Baby Triplets 1st Birthday

We took the babies and the girls to Boise to visit family for their 1st birthday. I felt a slight pang of guilt over that since our friends and neighbors have truly supported us daily in so many ways I wanted to celebrate with everyone! It was a huge triumph for us to make it to a year. Nate took it all in stride, like it was nothing at all to have 3 babies and two 4 year olds without willingly buttoning oneself into a straight jacket.

Someones gots bikes for their birthdays! Wil and Quinn test out their new wheels

Here are the 1 year old birthday stats: Quinn 95% for height and 22 pounds, James 75% for height and 22 pounds and Wilson bringing up the rear with a solid 80% for height. All are healthy and fat, Wilson is a pound less than the others.

Abilities: No one is walking yet, Quinn and James are close. Wil is just hanging out happy to scoot. I remind you that CC didn't walk til she was 19 months so he may be following her lead. Nathans Gramma Dorothy has a sister with a set of great grand-baby triplets born the same month as ours, crazy eh? So I check in with Dani every once in a while to see how we compare. My babies are tall butterballs with tons of hair, but all of hers are walking.

Bottle feeding. The babies prefer to eat on their own, I grab one or two of them a few times a day to feed and be close but they want to roll around and knock bottles more than have mom time

Holy cow this Quinn baby is as sweet and cheerful as  a flower

Nate and Quinn

Babies First Birthday!!!

Carrot Cake

Happy Birthday Babies, thank you for coming to our home, we are so blessed to have you

Words: Quinns first word was "bug".  She says dog, and answers various animal sound questions, what does a snake say, a dog, a kitty etc (woof and meow). Wil says Uh-oh. That seems about right for him, he barks and says dog too. No, we aren't getting one, I am allergic. Besides the obligatory Mama and Dada- James can say dirt and boy does he love it.

If you can imagine, James is a human wrecking ball hanging from a chain in my house. Swings once, BOOM there goes the computer, books, mouse, keyboard overturned, swings again (huge smile on his face) BOOM there goes the phone stand, phone books, phone etc, WEEEEE! BOOM, garbage can overturned and what looks good to chew? Total busybody.

The other day Quinn and James were playing in my room. James knocked over a lamp, it came down with a crash, made a huge ruckus.  I ran in to see what had happened. Quinny, stared up at me with her fat little finger stuck halfway down a tube of my favorite chapstick, frozen in mid dig and staring at me as if to say, "Mom, this is peanuts compared with what just James just did."
Help me, I am in for it now.

Have I played with you yet today? Sometimes, my home tasks become so repetitive -it takes so long to to prepare, feed, bathe, cleanup, and dress everyone I go into this robot mode. Towards the end of the day I find myself waking up from robot mode with a little free time and it is like I am seeing my children as children for the first time. Hello Wilson! Have you been played with yet today? James have we cuddled?
Sometimes, I feel like we could do the routine of- nap, change, eat, bottle, nap, change, eat, bottle all day without any time for play. What am I the keeper of an orphanage? Everyone! Line up beside your bed and let me see your fingernails! Where's my whistle?

Who wouldn't want a piece of this to play with

 It is so important for me break out of my task list to laugh with my kids, I know I need it just as much as they do!

Yes Sir!

I was so excited to get new pots this week I am going to write about it. I swear Hazel comes up with those doofball faces all on her own.

After thinking and thinking about what to do with my old pots, I chose to give them up to the kids for their big sandbox. As you can see they are just as excited about their new pots...

As I am about mine.

Oooooo Shiny

RESTO

Yes, we pulled it off

Going to a restaurant

With just us

And nobody had a freak out

Not even me.

Thousand Dollar Carrots

My family came into town a few weeks ago to celebrate my little brother marrying Mikell Brockbank in the Temple. Check out their pictures- they are a ridiculously handsome couple. www.gordongoodlife.blogspot.com

I have been waiting to post this so I can post pics too, but pictures or no pictures, I just need to get this off my chest. 

Our wonderful Grammy Pammy (N8s Mom) offered to drive down from Boise and watch the triplets so we could go to the pre wedding dinner (stay out late and not worry about the babies) and the sealing the next day (and not worry) it was so kind of her. That night, Haz and CC stayed with my sister Natalie at her hotel for some girl time. I haven't heard from Natalie since...

We had a wonderful time. My parents rented a room at a country club in Bountiful the night before the wedding (in LDS culture, we use the term wedding and sealing interchangeably if they are getting married in the Temple.) Mikells' family and friends and our family enjoyed a wonderful time getting to know each other and eating a fabulous dinner. My dad got out his guitar and sang a few songs- some in jest and some about love. I loved being with my sisters, they are some of my best buddies. (Mom, I knew you would appreciate hearing that.)

Do you know, I wonder if I have been able to converse since I have had children. I catch snippets of conversations in between chasing and wiping and I add my two cents but as to sitting down and burying myself in a good conversation, I give it about 4 more years maybe more. I am happy to wait. N8 is fond of saying, There is something about waiting that sharpens the senses.

As my dad was making out the cheque for dinner, Mikells' dad mentioned that all the leftovers would go to waste. Pans of buttery carrots, honeyed ham, turkey, stuffing, salad and fluffy cheesecake couldn't go to waste! So we grabbed some to go boxes and had them piled high with food. We felt like the proletarian, blue collar, wager earners we were, (sorry for the redundant-redundancies) walking out of an elegant country club with our ghetto doggy bags piled high.

I swear the triplets fed on those cut up carrots and ham for about six days. I totally didn't have to cook. What is even better, I didn't have to think of what to cook. I am happy to cook, I just get so tired of thinking up what to make for every meal. Thanks Dad!

Thanks Mikell for marrying Spence. We love you guys so much.
Reception was a blast, everyone loved the triplets in suits and dress. Temple was wonderful and we are especially grateful for Pam and her thoughtful grandma ways- there isn't even a Nordstrom down here anymore and she came anyway.

Grocery Store with Five 101

Sometimes, I am up for a challenge. Like taking five kids to the grocery store. Here is how we do it.

Two carts, one cart has two babies in their car seats, that takes up the whole cart. Hazel and CC push that cart and it goes behind me. I keep one hand on it to protect the delicate skin on my heels from getting nipped and to protect myself from having to buy a whole row of smashed pickles should the girls become distracted by anything too brightly colored. Hazel and CC think pushing the cart is all too funny and grown up, so they are happy to do it.

There is no time to read food labels, you can't stop to talk, you gotta know exactly what you want and keep moving. Fast, fast, speed is of the essence. At any moment someone will decide that are bored and start making trouble for everyone. That is the challenge.

I push the one baby cart in front of me and put the groceries in that cart. Like I said, sometimes I am up for an adventure. For some reason, I haven't been lately and I would like to get back to challenging myself. Maybe taking everyone to the library or a museum. Send me good thoughts that I will get my joy of motoring and adventuring back. Where did it go? Did it get taken? Who has it?

Heckling

I get a fair amont of heckling for driving a limo. It's totally understandable. I am always curious about who is in there when I see limos drive by.

My friend Becky and I drove the the park a few weeks ago and jaws dropped as we drove up. The parking lot was such that we did make a bit of a splash on arriving.  But no one is looking at me Becky, I am just the driver, everyone is looking at you! Parents turned to see who was in there. We started unloading, one baby, two baby, three baby, four babies (Becky's baby girl). That was shocking. Then four little girls laughing, hair streaming behind them, oblivious of the stares, hit the pavement, running legs and arms pumping for all they are worth, racing, not to be the last one on a swing.

Once, at the dollar store buying snacks, a lady yelled, You drive a limo and you're going to the dollar store?

Once, while getting pizza for the kids, a man yelled, Hey! Does the president want his pizza?! (He yelled it like an angry New Yorker, I felt like I was in a movie and I almost yelled, SHUT UP! in my best italian mobster accent brandishing my angry, flat hand in the air!

While getting gas, I usually end up in a conversation about the merits of driving a limo as our family car.  Men seem to think that it takes a lot of moxie for a gal to drive a car so long. Here is the rub, parking in a busy lot stinks. So I usually just drive up to the front of the store and park in front of the red line. Since no one wants to mess with whoever's inside the limo I have gotten away with it so far...

Jesus for Two Jelly Beans

We just watched General Conference. It happens twice a year. We watch it on TV or listen to it on the radio as we work on the garden or tidy house. Saturday and Sunday for 4 hours a day. 

 When I was a child, I dreaded it. My mom would be all excited and I would be bored to tears watching mostly bald, old men in glasses and dark suits, talk slow enough to put me out. Somehow though, I still found a testimony and now I look forward to the great mens teachings, something in me yearns to hear truths and values spoken allowed. I think as they speak, "yah, you're right! I can do better at that." Or as they teach, I feel in my heart that what they say is right, even though I'm doing it wrong. I then know what I need to work on to be a better person. Somehow though, for all my trying to be good, you would think I would be a little further along than I am! 

I don't require the girls to listen to all of it, a session is 2 hours long and that is plenty enough for their age group, I also let them color and play with paper dolls as we listen. This year, I thought of a simple way my girls could try to focus on listening to the prophets words. We bought a bag of jelly beans and I drew them a key. Any time they heard one of the words I had drawn they could take a jelly bean.

Green= Joseph Smith, President Monson (our current prophet) and anything about prophets

Yellow= Jesus Christ, the Savior, our Redeemer, any name for Jesus

Orange= Heavenly Father, God

Blue= Baptism, member, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the name of our church is worth 2 beans b/c of the Jesus Christ)

Red= Family, love or missionaries (we love you Hannah!!)

Pink= The Book of Mormon

It was way too easy for them. After 2 talks (about 20 mins) Hazel was tapping out. Mom, if I eat anymore jelly beans I will be sick. But she managed it. She started pacing around the room, she would hear something she knew was on the list, "Baptism, got it." "Jesus, got it." " Family, got it". I was surprised at how much they did get. They are smarter than I thought, at least I mean, they can regurgitate words they hear really well.

Next time, I will do something more difficult, family history, temple work, restoration of the gospel- what have you. And maybe in a few years, they too will cherish hearing goodness spoken as I do.