Look how we've grown! We are 8 months old now!
Sunday night we decided to try a little photo shoot at home (we just haven't had the best of luck at the portrait studios) & we got some great pictures of the kids! They are now 8 months old, growing good & starting to be on the move! It's so fun to watch each of their different personalities come out!

Austen, is our big boy weighing about 20 lbs (check out the tummy!), he has 6 teeth- 2 front bottom (I think a 3rd on the bottom is close) & then 4 on the top. He is crawling everywhere & crawling very well, getting faster each day. He is so curious and I find him under & behind furniture. How will I ever "contain" 3??


Caitlen is about 16 lbs, she has her 2 front bottom teeth and 1 on the top that just broke thru yesterday. Caitlen is our rolly-poly, she rolls everywhere to get where she wants to go, she is also starting to crawl backwards. Caitlen loves to laugh & make others laugh. Oh, her giggle is just priceless.

Brooklen is about 16 lbs. She wants to move, but just can't figure out how quite yet.... I'm starting to wonder if she'll skip crawling & go straight to running. She still doesn't have any teeth, so she has that great gummy smile. She has an adorable "girly" voice, but she is figuring out how to get loud.

Girl's Night Out!
Pedicures, Shopping & Dinner
Last Sunday (February 18th) I got to enjoy a Girl's Night Out with two other triplet moms: Katie (mom of 2 1/2 year old triplet girls) & Molly (mom of 4 month old triplet girls). First, I'd like to thank D.J.- Thank you so much honey for letting me go out with some girlfriends & have a relaxing evening. You are so wonderful to watch the kids so I can have some "me time". I know you enjoy spending time with our babies & you are such a wonderful Daddy! I love you!! THANKS!


Our Girl's Night started with a Pedicure. Oh, it was so wonderful to have my feet soak in some hot water while reading a magazine (update on Britney- crazy girl!!) & chatting with friends. Then to have someone massage my poor aching feet & then make my toes look all pretty. The only downfall is that it's still winter & no one gets to see my pretty painted toes, so here's a picture =)
Then we did some shopping, we hit Baby Gap, Children's Place & Gymboree..... hummm more shopping for the kids, do we shop for ourselves anymore? Then we had a great dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.
THANK YOU Katie & Molly, I had a great time! We should make this a monthly Girl's Night Out, so I'll see you in March!

Just a year ago...
Well, it was just a year ago, on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2006 that we had our first appointment at our new doctor's office. Dr. Mandsager & Dr. Hwang- I mostly saw Dr. Mandsager or should I say his wonderful assistant Amie. Sidenote: I miss Amie! She was wonderful! She always made time to listen & answer all my questions & she always told me how great I looked... even when I was measuring 47+ weeks. Dr. Mandsager takes high risk pregnancies, having triplets qualified. Our appointment started out with our first "big" ultrasound. I think it was like 1 1/2 hours long- they measured each baby & we got to see their hearts beating, how big (little) they were- it was awesome! All 3 babies were weighing approximately 5oz. This blows my mind to look at them now & think back just a year ago. After the ultrasound was my OB appointment where I asked a million questions... yes, a lot of the questions you can pull up on the internet, Amie was great answering my questions & making me feel very comfortable about our journey ahead of us! Next appointment was scheduled for 2 weeks- Feb. 28, 2006.

I know these ultrasound pictures are too small and hard to see- I'll ask D.J. to help me scan them in again when he gets home tonight. The 1st two pictures are of Austen, the next two are Caitlen & then Brooklen.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dinner, The Same Old Thing....
I have to agree with Laura regarding dinner: Lately, I feel that I've hit a rut in my cooking, that is what little cooking I do. We have the same things over and over and over again. And frankly, I'm tired of them! So, I'm reaching out to you...my fellow bloggers. What do you make for dinner? What is your go-to meal? What do you make that your kids devour and that your husband wants seconds of??
So, if you have a blog, I challenge you to post your favorite meal recipe on there. If you don't have a blog, feel free to email me your recipes!

Here is one of my staples & really good with Lent coming up....

Mom's Tuna Casserole
1 large package egg noodles
1 can tuna packed in water (drained)
1 can cream mushroom soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cheese, grated or cubed (cheddar or Velveeta)
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
Cook noodles according to pkg instructions. Drain. Mix other ingredients together & add to warm noodles over medium-low heat. You can heat to desired temp & eat or you can bake in casserole dish at 350 for 30 min. Enjoy!!

A new recipe I just tried: Potato Soup
2 large potatoes (chop up- you can peel or not, your choice)
1 onion (as much or as little as you like)
4 or so celery stalks
4 cans chicken broth
1 can evaporate milk
4 slices cheese or 8oz tub cream cheese
In sauce pan cook broth, onion, celery and potatoes- bring to boil, cook until potatoes are tender. Pour evaporated milk in dish & slowly add some hot broth to milk- you don't want to curdle your milk, then add to soup in pan. Stir in cheese & it's ready! I think it's really good. Enjoy

Just a year ago.....
I've been thinking a lot lately at where my life was just a year ago, how much D.J. & my lives have changed in just one little year. To reflect back, it was just after Thanksgiving that we found out we were pregnant, we kept the news to ourselves until Christmas, when we shared the joyous news with our families... the news that we were having a baby (little did we know). I didn't have my blog then, so every now & then I'm going to post Just a year ago & write what we were going thru & some of my feelings (before I forget).
It was on January 10th that I went in for my first doctor appointment, 10 weeks pregnant. D.J. didn't go with me because I thought it was just a check up to confirm I was pregnant. It ended up being more than a check up- I got to hear the heartbeat.... oh, the fast paced thump, thump.. thump, thump... brings tears to my eyes now. (How many times will I cry while typing my Just a year ago?!?!) At the end of my appointment my doctor told me she wanted me to come back in 3 weeks for an ultrasound, but didn't say why she wanted to do an ultrasound, so I just assumed it was normal. I was very excited to see an ultrasound and get to see my baby. When D.J. got home from work I was excited to tell him that I got to hear the heartbeat, but knew he'd be sad that he didn't go & get to hear it, but he was excited for the next appointment to get to see our baby & hear the heartbeat.
Picture of me January 28th (we should have known something was up at how fast my belly grew!)










Well, it was just a year ago yesterday, January 30th (13weeks & 1 day) that we went in for the ultrasound & found out there were 3!! Oh, I can remember the feelings..... first seeing 2 babies on the ultrasound monitor, then hearing the doctor saying she saw 3, looking at the monitor & seeing 3....... WHAT, OH MY GOSH, 3 babies?!?! I looked at D.J., who was now sitting down, ghostly white, eyes wide opened & mouth to the floor in shock. I was super excited, I had always thought twins would be fun... never really thought about 3! D.J. had never even thought about 2, much less 3! I couldn't wait to get to Cedar Rapids to share the news with our families! After the doctor stepped out of the room all D.J. was pretty much speechless. I asked him if he was ok, he say "yes". I asked him if he had to go back to work because I wanted to go to CR, he said "yes", I asked him if he could find his way back to work, he said "yes" & then he said "We are going to run out of money" (that's my little accountant!) I then asked him if he cared if I went to CR to share the news with our mom's & my sisters-- I'm not sure if he ever answered this question. So, D.J. went back to work (& then over to a friend's house for a couple/few beers) & I went to CR to share the news. Our doctor got a wonderful ultrasound picture of all 3- this is one of my absolutely favorite pictures- my first look at all 3! Loved from the start!
Baby 1 is Caitlen, Baby 2 is Brooklen & Baby 3 is Austen
I first showed my mom, who was shocked there were 3, but she thought there might be twins (what a smart mom!) Then to share the news with my sisters, who were both super excited for us . Then to D.J.'s mom's (Sharon), who believed there were 2, but was in denial that there were 3 babies until mid/end of February. My dad was also in town from California, so it was great to share the news with him in person!
It's still hard sometimes to believe there are 3, how fast they are growing, how much our lives have changed in just one little year, but how I can hardly picture our lives without them. So, yesterday, January 30th is Happy Day we found out there were 3!

Baptisms
We got the trips baptized yesterday, January 28th! We had it scheduled for last Sunday, January 21st, but had to postpone due to weather-- THANK YOU everyone for rescheduling, it really meant a lot to have you all there. I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised at how well the trips did in church- both girls slept during mass & Austen played on Kim's lap & then ate his bottle. No one cried during the baptisms either- yeah!! By the end, during pictures, poor Brooklen had had enough, she was hungry & thrown off schedule & Austen was tired! But, they were good in church & during the baptisms.... 2 out of 3 ain't bad =) (Caitlen, Austen & Brooklen)
I didn't go all out with the fancy baptism outfits- they are expensive!! So, we just got all white sleep type outfits & then I found the cutest hats & booties for the girls with fur trim- super cute.

Austen's Godparents are Dusty (D.J.'s brother) & Traci (family friend, Traci was unable to make it, she lives in Denver, but was definitely there in spirit- miss ya Trac)

Caitlen's Godparents are Kim & Joe Raso (my sister & brother-in-law)

Brooklen's Godparents are Jenni & Tad Benesh (my sister & brother-in-law)

Group picture of everyone that was able to attend:
Cael, Jenni, Father Hurley (back), Payton, Bailey, D.J. (back) Austen, Me, Brooklen, Tad, Joe, (back) My Mom- Linda, Jaden (in front), Caitlen, Kim (back) D.J.'s mom-Sharon, Dusty (back) & my Dad- Jim.

A to Z...
Ok, I got this from Laura Barlow... one of the most positive people I know & a great blogger-- Laura I love your blog!! Laura is a mother of two adorable girls & finds time to blog almost every day! I got to know Laura when I worked with her at Archiver's in Des Moines. Laura currently lives in New York with her husband, Ben and daughters Emilie & Claire. She passed this on to me, so those of you I've tagged add it to your blogs & tag others!
A--Available, Married or Single: Married, of course!
B--Best friend: D.J. (But, I agree with Laura, I have some awesome girlfriends that I could not live with out!)
C--Cake or Pie: I think Cake.
D--Drink of Choice: Ice Chai Tea Latte (from Starbucks: Venti Iced Chai- skinny, light ice & 8 pumps of chai--Love it!!)
E--Essential item you use everyday: hummm.. toothbrush.
F--Favorite Color: Red
G--Gummy bears or worms: I'm not really a fan, but between the two...bears.
H--Hometown: Center Point, Iowa
I--Indulgence: An Iced Venti Chai =) D.J. got me a massage for Christmas & I cannot wait- that will be a real indulgence!!
J--January or February: Neither, too cold in Iowa! I'm a big fan of fall weather.
K--Kids and names: Austen, Caitlen & Brooklen- 7 months old.
L--Life is incomplete without: Family & Friends :)
M--Marriage Date: May 16th, 1998
N--Number of siblings: Kim & Jenni
O--Oranges or apples: Oranges (or Apples with caramel dip)
P--Phobias or fears: Phobias: Snakes Fears: losing someone that I love.
Q--Fave quote: "To the world you might be one person, but to one person you may be the world."
R--Reason to smile: the adorable smiles & giggles from my trips =) I love getting them out of bed in the mornings- they are just full of smiles!!
S--Season: I love fall.
T--Tag 3 people. Kim, Julie, Katie & Lauren
U--Unknown fact about me: I'm becoming a big 'ol chicken, I used to love scary movies & now I'd much rather watch a comedy! (I'm not old.... just older!)
V--Vegetable you don't like: I think I like most veggies, but I prefer fruit.
W--Worse habit: sweating the small stuff- getting ticked over something small. I'm trying to get better =)
X--Xrays: for broken leg in 1st grade, some foot xrays & for dental work
Y--Your fave food: ice cream
Z--Zodiac sign: Leo
There it is...all you've ever wanted to know about me!

7 months old today!
Yep, the trips are 7 months old today!! Can you believe it? Where has 7 months gone? Last night me & D.J. were laughing, a year ago at this time we still thought there was only one =) How naive since I was already measuring the side of a barn =) My, how much has changed in a year!!

Since everyone is feeling better we decided to get out & about again. We met Katie & her girls (2 year old triplets) at the mall with our new stroller (the monster). I forgot my camera- but here is a picture of our new stroller we nicknamed: The monster! (Thanks Grandpa Jim- the stroller was a gift from my dad) It wasn't too bad to get in & out of the van by myself & I think the trips enjoyed actually "seeing" the mall-- in the old strollers they were mostly covered. I do have to say that the Monster does attract a lot of people, but the trips were looking all cute today that it was fun to show them off. Most of the people to stop us are the older people mall walking- they are so cute & nice =)

Out SICK with bad colds!
Sorry, it's been so long since my last post, but we've been sick. Everyone got colds last week, yes- EVERYONE!! You know how bad you feel when you have a bad cold- the nasty cough, runny nose, congestion & horrible head pounding headache... well, try that with a sick husband & 3 sick babies!! Ohhhh, it was a long week.... snotty runny noses everywhere- don't know how many boxes of tissues we went thru! I've always been the mom that tries to wipe their kids nose as soon as it runs so it doesn't get all crusted over... well, that didn't happen last week. For one- you can't wipe their noses all the time, their poor little noses were so red that sometimes you just have to leave it alone! But, I needed to be close by & ready if anyone sneezed.... whoa, watch out! In addition to the runny noses, everyone was so congested that sleeping was hard... we tried the elevated beds, but that doesn't work so well for Caitlen who is a gymnast in bed & rolls all over! Then we tried the saline solution, which worked pretty well & helped with the boogie sucker =) There were many nights that both me & D.J. were sleeping in the living room in the recliner and on the couch with a sick baby on our chest. With the lack of sleep we didn't think we'd ever get better!! D.J. did make the mistake of saying "Well, one thing is good... they are all sick at the same time & the colds won't drag out forever".... my response: "You stay home from work tomorrow, feeling sick yourself with 3 sick babies & you tell me it's a good thing they are all sick at the same time!!" I really don't know which is better: to have them all sick & get the colds done & over, but it's sooo hard to give them each the attention they need or want! Or is it better to drag out a cold for a month with each of them sick at their own time. I don't know- both choices suck =) Over all, I think everyone made it thru the first colds pretty well & I have to be thankful that we made it until mid January before anyone got sick- maybe those RSV shots work!?!? I did end up taking Austen to the doctor, he was the only baby with the cough & runny nose, the girls just had the runny nose & congestion. This week I am even more grateful for my babies smiles-- just love to see them smiling & playing again!