Terrible...I mean Terrific- TWO's x3!

At 3 months into our "2's" , I am truly learning all of the challenges that come with toddlers. Thankfully, with these challenges come some of the most wonderful, hilarious, sweetest moments we have experienced so far. Once we are able to recover from a COMPLETE meltdown over getting an orange bowl instead of blue one OR watching Thomas the Train instead of Mickey Mouse clubhouse OR insisting on having the ball your brother has-even though you have the exact same ball in your hand; we have wonderful moments of playing hide and seek,sitting down and reading a book, singing Jesus loves me, dancing around the house with momma, wrestling with daddy, hearing the kids say their prayers and/or playing our new game "pop pop pig" (named by the kids:). I love hearing them sing songs (favorites at the moment-Jesus loves me, twinkle twinkle, baa baa black sheep) and "read" their books to themselves. Their personalities continue to emerge daily, with Braden being my tough/rough yet timid and reserved child. He still loves to sleep and is not much of a morning person.  He loves to color and is definitely a "lefty".  Kate- a very much so girly girl who loves her babies and stuffed animals. She has recently learned her letters and is able to name every letter and numbers 1-10! She likes to correct her brothers and I think will be "motherly" to them as they go through this toddler phase.  Brooks is still pretty much fearless.  Unfortunately, he is still pretty clumsy, so clumsy and fearless= accident waiting to happen!  Luckily, the little guy is pretty tough and handles the many bumps,bruises and scratches he has suffered very well. Brooks new saying this wk "Thank you sooo much" is just adorable.  He still likes to get up earlier than the other two most mornings and eat a bowl of Cheerios in mommy and daddy's bed while I get ready for work. Love these little kids more than words can express! I want slow time down and always remember this time when my babies are such sweet innocent children.
2013 is moving right on by and I can hardly believe Feb is already almost over! I have been pretty busy the past few wks working on some things for the house.  I got a crazy idea to redo/paint our dining room furniture and move it into kitchen. I am very pleased with how well it all turned out and  think it fits well in our kitchen area.  Next project will be to refurnish my now empty dining room then I will tackle the kids rooms. I am learning that a house is a constant 'work in progress' and is never done, so no reason to rush....it will get done when it gets done:)

11 days before Christmas 2012

Wanted to share this poem I heard earlier today.  Very moving and uplifting when thinking about the terrible tragedy that occured just less than 1 week ago in Newtown.  I am still terribly saddened by this unthinkable act of evil and very thankful for every day I am given with my precious children.

11 Days before Christmas 2012

T’was 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38

When 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air,

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say,

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

“Where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

“This is heaven.” declared a small boy. “We’re spending Christmas at God’s house.”

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

But Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same,

Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

And in that moment was joy that only heaven can bring

Those children all flew into the arms of their King.

And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

One small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had

He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”

Then He looked down on earth, the world far below,

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.

Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”

“May this country be delivered from the hands of fools,”

“I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!”

Then He and the children stood up without a sound,

“Come now my children, let me show you around.”

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran,

All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

“In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

Holiday Happenings

A wonderful Thanksgiving day has come and gone, leaving a month full of holiday fun (didnt mean for that to rhyme, but it sounds kinda catchy:) with birthday  parties (both young and old!), fun programs for the kids, hunting trip for Travis, and lots of shopping for me:)  I know some people do not care for this time of year, but i love it!  I love the shopping, wrapping Christmas gifts, Christmas music and receiving Christmas cards in mail from all of our wonderful friends and family.  A new tradition has also made this year even more fun for myself and the kids.  The first question I hear each morning is "where elf"?  I was hesitant to get an elf this year, thinking they wouldnt understand it, but boy do they!  They love coming downstairs each morning to find their elf, usually somewhere "way up high"-- to keep them from being able to get him down.  Our elf is unnamed at this point, and goes by "Mr. Elf", but hopefully will have a proper name by next Christmas.  The kids are really big on "baby Jesus" right now (I think it is due to a combination of bible class and some Christian videos we have that they LOVE!) and when I asked what they wanted to name their elf, they immediately said "Baby Jesus".....after trying to explain to 2 year olds why our elf could not be named baby Jesus, I decided to stick with Mr Elf for the year and let them try again next year!  Travis is gone for the weekend on a hunting trip that he has been looking forward to for quite a while, leaving me to referee the little ones alone.  I hope he has a great time because he definitely owes me big after this! Even though he is gone, we have a fun Saturday planned with Kate and I going with friends Becca and her dtr Kinsley to a program, while the boys spend the morning at our church kids Christmas party.  Next weekend, we are planning to take the kids to Shrek on Ice with wonderful friends Adam and Lane Booten then having our first "Christmas" with the Morris family.  I know it is stereotypical, but I cant help but think how blessed we are, especially this time of the year!  Merry Christmas!

Tutus and Ties Birthday Party

Hard to believe the kids have just had their 2nd birthday party!  The day was wonderful filled with a house full of a wonderful family, 3 happy toddlers and more toys than we have house for:) Though it was a little (okay, a lot!) crazy at times, the kids were great and LOVED all their new gifts!  I am so thankful to be part of such a loving, generous family! Looking forward to the holidays that are now just around the corner!

Fall Fun 2012-10/22/12

The past month has been filled with some good and memorable times.  Travis and I ran our first Warrior Dash with friends Drew and Becca Cox.  It was a fun and dirty 5K run filled obstacles and mud pits you must get through to cross the finish line.   We have been trying to soak up the beautiful fall weather lately, attending MTSU football games, playing outside and having a blast with our first time fingerpainting (which turnied into bodypainting) with Lane.  The kids were so funny with the fingerpainting activity and really showed their personalities that day.  Kate, of course, loved the paint and did not hesitate to dive in and get dirty.  Braden was pretty much indifferent, painting a little here and there.  Brooks was hilarious, not wanting to get too dirty or get paint on him.
Kate has hit a new stage--the "I want no one except momma" stage.  Honestly, I do love how much she loves me right now (as I know this is only a stage that she will too soon outgrow), however, it does make the balancing act of sharing myself b/t all 3 of them a bit more difficult.  I figured out just today that Kate and Braden are getting their 2 year molars which has also increased their aggitation level.  Kate has been waking up 2-4 times every night for the past 2 weeks and Braden has been literally chewing on his fingers.  I am sure Brooks will have his soon as well, as he has started drooling nonstop lately.
Braden had his first haircut last week.  His hair on top is not too long, but he was starting to delevop a mild mullet in the back, so we had to get a trim!  He was so good!  He sat in the chair like a big boy, not fussing or whining even one time!  I was so proud of my sweet little handsome man.  Brooks joined Braden and had his 2nd cut and did great as well!  I was one proud momma, getting to tell people that both of the handsome boys were mine! 
We had our family/ 2 year old pics taken last week.  To say the photo session was TERRIBLE would be quite the understatement. As we arrived for the photo session, I felt calm and prepared.  Everyones clothes had been ironed the night before, I had all the necessary accessories with me and even decided to bring some props of my own for some photo ideas I had.  It is funny/sad/frustrating how quickly all my plans went right down the drain.  Everyone gets out of the vehicle looking so nice and in I thought good moods.  I planned the kids day around the pics, so everyone would be rested with a full belly and ready for great pics.  We had practiced our "CHEEEESE" face for 2 weeks and thought we were ready for the day until we walked up to meet our photographer (who did great on our pics last year) and her husband who was with her to assist.  The next thing I knew, I looked down at Kate (who was of course in my arms) and realized she had closed her eyes and would not open them to look at the photographer.  I think she thought it was funny at first, as she was acting a little shy, hiding her head in my shoulder, but for the life of me, I could not get the child to open her eyes!  So, here we are with the photographer and one of my children has decided to squeeze her eyes shut and will not open them for anything!  Thankfully, Brooks and Braden were loving the camera that day and doing a great job hamming it up, which gave me time to try to coax Kate into opening her eyes.  Eventually, after abour 20 min of her literally walking around with her eyes closed (holding my hand of course), she decides to open her eyes, but would still not step 2 feet away from me.  Oh the frustration, knowing you are paying good money for someone to come take your kids pics, and then have your daughter act this way!  She finally opened up a little and gave us a couple very brief periods of smiling, hopefully enough to have at least one decent shot of her, but our photographer definitely earned her pay that day.  I havent seen the pics yet, but am not getting my hopes up too high that we have a lot of good shots after a day like that!
As I looked through the calender earlier today, to see what we had going on in the next few weeks, I realized that the holiday season is rapidly approaching.  Between Halloween, Kids SECOND Birthday!, Thanksgiving and Christmas--the rest of our year is looking pretty busy!  Over the next few weeks, I want to savor my ONE  year old babies.  This year has passed by so quickly and I can not believe they are almost 2! 

So long summer

Hard to believe that summer 2012 is officially over!  It was a hot summer, we were able to enjoy some good times outside ("outeye outeye" per my kids); but I am now really looking forward to some cooler fall weather.  I love all things fall--beautiful fall colors with changing leaves, fall food, football and fun holidays.

This summer was filled with more "firsts" for the Morris triplets.  Our first trip as a family to the Nashville zoo, first outing to the Discovery Zone with Lane, first haircut for Brooks, and our first family camping trip to Fall Creek Falls.  We did quite a bit of swimming/splashing at Pops and Losi's/Gramps and Gigi's pools and had fun cooling off in our own baby pool as well. 

As the kids continue to grow, they reveal more and more of their unique, individual personalities.  Kate is definitely a "girly girl".  I came home recently to find her wearing multiple bracelets (toy rings) on each arm prancing around in my shoes---Adorable!  She still loves her baby and Teddy and doesnt go anywhere far without them.  She needs to have her booboo's kissed and prefers to be "lolo" (lotioned) regularly. Her vocabulary grows daily and has progressed to 2 and 3 word sentences now.  She has learned to say "hold me" and therefore, wants to be picked up a lot now!   She repeats anything said around her and loves to sing (often hums the tune of Twinkle Twinkle).  She knows her colors and can count to 3 (sometimes:)--sorry for so much bragging, remember this is written by a proud mama!   Brooks still loves to look at books and "read" them aloud.  He loves to play "upsairs" on the slide and has mastered the color/shape sorter puzzle.  His vocabulary is also growing daily .  He loves playing with our phones and began saying this word ("phone") just this week.  Braden loves working puzzles and is great at buiding towers with his blocks (future engineer???).  He also likes to look at books and push anything not nailed down to the floor (including his brother and sister at times!)  I believe his vocabulary is comparable to Brooks, neither are quite as extensive as Kates, but definitely evolving on a near daily basis.

They are all great at playing together sometimes, but other times (more often than not lately) they prefer to fight over a toy/item the other one has (for example, I have 4 different mops/brooms--enough for everyone!, but each time I pull one out to mop, all 3 will fight over the same broom/mop!!! ) The tantrums have begun occurring more frequently and are much more dramatic lately.  I feel we are just entering the terrible 2 stage and honestly fear what we have in store for the next year (or two).   I feel the " time out chair" will be a frequently visited spot in our house over the next couple of years!  

19 Months

So we were a little late on our 18 month check up (it actually fell on the day they turned 19 mo old), but "late" seems to be how we do most things these days.  It seems no matter how hard I try to get everyone up and ready in time to be anywhere, we usually end up late.  I am still using the triplets as an excuse....I figure I can blame them for my tardiness for at least another 3-4 years:)
Everyone had a good check up except, of course, for the shot at the end of the appt.  Braden remains my biggest weighing 26LBS! Kate is right behind at 24lbs and Brooks 21lbs.  I knew Braden was quite a bit bigger than Brooks, but I did not realize he was 5lbs bigger.  I am so proud of these sweet kiddos and so thankful for their continued overall good health and development. 

Triplet: a set of 3 (totally different!!!) items

It has been a big week in the Morris household--the kids hit the 18 month milestone, Travis and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary, and I started a new job. We are so blessed and reminded of God's love daily through the innocent, sweet spirit of our children. 
Although Braden, Brooks and Kate were all crammed together in my belly at the same time, were born on  the same day, and have relatively had the same experiences since they entered the world...Boy, are they DIFFERENT!  Their personalities seem to emerge more everyday, revealing the differences between these triplets.

Kate, my precious, loving, thumb sucking, sassy pants is living up to her "red head" persona these days.  She is mostly a sweet little girl who loves her teddy and tells you "night night" when she is ready for bed; but recently, her "sassy" side has emerged revealing a feistier side to my beloved little girl. She has learned to say "no no" and likes to tell the boys this when they are doing something they shouldn't---I think we will know who will be in charge:) She seems to have a harder time sitting through church and has begun "mini tantrums" to get her way. The sassier side comes on full force when she is tired!  We recently attempted to go eat at a restaurant with my grandmother for mothers day.....bad idea!  Travis was unable to go, but my parents were going, so I thought I could handle it...I was wrong and it will be a while before we enter a restaurant again.  The boys did pretty well, but Kate was tired and a pistol to say the least.  She did not want to sit down and preferred to roam the restaurant "reading" her book to strangers at tables nearby.  Thankfully, most of the tables around us were empty and those that did have customers were very nice and understanding.

Braden, my strong, energetic, fearful, lover of food, occasionally affectionate, sensitive, son.  Braden is a fun, energetic little boy.  He has a smile that literally spreads from ear to ear which lights up his entire face.  He still loves his " Mr elephant(s)" and paci when it is time to sleep.  He is a GREAT sleeper and often has to be woken up for meals.  He loves to sleep or even just lie in his bed and play until someone comes to get him.  He has always been a bit of a "clinger" when you hold him (he wraps his legs around you and squeezes so you cant put him down) and likes to fidget ( squeeze/pinch the back of my arm when I am holding him or mess with my fingernails).  He loves to please others and gets really proud of himself when he puts something in the trash.  He is also the best at the "clean up" game and will actually put toys up when asked...although they typically come right back out.  He is scared to death of the vacuum and Swiffer mop which mean I am usually holding him as I vacuum or swiffer the house.

Brooks, my fearless, clumsy, cuddley, daddy look-a-like, whiny, occasionally shy son who loves books and going outside.  Brooks is and has really always been the best cuddler of my 3 kiddos.  He knows how to curl up on you and snuggle just right to make it nearly impossible to put him down.  He has mastered this technique with his Losi and Gigi especially.  He loves looking at books and will sit and look at the same book for 15-20 minutes some days.  He is a bit clumsy, but this is not totally his fault...his feet are slightly inverted (turned in) which causes him to trip quite a bit more than Braden or Kate.  I feel sure this slight inversion will correct itself as he grows, but until then, I am a nervous wreck watching him play outside just waiting for the next tumble.  Despite his clumsiness, he is fearless ( a bad combination!). He climbs in, around, and over anything he can find and likes to navigate obstacles on his own without any help.  He is whiny.  I feel kind of bad saying this, but it is true.  He whines to be held multiple times a day, most days.  I say whine because they are rarely tears involved in these fussy spells.  He loves Macy and Mo ("Mamy and Mo") and scares me when he gets a little too close to them to try and pet them.

This post has ended up quite a bit longer than I was expecting, but I want to be able to look back in the future and remember the different stages we went through.  I know if I leave it all to memory, much of it will be forgotten.  I am nervous as we approach a new stage with smarter, more independent, much more mobile triplet toddlers, but I am also very excited to watch them continue to grow and learn daily.