard by people not whispering very well:

"She has TWO sets of twins and look, another on the way! Omg!"

Seriously people! I know you mean well, but some of these questions and the way that they are asked, come off a little rude.

When out and about, we've always heard questions like the above... and sometimes even more personal ones- from complete strangers. Especially when we'd go out with the choo-choo wagon. In a way, we've gotten used to it but still, I'd thought that this summer might be different because the boys are older and besides, today we took two strollers, instead of the choo-choo wagon.

Again, I know people mean well and are just curious but making flippant remarks about me "Sure having my hands full!" or saying "Better you than me!" or even asking highly personal questions about how my children were conceived, especially IN FRONT OF MY CHILDREN is not cool. They're getting older and they hear you. They don't think our family is unusual at all as this is all they know. I usually laugh the comments off but sometimes I'm tempted to give a real inappropriate answer that would shut people up quickly. I wish I had the guts.

I remember once being at the park when the triplets were still babies, when an older woman quietly leaned over to me and asked, "Are those triplets? And you have a toddler too?" 

Oh boy, I'd thought. What inappropriate question/ comment is she going to say next? (because there usually was one)

But all she said was, "What a blessing"

I've never forgotten that comment. Because she got it.

She got it right. Our boys are each a blessing. The end.

The boys, tonight, rockin' their new haircuts!

Left to right, Everett, Carter, Colin and Finn

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!

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.

Grateful in the midst of busy days

In the busyness of life this past week, I didn't even realize that the original date I went into labor with the triplets had come and gone. Yet I still think about that night. Frequently. Last year I wrote about it here. That night was so scary for us and physically painful- for one, the medicine they gave me made my skin feel on fire, and yet those meds worked. By the grace of God, our triplets weren't born that night and held on five more weeks even.

I never thought I'd say this, but there's something about that period of time when I was on hospital bed rest and then home bed rest that I miss. Life slowed wayyyyyy down and everything that mattered was so crystal clear. My only to-do list each day was to spend time with Colin and try and keep the triplets in another day. I spent a lot of time with my family, who brought home cooked meals to the hospital almost every night. We'd sit and talk for hours and they'd encourage me. Chris would rub my back each night as I tried to get comfortable. Sometimes Chris would stay overnight and we'd watch the city lights, always commenting on how the hospital room had arguably one of the best views in the city, like a trendy hotel that we'd never afford, and yet there we were. Amidst a very uncertain time, there was so much love and beautiful memories were made.

What I remember most about that time though was how painful it was to be apart from Colin. He'd come to visit each day but my heart just ached to be home with him. The other thing I remember is how our families and friends immediately stepped up to fill in however needed. Warm meals, caring for Colin, just being there. 

Life is so busy lately. We're fighting colds, constantly making runs to the grocery store, making meals, playing, tripping over toys, cleaning up toys, kissing boo- boos, washing cloth diapers, negotiating fights over toys, planning a four year old birthday..... sometimes it's hard to slow down, and yet in the midst of all this I acknowledge that my children are healthy (okay, not right now per se.... they all have this darn cold!) but they are healthy. They are happy. I don't take this for granted. Just last week, I heard about triplets near my hometown born very early and one didn't survive. My heart absolutely breaks for that family.

Our triplets have come so far since their birth day.

For one, they are such little talkers now! It always amazes me how fast language starts to expand and before you know it new words are exploding everyday. Yesterday, Finn ran up to me as I was sneaking a granola bar for myself and announced, "Mommy, I'm hungry!" I thought to myself, "Since when are you talking in sentences?!?"

They're really not babies anymore and yet when I'm holding them, my mind still often wanders to those afternoons in the nicu, holding them against my chest, skin to skin, rocking to the hum of the monitors and praying that they'd be okay. Longing to just to take them home.

And now they're almost two. How blessed we are to experience this next developmental phase with them. They are full of energy, mischief, ideas they want to express and an emerging desire for independence. It's not always easy to navigate but I give such thanks for all of it!

The Mom Stays In the Picture...at the Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon we took the boys to Cranes in Fennville, MI. It was our first time and we really enjoyed ourselves!

Here comes the tractor to pick us up for a hayride!

Ready...

1, 2, 3 nobody look at the camera! 

Actually this picture made me laugh because I can imagine just what each one of them was thinking. Everett is already planning what kind of shenanigans he can get into along this ride (turns out he finds many ways). Finn, is taking it all in and maybe remembering a book about tractors that we've read together. He is a thinker! Colin is SO excited! Carter is skeptical but finds Colin's enthusiasm intriguing.  

Family pic! Once again, on the count of three..... nobody look at the camera!

Go time!

Colin said, "This is SO amazing!" 

Carter, on the other hand, doesn't look convinced yet.

We rode through the apple orchards and then through the woods. The trees were absolutely beautiful and reminded me why I love fall in Michigan.

Next up, the cow train. Also really fun... and really bumpy. Colin loved it though!

 After riding the rides, we went across the street to pick our pumpkins. As it turns out, the wheelbarrow they give you for collecting pumpkins is also a perfect toddler-mobile. 

On the hunt!

It was a special day. In truth I spent much of this weekend writing a paper for my Neuroscience class. Blah! But come 2 p.m. on Sunday, nothing could stop me from our family trip to the pumpkin patch. There is nothing better than having fun with your children and seeing their faces light up during these adventures. Colin was remembering last year when we did something similar outside Chicago, so for him it's becoming a tradition. For the triplets, this was all new for them as their little brains don't remember our wild adventure last year :) Watching them run around the pumpkin patch pointing to pumpkins and calling them "apples!" (their new favorite snack!) was so fun.

And here's a self taken pic of me in the pumpkin patch:

Did you read this mom's story? 

The Mom Stays in the Picture by Allison Tate.

I did and I nodded in full agreement. I saw a lot of myself in her, as apparently so many other mom's did too! I've always been more comfortable behind the camera and since starting this blog I've realized that I mostly take pictures of my children and husband without me in the frame. I'm vowing to get in the picture more even if I'm not as thin as I once was and most days feel anything but camera ready. I want my boys to see me in this blog too. 

The everyday me.

Their mama.