It's been 2 years and her hand feels just as tiny in mine as it did on their birth day.
I remember the first night after they were born in the NICU...I made a trip down in the middle of the night while Christi was sleeping. I just sat with them. I didn't know what to do. They seemed fragile...even the slightest pressure would break them. But I held their hands and sat. I don't know how much time I spent down there, but I'll never forget it.
To finish my thought from my first statement...
I put Ella to bed tonight and the meaning of her embrace is unmistakable. She rests her head in the crook of my neck and then grips my hand or my shirt. She doesn't let go until you make her lie down and the disappointment in her eyes as you walk out her bedroom door is such a hard visual. I just want to lie on the floor next to her and let her fall asleep without a peep :) Before I left tonight, I held onto her hand...for a while. In so many ways, she feels so much bigger and all the things she does a reminder that she's not a baby anymore...but her hand feels so small. I know she's grown since the days of the NICU, but it feels the same as it did then. Both hands accepting comfort - her from me, and me from her.
As they try and replace crying & fits with words (English or otherwise), the triplet "infant stages" become a further and further reality. I don't want to forget those experiences (although I'm more than glad to be through them!). That's why I'm writing. That's why I stay with Ella a little bit longer some nights then others. It's why I manage the website (although I've been slacking lately!).
Happy Birthday, Paulie, Ella and Logan : )
pk
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Vacation...Day 3 - Out Shopping and at the Pool
After our busy days out and to the zoo, Christi and I thought we would take Sunday to relax and just do whatever we felt like. I just wanted to make sure that we got down to the pool b/c I'd been telling them that we'd go swimming forever (their only "swimming" experience comes in the crowded bathtub by putting their head back....lol).
We ALL slept in until 9:00! We almost missed the buffet breakfast that ended at 9:30....
After breakfast, we got everyone into their swim trunks and swim vests to go down to the pool! I couldn't wait to get them down there....I just wanted to see how they'd react and if they'd attempt to kick and blow bubbles, etc. Well, I have to say that overall they loved it....Ella was the most clingy, doing very little away from Christi or I. Logan liked bouncing and kicking, but was mostly cautious. Surprisingly, Paulie was the most active - trying to put his face in the water (unsuccessfully trying to blow bubbles!) and trying to kick out his legs to splash!
The rest of the day was relatively low-key as we decided that we couldn't hang out in the room for the rest of the day till dinner, so we took off to the Ikea shopping area to get out. The only real story from shopping is the elevator rides in the hotel. I taught the kids to jump in the elevator to see if they hit the ceiling and they loved it! It was really funny to watch them b/c the movement made them fall over and over and over : )
Dinner at Big Jim's (seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) was disappointing overall. The food was good, but the place was not clean and the service was slow. I guess that place qualifies as a "dive" :) Here is a video from when we returned from dinner that night...the kids were still in the mood to burn off some energy with sneak attacks on each other!
Anyway, the day turned out well and virtually ended our vacation. Monday was Christi and my 7-year anniversary and we celebrated by spending time with the kids (obviously) and driving home....then I did some yardwork/landscaping as my gift to Christi : ) I know, I know....how romantic! lol
We ALL slept in until 9:00! We almost missed the buffet breakfast that ended at 9:30....
After breakfast, we got everyone into their swim trunks and swim vests to go down to the pool! I couldn't wait to get them down there....I just wanted to see how they'd react and if they'd attempt to kick and blow bubbles, etc. Well, I have to say that overall they loved it....Ella was the most clingy, doing very little away from Christi or I. Logan liked bouncing and kicking, but was mostly cautious. Surprisingly, Paulie was the most active - trying to put his face in the water (unsuccessfully trying to blow bubbles!) and trying to kick out his legs to splash!
The rest of the day was relatively low-key as we decided that we couldn't hang out in the room for the rest of the day till dinner, so we took off to the Ikea shopping area to get out. The only real story from shopping is the elevator rides in the hotel. I taught the kids to jump in the elevator to see if they hit the ceiling and they loved it! It was really funny to watch them b/c the movement made them fall over and over and over : )
Dinner at Big Jim's (seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) was disappointing overall. The food was good, but the place was not clean and the service was slow. I guess that place qualifies as a "dive" :) Here is a video from when we returned from dinner that night...the kids were still in the mood to burn off some energy with sneak attacks on each other!
Anyway, the day turned out well and virtually ended our vacation. Monday was Christi and my 7-year anniversary and we celebrated by spending time with the kids (obviously) and driving home....then I did some yardwork/landscaping as my gift to Christi : ) I know, I know....how romantic! lol
Vacation....day 2 at the Zoo!
To start off by following up on yesterday's post, the kids slept very well...Paulie did wake up a little early (5am), but fell back asleep with us for an hour or two.
We didn't really have a schedule for the day as far as when we wanted to get to the zoo (which is insane if you know Christi!), so we took the morning pretty relaxed. Everyone had breakfast from the buffet downstairs (Christi and I took turns bringing up plates) and we eventually got dressed and headed out for the zoo. The kids were excited to see some baby bears and Christi and I were excited to see the Pittsburgh zoo because a few people had told us it was better than Cleveland's. Seriously, after the first couple exhibits through Asia, we agreed : )
The PB zoo just seems to have more of a natural feel throughout the park and the exhibits seemed to get you closer "inside the habitat" as opposed to a viewing station. One of our favorite exhibits was the elephants with two babies that were wrestling while we were there! The kids loved it and showed their approval by impersonating them : ) At the back side of the elephant exhibit, there was a sign that said you could get your picture with an elephant for a small donation to the zoo. It started at 12 and it was somewhere around 11:45, so we decided that we'd come back. Well, we got nervous that we might miss the opportunity so we hurried back to the sign....sure enough, we started a line of dozens of people wanting to get their shot with Victoria, the 10 year old elephant. We're so thankful that we went back:
You can't tell in the picture, but Ella was screaming about 2 seconds before this. I think the sheer size of it scared her. Another funny thing was that when we walked over to her, Victoria put her trunk on Christi's leg to "say hello". Got a little laugh out of Christi, that's for sure!
The penguin exhibit was our next favorite b/c there were some show-off penguins that swam right up to the glass and did their thing! The last comment I'll make about the PB Zoo was the new underwater viewing of the Polar Bear exhibit and the Sand Shark exhibit. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the polar bears from underneath, but the sharks were amazing. It's a surreal feeling to look up and see the sharks swimming over you like you're in Jaws : )
After the long day at the zoo (without napping), we tried to come back to the hotel to get a nap in...no way! This time it was Ella that was the one that kept everyone else awake and we decided to just move on to dinner instead of fighting it.
We took the hotel shuttle to a nearby recommended restaurant, Union Grill and it was a great choice! The service was fast and friendly and the food was really good. It's really funny to see the different reactions that people have when we're in public - some are "awe, how cute", some are "wow, that's a handful", some are whispers overheard "I think those are triplets", and some are complimentary "your kids were amazing". We are both extremely proud of the way these guys have handled the trip and the break from routine, etc. They are extremely well-behaved in public, so that's definitely a plus. Sometimes I wish that would carryover to home, but I'll take the lack of fits in public as a positive!
Since we saw the entire zoo, we're using Sunday as a pool day and relax day. I'm looking forward to it!
Paul
We didn't really have a schedule for the day as far as when we wanted to get to the zoo (which is insane if you know Christi!), so we took the morning pretty relaxed. Everyone had breakfast from the buffet downstairs (Christi and I took turns bringing up plates) and we eventually got dressed and headed out for the zoo. The kids were excited to see some baby bears and Christi and I were excited to see the Pittsburgh zoo because a few people had told us it was better than Cleveland's. Seriously, after the first couple exhibits through Asia, we agreed : )
The PB zoo just seems to have more of a natural feel throughout the park and the exhibits seemed to get you closer "inside the habitat" as opposed to a viewing station. One of our favorite exhibits was the elephants with two babies that were wrestling while we were there! The kids loved it and showed their approval by impersonating them : ) At the back side of the elephant exhibit, there was a sign that said you could get your picture with an elephant for a small donation to the zoo. It started at 12 and it was somewhere around 11:45, so we decided that we'd come back. Well, we got nervous that we might miss the opportunity so we hurried back to the sign....sure enough, we started a line of dozens of people wanting to get their shot with Victoria, the 10 year old elephant. We're so thankful that we went back:
You can't tell in the picture, but Ella was screaming about 2 seconds before this. I think the sheer size of it scared her. Another funny thing was that when we walked over to her, Victoria put her trunk on Christi's leg to "say hello". Got a little laugh out of Christi, that's for sure!
The penguin exhibit was our next favorite b/c there were some show-off penguins that swam right up to the glass and did their thing! The last comment I'll make about the PB Zoo was the new underwater viewing of the Polar Bear exhibit and the Sand Shark exhibit. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the polar bears from underneath, but the sharks were amazing. It's a surreal feeling to look up and see the sharks swimming over you like you're in Jaws : )
After the long day at the zoo (without napping), we tried to come back to the hotel to get a nap in...no way! This time it was Ella that was the one that kept everyone else awake and we decided to just move on to dinner instead of fighting it.
We took the hotel shuttle to a nearby recommended restaurant, Union Grill and it was a great choice! The service was fast and friendly and the food was really good. It's really funny to see the different reactions that people have when we're in public - some are "awe, how cute", some are "wow, that's a handful", some are whispers overheard "I think those are triplets", and some are complimentary "your kids were amazing". We are both extremely proud of the way these guys have handled the trip and the break from routine, etc. They are extremely well-behaved in public, so that's definitely a plus. Sometimes I wish that would carryover to home, but I'll take the lack of fits in public as a positive!
Since we saw the entire zoo, we're using Sunday as a pool day and relax day. I'm looking forward to it!
Paul
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Vacation?
So I haven't posted anything in forever ! But I thought since we're on our first family vacation, I should share some of the first day experiences : )
First of all, as a reminder - they're almost two ! (6/15 is their birthday) I say that to remind you (or warn you) of their current "stage" in life - some would argue not the #1 time to take a vacation : ) Not if you know me - some call it stubborn.....I call it "recklessly foolish"!
We decided to just go to Pittsburgh. It's "only" 2.5 hrs away, has a great zoo, lots of things to see and do, etc. Well, so far we're at 1am on the first night away with us and they're sleeping (for now) and Christi and I are both living (although she's curled up asleep and I'm like a kid on Christmas waiting for tomorrow's trip to the zoo!). The day sort of went like this....
We all got up normal time and ate breakfast and got ready. For the most part, everything was packed and ready to go out the door. We left the house about 10ish and assumed to be in Pittsburgh around 1:30 (with a lunch stop....12:30 if not). The road here was not as bad as I worried. We did have to bust out the portable DVD player (thanks J&L!), but this much was expected. They got antsy after about an hour and a half so we decided to take our opportunity to get lunch at 11:45. We ate at Chik-Fil-A (one of ours/their fav places) and got some curious stares/conversations from the lunch crowd. I admit, it had to look pretty funny with me going in and out of there 3 times with a different kid going into the bathroom to change diapers! We sat down for lunch with them - no excitement other than the constant moving of the table....then back on the road to PB.
We got to the hotel with few other incidents and they reacted "normally" to walking into a strange environment that we'd call "home" for the next few nights. The in-room safe was a big hit....constantly pushing buttons and getting "error code" for the wrong security password : ) Our place has a kitchen and living suite, separate bedroom and bath. We had to unplug the TV b/c of all the off/on button-pushing, I thought it was going to blow up! (it's a tube TV).
Our trip to Ikea didn't go nearly as smoothly. This was supposed to be a leisurely visit to a store Christi liked and then go to a decent restaurant (decent = not fast food).....oops! Our trip started with poor directions. It took us to a rougher area of PB and out the wrong way from downtown! I made a bunch of calls and asked for directions and we got further and further in the wrong direction. I'll spare the directions details.....it was supposed to be a 30 min drive - it was 1 hour, 45 mins.....not traffic-related. Now, in the meantime, the kids were sick of being in the car and behaving horribly. At one point, Christi got Logan and Ella asleep, but Paul was having a MELTDOWN fit nearly the entire way there! You could imagine that we were already frustrated with the directions-issue, but to add the cranky/loud kid in the back was threatening to cancel the entire trip.....seriously.
After taking that long to get there, it was already dinner time and we couldn't really skip/postpone b/c the kids were hungry. We decided to go somewhere familiar to make menu choices easy - the Olive Garden. I have to say that this was one of the best experiences for us as a family so far! The kids were wonderful - cooperative, eating, laughing, everything (pics to come). Additionally, OG was great - service and food was excellent!
This experience got us through the aisles of Ikea eventually and we made our way "home" with better directions (32 mins!). A re-arrangement of the living suite to fit 3 pack-n-plays, PJs and a quick snack and the kids were in "bed". Slight problem is that they are used to fussing/crying themselves to sleep for 10-15 mins at home. Well, it turns out hotel neighbors don't appreciate that method of bedtime! Long story short, I decided to just sleep with them on the couch until they fell asleep so they would be quiet. I just woke up about 30 mins ago and by that time Christi was asleep and I felt like writing : )
Let's hope the rest of the night goes alright.....I hear someone rustling around now.
Paul
First of all, as a reminder - they're almost two ! (6/15 is their birthday) I say that to remind you (or warn you) of their current "stage" in life - some would argue not the #1 time to take a vacation : ) Not if you know me - some call it stubborn.....I call it "recklessly foolish"!
We decided to just go to Pittsburgh. It's "only" 2.5 hrs away, has a great zoo, lots of things to see and do, etc. Well, so far we're at 1am on the first night away with us and they're sleeping (for now) and Christi and I are both living (although she's curled up asleep and I'm like a kid on Christmas waiting for tomorrow's trip to the zoo!). The day sort of went like this....
We all got up normal time and ate breakfast and got ready. For the most part, everything was packed and ready to go out the door. We left the house about 10ish and assumed to be in Pittsburgh around 1:30 (with a lunch stop....12:30 if not). The road here was not as bad as I worried. We did have to bust out the portable DVD player (thanks J&L!), but this much was expected. They got antsy after about an hour and a half so we decided to take our opportunity to get lunch at 11:45. We ate at Chik-Fil-A (one of ours/their fav places) and got some curious stares/conversations from the lunch crowd. I admit, it had to look pretty funny with me going in and out of there 3 times with a different kid going into the bathroom to change diapers! We sat down for lunch with them - no excitement other than the constant moving of the table....then back on the road to PB.
We got to the hotel with few other incidents and they reacted "normally" to walking into a strange environment that we'd call "home" for the next few nights. The in-room safe was a big hit....constantly pushing buttons and getting "error code" for the wrong security password : ) Our place has a kitchen and living suite, separate bedroom and bath. We had to unplug the TV b/c of all the off/on button-pushing, I thought it was going to blow up! (it's a tube TV).
Our trip to Ikea didn't go nearly as smoothly. This was supposed to be a leisurely visit to a store Christi liked and then go to a decent restaurant (decent = not fast food).....oops! Our trip started with poor directions. It took us to a rougher area of PB and out the wrong way from downtown! I made a bunch of calls and asked for directions and we got further and further in the wrong direction. I'll spare the directions details.....it was supposed to be a 30 min drive - it was 1 hour, 45 mins.....not traffic-related. Now, in the meantime, the kids were sick of being in the car and behaving horribly. At one point, Christi got Logan and Ella asleep, but Paul was having a MELTDOWN fit nearly the entire way there! You could imagine that we were already frustrated with the directions-issue, but to add the cranky/loud kid in the back was threatening to cancel the entire trip.....seriously.
After taking that long to get there, it was already dinner time and we couldn't really skip/postpone b/c the kids were hungry. We decided to go somewhere familiar to make menu choices easy - the Olive Garden. I have to say that this was one of the best experiences for us as a family so far! The kids were wonderful - cooperative, eating, laughing, everything (pics to come). Additionally, OG was great - service and food was excellent!
This experience got us through the aisles of Ikea eventually and we made our way "home" with better directions (32 mins!). A re-arrangement of the living suite to fit 3 pack-n-plays, PJs and a quick snack and the kids were in "bed". Slight problem is that they are used to fussing/crying themselves to sleep for 10-15 mins at home. Well, it turns out hotel neighbors don't appreciate that method of bedtime! Long story short, I decided to just sleep with them on the couch until they fell asleep so they would be quiet. I just woke up about 30 mins ago and by that time Christi was asleep and I felt like writing : )
Let's hope the rest of the night goes alright.....I hear someone rustling around now.
Paul
Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
BA-BAHS, DA-DA, and BEE-AAHHHRRS
I've been trying to wait it out to write this blog about the kids' current speech and vocabulary! But I felt like I had to share some of their words and what we hear from day to day....
Logan is definitely the biggest talker with English words....he has some semblance of many words like: da-da, ma-ma, ball, dog ("gog"), deer, brush (ba-baaaaash), shower (aaawashh), purple, baby, green, go, Ella, hippo ("bippo"), turtle and all of our favorite - bear (bee-ahhhr). To describe the way he says bear, think of someone with a really thick Boston accent saying 'beer'. And he draws it out, which makes it even cuter : )
Paulie is getting extremely interested in communication, but as of yet has not really put a lot of words out there. He points, and gestures and mimics, but the only words we've made out so far are: da-da, ma-ma, turtle, baby, ball, go and Ella. He uses the "word" bah-bah with different inflection or length to describe EVERYTHING. It is a constant tip-toe dance on the fine line between frustrating and incredibly cute. But like I said, I feel like he's more interested in communication than he was just a few weeks ago, but we'll see how long he can get along with bah-bah-ing his way through job interviews : )
Ella is extremely verbose and sure of her communication. The only problem is, we have no idea what those words are! She barks out orders and talks to her dolls and makes gestures to discuss everything from fashion to politics without a single English word : ) In all seriousness, she does have some words - da-da, ma-ma, jakey (our dog...and it's more like "jayjee"), baby and go. When she talks, she gets so serious and speaks in a deeper tone than her normal laugh or other sounds - similar to some of the videos that we posted when she gets her deep, baritone laugh! We're not sure where she picked that up, but it's really cute when she does it.
Overall, the last few weeks & months have been really good. We of course have our times (the boys are getting molars and some other teeth now), but they're really learning how to keep busy and playing. We're getting anxious to get outside and play because of the sunny days we've been having, but the weather is still just freezing : ( We'll make it soon though! Lots of yardwork for them to do!
Logan is definitely the biggest talker with English words....he has some semblance of many words like: da-da, ma-ma, ball, dog ("gog"), deer, brush (ba-baaaaash), shower (aaawashh), purple, baby, green, go, Ella, hippo ("bippo"), turtle and all of our favorite - bear (bee-ahhhr). To describe the way he says bear, think of someone with a really thick Boston accent saying 'beer'. And he draws it out, which makes it even cuter : )
Paulie is getting extremely interested in communication, but as of yet has not really put a lot of words out there. He points, and gestures and mimics, but the only words we've made out so far are: da-da, ma-ma, turtle, baby, ball, go and Ella. He uses the "word" bah-bah with different inflection or length to describe EVERYTHING. It is a constant tip-toe dance on the fine line between frustrating and incredibly cute. But like I said, I feel like he's more interested in communication than he was just a few weeks ago, but we'll see how long he can get along with bah-bah-ing his way through job interviews : )
Ella is extremely verbose and sure of her communication. The only problem is, we have no idea what those words are! She barks out orders and talks to her dolls and makes gestures to discuss everything from fashion to politics without a single English word : ) In all seriousness, she does have some words - da-da, ma-ma, jakey (our dog...and it's more like "jayjee"), baby and go. When she talks, she gets so serious and speaks in a deeper tone than her normal laugh or other sounds - similar to some of the videos that we posted when she gets her deep, baritone laugh! We're not sure where she picked that up, but it's really cute when she does it.
Overall, the last few weeks & months have been really good. We of course have our times (the boys are getting molars and some other teeth now), but they're really learning how to keep busy and playing. We're getting anxious to get outside and play because of the sunny days we've been having, but the weather is still just freezing : ( We'll make it soon though! Lots of yardwork for them to do!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The boys have a girlfriend....
and her name is Reese Witherspoon.
We've never been able to bring them in the living room and sit with us during a movie or TV or anything b/c their attention span is impossibly short. They're immediately off trying to push buttons on the TV or jump on the recliners...
Tonight we decided to bring them in the living room while Reese Witherspoon's Sweet Home Alabama was on and the boys were hooked. They must've sat and stared at the movie for 15-20 minutes while she was on : ) We even got away with a little bit later snack-time then normal!
We're going to test the theory again sometime in the future....God-willing (for me) it's not Legally Blonde!
Here are a couple new random pictures....
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