BBQ Weekend

We got a chance to catch up with some friends this weekend at a BBQ. It was a lot of fun and a good chance to get to see everyone. The babies were pretty good, just all over the place and into everything. It was a busy household with 14 kids (from 4 years down to 5 days old) and just as many adults. Sorry Chris and Kari if we left popcorn twists and finger prints all over your house! I think I also hid a few things from our kids, so hopefully you are able to find them again.

Last night we had a BBQ at our house with two families we have become friends with who both have twin girls. Our 7 babies are all within a month and a half of each other. It was a lot of fun, chaotic as well. We had gotten a blow up pool and filled it with balls to make a ball pit. The kids had a lot of fun in there.

We had the ball pit outside to start with. I said to Daniel maybe this is something our babies can play with and the boys won't steal or fight over the balls because there are 250 to play with. Yesterday it worked, although I'm sure it's just a matter of time.




Casey had fun in there for a while until he realized we were outside and then he wanted to go and explore (and eat flowers).


When our company came we moved the ball pit into the living room. It didn't leave very much room for us but the babies had fun.
Ruby is closest to us in the green top,then Mitchell, Leah, Casey, Maggie, Abbey and Aida

Family Pictures

We got our pictures back and are very happy with how they turned out. Now the hard part is trying to choose which ones to have enlarged. Although, we purchased a disc with all of our pictures on it so we can get all of them devloped.
Our photographer was great and worked really well with the pressure of getting good shots before a potential meltdown happened (x 3), which thankfully it didn't. If anyone is ever looking for a good photographer with very affordable prices just let me know.

Here are some (well actually a lot) of our favorites. Casey is in blue, Mitchell in green and of course Maggie in pink.










Mitchell mouth is puckered up here becuase he had just taken a bite of the purple flowers. I found flowers still in his mouth later on that day.








It was a huge help to have Gail (my sister) there as an extra set of hands. Things wouldn't have gone so smoothly with out her. Thanks Gail!

http://www.seeshels.com

11 Months, Please Time Stop!

11 months old already...how is that possible? If anyone has the secret to make time slow down please tell me. I have started planning their birthday parties and am excited for that but it just seems crazy that they are almost a year old. I get sad when I think about it too much, so I try not to...I'll stay in denial for the next month. I know that there is so much more fun to come but I really will (and already do) miss the little baby stage.

Someone said to me that they thought this stage may be easier now that they are crawling around and to that I say, "Oh my goodness, not a chance!". They're everywhere and they're quick! When we get someone out of something they shouldn't be doing and put them somewhere else, the next two take that opportunity to get in there. I am sure that things will only get crazier when they start walking. Everyone now pulls up on anything and cruises along furniture. If I had to guess, I would say Mitchell will be the first to walk. He is less hesitant than Maggie and Casey and will try anything. They all like to walk the chairs and highchairs across the kitchen, although they get upset when they get stuck in the corner. They have figured out how to open drawers and cupboards, they like to play under the table and under their highchairs, they like to play with the blinds on our garden door as well as the heat registers and door stops. They also like to come after my shoes to untie my laces (I wear shoes all of the time because of my orthotics). And when 3 little people are all pulling on your pant legs at the same time they can pull them right down.

We bought a Superyard to prevent our TV from being pulled down onto one or all of the babies. The Superyard is like a cage that you can put around things to keep kids away from something or you could put them inside of it if you wanted to contain them. I am sure that our Christmas tree will need some protection this year so we can definately use it for that.



Tooth Update: Casey has his 2 top teeth that have just come in, bringing him up to 4 total. Mitchell has one top one about ready to come through (I am hoping it is soon!) Miss Maggie still only has her 2 bottom ones.

We have our 1 year NICU follow-up at the beginning of September when we will get their official weights and measurements but I have been keeping track of their weights at home too. On their 11 month birthday Casey was the big linebacker at 24.4 lbs, Mitchell was the little centerman at 19.7 lbs and Maggie was the cute shortstop at 19.2lbs. The boys used to be quite close in weight but then Casey started taking off. Mitchell is not very interested in his bottles plus he has ants in his pants and so he is always moving somewhere.

Casey and Maggie having fun.

I have mentioned a few times that Mitchell likes to chew on or try and eat anything or anyone (except his bottles!).
Here he is trying to chew on the outlet covers

Chewing on Casey's toes

Biting Casey's bum

How Did He Do That?

Daniel and I have been saying that we need to move Casey's crib down. He stands up and pulls on the railings and reaches over to Maggie's crib, but is still somewhat tentative.
Well, I got a huge surprise this morning when I walked into their room. This is what I saw....



I couldn't beleive it!! Casey hopped into bed with Maggie and they were having a great time! Their cribs are close because it is a small room and all 3 are together. He must have climbed over his railing and just kind of fell down into Maggie's crib (her's is a bit lower than Casey's). In the top picture on the right side you can see his crib. I am assuming he just did it this morning, but I didn't hear anything.

Maggie is looking at him as if to say, "What the heck are you doing in here?"

And Mitchell is saying, "Don't even think about coming in here!"


We are lucky that he just crawled into her crib and didn't fall out of his onto the floor. Daniel is away right now so until he gets home and can move the crib down Casey will either be switching beds with Maggie or sleeping in a playpen.

And yes, If you look closely at the pictures you can see that Maggie is a bit of a stripper. If she is wearing two piece pj's she likes to get at least one arm out. This is another picture of her from a different morning.


Oh man, did I ever have a good laugh this morning.

Weekend At The Ball Park

We spent the August long weekend in Muenster watching Daniel's baseball provincials. The babies loved being outside so much which also meant that they slept really well (which I loved). Grandma and Grandpa Rauckman live right behind the ball diamond so it was easy to take them back to the house for bottles and naps.

We drew quite a few looks while being at the ball park. When we pulled up in the wagons at the first game our friend's little girl yelled, "The triplets are here!" and then the kids came charging over. The funniest comment of the weekend came from one little girl. She asked me, "Do you own all of these babies?". My mom and I chukled.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.
Dadddy and the babies after the tournament (unfortunatly they didn't win).




I think I need a t-shirt like Maggie's.

During one of the wagon rides that my Dad gave Casey, he was leaning over the edge of the wagon just relaxing. As I was taking the pictures his eyes closed and his head bobbed down for a second, but then he was awake and ready to go.


Our niece and nephews (Daniel's sister and her husband's kids) really enjoy playing with their cousins. Julia took Casey and Maggie for wagon rides.

Emmett and Mitchell doing a "cheers" with their sippy cups.

Here is one final picture from the weekend. As Daniel was bringing our bags and everything else in Mitchell decided to climb up on the bag so he could get a better look over the gate. What a monkey!

Thank you to both Grandmas and Grandpas and aunties and uncles for helping with the babies this weekend.

Please Do Not Feed The Animals

We may have to ask a few questions at the hospital because I think Mitchell is actually part monkey. He is so busy! He crawls and climbs on and over anything or anyone. He has absolutely no fear of anything. We have put on money on him to be the first one we take the ER with a broken bone or head wound. I am finally realizing part of the reason that he is so much lighter than Casey, the fact that he cannot stay still. He isn't really too interested in his bottles but cannot shove enough food or other objects into his mouth at one time....including arrowroot cookies, cheerios, his sister's hair or any part of anyone's body, magazines, basically anything that he comes across. He has the cutest laugh and loves being tickled.




Casey is still the goofy one. He makes such silly faces and noises. He has recently started humming and pretending to sing as he sways his head back and forth. It is priceless! He will you hugs if he is in the right mood...it melts my heart. Casey is the biggest toy thief of the group and can be a bit of a bully at times. His favorite thing to steal is Mitchell's soothie right out of his mouth (and then he just throws it away). But if anyone tries to take anything from him or even just touches something he has, he is devastated.

Casey brought it to my attention that the shelves with the monitor on it were a little too close to his crib.


Maggie has gotten more chatty and smiley over the past few months. She loves being able to explore things now that she can crawl and can keep up with the boys. She has been standing up in her crib now and lately has just realized that she can reach over and hang onto Casey's crib. She spends a good part of her awake time clapping and smiling...looking so pleased with herself. She is such a sweetie.



They love it when I put them into one crib all together. The boys can be getting on each other's nerves, but as soon as they are in the crib the three of them have a blast. They roll around, bury their faces in the blankets, shriek and squeal, climb up on the crib, climb over and on each other, etc. It is really funny to watch.