January 2012

Wow!  Cant believe it has been a month since my last post--and I cant believe January is about to come to an end- Already!  Everyone says "the older you get, the faster times goes by"--I am only 28!!!  I can not imagine how quickly the days will pass in 10-20 years! 
Well this month has been a pretty good one.  We had another round of cold/fever/cough/runny nose spread between the kids in mid January.  It lasted about a week, but we made it through.  We have had approx 1 week of good health since then, so I figured it was about right when I picked up Brooks earlier today and could immediately tell he had a fever (101.9)  UGHH!!  Here we go again!
Exciting news....Braden is walking!  Braden decided to take his first steps Thursday (1/26/12).  He has been very close to taking off for the past few weeks, so I knew he would be on 2 feet teeter-tottering around soon.  Brooks is not quite ready to walk, although he has definitely been showing more interest in trying to walk in the past week.  I feel sure he will be up moving like the other two very soon!  Kate has become even more steady on her feet and walks much more than she crawls these days.  She is still a very sweet baby girl who loves to "give love" by hugging, kissing, blowing kisses.  Her latest trick is being able to identify and name a duck AND say "quack quack" (which actually sounds more like dquack dquack").  
We attempted our first weekend trip with the kids this month.  Last weekend we took a short trip to Gatlinburg with my parents, brother and sister in law.  We had a great time, especially since Gramps and Gigi offerred to keep the kids in their condo, leaving us a room to ourselves and 2 good nights of sleep:) The packing required to take 3 babies on a simple weekend trip is overwhelming.  Our vehicle looked more like we were moving to Gatlinburg, rather than staying only 2 nights.  Despite all the work it took to actually get there, we had a great time.  The kids did pretty well.  Kate definitely knew she was out of her usual setting and off schedule, but overall did good.
2012 off to a good start--cant wait to see what the rest of the year will bring!

Christmas 2011

If I were to use one word to sum up Christmas 2011, I would use "blessed".  If I were to use two words, I would add "Busy"!  Although this was not technically the kids first Christmas, it was the first Christmas we were able to be together as a family.  The crazy holiday weekend started off Friday night at Pops and Losi's house and didnt end until Sunday night.  Between Friday night and Sunday, we attended SIX Christmas's!  I say we are Blessed for so many reasons--but largely because of our wonderful families with which we were able to spend Christmas.  We are so thankful that all of our family lives close, so we get to see everyone on Christmas, however this makes for a chaotic holiday.  Packing a car for a day trip with 13mo old triplets feels like you are packing for a month long vacation--pack n playsx3, bumbo with traysx3, clothesx3, extra clothes x3...you get the idea., BUT it is so worth it! 
Memorable moment from the weekend--as we were traveling from Christmas #5 in Lewisburg to #6 in Chattanooga, we learned that one of our children does not handle curvy roads very well.  I wont go into detail, but lets just say Braden did not tolerate the hilly, curvy roads well.  We had to strip the poor little guy down outside in the cold and clean his car seat with wet wipes after he decided to lose his lunch in the car.  Needless to say, the car had a terrible odor for the remainder of the ride!
All in all, the kids did great with all of the activities.  They were so tired from the extra excitement that they were able to nap and sleep well.  I look forward to Christmas in the future when the children understand Santa and wake up at the break of dawn Christmas morning to see what Santa has brought them.

Stomach bug hits the Morris Home HARD!

Over the past year I have made note of many "ups and downs" in our crazy life.  Thankfully, the "ups" far outweigh the "downs", but we are going to need a lot of positivity in the next few weeks to outweigh this past weekend:) 
The entire Morris household was hit with the stomach bug.  It all began Friday morning when I woke up feeling a little uneasy.  I brushed it off, but knew it was more than "a headache from being tired" when I went to get Brooks up and found he had been sick over the night (poor baby).  I wont give a play by play of the entire weekend; but sick, smelly, cranky, and just plain Gross pretty much sum it up.  Luckily, Travis and I timed our illness perfectly (I was sick on Friday and then Travis got it on Saturday) so someone was able to take care of the kids while the other was laid up in bed.  My wonderful mother was a HUGE help, but unfortunately became ill on Saturday night.  Within 3 days, all 5 of us + my mom and dad got the bug. The women seem to handle the "bug" a little better than our significant others (my mom and I were better 24-36hrs after symptoms began, where as dad and Travis are still not up to par).  The kids have been very cranky (understandable) and dirty (we will just leave it at that:)
I feel like we have used more Lysol this weekend than the past year combined and my hands are literally hurting from washing them so much.  I feel sure that this will not be the only stomach bug that wreaks havoc on our house, but I sure hope that the kids are potty trained by the time we are hit by the next one!
On a positive note, I am thankful that the illness hit us this weekend, rather than next weekend (Christmas)!

December 4, 2011

12 Month Check up last week went well.  They all still weigh 1 lb apart weighing 20lb 10.5oz-Braden, 19lbs 11oz-Kate, and 18lbs 11.5oz-Brooks.  They have been very consistent with their weight gain so far.  Kate hit a big milestone last week when she was the first to take off walking.  She is getting better everyday at tetter-tottering her way around the house.  Braden will attempt 1-2 steps, but then decides crawling is much easier.  Brooks walks all around the house with push toys (or boxes, or whatever he can find), but has not attempted walking independently just yet.  I still cant believe my babies are ONE!  They are doing great with solid foods and are still very good eaters (I am crossing my fingers that they will stay this way!).  The most difficult issue we are facing right now is the constant cough, cold, runny nose,etc.  They just cant seem to get rid of the cough and runny nose--although I am totally over it!  MD said they are not contagious, but Kate still sounds pretty bad when she has a coughing episode.  I am hoping this will pass soon, but fear we may have a few months of the "crud".  I attempted the transition this week from bottle to sippy cup (since we were able to move to whole milk), but...this did not go as well as hoped--actually, it went terrible.  All 3 of them decided to scream until they received their milk in their bottle, so I gave in and went back to bottle.  I have heard that sometimes you have to try different cups to find one they will like, so the search is on for the perfect sippy so we can get rid of all of these bottles!  I have posted their new 12 mo shots--photography by Gambill Photography.

Our Little Pumpkins are ONE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABIES!  It is hard to believe that my little pumpkins are 1!  ONE, not months anymore, but we are now counting by years!  How is it possible that an entire year has passed since the morning I woke to find my water had broke? A year since Travis and I were making our daily trips to the Baptist NICU, a year since I was alternating nights with my mom sleeping on the hardwood floor to listen for babies and keep them on their 3 hour feeding schedule.  A YEAR!  Oh the difference a year can make!
 As I think back over the past year, I am overwhelmed with emotion and the feelings of thankfulness, joy, fatigue, anxiety, sadness and love.  Some of the happiest and hardest moments of my life have occurred over the past year, and I would not change it for anything.  Every scary, anxious, tired, hard moment of the past year has been completely outnumbered by the wonderful, happy, joyous, funny moments.  I would like to say that the past year has been easy...but I won't.  The past year has been hard, sometimes very hard; however, I feel sure that all first time parents experience hard times during the first year.  The hard times that we experience on a weekly/daily/sometimes hourly basis have been made much easier by the help of family, friends and a strong faith in God. I have said many times over the past year that we would not make it without our wonderful family--I am sure I would be a crazy (or crazier) woman without them!
One year ago today, when God blessed Travis and I with the greatest gifts I could imagine, our lives were forever changed.  Goals and priorities shifted, "alone" time became a very rare treat and our grocery bill tripled! BUT  I now understand "a mother's love".  I feel so blessed to be able to experience this kind of love that is like no other.
As time continues to fly by and we begin our second year with these precious babies, I cant help but be a little sad.  Sad that we are done with "the baby phase" (a phase that we will probably never have in our house again).  I am sad to they are outgrowing the sweet baby swings and bouncy seats and moving on to mobile toys, but progress and growth is all part of life.  I am thankful for their lives and the challenges they have brought into my life.  I love you (Braden, Brooks and Kate) more than you will ever know--Happy Birthday!

October 15, 2011--A year of Blessings

One year ago today was one of the scariest days of my life.  October 15, 2010 was the day I went in for my scheduled 26 week check up and was put into the hospital.  Had I known prior to this appt that I was not going to return home until 6 weeks later there are a few things that I would have done (pack, finalize nursery, clean my house).  I remember going in for my US before seeing my MD as usual.  As far as I knew, everything was fine, the actual MD appt went well, BUT there was one more US test that my MD wanted to check before I left.  Travis met me at this appt, but since I thought all was well, I had sent him home before I went in for the 2nd US.  After the US, I was supposed to be sent home, however the US tech told me that my MD would go over the findings with me.  A little confused about why the MD wanted to see me again, but not really worried, I returned to her office.  The next thing I knew, I was hearing her on the phone outside my room admitting me to the hospital.  WHAT?  I must have misunderstood--everything had been fine just a few minutes ago, why did I need to be admitted to hospital?  Dr. Saig came in and calmly explained to me the findings of the US (placenta insufficiency for baby C--Brooks) and said that it was time for me to go on to Baptist.  I lost it immediately.  I still didnt really understand what was going on, I just knew that I was scared.  26 Weeks was way too early for my sweet babies to come into this world (and much sooner than my original [slightly unrealistic] goal of 35 weeks). 
The next five weeks were filled with many ups and downs.  I had incredible nurses and doctors who took wonderful care of my babies and I.  I am still very thankful for all of the prayers that went up for my family.  Unfortunately, it is often in time of need when you (I) really fall to your knees and see how much you need faith in God and the support of a wonderful Christian family.  God is so good and has blessed us with 3 healthy babies. 
Thank You to all of my friends and family who have gotten us through this past year--we are forever grateful for your love and support!

"Fall" has a whole new meaning this year!

As we enter fall of this year, I realize that our fall season is going to be filled with many "falls" (not to mention the bruises and bumps that go with it) .  A house with (almost) 10 month old triplets is an accident just waiting to happen.  They are fearless and into EVERYTHING!  Just today, I discovered they are no longer safe anywhere except their cribs.  They began climbing out of bouncy seats (while strapped in) a few wks ago and just today I found Kate climbing out of exersaucer with her head inches fom the floor!  Although this phase is a little scary for me, it is also so much fun (well...most of the time).  It is so awesome watching them grow, explore and learn about the world around them. 
MD checkup this week went great!  Braden weighs 18lbs 8oz, Kate is 17lbs 11oz and Brooks is 16lbs 2 oz.  Brooks is still lagging behind a little with wt, however, I am sure part of this is due to his high level of activity.  He is small and VERY ACTIVE which I think is preventing him from putting on as much wt as the others.  MD said everything was looking good and he was pleased that they seem to be hitting all of their milestones on schedule.  We scheduled our next appt for their 1 year check up!!  Cant believe our babies are almost one!
As far as life for Travis and I, things are going well.  The rest of the year is filling up fast and I am afraid it will be Christmas before we know it!  We are really looking forward to our trip which is coming up in a few weeks, but I am already nervous about leaving the little ones. I know they will be fine, but it still makes me a little anxious when I think about leaving. 
I know I have been awful about updating pics, but extra time is pretty rare these days...hope to have some on here soon!

September 3, 2011

My how a couple of weeks can change a household--especially one with nine month old triplets.  The time has come that I have been anxiously awaiting--mobile babies!  Brooks was actually the first one to crawl a couple of weeks ago.  He was the last to sit up on his own, but the first to crawl.  He is fearless at this point and is actually very fast.  He has mastered crawling and is now working on climbing and pulling up.  He is able to pull up to stand in his crib (mattresses have to be moved down) and on most furniture.  He is a little sneaky and likes to crawl/climb into bouncy seats backwards (bc he knows he is not supposed to--i am convinced he knows exactly what he is doing).  About 1-2 days after Brooks began crawling around the house, Braden caught on (he had been leap frogging to move from place to place).  He too likes to pull up to stand on anything he can find and then gets upset bc he seems to not know what to do next.  He is pretty vocal at this point--lots of dadadada and babababa, but no actual words yet.  Kate decided to join in on the crawling earlier this week and is now able to keep up with the boys.  They all seem very focused on the gross motor skills right now, so communication is taking a back seat.  They babble quit a bit, but I am really wanting to hear a consistent mama....guess it may be a while.
We tried toast for the first time yesterday, which went well.  I have yet to find a food that these babies dont like--hopefully this means they will be good eaters!  I also offered them water in a sippy cup for the first time earlier this week.  I am not sure how much water they actually drank, but they did good with the cups. 
Braden has been going through some major teething over the past few weeks as well--he now has 5 teeth (2 on top and 3 on bottom).  Kate and Brooks act like they are teething, but still only have the 2 bottom teeth right now.
Life for Travis and I has definitely become harder.  It is really difficult to get anything done during the day when you have to keep your eyes on 3 babies ALL THE TIME! They are such hazards to themselves right now--they are mobile and fearless--a bad combination!  Plus, with all the teething going on, at least one baby wakes up almost every night now.  I am not complaining, just givining reasons why my house may not always be kept as neat, tidy and put together as I would like.
I am really looking forward to our next MD appt in a couple of weeks--I am curious to see where they are on the growth charts.  I believe Braden and Kate will be in the normal ranges, but think Brooks may still be a little small for his age.  He is definitely growing, just smaller than the other two.
We are very excited about the start of football season this weekend and look forward to a good and busy fall--this year is flying by!