Oh little girls - is there anything cuter?

Okay so any of you that have both boys and girls (or are around both often) know that oh, are they different! I'm a firm believer that we come with our personalities already formed and that our genders have a HUGE impact on our mood, temperament and ways that we react. Case in point... my sweet Rio is SO funny, loving, silly and sweet and yet SO emotional! Translation... moody and a little tantrum thrower at the drop of a hat! To be honest, it's kind of funny :)

Anyway, this post is for my little loving and silly Rio - we love you so much sweetie and all your emotions - good and not so good!

Lately, Rio has been getting attached to certain objects (including mama's hip, leg and lap - she's my little shadow) that she finds interesting for the day or a few days. Right now, she loves her sunglasses and when she sees them, she insists on wearing them either on her eyes, top of her head or around her neck (which by the way, she will tantrum if they fall of her head/neck - of course). So here is my bathing beauty in her glasses, diaper and nothing else since she got soaking wet a few moments before.

Let's just say that some of us had a hard time deciding whether or not it was summer or winter this day. Seriously? Could she be any cuter? She saw me putting away winter type stuff and she once again insisted on wearing this winter hat - pretty much all day :) along with her sun dress.

Another favorite of Rio's at the moment are these little silver shoes that I believe actually belong to our cute neighbor and friend Eliza. But one morning Rio saw them in her closet and kept saying, "shoe, shoe" and at first I couldn't understand her so she kept getting more and more frustrated until I finally figured out which shoes she wanted - the pretty silver ones of course!

***I just realized that in two of these pics, she isn't wearing clothes - please know she actually does have clothing and she does wear it... it just so happens that the first pic was a product of playing in the water and this one was during the "getting dressed and diapers changed" part of the morning.

I love you sweet Rio - you are a true joy in my day :)

Is Summer really here???

Okay so honestly, could it really be summertime? I'm not sure if I should put away the long sleeves and pants and jackets/coats for good or keep them out a little longer - it's driving me crazy! But... I've been loving this weather lately - it is so fun to let the kids out so much and they are so loving the sun and water. We are dorky bird loving people so when we go outside, the kids always look for "birs" (birds) now - I love it! They are talking so much more lately and this time in their little lives is so fun - wow, do they change so quickly. I have to remind myself everyday to love these moments and eat them up.

Spence is so busy with work, school and church stuff and is often not home a lot so my sweet dad is so helpful and comes over a mows our lawn for us sometimes but really I think he just likes the riding mower :) My kids were terrified the first time we pulled out the mower but now they love it! Rio constantly wants to sit on it in the garage and everytime we go into the garage Austin has to go look at it and he attempts to say his version of "lawnmower." He says the same thing everytime so I know exactly what he is saying - what a cutie! Anyway, the kids LOVE "granpa" and get so sad if they can't see him so I pulled out the laundry baskets over to the window and let them watch him mow one day. They loved it!! Not the best pic but I love that they were glued to the window watching him.

We've been to the park a few times with our little play group (thanks Meliss and Alicia for asking us to come with - we love it!) What a new experience these guys are having with swings, slides and sandboxes! I love that everything is so new to them this year - what a joy!

We had a family reunion on Spence's side of the family a week or so ago at a fun park. There was a huge duck pond and the kids loved it! They wanted to go into the water with them - GROSS!!! It took all we had to stop them from walking right in but we did hear a ton of "quack, quacks." Spence's family is great and we love them so much - we walked around with our cousins and aunts and uncles and played on the swings and slides. My kids are slide lovers! Rio especially, she doesn't ever want to get off and they don't quite understand the "taking turns" concept with other kids just yet. We've got to learn that quick because I know we will be at parks the whole summer.

Aunt Erin was pushing Jax and he almost fell asleep he loved it so much!

I got the kids these little chairs and they love them and want to take them everywhere they go - they go outside, down the stairs... we've even had attempts of taking them into the car and into their cribs during naps - so sad when they can't nap with their chairs :( Even Lennox has been enjoying the nice weather!

Why is it that little boys are attracted to everything messy and anything that stains!! Drives me crazy but on the other hand, I love it! Austin cannot get enough of water and mud! He thinks it's the best thing in the world.

Austin and his "mud pox" - I was watering the flowers and turned my back to him and the next thing I saw was this little muddy boy. But oh, was he happy!!!

Fun Play Date & TMNO

Since I'm trying to be better at adding info quicker so my posts aren't so long, I thought I would quickly add this post and pics. I'm so grateful everyday to be a "triplet mommy." Well, a mom at all for that matter - it really is a blessing that any of us get to bring these children into the world because anyone with infertility issues knows - it takes a miracle that's for sure.

Anyway, because of my little three, I get to part of this great group of mommies that I've mentioned before and here are a few pics of my sweet and always helpful friends.

Love you crazy mommies :)

We know have 59 members of our group - triplets are the "new" twins and yet people are always so shocked to see us out and about. And the number just keeps growing and growing and growing... HOW FUN!

My triplet mama friend Roxy and I got together again for another play date last week and we all had such a great time. Her kids are amazing and so sweet! Can't wait to do it again!

PS - does anyone else think Jax is beginning to look the same in every pic? Ha-ha :)

He really is such a funny and happy kid but in most pictures, he is Mr. Serious - what a silly billy! Love you cutie pie! Oh! and just in case anyone was concerned about his recent 'bath hating episode' - well.... We're Back in Business...

Mother's Day 2011

I love Mother's Day! I think even going through the "infertility years" I still liked it minus maybe one or two years where I pretended it didn't exist (you know what I'm talking about Ranie - thanks again). It really is such a great day to remember all the fabulous women in my life. I have the best mom & sister, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law and the best girl-friends ever!

However, around here Sundays are NOT the funnest day since our naps are cut in half and we end up staying up later sometimes too... poor little things. So... that evening we went over to Spence's mom's house after visiting with my mom (love you mom). We hung out with his fam for a bit too long and therefore these pics came a little too late in the day :)

HA-HA - not the happiest "we love you mommy" pic but I couldn't expect more on a long Sunday. I love you Jax, Austin and Rio. I'm the luckiest mommy ever :)

April Update 2011

Well, once again, I've let an entire month go by and not posted. I have got to get better!!! I hate posting long posts since it takes too long to read and so I apologize!
Anyway, here we go...

We were able to do so many fun things with our friends and family. I didn't get pics of all of them but I have a few. We had our first triplet play date with our friends Reese, Avery and Lucas, my friend Roxy's kids. They had so much fun and so did I :) Thanks Roxy!

We finally got to see our new little friend Evan as well - my friend Ranie's new little baby and his adorable brother McKay. We already love Evan so much!

We also were able to play with Melissa and Alicia's kids at the Aquarium. What a cute place! My kids are probably a little young still to grasp the idea of it but they loved the penguins - it was really cute to watch them stare at them. We got a big group pic below - so cute! Thanks you two - we love you and your cute kids!

My kids are totally into "playing cozy" lately too. I just say, "let's get cozy" and they'll grab a pillow and lay down and roll around - it's so cute how they understand so much at such a young age. So the other pics are them "getting cozy" with their cousins, Ella and Brinlee and grandma & daddy.

I have more fun "play pics" below but my favorite "event" of the month has got to be the pics below! I was at a fun triplet mom night out and so Spence was with the kids. He gave them baths and got them in their pj's and then was cleaning up the bathroom while the kids played in their room. Well, little did he know what they were ReAlLy doing...

Oh yah, that's Desitin alright! Caked on Desitin! But seriously, how cute are they? Jax looks so adorable with his beard and Rio with her hands completely covered. And of course, my sweet and more reserved Austin just has a little on him. However, they did cover my hardwood floors just outside their room and the rails of their cribs as well. I can say how cute they are because I wasn't here but Spence wasn't quite as happy as I was looking at the pics when I got home. He thinks it's hilarious now however :) Oh, the joys of simply turning your head for just one brief moment. (By they way, it was my fault that the Desitin lid wasn't all the way on :) Oops! )

EASTER:

We had such a great time doing "fun" Easter things this month. We had an awesome egg hunt at a park by our house. The kids didn't quite do the hunt on their own however but it was really fun. We ran into some friends there too that we hadn't seen in awhile which was so fun and saw a bunch of our great neighbors too. We also did a fun egg hunt which the kids actually did do at Grandma & Grandpa Morris' house. The kids loved it! Thanks so much for such a fun hunt! We love you :)

Another favorite thing we were able to do this month was go with Melissa and her boys to an adorable farm place where they had the cutest petting zoo I've ever seen! My kids had a blast!! They couldn't get enough - we really could have stayed there all day! The petting zoo had a baby cow, goats; including a baby one, sheep; including a baby one, pigs, chickens, rabbits, and a donkey. It was so fun for my kids - they sat down with them and would go up to each animal and pet them with no hesitation. I cannot wait to go back again. Thanks Melissa for thinking of it and letting us go with you :)
I wanted to put these other fun pics below because I thought they were so cute! I know everyone thinks that their kids are so funny but mine are no different! I laugh everyday so many times a day that I couldn't count. Bathtimes are a riot! Jax especially - as you can see below. He is so dang cute - he is sitting in his Bumbo chair because he LOVES to kick and splash and he can't if he doesn't sit in one so he gets a Bumbo while the other two just sit or stand. He is so happy and cute. (However, in the last week or so, he has started to be afraid of the water and acts really nervous now - he won't even sit down :( It makes me so sad because honestly two weeks ago, he laughed and smiled the whole time - WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!) Any thoughts???

Anyway, these last two pics are my other two sillies. Rio loves necklaces and bracelets already! Kids come with certain likes and interests don't they? If she can't find one of mine, she'll find something to become a necklace. I have one pic where she has about 5 shell necklaces around her neck and this lovely pair of goggles as well. She found them in one of our gym bags one day and hasn't stopped wanting to play with them ever since. She uses it as a necklace or giant bracelet but she also figured out, (with my help of course) that they can go on her eyes too! Austin joined in the fun as well and laughs so hard when he wears the goggles. He will walk around for 15 minutes at a time with them on just laughing with Rio. Silly kids!

How lucky am I right? I love you three!

March in Review

I've been a horrible blogger lately and I've got to be better because this is my "journal" - sort of :) and we have been doing tons of fun things. Our great friends, the Maughans went through a whirlwind of a journey this last year and we have been privileged to be a small part of their experience. They had a fabulous "Run for Love" for their sweet baby Evan who was welcomed to their family this month (after a long and crazy few weeks I might add ) and we all strolled along in the walk/run with our family. Spence's family was so great to support them too and they all came out to enjoy the great day with us. What a great day it was and we love them so much and are so grateful for their new addition to their family!

For those of you that live around here, you know the weather has been hit and miss with it being wonderful and sunny and then a few days later it is cold and snowy again. BUT... we have gotten out of every single good day and enjoyed the sun and playing with our friends. Our sweet neighbors, the Jenkins gave this "chopper" blow up to kids and they absolutely love it. I think one big thing I'm learning as a mom is that kids will enjoy anything with balls, sound and somewhere to dive into. Rio now jumps through the windows of this helicopter and thinks she is the coolest thing ever :) What a cutie! This day we got to enjoy it with our next door neighbor friends, Adyson, Isaac and Liza.

We also got a great birthday present that has been hidden away for a rainy/snowy day and our my sweet dad came over to visit one day and we set up their way cool tent and tube. Here's Jax playing peek-a-boo and Austin and Rio cruisin' through the tube. So much fun for them.

Another fun rainy/snowy day activity we attempted was playing with our Elmo chair and a box Austin found. Grandma & Uncle Marc taught the kids how to put Elmo in the box and get pushed around - it's so cute but on this attempt, they ALL wanted in the box - didn't quite pan out as you can see from Austin's face :)

Another day when it was warm and sunny, we went out in our backyard and went up and down and up and down the stairs of our deck until we had mastered steps and then my sweet Rio sat on the grass and just picked through it for seriously 20 minutes. And the whole time she had her little feet crossed like this. She is seriously so dang cute! I generally hate feet but I can't get enough of hers.

Another great thing that happened this month is that Spence started a new job. It's been very different for all of us with this change but one of the best things about it for me is getting to see the kids faces as he walks through the door when he gets home. They literally RUN for the door and all want to be picked up! And being the great dad that he is, he does! Can't get any better than this can it?

*And speaking of fun changes... we changed our infant car seats into "big kid" seats this month - they absolutely LoVe them! So cute and fun to be able to turn around and see their cute faces in the car. I'm so lucky!

Triple the Fun at the ZOO!

Triplet Zoo Day 4/1/11

At our last TMNO, we all decided we wanted to get together with our kids. One of my triplet mom friends, Diana (who I also got this cute choo-choo wagon and umbrellas from - thanks Diana), well her husband works with KSL and when he found out we were all headed up to the zoo, he wanted to do a story about it. It was featured on the news last night and I thought the story was so cute that I had to post it here too. I had a work thing right at the same time that KSL was meeting us up there so I asked my sweet dad to help me out and take them up for me and I'd meet him there later. He, of course, being a fabulously loving father and grandpa, said he would. So you'll see him pulling my 3 on the news feature. So cute! We got so many great pics but I'll just post a few here. What a fun day and honestly couldn't have blindly picked a better weather day - 70 degrees :)

Cute baby elephant - my kids were more interested in their wagon and fruit snacks at the time

Here's the news link with video:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ksl.com%2F%3Fnid%3D148%26sid%3D14975355&h=ec554