#150...a reflection...

What better way to end the year than with my 150th post. I was asked if I was going to do something special for the 150th since I made such a deal about it. I was asked that prior to the hectic week we had last week. I had thought about doing something fun like the top 150 reason I love being a mom or a top 150 list of some sort. Late last week I was worried I would not make it to 150. So this post is no different than any of the others...it comes from the heart. A reflection or more like the year in review.
Let me start out by saying this year has been AMAZING! Thanks to having the blog I can look back at where we started, what we have gone thru and where we ended up. Thank goodness for technology (for MANY reasons!).
January was the slowest month for posts, only 4...I cannot believe it! But it was still a big month for the kids as they lost their gummy smiles and traded them in for toothy grins. A small milestone, but a milestone none the less. They continued to work on crawling and pulling up in hopes to walk some day.
Then February came. We started it out with, at that time a huge milestone, turning one year old. Oh the fun I had with planning and making that day special for the kids. Although it was fun it still pulled at my heart. This month was also big for them getting off of formula (yippy) and feeding themselves. We also gained a walker this month. Getting more independant every day.
March was a quiet month. We gain yet another walker. More steps to not needing mommy's help as much.
April marked the first getaway for us. It also marked the end of an era...the crawling era as we now had all three walking. It was also our first rummage sale for kids stuff, which was very successful.
May had many things...first actual walk, first coloring, an addition to the family, my 2nd Mother's Day and civilized eating. More and more step to becoming full blown toddlers.
June was filled with fun but tears too. We saw our first parade and went on our first family vacation. Our hearts were torn in half when we had to put our beloved dog Baylee down.
July is when summer is in full swing...we swam, went to the beach, had a wonderful playyard built, went to our first county fair and they got their very own brooms.
August was spent mostly enjoying the playyard and swimming. We did venture out in public with the triplet stroller for the farmer's market. August also marks the splitting of the kids into separate rooms. A lot of work but I accomplished a dream room for our little girl.
September was filled with time with family...Nana, Papa, Great Grandpa Pluemer, Great Grandma Lenzendorf and cousin Alexis. We also accomplished our first fingerpainting as well as a second rummage sale. We also took another step towards growing up...we went to one nap a day. Mommy and Daddy did get some free time to celebrate the 105th birthday for Harley Davidson with a beautiful day ride.
October marked the introduction of potty chairs as well as their first outdoor pet...black and brown catapillars. October was huge for the boys as they had finally enough hair to get their first haircuts. We also played in the fallen leaves a lot. We also participated in our first trick or treat.
November we took a trip back to the NICU and impressed our nurses and doctors. We also moved on to eating cereal and soup with a spoon. We witnessed a first snow fall and got to go outside in it to play. We also got a great playhouse that is loved very much.
December was a month that seemed to fly by. We met Santa for the first time. We took our first bubble bath. We dealt with the flu and a death. We tried hard to behave with the Christmas tree. And we celebrated our 2nd Christmas as a family.
So it was a great year and we look forward to see what 2009 brings us. Happy New Years to everyone! Thanks for reading and keeping up with us.
Love, Jen
This picture was taken last night right before bedtime...can you tell the kids are tired, not to mention mommy too!
This picture was taken this morning. The kids have loved having Jeremy home and you can tell, can't ya?

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone! The kids open presents from Santa this morning. Here are some of the generous things Santa got them...a doll center, which includes a swing, bassinet and highchair for baby, a talking grill, which means they can grill just like daddy (but his grill does not talk), 3 large dump trucks, a set of fake food, which included a cookie jar, ice cream and cupcakes, new slippers, a couple books, flash cards and best of all new flip cell phones! They are enjoying all the new toys. Here are 5 picture of the many I took. They had fun unwrapping everything.
Love, Jen

What a week!

This week started out horrible!
Jeremy got back from his trip home Sunday early afternoon. My mom and I headed out to do some last minute Christmas shopping. The winds were horrible so we were hoping for less people to be out and about. After stopping at the first store and heading to the second someone hit my truck. Thank goodness I did not have the kids with me. No one was hurt and I will not get into the details but I was a little hot afterwards.
After having to deal with that we found out a few hours later that Jeremy's grandma had passed away. We tried dealing with that as well as getting info for the arrangements. We went into overdrive in trying to prep for the funeral as well as Christmas. A funeral is uncharted territory so we had no idea what to expect from the kids. Monday morning we packed, got a quote for the repairs to the truck, mailed some Christmas packages and got on the road by 12:30. We could not have done it without the help of my mom...THANK YOU!
We made it to Montfort without major complications. The kids did absolutely wonderful at the wake, funeral, luncheon and burial. I could not have asked for better behaved kids then what they were. They were asked to sit still for longer than 2 seconds, in fact it was an hour and a half of staying put. They met many new people. Had to eat without their booster seats and many other "new" things. We are very proud parents to say the least!
We were in Montfort until today so Christmas at my parents has been rescheduled, our Christmas morning was rescheduled as well as the Lenzendorf Christmas. Santa was nice enough to leave presents for the kids for them to open tomorrow morning. We will celebrate Christmas with Nana, Papa, Aunt Jeanne, Uncle Brent and the girls on Saturday here and the Turner Christmas will be celebrated on the 3rd. For the kids it will seem like Christmas does not end, yet for me it does not even feel like Christmas.
We will miss grandma dearly, but know she is feeling no more pain. The kids will treasure the photos of them with her. Unfortunately they are too young to have many memories but they will be told about her and what an amazing woman she was.
Thank goodness for children as they are sometimes the best comic relief in some stressful and sad times. Here are some "fun" photos of while we were away.
Look mommy I can be just like you...
Daddy is a good place to just chill with a little juice too...

A new bath tub, new bath toys....this bath is SO much fun...

A table made just for us...perfect fit...

Alex working hard on a puzzle...

Zach working hard on being goofy...

Yup we can still ALL fit in the rubbermaid container...

Cousins, a new look and more

The last few days have been a whirlwind of events. Starting with Thursday it has been a roller coaster ride. Jean had to work a few hours due to last minute hussle to get closing on houses before the holidays. So that means Alexis was here. This first picture is of the four of them taking some time out of their busy schedules to read and relax.

Thursday night Jeremy left town to go home for a family emergency. I had planned to re-arrange the breezeway this weekend. I was not sure if I would still be able to with Jeremy being gone. Fortunately with the help of Jean and my mom we were able to do it. The kids did a great job of staying out the way and entertaining themselves. Here is a picture of them "supervising" Jean vacuuming the furniture.

Saturday night Jean and Alexis stopped to have dinner with us. They arrived just as their favorite character was playing on tv...Elmo! The chairs came out again and for a split second all were quiet! Can you tell they like Elmo?!?!?

Alex in the middle of a hug with Alexis.

As you may notice from previous posts, Zach and Alexis are two peas in a pod! Saturday night the two again played together. This time Zach was in love with her hair (as she does have more of it then these guys). Here is some of the pictures of the series of the two of them playing. Zach hugging and playing with her hair. Just too cute!

And I was worried...

When I posted about making it to 150 posts for the year I was afraid that I would not make it, afraid there would not be enough exciting things happening to write about. Looking back now I am not sure why I would worry as every day with the kids is an adventure some less of an adventure and more of a challenge! Most days these guys are doing something worth taking a picture of and it does help to have a mommy that is addicted to taking pictures. So as I write my 146th post of the year my kids are sitting nicely at their table reading their little books (no I did not ask them to do this or put them in these positions). And it is early yet in the day! Hope you have been enjoying the numerous post and pictures.
Love, Jen

Frosty the Snowman

In the last two days a stuffed snowman (we will call him Frosty) has become the object of the kids' affection. Everytime I get him out or they ask me to get him out it is all fun. From pulling on his nose and hat to squeezing his buttons and feet. He is a lot of fun and makes for some great pictures too.
Enjoy,
Jen

Alex wrestling with Frosty on the couch......and now on the floor...wonder who is winning...

Elizabeth and her famous oh oh look...

Last I checked he did not talk but apparently he said something funny...
Zach wondering if he is still dreaming from his nap...

Building Brothers

The kids have been recently re-acquainted with their legos. They love building, mostly towers. Yesterday when the boys were up first from the nap I decided to sit down with them and try to teach them about making a sturdy structure...aka a base. So I started them out and then let their imaginations do the rest. As you can see we have pretty good builders on our hands.
Enjoy,
Jen
Here are the boys playing nicely and sharing the legos...
Zach working on his building...

Alex working on adding to the base mommy made...

...and very proud of his work!

Maybe one more piece...a roof...good choice!

Girlie Ghost

The past few days I have a sweatshirt that I have been wearing on and off. When I take it off it is usually in the play area, sot he kids sometimes pick it up and play with it. Yesterday afternoon I walked into the living room to see Liz trying to put it on. So with a little help from mommy we put it on. These are the pictures that I got.
Enjoy.

This is the best picture. Roxy was actually begging me to feed her supper, but happen to be right by Liz. It is TOO cute!

22 month olds and sick-o

The kids are now 22 months old. Can you believe?!?! I can't! I am not sure where the time has gone. Seems like yesterday I was planning their 1st birthday and now I have to start planning their 2nd. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself as it sometimes does not seem real. Yes, we do have triplets! Sometimes saying it even seems weird, but we would not change it for anything. We love being parents of multiples. We love the adventures and challenges that come with raising multiples. I am so glad I have the blog to keep as my diary cuz I am surely not getting the scrapbook done as fast as they are growing and the baby books...well they have not been touched.
Anywho, back to the kids. They are amazing! They are talking fools. Pretty much anything you say they will try to repeat. Now please understand it may not sound exactly like you said it but they try and that is most important! Their current "new" word/phrase is "all right"...apparently I say it a lot...a lot more than I thought I did. The kids are also working on jumping, which is fun for them as I let them practice on the couch...yes later they will be told to stop jumping but it is a major developmental milestone. Another milestone is climbing the stairs verses crawling. Zach loves walking up using the railing. Alex and Liz are happy to use the wall. We are still working on down.
Fortunately the kids got to spend the day with both of us...unfortunate for daddy as he was home due to being sick (he caught the flu from the boys). After the kids were done with lunch they went in to comfort daddy who had come downstairs for a little bit. It was a chairful! The kids each brought a puzzle to work on with daddy. They are too sweet!

The Meeting

Here it is...our Christmas tree. It is ready to meet the kids. Now it has already met them but it was still "naked" at the time. This morning it had lights on but did not seem to draw much more attention than it did "naked". As the kids napped I trimmed the tree.
The boys were the first to wake from the nap so they got introduced first. Alex was unsure about it....

but was still in awe of it's beauty!

Zach who refused to give me his nuk was happy to see a new toy...

and was of course ready to touch everything without hesitation.

When Liz woke from the nap she also was happy to see a new toy, but she would definitely try to make you think she was innocent...looks like it, right?!?!? You know what she is think...as soon as mom is not looking I will grab the "balls" off and blame the boys...hee hee!

even though she has a casual stance (hand in the pocket) she is planning what she will get away with.

The boys checkin it out...Alex being more cautious and Zach needing to touch everything.

Zach pointing out the parts of the tree.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Liz and Zach touch and not listening.