Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Happy 3rd Birthday

At this time 3 years ago, Emily, Noah & Sydney made their appearance into this world. Happy Birthday to Emily at 12:29p, Noah at 12:31p & Sydney at 12:32p!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter Fun

After a long lapse in blogging, I must share our Easter experience. The triplets are just 2 days from their 3rd birthday. They are officially excited about holidays. They awoke this morning to find their new, personalized Easter bags with a few goodies (Peeps, bubble wands, Easter bracelets for the girls, Matchbox cars for the boy, and lots of stickers). It wasn't much, but plenty for their age. We put some bunny ears on & off they hopped! They had their first experience coloring eggs, and it was a good one. Sydney ended up with blue fingers! We enjoyed an afternoon at Independence Park in Greenwood followed by our small Easter dinner at home. It was just me, John & the triplets. No family to celebrate with this year. Dad was down last weekend, Jenny is in North Carolina with her girls & grandchildren, and of course John's parents are in Texas.

We all enjoyed our ham, potatoes, shells & cheese & green beans. It was simple to prepare, just the way I like it! Then we surprised the triplets with an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. The Easter Bunny hid quarters, Skittles & Reese's Peanut Butter Bunnies. The girls are excited about the candy, but not Noah. He wants nothing to do with candy, but enjoys marshmallows. Oh, the Peeps were rejected by all so they are in the trash already.

I've ordered an egg-less cake for the triplets preschool birthday party on Tuesday. One student has an egg allergy. I'm taking some apple slices & fresh blueberries also. The triplets love their fruit. We've put together 21 goody bags with stickers, bubbles & a Crayola magnetic frame ready for coloring. Hoping they have a great time with their little friends. We'll have their official Dora & Diego themed party next Sat. at our home. Keeping my fingers crossed for good weather so we can have their bounce house up. Also waiting on the arrival of their new Radio Flyer tricycles, red for Noah, and pink for the girls. Can't wait to see all 3 on their trikes. Having their 3 year pictures taken the end of May outdoors so planning some with their trikes. I'm so excited!

Kisses to my mom in Heaven.

Love,

Amy

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Tree Trouble

On Christmas Day, I mentioned to my brother-in-law, Phil, that I was ready to take our tree down. He informed me that taking the tree down before Jan. 1 could result in bad luck. Well, I knew we wouldn't really take the tree down until the new year. We are exhausted and not looking forward to the additional work.

Yesterday, Dec. 26th, I was attempting to free Noah's remote control car from behind the tree when a heard a cracking noise followed by a falling tree. Thankfully, I was quick enough to grab a hold before it came crashing down on 1 or more of my 3 children nearby. Basically, the tree stand frame broke and the tree had to be dismantled. I was literally holding the tree up with 1 hand and removing not so fragile ornaments with the other. Emily, standing close by said "Don't worry Mommy, we'll help you." My brilliant and helpful children carried these ornaments into our kitchen and placed them on the table. I would guess they made a dozen or more round trips with ornaments. John then found a make shift brace for the tree while we removed the glass ornaments and lights. Then, one by one, the kids carried each & every tree branch to me in the kitchen so they could be placed in totes for storage. Talk about teamwork!!! All we could think about was the Wonder Pets theme song "What kind of work, teamwork."

Anyway, I don't really believe in superstitions, but even if the old saying is true about bad luck when taking trees down before Jan. 1, I think we qualify for an exemption!!!

This was really hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a Happy & Prosperous New Year!!!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Tis the Season

The kids are very excited about Christmas this year. I never dreamed they would have any concept of this holiday. I was so wrong! We have visited Santa 3 times already, and they want to go back for more. Noah says "I love Santa" and Sydney is consistently asking for a baby (we think she means a real live baby). All three are asking for presents (nothing in particular)! Many of our tree ornaments keep being rearranged. They can hardly keep their hands off the tree. Christmas morning is going to be a blast.

Merry Christmas & God Bless You!

Amy

Monday, November 16, 2009

Ironic

So we took the kids to a really great park yesterday afternoon. They love the slides, and everything else it has to offer. I noticed a couple of little girls who appeared to be identical twins. It turns out they had a brother the same age also. Yes, there was another set of triplets (GGB) at the same park. In addition, they were also 2-1/2 years old. This family was actually visiting from Bloomington, IL.

It's official, Sydney is completely potty trained. Emily will hopefully show more interest soon, and Noah, well let's just say, it's going to be a while! The triplets were moved into the 3 year olds room at preschool today. According to their former teachers, they are more advanced than the other children their age. In fact, one of the new teachers already commented that they know more than the 3 year olds. Once again, I am so thankful for the abilities they are demonstrating. All three can correctly spell their names and count to 20. Emily is calling out octagon at each stop sign.

The kids really seemed excited about Halloween because of the decorations. They loved out numerous ghosts and our witch who crashed into they yard. We hung orange LED pumpkin lights. The outside looked appropriate for the occasion. It was definitely child friendly. Nothing terribly scary. I can't wait to host Halloween parties for their classmates! We took the kids trick-or-treating for approximately 10 minutes on Oct. 31st. It was too chilly for them to be out. They were all dressed in personalized scrubs, girls in pink, Noah in blue. They looked quite cute, but wouldn't pose for pictures. We can't get them to stay still long enough. Their Grandpa Cheesman spent that weekend with us so he was able to join us on our limited venture out.

I've recently started singing "Jingle Bells" around the kids. They have already picked up the 1st verse of the song. They really do amaze us all the time. I'm so excited for the upcoming Christmas holiday. I think they are going to love it this year because of the lights and yard ornaments. Like last year, we plan to be conservative when it comes to presents. The kids are too young to understand Christmas and simply don't ask for things yet. Well, I take that back, the girls want pink & purple babies.

Not sure yet if we will see Grandma & Grandpa Ayres for Christmas. They may have plans to spend the holiday with some of their other grandchildren. If they are reading this, I hope they'll visit soon. Emily, Noah & Sydney keep asking for Grandma.

The last few months have been hard on us. Losing my mom was crushing to John and I. We have both battled the flu bug and he's also had a bout with Bronchitis. Emily and Sydney just recently recovered from ear infections, and now Emily is running another high fever. This season is already frustrating us. We have to miss work due to our personal illness or a child's illness, and we have no family to help out here. God, please protect our jobs!

As bad as things have gotten around here, I have to keep focusing on all our blessing. We have each other, 3 beautiful and healthy children, and a promising future.

I would ask that you not only pray for my family, please pray for my good friend Heather Cundiff. She lost her only child, Tyler, on Nov. 4th due to complications from H1N1. Tyler was just a couple months shy of his 15th birthday. Like many others who are losing their battle with this illness, Tyler had pre-existing health conditions. Most notably, he had Cerebral Palsy. Some of you might remember Heather from my wedding. She was the bridesmaid in our wedding.

Amy

Friday, October 16, 2009

Bookworms!

The triplets are thriving at preschool. They are at the top of their class. They already know most of their colors, shapes, alphabet, counting to 15 (and higher), and so much more. We are thrilled with the abilities they are demonstrating at such an early age. Like I've mentioned before, we work with them a lot to develop their minds!


The triplets love books. Noah is literally sitting down with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?" and reading on his own. He has the book committed to memory. It's so cute! Sydney says her favorite book is Dr. Seuss' "Foot Book." Like Noah, she can recite most of the book simply by looking at the pages. Emily, she loves to sing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and "The Wheels on the Bus" while looking at their respective books.


All 3 are so bright. They are reciting words represented by various letters. For example, M is for Mommy. They now can recite their first & middle names (and each others). I'm now working on their last name. Oh, did I mention they know their parents given name. When I say, "what's Mommy's name" they exclaim "Amy" and "John."


Sydney is mostly potty trained now. She has been in panties for 1 week now (except nap & bedtime). She is doing an incredible job with very few accidents. I'm going to give it another week or so, and Emily will be wearing panties also. She does a fairly good job at preschool using the potty. I think putting her in panties will encourage more consistency. Noah, he really doesn't show any interest in potty training yet. He'll sit on the potty, but very briefly. That's ok, I'm not tripping over potty training like so many parents do. Yes, it will be cheaper when not purchasing diapers for 3, but it will come in time.


Anyway, I know I'm bragging, but isn't that what parents are supposed to do. I'm so thankful they are so bright and capable. There is always concern about development of babies born as multiples and prematurely. We lucked out, ours are great physically and developmentally.


Life has been difficult these last 4 weeks since losing my Mom. I do miss her tremendously. I've shed so many tears, with no signs of them drying up anytime soon. I am so grateful for the 2-1/2 years she had with her youngest grandchildren.


Amy


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Sad Day

Ok, this day was more than sad. It ranks as the worst day of my life. Today, my mother Barbara Cheesman, was laid to rest. Her death was unexpected and the cause hasn't been determined. My parents were supposed to spend the weekend with us but my mom started experiencing some flu like symptoms late Thursday evening. She died at home around 7a on September 13, 2009, just 2 days after her 68th birthday.

In spite of today's events, John & I had to get back to Indianapolis to pick the triplets up from preschool and follow our normal routine. Just hours after saying my final goodbye to mom, I was bathing my beautiful children. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of shutting down to mourn our loss. We have the rest of the week off work, so we plan to rest and work toward moving forward as my mom would want.

Today has been a mixture of emotions. My morning really started on a bright note when Noah exclaimed "I'm so happy". I really tried to hold it together around my children, but I wasn't completely successful. Each time I teared up, Emily & Sydney would ask "what's wrong Mommy" followed by some soothing techniques. Soon they would follow up with "it's ok Mommy". We have truly been blessed by compassionate and bright children.

I'm so happy for the time my mom spent with her youngest grandchildren. She showered them with love, and enjoyed the affection given to her. My mom was super! I always let her know how appreciated she was, but I really don't think I told her how much I loved her. My mom was the most generous and giving person I've ever known. She always put others above herself. Her friends, family and church had great respect for her.

I'll post an update on the triplets soon. For now, I really want to honor my mom, the greatest woman in my life.

I LOVE YOU MOM!

Amy