Preschool!!

This cutie-pa-tootie had his 1st day of preschool today! He has been so excited as we have been talking about it for the last week in preparation. He sported a new backpack and couldn't have been more "big boy"! He had a GREAT first day, he told me the best part was the kissy face sandwich shaped like a heart for snack, followed by the beach ball game. He then told Ben that his favorite part was seeing me through window and running to me and jumping for me to pick him up and carry him! Sooooo sweet!! We are so proud of our big boy :)
xoxo

Cabinets!!

Our friend Brady started installing the cabinets tonight- they look great!! Haley and I were there to unpack a few boxes and....well, that's about it :) Gpa Steve, Gma Sharon and Uncle Terry were doing electrical sockets- awesome!! Not pictured (will have to get one tomorrow) was Brady's sweet dog- such a lover! Thanks all!!

Ballers!!!

The boys had on outfits they got for their birthday from M&M and cousin Drey, so cute!! This may just look like a video of babies playing with their toys to some people but to us it will be a memory we will love to look back on in a few years! I love looking through Brody's old albums and seeing the different stages he went through and remembering how much I loved each and every one of them. I love videos and need to take them more often!!
xoxo

New Favs

 New Favorite Outfits!!! (Thanks Aunt Kathy H!! and thanks ladies for the store tip in GF!)

 Evan, Riley and Payton looking quite adorable!!

 Getting sick of pictures....

 We are outta here!!

 Payton doesn't want Riley to leave him...

 P is such a sweetie!!

 Soaking up some vitamin D

 See how enthused P is about crawling??!?!

 It's just....so....hard!!!

 It must be 5 o'clock, meltdown time...

 I'm not having fun any MORE!!!

Oh, a new room....we may survive after after all ;)

All Natural

These boys were busy today!! Riley took a step and a half to me ;) and P was crawling more and more! By crawling I mean a struggled army crawl that he doesn't like to do at all but will do it to make mommy happy! Evan's front tooth is coming in so he has been quite the spit fire, ahhhhh good times!

Paint!

I had to run down to the flooded house to get a sneak peek at the paint job after the littles went to bed and Brody was bathing :) There was still a painter there working and things are looking good. I couldn't get any good pictures because of the lack of lighting. The living/dining room is a nice brownish tone and the kitchen is BOLD but I think I am going to love it!! I think I will wait for the cabinets to be in and some good daylight before I reveal the color ;)

New FUN!!

Brody loves ALL of the presents that the triplets got for their birthday :) especially after they go to bed since they "don't know the rules." We have to remind him that they are babies and to let them break the rules sometimes ;) He is the best big brother and I am sure will always be teaching them the ropes!!

Full Day with P-Man!

Ben and I took Payton to Grand Forks today for an appointment, it was a great chance for some bonding!! I hope we can get out more for one on one time, hopefully it gets to be more exciting than a loooooong appt next time! The appt went good and the Dr was very thorough. He has some more research to do so that should be interesting! We are happy to continue with P's PT and OT as he is progressing every day.

We were able to stop in Lakota on the way home so P could give his great gma G some snuggles! He was a great traveler per usual, and seeing the other boys when we got home was so much fun!!

Guess Whoooo's ONE!!

Auntie Haley helping me decorate the Kid's Gym where we had the party

We snapped a few shots at the very beginning while they were still in shock of the new surroundings!

Big Brother lightened up the mood :)

Our best attempt at a family picture...there was about 10 camera's going off at this point!

Riley having fun with Uncle Matt

And showing us his standing skills! (No one is walking unassisted just yet)

Great-Grandma E giving Payton some snuggles

Evan, Payton and Riley

They were such good boys and had so much fun!!

R-P-E with GGma E

I made the onsies for the boys! My Grandma thought that was pretty crafty and said I took after her, she didn't seem as impressed when I told her I didn't sew anything and only used iron-ons. HA!

Opening presents was a group effort. The boys were SPOILED- thanks everyone!!!

Evan getting after it

Payton WANTS THAT CUPCAKE!!!!

"You're mine" is what R is thinking

Brody told me his hands were broken....silly boy

They loved the cupcakes! (Thanks Auntie Laura!!) I did sneak in a banana for them as well, they mixed it with their crumbs ;)

All tuckered out and ready for bed!!

It was a great day!! We were surrounded by lots of good friends and family who all made the party very special. I have a lot more pics so may have to do a few more blogs to share them all.

xoxo

Pre-Party Bath

The trips 1st Birthday Party was GREAT!! Thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family who celebrated with us :)

We are quite tired here, so the bday pics will be posted tomorrow! But enjoy this video (it gets cuter after I move out of the way!) of the boys taking a bath in preparation of their big day!!

xoxo

1 year ago

Here is a copy of the blog post I did after the triplets were born, I discussed what I was doing the night before the big day!!

"As many of you know the trips arrived on 1-22-11 at 8:45-8:48am! I was actually discharged on the 21st hoping to at least enjoy being home through the weekend, but they had their own agenda. I spent the 21st catching up on DVR'd shows, watching Brody play, being well fed, and a much needed looooong shower at home to revive my spirits!

I woke up at 4:30am on the 22nd to have my usual Fiber One bar (I was still on the hospital schedule of course!)within 20 minutes of being up I started having consistent contractions that were "crampier" than usual. I laid in bed hoping that they would settle down, I really did not want to end up being re-admitted so quickly! I think I woke Ben up at 6:30am telling him to get in the shower as we needed to at least go into L&D triage. I was very firm that if I wasn't dilating we would come home, I didn't want to believe that these were actually the real thing. At some point while Ben was showering I went in and told him that we needed to go "now" as I was being doubled over in pain by this point. We repacked the same bags we just unpacked the night before and were out the door by 7am.

I emailed my Dr from the car ride as she was on-call and was a fellow BB addict like myself ;) I told her if this wasn't labor I didn't know what was! As we were checking in she was on the phone with secretary prepping them with an order as she drove in, I love her!

As soon as I was changed the chaos started. Dr. L walked in to check me and sure enough I was already at 6cm, progressing quickly and in a lot of pain! Dr L headed to change and we weren't far behind in meeting the rest of the team in the OR. Since this was just meant to be a quick update as I will just say for now that by 8:45am we were meeting Mr. Evan Lyal, followed by Payton James and then Riley Warren!! It was (and continues to be) a very surreal experience.

Many more details to come, but for now thank you all for your prayers and support! They have brought us so far as all 3 boys are doing great and so is Mom!! Ben has been amazing, as usual, he already has the "baby cares" down like a pro and I get tears just watching him take such great pride in his boys. My recovery is allowing me to become more involved today and I can't wait to get back down there (NICU) after we have some time with Brody before Uncle T takes him home :)

**sorry for any errors as I type this on my iPad and fully medicated with no proof reading or editing! I am sure you can understand, haha"

Just reading that again myself takes me back to that time, a time I don't ever want to forget. I feel like if I continue to read my blog over and over it will stay fresh and clear. A truly amazing gift we were given. We have 4 beautiful boys, wow. Those early days do still seem like a dream (maybe it was the post-surgery drugs...haha!!), but the best dream ever. Even with all of our battles and scares I was able to watch three healthy boys chow down on breakfast this morning in pure awe. They made it! We made it! What.A.Blessing.

Here are a few pics of their 1st days, 12 months ago....

 My FABULOUS Dr L and Dr M scrubbing in...

 Dad anxiously awaiting the ok to come into the OR...

 Mom...scared, anxious, hopeful, elated....

 A nurse took pictures with Ben's first moments with the boys, this is Evan..

 Evan again without the CPAP on...

 Mom touching Payton for the 1st time...he still holds on to us and never wants to let go (pretty symbolic when we remember his first weeks of us barely getting to hold him, he never wanted us to put him down when we were able to hold him)

Riley, bright eyed and inquisitive from the get-go....something that has never changed!!


Evan, Payton and Riley,


You are our miracle babies; a shocking, spontaneous surprise that no one could have ever imagined. We have experienced every emotion possible since the day we found out there was going to be 3! But the strongest of all is LOVE. You have brought so much into our lives that we could never have imagined. You have the best big brother that loves you to pieces, even when he doesn't want to share his cars- he does, because he loves you!! You all have hearts of gold and warm so many lives each and every day, you are true blessings.


XOXOXOOOOOO, MaMaMaMa Ma and DaDaDaDa Da

almost ONE!!

Can these pictures from HJ Selch Photography (thanks Heidi!!! What an awesome birthday present!!!) get ANY CUTER!??!! I know this weekend I am going to have to do a "12 Month" blog and reflect on where each boy is now and where they have been....it blows mind just to think about it!

 Before the clothes came off....these boys are hard to keep still! (E, P, R, of course!)

 Hmmmm....what's this??

 Are we really allowed to be doing this??

 I'm glad Heidi captured some smiles before Evan spit it all up and decided he was done ;)

 But Payton sure loved it! We laughed at how enthusiastic he was about it all- totally not like him ;)

 Oh yes, Riley shoveling it in! This boy has a bottomless pit for a stomach (for food at least, we have to practically force feed his bottles!)

 I can tell by the spot of frosting on the floor to the side of Evan that he had already escaped and I had to carry him to get him back in the shot ;)

It was hilarious to watch Payton and Riley eat off of each other and sample each other's cakes as well ;)

Thanks SO MUCH Heidi for these memorable pictures!! We will miss you while you are in Hong Kong but can't wait to see you this summer!! Best of luck!! xoxo

....more pics- who could ever choose!!!