A great visit so far with the girls

The girls arrived on 7/13 and we lost about 6 days due to flu. As soon as we could we jumped into doing stuff with the whole family.

One of the first things we did as soon as Kaitlyn felt better was to go to the Sparks Farmers Market on Victorian Square. It happens to be right outside The Nugget where I work, so we thought it would be fun to take them. Kaitlyn and Gillian had never been to a farmers market, so they enjoyed it. However, the little guys were pretty restless and we couldn't stay long. I was glad they got a glimpse of how fun it is to try the fruit samples, so the booths and entertainment that makes the farmers market really fun.

Weekend with Grandma

Library

West Street Market/Truckee River

Kings Beach Tahoe

New wii game

Cooking together

Geocaching/hiking

Sparks Farmers Market

Ben Giggling with Gillian

Gillian and Ben play in the living room. The giggles are so precious that I had to post it. It will be cherished by us for a lifetime.

Recent July Videos - Gillian plays with the boys

This is just so cool to watch Gillian interact with her brothers. She's so great with them. Kaitlyn is too, but in more subtle ways. It gives me great joy to see the bond between the boys and the girls. Unlike was said by "experts", they ARE close.

Really? Influenza A? Swine Flu??? You've got to be kidding!

We were so excited because the girls would be spending 5 weeks with us for their summer visit. It was a little scary and yet exciting to have the family together for a good amount of time. Both girls flew in on 7/13. Kaitlyn had called me earlier that day and said she wasn't feeling well. I asked her if she was nervous or if she ate something that didn't agree with her. She said no. I told her to rest, lay down and hopefully it would be better later in the day. So I went to get the girls at the airport. Kaitlyn and Gillian walked out of security and I gave them both huge hugs. It had been over a month since they had been to Reno, so I was really happy to see them. Kaitlyn just looked awful. Pale and she said she definitely didn't feel good. I stopped at Trader Joes and Longs on the way home because it was near the airport. Kaitlyn stayed in the car and was pretty lethargic. It just didn't seem right. We got home and I took her temp and it was 102. I started freaking out. Then came all of the other stuff that goes with flu. The poor kid was miserable. She made it through the night and the next day she said her throat hurt. I thought maybe she had strep throat so I wanted to get that taken care of right away if she was going to be sick with something contagious.

We head to the doctor that afternoon. Kaitlyn was still so under the weather. Seeing the doctor was an afternoon ordeal. She was not poked, but boy they swabbed her throat and her nose twice! Poor kids. Turns out that Kaitlyn didn't have strep, but did have Influenza A flu. The next bit of news was that it could possibly be the same strain as Swine Flu. WONDERFUL! So the doctor said since it could be swine flu, we ALL as in all 8 of us needed to take Tamiflu just in case it is swine flu. So she wrote us 8 prescriptions. I couldn't believe it was happening. OMG. The girls had just arrived the night before! I was beyond angry that the time was being eaten with illness rather than family time. Kaitlyn was really great about not touching the boys when she arrived. She herself said she wasn't feeling good and didn't want to pass on any germs. So along with illness, we waited at the pharmacy for 2 hours to get all of the medicine. The copay bill came to $307.oo. That was with our insurance. Kaitlyn and I headed home after that...now 7 p.m. in the evening. She's feeling crappy and I've simply had enough. All of us did our job and did the Tamiflu. The boys had liquid and apparently it didn't taste good. Quite the chore to get it into them. A few days later we did learn it was swine flu. Wow. I certainly had quite a bit of anger towards her dad because he had been sick a few days prior.

Father's Day in Truckee

Fathers Day 2009 - Chip's 2nd father's day. The morning started just like any other. Breakfast, playing, nap. Routine stuff. I kept asking him what he wanted to do. Chip finally decided that we'd check out Truckee, CA. Neither one of us had ever been, so why not? After the nap, we packed up the little guys, diaper bag, toys, hats, and the wagon. Sounds simple, but trust me it takes probably 30 minutes just to get to the car. So we get going to Truckee about 45 minutes to the West on I-80, towards North Lake Tahoe. The drive was really pretty and the boys looked out the windows and messed with their toys as we drive. It was really nice! Truckee is a cute little place. Very small, sorta granola/hippy. Really laid back people. It's definitely green up there.

After arriving, we pull out the wagon and ride around, up and down looking at the shops. We can't really go in with the wagon, but people stop and ask about having triplets and in general are super nice. The boys just looked around, taking it all in. While we were wandering around checking things out, we came across the Truckee recreation center. It just so happens that it had a play area, so we "broke" into the "locked" gate and let the boys loose. They loved it! Ryan was all over the play equipment and we took a bunch of pictures. Ben of course tried to find the nearest way to break out. He's so silly and curious. Gary checked it out all the way around. We knew it was time to head out when all three of them huddled around the wagon. Bored. Gotta go. So away we went, packed everything up and headed home. The ride was really great until about 2/3 of the way home, right at the edge of Reno. We have Ryan and Ben in the far back seat and Gary sits in the captains chair behind the driver's seat. Next thing we know, Ryan is throwing up all over himself, his seat and crying. Of course we're on the freeway so there's not much that can be done immediately. A couple of excruciating exits later we pull over. It is very consistent that one of the 3 will throw up (most often it's Gary) and/or be unhappy. So we cleaned Ryan up as best we could in the parking lot of a 7-11. Lucky for us we had a jacket. So we stripped him down, gave him a quick sponge bath with wipes and put him back in the seat. 20 minutes later we were at home and exhausted. Each outing gets a little easier, but it is quite an undertaking for both of us. We know we'll look back and know that every experience was worthwhile.

Boys 18 mos. checkup - well really 21 months

Had a doctors appointment on June 10. What a calamity that was! Chip went for the first time. We had a brutal "practice run" the week prior because I, with my full mind, thought our appointment was the week before. So the week before we got up, got the boys going and then what do you know? I thought the doctors office was so easy to find that I didn't bother with a map or a phone number or anything. Mostly because both Chip and I were so trying to get out the door and not be late (yeah, right). So we drove in the correct neighborhood, but I could not remember which building it was. On top of road construction it was amazingly interesting (not in a good way) to try and figure out where we needed to go. The even bigger discovery was that neither one of us had our cell phones. How crazy and irresponsible is that??? Chip was so wonderful, not once did he criticize and he had SO many opportunities. Once we arrived at the office, very disheaveled I might add, the nice woman said they couldn't see us. Oh my god! I understood, but also wanted to ask her if she had any idea what it took for us to get out of the house? So not her problem.

We finally "rearrived" on the appropriate day, did not get lost and was on time. We saw this crazy nurse who was quite possibly the loudest person I had ever met. After the lecture about shoes, what should be in our car for emergencies and lastly an entire dissertation about her experiences raising children that included the hardships of raising children after having knee surgery. Chip and I just kept looking at each other. Meanwhile the little guys are stripped to the diaper and all over the dirty floor (yuck!) and trying to manage a pedialyte pop, which was a first for them. Didn't take long for restlessness to set in and pretty soon as nurse know-it-all who means well boys were starting to get cranky. Finally Dr. Tammy Roessler came in. Chip an I felt saved. She's so great.

One of the things I really like about her is that she's really realistic about caring for kids. She understands what we're dealing with. However, she broke it to us that we really need to take them off of the bottle before they're 2 years old. OMG! I can't imagine what that will be like.

The little boys update - 5/31/09

These little boys are just too funny. When I see them do something new almost every day and how they are little sponges, I think to myself "I've got to write that down". Now that I'm committed to blogging, I'll be importing old stuff that I have in various different places and will now update here. The boys now have a summer swimming pool that they just love. It's so fun to watch them splash around. It's really cool. All the boys still love walks in the wagon and can't get enough of being outside. However, now the boys get bored with just the back yard.

Gary - This little guy just can't get enough! He wants to say and try everything. Gary has really come a long way this month. He's trying really hard to talk and now can say: ball, tree, green, car (car has been in the last 2 months), hey, bye, hi and me. Gary can also point out things on his head. He knows nose and eyes, as well as hair, ear and mouth. He can't say them all very well but he sure tries! He especially loves to point them out on other people. Gary loves books, puzzles, the stacking blocks and calls Ben "B". Gary also has really sensitive skin. Eczema is all over him. He's also still daredevil and wants to try everything. Gary still absolutely loves hot dogs, pirates booty, yogurt, pasta, veggie corn dogs and banana muffins I make. He also fights over the blue cloud blanket with Ryan. Luckily Gary is laid back enough to let it go and get another. He also tends to get motion sick. We have found that out on 3 occasions. Oh yeah, Gary is deathly afraid of Blues Clues. Puts his hands on his ears and cries when he sees it come on tv.

Ben - This boy still loves to play alone with cars. He's so tall and skinny still! Finally in the last couple of months he's getting more hair. Ben is all about laying on the floor with his blanket and bottle. He doesn't even care if the bottle is empty. He's really a content kid. He also gets picked on more than Gary by Ryan. He's getting more vocal about that and most things in general. There is so much more babble coming from Ben. Ben seems to be the most adaptable of all the boys. He's a great eater. Loves really carby stuff like Pirate's Booty, pasta, Cheetos, Cheerios, Chex and fishies. He also really likes veggies like green beans and corn (LOVES IT). Like his brothers, Ben likes fruit too. Grapes and mandarin organges are the biggest hits. Ben is the best of the 3 at using a fork. He can spear a lot and usually even makes it to his mouth. :) In the last week or so Ben has also really taken an interest in books. That makes Chip and I really happy! Ben can say hi and dadda. He loves to be outside and plant with his daddy. Like his brothers, Ben also loves to play in the water. Ryan and Ben fight over the water hose. Ben will be out in the pool and soaking himself until he shivers and still can't get enough.

Ryan - Still the bubba! He totally understands that he can intimidate his brothers, push them down and take things away. They are fighting back better, but Ryan still usually gets his way. Ryan is just his own little person. He loves the cloud blanket. He'll be the one to take it from Gary in the mornings. Ryan is an emotional little guy. He's sad when he gets in trouble or is told no. He fights us the most when getting dressed and diapers changed. Then in a few minutes he's totally happy again! His laugh is infectious and when Ryan smiles his whole face lights up. Lately he's really attached to this red "lego" car. The front and back come off of it and he takes them off and can't quite put them back on, so he "asks" for help by alerting us via grunts and pushing the car at us. He says yah yah and hi. Ryan loves his routine. He's also the shyest I think. In the last few months we've seen that Ryan will cry some at new places and new people and then in a couple of hours he's great. This little guy LOVES the phone. Once you give it to him, god help you if you take it away! Even when we're just talking on the phone, Ryan wants to have it. Very recently Ryan has also gotten into books. He'll bring one and plop right in the lap and wait for you to let him turn the pages. It's so cute!

All of these little guys are growing so fast. They really do play well together, are on a good schedule and are really happy. Every day when I see something new or funny or whatever I think "I won't forget that". Now it's hard to remember the details of the day to day. I need to keep better records. One of these days I'll get to their baby books and be able to fill those out. I'm a little disappointed in myself for not taking the time to write more. Both to keep the memories as well has my sense of well being.

Other notes of things they enjoy: being outside, wagon rides, being chased around the family room, toddling in the house freely, their baths, jumping up and down in their cribs when they wake up and watching tv (Little Einsteins, Backyardigans, Mickey Mouse Club, Handy Manny and "Puzzle Time" on Noggin). Although they watch Baby Einstein videos a lot less this last 3 months or so, Shapes and The Farm are still ones they like.

The boys have all taken turns having splinters in their hands. The fence, gate and play area are bordered with rough wood. We had to do "surgery" on Gary's hand with a huge splinter about 3 weeks ago. Definitely NOT fun. Hopefully we won't have to do that again!

Until the next update...
S