6.29.11 ~ Birthday trip to the zoo!

The last year has really flown by and we've enjoyed watching the girls grow up so much in such a short time. They are running and jumping all over the place. They speak in short phrases now and are learning a ton. They can count to 10, recognize a few colors, recognize circles and squares, say their first and last names, and they know the square root of 64 :)  You might recognize the tune from the ABC song, but most of the letters are missing still. They love to sing and dance. They make me laugh everyday. Happy Birthday, girls! We love you so much!

For the girls' birthday we took a trip to the Woodland Park Zoo. The girls had never been to the zoo and it had been years since Dan and I went. Both Grandmas and Auntie Chelsea joined us for the fun. The weather was a bit cloudy, but it didn't rain and we got to see most of the animals. Just missed the zebras and hippos I think. The girls walked most of the time and had a wonderful time. Brelynn kept talking about watching an elephant poop for days! 

pondering life...

Camille and Grandma Ray

Dan with Avery and Camille

night night!

Sloth Bear

looking for penguins

Getting them into boating early

fishy!

please can I hold a penguin???

Camille with Grandma Coulson in the reflection

Avery and Auntie

6.25.11 ~ Birthday Party Fun!

We celebrated the girls' second birthday Saturday with a family party at our house. The weather turned out to be beautiful and we were able to enjoy the backyard that Dan's been working so hard on. The girls loved seeing family and eating a yummy dinner. They helped us sing 'Happy Birthday' and loved the attention. Camille didn't like the candle, but once that thing was out she had a great time eating her cupcake! As usual, they were spoiled rotten by everyone and have been enjoying new doll houses, tea sets, clothes, and lots of other toys. Dan and I got them their first bike-like toys. We got a balance bike (like a bike but no pedals), a plasma car (we call it a wiggle bike, you turn the steering wheel and it goes forward), and a quad like push car (like a bike with 4 wheels and no pedals). They're starting to get the hang of them and will be loving them in no time. Here are some pictures of the day...

Princess Camille

Princess Avery

Princess Brelynn

Happy Birthday!

cupcakes

Avery chowing down

Camille...look, no hands!

Brelynn going for it

Making crepes for breakfast

Avery with the wiggle bike

Brelynn on the balance bike

Camille on the radio flyer

6.17.11 ~ The Plague...

So day two of potty training didn't happen. After each girl went pee in the potty Wednesday I put them down for naps. I wasn't feeling great so I laid down to rest for a bit. I figured it was just the stress of trying to get them to use the potty coupled with the fact that I didn't eat and drank a lot of coffee that morning. When I went in to get the girls up from naps I found that Camille had thrown up all over herself and her crib. After a quick bath they seemed okay...for a bit. Then came The Plague. Camille threw up two more times before Dan could rush home from work and not five minutes after he got home I started in. Avery joined in the fun a few hours later. Luckily, Brelynn was spared most of the Plague with just one round of vomiting paired with about four days of diarrhea. By Thursday we were all feeling wimpy but better. Thursday night Dan was infected with a Super Plague that almost ended him up in the ER due to dehydration. Friday we're all a bit better but feeling weak and tired. Please pray this stops and we don't get anything like this ever again. Ever.

6.15.11 ~ Iron Bladder

When Dan and I were dating and newly married we took a lot of road trips. He would have to stop all the time to use the restroom while I didn't. He gave me the nickname of "Brenda Iron Bladder" on one of these trips. It's our little joke whenever we take a trip now. Well, the last three or four days the girls (really just Avery and Camille) have been taking off their clothes AND diapers sometimes during naps, quiet time, and at night. I finally had enough of it yesterday and decided that if they wanted to be naked then they could be naked until bedtime last night. I gated off the house and kept them on the hardwood section so at least I wouldn't have to clean up messes on carpet. And I had potty chairs available if they wanted to go. We had one success in the potty (Camille), three accidents on the floor (Camille x1 and Avery x2), and one little Brelynn that just held it in all evening. That should have been a warning to me about her willpower and bladder control. Should have...

Today I decided to strip them down naked as soon as they got up in the morning and keep them that way until they peed in the potty just once. Then we would make a big deal about going potty with rewards and big girl panties (plus a pull up) and then go about our day. That shouldn't take too long, right? Pump them full of liquids and sit on the potty every 20-30 minutes or so until they go. Sounds easy enough. Sigh. That's not how it all went down.

The girls got up about 8:15 and got naked. They played and sat on the potty every 20-30 minutes and drank like camels, but no peeing. Not on the floor or in the potty. I could see their little tummies getting bigger and bigger and they seemed uncomfortable by about 9:45. We had breakfast on the potties. We had lunch on the potties. Finally at 11:15 Avery gave in and peed on the potty! Success! Jelly beans and big girl panties and lots of praise. She was off to play. Camille gave in at 12:10 on the potty and it was the same story. Good job! Ok, now on to Brelynn. AKA "Brelynn Iron Bladder". I tried everything. Avery and Camille were upstairs in bed asleep napping by 1:00 but Miss Iron Bladder and I were just hanging out in the kitchen on the potty. I tried running water, I tried pouring warm water on her belly and into the potty, I tried bribing, I begged. I even offered to let her pee on the towel beside the potty and then I was going to move her to the potty once she started. No luck. We'd been at it so long I knew she had to go soon and I didn't want to give up so close to the end. Finally I resorted to the bathtub. She could stand and pee in the tub and then I'd move her to the potty (also in the tub). After a few minutes this finally worked and she got a little pee in the potty. Whew, success at 1:20. That's FIVE HOURS that she held it in. Poor thing! We called Daddy at work to share the good news. Maybe, just maybe, it will only take four hours next time. I need a nap!

6.14.11 ~ Click

You know that movie "Click" with Adam Sandler? I don't remember the details, but in a nutshell he's a business man, husband, and father to a few kids. One day, somehow he is given a magic remote control to control his life. He can pause moments, rewind, and fast forward through parts. Why in the world am I thinking of this? Well, I want a magic remote control to fast forward through some parts of our day/week/year. Of course, I'd use it to pause some of the fun times like giggles and sister hugs. I could rewind and redo scenes when I get upset or yell and instead show the girls grace and patience. But mostly I'd fast forward. Some days I'd fast forward to 6:20 pm when Dan gets home and we get to play and snuggle and read books with the girls and then put them to bed. I'd fast forward through the next few days until the cold that all the girls have has passed and they aren't so cranky anymore. I'd skip this phase of taking off all their clothes and diapers during naps and bedtime. I'd definitely fast forward through potty training. And all their tantrums. And puke. Sounds tempting, right? But then I think about how I'd miss out on the hugs and snuggles the girls need when they get hurt or the pride I'm gonna feel when I can proudly announce that I potty trained triplets. Maybe, like in the movie, if I had that remote control I'd end up regretting using it because I would have missed out on so many great times. Maybe. But at least I could still fast forward through puke and that might just make it all worthwhile.

5.29.11 ~ 23 months

Another month down and only one to go until the girls turn two. It's hard to imagine them as kids and not babies anymore although their newfound independence is pointing out the obvious. They aren't babies. They are big girls. And they will do things without any help from Mommy or Daddy. They have perfected their tantrums and aren't afraid to pull one out if we get in the way. Oh, and naps...well, if Daddy's watching them they could take a 2-3 hour nap. But for Mommy...nah, I think we'll stay up. I'd say it's because I'm more exciting, but we all know that isn't true.

What's new with the girls this month? They can sing "A-B-C-B-B-B-B" and can sometimes count to ten. They answer questions now about things that are more abstract, like "what does a doggie eat?" "A bone!" and are using longer sentences. This week one of them said, "I go outside?" and another said, "Mama, uh oh...Brelynn no no!" to tattle on Brelynn who was throwing food on the floor. They know their first names and their last names sometimes. Camille thinks she's the mommy and will yell at the other girls (not sure where she learned this, wink wink), "Awy...no no!" and "Bibi...no!" They are asking to sit on the potty a little more and Brelynn especially has had a few successes. They can put on their pants sometimes, usually they get both legs in one pant leg. They can put on shoes and hats and like playing dress up. Play continues to be imaginative with some prompting and they'll have simple tea parties with each other and their babies and animals. The weather has been downright awful here with rain and cold temperatures most days, but we try to get outside as much as possible and blow bubbles, draw with chalk, go to parks, and just run around the block a bit.

This part is more for me to remember and for my SLP friends out there...The last few months Avery (and then the other two copy her a bit) has been making sounds by blowing air out her nose if she didn't know the sound. Primarily /sh/ and /ch/ sounds. Luckily, my training in craniofacial and VPI clinics gave me the experience to recognize what she was doing and correct it. After a week of prompting her to 'make the sound come out your mouth' she's dramatically better already. And the other girls think it's fun to make mouth sounds so they are following right along. Whew. I'd hate to have to take my girls to speech therapy already!

5.14.11 ~ Northwest Trek

We ventured to Northwest Trek and the girls had a fun time looking at all the animals and riding the tram.