12.25.11 ~ Christmas

Here are a few pictures from all the Christmas festivities. Thanks to all our family for spoiling us and the girls and for working with the girls' schedules. They are ready for Christmas to come again!

Camille, Avery, Brelynn

Christmas morning in our PJ's playing with the new fire house

Avery, Camille, Brelynn opening presents

new sleeping bags! camping here we come.

Brelynn

 

Camille

Avery

12.15.11 ~ Christmas pics

We took the girls to Molbak's to get some Christmas pictures for our cards. They were the center of attention and had about 20 people standing around watching them while we took pictures. They were really cute in their dresses.

Fall 2011

The past few months have been really busy around here. The girls are dropping their naps which makes for cranky afternoons for all of us. We've been trying to stay busy because you can only sit at home with three cranky toddlers for so long before you go nuts. Here are some pictures from our outings. We took a drive up the Mt. Loop Highway and got some great shots in the forest. We also got together with our friends with almost one year old triplets (about 10 months in the picture). That was fun but we were definitely outnumbered! We even went out to dinner with the six kids!

11.4.11 ~ Funnies

The girls have been saying really funny things lately and I need to write them down so I don't forget them.

There's the bedtime prayer from Avery: "Thank you God for....ham. peas. family. big poops." I guess those are all important things.

Brelynn: Avery's eyes green?
Me: Yep, Avery's eyes are hazel.
Brelynn: Mimi's eyes blue?
Me: Yep, Camille's eyes are blue.
Brelynn: Mama's eyes brown?
Me: Yep, Mommy's eyes are brown.
Brelynn: Mama's teeth yellow?
Me: *sigh*

At Fred Meyer on a crowded day, I'm buying a pastry brush among other things and Brelynn is in the top of the cart holding it. Dan has a second cart with the other two girls behind us. Brelynn: "Tickle mommy!" (tickling my hands with the pastry brush). I laugh. "Tickle mommy boobies!" (yep, she's doing what you think). I try not to laugh but can't help myself. In a loud voice so Dan can hear her, "Tickle Daddy boobies!" (the whole store turns to see and laughs).

I get home from work after a long drive and the girls mob me at the door. I told them I had to go upstairs and go potty then I could play with them. Avery says, "Mommy, no accidents!"

I'm racking my brain to think of something Camille said but can't think of anything right now other than her usual, "mama up with you please" and then "mommy stand up now." The girl is going through a clingy stage where she wants to be held all the time. She is our singer and can usually be heard singing "Twinkle Twinkle" at the top of her lungs when she's supposed to be taking a nap.

10.31.11 ~ Halloween

The girls were cows for Halloween. They did a little trick or treating and really enjoyed giving out candy. Auntie Chelsea came to help with the festivities and the girls had a fun night. Dan and I enjoyed all the candy they couldn't eat :)

10.21.11 ~ Where did the time go?

Wow, I can't believe it's Fall already. Summer seemed to fly by here with vacations and fun adventures. The girls are doing amazingly well. They had a little case of strep throat last month but antibiotics cleared that right up. Other than that, they're growing and learning so much. This is my favorite age so far. They are singing and making pretend cookies and coffee for me in their kitchen (they know mommy needs her coffee!). They are starting to play with each other more and more and will even play for a bit while I can get some things done around the house. I absolutely love how they love each other. If one gets hurt, the others will bring a favorite toy or blanket. They give hugs and kisses to each other and tell each other they love them each night.

Up until a few weeks ago they got up about 8:15 and took a nap from 12-1:30. They went to bed around 7:15. All that changed two weeks ago when we transitioned them from their cribs to 'big girl beds'. They like their beds and their new found ability to get out of them. Naptime isn't going so well, but they are still sleeping great at night so I guess that's what counts. They get up around 8:30 and have 'quiet time' in their beds from 1-2 and then go to bed around 7:15.

On other development fronts, they can dress and undress themselves. They are potty trained and only wear diapers when sleeping or on a long car ride. They are talking up a storm and singing full songs. They are starting to have little conversations with each other. They have opinions. Yes, lots and lots of opinions :)

10.10.11 ~ Dentist

The girls had their second dentist appointment today. The first was about six months ago and they got to sit in the chair and let the dentist look in their mouth. Nothing serious. Today they each sat in the chair and got a full cleaning and fluoride! They were such big girls...the dentist and staff couldn't believe they got cleanings on two year olds.

8.12-8.16.11 ~ Lincoln City

We took a vacation to Lincoln City, OR this month with the Coulson side of the family and had a great time. We rented a little house near the ocean and got to enjoy the Oregon Coast. The girls loved playing in the ocean, knocking down sand castles, and just exploring the beaches.

Dan and I with the girls

me with my mom and brother

Bre Bre

all the girls

at the aquarium riding a walrus

Grandma and Mimi

Brelynn making a sand sculpture

Avery posing for the camera

Camille letting the waves get her

Aunt Jenn with Camille and Brelynn

Uncle Jenn and Uncle Dale (that's what the girls call them!)

at the aquarium

Dan and Brelynn

Avery trying to smile

8.2.11 ~ Potty training update

It's been two weeks since we started potty training. The girls were ready and picked it up pretty quickly. They had a few accidents for the first eight days of training and then haven't had any since then! We've done five days in a row now with no accidents for any of them and they need very few reminders anymore to go and sit. I'm so proud of them! They are all still very motivated to get a jelly bean but all the other reinforcers have been taken away. No more prize box and no more stickers. We're gradually venturing out of the house a little bit and adding distractions like swimming pools and play dates. Maybe we'll go on a walk later this week and see how they do.

7.22.11 ~ Potty training

Potty training boot camp started here on Tuesday, 7/19/11. The girls are two years and about three weeks old, a little young to start by most standards but they've been asking to sit on the potty for weeks so I thought we'd give it a try. My strategy was to gate off the house so they could only be in the kitchen and living room (on hardwoods) and have the potty chairs in the kitchen. They were naked on bottom and we would take breaks from playing to sit on the potty periodically. Each success got an M&M or a Jelly Belly and a sticker. They loved picking out which color of jelly bean they got. There were a few accidents each day but far more successes. It took until the 4th day for them to really start getting it and not need help and too many reminders. On the 5th day we added in big girl panties so they not only had to get to the potty, but also pull down the panties before going. Avery and Camille are really competitive with each other so when one goes, the other will usually try as well. Brelynn is on her own schedule and doesn't care about competing with her sisters. Going #2 was a bit harder for them and they're still a bit reluctant to use the potty, preferring to wait until naptime or bedtime when they get a diaper again. They get lots of rewards for pooping (2 jelly beans, a sticker, and a toy from the prize box) so I'm hoping they start trying a little more soon. I'm not going to lie...this was a really hard week, but it went so much better than I ever expected. I did end up straining muscles in my neck from sitting on the floor all day with them and needed some pain meds and muscle relaxers and massage therapy to get it all fixed. Lots of people have told me how their kids reverted back after a period of potty success and I know that's a possibility. I'm hoping not though! I know we're not done, but I think the hardest part is over and soon I'll be able to say I potty trained triplets!

This part is just to remind myself when people ask later:
Day 1 A:3, B:4, C:1, Accidents:4
Day 2 A: 2+1, B:3, C:2, Accidents:2
Day 3 A4, B:2, C:2, Accidents:2
Day 4 A:8, B:2+1, C:5+1, Accidents:1
Day 5 A:13, B:3, C:10, Accidents:2

7.16.11 ~ Rock on, dude!

We didn't have radio reception for part of the drive home but came across a station somewhere in Central Oregon that the girls liked...

7.9.11 - 7.16.11 ~ Sunriver, OR

We had another wonderful year at Sunriver with the Ray family. The drive was a bit painful with the girls (10 1/2 hours there and 11 hours back) but we had nice stops at parks and to visit family along the way. They loved playing at the pool at Mavrick's, splashing us, going down the slide, and playing under the sprinklers. They played until their lips and hands turned blue and they were shaking uncontrollably, then we made them get out and warm up. Other highlights were their first kayaking trip, playing at the park, going on a bike ride to the village, seeing horses and deer, and taking the best bubble bath ever. They loved waking up early and playing with Grandma and Grandpa, watching to see who was coming down the stairs next, and getting into all sorts of trouble in the beautiful house. They were actually pretty good, the house was just not a kid-safe house and they had a lot that they had to stay away from. It took them almost the whole week to adjust to sleeping there (in pack and plays) but once we got home they were in heaven and went right back to sleeping through the night and napping! Here's a hodgepodge of pictures to enjoy.