Jack's Stats

Jack had to go to get a pre-op physical today and so I thought I would pass along his stats at 3 years, 8 months:
Ht: 39.5 inches (50-75%)
Wt: 38 lbs. (75%)
He has grown 3 inches since his birthday at Christmas and gained about 2 lbs!

Little Feet

I have been meaning to take of picture of the girls' feet in their stroller. I crack up when I get this view of SIX little feet kicking!

Build-A-Bear on John's Birthday

We took Jack to Build-A-Bear today for him to pick out a bear to take with him to the hospital next week. We thought that he is so into playing with the dolls and diapers/clothes/bottles, that this bear would be a great toy for him and also a nice security object for his surgery. He actually picked out a dog. He wanted to name him Carter, but ended up naming him Buddy. We let him pick out an outfit and he chose a Bears sweatshirt and jeans. When we put him in bed last night, he wanted to know where his PJs were...and what he was going to wear tomorrow...I told him he could wear the same clothes and we could wash them (pretend) each day. The dog slept next to his baby doll on his train table last night. Other than our trip out to the mall, we are battling Roseola, diarrhea, diaper rashes and teething around here--makes for a fun birthday for John!

If you have a few moments, say a quick prayer for Jack. We are hoping this is the only surgery he will need. Thanks.

Sippie Cups

This picture makes the transition from bottles to sippie cups look easy. Right after I took this picture, Elizabeth and Anna rolled over, crawled away and Elizabeth went after Kate's cup. Then Kate got up and they were all reaching for each other's cups. They have been drinking water out of straw sippie cups for a while, but I introduced milk for the first time in sippie's today. I understand this is a process, but honestly, it is a process I could do without. The bottles are so easy. With the bottle, I know they are getting enough to eat. But, for the time being, I will keep giving them the milk and continue with the bottles until they catch on to this cup idea.

Playdate with Eleanor and Ethan

The girls and Jack and I went over to the Meuer's house for a play date with Eleanor and Ethan after Jack's first day of school. This is the first play date for the girls! Eleanor had to nap half way through the play date, so there is only one picture of her.

Eleanor is in the exersaucer, the girls pretty much ignored her while they played with all the new toys.

First Day of Preschool

Today was Jack's first day of preschool at St. John of the Cross. I could tell he was a little nervous about going this morning, but when we got there, he didn't want to let go of my hand. I ended up walking him partway into school towards his classroom. There were a few tears...that part was hard, but when I picked him up afterwards, he was all smiles and so excited to tell me about his day. I think once he gets back into the swing of things, he will be running out the door!

Preschool Orientation

Today, I took Jack to his preschool orientation. This is a new school for him this year. I think he is excited to be going to the same school as his older cousins, but I can tell he is a little anxious about being left with his mama or daddy. Since he went to school last year, he will get used to it again. There are 11 boys and 6 girls in his class (John thinks this is good, he is around enough females at home :) ). He has his own locker, too! His teacher is Mrs. Janowitz. She is really nice!

 

 

Ball State Gymnatics

Today, I had some old friends come to visit from college. Jen, Jodi and I all competed together at Ball State. We got together with our kids. It was the first time I have seen Jen's little boy, Brody. She recently moved to Chicago, so we plan to get together frequently. Jack and Brody played in the Jeep quite a bit, while Jodi's girls were perfect little helpers with my girls. It was nice to see them and talk about the good old days when we were young! There is nothing that can replace old friends!

Brody and Jack

Jack was the driver and Brody was a good passenger. Notice the baby doll in the trunk. Jack didn't want Brody to ride in that seat because he was transporting the baby. I had to find space in the trunk for the diaper bag and baby so Brody could ride.

The girls all sat in the shade.

Jack pulling Ella, Abby and the girls. Not sure where Brody is, that child never stopped moving!

New Jeep

We got this Jeep from John's sister whose kids are all done playing with it. Papa and Mimi got is all fixed up and put a new battery in it and brought it up to Jack last week. Jack loves this Jeep. He has been playing on it non-stop since Saturday. Between that and playing babies, he is loving life!

One Year Check-Up

The girls had their one year check up today. I recruited my niece to come along with Madeleine and I so we could each have one baby and I have to say it was a good idea to do this. The girls are at a stage where all they want to do is crawl around--and on the floor of a pediatrician's office is probably not the best place to let them do this. So, we each held a baby and went through snack traps of Cheerios to distract them during the exams. They got three shots (Prevnar, Chicken pox and Hepatitis A) and a TB skin test! This was the worst appointment yet; all three were not very happy about all the needles!

Dr. Kaczor is pleased with the how the girls are doing. They are reaching all their milestones. He thought they might be walking by October. He suggested that we keep them on formula for the next month or so and keep an eye on their weights. All three have reached the charts for their head circumference and are very close to the 3rd percentile on their lengths. Typically, preemies catch up in their heads first with length and weight to follow. He anticipates they will "catch-up" by two years of age and projected them to weigh 20 lbs by age two. Here is where they are today.

Anna: 14 lbs. 2 oz.--She has come a long way from her birthweight of 4 lbs. 3 oz.

27 inches long (4th percentile)

Head circumference: 44 cm (20th percentile!)

Elizabeth: 13 lbs. 7 oz.--She has come a long way too from her birthweight of 3 lbs. 1 oz.

26.5 inches long (1st percentile)

Head circumference: 44 cm (20th percentile!)

Kate: 14 lbs--So has she come a long way from her birthweight of 3 lbs. 12 oz.

26.25 inches long (1st percentile)

Head circumference: 44 cm (20th percentile!)

Comparing them to Jack at one year-

19 lbs. 3 oz.

28.5 inches long

One Year Birthday Party!

We celebrated the girls' birthday today with a lot of family and friends. It turned out to be a nice day despite a few rain drops in the morning. The girls were loving all the company and attention! And, the cake was a lot of fun, too. It was a busy day and I tried to get pictures, but I realized I don't have any of John and none of John and I with the triplets. Oh, well, that is what it is like when you have a party for one-year-old triplets!

Here they are on their birthday--Elizabeth, Kate and Anna

Elizabeth, Kate and Anna (with Jack)

Erin and Elizabeth ready to party

Kate and Margaret ready to party

Anna and Erin ready to party

Jack and Jake

Amy playing with Elizabeth

My mom made the cakes--they looked so nice we didn't want to cut into them to eat them!

She made three doll cakes for the girls to eat

The fairy tale castle for the three princesses

A cake for Kate

A cake for Elizabeth

A cake for Anna

A close up of the doll cake

Grandmom holding Elizabeth

Mama and Elizabeth

The girls spent a lot of time in their play room. Although, not in this picture, we saw Kate for the first time sing into the microphone of the piano. I think she picked this up from seeing Jack do it. It was pretty cute to see.

All three crawling around

This is one of my favorite pictures from their birthday. I like that you can sort of see their bloomers with their names on their behinds.

Getting ready for cake. We sang to each girl separately.

Elizabeth

Anna

Kate

Ready to dig in!

Kate didn't really like to get all that messy. Elizabeth liked to play more than eat the cake and Anna was serious about getting that cake in her mouth.

Anna

Elizabeth

Kate

After the cake, they needed a bath! This is the first time they have been in the tub all at once!

After the long day, Elizabeth was a little under the weather. She had a fever and was fussy. There were really no other illness symptoms and the next day she was fine, she must have picked up a little virus somewhere.

We got the girls a triple doll stroller for their birthday.

Mimi bought them Bitty Babies. They like the dolls, but Jack really enjoys them!

Amy and Jack were playing "triplets" with the babies. Jack has not stopped playing with the dolls since the party. He diapers them, dresses them, uses wipes, lotion and puts on their PJs. I guess he has been paying attention to what has been going on around at our house for the last year!

We are glad to have made it through the party and so glad to spend time with everyone that helped us survive the first year.