6 or 16?

 

Zoe...all ready for church!

Is this girl really only 6-years old?

The Eyes Have It

The good news is that everyone's ears are clear!
The bad news?  We've moved on to eyes!  Yes...pink eye.

We started eye drops on Ava Sunday.  Her poor right eye is so red it looks like broken blood vessels.  Eli joined the goop group Sunday afternoon...so he got some drops, too!  Today, there was no goop in sight (pardon the pun).  Hopefully, we got it before Cole could share in the fun.

Stay tuned...

Choo Choo Cheer

This afternoon, I sold the Triple Decker Stroller. Woohoo!  Part of me was sad it was gone.  A tiny part.  Most of me was glad to get the space back in the basement.  That stroller showed Cole, Eli & Ava some good times...

 ...and sure did make it easy for me to get around with them.

But now, we've entered a whole new world.  Way back when I was pregnant with the triplets, I'd heard of "the perfect triplet wagon".  Initially, I thought it was a bit hokey.  But then I started seeing and experiencing life with triple strollers.  NO FUN!  The Choo Choo is AWESOME!

Step 2 makes the Choo Choo Wagon, but right now, they aren't producing any.  They stopped production awhile ago, but then started again.  Well, now...they've stopped...again.  Thankfully, there is a triplet mom in my local triplet group with 4 year olds that was looking to sell hers!  Thursday morning, I bought it.  Within 10 minutes of being home, the triplets were taking their first wagon ride!

On a serious note, the whole way down the street, I was thinking of Tuesday...and praying for peace for her family.  Even though we didn't get our Choo Choo in time to participate in the Wagie Ride for Tuesday, we still wanted to honor her.

I Quess I Need to be More Clear...

Last week (2/11/09) it was absolutely GORGEOUS out.  Yet Ty was still sitting inside playing his new DS games (birthday presents).  I'd asked, no less than 30 times, if he wanted to do something outside.  Soccer.  No.  Bike Ride. No.  Baseball.  No.  Frisbee.  No.  Rollerskate.  No.  Trampoline.  No.

By 3:30, I'd had it!  There was no way I was letting him stay couped up inside another minute.  I wouldn't take 'No' for an answer!  I found him sitting on the stairs playing Mario Kart.  I squatted down to his level.  I mustered up my best "firm, yet loving" voice and said, "Go...play outside...NOW!"

When I looked outside 10 minutes later...

Party Hardy!

It was the Birthday that just wouldn't end! Ty turned 5 on February 9th. Yet the celebration seemed to last for days...and days...and days...

Sunday, Feb. 8th:
PopPop and Nana Higby stop by and bring Ty his birthday present. It's a marble baseball game that PopPop had made for Shane almost 30 years ago. Ty loves it! It was the last thing he did before bed and the first thing he did the next morning. He even asked to skip school so he could play! Coming from a boy who absolutely loves school...that's a pretty big request. Still...no...I made him go!

Monday, Feb. 9th:
Actual birthday! Brought #5 donuts from Dunkin' to school (blue icing w/ sprinkles...of course!)
Dinner and presents at home with The Higby 7. Leftover donuts as "the cake".

(As an added bonus: it was "bring a friend to class" day at Myles and Maeve's gymnastics. "M&M" are "Z&T's" best friends. After dropping the kids off at school in the morning, I didn't see them again until 6pm!)

Friday, Feb. 13th:
The Party!!! Sleepover! Yes, I know. I'm crazy! But really, Sammy and Noah were sleeping over anyway...so why not add one more 5 year old? "We" decided on a campout/Clone Wars theme. Seriously, this could be a post all on it's own, but I'll try to keep it to the basics.

My motto for the night...

After pizza...cake time!

The boys were SERIOUS about Star Wars: Clone Wars (and their popcorn)

Tucked in for the night in the tent

Actually...this is what they looked like when I left them around 9:30p. Zoe and I snuggled up in my bed for some "girl time" and were just about asleep an hour later. Sure enough, around 10:30p, Shane was next to me, "I need your help. Ty just collapsed the tent!" Apparently, Shane didn't make the boys stay in their sleeping bags. He let them get a bit rowdy. Rowdy as in wrestling. At 10:30 at night. I tried not to chuckle.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes a la Daddy the next morning

"Daddy's Special Pancakes" are made (freehand) in the shape of the boys' initials. I'm not sure Noah quite got the idea: He asked for a different letter!

The Party Animals on Saturday morning...a tad sleepy

Yes, Noah's in a Spiderman costume! Shannon packed the boys bags, but apparently, the boys UN-packed them. Neither Sam nor Noah came with PJs, but Noah was wearing one of his coveted Spiderman outfits, so that became his PJs. Even without his PJs, Sam got the award for sleeping-in the latest: 8a.

Sunday, Feb. 15th:
The official Family Birthday Dinner: Higby's, Higby's, Christgau's, Higby's, and Touw's.

Nana made Ty's cake

By Monday, most of the sugar had run it's course and Ty actually slept-in awhile. There was a slight disappointment that the presents had come to an end, but Grammy and Granddad Christgau had slept over, so there was fun to still be had.

It's NOT "Make-Believe"

Ty LOVES to play make-believe...but PLEASE...don't tell him that's what it's called!

A few days after The Miracle on the Hudson, I found Ty's "Stairs Bucket" (it's a bucket on the stairs that I throw any out-of-place toys into so Ty & Zoe will bring their stuff up to their rooms) was in their office...next to some play safety goggles. I put the bucket away and brought the goggles back down to the playroom. Later that afternoon, all the chairs in the office were lined up one in front of the other...and there were the bucket and goggles again. Hmmmmm. Clearly, I'm missing something, but since everyone was in bed, I cleaned up the toys again and put the chairs away. The very next day...they appeared again...this time, I decided to leave them there.

A few hours later, Ty asked me if I wanted to go away on a trip. "Absolutely!" His eyes got really big and he said, "Follow me!" He took me by the hand and led me to the office. With his best Vanna White impression, he stretched out his arm and said, "Welcome to my plane! Climb aboard and I'll rocket you to wherever you want to go!" How could I resist? I chose a seat up front...clearly that was First Class! Zoe was already in the rear of the plane munching away on pretzels. Ty was seated in the first chair with his bucket on his lap. On went the goggles. He turned around and said (and I'm quoting), "Welcome aboard, Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm your driver, Captain Sully. Where are we headed today?"

I almost cried!

That night, as I tucked my pilot into his bed, I told him how much fun I had on our trip and how much I enjoy watching him play make-believe. He quickly informed me that make-believe is for babies. He was just "being creative". Okay. Works for me!

18 Month Checkup

As promised...

Even though they turned 18-months old on February 4th, the "babies" only recently went for their checkup.  The doctor that they were supposed to see had a little mishap on the way to the office.  Thankfully, we didn't have to wait an extra hour and a half for him to get in, the office called in the on-call doctor and we were taken right away.  Even though I still like this doctor (Dr. S), she hasn't seen the babies since they were...well...babies.  Dr. S made a few observations I liked...but some that I think may have been a bit over-board.  For instance, she is a tad concerned with the lack of actual words spoken by Cole, Eli, and Ava.  Apparently, Dr. S feels that they each should have 6-8 distinct words.  They don't.  She asked what "Early Intervention" had to say about their speech development.  Well.  Um. Nothing. We've never contacted EI.  Didn't know we were supposed to.  Dr. S then asked me what the Child Development Center (that's the NICU doctor's practice) had to say at the triplet's one year follow up evaluation.  Well.  Um. Nothing.  I didn't realize they were supposed to go for one.  So basically, in a nutshell: Dr. S pointed out that I'm not really on top of things.  =)

Here are the important facts...

Ava

30 inches long

19 lbs. 10 3/4 oz.

Not on the Percentage Chart

As you can tell from her picture, she's my chewer!  Ava LOVES her "cozy" and can't sleep without it.  She even carries it around with her during the day.  But the minute she gets it...it's immediately in her mouth.  Ava is definitely a Daddy's girl.  As soon as he walks into the room, Ava shoots her arms straight up into the air...as if she's at gun-point.

Eli

31 inches long

23 lbs. 3 oz.

20th Percentile

Way back in the NICU, Nurse Cathy nicknamed Eli the "Goof Ball" and boy was she right!  He is!  Eli can be seen laughing as he chases Cole &/or Ava around the Family Room.  He is also our biggest babbler...with the most variety of sounds.  He's still sucking his thumb...either thumb will do.

Cole

34 inches long

28 lbs. 15 1/2 oz. (apparently the nurse didn't want to write 29#s)

85th Percentile

In two words: STEAM ROLLER.  This little boy runs, rambles, and barrels over and through anything in his path.  In the next breath, he's extremely sensitive.  Simply saying "no" brings the boy to tears...no need to raise your voice, let alone holler.  Cole is also very expressive.  He wears his emotions on his sleeve and would make the world's WORST poker player.

As far as the Doctor's recommendations go, I did call The Center for Child Development out of Valley Hospital and made appointments with Susan Bell, RN, MSN, etc.  She saw them way back when and assured me that I was not a terrible mother for not following up with them.  It's not like they had any follow up action items from their last evaluation.  I'll wait until after Nurse Bell sees the gang before I do anything with EI.

Happy Birthday, Ty!

The Little Professor's 5 years old today!

How's that possible?

Nicknames:

Ty Ty

Little Professor

Knucklehead

Current Obessions:

Baseball - specifically the Yankees

Make Believe

Being Tough

Like Walking Puppies

The triplets are 18-months old!  (Stay tuned for their official "weigh in" after their appointment next week.) And they're just too big to be schlepping around in the triple stroller.  Not only does it take everything in me to get the thing rolling, it's near impossible to control once it is moving.  But I'm getting cabin fever.  I'm desperate to socialize with adults other than the ones in the pediatrician's waiting room.  So...yesterday...I decided to attempt the PTO meeting at Zoe's school.

Without the stroller.

Oh boy.

The Gang has cute little backpack/harnesses that I bought so I can keep them all at arm's length when we're out walking.  Of course, we haven't actually used them yet.  But the idea is there.  I'm working with them.  They wear the backpacks around the house and LOVE THEM.  Ava's is a pink poodle...and the boys have little monkeys.

(These were taken on a "practice wearing your backpacks" day...)

On paper, this is a great idea!  This should work, right?  After dropping Ty off at preschool, I strapped the Gang up in their packs and let them out of the van.  Immediately...they all went in opposite directions.  OBVIOUSLY, I knew this was going to happen, that's why I've got them on these leashes put the harnesses on.

That's where the comedy began!  For the next 15 minutes, the triplets twisted and turned, bobbed and weaved, ran and walked, stood and fell, cried and laughed as we worked our way from the parking lot to the school.  Whenever one of the triplets reached the end of their "slack" and realized I wanted them to come a different direction, they'd sit down.  After 15 minutes, we'd gone a whopping 6 feet.  I'm not exaggerating.  One word: debacle!

I ended up picking up a screaming Cole after he fell and put is hand in a pile of snow.  Walked a few more feet and tripped on the leashes straps weaved around my legs.  Ava saw Cole and became jealous...so I picked her up in the other arm.  A few more feet...and Eli buried his face in between my legs and bear hugged my knees.  Hmmmmm...not going so well.  I squatted down (careful not to let the diaper bag fall from my shoulder...that would've definitely caused me to fall over) and picked Eli up by his sweatpants...barely getting a hand under each butt-cheek.  Stood up and walked briskly into the school.

Thankfully, there was someone at the door to open it.  When I got inside, I was greeted by a friend who was hysterically laughing took Eli and helped me lower down the others.  My arms were quivering like I'd just worked out.  And in a sense, I had.

I refuse to give up...this is GOING to work...someday!

Before the Chaos

Last week, prior to the Ear Infection Infestation that hit our Gang, we tried something new:

Rub-a-dub-dub...both my girls in one tub!

For the past 18 months, I've been bathing each triplet individually.  It's so time-consuming (obviously), but I just can't figure out the logistics of bathing 3 wigglers.  As a matter of fact, we've only recently moved from the kitchen sink to the bathtub (maybe within the last month or so).  Way back when, Lindsay and I attempted to bathe all three babies together.  It didn't go so well. 

Generally speaking, the boys enjoy their baths more than Ava.  She tends to scream cry for no less than 5 minutes before she realizes that she hasn't been placed in a vat of acid and the tub is actually enjoyable.  I figured adding Zoe to the mix might distract Ava enough to avoid the tears all together.  It worked (for the most part).  She did grab on to me for dear life as I lowered her into the tub, but she quickly relaxed when she saw Zoe.

My next challenge: Bathing the boys together!

Week in Review - Through Pictures

After Eli's sleepless night on Monday, I took him to the doctor on Tuesday (I think I mentioned that in my last post). He was crabby ALL DAY, Tuesday. I had to be physically in the room with Eli, if not holding him. It was extremely exhausting. By 2p, he was even crying when I was holding him! Our appointment wasn't until 4:30p. So as soon as Becca got to our house (our Tuesday/Thursday sitter), Eli & I were out the door!

Apparently, Eli likes the doctor's office. From the minute we walked in the door, he was all smiles. Next time he's crabby...we're taking a road trip to the waiting room at Valley Pediatrics!

For those who didn't read the last post...the doctor ended up diagnosing Eli with 2 ear infections. Amoxicillin & Tylenol and we should be on the road to recovery. The Doc was right! Eli slept pretty well Tuesday night. Not perfect, but Shane and I both got a decent amount of sleep.

Wednesday night...not so much!

By 9:30a Thursday, Ava was asleep on the couch. Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure, I should've noticed that she was holding her ear. But I just figured that Maggie and the Ferocious Beast was a little too loud.

Thursday night was...in a single word...HORRIFIC! Between Cole & Ava, I had eight 45-minute naps. By 5:30a, I was close to a nervous break down. I called my Mother-in-law and she came over to sit with Eli while I took Ava & Cole to the Pediatrician. Can I just take a moment and publicly thank her for also folding my laundry!?!?! Thanks, Mom Higby!

Again, Valley Pediatrics Waiting Room brought out the joy in my children. They were even sharing!  What?  Well...despite the fun they were having, they each walked out with prescriptions for antibiotics for their double ear infections! Cole gots the bonus points for needing albuterol four times a day in the nebulizer!

Each night has gotten progressively better. Cole has yet to sleep through the night, though. Friday night, he slept with Shane in our bed. Shane suggested I sleep elsewhere so I could get some sleep (Thanks, Hon!) So...I slept in Ty's bed. (He and Zoe like to sleep in the guest bed on non-school nights.) Did I mention that Ty's bed is a bunk bed? Apparently, you're never too old for the fun of a bunk bed!

We're hopeful that tonight's Cole's "sleep through" night!