To my boys...

Henry, Nolan, and Graham,
 I can't believe you have already been around for 6, almost 7 months! The time is going by so fast!
I thought I would write to each of you and let you know how our life is so much better because you are each in it!

Henry,  Hen, little man, Hank the tank, tubby,
My first, my baby A. You still remain to be the biggest of the three, by atleast 2 pounds. You make it hard for your brothers to catch up, but it could be coming... for now you are wearing 9 month clothes.
You are our sensitive baby. From noises, to people, to your skin even... you are sensitive! You love your mom and dad and always like to know where in the room we are.
You have the most hair, bright blonde and growing! Your ears still stick out a bit since they still fold in half when you lay on them. It is the cutest thing!

You used to be our laid back, sleeps so well baby.... and now your personality is coming through. You love to be upright, usually in your exersaucer, bouncing away and smiling at anyone that will look your way. You were the first to sit up, but lately you love to fly backwards and hang out. (Good thing we still have the bobby pillow there)
You have the sweetest raspy little voice. You laugh at funny faces and noises, and love to be thrown in the air! You take in short sounds in response to us talking, and love to blow raspberries!
Your cry breaks my heart every time I hear it. You have always had the saddest cry, which is now the loudest.... It is hard to hear you cry when I cant get to you right away. And now your big crocodile tears do not help one bit.
You have teeth coming in, but none have broke through yet.... but the drool is in full force!
You have become a great solid food eater, and are warming up to puffs, although you are still sensitive to foods that are not pureed!
You have been the baby that keeps us going to the doc. With a spinal check, double ear infection, a chest cold, and rash, you keep us busy... but you handle it all so well!
I love rocking you to sleep... you are so snuggley and sleep so well when being held. Those quiet moments with you are what I cherish!
I love you so much, and am so blessed to have you as my son! Keep growing little man... I love watching you grow and change into a little boy!

Nolan, Noly, no-ee, Noly Poly, Noly guacamole, Noly stromboli,
My baby C, but came out second, my mini me,
You still remain in the middle for length but Graham has caught up to you in weight. You are our smiley baby! You always love to flirt with EVERYONE... and always have a smile on your face... ready to laugh! You have lots of light brown hair, and beautiful skin!
  You have become our easy baby! You will be held by anyone... you love to work the crowds with your cuteness- long eyelashes and big smile...and you sleep through the night (first one!). You are easily amused and play well with people or by yourself. you never really cry unless you are STARVING or beyond tired!
When excited you flap your arms and kick your legs like crazy, especially when in your high chair to eat! You eat really well- bottle and solids, and have loved trying puffs!
You talk all the time... your new sounds and noises are so funny as you move your lips to create new sounds.... You talk yourself to sleep, and talk away as you wake up in the morning... you are more and more like your mommy as your personality emerges!
Your cry is quiet and comes from the back of your throat, but we barely hear it since you BARELY cry!
No teeth for you yet, but I think we should start seeing something in the next few months... drool for you is building...
When on the floor you scoot around on your back... so you will be mobile in no time!
My favorite times with you are on the changing table... as you kick and squirm and make faces at me... we love to laugh back and forth! You reach for my face with your little hands to explore! I love it!
I cant imagine our life with our you, our little Noly... keep talking, keep smiling, and laughing because it brightens my day so much! I love you Nolan!!

 

Graham, Grammy, Graham graham, GMan, stinker pie, goober,
 My 'baby', my little guy! You were the wild one in my tummy, and although you are alert and most observant of the three, you have calmed down quite a bit these last few weeks. You have caught up in size to Nolan, and are well on your way, wearing 6 month clothes. You love to make sure you are the center of attention... and let us know with noises if no one is looking at you! Once we do, you bashfully smile, laugh, and look away coy! TOO CUTE!
You have very light blonde hair, that is finally coming in! You have BIG blue eyes and the strongest legs I have ever felt. You love to stand and look around... making sure to follow all noises and action in the room!
You are such a good eater, bottles and solids... as soon as we put you in your chair (placed in the middle of course), you know what is coming... you have no interest in puffs yet... but we are working on it.
What we love about you is we always know what you are feeling... happy, frustrated, sad, tired... you always let us know! Your screams, and dolphin like 'whine' is a favorite of ours.... ugh
You have been getting progressively better at sleeping at night... which we love... you can be such a light sleeper though so we have to keep you and Henry separate since his cry is so loud it wakes you instantly!
 You love to stand, so the bouncy exersaucer is perfect for you. Although you were last to sit... you sit SO WELL now... and love to play your little piano or anything with flashing lights!
You blow raspberries throughout the day, especially when you eat (not fun).
No teeth yet, but everything goes in your mouth!
We dont call you fussy but particular... you like things a certain way... like bedtime, having blanket by your face and walked to sleep... you can tell when we sit and you dont like it...
I love playing with you! Your reactions to toys, funny faces, and noises are so funny! You are so reactive now and I love it!
You are our sweet little Graham and we are so in love with you! We cant wait to see your personality continue to evolve! I love you Graham Graham!

 

I cant imagine our life without our three little dudes. They keep us so busy but it is the best experience! I love having little boys!Seeing them with their dad is so cool and I know will only get better! So blessed with this incredible family!

6 month check up + bonus pics!

So we went to the doctor for our 6th month appointment after I wrote the 6 month update. I thought I would post actual dates instead of estimates... as well as what we have been doing these last few weeks! LOTS of fun milestones!

first... the doctor went well. They are all still gaining weight ahead of schedule... and he said that they should all be in the 50 percentile by a year.... I am grateful!
Henry- 15lbs 12 oz     25 in long
Nolan- 13lbs 14oz     24 1/2 in long
Graham- 13lbs 14oz   24 1/4 in long ( he caught up!)

They each had 4 shots, but did a lot better then mommy.... I was a nervous wreck... since I know their sad cries more now, it just breaks my heart to hear it!

We are now up to eating solids 2 times a day, morning, around 8am and dinner at 5. They love their fruits, and Nolan is a bit questionable about veggies.

We went and saw Santa at Portraits from the heart in Andover...( a cute victorian house where the couple takes pictures from their home) They have it down to a science!... the boys never physically saw him... Santa was hidden and when he came out we backed the boys onto his knee .... so we got nothing but smiles this year.... I have a feeling next tear will be a different story.  We were in and out of there in 20 minutes! SLICK!

We are sitting up with little assistance now... such a fun new way to play on the floor. They interact with each other... it is only a matter of time before they will be mobile!!!

These next two were just too cute NOT to share! All smiles!

And here is a 6 month recap of the boys!

6 months old!

How old? 6 months

Our weights: Estimates:  Henry-18 , Nolan- 16, Graham-15
They are in 6 month clothes... Henry is in some 9 month outfits.
Our sleeping patterns?  They either take a good morning nap and a lighter afternoon nap...or vice versa. Depends on the day I guess. 

Nighttime: Bedtime around 6:30pm. Nolan is still sleeping through the night. Graham usually only gets up once. Henry, since he had his double ear infection has been getting up more at night for his pacifier or to be rocked... We are having a hard time adjusting back to old routines.


Our eating schedule? 
They eat 4.5 -5 ounces every 3-4 hours. We have solids for dinner at 5, with a final bottle before bed. Nolan is still needing juice in his bottle every now and again for regularity. All three of the boys have taken to eating solids... and are watching Dave and I closely when we eat our food... it is pretty funny.

Our favorite foods? Bananas, homemade applesauce, pears, and sweet potatoes.

Our likes? Singing, standing with assistance, looking out windows, funny noises, blowing raspberries, grabbing for mommy's phone, putting hands in mouths. 
H: eat his hands, being rocked by mommy, the phone, his pacifier, grabbing his feet
N: exersaucer, laughing, his teether, the television, laying on his back playing with playmat
G: exersaucer, loves to stand and observe everything, Oball, bumbo chair, Sophie the Giraffe.

Our dislikes? Being sick- Our family caught the 24 hour stomach bug, all within 24 of each other. It was terrible, but we persevered!  A lot of Pedialyte and Gadorade in this house!
Henry is our stranger danger kid, he needs time to warm up to anyone that is not mom or dad... even if it is someone they see on a regular basis. Nolan fights to go to sleep, he just doesnt want to miss anything.
Graham doesnt like to wait, it is now or.... now!!!

Our favorite games/toys? exersaucer, mirrors, teethers, Oball, baby einstein music player.

Our milestones?Henry's first ear infection on 11/12,  First overnight away, 11/22, Henry discovered his toes 11/21, Graham rolled from back to front 11/24, first stomach bug 12/1, Graham is scooting all the over the playmat, Henry likes to get up on his knees when on his tummy, but its more in anger. Nolan is talking a lot!

Things we do to make Mom and Dad smile? funny noises, blowing raspberries, smiling a lot, snuggles, noticing each other and reaching for faces!


Our Pictures:

What a cute bunch!

Henry 6 months! Hank the Tank!

Graham 6 months! Our little flirt!

Nolan, 6 months! A mini Mollie

I had to post this one too, it is just too funny....

Picture update!

Here are some fun pictures of what has been going on with us this past month!

Dave and I did our first overnight away! Henry and Nolan went to Cindy's house (our Wednesday caretaker) and Graham went to my friend Katie (Monday caretaker) Dave and I headed to Mystic for the night. Despite a sad little Henry for a few hours (he finally settled we were told), we had a great time eating at the buffet, playing some fun slot machines, and sleeping through the night!! 

Our boys just love dinner time! They always are so excited when we sit them in their chairs, they know what is coming!

Henry is hanging out, in the laundry basket, why not!?

Graham was so over tired, he would not go to sleep by me rocking him, so I set him down, and this is what happened! 

Auntie Casey got the boys these cute shirts! A little big still, but still so adorable!

Play time!

Got together with my special care nursery moms. Jen (middle) has twin boys (one was sleeping), and Katie has a cute little girl!

We got a 1,2, 3 going... lol

Thanksgiving

I am going to break down a few posts... to not overwhelm you all!
First, we had our first Thanksgiving!  We were ambitious enough to go to Dave's side in the early part of the day and my side the later part of the day! I know, we are crazy!

We got the boys bathed and dressed and out the door we headed to Lakeville by 10:15am.

It was nice to have all of Dave's dad side there... to hold, play, and help feed babies.... once it came time for us to eat, they did pretty well at playing on their playmate.... but eventually had to join us at the table.
It was shortly after we ate it was getting to be nap time.... Surprisingly we got them all asleep in their car seats in bedrooms upstairs. That lasted about 45 minutes (stinks to not have a monitor, so I had to keep running up the stairs to check for noises)

Grandma Lynda and Henry

Since naps were not that long we decided to head out and use the car ride to my parents as an official nap time.... well the car ride was a bit longer than expected... Dave got sick after we left his cousins.... I ended up driving him all the way home to Coon Rapids, then back to my parents (ambitious, but at least I would have help there, and a meal). I got to my parents in time for the boys to have dinner....

Right before we ate we had family friends stop over. Laurie is a friend of my moms... her two daughters, Amber and Ashley have been life long friends of mine. Ashley brought her two kiddos, Addison and Bryce with her. It was fun to see everyone... it was chaos.... thats for sure!

 By the time everyone arrived and food was ready, it was about meltdown time. So as family held three fussy babies, I scarfed down another meal (it was hot and homemade.... not passing on that!). I was in the car on the way home around 6:30pm.
I think we pushed the limit with the boys.... of course they slept on the way home, but woke up as soon as the car stopped.... so then they were up for a while before going back to bed again... I felt bad disturbing a sick hubby, but he had a good attitude about it!
It was great to see family, but I am suggesting hosting Christmas eve at our place this year.

5 months old- Halloween

How old? 5 Months Old!

Our weights: Estimates:  Henry-14lb , Nolan- 13lb, Graham-12lbs

Our sleeping patterns? daytime- Graham is only up for about 2 hours at a time before he needs to go down for a nap... sometimes 30 minutes... sometimes an hour... he usually takes a better afternoon nap. Nolan takes few and short cat naps throughout the day, and fights sleep every time. Henry, will just fall asleep wherever, doing whatever... every couple hours.
Nighttime: We go to bed around 6pm and each wake up 1 more time between 8-9 for one more bottle before bed. 
Nolan sleeps through the night now. Around 12-13 hours a night! We are grateful!
Henry and Graham- after a good 6 hour stretch will wake up every 3-4 hours for a bottle and then  go right back down. (Graham needs to be sung "He's got the whole world", while falling alseep)


Our eating schedule? 
We all take 5 ounce bottles first thing in the morning, around 7 am. Then we eat every 3-4 hours... 4 oz bottles. Nolan needs pear/prune juice in all his bottles to keep him regular.

We have oatmeal cereal, along with a fruit and a veggie at 5pm. We started trying solids at 4.5 months... and they took to it right away! We now do it every night, and between the three of them they polish it all off! 
Graham LOVES solids.... Nolan is loving it and getting the hang of it.... Henry will last about 5ish minutes and then want to be done and just eat a bottle.
Our favorite foods? Sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, and carrots.

Our likes? The ceiling fan, bathtime, dinner time, walks outside, being held, the TV, babbles, and blowing spit bubbles, mom and dad's funny noises.

Our dislikes? tummy time after about 5 minutes, laying on the floor for too long, waiting to eat if we are hungry.

Our favorite games/toys? peek-a-boo, activity mats, baby Einstein music toy, mirrors.

Our milestones? Henry rolled over on 10/24, started cereal on 10/13,  Nolan started sleeping through the night regularly 10/18, Henry is blowing raspberries, Nolan is sucking his thumb, Graham loves to stand and look out the window, first Halloween, Baptized, holding toys and bringing them to mouth, signs they are starting to teeth.

Things we do to make Mom and Dad smile? Henry talks to us while he eats, lots of smiles, cuddles, and fun noises! 

Their pictures are from their first Halloween! 
We just headed to my parents for a couple hours to show off their 'super' costumes, and then headed home for more grandparent time with Dave's parents... then off to bed for the night!

Our Pictures:

We did head to another triplet's house for a play date on Halloween. They have all girls... and were born 2 months after ours. So 6 babies... and 2 moms... at one point they were all quiet, either eating or sleeping... it only lasted about 20 minutes but it was fun to get together regardless and talk to a mom who is going through the same thing!

We are sporting our orange and black for halloween before getting into costumes!

Our potential future wives...
Henry, Emma, Graham, Harper, Nolan, and Zoey!

Baptism- October 26th, 2013 at Zion Lutheran Church

The boys got baptized! On Oct. 26th, Saturday at our 5pm service. Being a pastor this was something I knew would be a big event! We didnt want to do it too early, since they were preemies, but we didnt wait to go too far into the cold season, because you worry about RSV and germs! So our window was limited.... 

Working at a church, I wanted my other pastoral colleagues to be present and a part of this cool milestone! So Oct. 26 was the date that worked best!

The day....

We got a late start to the day... but once we got started, things got hectic. Dave had to run out to get the cakes at Costco... along with some party items I had forgot... I was home with the babies, who were off that day... especially Graham... just a little more fussy than normal. This made me nervous that this is how they would be in church later that day.

Of course this too was the day that Henry and Nolan decided to take three hour naps... and we had to wake them up to get them bathed, dressed, and out the door!

believe it or not we got to the church on time! 

We took some family pictures before the service, and by 5 we were off and running. 

Henry's Godparents are our friends Marina and Michael Kern. I went to high school with both of them, and they are two of our closest friends now!

Nolan's Godparents are Katie and Ryan O'Hara. Katie and I have been friends since 2 grade. We have always been a part of each other's big milestones... this was no different. We love getting together for game nights with Katie and Ryan!

Graham's Godparents are Kelly and Brady Schmidt. Kelly and I grew up together at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church. I officiated at their wedding, and we love getting together with them for dinners!

These are couples Dave and I have always enjoyed spending time with, and we knew would love and care for our kids! They are dear friends that we hope to grow closer to over the years as our boys grow up and in closer relationship with their Godparents.

Our church also has congregational Godparents. This role is given to 2 people in the congregation who promise to pray for our boys, and send them cards on their baptismal anniversary! We chose Pam and Bill Travis. This couple has been so loving and supportive ever since they found out we were pregnant! Since the boys have been born, they have provided meals, come over to help us in the beginning, and have babysat quite a few times... they LOVE our boys, and we LOVE them! It's a great fit!

The boys behaved SO well during the service! No one cried... they actually fell asleep during the sermon... so they slept through their actual baptism! 

Henry getting baptized by Pastor Kathie Nycklemoe

Graham getting baptized by Pastor Sue Wallager

Nolan getting baptized by Pastor Connie Tiede

The after party/dinner was downstairs in fellowship hall with about 75 of our closest friends and family! What a testament to how much these boys are loved!

They slept well that night none the less! It was such a wonderful experience! Although stressful, I enjoyed every minute! 

Our boys were sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked with the cross of Christ forever!

Videos!

Here are a few videos of some fun times in our house!

Nolan laughing at Auntie Tay Tay! 

Melts my heart!

Henry loves to chat!

Henry's first cereal

Nolan's first cereal

Graham's first cereal

Picture update- October

It has been a really busy month with lots of firsts!

A new exersaucer! All the boys are loving sitting up more! Henry is rockin out!

Johnny jump up! We haven't spent too much time in here yet... But they love what time they have been in there! Go Grahammy go!

This is Nolan's new favorite play spot! Talks a lot to himself in the mirror!

We have started cereal and fruit and veggies!

Graham took to it immediately! Henry and Nolan took a few times but now they all look forward to their 5pm dinner in their high chairs!

We submitted this picture to Gerber's photo contest! Voting starts November 4th!

We had another shower for the boys... This one hosted by Dave's family. The boys were passed around and snuggled and got a lot more clothes and fun toys!!

We are getting so much better at tummy time! Really starting to recognize each other! Nolan and Graham are chatting away!

Henry is our "fall asleep anytime anywhere" baby!

Our boys are almost 5 months old... I can't help but have them match every now and again!

The boys finally got to meet their "guncles"- Dave's gay uncles- Mike and Ed. Nolan Michael and Graham Edward are named after them! They came into town for their baptism from Tennessee. ( I will blog soon about that) we are very close to Mike and Ed and loved all the time they got to spend with us and the boys this weekend!

This journey as parents of triplets is a wild ride, but we are soaking up all these wonderful moments! It is going so fast! I just pulled out their bag of preemie clothes tonight... even though it was only 5 months ago, I can't believe our babies were so tiny! They are growing so well... and so fast! We are blessed!