Happy New Year's Eve!

 Brody...he really only likes silly pictures these days

 Payton, Riley and Evan, all with completely typical expressions!!

2011.....oh where to even start!! Let's say we are ready for 2012!! The year started off with a triple blessing and has been a whirlwind ever since. We spent more time in the hospital than I ever thought was possible....looking back the NICU was the easy stuff- we knew what to expect (for the most part, aside from the scares Payton gave us a few times). The peds ICU, surgery, recovery, etc with Evan is something we will never forget, it chills my bones to think about at times! I read this blog post the other day for the first time in a while, I continued to read it 3 more times. Evan has came a long way! The clincher was when we had the scare with Brody and found ourselves back in the ambulance on our way to the children's hospital, thank goodness the worse case scenario was not the case. That was it, we had enough. The moving truck was packed and we were on our way to our hometown for some family support. And then, the flood. Lives of many have been forever changed, some have recovered, some will soon, and others have uncertain futures still. We are hoping to be out of this FEMA trailer sometime over the next 2 months.....the sooner the better!! Our boys are healthy, keeping us busy and couldn't possibly get any cuter! Yes, were blessed....but,

AMEN!!!

Time for Bed

Payton got put to bed early tonight......

All the toys...

But our favorite is the "snack box" on the floor! Ben keeps saying we need to move the box but I say if it's safe and keeps them happy--why?? We don't have much space in our sweet FEMA trailer so storage boxes everywhere are a must. Evan and Riley crawl over to this box every chance they get, hopefully Payton will get on the move soon and join in the fun!!

PJ

I (think) I forgot to mention that Payton's echo of his heart came back normal- yahoo!! The sweetie gained another 6 ounces, which is better than a loss but still not enough to get him on the charts. He is now drinking pediasure instead of formula to give even more calories. We are taking him to Grand Forks at the end of January to see a specialist- hoping that that Dr will explain all of his medical and genetic testing that has been done and just tell us that he is going to be just fine :) He was a chatterbox all day today- it was really cute. I couldn't have made it this week so far without Ben's help- we have hopefully made it through the post-Christmas bug now....please no more casualties please!!!

Post-Christmas Bug

Life is slowly coming back to Brody after the bug he woke up with yesterday....unfortunately it is picking us off one by one!!! Ugh, the Christmas clean up will have to wait for another day!

Christmas 2011 Pics

I can't believe Christmas has came and gone already! We were surrounded by a lot of family all weekend and made some great memories. It was fun, crazy, exhausting, and exciting all in one :) Instead of writing a book I will share a book of pics! (I got some great ones with my new camera lens, thanks for the Xmas prezzie Ben!!)

 We started the holiday off at the Waind's home. The boys were so excited that they got to open some presents BEFORE church!! We thought that would be best since when we got home from church we would be busy feeding/changing babies and getting them to bed all while cooking a delicious dinner. It worked out well, the boys had lot's of toys to play with while the "adults" got to enjoy opening presents together at the end of the night.

 There must be something pretty cool in there....

 Wow! The Cars 2 Eiffel Tower!

 The trips LOVE their new incrediblock!!

 Brody and Dreyden enjoying the children's service at church, Brody learned more about Baby Jesus....and that he does not in fact like peppermint candy canes!

 Uncle Matty took Riley up to hang an ornament on the tree. Can you believe he was the only one to make it through the entire service without having to be taken to the back?!?!!

 Since Riley refused to go to bed with his others he got some extra snuggle time :)

 Have to get it all out!!

 We let Riley stay awake and watch us eat dinner, once I couldn't get him to smile anymore I figured it was safe to take him back to bed.

 I love this picture of Ben and Brody.

We stealthily got the trips out of bed and into their car seats to head back home so we could have our 1st (and hopefully only!!!) Christmas morning in our sweet FEMA trailer :) We were exhausted but managed to get all 4 boys into bed quickly and things as organized as possible in 800SF of living space! I have to say, I was questioning why I wanted to have my parents and brother over for Christmas in this crazy small place, but I'm glad we did- it was fun!

 Brody was up early looking for Zeke, he was ok not finding him once he realized that meant Santa came and his stocking was full.

 Payton and Riley playing with some stocking stuffers while I attempt to untie the billionth string thingy that straps the toys to the cardboard- UGH, so over those strings and contraptions!!

 Daddy getting a little help from Evan and Brody with his stocking.

 Brody was the best present ever!!

 Uncle Ty and Gma Sharon, it was the perfect relaxing morning.

 Brody had to check out his new Cars tent before heading over to Bev and Terry's house for more Christmas fun.

 Cars 2 Radiator Springs to go with his Eiffel Tower- Score!!!

 Feeding triplets draws a crowd :)

 Trying to gather all the littles for one quick picture before we all went home. Cousin Mikey was ready for a baby!

 Adaleah, Campbell (my sister, Becky's, little girls home from CO Springs), Evan, Brody, Riley, Payton, and Mikey (my cousin's Son visiting from Minneapolis)

Silly Auntie Carol was hiding behind the couch trying to tame the beasts!!

We missed our Families in FL and SC and the PNW- we love and miss you sooooo much!! We also missed Auntie Melissa who had to stay home with a flu-bug.....and then Brody ended up waking up this morning puking :(......I wonder who will be picked off next?!?!?! Yikes!!!

The Grand Forks Herald

Another great memory to clip and put int boy's memory books (note to self: create memory books!!!) was printed this morning in The Grand Forks Herald: Article Here

We were so lucky to have Jaime from Otis and James Photography come to our trailer to take a family picture to include in the paper. I have known Jamie since high school and she is just as sweet as can be. She joked that she laughed when Chris Bieri (author, who we have also known for many years) said he was going to come and take and the photo. She said "triplets!??" you better let me do this one for you! She was impressed with how good our all boys were and we had a nice visit as well!

It's Christmas Day, night and the 4 littles are snoozing away while Ben and I try and make room for the Xmas treasures in our sweet little FEMA trailer- not an easy task!! We have a large box that we have filled to take to the "new house"....we can call it that now, it has a much better ring than the "flooded house" :) We may be organizing for the next week, these boys got spoiled!!! More pictures and stories to come.........

Merry Christmas to all....

this time....last year...

 Here is me pregnant...27 weeks with the triplets :)

Here is me at 28 weeks....I thought we were home free for being at home for Christmas, I blogged about it here. Just a few hours after I posted that blog I called the Perinatology office (the day before Xmas Eve) to talk about my constant contractions. They wanted me to come in to get checked before everyone went home for the Holiday weekend. Ben and I were sure that all would be ok and we would be sent back home to follow more bedrest orders.....not the case! My cervix had shrunk completely and the "bag" was bulging. Off to the hospital I was wheeled, to start the awful Magnesium Sulfate IV treatment to stall the preterm labor and to get the boys started on steroids to help their lungs develop. At that point we weren't sure when they would be coming! Prayers were answered I was able to bake them another month :) What I wouldn't give to be in that hospital room being waited on for 30 days right now, haha!!

I was thinking about this time in our journey last night and smiled when I remembered all those that were there for us. Parents, Siblings, Aunties, and Friends! We were (are) blessed :) I also chuckled in my thoughts last night that I continued to "work" remotely from that hospital bed and all of the very personal bodily information that was shared about my "progress" with all over conference calls, hahaa! I had the best work family~ missing them so much right now!! I even once turned away a nurse who wanted to start the stress test ultrasound at one point because I was in a meeting via conference call~ she looked at me like I was c.r.a.z.y!!! But the work distraction helped me get through the long days and I am lucky they allowed me to do it.

Looking forward to enjoying our first Christmas with 4 boys!!! We are blessed!!

.....Here is a pic of Brody's first Christmas in 2008 when he was 3.5 months old- it was just the 3 of us out in Portland :)

Best Buds

Seeing Brody and Dreyden's relationship can only bring a smile to anyone's face!! These cousins are the best of buds :) They give hugs, kisses and silly words upon arrival and departure of each other every time- and they see each other at least 5 times a week! They play SO GOOD together and LOVE each-others company! It's almost, no- it is, easier to have them both for a full day than only having one of them because they entertain and play, play, play!! This gives me great hope for the relationship Brody will have with his little brothers and with each-other :)

Here are some silly pics of 2 big boys when we first checked into the hotel room last weekend in GF:

Love these two!!! (Although we weren't saying the same thing when they were getting crazy when we were out to dinner that night! BOYS!!)

Identical? But they look different....

We have discussed and questioned the fact that the boys are identical so much lately- they look so different! And with Payton's "quirks" we wouldn't have believed it at all if it weren't for the lab-confirmed placental testing that, yes, they all came from one placenta which means they are identical and came from one egg that split 3 times. This has also been a discussion on one of my triplet boards and someone mentioned that nuclear DNA is the same in identical but mitochondrial DNA may differ due to varying reasons. (Payton may be behind due to his 2-vessel (instead of 3-vessel) cord insertion into the placenta, as well as his prenatal and postnatal difficulties) So, I googled it and found a web page that explained it well....and now it makes so much more sense to me!

 Evan

 Payton

 Riley

 EPR

See what I mean??? More pics from HJ Selch :)

Here is a copy of the web page that has all sorts of info and pasted below:

What Does Identical Mean?

Any parent of identical twins will tell you - there is no such thing as identical. Each twin has his or her own separate personality, and many physical differences. They share the same DNA, but they are not Xerox or carbon copies of each other, and that can make all the difference!

The term "identical" is a misnomer that many medical experts do not use. The preferred term is "monozygotic", which simply translated means "from one egg". Experts - and many parents of identical twins - argue that "identical" twins are not identical twins and should not be labeled as such; the term simply generates too much confusion. There are many 'self-professed' experts on the web (those with no actual training or experience with twins of any type) that proclaim that since the twins started as a single egg, they are identical, and the only differences that will be seen between the two are physical changes that happen after the babies are born. As a mom of identical twin boys (verified by DNA testing) who are not identical, I can tell you that these people are wrong, in small part because they do not take into account mirror twinning, Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, mitochondrial DNA, the difference between developmental and genetic characteristics, and how genes in the DNA express themselves once the one egg divides into two.

How Identical Twins Happen

Identical (or monozygotic) twins happen when a fertilized egg splits into two separate babies - usually within the first twelve days of Mom's pregnancy. After twelve days, the egg may not split entirely and result in conjoined twins. Some people theorize that the later in the pregnancy the egg splits (between days 8 and 12), the more likely the twins will have similar characteristics since they had the additional time to lay "identical" genetic groundwork.

As far as scientist can determine, there is no reason why the egg splits - it's a spontaneous and random occurrence. One theory is the egg ovulated by maternally mature women (Moms over 35) is not as flexible as it is in younger moms. When a fertilized egg begins its natural division process in creating a baby, the egg actual 'breaks' (or splits) into two instead of dividing.

Identical twins have almost identical brain wave patterns. They also can share very similar physical characteristics; for instance, if one twin's tooth doesn't grow in, his or her identical twin will most likely miss the tooth as well. Mirror twins are identical twins with mirror characteristics - one may have a dimple on the left side, and the other a dimple on the right.

How Identical Twins are Not Identical

There are two main factors that cause identical twins not to be truly identical:

1. Identical twins share the same DNA - but do not have identical DNA. When the egg splits into two halves to form identical twins, the DNA may not divide equally between the two cells. The basic concept is similar to when you cut an apple in half, the two halves may not look the same.
   
   
   I don't want to get to complicated with the explanation, but DNA differences of identical twins revolve around the mitochondrial DNA (DNA that is not located in the nucleus of a cell).
   Mitochondrial is DNA passed on to the child by Mom. A fertilized egg will have Mom's mitochondrial DNA, half of Mom's nuclear DNA, and half of Dad's nuclear DNA. When the fertilized egg splits into two, the twins will each have identical nuclear DNA, but not EXACTLY identical mitochondrial DNA. Physical differences in identical twins are contributed, in part, to how much and how similar the mitochondrial DNA each twin inherited from Mom expresses itself.
2. Environmental factors both prenatal (for instance, one twin having more room in the womb, viruses, genetic missteps, Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, etc.) and after the babies are born (from something as minor as appetite to illness or accidents). Prenatal developmental differences can mean that one twin didn't quite "finish" a developmental stage that his or her twin did. For instance, an undescended testes is not uncommon in baby boys born early - about 50% of boys are born with an undescended testicle. In boy/boy twins it is not uncommon for one boy to have one or both testicles undescended, while his brother has both descended. It is also not uncommon for one twin to have no physical problems, and his or her twin having a heart or lung defect that is caused because the heart

Opposite Sex Identical Twins

Identical Twins will almost always be of the same sex. There have been 3 - 5 documented cases of opposite sex identical twins. This can happen in a set of identical boys, when one twin "drops" or "looses" a "Y" chromosome, resulting in a single chromosome, or an "XO" chromosome. Without a "Y" chromosome, the twin becomes a girl with a single chromosome, and will have Turner's Syndrome. Turner's Syndrome itself is not that uncommon, occurring in about 1 out of 2500 live female births. For more information about Turner's Syndrome, visit http://www.turner-syndrome-us.org.

How Do You Know Your Twins are Identical?

Experienced ultrasound techs are very good at giving a best guess during appointments as to whether twins are identical or fraternal. Testing can also been done on the placenta after the babies are born to determine if twins are fraternal or identical. However, since identical twins can look different, and fraternal twins can look very much alike, in some cases the only way to truly determine if twins are identical or fraternal is by DNA testing.

Prepare for CUTENESS!!!

I have more pictures to post...after I get our Christmas (errrrr....New Year's!) card completed, but I have to share the link to the fabulous photographer's blog, thanks so much Heidi!!!

HJ Selch Photography- The W Boys!