Triplet's Parrrr-tay (Part #1)

We had so much fun yesterday celebrating Ellery, Gianna and Easton's first birthday! I was hoping to get a slew of pictures up today, but our internet was down for most of the day. So... lucky readers, you get two parts :) I know you are so excited! Ha!

Of course, I had to have a theme.
What do snowflakes and triplets have in common??? They both come at the same time, but are each beautiful and unique. How perfect, right?!?! I found this perfect invitation on etsy from the seller Kottageon5th. She was fabulous - very helpful and willing to work with my unusual request of adding three pictures to one invite. I loved the way they turned out.
I tried to keep the decorations to a minimum.

I will post the fun pics tomorrow - of course I am talking about cake and presents :) Until then, here are a few pics of the birthday babes!

Quin was in heaven! ALL of her favorite people were at our house at once. She has talked about everyone all day today. She was quite the busy body, and I unfortunately have very few pictures of her. Here she is reviewing some of her favorite pictures from the festivities.

Hopefully I will be able to post more of the fun tomorrow :)

Happy Birthday Babies!!!

Exactly one year ago our lives were triply blessed with the birth of our amazing miracles! The past year has flown by – and now that we are at this point in time (happy and healthy) I would love to go back and slow time down! I feel like I tried to take it all in, but find myself looking at pictures trying to place myself there. Thank goodness for photos and video! It seems like a lifetime ago!
I truly think I am one of the luckiest people in the world!

We started here:
Ellery
Gianna

Easton

Just looking at those frail bodies, makes me tear up! What strength they have shown over the past year! We have been blessed by God!

Here is a little snapshot of where we are now:

Gianna
Gianna is so sweet! She is very serious, and a hard nut to crack. Gianna has the most stranger anxiety. She watches people and takes a very long time to warm up, but once she does she is all smiles and very lovely dovey. She is good at self-entertaining, often playing with a pile of toys all on her. She is usually pretty at ease watching Ellery and Easton, but… when she does have an opinion about something, watch out! She will let you know! Gianna loves to watch Quin. When Quin sings and dances, Gianna tenses up with excitement and is all smiles.

Ellery

Intense, persistent and determined are the best three words to describe Ellery! She is the most interactive of the three babies. I am guessing that she will be the most outgoing of the three. She is a little busy body. She has figured out how to crawl using her arms, and one leg – she can get around pretty well. It is only a matter of time before she figures out how to coordinate both legs. She hates the fact that Easton can get places before her. Until very recently, she has been known as the toy bully. Gianna and Easton are slowly getting better at sticking up for themselves, but Ellery still has the alpha baby thing going on. Ellery is super smiley and gorgeous! She draws people in immediately!

Easton

(Side note: Easton hated the birthday hat - I tried many times. Then, within a few minutes he would crawl away and play. Stinker!)

Easton definitely has fallen into the youngest/baby boy category! Could he get any cuter?!?! He is very laid back and goes with the flow. He is usually very patient, but does know how to get his way when he wants. He is super fast at crawling and starting to pull himself up to his knees to see things and to play. Easton seems to get along equally well with all three girls. They all like to smile at him, because undoubtedly he will give them a huge smile back!

Overall, it has been neat to see how they each are developing differently. I have to remind myself often to take them for who they are, as individuals, and not to compare them. The girls both have much better fine motor skills, and Easton has much more precise large motor skills (how stereotypical!).

Jason and I have laughed about what our lives are going to be like in 15 years! When we think ahead to what cars all four children are going to want (want, not get, because they will all be carpooling together in a beater!). Quin is going to be our rugged Jeep Wrangler type of girl. We can so see Ellery in a cute little sleek VW Bug with a large fresh flower on the dash. Gianna is going to want to hang out at home with us, so she won’t need a car, and Easton is going to be happy to either hitch a ride or to drive whatever it is that he can have. It will be fun to see what they really end up driving :)

I look forward to many more birthdays!!! To find out how they each change and grow into little people, how they grow as siblings and individuals, and how we can grow even closer as a family.

Thank you again to all of you for helping support us over the past year!!!

On The Move!

About 3 weeks ago Easton figured out how to crawl! It took about a day for him to get the coordination of moving his arms and legs at the same time. He hasn't stopped moving since! As if he wasn't small enough already, I think he burns twice as many calories now :)
Quin has loved crawling around with him, and of course he loves to follow her - they really are adorable together!
Ellery isn't far behind. She has figured out how to move her arms, and then pull both of her knees up at the same time. She is very frustrated that Easton can leave her in his dust, so I am sure she will figure it out soon. Gianna is very content to sit and watch (hmm, imagine that!). When she is on her belly she can push herself backwards.

(I have uploaded Picasa and am still trying to figure out all of the glitches - sorry if this looks chaotic!)

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Quin would like to know how you eat your Oreo?!?!

(The inside frosting is red instead of white because of the holidays)

Quin's Stats

This post is more for me – please feel free to pass this one over!
Because I plan to have our blog printed as a keepsake/baby book for each child in our family, I feel the need to add some of Quin’s stats. Looking through her baby book is actually really good for me. I admit that I often think about what the triplets ‘should’ be doing if I consider their actual age (and not their adjusted age). Quin was a late bloomer in about every area possible. This is just a good reminder for me that each child develops at their own pace. I look at Quin now, and would never know that she was on the later end of walking, that she had problems eating or that she had speech support.

I have pulled this information straight from her baby book, so most of it written directly to Quin. I also spared us the stories to go with each milestone. Again – feel free to move on now :)

13 weeks – was sleeping ten hours at night
5 months – rolling over
6.5 months – sat on your own
9.5 – get on your belly and creep backwards
10.5 months – saying mama and dada sounds
11 months – started crawling
Right around your 1 year birthday – started clapping and waving, and began to pull yourself up to stand.
13 months – started pushing off of things to stand on your own
14 months – took first few steps
15 months – became sufficient at walking

Teeth – Your first tooth popped up just after 10 months. By your first birthday the second tooth on the bottom and one of the top were showing. Your teeth were slow growers! You didn’t have a ‘full set’ until about 21 months.

Height/Weight –
Birth – 7 lbs. 3 oz. 18 in.
2 months – 11 lbs 12.5 oz 22 ¼ in.
4 months – 15 lbs 2 oz 23 ¾ in.
6 months – 17 lbs 8 oz 25 ¾ in.
9 months – 21 lbs 5 oz 27 in. (Quin was put on a low carb diet after this point)
1 year – 22 lbs 13 oz 28 in.

Happy New Year!

With four kids under three years old, we didn't plan on doing anything special for New Year's Eve. Good thing, because all four kids have colds :( Ellery and Gianna just have runny noses, and are a little cranky. Easton has been running a temp, is very cranky and his nose is running like a faucet. Quin has also had her ups and downs, but I am thinking she is now on her way up.


Thanks to Quin there was one shot (of cold meds) and a lot of whine at our house on New Year's Eve :)
Jason's mom found these adorable shirts for the babies. Even though everyone is under the weather, I had to attempt a picture. (Ellery, Gianna, Quin, Easton)

This is a better picture of how things really look at our house - it is chaos sometimes.In all seriousness, I look back at 2009 and can only say "WOW". I am not sure how I can top the excitement. To look back and think about all we have been through makes my heart swell with joy! I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family who have helped us, and look forward to an amazing 2010 with all of them!

To steal my quote from last year's post:

May your coming year be full of peace, full of love, full of laughter & full of life. Here’s to health and happiness!

Happy New Year!

Joelee & Jason

New Year's Morning Tradition

I love traditions! One of my favorite family tradition growing up was to help usher in the new year. On the morning of New Year's there would be a present or two waiting for us under the Christmas tree. (New Year's day was always 'take down the tree and decorations day' - also something I have continued into adulthood). The New Year presents were from my parents, and always of the practical sort - something to welcome the new year, and to use throughout the year. I remember getting flannel sheets, a pre-snuggie type of blanket that buttoned into a housecoat, pajamas... My sister and I thought this was something that all families did, until we tried to compare presents with some friends. I think the fact that it was started for us, by our mom, makes it that much more special! Thank you Mom!

This is one tradition that I have continued with my children! It was fun to see Quin do a double take when I told her to check under the tree. I think Christmas had too much of a build up for her this year - she wasn't sure what to expect and became overwhelmed. This morning, she went with the flow. She was excited to pass out the presents to each of the babies, and seemed to really appreciate the presents. Each child received two sets of pajamas in their next size up, as well as a toy. Quin opened a pretend bottle and diaper set for her baby dolls. The triplets will share a few different teething rings and stacking cups.

Just another tradition that I hope will forge wonderful childhood memories for my amazing children! I wish them the very best in the year to come!