18 Months!

We had their 18-month well visit appointment today, and the numbers are in:

Abby
Length: 34 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 25 lbs 3 ozs (65th percentile)

Marie
Length: 32 1/4 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs 1 oz (35th percentile)

Will
Length: 33 1/4 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs 12 ozs (25th percentile)

They got a few shots, and we were on our way. They cried, but only briefly, and they were super excited about their band-aids!

The doctor said we can start "time outs," and we can begin potty training. If we put them in time out, they would look at us like we were crazy. I don't think they have any clue about that, but I guess we can start.

As for the potty training, I think Marie is close to being ready. She takes off her own diaper, and she'll say "pee-pee" right before she goes. Then, she pees on the floor. That's happened several times. I guess we should learn to quickly usher her to the potty. Looks like we are going to need some little potty chairs soon!

Abby will tell us immediately after she has pooped because she doesn't like her "ca-cas" lurking in her diapers. Will is giving no signs whatsoever that he may even be close to being ready. They say boys are a little slower to catch on. Looks like he will be.

1/2 Monkey 1/2 Baby

Our kids have started the crazy climbing stage. Is that a stage? I don't know, but I've heard other people talk about when their kids started climbing, and it's now our turn.

Will has to be the worst (or best, depending on how you look at it) at climbing. He can scale the changing table in seconds. He'll get up to the top, and hang off the edge to turn the light switch on and off. Of course, the girls see them, and they also want to climb up to the top. The changing table was probably not designed to have 3 toddlers climbing it simultaneously. We are just waiting for a disaster. I think we'll probably move it out of the room or secure it to the wall.

I'm afraid that the next thing that will happen will be jumping out of cribs. I'm terrified to hear their little footsteps upstairs as we eat dinner downstairs one evening.

They really are beginning to understand that as a team, they can cause a lot more trouble than apart. A few weeks ago, they all shook one of our gates so hard, they ripped it off the hinges. Of course, they thought that was an amazing feat.


Here they are sitting on the couch like big girls and boy.

Our rock climbing wall/changing table. Are we bad parents for taking picture of this instead of removing them from the table? Hmmm.

They are still all amazed by their belly buttons, or "bee-bees," as they like to call them.

These little shopping carts are their latest "push toy," but they seem to think they are strollers.

On a rainy day, nothing beats the bounce house blown up in the play room.

Our Fall Photo Shoot

I started this post in November, but never finished so here it is....

A friend of Billy's (T.J. Hart) is getting his family photography business started. He has been doing real estate photography, but he decided he wanted to include some real people in his portfolio. He took some nice pictures of our family to showcase on his website. We were thrilled with the results...check them out below. The first few are the big shots, but they are so humongous that I had to compress the others to be able to put them up. I wanted to make sure I was able to post as many as possible, and I kept getting errors messages with the larger files.

T.J. will come to your house (or wherever you want) to do your pictures. This is essential for our family. He totally worked around our schedule, and by some miracle, he was able to get several good shots. If you are interested in using him, here is a link to his site: http://www.hartografie.com/.

Marie is on the mend

Miss Marie is recovering well from her illness. She's still coughing some, but it's not the tight, constant cough from late last week. She's happy and playful and sweet, and I couldn't be happier. We are trying to break her of the one bad habit she picked up during this illness--sleeping in our bed.

I wanted to keep her close to monitor her breathing. Therefore, I had been putting her to sleep with us. I guess she figured our room was her new sleeping spot because whenever I tried to put her in her room, she cried bloody murder. The second I would cross the threshold to our bedroom, she would get quiet and put her thumb in her mouth.

We sent her off to Papa's house last night to see if we could break the routine, and I think it worked. She is now soundly sleeping in her room, but not in her crib. Her and Will have gotten into crib swapping for some reason. They always want to be in the other baby's crib, and it's fine by me, as long as they go to sleep and stay down.

Abby and Will now have horrendous diaper rash from the terrible diarrhea they picked up as a result of the antibiotics they were on. Abby's is so bad, it's bloody in some places. Nasty. I hate changing their diapers because they get so sad.

Last night, Abby started crying around 11, and when Billy went to check on her, he discovered horrendous poopies. Funny side story, when I ask them if they have "cacas" (poops), they point to their diapers and say, "puppies." That's their word for poopies.

Anyway, Billy changed Abby, and she was so upset, she needed a bottle and our bed to calm down. As soon as we got her settled down, Will started crying, and Billy went to see what was going on with him. Puppies! Yes, he also had a huge load in his pants, and his little nuts were just raw from the diaper rash. Poor little man.

We stopped the antibiotics today, and we've been loading them up with anti fungal butt cream, as well as probiotics in their yogurt. I don't know how long it will take for their hineys to recover. So sad.

Cold/Flu Season....Here We Go Again

I guess it's that time of the year when I start blogging about the various illnesses that are taking over our household. How exciting!

Last weekend, Will and Abby were in super pitiful shape. They had congestion, coughing, fevers, etc. When they started having trouble breathing, we were off to the e.r. Will had an ear infection, and Abby had two! They both had really red, irritated throats as well. The doctor said they had flu-like symptoms but didn't test for anything.

Poor little Willers. Isn't he cute in his little hospital kimono thingy?
Abbers was in misery.

Marie was are only well child, and she was sent off to party like a singleton all weekend to avoid the germs and clinginess of the other two. She hit Marmie's house two nights in a row and spent all day Sunday at my dad's. She was loving all the "only baby" attention she was getting. However, her condition soon turned ugly.

She went to the doctor's office today and was diagnosed with RSV. That's probably what all of them had, but the doctor didn't test in the e.r. Marie can barely take a breath between all of her coughing. She's just so sad, and it makes me sad to just look at her. We are having to closely monitor her because if the medications they sent don't work their magic, she may end up with pneumonia. My poor Tiny. I spared her the humiliation of taking a picture of her in her current shape. I'll keep you posted on her recovery.

December All In One Post

Okay, so I'm behind on my posts, but I'm going to make up for December's lack of posting with a monster entry. I'll recap all the highlights and be ready to start the New Year back on track with at least 2 posts per week.

The pictures are not in chronological order. Sorry, but take what you can get, people.

Will is quite the caddy in the Wagners' back yard. Billy said he was enrolling him in the Wagner caddy school. Maybe he can caddy for his cousin, Drew, one day!

So, we got the kids these funny and super tacky Christmas outfits. They were velour with white fluffy trim. The girls' dresses also came with little capes a la little red riding hood. They were too cute.

Marie is modeling her dress while asking for more cookies. She's an eating machine.

Here is Will as the young Santa Claus.

Amidst the wrapping paper madness on Christmas morning! We started the day with Abby barfing several times starting at 5 a.m....all over me. Merry Christmas, Mommy! Somehow, she snapped out of it and made a big recovery. It was a Christmas miracle. We proceeded to run around Atlanta to make the family stops as we do all holidays. First, we hit Mems' for a late lunch, and after that, it was off to my dad's for the Cuban fare!

Will on Christmas morning using his new "Handy Manny" tools to put together some toys.

Abby smiling about her brand new giraffe workout bike. Her resolution for 2010 is to get more exercise.She's starting already...a bottle of whole milk and peddling away! Good times.

Alice gave each of my kids one of these little cars. She said she was the triplet's Oprah..."you get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car." Thanks, Aunt Alice! They love them. They don't know how to move around in them, but they sit in them and put snacks and drinks in the cup holder.

This is Rose's Princess Jeep. Marie and Abby also enjoyed it. We went to the Wagner's to play with everyone a couple of days after Christmas. Do you like Abby's pose? She's hilarious. We even took Winnie over to play with Alice's new lab, Max. They had a blast. Kibby had also rigged up hay rides for the kids. The Wagners come up with some crazy shit. He has a trailer that he filled with hay, attached it to his ATV, and then cruised around their 2+ acres hauling us all around.

This is not a great picture because of Abby's head, but Will's outfit is so cute, and this was the only picture I could find of him in it. Anyway, he's cooking at their brand new kitchen. Well, 2nd hand...thanks, Aunt Vivian and Cousin Rose!

Here is Marie relaxing with Winnie in her Christmas dress. This is such a lady-like pose.

Aunt Liane, Cooper and Carley passed down this bounce house. We blew it up in the play room one day when the kids were especially sad to cheer them up. Will was terrified of the noise, but Abby and Marie enjoyed it.

Marmie bought the babies a new house for Christmas. They love their little cozy cottage. Notice Abby climbing in through the back in the background. She much prefers that way in because Will typically guards the door and doesn't let the girls in.

Here are Abby and Will playing peek a boo through the house window.

They are really into phones. Marie especially is obsessed. This is the phone that goes in their little cottage, and she walks around holding it between her shoulder and ear (hands-free). She'll talk and talk and then say, "Bye-bye," and throw it on the floor. I can ask any of them, "Como se habla por telefono (how do you talk on the phone)?," and they immediately tilt their heads to the side to show how they hold the phone with their shoulders. Hmmm...do I do that?

This was when they first got the house. I love the way Abby and Marmie are laughing. Everyone is dressed up because we took them to get holiday pics taken, but it was a disaster! Marie cried the entire time, they rushed up, there was a long wait, and we got zero pictures out of the whole thing. Oh well.

We did our own photo shoot when we got home and Marmie got a good shot for her Christmas card.

They look like wild, caged animals! When Billy leaves for work, they all run up to the gate and pucker up. It's adorable to see them give kisses.

Here are the girls in their Christmas dresses.

Marie laughing about something once she got home...after she cried her eyes out the whole time we were at the portrait studio. Typical.

We saw Santa several times this month, but the results were about the same every time. Will and Abby were somewhat fascinated by him, but Marie freaked out. She wanted nothing to do with him.

Mems bought everyone new toothbrushes and this is Will in front of the mirror before brushing him teeth. He loves himself. Really, what's not to love?

Our nanny bathes them in the sink because our sink is really deep. They make a huge mess every time. Here is Abby briefly pausing from splashing to pose for the camera.

This was at Marmie's office Christmas party. It was a really nice event. We were glad to be invited, and the kids had a great time.

The month got off to a crazy start because I got a new job! It's a really great opportunity for me, and I'm enjoying doing something a little different. However, I'm still in that weird phase of trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing, and I think everyone I work with is trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing as well. I hate that part of a new job. I know it will just take a couple of months to get in the swing of things.

The new job had a direct correlation with my lack of posting because I work a flex schedule: 7:30-4. I've been pretty much exhausted since I started. Waking up before 6 a.m. regardless of how many times the babies got up in the night is wearing me out. We've had to work on Abby's sleep habits.....a lot. She is just tough to break. She wants to be in the bed with us, and she seems to have an uncanny knack for knowing exactly when we get in bed.

We had put her and Marie together in one room and kept Will separate, but we decided to bunk up Marie and Will instead and let Abby work on crying it out. Liane was in an uproar about this. She thinks babies should sleep in the bed if they want, drink teta milk whenever they want, etc. She said that Jason keeps trying to get her to wean, but she comes up with excuses every time. Here are some of her favorites: but it's her XX month birthday, it's the weekend...that's a happy time, we're on vacation, Cooper hit her today, she may be getting sick, etc. The list goes on and on. Everyone one of them ends with "it's so sad." How does she come up with this, and how does Jason stand it?

They went to church on Christmas Eve and sat next to a lady who was breastfeeding. Alice said that was like putting a beer in front of an alcoholic. Chloe flipped out screaming for "teta milk" and pounding on Liane's chest...in front of God and everyone.

We are also currently trying to wean the kids from bottles. Marie immediately took to drinking her milk from a sippy cup and decided she's a big girl now. The other two are struggling. I'm not really consistent about making them drink milk from their sippies. I usually start with the cups, and if they don't finish, they get a bottle with the last remaining ounces. I can't put them to bed hungry and risk them getting up. Judge me singleton parents...I don't care.

I was telling a friend the other day that I need a little button I can wear at all times that says, "I have triplets. That explains everything." There are just those days when I'm a mess, and I feel like I need to tell people why that is. I know the instant they found out the circumstances, they would understand it all.

Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for reading my blog, and please continue to follow our crazy new adventures in 2010!