Wednesday, December 28, 2011

2011....A Year for the Record Books!!!

As 2011 comes to a close, I figured I would write a little about this amazing year. It was full of ups and downs, super scary times and super wonderful times, but all in all it's times that I will never, ever forget. The beginning of the year was scary, with our concerns over Makayla. The doctors were so pessimistic about her chances and made it seem like she had almost no chance of surviving. I remember talking to this little girl every day, willing her to fight for herself, and I know so many people prayed for us- and for her specifically- and it worked! In March, I had my 30th birthday, which was spent in bed and throwing up most of the day, but I really didn't care. There will be plenty more birthdays to celebrate. In May, Mike celebrated his birthday, which happened to fall on Mother's Day, and it was our last outing at a restaurant for awhile! And of course, on the 16th, my beautiful triplets were born. I think about May 15th & 16th all of the time. Usually daily. I replay the night before and morning of the babies' birth over and over. It still seems unreal at times. In some ways it seems like yesterday and in other ways it seems ages ago. In August my little Marley turned three. It's such a fun age. Don't get me wrong, you always think your babies/kids are fun, but age three is the best yet. She says such funny things and we just don't know where she gets it from. She is the most amazing big sister. She loves her babies and helps us out so much. She helps me bathe them, feed them, even change poopy diapers. And it's all because she wants to, not because I ask her to. She is still a wild child though and a complete daredevil. My brother, who has twin boys, always says they were never as wild as her. She's just fearless. Please don't let the triplets follow in her footsteps! October was a really rough month, with the loss of Mike's brother Tim. We think about him every day, as we always will. November and December went by really quickly. Marley and the babies had a great Thanksgiving & Christmas. Watching the babies learn and develop has been amazing. In just 7 short months, my babies have really grown up. They are well ahead of what the doctors expect them to be and other than the girls' being a bit small, you would never know they were preemies. I am very excited for 2012 as they celebrate more "firsts," but 2011 will always be one for the record books.


Marissa 7 months ago...

and now

Jack 7 months ago...

and now

Makayla 7 months ago...

and now

Christmas hats!

Marley a year ago

and now

It's been a wonderful year. Thank you to all who have helped us , prayed for us, visited us, sent us stuff, or anything else I'm leaving off. We have wonderful friends and family that we will always be grateful to. Sometimes I don't know if we would have made it without you all!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Santa Claus came to town!

Christmas morning. There's nothing like it. I remember when I was younger, my brother and I would wake up SO early and anxiously wait 'til a decent hour to wake my parents up to open presents. I remember him making me watch The Jetsons cartoon, which I was never a big fan of, and then we would attempt to cook our parents some breakfast. My mom was always very easy to wake up, my dad was another story. But we were relentless and he would get up so we could start. Now, I understand why he didn't want to roll out of bed quite as eagerly as we thought he should. Being a parent is tiring, add on top of that the fact he worked in one week what most people work in two, and I would want to stay in bed just a little while longer too! Every year, Christmas morning is the one day we can count on for Marley to sleep in. Even her 1st Christmas, which she was only 4 months old for, Mike & I waited anxiously for her to get up, debating if we should wake her up or not. But, you know what they say about waking up sleeping babies. I'm sure this will soon change. This year, the triplets made sure we were up bright and early as always, so we took care of feeding and changing them, before we woke Marley up. When we told her Santa had come, she came running out of her room and ran to the living room. "My Dora Kitchen!!" was the first thing she yelled and she immediately went over to it and started (pretend) cooking. She was also very excited about her new Princess Bike from Grandma Boucher and her basketball hoop from Santa. We then put all of her presents in a pile on the couch and she dug in. She showed such excitement with each present and the babies all watched her in awe. They would quickly round up any wrapping paper that got away from her and try a taste, but much to their dismay, we hurried and took it away from them. The babies also got to open some presents and they really seemed to enjoy ripping paper off of things. They got quite a few toys that make lots of noise (just what we need, more noise in this house) and of course those were their favorites. We had celebrated Christmas with my family the night before, as we do every year, and we all received great gifts from everyone. The babies did really good staying up late, but by about 8:30, they let us know it was time to get home. Life works around these babies at the moment. Makayla decided to wake up around 11pm and hang out with me until close to 1am, I guess she thought she'd get a glimpse of Santa. It also took awhile to convince Marley that Santa would only come after she went to sleep, and she finally fell asleep around midnight. Mike's family were also all beyond generous in sending everyone gifts and I would have to say that we have some spoiled, yet very loved, kids! I usually tell people that if they want to buy for our kids, to just buy one gift for Marley and then one gift the babies can share. They each don't need their own toys. But nobody listens and then I feel bad that so much is spent on my kids. However, I also know, that the friends and family who do this, do it because they WANT to, not because they feel obligated, so I need to just relax and be thankful- which I always am. I often sit and look at all of my kids in amazement. I really never thought I'd use the phrases, "my four kids" or "family of six" but again, I'm not the one in charge. For some reason, the babies had their schedules all messed up yesterday, maybe they could sense the excitement, so the entire day consisted of atleast two kids being up at once, and I think Mike was starting to regret taking some time off of work this week. While I was bathing Jack, the little girls were giving him a hard time, I even heard him say, "I'm going to work this week! This is too much!" But, of course, he didn't really mean it and he wouldn't trade a second of this either. The hardest part of the holidays is of course, missing our loved ones. I wish so badly my dad could be here and see all of his grandchildren and just watch the joy in Marley and the twins' faces when they get excited over something. He could watch the triplets grow up and Jack would be his little buddy, beside Keanu and Kaden. I often wonder if Marley wouldn't be so shy of men if she had her Grandpa here because he would show her such love and often wonder what nickname she would have given him that goes with Mimi. I think, whether it's the first or the fiftieth holiday season, that it's never any easier. It makes me sad to know that now my husband and his family have to go thru each season, thinking of Timmy, and wishing he was here too. But, I also know that they wouldn't want us to spend these joyous occasions sad, and celebrating is what they would be doing if they were here, so we need to remember that and honor that. Christmas is such a fun day and I cannot wait to see how much fun it is in the years to come!

The kids' stockings

Christmas morning

Present time!

Marissa and Jack digging in

Marissa found a bunch! And notice little Makayla peeking over

Makayla says, This is fun mom!

Marley & her Princess bike

I think Mike & I have as much fun with this as she does

Friday, December 16, 2011

Time to get my running shoes on

During one of my sonograms with the triplets, we got a shot of their three heads together. I said back then that they were plotting something. I now know what it was. Who can get to the Christmas tree fastest? Or maybe, who can get to big sister's room fastest? Or quite possibly, who can distract mom long enough for the others to get in the playroom and get toys that aren't theirs? My babies are mobile and chasing them down is an all day thing. At first, I could lay on the floor and block them in with my body. But, I am now just seen as a challenge or maybe even as a speedbump, and they just see who can get over me the fastest. They have exploring to do! So, needless to say, Santa will definitely be bringing a pen this year. Today my babies turn 7 months old. It's hard to believe. They are so much fun now and it's exciting to see who will do what each day. Both girls are crawling and Marissa is pulling up on things. Jack can inch around on his tummy and get up on all fours and rock and hop, but he usually just ends up rocking himself to sleep. He would be happy if I just let him jump in his bouncer all day. When he gets tired, he just closes his eyes and goes to sleep. That boy can sleep anywhere. They are doing wonderful with their schedule and bedtime has gotten so much smoother. They are all eating two meals a day and so far they like everything! No picky eaters here :)  Atleast, not yet. Yesterday I changed ten #2 diapers so I guess their digestive systems are working just fine with all the new foods! Anyone who thinks 2 or 3 bad diapers in a day is a lot, just come my way. You will go home feeling lucky! We went and got Christmas pictures last weekend and they actually went pretty good. I was just hoping for one good family picture. It was hard, because the room we were in was so hot and all of the kids were dressed up. Plus, they only had one photographer who was attempting to get everyone's attention and then put the camera to her eye and take the shot. But, we did get a few and everyone cooperated pretty nicely. Marley had her school Christmas play and it was just the most adorable thing. Watching her do things like that make me so proud of her. She got up there and sang and danced and was just the cutest little Rudolph ever. I took the babies to watch her and she was telling everyone those were her sisters and brother. She is such a great big sister. We also got to take her to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas this week and she had a great time. She is really at such a fun age and I wish we were able to do more with her, but before we know it, all 4 kids will be out having fun together. I love watching the babies discover and figure out new things and can't wait to see what they will learn during this month of their lives.

Marissa & Makayla...looking more alike all the time

My happy babies

Marley & Noah headed to see Mickey!

Jack

Marley's school Christmas program

My beautiful girl

Double trouble

Marissa thinking she's funny. Time to move the mattress down already!
Jack jumped himself to sleep