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!!!

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

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

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

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

Ear Tubes

Noah got his ear tubes this morning and all went well. He was cranky for about 30 minutes after waking up and slept for a couple hours upon arriving home. When he awoke this afternoon, he was his usual happy and jumpy boy. He ate 3 bowls of applesauce & a slice of toast. By dinner, he was an eating machine.

The girls missed him at preschool today. They walked around saying "Noah" throughout the day. When I brought the girls home, Sydney walked up to Noah and hugged him. It was so cute.

The last couple of nights have been rough here. The babies just aren't sleeping well. All 3 have stuffy noses. I'm praying for a restful night as I've only had about 6 hours of sleep in 2 days. John's not feeling well so he need more sleep too.

Amy

Zoo Outing

We visited the Indianapolis Zoo today for the first time this season. This was the triplets 2nd trip to the zoo. Last year, they really couldn't see much from their vantage point. But today, they had a lot of close encounters. They saw a walrus, penguins, sharks, polar bear, giraffe and much more. The coolest part of the visit was watching an elephant bathing. We could have pet the elephant at the conclusion of the show, but the triplets were tired and we needed them in their stroller!

The girls did a lot of waving at other guests. I believe they are working on their pageant waves! All in all, the visit was fun and we are looking forward to returning soon.


Amy

P.S. Noah is getting ear tubes on Wed., June 10th. The procedure should only take 5 or so minutes, and they'll just put him to sleep with gas (no needles). We hope this will fend off future ear infections!

Learning everyday!

As parents, along with the grandparents, we have been very diligent reading and singing to our children. They have a great recognition of objects (some as simple as ball, others such as guitar). We've been working on the alphabet, but wow, they are nearly reciting their entire ABC's now! In addition, the girls can really sing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" along with the song.

Noah isn't as vocal as the girls are. Sometimes, I wonder if he has the same knowledge as the girls. I received proof that he knows more than he lets on. He was sitting on the floor with an alphabet puzzle. Not only was he able to place the pieces in their respective spots, he was naming each letter as he picked them up. He was so excited. Lots of "yeah" and clapping for himself. Of course, I cheered him right along.

In summary, I truly believe every word I read about the importance of reading and talking to infants/toddlers/children. We have done our best to encourage learning from birth. John & I decided early on to minimize exposure to adult television programming. We almost never watch any programming outside of Noggin (exposure to music, culture, etc) or videos such as "Signing Time" that has taught them a great amount of sign language. Sure, sometimes I turn on HGTV to check out a home makeover show, but it's very infrequent.

I pray our children will learn with ease and never struggle when they enter school. I also pray they'll always enjoy our time spent together. They generally have our full attention when they're awake! Can I say, exhausting!!!

Amy

Preschool & Illness

Oh boy, the last 2 weeks have been difficult. All 3 kids caught a cold in the first few days at preschool (2 developed ear infections). Noah has been to the Immediate Care Center and the pediatrician. The girls have fared pretty well but our son has truly suffered. His ears have been painful and this infection just doesn't want to leave his little body. We are on his 3rd antibiotic and just starting to see signs of improvement.

We've already missed 3 days out of 14. This new arrangement has been quite expensive when considering the tuition paid, dr co-pays and scripts. I hope this won't be a trend for the triplets.

The kids are starting to adjust to their new routine. What started with 1 child crying in the morning has resulted in all 3 crying now--yikes! They are settling pretty soon after John & I leave. That I am thankful for. Nap time is still touch and go. Their naps are fairly short when compared to naps in their cribs.

There are going to be great learning opportunities for the kids. The girls are starting to sing their ABC's! Noah's even chimed in. They enjoy particiating in circle time (stories, shapes, numbers, alphabet). Some days I'm not sure preschool is worth the trouble, other days I'm certain it's worth any sacrifice.

Please pray for Noah's full recovery and good health for all 3.

Amy

Preschool-Day 3

Noah did great again and the girls did good also. Sydney got off to a rough start. She was so worked up about John & I leaving that she puked a bit. Other than that, she remained clingy but managed to have some fun also. Unlike yesterday, Emily napped 2 hours! In fact, Sydney did also. I know the teachers had to be relieved!

All 3 woke this am with some cold symptoms. How can this happen by Day 3? Anyway, the evening seemed to be going well. We ate spaghetti for dinner, John bathed all 3 and we had them in bed at 7:45p. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse. Sydney vomited 2 times in a 15 minute period which resulted in completely changing her bedding & pajamas 2 times. While trying to get her to sleep in the nursery, Noah woke up crying and wouldn't settle. John & I took turns with both babies to get them asleep. Noah just went back to bed around 10:20p.

This day is ending in pure frustration. I'm running on approximately 3 hrs sleep because the girls were both restless last night which resulted in my being awake much of the night.

Off to bed and I hope things remain quiet now. I've already called for a vacation day tomorrow since Sydney can't go to preschool with her symptoms.

Amy

Preschool-Day 2

Another stellar day for Noah. He hugged every person who entered the classroom, played happily and napped for 2 hours! He is quite the charmer!

The girls had some tearful moments, but overall, day two was noticeable better. Both really enjoyed singing time and circle time (stories, alphabet, numbers, etc). Emily didn't nap (wanted nothing to do with the cot) and Sydney only slept 20 minutes. One teacher, Miss Stephanie, was impressed when she discovered that Emily knows her colors! I mentioned that Sydney knows her colors as well, and Noah is working on them. In fact, Emily can count from 1-10 independently, and the others are pretty close. We are now focusing on our alphabet.

Amy

P.S. Emily is conserving water while brushing her teeth. She turns the water off between rinses. It's so cute.

Preschool-Day 1

I am left with mixed emotions after leaving our children for 10-1/2 hours with complete strangers. It was pouring rain when we dropped them off, and pouring rain when I picked them up.

Surprisingly, Emily seemed very comfortable with the early, unfamiliar faces. Not so surprising, Noah was right at home. Sydney was more reserved and expressed some emotion when we said our "goodbyes" and left. They were the 1st children to arrive in the 2-year-old room at 7a.

Sydney spent much of the day in the arms of the preschool teachers. She was very needy and somewhat whiny. We had a rough night sleeping last evening so I'm sure that played a big role in her mood today.

Emily started out strong but her mood went downhill around 10a. The teacher reported that the girls both appeared very tired by that time. At home, they would be taking their 1st nap. Preschool offers one afternoon nap.

Noah had a great time. He ate, played and even napped without a paci. We decided to take this opportunity to wean him from the pacifier during nap time.

The girls didn't eat well and they had some problems with drinking from open cups. Two out of three children came home in different clothes than they started out wearing. The soaking of stained clothing is just beginning! Their naps were very short, but heck, we weren't sure they would sleep outside the crib.

All in all, day 1 wasn't horrible. Sure, it would be easier to keep them home, but that is no longer an option. I hope they really become comfortable and settled within a couple of weeks.

Well, I'm exhausted and heading to bed. Please keep our family in your prayers while we continue to face my possible job loss.

Amy

2 Years Old Today!!!

Yes, the triplets are officially 2 years old. It's hard to believe we started with 3 hour feedings (24 bottles daily) and countless diapers just 2 years ago. Born at 35 weeks, all weighing slightly over 4 lbs, they have grown to 24+ lbs and full of energy. We are fortunate to have 3 healthy, beautiful and generally happy children. All 3 are learning sponges. They love being read to and can name most animals/objects in their books. Emily is easily counting from 1-10 unassisted while Noah is working on mastering the same skill. Sydney is also capable of reciting her numbers, she's just not always willing.

Emily is a bundle of fun. Her laugh is contagious and her smile so bright. Those sparkling blue eyes are captivating. She is full of spunk and loves to say phrases like "Oh my goodness" countless times. She is beautiful in every way!

Noah is the bouncing boy I never knew I wanted before the pregnancy. He has the biggest smile and full of affection. Of course like any boy, he's becoming somewhat of a bully to his sisters. Seriously, he's usually just playing with the girls but he tends to be more aggressive than they are. The girls don't always appreciate his hugs, but we do!

Sydney is our cutie pie who's tilt of the head will get her most anything her heart desires. She loves to hug and craves our full attention. Sydney really wants all eyes on her. She a bright girl and we love her so! She is also our most stubborn child.

Our friends, family and both sets of grandparents celebrated their birthday this past Saturday. The party theme was Elmo and the kids really had a fabulous time. We purchased a Little Tikes bounce house with a slide. All the party guests (children) enjoyed their time jumping. Their Aunt Jenny also brought some additional outdoor toys for their enjoyment.

On another note, I'm still uncertain about my future with AT&T. Our labor contract expired over the weekend and the union is still in negotiation with the company for a fair contract. Although my department officially closed 1 week ago today, I'm still reporting to work until another position is located for me. I'm still facing termination, but that remains to be seen.

A big "thank you" to our parents who continue to support us. I don't think our family would have fared this well without their help. I also want to send our love to Aunt Nancy as she undergoes chemo treatments this week. John and I love you and pray for a full recovery.

Amy

Two weeks already?!?

Today brings to a close my second week back at work. In some ways, I feel like I wasn't really gone that long but there have been changes at the old workplace, enough that it's noticeable. Still waiting on uniforms and a work van, but it's nice to be out fixing things again. So far as I know, the triplets haven't freaked out that I'm not at home, but they do have Grandma and Grandpa to keep them entertained. Sydney says "Grandma" and "Grandpa" very clearly and points to them, even when they're upstairs in their bedroom. Very sharp, that girl. She also has started trying to sing along with some songs, like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Old MacDonald. Emily gets in on it sometimes, too. They got a set of three sparkly books from their Aunt Nancy and Uncle Danny in Ohio, The Wheels on the Bus, Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush and Old MacDonald Had A Farm. It took a few time hearing Emily or Sydney say (what sounded like) "Yai-yo" before I realized they were saying "E-I-E-I-O" very fast. Noah's speech therapy is starting to kick in, he's trying more words and he wants to be read to as much as the girls now.

I definitely get a kick out of coming home from work and hearing them say "Daddy!" or even "Hi, Daddy!"

As far as the actual work goes, it was like riding a bicycle. On my third day back I was taking calls on my own and fixing fire panels. That's what Simplex was hoping for when they brought me back, and I'm glad I wasn't too rusty.

Diaper Dance???

I have to share this funny story with all. Grandma & Grandpa Cheesman are visiting which allowed John & I to go out last evening on Valentine's Day. We had a scrumptous dinner at Bravo and attended the Cirque Du Soleil show. It was a great day. We left about 4p and got home just before the clock struck midnight.

The babies were upstairs in their nursery for an afternoon nap. Sydney slept while Noah & Emily chattered. After we left the house, my mom decided to bring the non-sleepers downstairs. After reaching the top of the stairs, she smelled a strong odor. She walked in the nursery to find Noah standing butt naked. His pants & diaper where outside the crib while a pile of waste was in his crib. This is the first time a diaper has been removed by the triplets. My parents got more than they bargained for. Mom bathed Noah (1st time), changed his bedding (1st time) and had to clean a few smears off the wall. Afterwards, she feed them, dressed them for bed, brushed their teeth and administers medicine to fight off ear infections. Fortunately, she had some help from my Dad. Now the average person would be exhalsted and ready to turn in for the night. But not my mom, she decided to bake us a cake at midnight.

We are so grateful to have parents that show us so much support. Without their help, I'd go crazy!

Amy