4 months - October 11th

Four months old!

Big sister, Brooke, with the triplets.
Happy Kara

Jolly Paige

Reagan with her cool cat smirk

Brooke's 5th birthday party. She just loved the cake!

5 years was hard for me. She is not a baby anymore, not a toddler or preschooler. She is a big girl. Where did the time go? I know I have three babies to love on and hold, but my first baby is grown.

Great Grandparents (GG & Gramps) babysat the triplets while we went to Jumpin Jungle for Brooke's party.

Getting ready for Halloween!

We are big fans of fall around here. The weather gets cooler, lots of decorating with pumpkins and scarecrows, and Brooke's 5th birthday is Oct. 30th. I can't believe she will be five! I am so sad and in denial. I told her she could have a party and get presents, but not turn five. Five is OLD! My baby is growing up.

The triplets are so much fun now. We have their acid reflux under control and they are smiling all the time and "talking" to us. Kara and Paige have huge smiles. Kara is the talker and Reagan is the cool cat. She will look at you with a little smirk and raise her eyebrows. It is so adorable. She also has big smiles too and is really starting to talk. They love to be around us and be held. We bring all their bouncy seats to the table each night so they can join us for dinner. They usually end up in our laps, so we are getting used to eating with one hand. Super news!! The babies are sleeping through the night. They start out in their bed, but we end up putting them in their swings. We don't have to feed them though. Yippee!

We are keeping the babies quarantined due to the swine flu. They are not able to have any kind of flu shot because they are too young, but they are too old for the RSV vaccine. So...we don't take them anywhere. I am a little bit of a hypochondriac, so bear with us if you come around with kids and hear in a paranoid voice, "ahhh, don't touch them." Our doctor said that when Brooke comes home from school she has to wash her hands, face and change her clothes. She has done so every single day and will not come near the babies until she does. It is so sweet. There has been swine flu at her little preschool and in our neighborhood, so we are extra cautious. I wondered how worried I should be about the swine flu and our pediatrician said "very". What??? That just fueled my hypochondria fire. She is not one to get us worried about anything with our girls, so that made me a bit nervous.

Big News!!! I am going back to work! Don't get alarmed, just one hour a week. I'll be teaching my 5am class at 24 Hour Fitness starting Oct. 20th (only Tuesdays). I'll be back home before the babies even wake up. I'm a little nervous, but ready and excited. I miss teaching aerobics and actually enjoy getting up that early because I can come home have coffee, do my bible study and take a shower before anyone is up. I was able to have "me" time in the mornings when it was just Brooke. Hopefully the babies will sleep at least until 7am. We'll see how it goes.

Our pumpkin patch

(Kara, Reagan & Paige)
It is tough to get them all smiling at the same time, so I am very proud of this picture (thank you Bonnie for acting so goofy).

Kara - loves to smile!

Brooke - We are getting our money's worth from this costume. She wears the wig everywhere!!! To the grocery store, outside to play, even to Cracker Barrel. She wanted to wear it to school today! I had to draw the line there, but she did wear it the whole way in the car.

Paige - loves to be held right now and wants to be right with the family all the time.

When we put their costumes on, Paige kept staring at Reagan. I think she was wondering what in the world she was wearing. I think this picture is so cute. She is really looking at her sister.

Cool Cat Reagan. She is like Bono from U2. Just layed back and cool.

Sweet Reagan.

Reagan is trying to give Kara a kiss or maybe she is smelling her. Kara is not too sure of this.

Kara and Reagan in their Halloween pjs.

Three little pumpkins (Kara, Reagan & Paige)

Reagan getting some tummy time. She looks like she is thinking.

Pumpkin booties! I wonder which is Reagan?

Bath time

Paige after her bath is a little sad.

Paige is now even sadder. We think it is adorable when that bottom lip goes out. It is so sad, but so cute. I love this picture!

Reagan is holding her bottle! She's got some guns (biceps)!

3 months

Our babies are three months!

How can this be? Three months on bed rest was SO slow and these three months have flown by. We feel so blessed to have these three precious babies and a big sister that loves them so much and is so sweet and helpful. Every day just keeps getting better and better, but it is a little sad because they are getting so big. I took Paige with me to Brooke's dance class and someone said, "Oh look at the new born.". I actually looked around for the newborn baby. I was thinking they can't be talking about my baby, she is huge to me. They are interacting with us with lots of eye contact, cooing and smiles. It is priceless!

People always ask how we do it and we just do it. You can't think about it too much or you will certainly get overwhelmed. I could not survive without our wonderful nanny, Bonnie. She is so patient with the babies and helps with the laundry, bottles and other household chores. She gives me some freedom each week to go to the gym, run some errands and the most important thing is attending my Mothering Matters bible study at Sagemont on Tuesdays. I have been going since Brooke was 3 months old and it has really changed me as a wife, mother and Christian. I can't believe I have been attending for 4 1/2 years. It is the one thing I look forward to each week. I don't think I could make it emotionally without Jesus or exercising. There is nothing sweat or a prayer can't make better.

Kara - She smiles so easy and loves to "talk" to us. She also cries easy, but those quick smiles make up for it.

Reagan - She makes us feel like we still have a tiny infant. She is smaller than the twins, but doing great. She has a smaller head so it makes her seem smaller also. We were a little worried she might be delayed compared to the twins, but the doctor and ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) specialist who came to assess the girls say she is right on target. She has really come out of her shell in the past two weeks. She smiles so much and "talks" to us. She is just more layed back than the twins. We didn't know what a layed back baby was since the twins cried all the time and Brooke had colic and cried nonstop for three months. I'm afraid if we would have had more babies like Reagan we'd keep going - NOT. We are done. Blessed for sure, but finished for sure.

Paige - She is just like her twin sister Kara. Paige is a little more reserved than Kara, but still smiles often, coos and is starting to laugh.

The twins - Paige is the smiley one here.

Identical twins are just so strange. They look and act exactly alike. We still have to ask, "Who is that?" The monogrammed onesies are getting a bit too tight, so I am hoping to get a simple sewing/monogramming machine so that I can make my own. I think it is necessary so that I can tell my babies apart. That is my excuse anyway. If they are not dressed in their "letter" outfits we have to tip Kara upside down to look under her chin to see her birthmark (which is very light). It is quite tough to see with all her rolls (babies don't have much of a neck) or when it's dark in the house at night. I definitely need a sewing/monogramming machine for the sake of my children's identity.

Sisterly love! Poor little Reagan is always in the middle being squished by her big sisters. I can't wait until they start playing and interacting with each other. It will be amazing.

Playtime

We try to give the girls lots of playtime, but they still sleep a lot.

Playtime on the floor with Brooke and Daddy

They are color coded (Paige-Pink, Kara-Purple, & Reagan-Red)

Reagan having mobile time.

Kara and Reagan having a play date looking at the mobile in their crib (while we took Paige's 3 month picture).

Just a swingin'

We had one of these Fisher Price swings for Brooke and she LOVED it. We now have three of them. Front porch time is the best! The girls love being outside, love swinging and one person can be outside with all of them.

Good News!

Good News X three!

Reagan went to the doctor today and she weighed 9.9lbs. The doctor was wanting her to be 9.4lbs at this visit, so she exceeded her expectations. And....no more heart murmur. Dr. G could not hear the murmur anymore and she said that it was either gone or the hole was closing up!

Yeah Reagan!!!

Praise the Lord!! Our house doesn't look or sound like this for hours and hours each day anymore. We have tackled acid reflux! (I hope and pray for good). After changing their formula three times, we are back to soy and the twins (Paige & Kara) are on Prevacid 2x per day. It has made a huge difference in them and in my sanity. It feels like triplets are so easy now. I think it is part of God's plan :)
The girls going to a party.

Kara, Paige & Reagan

What our house looks like now...

It is full of smiles, coos and good times. I love it!

Paige & Kara

Jolly ol' Kara!

I have entered a place I never thought I would....

the "mom" sticker on my car.

I couldn't resist, triplets are a novelty and I love being a mom.

Brooke's first day of school

Brooke is loving Pre-K!

She goes Tues-Friday at the Methodist Church and is already learning so much. Brooke has known her letter and letters sounds for a long time and was starting to read this summer. She just loves to learn new things and has a great attention span, so she makes a good student (for me, so I hope she does the same at school).

The first day of school.
Mommy and Brooke

Brooke and Maci

She is into posing with her hip out. I'm not sure where it came from, but it's pretty cute.

Brooke is putting her school bag in her cubbie as Maci and Mrs. Lisa watch.

At school she has a different job each week. The first week of school she was the Pledge girl. I asked her if she had to put her hand over the heart and she said no that she stands in the middle of the rug and holds the flag while everyone else does. I would love to be a fly on the wall in her room. Last week she was the calendar girl and this week she is so excited because she gets to be the weather girl. She has been wanting to be the weather person since the first day.

She goes to chapel, has a computer class, and language arts. She will even learn Spanish.

I just love taking her and picking her up from school. It is such a special time for us because we talk all about the day. I get all kinds of details and it's great one-on-one time for us. It is one of my favorite times during the day.

Beauty and the Beast

Brooke and I went to see Beauty & the Beast at Dawson High school in Pearland and it was excellent! I forgot that I was watching high school students. Brooke and I were able to have a date night. I have missed our special time together so much with me being on bed rest and busy with the babies. We went to eat at Olive Garden and just talked and talked. She had her cheerleading class at The Little Gym and afterward she got dressed in her Belle costume (wig and all). It was adorable! Troy stayed home the whole time with the babies by himself so we could go. Way to go, Daddy!

Brooke as Belle

Mommy and Belle (aka Brooke)
Two Belles???Best Buddie Maci and Brooke
They were the Belle's of the show. Everyone thought they were so adorable.

The "real" Belle with Maci and Brooke

First vacation!!

Galveston or Bust!

We packed and packed and packed and then headed to a beach house in Galveston. Our nanny, Bonnie came along with some friends. Our car wouldn't fit all of the gear so we had to get Mike and Valerie to bring some in their car and Rhonda had to help bring gear home. Thanks everyone! We all had a great time and had tons of help with the babies.

Sleeping in a Pack'n Play

They haven't slept three together for a while. Reagan got the middle because she sleeps the best and is the quietest. The girls actually did very well. Troy, Brooke and I slept in the bed and the girls in their pack'n play. All six of us were in one room.
Troy and Kara enjoying the view from the deck.

Sassy Brooke at the beach

Brooke had a great time playing in the sand. She wasn't too fond of the water, only putting her toes in. The triplets stayed at the beach house.

Kayaking with daddy. Brooke loved it and was so excited to go.

They are on their way back to get a fishing pole to do some fishing. She is my sporty spice girl.

Great times!

Brooke enjoying the sunset from our deck.

Some of the family Me, Brooke, Troy and Kara (I think)

What a beautiful view!

Paige and Kara with their beach outfits. We waited until the end of the night to take a picture, so Kara is upset and Reagan had already spit up on her outfit so she didn't match. I think she was also sleeping right now.

When we got home, Brooke was sad that she didn't get to fish. Her Barbie fishing pole was broken and they couldn't find any live bait in Galveston. Troy and Poppy took her to buy her first real fishing pole. She really wanted a pink one and she found it. She got a pink and black Ladies Ugly Stick. Troy took her that evening to fish in the pond on the golf course and they caught two fish! It works!