We're back, baby!

Okay, forgive me. It's been nearly a YEAR since I last posted! WOW! Where has the time gone? Oh wait, I know....it's been spent changing diapers, cooking, cleaning, starting up my own direct sales business, etc. You get the idea! I'm a little rusty and not really sure where to begin. Obviously, there have been A LOT of changes over the past several months. So, I think I'll just pick up where we are today and fill you in on things that have been happening recently.

First of all, these kids are hilarious! They are saying the cutest things and putting sentences together. Every day they say something new. They continue to amaze me! They still love them some Sesame Street, but they now also love Mickey Mouse (sounds like "Mikka Mouse"). If you ask Luce what her favorite food is, her reply is "Moonpie"! (Thanks Gigi for introducing them to moonpies!) They are so sweet and thoughtful to each other. The girls love to dote on Maddux and take care of him. It's so funny how they are already mothering him. Of course, they are two, so we have our share of daily fits and tantrums, but that just goes with the territory for this age. They all want what the other one has...and it doesn't matter what it is. It could be the most random piece of something but they will HAVE to have whatever it is. They are becoming very independent and insist on feeding themselves or trying to dress themselves. There is even some sassiness these days! For instance, yesterday morning I had their breakfast ready and I always ask them to put whatever toy they are carrying around on the couch while we eat. Nola, as always, had her beloved Duckie in her arms and I put my hand on her back and gently nudged her towards the direction of the couch and asked her to put Duckie down. She looked up at me and said, "Don't push me, momma." I couldn't help but giggle. She's right! I tell them all the time to not push each other! So so so funny! They love to watch the birds eat out of our bird feeders every morning while eating breakfast. They can now even identify a Cardinal, Blue Jay and hummingbirds! I'm amazed at how they never forget anything. I've lost nearly every brain cell since giving birth, yet they can remember every single detail of everything they do!

Okay, I promise that I will try (hear me, TRY) to update the blog more regularly now. I do miss it and I'm so glad that I did keep up with it during the first year of their life because honestly, it's mostly a blur and the blog has helped to preserve it. The original intent of this blog was to keep family and friends informed of the babies' progress while in the NICU. I had never blogged before and even now, I still have no idea what I'm doing! But, I do want to try to keep this updated and keep everyone informed on what's going on with the McCloud Party of Five!!

xoxo,

Jennifer

Pumpkin Patch Pics!

Luckiest Momma In The World....

You know that quote that says something like, "It's not the amounts of breaths you take. It's the moments that take your breath away"? I had one of those moments recently. Don't get me wrong, I pretty much have those moments everyday (like when Nola comes over to me and says, "mommy" and then gives me a big hug) but this one in particular was really special. I had met my good friend Leslie and her two kids at the park. We decided that keeping the kids contained in a stroller would be the best way to get outside and actually visit without having to run a marathon keeping up with all of them. It was a gorgeous day and we had the best time. Her older son, who is I think 3, was so sweet and shared all of his fishy crackers with my three while we strolled. Towards the end of our walk we walked past a pond that had lots of ducks swimming around (well, geese actually) who eagerly approached us in hopes that we had some bread crumbs to feed them. It was so sweet. The kid's faces just completely lit up at the sight of the ducks. They can identify a duck in a picture book but had never actually seen them in person. They loved it. When we were finished with our walk and it was time to load the kids back up in the car, I took Nola out of the stroller first. I was holding her and was telling her to say "bye bye" to Leslie and her kids. Nola just smiled so big at them and said "bye" and I don't know what it was about this moment but she literally took my breath away. There she was, her face completely covered in fishy cracker crumbs, yet she was the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen. I literally cried the entire drive home and repeatedly thanked God for blessing me with these amazing children. I truly feel like the luckiest person on Earth. Do you know how many preemies out there have long term problems and complications and here I am with three perfectly healthy children? I'll never understand why God has blessed me so abundantly, but I'm so thankful. Thank you, Lord. You never cease to amaze me.

So, moving on to other things (wiping tears away!). We have a major Elmo obsession at our house. It's pretty bad. I admit, I watched Sesame Street way longer than most kids. I've always loved it and Elmo is definitely one of my favorite characters. They knew who he was in books and they have a few Elmo toys, but when I turned it on Sesame Street a few weeks ago for the first time and they heard his sweet voice, it was all over. Now, every morning after breakfast (which these days is waffles or as they call it "faffles"), they run to the TV and shout "Em-mo! Em-mo!" I know that they are technically too young for TV according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, but they absolutely love it and they are actually already learning! I've counted with them before but they didn't really start to pay attention until Elmo started counting. They can all count to 5 and sometimes even to 6 or 8! They know Ernie (Uur-nee), Bert (Booot), Oscar (Ah-car) and Grover (foe-fur) all by name. They are even starting to learn their ABC's! Again, I've counted and sang the ABC's to them countless times, but it's so much cooler when Sesame Street does it. I'm amazed at how quickly they are picking up on things and saying new words completely out of the blue. Last night Luce was looking at a book all about farms and she knew so many of the random things in there, not just the cow and the pig, like "bucket, hay, farmer, pumpkin, wheat"......! It was so cool! I was like, when did she learn this???

They really understand so much. At night when it's time for bed we'll say "It's time for night night, let's go to your room" and they'll all march to the top of the stairs and we'll open the gate. They then all turn around and scoot down the stairs feet first on their stomaches and go strait to their room (with an occasion pit stop to the bathroom in hopes that we won't notice them unrolling the toilet paper). Then, once they're in their jammies they will say "teeth! teeth!" reminding us to brush their teeth. We've been on a very strict schedule since the babies were born and they eat lunch at 11:30 everyday. I swear, the other day at 11:29 Luce said, "Eat! Hun-geee!" About 300 times a day they will hand me a book and say "read" and then settle up in my lap. Plus they are also starting to "get" things, like Maddux took his binky and put it in his stuffed Elmo's mouth or Nola will pretend that she's making broccoli ("brock-ee") with a tupperware bowl and a comb used as a spoon ("poon"). Oh! speaking of spoons, I've started gradually letting them eat applesauce with a spoon and it's gone surprisingly well! The girls are very coordinated, and Maddux is too, but he's more interested in putting his hands down into the bowl of applesauce and make a mess instead. He's all boy!

I could go on and on about all of the new things that they are doing. It's yet another reminder of how absolutely blessed we are. The Early Intervention teachers who come every Thursday are convinced that we will no longer need their services after age 2 (they automatically qualify until then). They will be officially tested next month, but all signs are pointing to them being considered "caught up". They were going through a check list last week and the kids are doing everything that they are supposed to be doing and then some. Nola has always been a little ahead of the other two so it's no surprise that she is doing things on a 36 month old level.

So, see? I am the luckiest momma in the world.

When You Can't Beat Em, Join Em!

Since my previous post the kiddos have learned how to not only climb on top of the ottoman but they can now climb up into the chairs and on the couches. The only thing we can do is to do our best job to explain to them that the furniture is for sitting and not for standing up on. They're going to climb up there, better make the best of it. I hate that they will now have access to all of the fun stuff like phones, remotes, picture frames, and lamps....but we'll just have to try to keep things out of reach as best as possible and really try to explain what is okay to touch and what isn't. It will be challenging, especially with three very curious toddlers, but it's all part of it.

I pretty much had a total meltdown yesterday. I felt like a failure because I couldn't control them. The more I told them not to stand up on the furniture, the quicker they would stand up. But, after their nap (and after Daddy came home to rescue me!) we sort of had a breakthrough. They seemed to actually want to mind. I know that they will continue to challenge us and test their boundaries, but that's all part of being a kid and being a parent. It can just feel a little overwhelming when I'm so outnumbered!

My mom drove all the way up here this morning to deliver us the knew climbing station. If they are going to climb, they might as well having something safe and fun. Within just a few minutes they figured out how to climb up and slide down all by themselves! They absolutely love it!

I'm still on constant surveillance. Of course they still stand up just to make sure that I'm paying attention. But, I do see the light at the end of the tunnel...when I tell them to sit down they are actually starting to do it. Well, most of the time. So, in the meantime, I'll continue to hold my breath and say a prayer anytime I have to leave the room to change a diaper or take the dog out.

Maddux on the new slide!

Luce especially loves it! I bet she's already gone up and down no less that 100 times this morning!

I love this picture! They both climbed up by themselves and were actually being good sitting there and entertaining each other.
My Big Boy.

My New Battle

I've heard from other parents of toddlers that you have to pick and choose your battles. I get that, but sometimes it's hard for me to decide which battles to pick and which ones to let go. It would be nice if they quickly learned that when I said "no" that they would stop what they are doing and go about their business. But we all know that's not how it works. My three love to be told "no". They think it's hilarious. To them, "no" means Do-it-again-with-a-huge-smile-on-my-face. They want to make sure that I'm watching when they do said thing that I told them not to do. They love it. And sure, I know the whole saying that they are just trying to get attention from me. I give them attention all day long. Most of the time I'm sitting right there with them when they decide to play their game of "I love it when mommy tells me no". I've decided to let a few things go, but when I say no about a certain thing I say no every time rather than sometimes letting it go. I really try to be consistent, but it's frustrating. So, here's my new battle. The Ottoman:

Look how proud she is of herself. We've had this ottoman for several months and she has never shown any interest in climbing on top of it. But, this afternoon she figured it out. I stood over her and tried to make sure that she didn't fall off. Then Maddux climbed up on top too. Then Nola gets on her knees and starts gyrating up and down like she was in a hip hop club and proceeded to fall off. Good, I thought. Maybe that will scare her and she won't get back up. Wrong. Only now she wants to stand up. I admit that I'm the type of mother that wants to prevent every boo boo and doesn't ever want them to get hurt. But, now what do I do? Maybe they won't get hurt if they fall off. But what if there is a hard toy in the floor and they land on it and knock all of their teeth out?? The more I tell them "No, don't stand up" they try to stand up quicker that you can say "watch me!". I've already put her in time out over five times and there appears to be no end in site. Looks like the ottoman goes or I'm going to see lots of bruises from falling in my future.

I'm Not Quite Sure What I Was Thinking

Even though I've completed three half marathons, I would not consider myself a runner. Four years before having the triplets I completed my first half marathon. Two of my best friends are marathon runners and they inspired me. I never thought that I would be able to achieve such a feat. I was never an athlete in high school other than cheering my senior year and I had certainly never ran before. I hadn't even ran a single mile and never dreamed that I could run 13 miles. But, I did. I finished and I don't think I had ever been more proud of myself. Two years later I completed my second race. After the babies were born I needed some serious motivation to lose those extra pounds I had been holding onto and I also wanted that sense of accomplishment. I thought, if I can train and complete another race now that I have triplets, I can do anything! So, I did complete my third race in April but I was disappointed in myself. Yes, I did it and I was happy about that, but in the back of my mind I knew that I could have done better. I didn't train as hard as I could have. Now, again, I still do not consider myself a "runner". I like to refer to myself as a "shuffler". I shuffle and scoot along!! It's not even a jog. But, I don't want to be a shuffler anymore. I want to be a runner with a better finish time. I don't want to "just finish" again. So, after the race in April I was filled with motivation to do another race....and do it well. So, I have signed up for my fourth half marathon that will be held in November. As inspiration I bought a new Runners World magazine (a half marathon special edition!) and a cute new running top (nothing motivates me more than new clothes!). But, here's the truth. In my mind I'm very motivated, but my body? That's another story. For the past two weeks every night I tell myself that I'm going to get up early before everyone else and go out for a quick run. And you know what? I wake up and roll over and go back to sleep! Being a mother to triplets is exhausting. And I feel like I'm still making up for all of the lost sleep from when we first brought the babies home. So, I'm in serious need of motivation. It's down to the wire here. If I want to do better and get a better finish time I need to get serious. Like NOW. Oh, me and my big ideas....

I'm Getting The Hang of It! (Well, sort of)

So, I've been getting a little brave and actually taking the kids out more by myself. I have always been a little nervous about taking them somewhere by myself, but my friend and fellow triplet mom, Lani, gave me some great advice: "Hope for the best, but expect the worst!". Hey, at least you're prepared with that advice! I guess I started to think, what's the worst that could happen? So what if we have to load back up in the car and go back home. First of all, let me be honest with my motives for wanting to get out of the house. As you may know, since the babies came home we have basically "lived" in the bonus room that is completely baby proof and loaded up with toys. But, over time they realized that there was a lot more to explore downstairs and were to the point where they hated being in the bonus room. So, we baby proofed the downstairs and let them have at it. At first they had a ball playing with the tupperware cabinet and walking around and exploring. But within a week they were already starting to wreak havoc in the kitchen and living room. They were not really interested in playing with the tupperware anymore....they just wanted to completely empty the contents of the cabinet and scatter everything all over the place. Then they thought that it would be fun to take all of the cute farm animal magnets off the fridge and throw them all over the floor. Then, they discovered that the highchairs were easily portable and were pushing them all over the house. So, if I wasn't tripping over tupperware or magnets I would have a huge highchair blocking the sink or refrigerator. Now, all of this chaos will happen in about two minutes. I'm not kidding here. So, I'm left with not only a completely wrecked bonus room, now my beloved downstairs is a disaster too. So, I thought, hey, if we leave there will be no mess to clean up, we all get out of the house and get to see some new things. It's a win win for all. So, last week we went to Peek-a-boo Playtown which is a really cute little place with a pretend bank, grocery store, post office, lots of blocks, train tables, etc., but they also have a little separate toddler area which is what I had my eye on. It has a ball pit, toys and some foam blocks to climb on. I even sweet talked them into only charging us for one child ($7) instead of having to pay for all three. They loved the ball pit! In fact, that was about the only thing they wanted to play with. In other outings, we have also been to the bookstore, the mall, the grocery store and (my favorite place in the world) Target. With each outing I gain more confidence in my abilities to take them somewhere by myself and that makes me happy. I think some people look at me and think that it looks like too much work to take all three of them out, but I truly believe that it's worth it. The kids love to get out and they are quite social which is good because a lot of people stop to talk to us. They will smile and wave and say "bye bye" when we move on. My ultimate outing will be to the water fountain at our local outdoor shopping area. I'm okay with them being confined in the stroller, but having them run around in a public place like that scares me to death, but I just know they would love it. Maybe when we get closer to the end of summer we'll tackle that....

Finally, here are a few pics that were taken last month at their cousin's birthday party.....

Man Cannot Live On Cheesy Poofs Alone....

So, I may have mentioned on here that Maddux is a picky eater. Luce is sort of picky too. Nola will eat ANYTHING. Maddux has certainly come a long way. At first I think it was a whole texture thing. He wouldn't eat any meats and hardly any vegetables. But, over the course of time he has started eating chicken and turkey and on most days he loves broccoli. But, my struggle here lately is breakfast. For the past several months blueberry pancakes have been the staple for breakfast in addition to some fruit. Bananas is the only fruit he will eat other than applesauce. The girls love fruit, especially watermelon, blueberries and strawberries, but Maddux won't touch them. I offer it to him over and over again. Usually he just picks it up and tosses it back on his tray and will do this over and over again but will not put it in his mouth. If I put it in his mouth he immediately spits it back out in disgust. I don't get it? What kid doesn't like fresh fruit? At any rate, this morning I offered them a smorgasbord of food consisting of blueberry pancakes, brown sugar cinnamon toast, scrambled eggs, and fresh bananas, strawberries and watermelon. Even with all of these options, Maddux was getting upset and saying, "More! More!" Here's the deal. I gave him plenty of options including the pancakes and bananas that I know he likes. I understand if he's getting bored with these items which is why I have been offering new choices, but he refuses to try anything new? I'm at a loss. I think the only thing that he truly wants to eat are Cheese Puffs. He loves those darn things. Before having kids I was the person that was saying that I would only feed them organic food and that my kids wouldn't even know what a chicken finger or a french fry was. Oh, how I laugh at my old self! At this point, I just want them to eat something! If they will only eat chicken fingers so be it! But, of course I don't want them to be that way. I want them to eat an array of foods and to be willing to try new things. But, I'm learning that may be a while. A long while.

18 Month Update

Hello all! Yes, yes, I know...I haven't posted in forever! Same old story! I hope in doing so I haven't ran off all of my loyal readers! Ha haa! Okay, for the two of you out there who still check up on us, here is what's been going on.

The kids went the pediatrician for their 18 month well visit a couple of weeks ago. Current weights are: Maddux: 20 lbs 4 oz, Nola: 19 lbs 3 oz, and Luce: 19 lbs. Again, still on the small side but no surprise there. The doctor still thinks that they are doing just awesome and always says that she "couldn't be prouder" at how well they are doing.

As far as day to day stuff, they are no longer taking bottles and are exclusively using straw cups. We pretty much skipped over sippy cups rather quickly because they kept sticking their fingers in the hole and making a huge mess spilling their drinks all over the place. They have also recently progressed to one afternoon nap. I personally like this much better. I can get a lot more done with a two hour span of time, rather than how it was broken up into two short morning and afternoon naps. They continue to amaze me with how quickly they are turning into little people. They understand so much and are really trying to communicate with us. Nola has the biggest vocabulary and can almost carry on a conversation with us! Right now we're working on saying "please" instead of screaming or grunting for what they want. So far they are really starting to pick up on it. Nola will even say "thank you" without even being told! Of course, it doesn't sound exactly like "thank you" but we know that is what she's saying. Speaking of Nola, she is also starting to bite. And I mean, BITE. She will even leave little teeth mark bruises on her victims. So, we're working on that. Currently the punishment is a time out, but I'm not so sure that they understand the whole time out thing just yet.

We've also been working like crazy to completely babyproof the whole house. Up until this point, we spent most of our time in the bonus room. All of their toys are up there and it's completely baby proof. But, they were really starting to hate it up there and demanded to explore downstairs. It took a while as we had to put the TV up higher (they can easily pull a flatscreen down on top of them), install a couple more gates, and the drawer and cabinet locks. Last Friday we finally let them go and they were in heaven. They really thought they were something prancing around all over the place. We left the cabinet with the tupperware in it open so that they could play with it. They quickly pull out every piece and scatter them all over the place.

That's all I can think of for now! Thanks again for checking in on us!!!

Playing with the "Fridge Farm"....a favorite!

You don't need water to have fun!

Having a tupperware party!

Touch-a-Truck

Last Friday went went to "Touch A Truck" at Moss Wright Park. It's really cool actually! They have all sorts of vehicles such as fire trucks, dump trucks, tractors, police cars, cranes, bulldozers, etc and the kids get a chance to climb up inside and push the buttons and honk the horns and have a big time. My kids are still a little small for all that but my friend Mary Ann and her son Will were going so we decided to tag along. Maddux loves cars and trucks so I thought he would enjoy at least looking at them, plus we all enjoy getting out of the house! It was very hot that day so we only stayed an hour or so, but all in all they had a big time. I know in another year or so this will be a huge hit with them.

Maddux with buddy Will. I'm positive that Maddux is saying "car" in this picture

My sweet friend Mary Ann and the whole gang
The fire truck and crane
We of course got lots of stares and fingers pointed at us. I'm not sure if I will ever get used to that! I'm sure people are saying nice things (at least that's what I hope!) but it's still so awkward to see people whispering to each other and you know that they are talking about you. Oh well, it comes with the territory of having triplets I suppose!