First Trip to the Zoo

Today, I took the girls and Jack to the Brookfield Zoo. Thankfully, Aunt Sarah and Nicholas came with us. I realized that I would not be able to make this trip by myself and honestly, I am not quite sure when I will be able to venture out with all four kids without help! Jack is still young enough he needs a stroller when he gets tired and I can't push two! Sarah was a great help and the boys (and girls) had a great time.

I believe they were looking at the kangaroos

The girls were happy to get some fresh air

The boys ended up on the (very crowded) playground.

Funny thing about today. I swear now that I have multiples, I run into other moms with twins/triplets so often. Looking at the first animal today, I realized we were next to another mom pushing a stroller with twins. Then, at the playground, I acutally ran into the lady who sold us the triple stroller. She has 4 1/2 year old triplets (and 3 other children). She said she was glad to see the stroller is working out for us. I told her the stroller never got a break from this zoo, it has been coming there for the last 4 years! She got a kick out of seeing the girls for the first time. Also, on the way out of the zoo, we let the boys ride the carousel. While waiting in line, I realized the woman in front of us had twin girls (4 years) and we talked while we waited our turn. I, again, got many stares and comments on the girls (one guy actually asked if they were boys or girls...yikes, could they be dressed in any more pink?), but I realize that with my triple stroller, it is something I will have to get used to, or else never go out, right?

"I Love You Six!"

I wanted to write this down I don't forget this funny stage. Recently, Jack likes to randomly tell us how much he loves us. He will blurt out, "I love you six!" Then, one of us will say, "I love you seven." What makes him so funny is that he doesn't really get that the higher the number, the more the quantity. He will usually repeat what we say, and we will keep going and increase the numbers. He usually will keep repeating what we say and not add another number and then sometimes, he will go backwards. We will be at 21, and he will go back to 6. It is funny.

Church--All Six of Us

We made it to mass today as a family. The girls have not gone since Christmas and have only been one other time other than Christmas. With winter coldness and all the germs, we have kept them home. John and I have been attending mass separately since they have been born, but decided it was time to start taking them and going as a family. We walked to church since it is only a few blocks and the girls then had their own seats (triple stroller) during mass. It was a little embarrassing bringing the stroller to the church, but since we live in a walking community, we have seen others bring in strollers, too. Just not a triple wide one. Oh, well, it is what it is. The girls were well behaved. No one fussed until near the end...you guessed it...Elizabeth. She also did NOT fall asleep even though it was her nap time. The other two snoozed for a half an hour or so. At the begining of the mass I looked at John and asked him who he thought would cry first. Poor Elizabeth--we know her too well! But, considering it was a long mass, they did extremely well. We also had back up help--John's brother and family sat in the back with us in case we needed to make a quick exit. I really wish our church had a cry room! It is so nice to attend as a family. We got a few stares and many smiles and quite a few people had nice compliments. One old lady was brought to tears. I remember talking with another triplet mom about this, how many people are in awe--especially the elderly-- of the sight of triplets. I guess because triplets were so uncommon until recently. It really makes us appreciate our children and see them as precious gifts from God.

As we were walking out, we ran into Father Ken. Jack loves to call the priests, "Father". The stroller is quite a sight and as he was admiring the girls (who, Anna, by the way was giving him the biggest grins), Jack the chatterbox was, well, talking his ear off. The conservation went something like this:

FK "Wow, you must be a special big brother to have all these sisters."
J "I feed lots of babies."
FK "I bet you are a big helper."
J "Do you want to come over to our house?"
FK "I would love to come over."
J "Do you want to spend the night?"
FK "Well, I bet the beds in your house are filled."
J "You can sleep in my bed."
FK "How about I come over for a snack sometime."
J "Mama, Father wants to come and have a snack with me."

Tonight, Jack was asking John where Father lives. John was trying to tell him he lives next to the church and decided he would have to show him next Sunday. Funny kid.

Easter Egg Hunt

We went to our town's Easter Egg hunt today. We decided to take the girls with us (at some point we need to venture out with them, right?). It started at 9 am. Since our town is pretty small, we decided we would walk up to the Tower Green where it was located. It is just less than a mile to the train and town from our house. Jack rode his bike. I would not believe it if you told me last summer he would be riding to town this year on his bike, but as uncoodinated as he is, he does ride his bike pretty well. Maybe there is hope for him to be some sort of an athelete. Anyway, we were attempting to leave our house by 830 or so to allow us enough time in case Jack pooped out on his riding. Proudly, we left at 835 and made it there with 5 minutes to spare. That's a lot of work for a Saturday morning...dressing and feeding four kids, pumping (twice), and bundling them up and loading them in their seats. I also was able to get the day's bottles made before we left! John kept telling me we could be a few minutes late as I was giving him orders, but I kept telling him we would miss it if we were late. I was right. Once they blew the whistle for the 1-3 year olds, it was over within a few minutes. Jack loved collecting the eggs. He had a few pieces of chocolate and wanted to carry his bag home walking instead of riding his bike. After a few blocks of walking he was tired, so we bribed him with another piece of candy to ride his bike the rest of the way home. He is at a funny stage. He carried his "Easter Egg Hunts" (plastic eggs) around all day, switching them from one bag to another and he even wanted to take them to bed! We have another Easter Egg hunt next weekend--he'll be a pro at these!

Jack loved this man in costume. He ran right up to him and said "Hi"

Before the hunt began

It got pretty crowded

Showing daddy his eggs

The girls were good observers, taking notes for next year

Helping him get to his candy

There were quite a few people that showed up for this!

Sisters

Recently, the girls have started to reach out, smile and look at each other. It is actually quite cute. Here are a few pictures.

Kate and Anna noticing each other

Love those eyes!

Such a cutie--that Kate!

Triplets

Katherine Maxine

Elizabeth Kristine