Week 34

My Boys watching Nemo...AGAIN!
Max really is starting to play with Austin...What a good Big Brother!

Going to Grandma Linda's

Max hates his hat!

Emerson getting ready to go
Alex diggs his new hat!

Emerson wasn't thrilled with the yard!
Max slept!

Alex loved it!
Alex waving bye bye!

Week 34

What a beautiful week in Western New York! We have had some incredible weather. Looks like Spring may finally be here, yeah but than in true Buffalo form, IT SNOWED! We have been doing some outings with the kids. On Tuesday I even took all 4 kids to Target and Babies R'US, alone! I was very lucky, the boys where in great spirits and did minimal fussing! Austin was a huge help and gave the boys their bottles and toys. The kid is almost too efficient, he gave them toys that I discovered at the checkout and had to pay for them. Oh well, it kept them busy! He's good at that. He does the same thing at home. I can always count on him to play with the boys while I'm making dinner or cleaning up. What a great big brother he is.

On Thursday we restarted are dinners at Linda's(Grandma Linda to my kids). That works out great since there are several other adults and I can actually eat. It was a little rough in the beginning, the boys weren't used to all the ciaos and noise but after a while they calmed down, watched Nemo and played with their toys. Uncle Michael, Aunt Kelly, Grandma Linda, Uncle Frankie & Sissy kept them all occupied. Playing on the floor and carrying them around. I'm sure after a few weeks they will be as comfortable there as here. It's wonderful to have the nice weather and to have a routine where we go certain places on certain days. I'm hoping the boys will pick up on their social skills since they have been sheltered for the last eight months.

We had some instances this week with what I like to call "The Stupid Triplet Questions". I was asked at the grocery store"what day care center are you from?" assuming the kids where on a walk from daycare. I got quite bitchy at the stupidity of that woman. I swore (I really am a good christian woman, but some people just test me!)at a woman at Babies r'us when she made the constant stupid comment..."oh, you have your hands full!" It wouldn't be so bad if people didn't say it in such a condescending manner as if in some way shape or form that my kids are some sort of burden. Quite the opposite my children are a gift from God. They are the biggest and best blessing I have ever received. Austin is the smartest, sweetest most amazing kid, and my babies are happy, healthy, growing and thriving! What more could a mother ask for. A burden they are not. I have never considered myself burdened. Who wouldn't want these amazingly beautiful sons that I have? When we are old and grey(OK, I'm already grey) we will have lots of sons, daughter-in-laws and grandchildren surrounding us. It's the ultimate blessing. The thought of it brings tears to my eyes. When someone makes a comment about having my hands full, they're right, I have my hands full of the most amazing children in the world and that is the most incredible gift I could have ever asked for.

Now that I have gone on yet another rant...the kids are a little under the weather. They must have a little bit of a cold. On top of that they are teething so bad, if these teeth don't break through, I'm going to go in there and pull them through myself. Austin is off from school this week and I'm hoping to take all 4 of my sons out on some day trips to the park, the Zoo and shopping. Hopefully, they will all feel up to it. And yes I will be doing it alone! Even though they are hand fulls, they are my hand fulls and I welcome the challenge! However, if I end up "smacking" some condescending idiot for stupid comments, I hope my loving family and friends would understand enough to bail me out of jail! HAPPY SPRING ALL!

Week 33

Oh my Goodness....Triplets!
Mom...can we get a Bear?
Spectacle....Who Us?

Emerson enjoying Cheese Doodles

Max loved the doodles
Alex...Yummmmmmmmy!

Week 33

Well, it seems Spring has sprung in Western New York. Today was a beautiful day. The temperature got up to around 65 degrees. We were so excited we decided to go to the zoo. Of course we where our normal selves and created a stir at almost every turn. Sometime it almost seems that we are the attraction and not the animals. At one point I was walking all 4 of my sons, two in the triple stroller, one in the Baby Bjorn(front sack) and Austin by my side. We where walking to see the baby Rhino. There where so many people gathering around us and pointing that I actually had to say..."the baby rhino seems way more interesting than my children"! I know I shouldn't get so pissed off but I kick into "mommy mode" and I will do anything to protect my children from the stares, points and stupid comments. I just hate the fact that people look at my children as some kind of freak show and not someones babies. I mean would they want people stopping and staring and trying to touch their children? Anyway, all the kids enjoyed the Zoo. Max was bright eyed through the whole thing. I think he likes to people watch. He would look at all the animals and smile and coo. I'm not sure exactly what he was thinking but he looked as if he liked all the new sights and sounds. Emerson and Alex seemed unfazed and Austin was so excited. He had a fun just showing us all around. I plan on spending tons of time at the Zoo since we live so close and we got our family pass so we are good to go!
We are really taking the kids out a lot now. This weekend alone we went to the Galleria Mall, for a long walk around the neighborhood, grocery shopping and to the Zoo. They seem to be getting used to their car seats now and are in better spirits when going into environments that are foreign.
We took the boys to two separate Dr's appointments this week. First we went to the Robert Warner Center at Children's Hospital. This was to evaluate them for delays. It's basically protocol because they where premature. The Dr. evaluated all three boys and was happy to report that all where age appropriate. I know age appropriate behavior is irrelevant because all children progress at different rates and age appropriate milestones really depend on the child themselves. But all the boys where evaluated according to the 5 1/2 month age group which is what age they should be but tested at 7 1/2 months which is what they are! This is wonderful. It means they are showing absolutely no delays from being premature. They also had their 6 month visit to their pediatrician...better late than never since we where all sick and had to postpone their original visit. The boys again are doing amazing and all their evaluations are amazingly showing that they are age appropriate. They are even starting to catch up in height and weight. Max is 15lbs 6oz, Emerson 15lbs 12oz and Alexander 16lbs 1oz. They are all on the curve as well for their height and head circumference! Phewwwww! I look at my babies and see 3 wonderful happy, healthy boys but it is so reassuring to have professionals tell you that they are normal and progressing.
Now that the boys are almost 8 months old we have been trying new foods. They love all the Gerber 2nd stage foods but now we are trying more finger foods. They have started eating bread, biter cookies and puffed cookies. But now, by suggestion of their Physical Therapist....Cheese Doodles. I know I am not the kind of mother that gives her kids that awful artificial color, taste and preservative stuff but these where amazing the boys loved them. I never saw them react like that. Just like any kid with "junk" food they ate them faster than I could put them on their trays. They are supposedly very good for teething. They dissolve but are hard enough to allow them to grate them along their gums. Anything that gives the boys relief from this awful teething pain is good enough for me! Chomp on babies!
On a personal note I would like to say Thank You to everyone who called, wrote and sent cards for my big birthday. It means so much to me to have such wonderful friends and family! Thanks All!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OPA!

Surprise Opa...Tears of JOY!Pretty Cake
Opa & Henry...so Happy

Aunt Lisel, Aunt Kathy Stickel & Aunt Kathy Stinner Feeding Babies

Happy Birthday
He doesn't look 70!
Oma & Thomas

Aunt Kathy and Alex
Brothers! Heli & Opa!

Aunt Lisel reflecting!

Baby James...YUM!

Happy 70th Birthday Opa!

Today is Davids fathers 70th Birthday. Yesterday we (David, Ted, Rich & myself)threw him a surprise party here at our house. It was wonderful. We had Stinners as far as the eye could see. His children, brother and sister, his grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends all came. We tried to keep it as much as a surprise as we could. He seemed to enjoy himself a lot. Walking in he seemed to be a little overwhelmed. He shed tears of joy. It was such a wonderful site to see. We just wanted him to know that he is truly loved by all that know him. He spent hours getting caught up with all. There is nothing like seeing the joy in someones face when surrounded by loved ones.

The kids all had a wonderful time playing with each other. They are all getting so big. Austin ran from upstairs to downstairs playing with his cousins. The babies where all very well taken care of by Oma and all the Aunts,Uncles and cousins. I very rarely had a baby in hand. We are so thankful that everyone came and shared the special day with Opa!

We love you Opa.....and we wish you many, many more Happy Birthdays!

Week 32

Emerson...My Gerber Baby
Austin...I got your nose big bro
Alex playing
Bumper Babies

Max Playing
{{{{{{{SMOOOOOOOCH}}}}}}} Alex & Em...Brotherly love

Week 32

This was a wonderful week. The boys are beginning to turn into little mobile terrors. Both Max and Alex have begun to crawl. They can scoot themselves all around to get where they need to go or to grab a toy they want. Of course they all want the same toy and have actually begun to fight over the one toy the other one has. Most things we have three of, but they still fight over one. I'm sure this is just a vision of what is to come. Emerson is not crawling yet but we are sure he will be soon. I'm happy they didn't all start at once...can you imagine all of them going in different directions? They are all pretty mobile in their walkers. We put them in the hallway between the living room and dining room. There are hardwood floors in there and we have a rousing game of "bumper babies". I think they like being upright. The world must look so different from a "stand-up" position. They seem to interact more that way. They talk, coo and wave at each other. The other day we had a "Hiya" war. All three where screaming "Hiya, hiya, hiya" at each other. It was quite the site. All their little arms waving at each other. They still don't seem to like each other much. I'm sure it will come in time. I hope it will come in time. They are really into their toys now. They can press buttons and are learning "cause & effect". I'm really proud because this is an age appropriate action.

Austin is doing well. He is going through at "test" faze now. He tests everything we say and is constantly being told "no". I know all 5 year olds go through this so we are trying not to be too hard on him. He is doing much better in school though with his listening. And we are very happy about that. I try to keep him as occupied as possible at home but it's been a loooooooong winter and we are all a little sick of being in the house. I can't wait until Spring. We are looking into getting one of the mondo-super swing sets. You know the ones I mean. Those big wood three tier super sets with forts and rock walls and 4 swings. Oh my goodness they are expensive.

However if it will occupy my boys it's worth every penny.

SPRING HERE WE COME!

Week 31 Happy 1st Easter Babies!

Happy Easter All!

Alex with the Easter animals
Emerson
Max
My Big boy got himself dressed...I'm so proud...and concerned!

Aunt Ella with Max

Week 31

Happy 1st Easter Babies!

It all happened so fast. It seems like yesterday that our babies where celebrating their first Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Valentines, St. Patricks and now Easter. Like I said, it all happened so fast. We've had a crazy week of ups and downs. Everyone seems to be feeling OK however, teething is now becoming an issue. The boys are chewing on everything and their gums are all swollen and red. They are crying a lot more and their sleep schedules are all screwed up. My poor husband has been up and down for several nights now with Max and Alex. Emerson is my trooper. He sleeps between 10 and 12 hours nightly.

We took the boys out again on Friday. We are trying to do 1 outing a week to get the boys used to their car seats and the public in general. This time was a little different. I first took the boys to US itek(Davids business). They loved it. They where carried around by their cousins Renee and Amanda. All the employees paid attention to them and Uncle Ted even came over to say hi! We than abducted Daddy and went to Sam's Club. All was fine until it was time to check out. The boys where tired and hungry and started to fuss. People didn't seem to pay much attention to us there. Probably because I had two babies in one cart and David had 1 and Austin. Only a few people noticed we had three of them. Mostly the employees noticed. I think because everyone was Easter shopping and preoccupied. It was kind of nice to be almost invisible again.

Saturday afternoon I took Alex shopping. That was a trip in itself. We went to Burlington Coat Factory(quite shocked at their kids selection). We needed another walker and they had the style we where looking for. I do not recommend taking a baby with a car seat in the store since they probably only have around 20 carts and all seemed to be taken and the isles are not wide enough for their carts anyway or a stroller. Than we went to Target. That was a crazy experience. Their were people everywhere. We ran into a woman who was struggling with twins. I of course stopped and talked to her since I myself have had the experience with the huge car seats trying to fit them in the cart. We talked about all our kids for over 30 minutes. It was nice. Very few people can relate to my situation. Only other mothers of multiples can truly understand. It was a nice time out for me and Alex. We ended the day with a trip to IHOP for diner, where he was an angel!

In other Alex news...He has begun to flip himself over and scoot around. We are very proud of are little one since he was the one that was delayed in his movements more so than the other two. Now he seems to be overcoming his issues and it looks like he'll be crawling any minute. Now if Emerson would just follow his brothers. He is definitely more of a sitter than a crawler. Which actually may be better for all of us since now 2 are mobile!

Easter morning started with Austin jumping into bed with us at 7:00am wanting to find his Easter basket and the eggs that the Easter bunny hid throughout the house. He was so excited. He ran from room to room gathering all the eggs (hopefully next year will be nice enough outside to hide them). He found all 27 eggs that where filled with Peeps, Jelly Beans and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. He found his basket and the toys and books for the babies right away. We had planned to spend the day at my In-laws house and have dinner with them. We got all ready than Max fell asleep! Since he hadn't been sleeping I decided to stay back with the triplets until he was awake. Than Emerson fell asleep, than Alex. In the mean time Max wakes up and pukes all over himself. Than Emerson wakes up and finally Alex.....just in time...for Max to fall back to sleep. Needless to say, I never made it out of the house. Oh well, this is my life! I ate Easter dinner cold standing at my counter, holding a baby covered in puke. Happy Easter Everyone!

Week 30- Happy 7 Month Birthday Babies!

My babies 7 months ago!
Alex, my intellectual
Emerson, my carnivore

Max crawling to his toy
Austin and Alex- What a proud big Bro!

Week 30

Happy Birthday Babies!

7 months and counting. The time has flown by for me. The babies are doing so amazingly. I can't believe they are rolling, sitting up(with assistance), talking (mama...whoo hoo) and now crawling. OK only Max is crawling but put all the babies in their walkers and back up. They cruise in those things. They have just come so far since being in those little incubators with all the tubes and wires. I look back at the pictures and feel such depression that my babies had to go through all that. As their mother I will always feel responsible for not keeping them in longer. If only I where several inches taller maybe I could have but frankly, I ran out of room! I know I shouldn't feel guilty, but I always will. It's like guilt accompanies motherhood no matter what.

OK, so we ventured out this weekend with the triplets(Austin was with Grandma). WOW! What a circus. I actually heard that circus music in the background as we walked through the mall! Yup, we went to the mall. Why we went to the mall is beyond me, but we did. Within moments of exiting the minivan, people began the "Oh my goodness...three"! Than, after securing them in the triplet stroller or as I like to call it "The TRAIN", we entered the mall. Only to have people STOP....let me reiterate....STOP directly in front of us and say...."Are they triplets?". NO....we've abducted 3 different peoples children and decided to parade them around The Boulevard Mall! Than starts the inevitable whispers, "Wow, three babies", "Triplets?", "OMG three", "Twins...No Triplets!". Like we don't know there are three of them. We had people make the comments "You are so blessed", "What a blessing", "You must have a lot of patients" and "Good luck!". Those aren't so bad. The ones i can't stand are the people who stop directly in front of you(blocking us from walking any further) and wanna tell us "how much work it's gotta be", "how tired I am", or that look of utter disgust, you know the "better you than me look"! We had people ask these questions..."Are they all yours?", who else's would they be. To David, "How many jobs do you have", "do you have super sperm" (yup someone actually said that). "Are they identical?", look at them, NO! "You had a c-section, right?", "Are those three twins?", WOW! And my favorite..."Do they have the same birthday?". Are people in general just completely stunned by the fact that their are three of them and it turns their brains to mush? I'm just curios. I got to the point when we walked by people that I would say..."yes, they are triplets, yes their are three of them, yes they are all boys and yes we know it's gonna be rough." I felt such a feeling of anxiety for my children. They are going to have to live their lives like a carnival side show. They don't deserve that. People will always stop and stare at them. I know most people don't mean them harm but, come on people...they are human beings not circus freaks. I don't think we will be venturing out to the mall again anytime soon. However, I do plan on getting T-shirts made....Yes we are triplets, Yes we are boys, Yes we are cute, now back off before we throw poop on you! Think that will get the message across? Poor Austin, he's gonna have to be such a protective big brother in the future! I can already see the "what are you looking at?" look in his face!

On a much lighter note, Max got his first war wound. While struggling with a toy, Max knocked it loose and straight into his eye! Now, my poor lil man has a small bruise under his left eye. First of many I'm sure but just thought I would share that. Also, I heard the most beautiful thing a mother could hear. Emerson started saying "Mama". It started out a small "mmmmmmmm" sound, went into a "mmmmmaaaaaaaaa" and ended up the most amazing sound "mmmmaaaammmmaaa". I haven't been this happy since Austin muttered "mama" for the first time almost 4 years ago. I am one proud mama right now! It was worth the wait!

It's Official

It's Official!

At 9:50 this morning Maxim Charles Stinner crawled! It wasn't his normal "scoot & pull" it was an authentic crawl. He wanted desperately to get to Emerson so he could bite his toes. He got up on all 4's and crawled. I am so proud!!!!!!! He looked at me so happy, like "did you see me mom?". What a milestone for my big boy. I just wanted to have everyone share in my joy!!!!!

Week 29

Sidney & Austin in the Yard Playing in the snow!Man it's CCCOOOOLLLLDDDD!
Max hated the orange stuff
Alex enjoyed itEmerson thought it was just ok
Alexander reading to the other children
Emerson sitting by himself for the 1st time

Emerson says, What are you looking at?
Alex, the double fisted teether

Max is gonna kick your butt!
Playtime

Alex...too cute
Max....my sweet baby

Week 29

Well the boys are finally feeling better. That was the longest couple of weeks of my life. The boys weren't sleeping well, I wasn't sleeping well and life was chaotic. I hate that! God forbid life stray from my well manicured existence. It really gets me frustrated when we vary from our routine...damn OCD! Actually everything hasn't completely returned to normal. The boys are still having sleeping issues but I think that may be more teething than whatever got them sick. Max has been getting up within an hour or two of going to sleep and staying up. Usually he's screaming at the top of his lungs the whole time. That's what makes me think it's his teeth more than anything. No teeth have broken through yet on any of them. That's got to be so painful for my lil babies. I feel so bad for them when they have my whole hand in their mouths and they're going to town like little pitbulls. The second they get teeth, there will be NO CHEWING ON THE MAMA!
So Alex is talking up a storm. This week he started saying "poop, bubba & baba". Still no Mama or Dada. I'm sure they will come in time. The other babies do a lot of babbling. They both say "Hiya" and other baby coos but nothing truly substantial yet.
Austin is getting ready for Kindergarten. He is starting to read more and talks like an adult. He is looking so forward to going on the school bus, he wants to know all about it and asks all the "Kid appropriate" questions like, "where will it pick me up? Will I have friends on the bus? Does the bus use Eco friendly fuels?...." Just kidding on the last one but those of you who know him, know it's just a matter of time before he does say something like that.
I am so getting cabin fever lately. Did you all see that snow fall over the weekend....Holy crap! I am DONE with the snow. The boys and I have been in the house all winter long. I am starting to seriously want to scream. I can't wait to got out side and play with the boys in the yard or go for a walk...yes we have a triplet stroller...thanks Daddy! Fresh air is a luxury I have not had the privilege of experiencing in many moons! Who talks like that...see what I mean about the cabin fever...it's affecting my brain!Anyway, Austin went out and played in the snow with his dad. He loved it. He ws sledding and laughing and the dog was trying desperately to pull him, it was a blast to watch....from inside my house...somebody let me out!!!!!
The boys are trying new things everyday. Max is the only one mobile though...thank God! Emerson sat all by himself today with no assistance! That is a huge accomplishment. He was upright for about a minute before he realized what he was doing. It was amazing. Alex is my rocker. He will rock from side to side to get what he wants.But he shows no signs of crawling or scooting anytime soon. They are also trying new foods. Today we had green mush that the boys spit back at me so I tried orange slop which they loved and then followed up with some pinkish brown stuff that they loved! Gotta love Gerber, some of the fruits aren't half bad...y'know you've tried it!