Gma C and the boys

I came home from work today to find all the boys playing so nicely in the living room with Gma Chari that we had to get a few pics! They are so much better behaved when mama isn't around (not fair!) and we are still adjusting to the mad rush (aka screams and extreme clingy-ness) they all have for me (and Ben, but we usually get home at different times) upon arrival. Sorry for the blurry pics...I was just snapping and not looking!

Daddy's boy??

Evan and Ben looking pretty cute!!

The boys are definitely both daddy and mama's boys! Now that we are both working we both get bombarded with lots of love whenever we come home. It can be overwhelming at times but nothing could alleviate that short of gaining a third arm!

I hope to post some good pics and updates on all the boys this weekend....but no promises, we are trying to move for the 5th and final time :) If we can get some electrical issues tied up we may be in the home stretch this wknd!!

Jackpot!

We are unpacking boxes at the flooded house after the littles get put to bed. I found a few gems tonight- like some groceries you can't get here in ND! (some fav brands, especially the ketchup from Safeway- since it's almost a food group in our family ;) ) We also found the missing pieces to our brand new (bought a few weeks before we left P-town) king size bed. I put the sheets on after Ben got it all put together, wish I could crawl into it right about now!

Snow...lotsa snow!

It started snowing before we went to bed last and we woke up to a winter wonderland this morning! Brody got snow suited-up before we even had breakfast. Daddy helped him make his first snow angel of the season, possibly even his first snow angel, ever! B did not own a pair of snow pants when we lived in Portland but they are sure coming in handy now :)

Uncle Ty came and picked up B and had him over for breakfast. Ben and I headed down to the flooded house to make sense of all the boxes that were moved yesterday. I got the bedrooms somewhat, that is until Tyson dropped off Brody. I didn't mind the mess he made, he was just so happy to see all of his old toys again! Many of the toys that we packed up last June for our trip here- not knowing they wouldn't be opened for 9 months. I would have packed much differently!

Get down

Brody was showing me has dance moves tonight, such an entertainer!!

It is fafafa-freezing cold outside!! We had some awesome help today and got the majority of our boxes and furniture moved into the flooded house. We still have some work left to finish before we can unpack but at least we got this done before the forecasted 9" of snow comes tonight!!

Is it...

still an "out-take" if you never got the shot you were trying for?? Ben and I were attempting to line up the trips for a quick pic and after many attempts we still failed. I need to find my Nikon camera battery charger (it has been MIA for quite some time) so I can get some new non-iPhone pics of the boys!

All I can say is TGIF :) I had an exciting first week back to work- it was actually really great and reaffirmed my desire to be a working mom- I'm good at the balance of it!! And prefer it :) But my feet may need some time to adjust back to work shoes (aka heels). We are hoping for a busy wknd full of moving things into the house!! Still work to be done before we can move in ourselves, but we are getting closer:)

Mmmmmmn!

Brody loves his ice cream!! Tonight he went to the freezer and got it out all by himself. He did do good with his dinner so we had to scoop up a small bowl! Something about grandparents having ice cream with their grandchildren is a given- this boy might go through withdrawal when we move into our house!!

Amber III

 

Oh Riley!! You are so full of spunk it's almost scary at times :) We aren't use to babies scaling furniture in dangerous situations (Brody was not adventurous at this age, and there was only one of him!) This guy keeps us on our toes but is oh-so-entertaining and brings smiles to many faces. 

Amber II

Oh Payton, where do I even start!?!?!! Your sweet smile and crazy hair melt many hearts each and every day. You are unbelievable in the obstacles you have and continue to overcome! We are happy you are home and even happier that you are back to making progress in your motor skills that we have been working on and that your appetite is back! Love you P!! If you can handle it, Riley's pics will be shared tomorrow ;)

Amber I

I haven't uploaded pictures from my camera in forever...and I found some gems tonight :) These were taken when I first got the boys' amber teething necklaces a couple weeks ago. The exposures and lighting aren't the best- but when you see the pics it won't matter!!

Seriously- how cute is this little man!!??!! I don't even care if these necklaces work or not, they add so much cuteness I am almost on overload! ;) Since I am now a "working mom" I have to spread the love since I am now stretched a bit thinner; that means you will only see these pics of Evan today. But believe me, I have more to share of the other littles!! Keeping it in fair birth order (they are going to get sick of that- aren't they??), I will post a few of Payton sporting his amber necklace tomorrow.

Team Linus

Thank you all for the prayers sent that helped bring our sweet Payton home on the mend- much appreciated!!

I have asked before on here and it's time to ask again....our fellow triplet friend Linus needs your prayers tomorrow!! His Momma's blog here and his facebook page is here. Tomorrow Linus will be undergoing another surgery: "His surgeon will attempt to repair his mitral valve for the 3rd time, but it will probably need to be replaced with a mechanical one." This little man has been through and conquered so much in his short life, he is a warrior ;) I looked to this family for inspiration as we were going through life in the PICU with Evan. With all they were going through they still took the time to send us strength and motivation!! Thanks H Family---we love you!!!

Simon, Linus, Dexter......such handsome boys!!!

P's home!!!

The lil man turned the corner today and we got to bring him home to finish healing with all his brudders ;) It was a crazy busy day- too much excitement for all, they crashed an hour early! (that's 6pm people!) Since he gets nebulizer treatments every 6 hours or so I had to give him one while he was sleeping, it didn't wake anyone either. I used the light of my phone so I could see that it was blowing into his face so I snapped a pic ;)

We can't wait to wake up as a family tomorrow :) xo

Fun!

My awesome friend Melissa took Brody for the night with her adorable daughter, Ellie, to a school carnival and then out to dinner and more games!! These two are so stinking cute together :) Thanks for the great night ladies!!

Payton is on the mend :) As soon as we can get him off of the oxygen he can come home on nebulizer treatments! He is currently on .5 liters which is great since yesterday he needed 2.5 liters. They have tried cutting down further a couple times but he wasn't ready...we will see how he does after his next neb treatment. Riley is also much better tonight- I haven't heard much coughing in the monitor at all, we may all get some zzzz's tonight ;)

Night 3

Payton is staying awake for periods, but is hard to entertain given all the cords keeping him constrained :( For once he has the iPad all to himself ;) His condition hasn't improved but has remained stable...praying he will turn the corner soon!! Ben and I are having de je vu of seeing each other only briefly in passing and it is getting us down! We have a lot of support and help from family and friends but a lot of stress and responsibilities on our plates, we deal much better when we can conquer together. Riley is now struggling at home as well, hoping that he won't be taken out like Payton and that Evan can be untouched!! Brody is doing good, sweet as a bug :) Can't wait to get back to normal and post some good pics and updates!! Hopefully soon the pictures will also include moving day :)

Night 2

Payton is hanging in there but not enough improvements that we are confident this will be his last night here. We need him to drink more fluids and get off of the oxygen, I am sure we will be testing both of those out tomorrow. He is awake for longer periods of time but is more difficult to console as I am sure he is quite uncomfortable and missing life at home. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes, it really means a lot :) I need to catch some zzz's while Payton is resting peacefully, the hospital has its own schedule and it's rough to follow!!
xoxo

Sent from my iPhone

Not-so-happy-heart-day

Payton continued to worsen even after seeing the pedi and getting another breathing treatment this afternoon. He was admitted to the hospital for hydration, oxygen, antibiotics (which he couldn't keep down at home), and more breathing treatments. I just got home to try and get some rest while Ben is taking the night shift with Payton trying to keep him comfortable. Praying that they both get some rest and that tomorrow is a better day.
xo

...this pic is from our holding area while they got a room ready (full house there) I hope P can get comfortable with all the cords and monitors, most of all he will probably be missing his brothers/roommates!!

RSV :(

I can't remember the last time one of the boys fell asleep on my chest. We went back to the pedi office today and Payton tested positive for RSV, breaks my heart. We are trying to keep him comfortable and hydrated, poor bug can't take much more. We are praying to keep this contained and that he can recover without having to be treated for dehydration.

Red Room!

You know you really love your son when you agree to paint his bedroom red :) This was our inspiration picture (not Brody's actual room) but his room is now just as bright! Yikes, hope he can sleep in it. I am on the hunt for oldish car things, we had to compromise- I don't want to look at a giant lightening mcqueen on his wall everyday ;) Can't wait to post some "finished" pictures!!

Glance

Brody often gives this sweet glance to the side in pictures, I love it.

Squeaky Clean

Bath time has gotten quite crazy and oh so much fun!! This is the only group picture I captured that didn't expose a full frontal of one of the babes! Riley loves to stand in the bath, Evan stands when he's done and Payton usually just waits patiently....until today, he stood in the bath. I am in trouble now :)

Door Greeters

Thought this was posted last night?? Sigh*

Look at the excitement the boys are showing when they noticed Gpa David outside coming home from work- it was so cute!! Diaper time is definitely their favorite time of the day :)

Brody Date!

Ben and I got to take Brody out tonight for ( a celebratory) dinner! After the trips were sleeping :) It was full of giggles and yummy food! The night ended with a quick trip to the grocery store (where he got to drive the race car) and books and snuggles before bed :) xoxo

We Share Toys

Bedtime Chats

Brody and Payton had quite the conversation while getting the trips ready for bed tonight. I got a few videos of Payton telling Brody all about his day and big brother thought it was a pretty funny story. We are lucky that P is feeling better and Riley is mending because E is now quite the handful! Poor bug, lots of tears today :( Payton has his appetite back, thank goodness! He is down to 16 lb 13 oz, not good!!

Go Superbowl!!

Brody only knows one team and that's the Lions!! (Well, he also knows about Tebow thanks to uncle T ;) ) So all day today he simply cheered for the Super Bowl! It was pretty cute. He had so much fun playing with his friend Ellie and was quite entertaining for the adults as well at our friends Super Bowl party. He ate great, who knew a fresh scotcharoo bar could be such a motivator to finish a plate! Thanks friends, love you all!!

Cabin Fever Fix

We were feeling the cabin fever after spending all week home sick :( The boys are still under the weather but needed some fresh air and a change of scenery. It was a beautiful day so we decided to make a quick trip out for lunch. Lucky for us we had a couple uncles to help out with the ratio and ran into a few friends too! It was a fun quick lunch, so glad Ebeneezer's has reopened after the flood- it was delicious and looks great! The best part was a sweet lady who stopped on her way out to tell me....

not: Wow, you have your hands full! Or, is that twins?? Oh- triplets! How do you get any sleep? Do you have help? I could never.... Or, Better you than me! (duh!!) Or, Did you use IVF?? (uh, no- but why do you think you have the right to ask me that!?) Or any other silly remark I often hear in passing...

No, she stopped and whispered in my ear that I had beautiful children!! Made my day. Thanks sweet lady :)

Here is a picture of Riley checking out the menu!

Baby Girl!!

 Sloane Harlow Waind....our first Waind Niece!!! Sloane is Ben's brother, Matt and wife Melissa's 2nd baby...you all know big bro Dreyden from many posts ;) She is so beautiful and looks just like her big brother- only daintier ;)

 Proud Auntie!!!

 Can you see her smiling at me??!?!!

Happy in Uncle's arms :)

Sorry- we didn't get a picture with the proud mom and dad on our first visit (trust me- they were glowing and doing great!)- they were FINALLY eating some dinner!! MANY more pictures to come of this sweetie- we love her to pieces and are so happy she is finally here!! xoxo

Working the nights away....

 Brady got all the cabinets in this week, with a little help from some friends! Even if we were just there to watch in awe- his expertise is custom woodwork, but did us a favor with the installation of our pre-fabs. We couldn't have done it without him!

 Uncle Terry on the electrical

 Brady's sidekick, Kramer

Haley holding up the wall ;)

Sidenote: the babies are improved today, there is hope of a more restful night tonight!!