Day #4
Austen, Caitlen & Brooklen
My 3 miracles!! And true miracles they are, we are so blessed. I am so grateful for my children! It's still a little weird for me to say children. To jump from having no kids to 3 kids, will I ever get used to it? I am loving being a mom. I never thought I could be a stay at home mom, but the thought of having to leave them every morning to go to work, oh, it breaks my heart- I hope I never have to do that. All the trials I had to go through while I was pregnant were all worth it... the bedrest, the hospital stays, the shots, my enormous belly... leading to yes, even the stretch marks & the new jean size I need to get used to, all was worth these precious miracles! I also don't know how I got so lucky to have such good babies... does that mean I'm in for it at the toddler stage? They are all smiling & giggling- I just LOVE IT!! It makes me cry with joy. It is just the cutest sound I have ever heard! We were lucky enough to get Caitlen on video giggling the other day, it's hard to get it on video- I think my children are shy of the camera, we'll have to get them over that! So today, everyday, I'm so grateful for my children! My little miracles!

Day #3

Starbucks Chai Tea Latte
I love Starbuck's Chai Tea! Ok, here is my order: Venti Iced Chai, skinny, lite ice with 8 pumps of chai. Oh it is soooo good. I went to the Starbucks website to help me explain how good it is and this is what I found: Tazo® Chai: An exotic, spicy blend of robust, full-flavored black teas and Madagascar vanilla. Doesn't that just sound delicious? It ddefinitelyis my guilty pleasure- guilty mostly because it costs $3.60, how can a beverage cost so much, but it's worth it! It's my pick me up with a little caffeine. It's funny how a nice beverage can make you so happy. So today- November 3rd I'm grateful for Starbucks Chai Tea Latte, for Starbucks to serve something to us non coffee drinkers!

Day #2

My Husband (picture: one of our favorite past times, riding the Harley up thru the mountains of Colorado looking at the changing leaves)

D.J. is the single greatest thing that has ever happened to me. He is such a great husband, great friend, the one I truly lean on for everything. Today I'd like to take an extra special moment to say "Thank You" to D.J. I don't think I say that enough. I am truly grateful for all that he does for me. He is so supportive in everything I do and all that is important to me. We moved to Iowa so I could follow my dream job (that I have since left to care for our adorable children!) He encourages me when I'm afraid and is there to catch me when I fall. He is a hard worker & strives to learn and do his best everyday- don't ever let anyone take that away from you! Not only is he a great husband, but he is the greatest father! He was there by my side to do anything & everything I needed throughout the pregnancy: to give me shots, make me meals, help me get up & down from the couch, sit with me at the hospital, remind me that everything was going to be all right! Do all the housework, yard work, grocery shopping- everything while I was on bedrest and unable to do so much. I was thrilled to give him the greatest father's day gift ever- 3 babies!! Once they came home he has shared in everything, from midnight feeding to changing diapers, feedings, changing diapers, feedings, changing diapers- feels like that is all we do some days! He'll stay home with the kids in the evenings so I can go scrapbook & sit and talk with my friends. He is so great with the kids. I love to watch him with them, I love how they look at him. You know they say the first person a girl falls in love with is her father- my girls are so lucky!

Thank you D.J. for all that you do! I am grateful everyday for you!

I love you with all my heart & soul- Forever!

"Things I'm Grateful For"
November houses one of the great holidays of the year, yet a holiday that I think gets almost overlooked. It's stuck between the 2 most awesome holidays: Halloween & Christmas! But Thanksgiving- it's a time to be thankful for all we have, it's a time for family get togethers, great food & football!! But it's almost forgotten about, so to help remind myself of all the things I'm grateful for, during the month of November I am going to post a daily "Things I'm Grateful For" (ok, I'm going to try to post daily) Some of the days will be things I am truly grateful for & some days it'll be things that make me happy...sometimes it's the little things in life. I am bloglifting this... is that even a word? Bloglifting... well, I'm borrowing the idea from a fellow blogger- Laura Barlow. Now I need to begin by stating that "Things I'm Grateful For" is in no particular order!

Day#1
Laura's blog
Today I'm grateful for Laura's blog, for giving me this wonderful idea & for reminding me to be thankful everyday! To give you a little background Laura is currently a mother of one, soon to be mother of two! She is one of the most positive people I know, I truly feel I am a better person for having known her. She was a wonderful staff at Archiver's while I was lucky enough to have managed the store here in West Des Moines. Laura & her husband, Ben and daughter Emilie currently live in New York. If you get a chance please visit Laura's blog: http://www.thesimplethings.typepad.com/ she is a great blogger! Thanks Laura!! I'd like to add I'm thankful for blogs- it's a great way to keep in touch with friends far away & friends close. Love to see everyone's pictures & read about what's going on. Keeps everyone in touch!

My 3 little Pumpkins!
Here are the trips in their Halloween outfits. Caitlen looking right at the camera- little miss photogenic! We decided to do Halloween outfits this year vs. Halloween costumes because we probably won't be doing much trick or treating, plus this way they're more comfortable & they can wear them a few times throughout Oct.

It's so hard to get them all happy, looking at the camera and in this case sitting up! They kept falling into each other! Brooklen starting to get a little unhappy, looks like she is complaining about it to Caitlen.

Caitlen found her hand- they have all "found" their hands this week, just not sure what they are &/or what to do with them! Austen stuck in the middle and Brooklen still doing pretty good. She didn't care too much for the photo shoot.

Caitlen, Austen & Brooklen. Brooklen doing a great job looking at the camera... no crying (yet). Austen sliding down a bit.

Look at Austen pushing himself up, Caitlen part way up- with her arm tucked ready to roll (but someone is in her way) and Brooklen- she's done with the photo shoot, she started to cry & just decided to lay down, she was done with pictures for the night.

Prairie Meadows 250- ARCA RE/MAX series

Gentlemen Start Your Engines!!!!!
On Sunday, October 15th D.J. got to go to an ARCA race-- & boy was he excited!! A bit of a background for you non-race fans (myself included). ARCA is a "farm series" of NASCAR & a new raceway was opened this fall in Newton, Iowa by Rusty Wallace (a retired NASCAR driver).






Ok, back to our story... A friend of ours (Mike Mullen) invited D.J. to join him & some of his clients... Mike works for TransAmerica & TransAmerica was the primary sponsor on the car that Steven Wallace, Rusty's son, was driving that day. Steven started on the pole & ended up winning the race! Needless to say they enjoyed the owners box seats, garage/pit passes & received the royal treatment all day.




They also got to ride in the pace car. Both Rusty & Steven were giving rides around the track in pace cars- D.J. got to ride in the pace car with none other than Rusty Wallace driving!! D.J. said that Rusty & Steven were cutting each other off on the race track while giving rides & going 107 mph! Then they got to enjoy the race in the comforts the owner's suite. During one of the cautions, Rusty came up to their suite & signed some autographs for everyone & chatted a bit. He informed everyone the car Steven was driving that day was the same car he drove last year in the Nextel Cup series.




Here is D.J. standing next to his favorite driver's car... The Rainbow Warrior, #24, Jeff Gordon.

Good morning! Happy Birthday D.J.!! It's your first birthday as a Daddy!! I'm glad D.J.'s birthday landed on a Saturday, this way we can all spend the day together!
Well, I needed to put a quick post on this morning because I cannot believe I forgot to write about the most exciting thing that happened last week... Austen rolled over on Monday! He has had such a strong arm stance- he'd push up, hold his head high & look all around, then last weekend he started to tuck an arm & kind of lean to one side, then on Monday he rolled over- Yeah Austen! I was beginning to wonder if he'd crawl before he rolled over. (the girls have been rolling over since mid September, but they don't have as strong of arms so I think the leaning to one side is a bit easier)
They are all cooing and chattering a lot. It's the best in the mornings- we can just hear them all chattering on the monitor- it's so cute!! They each have their own chatter, so we can usually tell who is awake. They are also usually in great moods in the mornings- it's fun to get them out of bed & ready for the day.

Happy Friday the 13th!! I've had a few people ask what the kids are weighing now so I weighed them: Austen is a whopping 14 lbs, you'd never know he was a preemie! Caitlen & Brooklen are both just a bit over 11 lbs. All growing well. We have their 4 month dr appts the end of October, so I'll update more on weights & measures then.
Let's see what have we been up to this past week...
Last Friday/Saturday Nanna Sharon (D.J.'s mom) came for a visit. It was absolutely beautiful out so we went on a long walk, checking out some new walking paths in the area. It was fun to have Nanna visit! On Sunday we just tried to catch up on a couple of projects... you know how projects can hang over your head for a while & when you finally get them done it's such a relief... well, we got a couple of long needed projects done- YEAH! Tuesday evening I went to Archiver's to scrapbook with a couple of multiple mom's I've met. This is the 3rd time I've been able to go- we try to go every Tuesday evening. I can't say I've gotten much scrapbooking done, but it's a great social time for me!
On Wednesday morning I met 2 other mom's of triplets at Jordan Creek Mall, we walked and talked. It was great! We walked for over 2 hours, then grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed home. Lauren has 4 month old boys- Alec, Shaun & Brett and Katie has 2 year old girls- Maya, Kyra & Eryn. It was a lot of fun, but we did get stopped a few times, 3 sets of triplets-- the mass of strollers gave us away!
Thursday evening I went to a Des Moines Mother of Multiple meeting (they meet once a month)- I've only been to one, which was when I first found out there were 3!! and then I was on bedrest & couldn't go and since they were born the timing of the meeting just hasn't worked. Anyway, last night I went to the meeting, I really like talking to other mom's of multiples & hearing their stories. Not much planned for the weekend, tomorrow is D.J.'s birthday- Happy Birthday D.J.!! Then on Monday morning D.J. leaves for New York & won't be back until Wednesday night- my mom is coming down to help! (Thanks mom!!) I think I'd maybe go crazy if I was left all alone with all 3 for 3 full days & nights!! Hopefully D.J. will get to do some site seeing while out of town. Well I can hear at least 2 of them stirring in their cribs, must be close to feeding time- can't believe how fast feeding time rolls around!

Hi! Sorry, it's been a while since I've posted. My goal is to post a couple times a week, but sometimes time just gets away from us! So, what have we been up to..... Last Wednesday I met my friend Katie & her triplet girls (age 2) at Valley West Mall. It was the first time I've taken the kids out by myself & it was a success!! I got them all fed for the morning then loaded them up in our new van & off we went. (yes, we broke down & bought a mini van-- it really is a necessity with 3 kids!!) Got to the mall & loaded Austen & Caitlen in the double stroller & I put Brooklen in a baby Bjorn- this part was a bit of a struggle, but not too bad for our first time! We walked the mall for a little over an hour and then it was time to head home for feeding time again. I have to say I was pretty proud of myself & it's good to know that I can do it by myself!!
Thursday & Friday were pretty uneventful, well Friday was bath night- which is usually kind of a chore. Then on Saturday we went to the NICU reunion at Mercy Hospital. Mercy in Des Moines added on a new East wing- new birthing unit with new rooms, new NICU..... we just missed out. It is really nice, there is even a triplet room in the NICU. Yes, for those of you who visited us in the NICU we would have had our own room with our own big comfortable chairs (we wouldn't have to steal chairs!) Then on Sunday, Dusty (D.J.'s brother) Monica & Michael came down from Nevada to visit- we ate some lunch & then went to play at the park. Monica & I walked the kids around the park while the boys played some football, oh my gosh was it HOT, too hot for me in October-- where is our fall weather?? Then Sunday evening my mom came for a visit- she has work meetings in town today & Wednesday and decided to come down early =) Yeah!! On Monday (yesterday) me, mom & the kids went out & did a bit of shopping, got the kids some Halloween outfits.... not costumes, but some sleeper type outfits- oh they'll look so cute!

Here are some recent pictures.....
Here's a cute picture of them in their "I'm one of three" shirts from Grandma K. I cannot believe how much they've grown! (Austen, Caitlen & Brooklen)

Here's a cute picture of the kids in their car seats getting ready to go for a nice Sunday morning walk.











Then a picture of them in their strollers. (We went for a walk to Target to get a Starbucks.)











Then a pic of D.J. holding all 3 & enjoying his coffee!

This year my side of the family is growing by leaps & bounds!! On Saturday, September 23rd Jenni (my younger sister) had her 3rd baby-- she had a baby BOY!! Cael William Benesh, weighing 9 lbs 12 oz!! and he was 20 inches long. He is absolutely adorable! Congratulations Jenni & Tad. Cael has 2 sisters, Jaden (3 years old) & Skylar (1 years old).