The Johnson Triplets Plus One

The basement...

2012-01-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

Very cute pics of the kids waiting on the basement stairs while mommy and daddy get it ready for them. They LOVE to play in the basement and we have it pretty well baby proofed, so we don't have to be too cautions as they can't get to anything dangerous, like the sump pump or other machines.

We just got an estimate on getting it waterproofed (leaks on occasion during the bad rain falls and a wall is leaning in that needs stabilized soon), I wont even say how much. Don't know what we are going to do... do we want to put even more money into this house or sell it for a little less than what we have put into it and hope it sells. We love this house and we have put so much time and work into it making it our own... but with me working in FW and Josh in Ossian, it only makes since to move closer. But I think we might be stuck here, if so, we will just have to make the best of it and deal with the driving and time away from the kids.

Build A Bear... Thanks Aunt Jarilyn!

2012-01-23T20:07:00.000-08:00

Maysie putting the heart in the bear!

Jace chilling with her bear right after he had it stuffed. He had a great time. He does not get to do much as he can be hard to control out and about, but I am glad we took him cause he really enjoyed himself.

Maysie stuffing her kola bear!

Mak stuffing her monkey!

Mak putting the heart in the monkey!

Jaeli getting ready to kiss her kitty cat!

Thanks Aunt Jarilyn, they had a blast, it was a nice day out and went as good as I could have hoped for! They love their animals... not quite as much as their baby dolls... but they do cuddle and dress them often!

Update on Mak and Potty Training

2012-01-23T20:04:00.000-08:00

Potty Training:
Well the girls are about 95% potty trained day and night! We have only had a couple accidents in the last 3 or 4 weeks. Jaeli had one due to laziness and Mak had one in the middle of the night, but it was during one of her "high on fructose" episodes. So I don't really count that one. And then there were maybe one or two accidents where they just didn't make it to the potty in time, they attempted but went somewhere between the bathroom door and toilet. Great job girls, so proud of you! I did not think we would be sleeping through the night without diapers until age 4. I can't tell you how awesome it is to NOT have to put pull ups on each night and take them off in the morning! It is GREAT! And car rides too, we just make them go before we go somewhere and so far, we have not had any problems. Every once in awhile someone will mention they have to go, but they hold it until we get somewhere they can go. 3 down, 1 to go!

Makenna:
So we have been trying really hard to eliminate fructose from Mak's diet, but it can get hard at times as its in most foods. She was still recovering today (monday) from Saturdays episode. We went to a birthday party on Saturday and about 2 hours later the signs started coming out. Not only was she high on fructose as I call it, she was sick too, so that intensified her reaction to it. She so wanted to have cake and ice cream even though I told her it would hurt her... but I gave in and said she could. I took some sweet tarts in hopes it would counter act it, but I think ever single piece of food they had there had fructose in it. And then you add cake and ice cream to that which are both LOADED in fructose. She would have had to eaten a whole box to counteract it. At Jace's bday party, I was able to make her special cookies and limited her cake intake and bought fructose free ice cream. So I think from here on out, I will have to make some special ones and freeze them and take them with us for the next party. Her reaction to Saturdays foods was unbelievable. She had not been that bad since before we figured out what was wrong with her. It was literally like the devil took over her body. If you knew Mak, you would know she is the kindest, sweetest, smartest 3 year old. Her personality is huge and she is always trying to learn new things and help anyone and everyone in any way she can, even her siblings. But when she is high on fructose, she fights, screams, throws tantrums, hits and it goes on for hours. And she does all this to me, not just the other kids. Just by looking into her eyes I can tell she is having a reaction. She seems so irritated, uncomfortable, jittery, and extremely moody and tired. It is like a split personality and you know she is in there and you see signs of her for a minute or two, but then she disappears again. I have yet to accept the fact that a simple ingredient could cause a child to react this way... it is just unbelievable to me. I really hope she grows out of this someday soon.

Jace's Birthday!

2012-01-23T19:49:00.000-08:00

Hoping to have some more pictures of his party soon. Been so busy lately, as you can, I have not had time to post much. So I will try to catch up and post a few.

Happy Birthday Buddy! Can't believe my baby is no longer a baby:-(. I gave him a few presents on his actual birthday. He enjoyed the attention but HATED having to share his new toys.

DRY!

2012-01-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

No pics, but I do have to say that Mak woke up this morning dry as could be. I forgot to put a diaper on her and she was dry, as well as the other two. But the other two are usually dry anyways. Mak is ALWAYS soaked. Because she knows she has it on, she sure does use it. So tonight we went to bed without, wish us luck! One step closer to NO MORE DIAPERS. 3 down and 1 to go.

My baby boy is turning 2 :-(.

2012-01-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

Uh Oh, Jace got in trouble, paci and blanket ended up in the trash! One of his many punishments for being bad. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Chillin!

Cleaning for Grandma B!

Out to eat with Grandma and Grandpa!

Another hair cut from Grandma K! This boy has had so many haircuts, I lost count a long time ago! But he sits there and lets him do it, never cries. Such a good boy!

An early birthday party at Grandma's for Jace and Josie... he blew out the candles all by himself!

Trouble, trouble, trouble!

Climbed a chair, fell off in between the wall and chair and bit his tong. Thought I was going to the ER. And just the other day, he was leaning forward to far on his chair at lunch and busted open his chin. Oh and almost gave Grandma B a heart attack on the stairs as he jumped towards her from the top to the bottom. Thankfully she caught him and managed to stay on her feet. This kid has NO FEAR. He is definitely a boy, that is for sure!

My baby boy will be 2 on January 11th. Time has gone by so fast. I miss having a boy, well for the most part. I don't miss getting up every couple hours to feed. I just can't believe how big he has got and how he fits in with his sisters... its like having quads.. but most of the time Jace is worse than the three of them put together. He keeps me on my feet and I couldn't imagine life without him. Love you Buddy!

I will post his video in the next week or two!

Christmas part 4 of 4 - Santa came!

2012-01-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

All their presents from Santa!

Santa even left some stocking stuffers!

Giving Grandpa J his presents!

JJ opening all her gifts!

Jace was slow, but he eventually got them all opened!

Mak was very slow as well, she kept wanting to play with each gift she opened, had to keep reminding her she had more to open!

Maysie very excited with all her gifts!

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas part 3 of 4 - Grandma's house.

2012-01-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

Jaeli LOVED all the presents she got!

Jace trying to figure out his new toy!

She may not have a smile on her face in this pic, but Miss Maysie loved every minute of it!

Makenna very excited, she loved each and every gift she got.

Thank you to Grandma B and Grandpa K for all the great gifts.

Thank you as well to Grandma J and Grandpa R - forgot to take pics.

And a big thanks to everyone else for helping put a huge smile on all four of their faces!

Christmas part 2 of 4 - Christmas morning (from Mommy and Daddy)

2012-01-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

One gift each!

Mak very excited!

Maysie very excited!

This face is what Christmas was about for me, to see the joy on their faces is an amazing feeling. Jaeli LOVED her baby doll and was in heaven!

Okay, I know... boys should not play with babies, but poor Jace was always trying to play with the girls baby dolls and they never let him. So I got him a baby boy baby doll... parts and all! He loved it... for a few days, now he does not play with it so much, he LOVES his boy toys much more.

So for 2 weeks we talked to the kids about Santa bringing presents after he came to visit them at Aunt Lari's, they were so so excited. Unfortunately, much to our disappointment, due to some family schedules, we had to reschedule the kids Christmas morning until the next day so no one had to rush through it. It was not how we wanted to do it and most of all, we did not want to rush through it or wake them up early when they went to bed so late. So we had to talk around it and convinced the kids Santa was coming the next day. Thankfully they never asked and didn't notice. However, next year we will be celebrating Christmas morning on Christmas morning no matter what. I don't want to take that away from my kids, especially since they will be old enough to understand. That is what Christmas is about for us right now, the joy it gives our kids and then everything else we will fit in as best we can. And, we wont have the day after Christmas off for many years like we did this year. Hopefully it will work out for everyone. It's hard to fit in 4 Christmas' in 2 days - the most important one for us next year and for many years to come will be Christmas morning and we will make the most of it and not rush through it. Overall, this year worked out fine and they had a wonderful Christmas and are still singing "Merry Christmas Boys and Girls" about every other day as they pretend they are Santa and pass out gifts to everyone!

One day they will understand the true meaning of Christmas, not just about receiving presents. But until then, we will enjoy every year!

Thank you to everyone for the gifts, the kids loved every single one and we greatly appreciate it!

Christmas part 1 of 4 - Aunt Lari's and a visit from Santa

2012-01-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

Waiting for Santa to arrive!

Here comes Santa Claus!

Jace loved Santa's bells more than anything, Santa shared and made Jace very happy!

"Mom, I am scared, I just want my present." poor Jaeli, scared of Santa!

Makenna was the only one to give Santa a smile!

More presents for Jace!

Maysie not so sure... but did it to get a present!

It was a long night and they went to bed later than they have gone to bed in a long time! And we had to get up early the next morning. They did really well though.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! The kids spent the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa so mommy and daddy could go out. They have spent every New Year's Eve with them, even when they were 6 months old and Grandma and Grandpa had to feed them every 3 hours. Thanks Again!

Oh so silly!

2012-01-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

Jaeli LOVES Kelly according to Grandma. She is glued to the TV whenever she comes on!

Having fun in the box!

Wow, so many toys on one bed.

Sisterly Love!

So Miss Maysie used the bed or whatever and climbed the dresser... and then she could not get down. Good thing it is bolted to the wall.

Aww, cuddles!

Mak helping Grandma with dishes!

They sure do love to sit on the table... can't keep um off.

Jaeli Jo being silly as usual!

Making Christmas Presents for Grandma's and Grandpa's!

2012-01-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

The kids had a blast making the gifts for their grandparents. The first try turned out... not so pretty because of the paint we were using, so we ended up doing others with hand prints and the right kind of paint. They had a lot of fun doing the first round and even more the second!

2012-01-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Jace, Jaeli, Makenna and Maysie all eating lunch at the bar today for the very first time in the 2 years we have been here!

Looking at Jace you will know why, they were just too short! Poor Jace, but he did pretty well, he was slouched in the picture, he actually sat up a little higher and the girls are all on their knees. Maybe we should invest in some tall bar stools and put the table in storage and we would have more room to play!

It was easy to take their plates right to the sink and clean up worked well. They did pretty well overall. Jaeli and Jace had a couple "play" moments I had to tell them to behave, but other than that it was a good lunch!

We have a lot of updates we are doing to the house in the very near future. We may be storing some furniture and items we don't use often IF, and that is a big IF, we decide to put the house up for sale. So this bar thing may become more often than not.

Lots to think about and consider before we make our decision. If we can actually sell the house and get what we want for it, then it would be best for us to move closer to FW, most likely Ossian due to our job locations. But we have put so much work into this house and really took the time to make it our own. So it will be very sad to go, but we have to do what is best for us.

P.S. More posts to come, sorry I am slacking, very busy!

Santa's Message!

2011-12-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

Makenna and Jace loved it! Jaeli and Maysie...well they were a bit scared, if when he was just on the computer screen as you will notice in the top video right at the beginning! Jaeli finally realized it was okay and watched her video, but Maysie refused to leave my arms.

Good vs Bad

2011-12-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

Good verses bad. It's like day and night. When she has fructose, the above video is how she acts for 24 hours straight. Below is how she acts for days at a time when we cut it out of her diet. And the "bad" video does not show the complete effect of it, it is usually worse than what you will see. Before we cut out fructose, I just assumed it was 3 year old behavior, she was just much more outspoken and temperamental than the others. But after seeing the change, I KNOW there has to be something she is eating to cause her to have these major mood swings. It's just unbelievable. Ready to go to the doctor and have her tested so I know for sure or can look into other possibilities. I wont give up until I figure it out. Ask anyone who is close to her and they will tell you the same as me... there is a HUGE difference!

RIP Whitney, you will be missed :-(.

2011-12-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

Jace sure did have fun with her. He LOVED to chase her and have her pull him along with her tail.

Jaeli saying good bye to Whitney.

I had them all play with her for awhile last night and give her hugs and kisses. I only hope they will be able to remember her when they are older. They sure did have fun with her.

Well today was the day Whitney, our dog of 13.5 years was put to sleep today. Thankfully Josh was able to be with her and treated her to two juicy steaks and a walk around the neighborhood. Two of her FAVORITE things! I wish I could have been there but I don't think I could have handled it.

We have been preparing the kids for over a month now. We told them she was going to a farm to be with the other animals far away and we wont see her again. They are just too young to understand death right now. Some day.

Today when we got home, they asked if she was at the farm. I'll I could say was yes. It is too hard to talk about it or think about it. I honestly did not think I would be very emotional about it. But after talking to Josh after she had passed on, the tears came. I know she went peacefully and her time was much over do after losing her hearing, sight and control of her bowls. But it is still really hard. She was my only baby for 10 years and apart of this family for almost 14 years.

She is what got me through my first love. After we ended things, my parents felt sorry for me and let me bring her home. A friend of mine could not take care of her anymore, so I was lucky enough to take over.

She was the cutest puppy, so full of energy and life. At 2 months old she could shake. And within weeks, she knew how to sit, stay, speak, and do so many other tricks. She was very smart and always happy to play. Her favorite things were walks, rides in the car and FOOD!

She was great at alarming us when someone was near, too good at it that she was barking ALL the time towards the end and just got to be overwhelming. Every high pitched noise bothered her, I am sure it was hurting her ears and she would get scared so quickly. Storms were the worst, but she was always scared of them, we knew they were coming before they got here.

The worst part of it all was the last few months she had been losing control of her bowls and could not help herself. So we were constantly cleaning up her poo and that too got to be overwhelming.

She was the best dog I have ever had and I only hope some day, just maybe, I will be lucky enough to have another dog just as good as her.

I know you LOVED having the kids around because of all the food you got to eat off the floor. You were so good with them and it never bothered you when they tugged or pulled your hair. They sure did love you and you made a great companion for them.

My biggest regret is not giving her the attention and love she deserved the last 4 years. I am truly sorry for that Whitney.

I am grateful I got to say good bye to you last night and this morning. You will be missed. Rest in peace Whitney, I know you are in a better place.

Here Come Santa!

2011-12-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

Okay mom, I sat on his lap, now where is my present?

Get me outta here!

Someone please get me now, please?

I don't like this guy, where is my present?

OH! There are the presents!

Barbie Dolls!

Mak loves the long hair on this one!

Maysie loves her barbie doll! Later that day Mak asked me how she goes to the bathroom. What was I suppose to say, no clue!

Jace was very happy with his Ken doll!

Jaeli is a lot smarter than some may think... when they handed them the circles to toss in to the cups, the others tossed them as they said and missed and had to keep doing it until they got their prize (or so they though). As for Jaeli, she takes all of them at once and just sets them right there in one cup and takes a prize! Ha... she did it for almost every game! Smart cookie... cheater!

Maysie was a good girl and played until she got it right!

Mak trying to figure it out.

Jace just wants to play with the bag!

Playing with their goodies from Santa!

Thanks Kathy, Kay, Kirby, Callie and Cory!

2011-12-22T19:47:00.000-08:00

A big thanks to the kids Great Aunts and cousins. They LOVED their Christmas gifts. The girls are obsessed with dressing like their babies and love to read their book. Jace likes his back pack, although he gets it taken away from him a lot by his sisters. We are working on sharing... but the girls are having trouble accepting the fact its Jace's and not theirs. As for the hats and gloves... they are learning to put them on all by themselves, still struggling at times, but getting better. They love to walk around the house in them!

Santa!

2011-12-08T20:14:00.000-08:00

Laying in Grandma's bed waiting for Santa to come.

They freaked out, especially MJ and JJ, they were not happy and started crying hysterically. I have a really good feeling this weekends visit with Santa will not go so well! Heck, Santa had a video message from them on the computer tonight and MJ and JJ ran from my computer crying hysterically and refused to watch unless I held them. Really? Wow, its gonna be an interesting weekend.

Going outside to see the first snow of the winter!

Watching Rodolph!

Very excited to see their Christmas Tree. They loved touching the bulbs and telling me which color of lights was their favorite. We have a much bigger one, but its in the room they are not aloud in. They can see it through the fire place, and they know that is where Santa will put their gifts. So Christmas morning should be fun!!!

Halloween

2011-12-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

Well the kids did great trick or treating. They would not say it, but LOVED getting the candy of course. Jace kept stealing pieces when I was not looking and putting them in his mouth, paper and all. They all got a few pieces after dinner, well I guess you could say for dinner. After that they got one a night for a couple nights and it has not stopped! Need to break this habit some how.

Grandma B pulled out all our old Halloween costumes and let the kids play dress up, of course they had a blast doing it!

YUM!

2011-12-08T20:04:00.000-08:00

Creature...

2011-12-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

This creature... not sure what it is buy there was another one a couple months before this, but smaller. It was not moving much, so thought it might have died... but after seeing this one, maybe it is the same one. The kids love looking and watching it. They each got to hold it as well. They let him go soon after and I think he headed back for the pool!

Jaeli... SASSY!

2011-12-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

Oh my Jaeli, she is a unique one, that is for sure. See the photo just above... yeah, she thought she could wear her babies dress! She could not get it off. And then you see the one with the diaper on her head. She is very CREATIVE. She is the most laid back, but at times she can be the meanest. She likes to go up to her siblings and just hit them or scratch um, or whatever she feels like...and its out of the blue, for no reason at all. I do love the fact that she is a GREAT sleeper. She LOVES to sleep. If she does not get a full nights sleep, she lets you know she is not happy about it with her attitude. She can be very grumpy without the right amount of sleep. She still LOVES playing with Maysie and would prefer her over Makenna, but thankfully, Maysie still does not have a favorite and will include Makenna even if Jaeli want. Jaeli is the meanest to Jace... poor guy, she just sits on him or pushes him or grabs his head and pulls. I don't know what to do with her half the time. But my Jaeli Jo is so sweet, love her sweetness and laid back personality. If I need some loving, I know where to go! Oh, I can't forget her baby doll. That doll is her best friend and I don't know if she will EVER give it up. Hopefully it can be replaced with the new one Santa MAY be bringing her!

Jace... TROUBLE

2011-12-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

Trouble should have been his middle name. Man am I glad I did not have triplet boys. All you fellow triplet mommas with boys...I don't know how you did it at this age. I am sure I will be wishing I had triplet boys instead of girls when the girls hit the teens, but right now... he is such a HANDFUL! This kid has no fear, impossible to punish and does what ever he wants, whenever he wants. He LOVES to do BAD. He just laughs and laughs. I don't know what to do with him anymore. It's either climbing gates, climbing counters, playing in the sink water, begging to sit on the potty when he has no clue what to do, taking off his diaper at nap, taking off his diaper when he's not napping, constantly crying for a drink/ice/water, whatever he feels like... and SO MUCH MORE. I can't keep up with him. But... he makes up for it all with his personality. He has the biggest personality of them all. He always makes me laugh, loves to play, he loves to give kisses and hugs and will cuddle with me when I ask! I wouldn't want it any other way and I know he is growing up SO FAST, so I am not going to wish this age gone even though he is SO MUCH TROUBLE! I love my baby boy and am so grateful for him!

Maysie... DRAMA

2011-12-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Oh my Maysie, she is and has always been known as DRAMA, or DQ for Drama Queen. I think she is going to be our wild one. She is a mommas girl too, always has to be right there with me. I have to be sitting with her or holding her. Drives me CRAZY!!! But I love my Maysie, she is... my baby girl. I will never forget the few months she had to wear the brace because of her hips. All the doctor apts. and watching her as she wore it. It was so sad and yes, I held her OFTEN, I think that is where it started. Well, you cant forget the fact that we had to leave her behind in the hospital for 3 days all by herself. They made me give her even more attention. So it is my own fault, but I wouldn't change a thing. I love that she LOVES me more than anyone else... well most of the time. She is very stubborn and has to get her way. She does not like her attention being taken away, otherwise she gets very very mad! Everything is a big deal to her, no matter how small or how big it is. Another big problem with her is the fact that she is a light sleeper, a very light sleeper. She wakes up multiple times a night. That too drives me crazy, especially at 3 or 4 a.m. in the morning. Maysie is my baby girl and will probably always be treated as my baby girl.

Makenna... ATTITUDE

2011-12-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

Makenna has always been very VOCAL, from the moment she came out. She has always been an eater and always lets you know what she wants, when she wants. Out of all four kids, she can be the most kind hearted, sweetest, loving, best behaved and she can also be the most moody, the meanest, the worst tantrums you have seen. So how in the world can she be day and night in a matter of seconds? Don't get me wrong, I understand 3 year olds have tantrums, they talk back, they fight with siblings... I know, I see it in all of them. But she is different. So after 2 antibiotics and 3 ointments for a diaper rash she has had as long as I can remember, I decided to try something. We have been eliminating things from her diet to see if maybe she is allergic to something. First we tried Diary, no change. Then we tried Red40, no change. So next was Apple Juice. Oh my gosh, anything with Apple Juice in it gives her bad diaper rash and her attitude completely changes. Why? Is she allergic? I don't know. But it has been so much less stressful having the "good" Makenna. She plays better, helps out all the time, is very lovey, its great. She is not so mean to her siblings and actually listens VERY well. I LOVE IT. It's been almost two weeks now and she has NEVER gone this long with a GREAT attitude! She had a few meltdowns about day 3 and 4, but that is b/c Daddy gave her pineapple juice... main ingredient, Apple Juice. Could it be fructose? Well...bye bye Apple Juice, lets hope that is it and her rash and attitude continue to disappear. She has her moments and the Attitude comes out, but it only lasts a minute or two and she is done. Before it would go on all day long. It seems to happen a few hours after she eats something with Apple Juice in it and lasts for 24-48 hours. Sometimes I think I am over thinking this and looking into it way too far. But... I sure do enjoy this Makenna A LOT!

Way behind, here are some photos!

2011-12-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

They LOVE Animals!

Stickers are so much fun, keeps them busy for hours!

They have so much fun making cookies with Grandma!

Jaeli having fun with Grandpa's computer!

Sisterly love!

Fun with Uncle Greg!

Lets go, we are ready for the snow!

Christmas toys!

Why are they plugging their ears? Well... they don't like the sound of the public toilets when they flush on their own! At least Maysie goes in there now... before she refused to enter a public bathroom no matter how much she had to go!

New sleeping arrangements at Grandma's!

They destroyed their beds at Grandma's so she had to figure something else out, they seem to enjoy it. Any bets on how long it will take them to destroy this set up?

They love to draw!

Sesame Street toys!

Makenna LOVES to learn!

Way behind... but something funny to tell!

2011-12-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

So hoping to get some pictures updated in the next couple days... until then. Here are two stories for you...

Makenna asked me a question today I did not have an answer for. What would you have told her?
Something like... "How is Ariel (the little mermaid) supposed to go to the bathroom?"
Had no clue what to tell her.

Maysie has been waking up the last few nights AGAIN in the middle of the night asking for a drink or to go potty. When she goes potty its just a tinkle and when she has a drink, its not even a sip. So she is doing just to do it, a very light sleeper. So the other night I wanted to get some sleep, ALL night long. So I told her (short version) if she gets out of bed to go potty or get a drink I was going to take her (lovey) blanket away. So the next morning she gets up and says... "Mommy, I didn't wake you up!" all excited, very proud of herself. So I told her to give me 5 and I was proud of her. And then Daddy says something like... "No, she cried for some water before he went to bed." She looks at him and gives him the most evil eye you have ever seen and just stares him down for a few minutes. It was hilarious! She then laid on my shoulder and pouted. She was so mad at him for ruining it for her. Oh that girl LOVES drama!

Just some fun!

2011-11-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

Mak had to go to the doctor the other day and missed learning time and Grandma's. She insisted she still get to do it after I dropped her back off and went back to work. She LOVES to learn!

Playing good together!

Look! He is always picking things up off the floor and showing us!

Maysie and some one-on-one time!

2011-11-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

Maysie having some fun out to eat with grandma and grandpa. She LOVES her individual time!

Waiting for mommy...

2011-11-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa usually take the kids outside to wait for me to come pick them up after work. They seem to really enjoy it. They also take the dogs out with them and of course they love that!

Jace and the dog collar...

2011-11-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

So I had a scary moment yesterday, sorry no picture of it though. It was too scary to grab a camera and snap a shot of my son choking himself. He took off the dogs choker collar and decided he wanted to wear it. When he decided to take it off is when I noticed he had it on. I was talking with Makenna and all of a sudden Jace starts crying... I look over and he is pulling on the end of the choker collar and as he pulls, it gets tighter around his neck. I run over as fast as I can, my heart was about to jump out of my chest. I tried to take it off him but he was still trying to pull it off. I finally got it off after a couple seconds and thankfully he was fine, just a little traumatized I think. Needless to say, the dog wont be wearing that around the kids anymore. Oh Jace, you scare me more than the girls ever did!

Helping mommy!

2011-11-12T18:53:00.000-08:00

Today the girls helped me clean the play room and kitchen and we made french toast. They LOVED the french toast, its only good if it has syrup on it of course! Mak gave me the bread, Jae held the spatula for me and Maysie held the plate to put them on. I gave something to Jace to keep him happy but I can't remember what it was. They had fun and filled their little bellies!

Fall Photos

2011-11-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

2011-11-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Fall Photos Jaeli

2011-11-06T07:36:00.000-08:00

Fall Photos Maysie

2011-11-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

Fall Photos Jace

2011-11-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

Table Fun!

2011-11-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

No, I am Daddy's Favorite!

2011-10-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Fall Fun!

2011-10-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

Fun in the leaves!

Oh so cute!

They loved the animals they got to visit with when we went to the pumpkin patch last weekend. They got a big dirty but had fun!

Such good kids, now if they would just smile!

They wanted to climb really high, but it was really wet... so they had to settle for the top of the first set.

Checking it all out!

Jace was in love with the kitty!

Fun!

Maysie

Jaeli

Jace

Makenna

She wanted her picture taken!

Not sure who that is hiding in the leaves!

Having a blast!

Mak hiding!

Maysie hiding!

The Corner!

2011-10-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well the corner works great for Jace, Maysie and Jaeli, not so much for Mak. But Jace actually stays there...most of the time and when he is not laughing at me as you see in the video. They go when they do something wrong, it may be a punishment they don't mind most of the time, but... it gets their mind off why they were in the corner to begin with and all is good until the next episode! So it works. Jace was put in the corner for throwing a toy when he got mad. And as you see in the video, he thought it was funny and laughed at me, then tried to get out. Well, I made him go back in b/c of it and he stayed until I told him he could come out. It usually works!

Witching Hour

2011-10-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Is that what they call it? Witching hour? This happens most nights when I get home from Grandmas after work until they get some food in their bellies. It's usually twice as dramatic as you see in the video. The last three nights have been pretty good though, hoping they keep it up! I think this was taken at the beginning of the week. It's usually all four of them hysterically crying because they just woke up from the car ride home or all of them trying to talk to me at once or all of them trying to sit with me all at once and fighting over who gets to be as close to possible to me.

MAKENNA

2011-10-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

Mak being silly with stickers!

She sure does love school...but every time grandma talks to her about it she cries when she tells her mommy and daddy can't stay with her. It will be interesting!

Um... I think she is checking out the tree?

She is getting TOO BIG!

Being a good girl, having fun outside.

Mak is doing awesome talking and communicating. She LOVES to learn and is always saying things to make me laugh. I just don't know what goes on in that head of hers. She has had a rash for over month now around her lips, it just wont go away. I think it came from her diaper rash she has had from the first day she was born. Finally took her back to the doctor the other day and she said she wants to try some Riley Butt Cream to see if works, if not, then we will have to figure something else out. It just WONT go away. So we will see if it works. She still LOVES to eat anything and everything. Her new thing right now is bagels and cream cheese! Always wants one. She has major mood swings... I just don't know what to do with her at times, they are uncontrollable. I am learning to try and think of something to talk to the other three about that might interest her. If I ignore her, she usually stops her fit and joins in on the conversation with the rest of us. Or find some way to pull her attention somewhere else. Other than that, she is getting so big and learning so fast. She is way too smart!

JAELI

2011-10-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

Fun with stickers!

Jaeli is very artistic, still has trouble with some things and gets bored quickly, but seems to enjoy it.

Being very very silly tossing her head back and forth. They all do it and think its the funniest thing when they all four do it together.

This is such a funny picture of her!

Wearing Grandma's shoes!

Fun with her baby!

Looks so cute with pig tails!

Having fun!

Grandma got them into Barbies and Kens, she pulled out the ones my sisters and I played with when we were there age. Oh the memories!

Jaeli is still very independent, but loves playing with her sisters. Her newest thing is being "Mommy" and usually Maysie is "baby". And if we call her Jaeli, she corrects us and says she is Mommy, and NEVER forgets it. It is so cute. They are really into pretend play. She still loves her Grandma B, for awhile there it wasn't too bad, but when she gets tired, she still prefers Grandma B over mommy. She is a sleeper, she is always first asleep, first ready for bed and last one up. The last few days she has been wanting to go to bed and just sits with me while her sisters play for a few minutes in their room before bedtime. She can be SO SO mean, but so sweet too. And she knows how to push my buttons just enough she wont get in trouble... she just pushes and pushes, but never big enough to be put in the corner. She knows how to play mommy, that is for sure!

MAYSIE

2011-10-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

Crayons!

School time.

Drawing on paper and herself!

Yum!

Visiting grandpa!

Pizza, oh so good!

Piggy tails!

Being so so silly!

Aww, poor Maysie - fell outside and hit her lip on the picnic table at grandmas house.

Maysie is still very much DRAMA. She is always wanting my attention constantly. She either wants held or to sit with me or just to bug me. But I love it... most of the time. She loves the attention and LOVES her mommy! I think Jace is catching up to her really quick, I wouldn't be surprised if she was only one or two pounds more than him. A matter of time she will be the smallest of the four! She is still waking up one or two times a night to pee or want a drink. It is not as bad as it was before, I just think she is a light sleeper! Hopefully it will end soon and she will start sleeping all the way through every night. Please??? Gotta love her, but I need my sleep!

JACE

2011-10-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Now he is taking his clothes off, sorry buddy, they don't make rompers for boys!

Loves dumping water on his head!

Loves to climb, such a boy... of course he learned it from his sisters though.

Reading a book, loves Elmo! Really starting to talk now and repeating everything.

Tired boy!

We are in trouble!

My baby is no longer a baby:-(. So sad, I miss my baby. He loves to do exactly what his sisters are doing, its so cute. He will be 2 in less than 3 months, where did time go? I guess now I get to look forward to being done with all the BABY stuff like diapers and sippies. It will be nice, but I will miss it. He is still very much a daddys boy, but he loves mommy too! I think his favorite work is papa though. He has three to choose from! He is getting his last four teeth in, so been crabby lately, but the last two days have been pretty well...so hopefully they are done hurting. Got a flu shot yesterday and was such a trooper, only cried a few seconds.

Our First Movie...

2011-10-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

Ice cream before the movie! Jae had vanilla...did not like the sprinkles, so I had to take them off before she would eat it and then she only ate about half of it. She would prefer cake! Makenna had strawberry, her choosing and she loved every bite! Maysie had chocolate and even licked the bowl to make sure she got it all!

We went to the movie and ice cream for my works company outing, paid for by them! It was a nice experience and glad some co-workers got to meet the girls. Jace stayed with Aunt Mandy, way too young to be going to a move.

The girls waiting for the movie to start seating. We took them to see The Lion Kind 3D. Well, it lasted longer than we thought it would. They loved their glasses and wore them the entire time until... Mak said she had to go potty. Then they all had to go. I made the mistake of siting up top instead of by the stairs, so we had a long walk down and back up. Lost two pair of glasses when we left to go to the potty. So they were flipping out about that. And then, the pop was gone and Mak wanted MORE! So I sent Josh to go get some after a few "more drink, more drink, more drink!" Then it was, "I want to go with daddy, I want to go with daddy, I want to go with daddy." So I said okay, lets go find daddy and we decided to go home. They were getting really bored with it. They only sat a total of 5 min at a time and the rest of the time they went from seat to seat watching the movie as they did it. Jaeli seemed to enjoy the 3D the most, reached out and tried to grab a few times, but also got scared of it. So anyways, they had their fun and it was time to go! Maybe next year.

ABCs... almost!

2011-10-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

How long will it take?

2011-10-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

How long will it take before they remove ALL the paint from their room? Any bets??

Sticker fun!!

Sorry that is all I got! Been busy lately with the basement. It flooded a couple months ago, hoping it wont again cause I am not about to do this all over again. It wasn't much water, just enough to layer the floor. So we have to toss all the toys that were on the floor. We put up cubicle walls and blocked off the sump pump for safety. Should be a fun place for them to play this winter once its done! I have a few other projects lined up as well!

Picture Attempt!

2011-09-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Jace, I was only able to get this shot, he would not sit still!

Jaeli happy girl!

Mak was being silly...not such a good pic with the rash, but she still looks adorable!

Miss Maysie, cute as ever!

The Bluffton Street Fair!

2011-09-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

This was the night before, they were excited they were going to a fair the next day, even though they had no idea what a Fair was! Josh found the green mask Jace is wearing and when I took Mak to the store the other day, I saw the other three, so had to get them! They pretend they are monsters!

I decided to take my sisters daughter with us to the fair too. I knew she would have fun and we had room... not much room, but we managed. It was VERY hard getting the kids in and out. We usually don't have one of the first row seats in so we can get them in the back easier. I think we will stick with the 4 we have, 5 would be too many!

Well we had to take the triple stroller and then a double stroller for Jace and Josie. The girls are getting way to big for the stroller. I think this was the last time for it. We asked if they wanted to walk, but they said no, they wanted to go in the stroller. Poor Maysie is the smallest, so she got stuck in the very tiny seat. But it worked and as you can see, they were VERY excited! Jace and Josie were in their stroller a lot, just because they were not big enough for the rides, so they had to watch. They were not too happy, but we found some things they could do and got to come out. Last year we took two double strollers and did not get much attention at all. This year we got the same attention we got the year before.

Getting ready to go down the BIG slide! They had lots of fun going down it. I forgot to tell Grandma J where the camera was so she did not get a pic of them going down it.

Jace and Josie were NOT happy they did not get to go too, so Josh and I went down a second time and took them with us. I think Josie enjoyed it the most!

Josie LOVED going down the slide. I stood her to the side of me so I could get up and she started taking off for the stairs! She was ready to go again.

Oh the Strawberry ride... we went on this one last year too and they did not like it very much. Well this year we decided to give it a try again. Aunt Jarilyn went on it with them last year, but I decided to go this year...bad mistake. I do not do well with spin rides... and I knew this, but still did it. I so thought I was going to pass out and puke. It was bad, just glad we waited to eat until after rides! As for the girls...well Maysie LOVED it, Jaeli was freaked out the entire time holding onto me VERY tight. And Mak was all excited at first. And then the ride started to go and Josh told them to spin the wheel so we would spin faster. So she did, but she never let go of the wheel, so just spun with it and got caught under the wheel. Thankfully Josh grabbed her and pulled her back up right away... so no harm except it scared her a bit. Made Jaeli even more scared! But I think Mak still had fun on it!

Next was Grandma J's favorite ride, the school bus! I decided NOT to go on anymore rides and Jaeli felt the same! So it was just Grandma, Maysie and Mak. Once Mak realized I was not on it, she freaked out and had to get off, thankfully before it started. Grandma J and Maysie had a good time on it though!

The BIG swing. They did not have this one last year. I was sure Jaeli would be excited about it, but still did not want to go. Maysie and Mak did. I am not sure if Mak enjoyed it, but Maysie seemed to.

The Mouse Game! Josie was able to get out and play this game with Grandma J, I think she enjoyed herself! We played until we won 5 times. There were 4 of us playing, each with a kid. Took awhile, but got it done. Jace stayed in the stroller and ate fruit snacks!

The girls got a Abbey doll from Sesame Street and Josh said to get Jace this BIG fish... but Josie tossed the abbey doll and Jace tossed the fish. So they switched and Jace got the doll and Josie liked the fish! Only my son!

Maysie and Aunt Jarilyn played together, I think they won a couple times.

Jaeli had fun with Daddy, I think she put it on the same number every time. They may have won once or twice.

And then Mak and I played. I don't think we won at all! She switched it up a few times, but the mouse never went in our numbers.

Finally at the end, we got Jaeli to ride the train. It just went around in circles, she smiled through it all! I think they all enjoyed it.

We had one last stop before going home, the Water Gun Race! It was just us for the first 2 times, so one of us was bound to win. Not sure who won the first two, not me and Jace. I helped Jace, Josh helped Jaeli who got scared of the noise and stopped after the first or second time. And then Janna had Makenna I think and Jarilyn had Maysie...maybe. I think Janna and Jarilyn won 3 of the 4 we got. I finally won the last one. The last two times other people were playing, but we were able to beat them! So we left with 4 elephants. Josie chilled in the stroller for this one. She had this HUGE ball that some girl gave her when she yelled "Ball, Ball" and held her hands out to it. So she gave it to her. We got tired of chasing it and carrying it, so dropped it off when we ate dinner and forgot about it. Maybe we will go get it next time we go over to the club. But anyways, didn't get her an elephant because she had the ball. But I don't think she minded!

Jace tried to help me, but we kept losing, so the last one I took over! He was happy to get out of the stroller. And of course, DID NOT want to go back in, so we carried him the rest of the way back.

Maysie seemed to enjoy herself.

Jaeli was looking at all the lights, you can tell she was nervous...just did not like the sound it made when someone won. It was pretty loud!

We had to bring a chair up for Josie in the morning to eat breakfast with us. I put her in Jace's room for the night and they did really well together. Naptime was not so great, they just laughed and giggled with each other tossing toys back and forth. But at least they slept through the night. As for the triplets, well that was a different story. Maysie woke up around midnight cause she had to puke. So then of course the other two had to get up too. Once Maysie felt better, took them back to bed. Maysie had to lay on the floor with me. Jaeli went right back to bed and Mak was trying to find reasons to stay awake. Drove me nuts, I just wanted to go to bed! I knew I had 5 kids to get up with, so I wanted my sleep. About an hour after I layed with them and Mak was fussing cause her knee hurt for whatever reason, Jaeli wakes up and says "YOU WAKE ME UP", it was cute, then she went back to sleep and never heard another word from her. It was funny. Finally two hours after I layed with them Mak and Maysie feel asleep. However, after I went to MY bed, either Mak or Maysie woke up wanting something, about 4 times. It was a rough night. Thankfully I have an awesome husband and he let me take a nap after he woke up. He even fed all 5 of them lunch so I could sleep.

Overall, we all had a good time and look forward to next year, hoping Jace can ride too. Better start saving now!

Mak having fun outside!

2011-09-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

(Once again, sorry buddy boy... you were asleep. Next time!)

Jaeli having fun outside!

2011-09-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Maysie having fun outside!

2011-09-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

Taking a ride with Daddy!

2011-09-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Jaeli going for a ride, she LOVED it! Josh said she screamed once, scared him, but she was screaming for fun!!

Mak had a blast, she was the first to say "One more time Mommy!"

Maysie had a good time too, a smile on her face the entire time!

Sorry Jace, he was sleeping. Next time buddy!

New Table Arrangement!

2011-09-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

We got rid of the girls booster seats, gave one to Jace and got rid of his high chair. They do pretty well! Keeping the old ones for a week or two just to make sure it works out. We tried it once before and it did not work so well!

Makenna so proud of herself!

2011-09-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

I like how she gets mad cause she can't do it at first and says "Come On!" And then Jae joins in and gets mad at the wall cause she can't do it! Too cute!

Triplets 3 Year Well Baby Check Up!

2011-09-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

HAPPY!

NERVOUS!

SCARED!

The girls had their 3 year well baby check up today, a month over-due though. All week have been playing doctor with their doctor set they got for their birthday. They loved having me play the doctor and then they would play the doctor on me as well as on their baby. I told them the doctor was going to listen to their heart, look at their eyes, ears and nose. And she would want to look at their mouth to make sure they have no ouchies in there so they would have to open wide and say “AH”! So we practiced and practiced hoping it would help…at least a little! Then we went over SHOTS! They pretended to do those as well and pretended to cry. Makenna told me she was going to kick the doctor if she tried to give her one. They all three told me they were not going to cry too.

They were very excited to go and I met them and daddy in the waiting room on my lunch break, as well as Grandma who watched Jace while we went in. Once we got in the room they had to get weighed and see how tall they were. It took some talking, but eventually got them to do it. Then we waited for over 30 minutes for the doctor to come in. They were backed up big time! Three three year olds stuck in a room with nothing to do for over 30 minutes can cause some trouble! They did pretty well though… read some books, played on the table and even played with my phone and went potty once. The doctor finally came in and tried talking to them but they would not say one word to her. They just got done screaming and shouting at each other when it was just them and us in there, having fun reading. They are way too shy around new people. Soon after she came in, Makenna got a look of fear on her face and the tears started coming and she told Josh she had to pee. We thought she was faking because she just went, but felt so bad for her – cause those tears don’t come out often and we knew she was very scared of what was to come, assuming afraid of the shots. So he took her and said she went! She seemed to be okay when she got back in. The doc did her thing and they all just sat there. They refused to open their mouths but after a couple stickers, Maysie did the “AH” for her. No luck with the other two, but we did get them to open their mouths just a tad. When she did the knee thing, she had to do it a few times on Mak cause she tensed her leg up on purpose so it wouldn’t do it, pretty funny! She watched them walk as well and said Jaeli feet go in a bit, but probably out grow it. Asked if it was hereditary and she said yes, can be. I had it and had to wear special soles. But I guess they don’t do that anymore unless they have pain when walking. She never really said what they do for it. Lets just hope she outgrows it. And Maysie is 100 percent healthy, no more ultrasounds, the hole finally closed! Makenna has a rash on her mouth as well as her butt that she has had since birth. Should have went away once she started wearing underpants all day, but just got worse. So doc said now that she does not wear a diaper as much, antibiotics should be able to clear it up. Before it would have been pointless cause it would have just kept coming back. Other than that they did pretty well. Then the shots came… oh poor Maysie! I was holding Jaeli so she went first. They had the 2^nd hep shot and flu shot in their leg. The first one she did not cry, I kept saying don’t cry, don’t cry. And she didn’t until right after the second shot went in. Poor Jae. Then I grabbed Mak and she was so mad I did not grab Maysie first! Maysie sat right beside me while the other two got their shots. Can’t imagine how she felt watching it twice knowing her time was coming! Mak fought and fought, but I am stronger!! Maysie was scared and curled up on me and of course she cried as well. So they all three cried and said they don’t want any more shots!! Hopefully it will be 12 months before we have to go back…yeah right!

Stats:

Makenna – 36lbs (90%) 37 5/8 height (75%) – 2yr: 29lbs3oz/34.5in.

Jaeli – 31lbs (50%) 35 7/8 height (25%) – 2yr: 25lbs2oz/31.75in.

Maysie – 28.5lbs (25%) 35 5/8 height (25%) – 2yr: 23lbs6oz/31.75in.

They don’t change much each year, those are the percents they have been at for the majority of the time over the last 3 years. Although I don’t think Mak and Maysie have ever been 7 lbs apart. Maysie is just too tiny. I can’t believe how much they have grown in a year. Where did my babies go??

TRIPLE THE TROUBLE...Oh wait I mean QUADRUPLE THE TROUBLE!

2011-09-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

Jace loves to sit on the animals.

Little monkey

Yep, their dresser has been emptied and all their clothes are now hanging in a locked closet or in the living room. Good thing the dresser is bolted to the wall. But then again, they seem to be able to break the bolts Josh bolted their beds together with...

Lets just move the beds all over the place and see what we can get into.

They sure do love to climb onto EVERYTHING!

And sit on top of EVERYTHING!

Jace escaped his pack n play at Grandma B's during nap. Sorry Grandma J, I had to take the crib tent back for my house! Hope there is nothing in your room he can destroy, cause he WILL climb out!

Grandma B broke down and bought a crib tent for Jace, wish so so so so so much I bought them for the girls cribs, maybe we would still be taking naps. Do I need to get one for your house Grandma J?

There they go again, climbing everything!

So guilty!

Let Jace climb on top of you to see if he can open the door so we don't get in trouble. Thanks Daddy for teaching them that one!

Lets make a fort out of the futon, just so we have something else we can climb on and under!

Yep, there are those screws again from their beds. They will be falling apart any day now. Some night soon I will hear a loud thump b/c one of the beds collapses because all the screws are missing. They have been tie strapped together three times, but they always break them some how some way, they have been screwed together, then bolted together, but it never fails, they always out smart us.

And then there is Jace, he has three big sisters to learn from. They were 19 months when they climbed out as well. But there were three of them, monkey see monkey do. Who the heck did he watch climb out of their crib?? Oh wait, that is just Jace, he is just as smart as those three put together.

And there he goes. Took me 5 times last night putting him back in until he finally gave in and fell back to sleep. Yep, I went and took the crib tent from Grandma J's so we could contain him in a cage. Thanks to Daddy, tonight I did not have to put him back in at all! He was NOT very happy about it, but he eventually fell asleep. Sorry buddy, but I am so NOT ready for you to be in your big boy bed. You will just have to look at it a little longer. Maybe another year or two if I can help it!

Boots

2011-09-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Love this picture! They are adorable, how did I get such cute kids? Anyways, Grandma B bought them some boots for winter. They just had to wear them. They have asked for them the last three nights.

I asked them to pose for me so I could take a picture of their new boots. And these are a few of the many crazy ones I got from them. I think we might be in trouble. They were way too funny.

I think they understand they have to wait until snow comes before they can wear them out of the house. As Makenna says, with Aunt Jarilyn. So about 9 ish months ago Aunt Jarilyn came over with a sled and took the girls sledding down the driveway and to play in the snow. Well Mak remembers it all. She informed me that "I might lay in the snow and do this." as she waves her arms back in forth. She is going to lay inthe snow and make a snow angel like she did last time with Aunt Jarilyn. She is so excited! This kid remembers EVERYTHING! She also informed me she will be eating white snow, not yellow... which I think they did then as well. Jaeli and Maysie just played along as usual.

I told them after it snows Santa is going to come. And they remembered him too. Maysie is still afraid and said she does not want to sit on his lap. But Jaeli said she wont cry this time and she will sit on his lap. And Mak said she will too. I asked what presents he was going to bring them if they were good girls. Mak said a baby and a high chair for the baby and toys for the baby and a bracelet. Humm... did she just come up with that herself or someone tell her?? Maysie said now mommy, snow now! It was too cute!

Being the silly kids they are!

2011-09-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

Camping!

2011-09-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

Josh and I went camping last weekend with some friends and my parents brought the kids up the last day we were there. I knew they would enjoy it and did not want to leave them out. They had a blast. I was hoping to take them to the beach, but it was too cold. The water felt GREAT the day before when it was almost 100 degrees, but the next day it was only 60 degrees. I was disappointed. We will have to take them there next summer, as that weekend was their last weekend to be open. THey had fun playing in the dirt, on the play ground and playing with little fish! And Jace got to go this time:-). Last time we stayed the night and it was NOT fun, he stayed with Grandma. If he went that time, we probably would have left after a couple hours of being there. We had to chase him down a lot just the few hours we were there. Maybe next year we can all go on a camping trip for two nights. We will see!

Preschool and Learning

2011-09-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

Jace joins in on learning time, finally big enough to somewhat understand what is going on.

Reading with Grandpa!

The girls could have went to 3 year old preschool this year, but with me working in FW and the expense for three kids in school, we decided to wait another year. I know it will be very good with them to be with others and learn to play with kids that are not their siblings, so I will be putting them in 4 year preschool. But until then, my mom is working with them a couple days a week on "preschool" things. They have already learned so much! And they love it!

Learning how to make cookies with Grandma B!

Salad

2011-09-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

Makenna LOVES salad. She would eat it day and night 24/7 if you let her. Think she was out to eat with Grandma and Grandpa and as you can see from the photo, they got her a big salad! She also LOVES ranch dressing. Has to have it on her salad and use it as a dip for whatever she may be eating that day. Well, at least it is healthy... for the most part! Much better than cake and cookies. Jaeli refuses to eat Salad, she will stick to her Mac n Cheese! Maysie will eat it, but not like Makenna. Usually if Maysie knows the food, she will eat it. She does not really have a favorite, it's just hard to get her to try new foods.

Greg Junior

2011-09-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Uncle Greg and Aunt Kristin (my sis) are very much into hunting. Kris bought Jace an outfit last year, just like uncle Greg wears! Well, it finally fits him, so he wore it to my parents house this weekend to celebrate Kris bday. I even have a hat for him that matches, not sure why he wasn't wearing it. Josh is not into hunting, so if Jace is going to ever be interested in it, it will have to be something he learns from Uncle Greg! At first he wanted the outfit off, but then got used to it. Towards the end of the day he was getting tired of it again, not use to so much clothing! He looked cute though:-)!

The Wheels On The Bus

2011-09-04T18:58:00.002-07:00

Row Row Row Your Boat

2011-09-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

ABC's

2011-09-04T18:57:00.003-07:00

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-09-04T18:57:00.001-07:00

Maysie Jailyn is officially healthy!

2011-09-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

Having triplets and a surprise baby, we got so LUCKY to have four very healthy children. It could have been so much worse. We did great! I feel very blessed I carried them as long as I did and Jace came along to make it complete! We had a few hiccups with heart monitors and a brace, but overall, very healthy! '

Knock on wood they all stay that way.

Some of you may know she was born with a hole in her heart, normal for preemies. We got lucky we only had one with it. Well for the last three years she has had probably 3 or 4 ultrasounds/echos of her heart. Each time it got smaller, just never closed. Well I asked the doctor if she could have one more and order the tests herself cause I did not like the heart doctor, he was creepy and it cost so much money just for a visit with him, then have to go to the hospital for an ultrasound too. So this time we cut one out by just doing the ultrasound and following up at their 3 year well baby check in a couple weeks. Well... I got a call from their nurse a couple days ago and she said the Echo came back NORMAL!!!! Oh I am so excited. Maysie has always been the smallest, who knows why, maybe cause of the hole or cause she got the least amount of nutrients while in the womb or for whatever reason. But at least she is healthy now! Maybe she can get a little fat on her and catch up to Jae, but she will probably stay tiny, but that's okay!

She did GREAT at the appointment last week. I was so worried she would fight it and not lay there for the 45 minutes it took to get it done. I skipped lunch that day and took a couple short lunches prior so I could have a couple hours for the apt. I knew I was not going to be outta there in an hour. Worked out good though cause I made it back to work with 10 min to spare! Anyways, we get to the hospital, check in and I give her a lunchable in the waiting room. She ate almost all of it! She never fussed or cried, waited patiently by my side. It was finally time. I had warned her about it the day before and told her she would have to lay on a table and take her shirt off and the doctor was going to put some lotion on a stick and look at her heart cause it had ouchies and she wanted to make sure it was okay. Of course she talked about it the rest of the night and was very excited when I came to get her for the apt. As for Mak... she was VERY mad she could not go. Her turn is coming in a couple weeks for their 3 year - shots! So back to Maysie, she got on the table, took her shirt off and layed down! She layed there for 45 minutes just looking around and watching Sponge Bob. She never made a sound. I could tell she was starting to get tired towards the end, but she layed there no problem. I think the nurse was impressed! Once we were done she got to pick out a stuffed animal, that did not go over well when we got back to Grandma's! I told her I was so proud of her and she walked out with a huge smile on her face!

Do I dare bring the table out again?

2011-09-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

I spoiled the girls this weekend. I don't see um much during the week and they asked for TWO smarties, so of course I said YES! They were very happy :-).

Last night they insisted on eating dinner at this table. They were very crabby... they fell asleep in the car on the way home as usual. Makes for rough nights. I tell ya, I can't wait for 4 to get here. I can't take much more crabby nights when I only see them for 2 hours :-(. I like my happy babies!

Well the table and chairs have been sitting in the shower that does not work for a few months now, probably longer than that. Josh's aunt gave us a table and chairs set that I traded with my mom for hers. Something to do with camping and then her having more room cause the other one was smaller, I don't know. But we have yet to switch them back. So before we even bother, I wanted to see how they would do with the plastic set of table and chairs. Well... of course Jace just has to climb on the chairs and table. Last time it was out he was just learning to climb, so that was one of the main reasons it got put up. He was not very steady on his feet yet. He is better now though, so it is not as bad. So far it has not been to bad, then again, it has only been a couple days. We will see.

Golf!

2011-09-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to one of our friends sons birthday party at the mall a couple weekends ago, at this glow in the dark putt putt place. The girls had a really good time. (Sorry Jace, but we had to leave you with Grandma so we wouldn't lose you!) They LOVED golfing. I think Maysie did the best. They pretty much picked up the ball and put it right by the hole and the tried more than a few times every time to put the ball in the hole. It was fun for them! They were not happy when we left. After cake and presents they wanted to go back and play more.

Ring Around The Rosie

2011-09-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

The kids and three of their cousins all had a blast in Grandma J's pool last weekend with Daddy. They all played Ring Around The Rosie. Even the bigger kids had fun. When they "all fall down", they would all toss their heads backwards into the water. It was cute!

Styling!

2011-08-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

The girls WERE obsessed with these sunglasses they got from a picnic we went to a couple weeks ago. I had five pairs, including one for Jace. He broke his right away. The girls made theirs last a lot longer than I expected. I had two pinks and two purples. Mak and Maysie had to have purple and Jae had to have pink. Well tonight Mak broke a pair of purple cause she wanted them since she couldn't find the other pair. So of course, I had to take them all and put them up. Oh my, they WERE NOT happy with me. I think the entire city heard the horrific screams coming from my house. They wore them everywhere! Good bye sunglasses. You will be missed!

The clothes in the first pic were an outfit I had that I thought was too big on them. But once I put it on, it just did not look good on them so we changed into the one above. It is an outfit I was saving for next summer, well it fit them pretty well, so good thing I pulled them out or they would have been too small. Looks like it is time to move everyone up a size. Big girls! We have our 3 year well baby check next week, that should be fun! So many doctor appointments coming up, lets hope this winter is better than last winter.

The outfit you see above is a set of boys pajamas I got at Walmart for 3 bucks each! Wow, that is 12 bucks for four sets of clothes. BIG SALE! (originally 5 bucks) Just one outfit usually cost 12 bucks! That is a deal! I had to buy as many as I could. Luckily I bought a few girl ones too. The plus side of the boy ones is that they all four can match and not just the girls! HA, they are going to hate me! I think I have enough pj's to last all week long thanks to my mom and hopefully Aunt Steph. They took a trip to the Walmart near them to buy me some since I bought my Walmart out of our sizes! It's hard for me to get out and go shopping, except on the weekend since I am not about to take all four kids to the store by myself! I can't take the stress... maybe one day. They wore these last year for winter and they lasted all winter long, So I know they are good quality and they are comfortable for them. I just hope they don't grow out of them. I know the pants will be fine, but they may be showing lots of belly by the time spring comes around! The price usually goes down even more, but the longer I wait, the less chance I will have of finding the right sizes that match or are at least similar.

They even had to sleep in their sunglasses! They loved them so very much. Do I dare try to find more to buy?

And then you got Jace who just wants to be like his sisters! Hopefully it will pass. If not, I will still love you buddy! Anytime I put this bow in their hair, he has to have one too...he loves it! And every time it falls out, he comes a running and wants it back in.

Homemade Frozen Meals!

2011-08-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

So a couple nights a week it has been rough coming home from work and trying to get dinner made for the kids while they are screaming at me for my attention. It is not so bad when they are here all day, but when I have to go pick them up from my mom's, I don't get home until 6 and they usually fall asleep in the car, so they are crabby and just want me to hold them. So I have been stressing with dinners and usually just stop and pick fast food up so I don't have to deal with cooking. Well, I thought, why not make up meals and freeze them. Then I can just pull one out that morning and it will only take a couple minutes to prepare for them. So I bought all the supplies and spent about 1.5 hours tonight making them and bagging them. We will see how it goes and if I continue to do it. They are so picky with what they will eat, but I am pretty sure they will eat these as they are their favorites! Beef and Noodles (with green beans), Chicken and Noodles (with carrots), and Tuna and Noodles (with Broccoli). Yes, my kids are obsessed with pasta! Below is what I did...

Grocery List:
4 Bags of Noodles
1 pkg Hamburger grounded
1 pkg Chicken cut into chunks
2 pkgs Tuna
Milk
3 cans Beef Gravy
3 cans Chicken Gravy
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
Crushed Carrots
Crushed Broccoli
Crushed Green Beans

Boiled Water
Cooked all four packages of noodles at once in a BIG pot!
Cooked chicken and hamburger
Set out three bowls to sort flavors
Mixed 1/3 of the noodles with the cooked chicken chunks, chicken gravy and crushed carrots.
Mixed 1/3 of the noodles with the ground cooked hamburger, beef gravy and green beans.
Mixed 1/3 of the noodles with tuna, cream of mushroom, 2 cans milk and broccoli.
I then scooped them into baggies, each one holding a meals worth and sealed it.
I than put one of each in large zip lock bag and sealed it and stuck it in the freezer.

I thought of the veggies at the last minute, a great way to get them to eat veggies!! I don't think they will even care, maybe not even notice. And I can add some fruit to their meal and it will be somewhat of a healthy meal!

Crossing my fingers it works out and I will stick to it and do it once a month! I estimated that it cost about $40 to create 12 meals, that's not bad! It's about than $3.50 a meal.

I feel like Super Mom tonight!

Elks Picnic 2011 - Church

2011-08-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to the yearly family Elks picnic this year. We took them when they were newborns, one and this year. We had a wedding when they were two, so we were not able to go. They had a blast! The picnic always takes place at one of the other members homes. They have a huge pond, lots of land and an out building with a bathroom that make it perfect! The kids swam in the pond, as well as played on the big water slide they have every year. When they were one, Mak was the only one we could get to go down it, and that was only one time. She LOVED it this year, just kept going back. Maysie went down only once, as well as Jace. Jaeli went down a few times. All but Mak had a bit of trouble climbing it, so they were not too interested in it. They loved playing in the water and discovered the deck. It was a two level deck, they only jumped off the lower level to daddy. We thought Mak was going to jump off the very high level, but she chickened out! They then went to the miniature deck, platform... in the middle of the water and played on that for awhile, jumping off and climbing up and down the ladder. They were not too interested in eating dinner, just wanted to play and they were NOT happy when we had to leave. Thanks Grandma J and Grandpa Rick for helping us out!

We decided to take the kids to church Sunday. We have talked about it a lot, but taking four babies/toddlers to church was not something we were sure we could handle or want to do. I grew up going to church and I want me kids to have that experience too, it had a huge effect on me. We thought about going to our church we went to before we had the girls, but we were also familiar with another church closer to home that friends of ours go to and it's much bigger.

Well...it did not go as well as we had hoped. Josh took Jace to the nursery and my sister in law and I took the triplets to the 2-3 year old room. Oh Mak was not having it. She did NOT want me to leave her. She had the biggest fit ever! So Josh ended up staying in there with Maysie (and Jaeli) b/c she was upset as well, but not as bad as Mak. Jaeli was in heaven cause she had books to read and a baby that she could play with, along with a crib, high chair and other items to put the baby in! Josh said she played with the baby the entire time and did not need his attention at all. Mak went with me to the service and did pretty well at first, then she wanted Daddy. So Aunt Steph took her to the play room and came back with her shortly after. She said, oh my gosh, that girl can throw a fit, I have never seen her have a tantrum like that before. I laughed! Mak wanted me to take her, not Steph. So then I took her to play with her sisters and was able to sneak out. Josh attempted to sneak out a few times, but always failed cause they never let him out of their sight. I checked on him once or twice and he seemed fine, as well as Jace.

There were a few baptisms that service, they usually do it inside, but I think cause there were so many, they did it on the lawn. I was not able to be up close, so could only see tops of heads, but it was neat how they did it. The family members or the person who introduced the church to that person was the one who baptized them. One of them was the mother of the 4 year old who was shot and killed from Ossian. I had tears, she spoke and said 6 months ago if you would have told her that her son was going to die, she would have begged to go with him. But now, she knows he is in a better place and he does not miss her anymore. She was of course torn up and in tears, but she seemed to be doing well and getting through it. I can't even imagine.

So after the baptism, I went back to get Jace out of the nursery. I could hear him crying down the hallway. As soon as I got there he reached out for me with his runny nose and watery eyes. Looked like he had been crying for awhile. He was so tired cause he did not take a morning nap and Josh forgot to leave his blanket and paci. The teacher said he had his hand in his mouth often, so she figured that is what he wanted. As soon as I walked out of the room, he kept crying "daddy, daddy, daddy". Poor guy was so tired, all he wanted was his daddy. Such a daddys boy. So I took him over to the girls room and he saw him, but Josh was not able to get to us right away, he was rounding up the girls and many people were in the way. He then really started to cry for Josh once he saw him but could not get to him. He finally got the girls out of the room and we headed for the car. They were not happy to be leaving, they were having fun (so long as daddy was in there with them).

We will do it again I am sure and eventually make it a habit. Right now I think we will take it slow though. They need this, especially to get prepared for school. They don't get to interact with others much, so this would be a good opportunity to do that, as well as spending time away from us and not just my parents or Josh's parents. I am sure after a few times, they will be more willing to let us leave them alone...I hope!

What happens when I am not watching...

2011-08-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

I put Jace down for bed tonight and this is what I saw going on when I was done. They were great tonight, must have taken a nap today. Did not have many melt downs and they played well together for the most part!

At the Zoo with thier Cousins and Aunts!

2011-08-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

Maysie, Callie, Jace, Jaeli, Cory and Makenna

Sad to see cousins Callie, Cory and Aunt Kathy to go bye bye.

Fun at the zoo with Callie and Cory!

So much fun!

Aunt Kris and Uncle Greg, as well as Great Aunt Kathy and second cousins Callie and Cory, took the twins to the zoo while mommy and daddy were in Vegas. They seemed to have a good time. It was great to see Callie and Cory, we do not see them often since they live in Illinois, they have gotten so big! Thanks guys for visiting, hope you enjoyed your time with Aunt Kathy and the kids.

More Blanket Fun!

2011-08-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

I got Jace up from his nap and I guess he was not ready cause he went and fell asleep again on Daddy! According to Grandma J, he slept much more for her than he does for me and still went to bed normal time. Maybe I should change his schedule, or just let him make his own schedule? Since the girls were born, we have lived our lives based on a schedule, it is all we know. But having one child with his own schedule is much different than three on the same schedule. Something to think about!

Having fun running back and forth on the blankets!

All tied up!

Jace was mad he was not tied to them so he just held MJ's hand!

We had some fun the day before we left for Vegas. In one of my previous posts, I mentioned new sheets the girls got for their beds, well we had some fun with them! I tied them up together and they ran back and forth down the hall way, they had a blast. They fell once or twice, but got right back up and kept doing it. They were not happy when they had to go to bed!

Vegas!

2011-08-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

Our hotel... The Mirage

View from our room.

Another view

Our very own elevator...well and everyone else on floors 24 and 25.

The view from our rooms of the Mirage volcano.

Saying good bye to Jae and Maysie

Maysie excited! They did not seem to care we were leaving, very happy to be with Aunt Kristin cause she told them they had their own room at her house!

Waiting for the Price Is Right Show!

Mom sitting with Ben Afflack!

Josh, my parents and I all went to Vegas last weekend for 3 nights. We went for our 5th anniversary on the 12th as well as Josh and Dad's birthdays. I think also my parents Anniversary in September. We had a great time, a very nice break from the real world but unfortunately came back with much less than we took. But we planned the trip based on that, it was a good time and that is all that mattered! We had fun losing our money and Josh got to experience Vegas for the first time, this was my second time and my parents... um... I don't know, 3 or 4th time maybe. I think from now one we will stick closer to home though.

We had to get three different sitters for 4 nights. My Aunt watched the dog...thanks Kathy! Josh's mom watched Mak and Jace and my sister Kris watched Jae and Maysie. From what they have said, they all did really good and did not have any major problems. We called them a couple times while we were gone. Jace was too young to talk to of course, Mak had no interest in talking with us the first call, but the next day she talked with us, mostly about Jace and swimming! Jae and May talked a bit, but could not understand much, most of it was hi and bye. Thanks again Kris, Janna, Kathy and Steph for helping us out while we were gone!

We spent most of the time walking around or playing the slots! We watched Price Is Right Vegas Style. None of us won anything, but it was fun to watch and be apart of. We were right in the front, front row actually. Todd Newton was the host, so that was neat to see him close up. If we payed $20 we could have got a tee shirt and spun the wheel...one of the older wheels actually used on the real Price Is Right. A couple of the games were they played were Plinko and Hole In One/Two. It was fun! We also went to the wax museum. That was interesting to see how tall many of the actors/actress's were. They had a horror film area, that was fun! Mom refused to go so Josh and I went in. It only lasted a few minutes and too dark to really see what each scene was, but it was a surprise, was not expecting it.

We had a great hotel room thanks to my dad. I guess if you ask for an upgrade when you check in, they sometimes give you one for free (i think) if they have rooms available. So we got to the 24th floor, had our own elevators too! It was not as fancy as some of the newer hotels rooms, but it was very nice! Had a great view of the strip and the Mirage (where we stayed) Volcano. They were three hours earlier than us, so we were not out too much after dark, we stuck around our hotel mostly.

Thanks mom and dad for going with us, it was a great 5th Anniversary!

Creativity... Chicken Poo!

2011-08-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

What you see on their heads is their new blankets (sheets). All summer they have been using a pretty heavy blanket when they go to bed and insist on being completely covered so the monster does not get them. Silly girls! Well, we don't have A/C in their room, so it gets really hot in there and they are covered up all night, so Josh suggested tearing a sheet into three's and switching them out. They were all for it! We played with the sheets for over an hour. Laying them out on the floor, running back and forth on them, and covering up in silly ways. Jace even joined in! Now they have to be covered up with it, but it has to be a full rectangle covering them. Yes, they say rectangle! Ha...they are so funny. They took a nap two days in a row and last night they were GREAT! Love it when they take naps.

So Jaeli and Maysie are very creative when it comes to arts and crafts or just simple things like making a design with their fruit snacks or doing something silly with their toys. Makenna on the other hand, she is very creative with her mind. Not so much artistic. A story to remember, it was so funny:

Mommy: Makenna, what did you eat, your belly is so full!
Mak: It is really hard, I am full!
Mommy: Where is all that food going to go?
Mak: Right here (as she points to her neck).
Mommy: Your neck, how is it going to get out of there.
Mak: It will come out here (as she holds her head as far back as she can and points at her neck).
Mommy: No way, it can't come out of there.
Mak: Yes, like this (as she takes her hands and puts them on her cheeks and squeezes her face while trying to pull her head up).
Mommy: No, you can't take off your head to get the food out.
Mak: Yes mommy, see (as she grabs my hands and puts them on her cheeks, squeezing them with my hands and pulling up).
Mommy: Your head can't come off goofy (as I am laughing).
Mak: Harder mommy (as she squeezes my hands even tighter and pulls higher).
Mommy: No, no, when you poo, that is your food coming out. And when you pee, that is when your drinks come out. (Mak looks at me in confusion.)
Mak: I be right back, I go poo. (as she runs to the bathroom)
Mommy: Okay, you go poo.
Mak: Mommy, Mommy, I poo'd my chicken!!!! (as she screams from the bathroom)
Mommy: What, oh did you go poo! (as I go in the bathroom to see if she really poo'd)
Mak: Yea mommy, it's my chicken, see, see Mommy! (so excited)
Mommy: Good job! (as I turn around and walk out so she does not see me laughing so very much!)

It was great!

Probably wont post for awhile...

2011-07-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Josh and I are going on VACATION, starting Friday and wont be back until late Monday. So it will be awhile before I get a chance to post again. It will be our 5th Anniversary on the 12th!

I do want to say thank you to Janna and Rick and Kris and Greg for taking on two of the kids each for us while we go out of town. To give up your time to take on two of the kids for four days is huge! We really appreciate it, appreciate you giving us a break so we can have some much needed time together! We owe you and GOOD LUCK!!!

And to my parents for going with us, as well as all their time they give us to help us with the kids. We hope this will be a nice break for you as well.

BUT I just added a bunch of posts, so check them out!

Michigan Vacation - The Pool (1 of 5)

2011-07-31T20:12:00.000-07:00

Having so much fun swimming in the kiddie pool!

Makenna was in heaven!

Maysie loved being able to swim without her wings!

Makenna was splashing everyone!

They really loved getting their hair wet!

Makenna trying to get Jace to jump to her!

And Makenna jumping in! She tried the big pool a couple times, thankfully Grandpa had an eye on her so he could yell for Josh to get her before she went in without any protection on! She was very daring, went one step too far (while Josh was with her), so she decided she didn't like it anymore and stayed in the kiddie pool!

Splashing around in the water!

Jace had a blast jumping in, I even got in so I could play with him. He just kept jumping over and over and saying "Jump again!".

Jaeli and Mak LOVED the slide, Maysie would go up the stairs but not go down the slide.

Makenna was watching the big kids go down it and decided to give what they were doing a try, going head first backwards! She loved it of course! I think this helped them feel even more comfortable with the water cause now they let daddy throw them in the big pool (with their arms of course) and they go under, head and all! They must be holding their breath cause they don't cry when they come back up and usually want to do it again. Jace doesn't seem to mind too much.

This was probably their favorite part of the trip, they had so much fun. I loved that they could go in the water and not have to worry so much that they would go under if someone wasn't in it with them. It only came up to their knees, maybe a little higher. Jace had to wear wings, just to be safe since he was being daring and jumping in ALL THE TIME!

Michigan Vacation - Bella Boos (2 of 5)

2011-07-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

Building Room

Loved the slides!

Spent most of the time in the jungle gym room.

Jaeli had a good time.

Maysie reading a book.

Dress up!

Maysie playing in the Kitchen

Makenna loving it!

Way up high!

Jace enjoyed himself!

Mr. Dare Devil!

So so very high... we heard Maysie crying once, not sure what exactly happened, but when she came down she had face paint on her forehead that was not there before she went up!

Hi Mommy!

Jace kept trying to go up backwards!

Going shopping!

Bella Boos was a big play house for kids, it was great! They all had so much fun. They even had a toddler room that was like a really big play pin that Jace played in for a bit. They had around a dozen different areas/rooms that had a theme. A water room, a jungle gym, building room, paint room, reading room, kitchen, dress up, grocery store and a few others. And everything was made for kids. It was hard to find and I was not too sure of it at first, but once we got there, it was great! We would go to each room with them and just sit and watch them. They also had a regular sized cafe area you could sit at and eat while you watched them play. If we are every up that way again, we will have to stop in!

Michigan Vacation - Beach (3 of 5)

2011-07-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

Makenna LOVED the beach, she would have stayed much much longer if we let her.

Jace having a little trouble walking, it was pretty funny.

Maysie taking a walk with Aunt Kris

Jaeli taking it in, very nervous!

Makenna liked the sand!

Maysie taking a walk with Mandy, she has attached to Aunt Mandy ever since she took her for some one-on-one time.

Makenna getting sand out of her toes!

Jace enjoyed it, something new for him.

They got to stand in the water, they were not too sure what to think of it, especially when they started to sink!

Overall, the beach was a good experience for them. We had been talking about going to the beach for a couple weeks cause we have a beach book we have been reading. But all the beaches around this beach, at the Dunes, were closed due to e-coli. This one was open and people were swimming, but I didn't want to take the chance, so we just went for a bit and let them explore, then we headed elsewhere!

Michigan Vacation - Eating Out (4 of 5)

2011-07-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

Our first stop, the girls enjoyed themselves. Don't remember the name, but they had lots of cars.

Jaeli having a good time!

Our last stop... Jace playing with daddys phone to keep him happy while they wait on their food.

Maysie very tired after a long weekend. She was drama!

Makenna enjoying herself!

Maysie chilling with Grandpa while we wait to be seated.

Makenna found a bug on the ground, she was obsessed with it.

This was our first restaurant stop, so Jaeli was nervous, new things always make her nervous!

They did pretty well at the restaurants, only had one melt down with Maysie. But took her outside and talked with her and then she was fine when we came back in!

Michigan Vacation - Hotel (5 of 5)

2011-07-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

Love this picture! He is such a daddy's boy.

They LOVED Grandma and Grandpa's big tub!

Of course they had to play with the water!

Jaeli very nervous, taking it all in. This was their first official time staying the night in a hotel.

Jaeli loved looking at herself...and making out with her self in the mirror!

Bath time! All 5 grand kids took a bath together.

Having fun in the tub!

They each got their own bed. Our room and a main area with two beds, then another room with a HUGE bed that Josh and Jace slept in. And we got a roll-a-way bed so they could all have their own bed.

Jaeli was the only one who slept all night long. She did scream "no, no, no" once, I went to check on her and she was still asleep.

I slept in each of their beds at some point during the night as well as the big bed with Josh. That only lasted about an hour though until one woke up crying for me. Maysie fell out once and ended up sleeping on the floor, she fell off, cried a second and then fell asleep just as she was! I think at one point, me, Maysie and Mak were all on the roll-a-way. It was a rough night, but not as bad as camping. I got more sleep in the hotel than camping. It was nice and quiet and dark!

Jace chilling with daddy as usual!

Maysie loving the tub.

Jaeli playing with the fireplace remote.

Makenna taking it all on.

Overall, the hotel stay went pretty well. Not sure its worth it for one night, I think the second night would have went better since they would have experienced it already. They did really well... most of the time. We did not get to do as much as we hoped, but I know they had a blast and that is all that matters! They don't get out much, way too much stress for me... but I am glad we got to do this for them. It will get easier as they get older...harder in other ways, but to see them so excited to be somewhere else is great!

Time with Aunt Mandy

2011-07-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

Makenna very nervous to go bye bye with Aunt Mandy and spend the day with her.

Jaeli going bye bye with Aunt Mandy, she too looks very nervous!

Maysie not as nervous, just not sure about it!

They all had fun I am sure. Thanks Aunt Mandy, that was very sweet of you to take each of them for a few hours once a week during your school break. And I am sure it gave mom a nice break!

Jaeli one-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa

2011-07-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Wearing Grandpa's knee brace.

Taking a break in Grandma and Grandmpa's room.

Out to eat! And eating her favorite foods...mac n cheese, green beans and bread!!!

Before I went back to work, mom would take one of the kids on a rotation one weekend a month. Well, now that I am working, we decided to end it since I don't see them much during the week. There are about 4 or 5 months in the year that have an extra weekend. So we cut it way down to just once a year she takes that child all day Saturday and Sunday. They enjoy it and still gives them their individual time.

Jace gets some one-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa!

2011-07-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

Jace loves drinking everyone else's drinks! I think Grandpa got him started.

Having fun with his toy he never gets to play with because the girls always take it from him.

Playing with cousin Josie!

Bath time, so much fun!

Loves to hide from Grandma, thinks its so funny.

Birthday Party 3 of 3!

2011-07-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Pinata!

Jace loves balloons!

Waiting for the party to begin!

A tiger moon walk! They had a good time.

Jaeli loved her very big monkey balloon!

Time to blow out their candles. They were not too sure. Maybe next year.

I think Maysie was the only one that actually blew them out.

Jumping fun!

Having a blast!

When the hand is in the mouth...they are nervous. Goes back to the paci, that use to be their security when they got nervous, but ever since we got rid of them, anytime something new happens, the hand goes in the mouth until they feel comfortable and safe.

Jumping all over the place!

Jace getting ready to swim!

Birthday Gifts

2011-07-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

My three little princess's

Playing with their triplet dolls that you dress up!

Not sure what she is wearing!

Triplet Dolls!

Even Jace got a present!

Eating finger pops, a gift they got from their birthday party.

Fighting about their new Kitchen.

Barbie Dolls

Opening gifts!

So many gifts!

They LOVE bubbles!

Grandma B got them a new Kitchen for their birthday.

Jace helping the girls with their presents!

I want to say Thank you to everyone who came to their parties and/or bought them a gift. They had a blast and we appreciate you taking time to celebrate with us. I have not had times to send out Thank You's, so please forgive me and I am sure you understand how busy we have been lately! Thanks again!!!

All around photos

2011-07-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

Dressing up... in a brown paper bag!

Watching Mommy go back to work.

Boxes are always great entertainment!

Maysie hiding!

My monkeys!

OUCH!!! So many bite marks.

Watching Mommy go to work.

So tired they fell asleep as they were playing. Notice Makenna is holding onto the chair and Maysie has one right next to her! LOL

Makenna has been very tired lately, think she might be getting sick.

Having fun with cousin Josie!

Running from Aunt Kristin's dog.

Playing with the dogs, so much fun!

Having popcorn with Grandpa

Pretending to be babies, in Jace's bed.

Hiding behind the couch. Grandma had to remove the end table and lamps from her living room cause they kept climbing them to jump on the couch and Jace kept taking the lamps down...therefore they had togo!

Watching Jace's TV after his nap.

Playing on Jace's bed!

Jaeli is obsessed with labels, always peeling them.

Jace got a hold of one of the girls milk cup and spilled it on the floor, then rolled around in it, he thought it was so funny.

Summertime Fun

2011-07-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

They love sitting in the bucket! (I think its Jaeli)

Helping Grandpa build a gate for the deck!

Jaeli swimming with Grandpa

Having fun!

Having fun in Grandpa's trailer.

Loving the big pool Aunt Kris bought them for their birthday!

Jace 18 Months

2011-07-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Jace had his 18 month check up a couple weeks ago. I am way behind in posts, so I thought I would start with this one. Love the picture of him from our recent vacation but he looks so big! Where in the world did my baby boy go? I can't believe how old he looks, such a cutie! Love my baby boy!

He has become quite the daddy's boy lately, he only wants Josh or Grandpa, that is it. If neither one here, then I will do! Josh can't leave the room or he goes nuts and screams and cries until he comes back. He is such a boy, always getting hurt, always getting into stuff and loves to do things just to hear me say NO. His favorite is climbing up the chairs and walking around on the table. He will be the first to get a broken bone I am sure. He has been starting to talk a little more. He can say most words, he just chooses not to say them. A couple times I got him to play a game with me in the car and repeat every word I said. But he usually wont do it if I ask. He says daddy and papa the most. Don't really hear mama or momma much but on occasion. He says a few others, ball, dog, milk, cookie, no, I am sure there are many more, but they only come out on occasion. He has fits just as bad as his sisters, he learned from the best! He is still my lovey boy though, likes to cuddle and is giving hugs and kisses now. Getting too big, too fast!

He is 24lbs 8oz and 32" tall
(1 year: 22lbs 4oz and 29.5")

Yes, I know, I am way behind!!!

2011-07-26T20:20:00.001-07:00

More pictures from their birthday party and vacation coming soon!

The Johnson Triplets Plus One

The basement...

Build A Bear... Thanks Aunt Jarilyn!

Update on Mak and Potty Training

Jace's Birthday!

DRY!

My baby boy is turning 2 :-(.

Christmas part 4 of 4 - Santa came!

Christmas part 3 of 4 - Grandma's house.

Christmas part 2 of 4 - Christmas morning (from Mommy and Daddy)

Christmas part 1 of 4 - Aunt Lari's and a visit from Santa

Happy New Year!

Oh so silly!

Making Christmas Presents for Grandma's and Grandpa's!

Santa's Message!

Good vs Bad

RIP Whitney, you will be missed :-(.

Here Come Santa!

Thanks Kathy, Kay, Kirby, Callie and Cory!

Santa!

Halloween

YUM!

Creature...

Jaeli... SASSY!

Jace... TROUBLE

Maysie... DRAMA

Makenna... ATTITUDE

Way behind, here are some photos!

Way behind... but something funny to tell!

Just some fun!

Maysie and some one-on-one time!

Waiting for mommy...

Jace and the dog collar...

Helping mommy!

Fall Photos

Fall Photos Jaeli

Fall Photos Maysie

Fall Photos Jace

Table Fun!

No, I am Daddy's Favorite!

Fall Fun!

The Corner!

Witching Hour

MAKENNA

JAELI

MAYSIE

JACE

Our First Movie...

ABCs... almost!

How long will it take?

Picture Attempt!

The Bluffton Street Fair!

Mak having fun outside!

Jaeli having fun outside!

Maysie having fun outside!

Taking a ride with Daddy!

New Table Arrangement!

Makenna so proud of herself!

Triplets 3 Year Well Baby Check Up!

More Videos - Singing Songs!

TRIPLE THE TROUBLE...Oh wait I mean QUADRUPLE THE TROUBLE!

Boots

Being the silly kids they are!

Camping!

Preschool and Learning

Salad

Greg Junior

The Wheels On The Bus

Row Row Row Your Boat

ABC's

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Maysie Jailyn is officially healthy!

Do I dare bring the table out again?

Golf!

Ring Around The Rosie

Styling!

Homemade Frozen Meals!

Elks Picnic 2011 - Church

What happens when I am not watching...

At the Zoo with thier Cousins and Aunts!