A Year Ago Today....

On this day last year, we found out we were expecting triplets!

I can't believe it's been a whole year. In a lot of ways it seems like it all happened five minutes ago. But, on the other hand, it seems like a lifetime ago. So much has happened since then and are lives are very different.

If there is one day that I could go back to and relive, it would be August 18, 2011. It was probably the craziest day of my life. I wish I could go back and remember it better. I think after they said "triplets", I totally blanked out and the shock and fear took over. I wish I could have enjoyed it more and been more excited about my three babies and less stressed out about the news.

But, that being said, there are parts of that day that are burned in my memory that I will never forget. And despite all the shock, it was such an amazing experience to learn that I had three babies growing away in my body and so happy to know that they were all healthy!


Last year, we walked out of our two hour fetal assessment, completely stunned with this picture in our hands:

I didn't know at the time that it would turn out to be the only picture that we have of our three babies together. It has turned out to be one of my favorite pictures ever and is framed in my bedroom and I look at it everyday.

I also got our photographer, Cynthia Korman  to make me this, which will one day hang in Garrett and Rhys' room should I ever get a spare moment or two to frame it!

One thing I will never forget about this day, and the days after, is the crazy amount of support and love we had extended to us from all of our friends and family. It was truly awesome, and we will always remember it. Thank you all!!!

Eight Months

Here are Garrett and Rhys' 8 month photos:

Pretty cute hey?

And, as usual, here are the many outtakes, which are pretty hilarious. I feel like I should get a trophy or award or something for getting a decent picture of these two together!

The last one is my favorite. Poor Rhys. Not impressed that Garrett is using his hand as a chew toy!

Observations....

Just some random things I have noted over the past several months of mothering multiples:

With one baby, if you decide on a whim to go to the park one sunny day, you pack some stuff, feed the kid, and you arrive at the park within the hour.

With two babies and a 3 year old, if you decide on a whim to go to the park one sunny day, you pack ALOT of stuff, feed all the kids, and maybe if you are lucky you will arrive at the park by next Tuesday at noon. Oh yeah, and as soon as you get there the three year old will have to pee.

Another observation:

When you have more than one baby, you are basically a circus attraction. It's as if people have never seen two babies in the same vicinity before. They are attracted to you like magnets. When we are out in public, I spend probably 50% of my time talking to strangers. I also have to fend my babies off from strangers who want to hold them, kiss them and get in their personal space. Sometimes I feel like I should charge an admission fee just to come stare at Garrett and Rhys and ask me invasive personal questions about my fertility.

Another observation, and this is the best one:
I never ever thought that having two babies would be so fascinating. I just love to see them interact with eacthother. They are so funny. They fight already: Rhys is grabbing Garrett and poor Garrett howls like he's being tortured. Then, Garrett gets over it and rolls over and laughs at Rhys. Then they both start tugging on the same blanket and have a kerfluffle over that. It's so entertaining. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have this experience! Of course, I so wish that I had my three babies and I wonder every day what that would be like and how they would all interact with eachother. I think about this alot and it makes me smile and feel sad at the same time.

Being a mom of multiples is tiring, fun, happy, crazy, insane, and exciting. It's downright chaotic at times (like between the hours of 6 and 9pm in our house....just nuts!) but it's such a unique experience and Mark and I are thoroughly enjoying it!

Better Late Than Never

So, it's only taken me 8 months or so to finally get all of the birth announcements mailed out. I think with Rylen I had them done before he was 6 weeks old!

To be fair...the pictures were only taken when they were over three months old... but still. I've been a bit slow.

And, I am missing some addresses. So, in the meantime, I thought I'd just share it with everyone. By the time I actually locate addresses, they could be graduating high school.

So, here it is:

This is the front

And this is the back!

I have to thank Cynthia Korman for once again doing a great job designing these after weeks of me pondering and changing my mind over and over again! She also did some amazing collages of the boys for me which I have tried and tired to upload but am failing miserably. I will hopefully share those another day.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

We took another day trip this weekend to Clear Lake.

In case you are wondering what we all have to pack to make sure two babies and a preschooler are taken care of, I took a picture:

This actually is the scaled down version from earlier in the year when we had TWO laundry baskets full of stuff.  Now, the rule is, if it doesn't fit in the wagon, it's not allowed to come (we make an exception for Rylen of course, haha!)

Anyways, I'm sure this isn't all that different from anyone else that has more than one child. Probably all the baby stuff just gets replaced with more toys. Am I right?

It's a lot of packing, but so worth it. We have the best days when we are outside and enjoying the fresh air.

This particular day we ended with a hot dog roast and ice cream. We usually get all the kids washed up and in their jammies for the ride home, grab a hot coffee, and enjoy the peaceful drive while the three kids sleep. :-)

Big Little/Little Big

Rhys is getting so big. I think he outweighs Garrett by at least a pound if not more.

Because he is now visibly the bigger baby, when we are out and about, strangers often comment that "he must be the older one!". Everyone associates size with age. He's bigger, so he must be older. They seem shocked when I tell them it isn't so! Rhys is the Big Little brother!

Here's a recent picture of our youngest little guy:

So proud of our chubby little man!

Garrett/Little Big is doing awesome too. He may be tiny, but his giant smile makes up for it!

Brotherly Love

Garrett enjoyed being cuddled like this for quite some time. And Rylen did too! Both of them stayed very still. These two are my little cuddlers for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up sharing a bed at some point in the future.

Love my boys.