Google, Deegle, Honey, and Baby

Brenna's vocabulary has been exploding lately, she is so talkative. Sometimes she babbles so you really can't understand her, but most of the time she says what she means very clearly. The cutest things she's been saying lately are everyone's names. She has been saying Da-Da or Daddy for along time now, as well as Mommy. She has also been saying Doo for Drew for awhile now too. And she always refers to Emily as "Baby". Just recently she started calling Carter, "Google". I have no idea where this came from, but she definitely means Carter when she says it. She will bring him his hat, and say "Google? Hat?" - as in "Carter, do you want your hat?" So CUTE!!! Shortly after starting with "Google", it turned into "Deegle". So even more recently that has been his name. We had been trying to get her to say Carter by having her repeat Car and then Ter and then Carter, but she would give a sheepish grin, and refuse to say it. Funny!

Just as we decided to get this "Google/Deegle" thing on video, she finally caught on and has been calling him Carter! It's still cute though because she really hangs on her R's and puts a slight pause in between syllables when she says, "Carr - Terr". Love it!! She can also say "Em" now, and sometimes even Emily.

As for herself, she had not been able to say Brenna, and I guess because I say it so often, she started referring to herself as "Honey". She'd say things like, "Honey's shoes", or "Honey's book". Adorable! We started getting her to repeat Brenna just recently, and now she can say that too.

As for Carter, I mentioned a few posts back that we were having his speech evaluated. He had no where near the number of words Brenna had a month ago, he was not repeating words, and was becoming VERY frustrated when he wanted to tell us something, ask for help, etc. We taught him the sign for "more" to help at the table, and his vocab was less than 10 words, including Da-Da (but not Mommy), Doo for Drew, shoe, choo-choo, uh-oh, and bye. He could only do one animal sound for doggy and didn't name many objects at all. At his early intervention evaluation, he scored well below his age for speech and they suggested getting him started with a developmental interventionist, or teacher, rather than a speech therapist. They thought his speech was more of a minor delay and not something more significant. So we agreed, of course, to start therapy for him once a week. It takes a few weeks to get started and in the time we have been waiting to begin, he has been talking up a storm!!! The first noticable change was when he said "Mommy" for the first time about 2 weeks ago! :) I was so proud, and his voice is like a little whisper, so sweet you could just cry. He is also repeating words, naming toys, like ball and book. And the funniest thing is that he has now started calling Brenna, "Google"!!! He has been saying Daddy, Doo, and Baby for a bit now, and then Mommy, but he never called Brenna anything. Just in the last week though, he's been coming out with "Google", all the time. So funny! He had his first therapy session this week, and his teacher seemed to think she wouldn't need to work with him for very long! Good job buddy!

He can also now say "Em" for Emily, and it is just the sweetest thing, if they hear her crying they will both stop and say, "Is Ok, Em!" And just today we were watching Baby Einstein's Baby's First Moves DVD (one I don't think we'd ever watched before), and they were sitting on either side of me on the couch saying "Baby Em", "Baby Em" when the babies came on the screen. Brenna would say it, then Carter, then Brenna, like ping-pong!

Emily has been smiling and even laughing more lately, but still no words, or even sounds. She had been blowing raspberries a while back, but not recently.

Triplet Trivia Tuesday

We had some correct answers! Grandmom Joanne, and my friends Rebecca and Jennifer all figured it out! Basically, all of the notes represent a member of our family. The first notes that are together are G and A for Gee-off and Aimee, the next is D for Drew, and then the triplet note is B, C, and E for Brenna, Carter, and Emily. A big thanks to Uncle Mark for taking our idea and creating the finished logo you see here. He also made each of us a vinyl decal for the back of our cars! We are crazy busy preparing for a yard sale and birthday bash this weekend, so prizes will be coming for all 3 of you next week! Thanks for playing!


After weeks of begging and pleading, I was given permission to post today's trivia question.

It's quite a simple question, but I'm interested to see if anyone knows - What is the significance of the design included with the title on the blog?

Since this is a tough question, I'm raising the stakes. If you think you know the correct answer, e-mail the answer to Aimee at agollihur@comcast.net THEN post a comment that you have submitted an answer. Every answer (even the incorrect ones) will be in the running to win the July prize. We will also randomly choose one correct answer to win a special prize that will be sent out this week.

Good luck!

Gee-off

Birthday Portrait Session

Yesterday, I took the babies to Picture People to get their pictures taken for their birthday. It's almost a month away, but they sent me an awesome coupon for a free portrait package. Emily's nurse came with us, they all had good naps and lunch before we left, and they all looked so sweet in their coordinating outfits.

BUT, when we got there, we spent the whole session trying to keep Emily from falling off of the props they had (which are meant to be used with infants of course), and trying to keep Carter and Brenna in the room and out from behind the backdrop. Our photographer was very sweet, but not much help in getting them to "pose".

Here are a few shots:

OK, so this one was pretty cute. But I wanted to get the whole dress.

Uh, Brenna? What are you doing, hmmmmm?

If only you could hear the audio on this one, "No, No, NOOOOOO!"

Well, this one speaks for itself!

Triplet Trivia Tuesday

Well, questions 1 and 2 were about Carter and Brenna, so this week, of course, will be about Emily.

One of Emily's favorite toys is a colorful __________ that she first enjoyed during one of her stays at the hospital. We searched high and low for it, and finally found one for home.

What is it?

Yes, you're right! Emily really loves her Sassy mobile. It has four different music settings, colorful/interchangable hanging toys (some are soft and some are hard and rattle), it rotates and takes short stops so she can focus on it, and it has a remote control! We love it too!

Big news on my workshops...

After much preparation and Mark's expertise, a website advertising my workshops on positive discipline techniques is online!

As some of you are aware, I've been presenting these workshops to aftercare programs for the better part of two years and just started doing camps and schools within the last year. A good friend agreed to videotape a workshop so programs could get a peek at the energy I bring when I present.

Although it means Aimee has to spend even more time as primary caregiver while I'm "on the road" on evenings or Saturdays, her support for me has been so important.

The first video on the site shares a humorous story from my childhood about my Mom, the greatest "rule writer" of them all. Giving workshops to teachers upon retirement was an unfulfilled dream of Mom's and I know how proud she'd be if she were able to see me now!

Please check it out!

www.positivedisciplineworkshop.com

Gee-off

Triplet Trivia Tuesday

Which baby came home from the hospital first?

You all said Brenna, who has recently taken to calling herself "Honey" (more on that in another post). You're all right!

Brenna came home on September 5, 2007 after 19 days in the NICU.

Carter came home on September 9, 2007 after 22 days in the NICU.

Emily came home on October 5, 2007 after 48 days in the NICU.

Thanks for playing! :)

The things people say

I have been meaning to write this post for LONG time about the comments people make about the triplets. Some are funny, some are sweet, and some are really downright rude!

I'll start with some of the very first comments ever made to me. These two comments I will NEVER forget, because they were made in the first 24 hours after birth, they were particularly hurtful, and they were made by my nurses at the hospital!

The babies were born just before 9pm, so it was very late after I went to recovery, got into the NICU for my first looks at them, and finally to my room. My nurse for the night came in, introduced herself and said, "Triplets! What were you thinking?" I don't remember what I actually said, I think I might have just smirked uncomfortably, but what I was thinking was, "I was thinking that I wanted another baby and I got 3! How special is that?" And I think I cried when she left the room.

Then my morning nurse came in, introduced herself and immediately asked whether we had used fertility drugs. I replied that we did have some help and she said, "I sure hope I'm not taking what you were taking!" Seriously???? Yes, she said that. Again, I can't remember what I said, but that one stung.

Since then, we have had many hurtful comments, and while I do believe people really don't think they are being rude, I still can't believe they say things like:

"Better you than me!"
"Triplets??? I'd kill myself!"
(OR) "I'd shoot myself!"

Mostly we get these two comments. In fact, we get these so often, sometimes we count how many times in one outing! 14 times is the record I think.

"You have your hands full!"
"God Bless You!"

To the first, I usually say, "I sure do." Sometimes I say, "better full than empty!" And sometimes I get that when I just have Carter and Brenna out with me, and I say, "and this is only half of them!" Which usually leaves them wide eyed, speechless, or laughing.

To the second, I usually say, "He sure did." Or simply, "thanks."

Then we move on to the very intrusive, I mean curious, comments. These people usually make one of the above comments first and then stop to get a closer look.

A lot of people ask, "All boys?" No, 2 girls and 1 boy.

"Are they identical?" Nope, all fraternal. Or I say, "no 2 girls and 1 boy" again, for those who I can tell don't get it! :)

Then they really want the dirt. Can you imagine a total stranger asking you how you conceived your single baby? I guess when they see more than one, all privacy goes out the window!

"Did you do fertility drugs?"
"Are they natural?"
"Do multiples run in your family?"

It really depends on my mood when I get these questions. Sometimes, I'll say, "we had some help". Or, "we did IVF".
Sometimes I'll say, "No they don't run in our family." Which doesn't really answer the question because I know that they really wanted to know if we used fertility drugs or not!
And sometimes, I'll say something like, "No we just did it 3 times in one night!"

These questions particulary bug me, because we did HAVE to do IVF to have another child. Our children, although conceived with the help of doctors and medicine, are in fact, completely natural! And when they find out we did IVF, people usually tell me about someone they know who had multiples spontaneously (which is what they mean by naturally) and how rare that is, as if to say those babies are more special than my "artificial babies". Sometimes even other triplet parents really point out that their babies were spontaneous, it feels like just to brag. For example, in forums, many triplet parents have their name at the bottom of a post and then "Mommy to A, B, C, spontaneous boy/boy/boy triplets". But I would never write, "Mommy to Carter, Brenna, and Emily, IVF b/g/g triplets. It just doesn't matter!

And then there was the woman, whom my Mom and I were chatting with at a park. We just had Drew with us, but my Mom was talking about the babies, and the woman asked (I still can't believe she asked this!!), "Were you drinking? Because I hear alcohol can increase your chances of having multiples." What??? Are you freaking kidding me??? She was totally serious though. I actually came up with this response on the spot, which I thought was pretty funny, "No, but I did take a LOT of drugs!" Meaning, of course, the fertility drugs, but I don't think she got it. Oy! But then I was mad, because if it were only that easy for us! If I could've sloshed back a couple of drinks and gotten pregnant, I most certainly would've. It would have saved us an awful lot of trips to the doctor, uncomfortable ultrasounds, almost daily blood tests, money for docs, accupuncture, anesthesia, freezing, storage, therapists, and no injections in my tummy, thighs and behind!

We also get these comments from more caring, understanding strangers:

"How do you do it?"
or
"You are so lucky!"

And the best comment I ever got was when we took the babies out shopping around 4 months old, and a man who worried me, because he looked a little scruffy around the edges, stopped, took a really long look, smiled, and said, "3 babies? Now that is heaven times 3!" Awwwww. I'll never forget that. :)


I know I'm forgetting some, but as is life with triplets plus one, I am out of "spare time". Lately, whenever somebody suggests we do something in our "spare time", they ALWAYS use the air quotes!

I didn't want to do it!

But I HAD to!

I had to delete the guestbook! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

I apologize to all of you who have taken the time to post a message, picture, or both to the guestbook and show us some love!

The last 2 times I have clicked on it, I have gotten a trojan/virus/fatal error warning and while it has seemed to be just an ad for antivirus software (since our real antivirus program says we are all clear), I decided I should delete it to prevent future problems.

But please continue to leave comments after the posts, so we know you're out there! Oh, and thanks for reading, we hit 20,000 visits over the weekend. :)

First Family Camping Trip!

Last fall, we bought a pop-up camper so that we could take a family camping trip. Of course, we had to wait until the summer due to school, work, and the weather, but we finally picked a weekend and went for it!!!

Gee-off made many lists and so we spent all week preparing to go, packing everything we would need and more. Of course with all of Emily's equipment plus the regular items we needed to pack for each of us, plus all of the actual bodies we had to fit in the van to get there, it had to be well thought out and carefully packed. Surprisingly, we didn't forget anything!

We went to Ocean View Resort Campground in Ocean View so Grandmom and Grandpop could spend the day with us on Saturday and so they'd be close by if we needed help. Luckily, they only needed to come for fun! Though it was pretty necessary to have the extra hands at the pool.

We arrived around dinner time Friday night, and immediately set up the playard with multiple extensions on the site so Carter and Brenna could play without running away! Drew played in there too, though we could also let him roam a bit which he enjoyed. We got everything unloaded, had a quick dinner and went for a walk around the campground. We got Carter and Brenna to bed around 9:30pm and at first they were crying, but soon they were laughing and playing and eventually fell asleep around 10:30!!! The air conditioner in the pop up made great white noise so we were able to go in and out without waking them up later too. Drew stayed up for our first campfire and roasted his first marshmallows.

On Saturday, the babies woke us up around 6:15am (thank you sunshine!) and we got going for the day by 7 or so. Gee-off had brought along the griddle and made bacon, sausage, and eggs, for breakfast. Yum! The little ones had Pop Tarts and bagels. :) We played at the site until Grandmom and Grandpop arrived. Then we went to the pool, had lunch, and all the kids took nice looooong naps while the grown ups played cards. We went to the game room and then we had pizza with Grandmom and went to play at the lake playground. Drew and I went for a ride on the tram and had ice cream. And we spent another late night by the campfire.

Sunday morning we got up and got to packing up right away. We really had fun, and although it was a lot of work, we plan to go probably 2 more times before the summer is over.

I apologize for these pictures being so out of order, but for some reason I can't reaarrange them like I usually do. (These are mostly in backwards order - from Saturday evening and back to Friday night)

Daddy and Emily (LOVE this pic!!)

Carter

Brenna


Drew

Drew 2


Skee Ball!!!!!


The shock of the trip - Brenna HATED this train ride, and Carter liked it!

Saturday nap time

(Brenna and Drew slept from 12:45 - 4PM, and Carted slept until 5PM!!)

Practicing with the new camera :)

Frito . . .

. . . meet Gee-off!

Grandmom and Mr. Blue Eyes

Mommy and Brenna

I told her this was a "princess chair" so I could get her to stay still for a second. Notice she's still moving!

Drew getting chilly

Carter - splashing in the baby pool

Our site (I got a few pics of the camper - but they're on the other camera!)

Friday night campfire

Emily says, "I love camping!!"

Good job everyone! You're all right. :)

Carter Jackson arrived first, then Brenna Lynn, and then Emily Christine.

(just like this picture from left to right - about 8 weeks old!!!)

I think I'll consider this the first question for July and at the end of the month I will draw a winner from all of the correct comments.

Thanks for playing, that was fun! Of course, I'm not going to make it that easy next week! ;)