November 5, 2008

Today marks the kids’ eighth month birthday! They are growing and doing pretty well. Ayden is still the biggest at about 14 pounds. Breagan is the longest and probably weighs about 13 pounds. Carmen is still small but mighty weighing in at about 10 pounds. The boys are busy army crawling and Carmen has finally mastered barrel rolling. She now travels around the living room rolling over and over. It is fun to watch them go after objects and to see them interact with each other. Both the physical therapist and I have seen great gains in Carmen. Her torticollis is slowly getting better and her strength throughout her body has really improved. The other day I caught Ayden playing next to Carmen which isn’t unusual, what caught my eye though was Carmen’s death grip on his foot while she sucked on his toes. Gross but very funny to watch!

Thanks to our friend Melanie who gave us two highchairs, the kids no longer take their meals in bouncy seats. This is great for my back (getting old) and for the kids because they get to eat with us in the kitchen. I started them on vegetables and so far it hasn’t been horrible. We are keeping the triplets in now so they didn’t get to go to our wards trunk or treat, but Grandma and Grandpa came over and watched them while we took Taylor. For Halloween night we dressed up the kids in their Dalmatian costumes (thanks again Melanie) took pictures of them and then took the costumes off. Ayden really didn’t enjoy this as you can tell from the expression on his face, but we sure oohed and awed.

Taylor had a blast with her cousins and made the comment that she couldn’t wait until next year’s Halloween. Happy November! It is one of my favorite times of the year due to the holiday of Thanksgiving. There is a lot to be grateful for and it is a wonderful time to “see” our Master’s hand in all things.

October 21, 2008

It’s been the battle of wills. That is the reason why the blog has not been updated…. it has been a battle of who should update the blog and neither Scott or I wanted to be the one to give in, but I can’t stand the pressure anymore so I’m updating – we’ll see how long it takes Scott to notice! I say that Scott did such a wonderful job and everybody loved what he had to say, so he should update it. He says that I need to do it. The reason being, that most blogs of our friends and family are done by the mother/wife. So, here I am and I’m going to try my best to tell all of you what has been going on in our little world.




Ayden Breagan

Carmen

The triplets were blessed at the beginning of July. We were very lucky to have many family and friends join us to celebrate this special day. Scott did a wonderful job with each child’s blessing. He was very nervous and to top things off his voice was "horse" that day. Like I said before though he did a great job. The triplets are growing and getting more mobile every day. They are each rolling over now. In fact, Ayden (Mecale notice the spelling) and Breagan are barrel rolling everywhere. Carmen rolls over but she has a neck condition called Torticollis so it prevents her from barrel rolling. We are currently doing physical therapy with Carmen to remedy the Torticollis and we have seen improvement. Her skull is also asymmetrical and we are also working on that so that she won’t have to wear a helmet. I guess that’s what happens when you were the one stuck in the middle. Ayden is very close to crawling! In the last 24 hours he has been getting up on all fours and attempting to move. Breagan also gets up on all fours but so far he doesn’t try to move. It will get very interesting and a lot busier once they are crawling! Looking back at how far they have come reminds me how blessed our family has been. The triplets now enjoy eating some rice cereal. The pictures of them eating don’t come close to showing the “fun” we have when it is time to eat. Let’s just say I have a wet cloth ready at all times! Here soon I’m going to get really brave and try some vegetables.

Ayden Carmen

Breagan

Taylor enjoyed her summer and the biggest event in her life was going to preschool. She just loves going to preschool. Of course she now knows everything and her teachers are “way smarter than mom”. It is so much fun to hear what she’s learned and it makes me miss teaching in the younger grades. I cherish her innocence and it is wonderful to see the world through her eyes. Taylor is an amazing big sister! She loves her siblings (sometimes a little too much) and is a good helper. We definitely have our moments in our home but they are definitely worth living!

Tuesday August 12, 2008

I realize just how long it has been since the last post but it really hit home as I went to log in and failed several times until I could remember the correct log in and password. My excuse would be, of course, do you have any idea as to how many usernames and passwords I may use in a given day? Needless to say, things have just been that busy...

Blessing pictures and more about the blessing will have to come at another time as the pictures are elsewhere and it would be nice to keep the pictures and events together.

I do however have a special event and pictures to show. A week and a half ago we had the great opportunity of meeting a friend of mine that I had not talked with for 15 years. Brent and I served close to each other while in Florida and developed a special bond then. He left a year before I and except for a wedding announcement from him we had not communicated at all. This blog opened the lines of communication once again and it is amazing to know that he has been traveling through and past Burley all these years without knowing that we resided here.

We decided to meet at 1,000 Springs Resort in Hagerman (advertisement) for a wonderful swim so that our families could also have fun. After several hours of swimming and having fun we parted our ways with the promise that we would keep in touch better.

This day was also the first swim for the babies besides taking a bath. They appeared to enjoy the "float" and actually stayed in the water quite a while.

Such in style for 5 month old's. Ready to swim!

Ayden and Taylor

Carmen and Taylor

Breagan and Taylor

All four kids, a dad, and a great friend!

From the 4th of July. Cousins minus one.

Thursday July 3, 2008

Ayden at top, Breagan in the middle, Carmen at the bottom of the picture.

We are excited for this weekend! Not only is the celebration of such a great nation but also the opportunity to bless the babies. As you can see they are growing up nicely. Ayden is around 11.5 lbs, Breagan is probably just under 11 lbs, and Carmen is close to 7.5 lbs. Their appetites are growing... What do you think of Carmen's cheeks?

We had Ayden in the Emergency Room a couple of Sundays ago because his incision decided to get infected. After a round of Antibiotics he has recovered and has healed up very well.

We are excited to see family and friends! We have been truly blessed and want to share this glorious occasion with everyone. We will be blessing the babies Sunday morning July 6th. Please feel free to join us. If you need directions or time please feel free to contact me.

Hopefully I will have more pictures to post after the parade tomorrow. The kids have a special t-shirt from Grandma to wear for the day.

Here are some more pictures showing the kids' personalities as they begin to show more individuality every day.

June 20, 2008

I thought that the little quiz might be fun. We got quite the kick out of thinking how similar the four kids looked. For those of you that looked at the picture it was somewhat evident that it was the baby boy in the striped pajamas that was not one of ours. It was in fact Bridger, Mecale and Jeff's newest edition. Believe it or not, Bridger was born almost two months after our three blessings. Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Jim have been blessed with five new grandchildren since October of 2007.

Some of the most frequently asked questions are:

1. Are you getting much sleep?

I am, however, Melissa and her mother are lacking. I have no idea how they do it but they have my utmost respect. They have developed their own system and it seems to work. No need of me ruining perfection.

2. What can you use the most?

This question usually gets referred to Melissa without hesitation. Refer back to answer #1 as I choose not to mess with perfection. After 12 years of marriage I would like to think that I have learned a little... Or enough. You get the hint.

3. How many diapers do you go through in a day?

The babies have somewhat shifted to a four hour feeding schedule. This has helped to limit the diaper changes to a minimum of 3 every four hours for a total of at least 18 diapers a day, usually a couple more than that.

4. How much formula do you go through?

I love the look on people's faces from this answer. Melissa is a very goal orientated person. She is currently feeding the kids herself. Carmen gets four fortified bottles in a 24 hour period. These bottles are usually saved for the night time feedings so that all three kids are fed at once. This helps to minimize "uptime" and gets everyone involved back to bed in a timely manner. Melissa was told by many different people that she would not be able to feed all three herself. This has been a challenge to her but one that she enjoys as once again, the reactions are priceless.

I cannot express my wonder and amazement as to the things that Melissa and her mother do on a continual basis. The Good Lord knew exactly what he was doing when he made a mother. The mantle of motherhood is something that Melissa has and something she takes very serious. Her constant strength and vigilance shows her dedication as a mother. What more can I say, she is quite the woman!

Friday June 13, 2008

It is Friday the 13th and only bad things happen to superstitious people. Granted, there were some things that happened today that were not within our control, but none the less, we are still surviving.

Ayden had the surgery to repair the hernia on his left side today. We were not told what to expect and thought that we would be back in Hagerman tonight to make our trip on the Burley that much shorter tomorrow. However, as Ayden was about to be taken into surgery we were informed that he did not meet the proper criteria to be considered out patient. This small piece of information would have been very useful to Melissa and I for planning purposes. Things are working out as I am trying to keep Ayden happy as the two of us hang out in the Casa De St. Luke's once again. If he makes it through the night without an Apnec spell then we will be free to leave tomorrow and head for home. Melissa and her mom are currently with the others kids at Mecale's for the night. Thank heavens for understanding family to allow us to bombard them once again for another night.

Ayden faired well with his surgery. We were happy and surprised to see that he now weighs in at 10 lbs 7 oz. Just an estimate for Breagan and Carmen but Breagan must be about 9.5 lbs with Carmen around 6.5 lbs. The kids are doing awesome but we continue to be vigilant at keeping the kids in doors as much as possible.

For those of you that think that you know the kids I have a bit of a quiz for you. In this next picture are you able to tell which one does not belong:



Please feel free to post your answer in the comments section.

Once again, another picture of Ayden's Suite in Casa De St. Luke's.

Sunday June 1, 2008

Melissa is once again on the road. Taylor and I are spending some quality time walking on the canal bank, dancing to music in the living room, and watching T.V.

Melissa took the kids and headed to Hagerman to be with her family for tonight. Tomorrow Melissa and her mom will continue on to Boise for Ayden's surgical consult. Ayden is clearly agitated by the hernia but for the most part has done fairly well. When he gets upset it tends to put pressure on his lower abdominal walls and pushes the hernia downward. If he gets too upset the hernia usually gets fairly solid. Once he calms down the hernia retracts while Melissa and I breathe a sigh of relief. The last thing we would like to do is cause an emergency situation if the hernia does not retract.

Breagan and Carmen continue to grow. The boys are both just under nine pounds while Carmen is just under six pounds. The kids' personalities continue to sharpen as they try to mimic us and often return a smile. It is amazing how their personalities are so separate and independent.

Melissa has been and continues to be amazing. The energy, the ability to continue with little to no sleep, and the patience. It truly shows the mantle of Motherhood and the selfless endurance that she has been taught from childhood as she admired and watched her own mother. The greatest of all lessons learned was that of example.

We continue to reap the blessings of family and friends. As we continue each day we thank the Good Lord above for the people in our lives. We are eternally grateful for the love and support that we are continually shown and hope that we may be able to keep the cycle going by showing the same to someone else in due time. Thank you and we love you! Please feel free to join us for the blessing of the kids on Sunday July 6th. We look forward to sharing this special time with family and friends.

We have seen a common trend lately while holding babies. Here are a couple of moments caught in time regarding this...