Happy Due-Date Birthday, Toddlers!

    March 9th....the girls' original "due date". Of course, we knew there was no chance on actually getting to their due date- or even February for that matter, but it is an important date to us! The due date tells us what their adjusted age is. So, they are ONE year old, adjusted! Next year we won't even be thinking about the "adjusted" age because they are supposed to be caught up by then.
    Tomorrow, the girls go in to their 15 month appointment! (No shots, phew!) We'll see if they make their real age growth curve yet, but I doubt it. We don't have big girls by any means. Luckily, my parents will be able to help me with the appointment. They are in town to pick up my brother Ben from the airport (visiting from Portland).
   Now that Sofia, Maddie, and Josie are toddlers, my initial plan was to be done with formula as soon as their stock pile ran out. So.....I confess I went out and bought just one more can ("toddler" formula this time) because I was just not prepared to be done with bottles just yet. It's more sad than I thought it would be to be done with formula and bottles. They just seem to like their routine, but I know it will have to change at some point. My main excuse is that I need to talk to the pediatrician about cow's milk/water/nutrition in general before we're done. Giving up formula along with giving up pumping were two hassles I thought would be so easy to give up but both proved not to be! They aren't babies anymore!
Yesterday, I got a call from the library saying the book I requested was in, so today I brought them all to go pick it up. I really don't take them out too much, and every time I do take them out I'm reminded that it is out of the ordinary to have triplets- and that's putting it lightly. We were stared at by just about everyone. Some pointed, some just gave me sweet smiles, and some commented to me. I haven't experienced any negativity but I hear from other triplet families that they do. Anyways, I am not used to getting stared at for any reason.  To make everything harder, the girls sometimes start bawling when strangers look at them up close. Today, it was Madeline and Sofia. I wonder how the airplane and airport will be in April...
   Madeline is walking full time now- she surprised us because Sofia had been ahead but Madeline just got motivated lately. Sofia will be full time walking soon enough, and Josie is walking more each day! All three love to imitate us more than before and they clap and point so much! They are so fun!! OK, picture time (and video to show Madeline's skills).

Sofia looking up at another balloon (thanks for the entertainment, Mary).

Josie peeking.

 

Madeline- now what color are her eyes? I can't tell.

They're saying "You're really making us wait for food?!"

Odin just cracked us up yesterday- he gradually and nonchalantly got up on Dan's lap like he is a true lap dog! Uhhh, I don't think so, Odin!

  I'll try to update with their percentile stats tomorrow.  Have a great rest of the week!

PS

I have to add these videos... anyone out there have/had a baby that does this mode of transportation? All three girls have been doing this for a long time but I haven't posted a video of it yet. Every person who sees it thinks it's funny and hasn't seen it before. Have you? The first video is of Sofia doing it, then Josie is doing it in the second.

I just wrote a full update so scroll down if you haven't read that one yet!!

The Girls...

Our girls are busy, busy TODDLERS. Oh my! They love to see what they can climb on and what non-toys they can discover. Their recent thing to climb on is their music activity table. Who cares if it can play fun music- it's way more fun to sit on! They also love to climb on the fireplace brick and just hang out. It makes me really nervous when the girls are up there.


They had their last RSV shots of the season this past Tuesday. Wow, I'm glad we're done with the monthly terror! I'm so thankful they were able to get them but glad we're done. It's a sign of spring! Knock on wood, the girls really haven't gotten sick this winter but we've been diligent about keeping them away from the public. I miss being out though! Come quickly, summer!

Sofia so happy!

Madeline :)

Josie- this pic makes me smile!

Sofia in the chair backwards...Maddie and Josie patiently waiting their turns?

Josie joining Sofia and Madeline

Here are some walking videos. The first one shows Madeline walking (this movie cracks me up) Josie is in the next one and Sofia is the last one.

One big piece of news is that we found a new house to fit our huge family! It's in a suburb of St. Paul and we close March 31! We have the mortgage rate fixed so it feels very real! I'll miss our neighborhood but not the tiny house (really, it wouldn't feel tiny if we had just one baby). Some of the highlights are 4 big bedrooms, a big kitchen, main floor laundry, a sport court (you can play basketball, tennis, etc on it) and hot tub in the backyard, and it's really close to a nice nature preserve and park. We plan to get our current house on the market really soon but we are in the middle of fixing up the basement. Hopefully it won't take too long to sell.

Dan's sister, Lara, and her two boys are here for a couple of days, plus my parents are coming back from Florida so we'll be busy in a good way! Have a great weekend everyone!

One Year Ago...

One year ago today, Sofia and Madeline were discharged from the hospital! This day was just as life-changing as their birth. We went to the hospital that morning expecting to bring just Sofia home, but the doctor let us know Madeline could go too if we were alright with it. It was a big surprise but we couldn't say no to that! We were so sad to leave Josie behind but she had to get stronger before she could join her sisters. I'll link-up the first couple posts of them being home.

All set to leave the hospital!

Josephine around the time of her sisters' discharge. So sad to leave her behind.

Tiny! Sofia on left, Madeline on right.

Madeline on left, Sofia on right. (Madeline still had jaundice.)

Madeline had a bath her first day home!

Comparison photo of Madeline today!

I'm so glad I don't have to re-live that first night with Sofia and Madeline home. My life was flashing before my eyes- I was picturing every age and how hard everything would be. The following night was much better and I finally believed we could do this! And here we are today- they are so happy, healthy, and manageable!

Sofia and Madeline have been walking across the room! Their main mode of transportation is still crawling, but they are definitely progressing.  Josie is taking a little break in the walking department. 

Sofia and Madeline

Josie is happy after her nap!

Josie!

All three of them are so funny lately. We already knew they think it's funny to burp, but now they are pretending to burp, then breaking out in hysterics! I hope we aren't creating bad manners monsters! (Hehe I'm not actually worried about that.)

 Have a great weekend!

February 16

   I'm back into the swing of things after being away for the weekend! It was my FIRST night(s) away from the babies since they came home from the hospital. I missed them terribly, but I got a chance to meet my good friend, Leah's, new baby, Elsa. I couldn't believe how little Elsa was (she's about 8 lbs) and that our babies were 3 lbs smaller when they first came home! Leah and Mike's other daughter, Anna, is going to be 2 in April, and she was so much fun. When ours are her age, watch out! When I came home Sunday night, I rushed back to see the girls before they went to sleep (thanks, Marie, for the ride!) I got huge smiles and I couldn't help not crying! Thanks again, to Dan's parents who helped out this past weekend- both with babysitting when Dan was at work, and for helping us redo our basement.

Sofia is really turning into a little toddler. It just seems that she is a lot more engaged with us. I've noticed this with the others, but when Sofia burps she laughs about it! We have also noticed that she seems to tease the others by handing over a toy to a sister, but then yanking it back and laughing. Stinker! :) She is still the most social and doesn't shy away from new people as much as the other two. I can't remember whether I wrote this already, but Sofia is also turning into more of a daddy's girl than before. (She used to be pretty clingy to me.) One more tidbit is that she "adopted" two little stuffed dogs to be her "loveys". The other two like the blankies we gave them a while back but Sofia waited around for the dogs!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Sofia's favorite animal is the dog (and I love that she has one hand on her sippy!)

Sofia just standing there!

Madeline is getting braver with taking more steps. She seems really proud of herself when she is able to keep her balance and practice walking. Lately, I've been showing them how to color with a crayon and seeing if they will try too. Madeline was the first to make the color motion over the paper with a crayon in hand! The other two would try to taste the crayon the first couple of times I tried this activity. Maddie has the strongest stranger anxiety right now...sometimes she will start crying even if a stranger just looks at her or talks to her. She is still the biggest and is getting close to 20 lbs! We're going to switch to convertible seats really soon.

Madeline to Sofia "Move over, I'm coming in!"

Madeline!

Josephine is finally willing to try walking too! She is still hesitant and almost forgets how to step with her left foot, even though she does fine behind a walker. Lately, she is the momma's girl and clings to me when she gets tired or moody. Yesterday, the Roseville ECFE people came by again and Madeline and Josie kept their distance in the beginning. They just sat in the hallway and watched until they felt comfortable enough to join. It was really typical but so cute to see them just watch us! The ECFE people said the girls are still doing well, and they are going to come one more time before the plan ends.

Josie in the shelf- all the girls love to be in shelves, boxes, etc!

Josie standing with Sofia's dog

I did a "photo shoot" for a Valentine's picture... I learned that group shots are a thing of the past. I finally put them in this laundry basket to contain them instead of sitting them on the couch (L to R:  M,S,J).

Looking out the window (closest to farthest: J, S, M)

Edited: Dan found a great deal on tickets so we are now flying...a whole new scare- anyone out there with advice for flying with multiple 1 year olds? 
  Well, hope everyone is having a great week!

Happy Valentine's Day!



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We Have Proof!

The girls have been working on taking steps for a while now. I never realized how long of a process it is. They have been taking a couple steps here and there since late December/early January. I always thought Sofia would be the best because her balance is the best, and I'm right! The record steps is probably about 10 by Sofia, but of course it's impossible to catch that on tape. Here's the best evidence so far that we do have beginner walkers! It's pretty obvious, but this is during "Naked Baby Time". Go Sofia, Go!



I'm about to take the girls out to an endocrinologist appointment when they wake up from their nap all by myself! Talk about scary! It's not really the logistics of it all, it's more that they have stranger danger so they will all want me to hold them. Mama only has two arms. We'll see...maybe they'll warm up to the doctor. I plan to bring the huge Runabout stroller since I figured how to fit it in the car (without disassembling it!)

I've been thinking about all the changes that will be happening soon (goal is by their due date March 9).... only one nap a day, no more bottles/formula, no more pureed food... It seems like we're really transitioning into TODDLERHOOD. We've already cut out most of the spoon feeding except one meal of Greek yogurt/fruit/cereal mostly because Sofia and Josie were becoming more difficult with my concoctions. Now for dinner it is all finger food! They're definitely not perfect with finger foods though and it's a little disheartening- I'm always wondering if they're eating enough. They do NOT like meat (I think it's still too hard to gum up- I don't think they mind the flavor), Madeline won't touch cubed squash, and they all try to cram as much food in their mouth as possible. It's a little nerve wracking because of the possibility of choking, but I've learned to put food on the tray gradually, not all at once. Anyways, we are so close to having toddlers... once they start walking around more I guess we can finally call them toddlers. That is so crazy to me!

Hope everyone is coping with winter- sounds like crazy storms everywhere but here..and St. Augustine, Florida, where my LUCKY parents are! Say "hello and miss you" to the ocean for me :(  

OK, here are some of the latest pictures!

Beautiful girl, Sofia!

Madeline's typical smile!

Josephine :)

Sofia and Madeline- I didn't put either in the car- I just found them like this!

 

Just had to add this picture of Sofia to show off her BIG front tooth!