16.5 Month Update

The girls are learning new things every day, so I want to update the blog with what they're currently doing.

Raise Your Hand!
If I say, "Raise your hand if you want dinner." They all raise their hands straight up in the air. We use it for lots of things.... "raise your hand if you want to go night night", "raise your hand if you want to take a bath." It's so cute to watch them all raise their little hands, like "pick me, pick me"!

Sharing (A little)
They still fight over toys terribly bad, but have a new skill where they share and give certain toys to it's rightful owner (sometimes). For example, Izzy has a duck named "Wigga Wigga"(she named it)... it's hers and hers only, and the other sisters will bring Wigga Wigga to Izzy. The same goes for Abigail's Srog or Ally's paci. It's very sweet how they'll bring the toy to their sister.

Night Routine
Matt and I are so happy about our current nighttime routine. The girls still drink a sippy cup of milk, but we make them all sit on their bottoms to drink their milk, and they do so pretty well. We have the occasional thrown cup or standing baby, but overall they listen and drink their milk. After brushing teeth, we say, "ok, let's go night night." I open up the fence, and all the babies happily follow me into the nursery, saying "nigh nigh, nigh nigh". We LOVE how happy they are to go to bed and hope this never changes! Once in the nursery, we put them in their sleep sacks, turn their fans on and then it's lights out. Sometimes a baby will fuss for a minute or two, but rarely longer than that.

Kisses & Hugs
They've also begun giving each other kisses and hugs. They make a sound when they give a kiss like "mmmmm muh" and even pat each other on the back as they hug. It is so sweet! Unfortunately, they usually topple over if they're hugging standing up, but it's still so cute.

Where's ???
If we ask questions like, "Where's Abigail?", "Where's Ally?", "Where's Daddy?", etc., the babies (Izzy is particularly good) will point to the person we asked about. They'll even point to themselves when their name is called. On another note, they also love to cover their eyes with their own hands and scare me. Ally will say, "Bee!" (Boo), when she pulls her hands off.

Dancing Babies
My mom taught them to do the teddy bear dance. You know, the one where you say, "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear turn around" (baby turns around), "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground" (babies pound on ground), "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, do a little dance" (babies dance), "Teddy Bear, Teady Bear, pull up your pants" (Babies pull up pants)! Izzy and Abby do the whole dance. Ally loves to pound the ground, and often gets stuck turning around and around until she falls!
They love to march now too. If I say, "March, march, march, march", they'll all start marching around the living room. This is where Ally excels! She marches really fast and really well. The other two kind of do a one-legged, slow march. So cute.

Princess Wiggle Bottom
Abigail is so different from the other two in her mannerisms... she's always so sweet and delicate. She also has difficulty "hanging with the big girls" as Matt says often. She appears to be very feminine, and it very much shows when she walks. She wiggles her little bottom and swings her little arm to get to where she needs to go. It is seriously the cutest little wiggle ever!

Who you lookin' at?!
Izzy and Ally, on the other hand, are pretty tough. They often stand like two football linemen (as you can see from some of the professional pics I posted), and will bulldoze whoever gets in their way. Based on what I've seen up to this point, they appear to both have pretty dominant personalities, while Abby seems much more passive.

Choo-Choo fun
This week, the girls got to go to their Meemaw and Papaw's house and ride a train! Matt's parents have the coolest little motorized train with tracks at their house. They bought it for their first grandchild years ago, but all have benefited from the train now! Izzy and Ally loved riding the train. Well... Izzy loved it, Ally LOOOVED it!!! Ally has a problem with sharing when she has a new toy like that. She screams and kicks when it's someone else's turn. Luckily, she gets over it relatively quick. Poor lil doe (aka wiggle bottom) hated every minute of it! She tried to like it, but had a look of fear the entire time, and Matt (who was close by to catch them if they fell) said he could hear her whimpering non-stop. Poor lil doe. I'll post pics of the train rides soon.... I forgot my camera, so have to wait to get them from Matt's parents.

"Oh no, how sad"
We've just finished going thru a class at our church. We read a book called, "Love and Logic for Earlychildhood". We liked some of the book, and are putting some of it into practice. The book is big on being action oreinted, rather than giving lots of warnings or talking about what you're going to do. For example, let's say Izzy pushes her sister (this happens often by the way). If she pushes her sister, I say, "oh no, how sad. We do not push." I pick her up and put her in time out, which is in a pack & play in the guest bedroom. After a few minutes, I tell her I love her and let her play again. So far, it really seems to be helping. Now, even if they start to do something, I just have to gently say, "oh no" and they immediately stop what they're doing. We'll see if it keeps working, but we're pretty happy with the results so far.

Lately, I've been feeling SO blessed...  even while I'm folding laundry or picking up toys, I feel blessed. God truly knew the desires of my heart, and gave them to me. The two things I prayed for (for my own life), I mean prayed really hard for, were for Matt Martin to be my husband and for God to bless us with children. I prayed these two things for years, and God provided! I love my family so much!

More Photos from LE Portraits

Ally, Abby and Izzy

Izzy, Abby & Ally

Ally, Abby & Izzy

Izzer Wizzer

Abigail

 Allison

 Abby

 Typical Ally

 Izzy

 Izzy, Abby & Ally

He's Always Been Faithful

Morning by morning I wake up to find
the power and comfort of God's hand in mine.
Season by season I watch him amazed, in
awe of the mystery of his perfect ways
All I have need of, his hand will provide.
He's always been faithful to me.


I can't remember a trial or a pain he did
not recycle to bring me gain. I can't
remember one single regret in serving
God only and trusting his hand

All I have need of, his hand will provide.
He's always been faithful to me.
This is my anthem, this is my song, the
theme of the stories I've heard for so long.
God has been faithful, he will be again.
His loving compassion, it knows no end.

All I have need of, his hand will provide.
He's always been faithful to me.


This is a song that has come to mean a lot to me. Two years ago, at about this time, I was singing in the choir at church. Matt and I had been trying to get pregnant for years, but it just wasn't happening. I was getting down about it, but I always had faith that God would bless us with children. When I heard this song (which was a solo in our Cantata), I felt led to sing it. As I practiced, I sang the words with all of my heart... knowing God has been faithful to me in the past, and He would be again. Before singing the song in front of the church, I found out that I was expecting. (At the time, I didn't know it was triplets). Of course, before singing the song, I had to give my testimony to the church of God's faithfulness in our lives and what he'd done. There were a lot of tears of joy... it was beautiful to see God at work.

Around Thanksgiving, the Pastor asked me to sing the song again, since it fit his message. I did, but this time, was able to share the news of being pregnant with triplets, and viewing the song as YET another promise that God would be faithful to bring these babies into this world, healthy and strong. Also - giving us the strength to make it thru the first year - I was very afraid of the unknown.

I had almost forgotten about the song and it's meaning to me, but I joined choir again this fall and (even with a new Music Minister), this song appeared in our handouts and he started playing it. The tears just began to fall as the feelings were stirred up. From yearning to be pregnant, rejoicing in the good news, and trusting that all would be ok. Now, looking back, it's just such a strong testimony of what God can do in our lives. I'm so thankful for His faithfulness!

LE Portraits - Sept 2010

Here are a few sneak peeks from our photo session today.... so stinkin' cute! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this photographer!

Izzy, Abby & Ally

Matt calls this one "Baby Braveheart". He says it looks like they're ready to go into battle! (Except Abby, of course... she's like "do I have to?")

No really - this pic really shows their personalities... Izzy and Ally are so dominant and Abby always so passive.

Izzy

Abby

Ally

This is NOT Chocolate - Not for a weak stomache

As I was in the middle of putting PJs on the girls tonight, a friend came by to borrow something. I left all 3 babies (2 changed, Abby in mid-change in just a diaper) in the same crib while I went outside to visit for a few minutes.

Matt went back inside before me and found Abby's (apparently poopy) diaper stripped off, and Izzy and Abby COVERED in poop! Ally managed to stay pretty clean, but still got a bath just in case. What an ABSOLUTE mess! I gagged multiple times during the 45-minute clean up. We managed to snap a few pictures before we got "involved" in the mess. The pics don't EVEN COME CLOSE to the actual damage...

You think looking at the pictures are disgusting... imagine cleaning this up!

Parents as Teachers Program

I am so excited about a new program I have "enrolled" the girls in. It is called Parents As Teachers, and it's a free program offered by the state of Oklahoma. Carolyn Rhodes, a teacher at Roosevelt, is in charge of the program. She comes to your home each month and assesses the children. I fill out a form on each child that asks questions about certain milestones they've reached in regards to communication, social-personal, fine motor, gross motor, problem solving, etc. This is really nice because it makes me aware of what they should be doing at this age. For example... something I learned yesterday: They are not too young to use crayons to mark on paper or use a spoon to feed themselves. I honestly would not have even tried these things or given the girls the opportunities, had I not learned this. It also gives me a chance to assess the girls, individually, rather than lump them together all the time. For instance, It prompted me to take a close look at all the words they're currently saying:

Izzy - Thank you, Bye bye, uh oh, spaghetti-o, no-no, I take it off, night night, I love you, eyes, that, this, momma, daddy, papaw, lala, meemaw, hi, outside, doggy, juice, no more, Ball

Abby - Thank you, Bye Bye, uh oh, spaghetti-o, no-no, I love you, night night, that, this, momma, daddy, papaw, lala, meemaw, hi, doggy, no more, ball

Ally - Bye Bye, uh-oh, no, night night, that, momma, daddy, papaw, lala, meemaw, hi, doggy, no more, eyes, ball, peek-a-boo.

Also, here's a look at what's going on in their little mouths:
Izzy has 8 teeth, with 2 molars sprouting
Abby has 7 teeth, with 1 molar sprouting
Ally has 8 teeth, with 4 molars sprouting - The girl may not have hair, but she knows how to grow some teeth!
 
I just can't say enough about the program! She even brings books, puzzles, etc to the child to keep! I applied for Sooner Start when the girls were younger, but after they were assessed, they didn't qualify because they weren't behind in any area (Praise God)! That's when I was told about this program. I also remember learning about it in college.
 
Another thing I've been thinking about this week - I have my Bachelor's degree in General Studies. I studied Early Childhood Education in college, and planned on being a teacher, but then I got the Corporate Trainer job at U.S. Cellular, and couldn't finish the education degree without losing my job - the only thing I'm lacking is the final internship where you basically teach for a full semester (without pay). Because I was extremely happy as a Corporate Trainer, I went another route to getting my Bachelor's and have been very happy with that decision. BUT - now that I'm a full time mommy and don't work, I've been thinking it would behoove me to go back and get my 2nd Bachelor's in Early Childhood Educ. If I wait too long, it will be too late and I'll have to repeat many classes over again. This has been on my mind a lot, and I'm feeling a sense of urgency to go back and finish, but then, Matt made me feel all better. He said, "Do you want to be a teacher or do you want to be a stay at home mom?" Well... If I have the choice, I want to be a stay at home mom!  He and I have always liked the idea of me being there to drop the kids off, pick them up, help in their classrooms, etc. This is what I really want... why do I feel like I have to get a job? I guess because I've ALWAYS had one! Anyway... I'm so satisfied with my family being my job. It truly makes me happy. I know I'm rambling... but this is what's been going on this week in Kami's head!

Labor Day Weekend & Love to my Grandparents

Sometimes I have trouble sleeping, because I can't get my mind to shut off. Last night was one of those nights. For some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about my grandparents: Paul & Minnie Sherman. I'm so proud to be their granddaughter. They have been a HUGE part of my life and have truly made me the person I am today. I'm so happy and blessed that they are around to see this part of my life. They love my babies and I can tell it brings them such joy to be around them, which means so much to me. I give them a wallet pic of the girls every few months, and they literally wear it out pulling it out to show everybody.... even complete strangers! On Saturday, I dropped ONE of the babies (Ally) off at their house for about an hour while I went to the store. I took Abby with me to the store, and Izzy stayed at home with daddy. Ally loves dogs, so I thought she might have fun over at their house playing with their dog, Peanut. Plus, I thought they might enjoy a little alone time with a baby. When I pulled up to get her, they were all swinging on the back deck, having a good time. Mamaw and Papa said they were just talking about how they probably wouldn't live to see them grow up, but that they pray & hope they'll be good, Christian women. It made me sad to think about it, but so happy to know they met my children. Girls - I just want you to know - you have some strong prayers going up for you, and your Great Grandparents love you so much. Here are a few pics I found of Mamaw and Papa helping with you guys when you were very little:

Papaw feeding Ally, Mamaw feeding Izzy (babies less than 1 month old)

Papaw feeding Ally

Mamaw and Izzy

Papaw and Izzy - looks like she fell asleep after her bottle...

Papaw and Ally

Mamaw and Abby

While looking thru pictures, I came across this one of the girls about 5 months old. Check out their little dollies- 2 blondes and a brunette. My cousins got these for me before the girls were born and I made a joke about having a brunette! So funny how it came to be true! Are these some cute babies or what?!

(L to R - Izzy, Abby, Ally)

We had a pretty busy weekend again. Saturday, we did yard work while the girls took their nap. I planted Mums and Matt mowed. After this, was when I went to the store and dropped Ally off at Mamaw and Papa's.

The next day, we went to chuch and had our friends, Andrew, Courtney and Andi Mae over for a cookout. We blew up the girls' pool, and they had fun playing in the water. Though Matt and I tried, the steaks somehow turned out a bit like beef jerky, but other than that, the night was great! At one point, we all had a baby on our shoulders, walking thru the big backyard, looking at the dogs and fire damage next door (see previous post), etc. Probably would've been a cute pic if someone was there to take it! Here are some pictures of the girls playing in the pool:

Here are all 4 girls playing - Andi Mae had to borrow a swim suit - she's in the bikini. Izzy, Abby and Ally are clockwise to the right of her.

Ally - loves to drink the water... ugh!

Izzy - water "rains" down from the top of the pool

Andi Mae

Abby

Ally

Abby

Cute Izzy

After the pool, the girls played on their swing set... here's Ally.

Abby sliding...

Though the steaks were bad, the asparagus and baked potatoes were yummy!

On Monday, we cooked again and had my mom over. She brought a few things from home - like chocolate cake and ingredients for great Margaritas - which made for a really great time! The babies definitely liked the cake. After dinner, we decided we had enough cake and margaritas to have a few more people over, so we called my grandparents, and they came over with My Aunt Rettie and Uncle Joe. Needless to say, the girls were doted over a lot this weekend.They showed off their dancing skills for everyone. Mom taught Izzy to spin around when she dances now, so she was showing us her new moves!

Here's a video I took of the girls after dinner tonight... pay no attention to the strange sound I make to get Ally to giggle.

A Fun-filled Four Days!

Matt took Monday and Tuesday of this week off, so we had a fun four day weekend! Here are a few of the things we did:

Saturday we went to Denny's as a family for breakfast. The girls shared a "Junior Slam" (this makes me laugh... I don't know why). While they chomped on their scrambled eggs and pancakes, Matt and I had breakfast too! After this, I used up my last massage certificate (Christmas presents) and had the GREATEST massage at Genesis Massage Studio & Salon. Hooray! While I was getting pampered, Matt installed the 3 new (and used) car seats for our 20+ pound toddlers! Now, they're all 3 facing forward and in a little row. SOOOO much easier to load, and they seem to enjoy the car ride more, now that they can see what's going on. Here's a pic of them in their seats:

Izzy and Ally holding hands :)

On Sunday, we went to church. Ally got to go with me to Wal-Mart after her nap, and we had friends over (Andrew, Courtney & Andi Mae) in the evening... a good day.

Monday, we planned on taking the girls to Tulsa, but Cheryl volunteered to watch the babies while Matt and I went by ourselves.... such a nice treat! We ate at The Cheesecake Factory, saw a movie ("Grown Ups- Really funny), then did some mattress shopping. (We have had it with our mattress!!!) We didn't buy on Monday, and decided to "sleep on it" (No pun intended).

Tuesday, we got up bright and early and trekked our way to Tulsa with the babies to do some more mattress shopping! We ended up with a mattress and a new Entertainment console for under the tv, which we needed too. While in Tulsa, we took the girls out to eat, then drove home just in time for their nap (maybe an hour late, but no biggie). That evening, feeling brave and (apparently) feeling like we hadn't eaten out enough already, we decided to make our way to a local restaurant for more food (I got a salad this time)! Once we were snuggled in at home, it started to storm, with pretty high winds and bad lightning. We heard a loud lightning strike, then the power went out for a few minutes. I thought I saw a flicker of light out the back window for a sec, but dismissed it, until a fire truck pulled up in front of our house!!! The next door neighbor's back yard was on fire!! It's so funny when you live in a small town, because my mom was calling me within 5 minutes to see if everything was ok. I was like, "how did you know?!" The firemen did a great job, and all is well in the hood. Here's a few pics of the event:

Backyard on fire...

The girls were intrigued with the firetruck out the window.... Notice what Abby (in pink) has to stand on to see out. Poor little shorty.

This reminds me of when I was 34 weeks pregnant with the girls, and afraid I was going to go into labor any moment. An ambulance pulled up to our house (the wrong house) and we were so on edge, we actually thought it was for me for a minute! So funny in hind sight!

Here's a few random pics of the girls:

Daddy throwing Izzy in the air (eek... makes me nervous, but she LOVES it)

Abigail has learned to use her hands to say "I don't know"

Izzy making a phone call... kept saying "hi-yee, hi-yee"

Here's a pic of Ally. She is in the process of getting 4 molars sprouting (top and bottom/both sides)... though you'd think this could potentially create a monster, she has been a little sweetie. She was also referred to (by strangers this weekend) as a "heartbreaker" and a "little doll".

Abby STANDING on the car. Being told promptly to sit on her bottom.

Abby and Izzy like to crawl under the side tables...

Izzy being ornery, under the table.

More Izzy....

Izzy in a little predicament....

Giggle buddies - tickling each other!

Here are 2 videos of the girls dancing to some music on one of their favorite shows, "Jacks Big Music Show".