This is as close to perfection as they get! Merry Christmas!This was so funny, it's like they are saying..."Don't eat that MAX!"

This was another out-take but I loved it!

To Immunize or Not to Immunize, that is the question!

The boys had a good week. Aside from still getting over their first winter cold they have been fairly happy. I took them to the pediatricians office for their 16 month check up. They had their flu shot and seemed to react well. I did however refuse the MMR Titer that is now a requirement at 12 months. I know this is a real big controversial issue. But after doing the research and having a severely Autistic brother both David and myself felt it was in our children's best interest to refuse the immunization until the boys reach school age. Before I get angry emails about how not immunizing my children will lead to an out break of measles, mumps or rubella I just want to say that we did not enter into this decision lightly. Those of you that have met my brother will understand why we decided against the immunization and do to the new statistics that variations of Autism affects 1 out of every 5 boys, I just ask that even skeptics respect our right to do what we feel is best for our children. I watched my brother Christian, who was a normal, active, amazing little baby disappear at 18 months after receiving the MMR vaccination. I have heard this story from so many people. The doctors will not substantiate these claims that it is the vaccinations or rather the preservative in the vaccinations that trigger Autistic qualities in children. but their are no reasons to think they don't. I for one am not willing to take that chance with my sons.

Austin is having some behavioral issues. I'm not sure if it's excitement about Christmas or the fact that the new baby is coming soon. I wish I could crawl inside him and see exactly what's going on. It would be OK if it was just at home but now it seems to also be effecting him at school. I don't want to have to punish him for having a hard time but I'm not sure what else I can do to resolve these issues. I have tried everything. How do you make a 5 year old listen? Is there some miracle cure all or do I just let these issues resolve themselves? I wish I knew.

I took the kids to get their Christmas pictures done this week. What the hell was I thinking? DRAMA! First of all the kids are still fighting their first winter colds and they had these awful runny noses. Than the girl we had...our regular girl was sick...sucked. She was maybe 18 years old with zero experience taking pictures of kids. She didn't even center the pictures. We got a few good ones but in general they where terrible. The good thing was I had called my sister Adrianne to help me and Nanny Deb was with us so the kids where able to run free and be watched at the same time. Never again though! I have started looking into buying a good zoom lens for my good camera and possible a back drop so from now on I will be handling the pictures myself! I have a photography degree, why not use it!

Whah!!!!

Uncle Mike and Max had a tickle war.

We had an impromptu wrestling match with Austin, Ethan and Rich in the living room.

Max was teething so bad!

Aunt Kelly and Alex played giddy up !

Hey Santa, Tyler loved the Zebra ride!

We're not sure why Austin was dressed like superman.

Their where kids and toys everywhere!

Emerson taking a quiet moment of reflection.

The boys reading quietly before the company arrives.

Whah!!!!

So I'm sitting here watching one of those Baby Stories on The Learning Chanel. For some reason I only watch them when I'm pregnant. So anyway, in this episode a husband and wife have a 19 month old son and they have another baby. Well, they whine through the whole episode. Whah!!! "The baby is crying and the toddler wants attention" Whah!!! "I want to sleep and the baby keeps crying" Whah!!! "The toddler spilled his drink and it's all over the carpet". WHAH!!! All this while having the mothers parents and the fathers parents there helping out with the toddler and waiting on this Chicks every whiny request. Man that is annoying. I can only hope they look back on their one chance at fame and realize that they whined for the sake of whining. When the triplets finally came home from the hospital it was craziness. Getting into a routine, was essential. It all came in time. I don't see how whining about makes it any better. I'm sure it will be a challenge when the baby is born especially with the triplets and jealousy. But I can't change it so why not make the best of it. I look forward to the challenge! I thrive on drama!!!That being said my c-section has been scheduled and Griffin will be born on January 5th.

This week was crazy. First we had Davids company Christmas party. It was nice. It was at a local restaurant, nothing extravagant. I enjoyed the evening out. But I wasn't feeling well. Than within 24 hours I was full blown sick. I mean high fever, shakes, muscle aches...pure misery! Luckily I had a scheduled appointment with my doctor that day and got antibiotics right away. By the weekend I was feeling better, just in time to have a small Christmas party with some of my friends. It was a nice evening. Their where kids everywhere and that was great. The kids enjoyed running around with other kids their age. Austin played with Ethan and the boys with Tyler. I really don't think the triplets noticed that there was another baby there. I hope this is a sign of good things to come. Maybe they won't even notice when the baby comes home, yeah right, wishful thinking.

As the week went on all the boys have gotten a touch of the cold. I was the only one that ended up with a terrible fever. This thrills me. To most people getting a cold, sinus infection or the flu isn't a big deal but to my boys it could be horrible. They could end up in the hospital. Even though they have reached every milestone and are completely age appropriate their immune systems could still be compromised from being born 8 weeks early. Them only getting a mild form of the cold is just a huge milestone. That their immune system may also be age appropriate. That's exciting to me. One of the benefit's to being a stay at home mom is that I work with my kids on a daily basis. I get to play peek-a-boo and teach them their ABC's and 1-2-3's. Every time their is a small milestone it's actually a huge achievement in my eyes. For example...Alex can identify his own eyes, nose, mouth and head. He can also identify them all on me. But for the very first time Max identified his own eyes yesterday. It was huge! I swung him up in the air and was so excited. I know he was excited too! What an amazing feeling! I have been working with Emerson and I know he's right around the corner! I can't wait. I remember going through the same feelings with Austin, for different reasons, When he would speak in English and understand a command for the first time. Now that was an amazing feeling too. I love motherhood.

Now on to the holidays. I am starting to make Christmas cookies this week and I may even put up the tree, if I feel adventurous. I still have a few gift certificates to pick up and than I'm done shopping. Than comes baby! Whoo Hoo! Viva 2009!

Where has this year gone?

Daddy and his little boys watching Toy Story 2.

They wresteled...guess who won?

Daddy and Emerson doing a flip!

Max's newest trick!

Alex is Mommy's little drummer boy!

Austin and his funky dance moves!

Emerson is Mr. Smiley. Alex's blue eyes melt me.

So do Max's

Where has this year gone?

Here we are the beginning of December. The year will be over in less than a month and our new baby will be joining us probably sooner than later. I'm not sure exactly when the year past me by but I think it was somewhere around May. It seemed like the year had just begun, we found out we where pregnant and we had begun making plans for the boys first birthday bash. Now here we are, the year almost done, the boys walking and talking the birthday bash long from our minds, Austin looks sounds more like a young man everyday and our new baby about to arrive. I'M FREAKING OUT! I just had this unbelievable image of a teenage Austin coming in and asking for the car keys to go on a date. It's seems like that is where life is heading. I'm not exactly sure what next year holds, but I am so looking forward to it. So I pose this question to you...Where has the year gone and what will the next year have in store?

Thanksgiving was great. We hosted both my family and David's. Talk about two families that are at complete ends of the life spectrum. But that's OK. We all seemed to get along well. There where a few incidents of passionate discussions...that's when people raise their voices. But in general the day was wonderful. By the time the day was over and I finished the dishes, I was exhausted and so where the kids. We all just crashed. I've never slept better. Now for Christmas. I am hosting Christmas eve this year (as long as Griffin doesn't decide differently). I made the decision that Christmas eve will be the day we invite family or friends to visit and Christmas day will be the day we spend in our jammies enjoying our kids! It's really not fair to give them all new stuff and then say..."you can't play until all our company leaves later!" So Christmas day will be all about playing! I can't wait!

Austin is getting excited for the holidays. He talks about Santa constantly. He wants everything he sees but than retracts when he notices it says 3 and up. He'll say..."Well how about that for my brothers, since I'm 5 and way to old for that toy". He thinks he's grown and quite frankly I think he is an old soul in that five year old body. My son is wise beyond his years!

The boys are great. They have begun to venture out of "the worlds largest playpen" or my living room as we like to call it, and explore the world around them. They get in all my cupboards, they put all their greasy, slimy little fingers all over my spotless furniture. But I love that they enjoy exploring so I don't mind much. It is hard to watch them when they are going in three different directions. But that's half the fun. They are loving playing with their daddy and Austin. They grow so fast. They amaze me every day with the things they do. I feel like I'm looking at life for the first time in their eyes. I really do have 4 of the most amazing kids in the world...soon to be 5!

Two Posts in One

I found Max in the toy box...I'm not sure if he jumped in or was pushed...but he wouldn't get out!

Alex is having teething issues....Ahhhhhhh!

Austin was making his Christmas list with the Toys r'us ad!

I tried to get them to all sit together! Didn't happen! Max and Emerson are fascinated with my pregnant belly!

Emerson tried to bite the baby!

Maxim and his blankie!

Max is turning into a big ham. He smiles so big when the camera is around.

Emerson was watching the first snowfall and showing off his black eye.

Alex is "Mr. Serious" lately!

Two Posts in One!

Sorry this post is so late. As I'm sure you all know I am now over 8 months pregnant. This is proven to be a little more difficult than I had originally thought. In the beginning I had no issues. Aside from debilitating morning sickness! I believed what everyone had said...I am SUPERWOMAN! I can do it all. Take care of a demanding 5 year old...check! Join the PTA...check! Take care of three 1 year olds...check, check and check! Clean the house, do the laundry, make the beds, cook the meals, entertain and now host Thanksgiving and Christmas all while shopping for gifts ahead of time just in case I go into labor early...check, check, check, check, check, check, check and check! All while keeping up with the blog. Oh well, something had to give!

The boys are doing great. They have been discharged completely from physical therapy. It was so sad to see Carol go but I know she did her job and made my boys who they are today, completely age appropriate toddlers. I am so grateful to her for being so patient and kind with the boys. She will always be a special person in our lives! The weather has turned cold here in Buffalo. Big surprise right? Actually it held out a while and just two weeks ago we had a couple of 60-70 degree days. I love the dressing up in warm clothes, the hot chocolate, comfort meals and spending time as a family all nestled in the warm living room. I can't wait for Griffin to be born so he can be a part of those long winter evenings with us and his brothers.

We all have been spending allot of time in doors, getting ready for the holidays and baby boy#5! So much so I think Austin is getting a little stir crazy! I mean he gets out when he goes to school but every time a snowflake falls he asks to go outside and make a snowman. He insisted the other day that their was enough snow for him and his dad to have a snowball fight. Needless to say their wasn't and he was really angry!

I want to say a very special "Happy Birthday" to Judy "Sissy" Bryant. Sissy turned 70 years old this weekend and we took part in her big birthday surprise bash. We are so thrilled that the Saletta, Brent, Bryant families think of us as their family. We love them so much! We wish our Sissy many, many, many more!

Well, this week is thanksgiving. I am having 20 plus people at my house for the holiday! I know, I'm crazy but the thought of bringing my 4 young boys to someone elses house that isn't baby proofed just gives me way too much stress. I would never get to sit down, I would never get to eat and I would make myself, my husband and my host so stressed it wouldn't be worth it! I much prefer to cook the meal at my house where the kids are in their own environment and they can keep up on their sleep schedule! I really don't mind the cooking, in fact I enjoy it! I even delegated some of the food duties this year(I usually do it all myself!). I decided I could no longer take on the WHOLE meal. Everyone said they where happy to help! I know all will turn out well!

The Countdown

The Countdown

I have begun the final countdown in my second pregnancy in two years! Think about it...24 months, two pregnancies....5 kids! I think I deserve some kind of reward! I am really feeling this pregnancy now! Everyday that passes I feel more and more tired. My legs have begun to swell and my hips are spreading so they ACHE so bad! There are some days I think, "this is it! I'm pushing him out right now". I won't of course, but I want to.

We have begun to prepare the boys for the arrival of the new baby. They all seem so interested in my growing belly. Alex climbs up, kisses and rubs my belly. He so sweetly says "baby"! Emerson is interested when he hears the babies cry on the videos. We show them the videos of when they where little. He says "ut oh" every time he hears the little peeps they used to make. Max is pretty much unenthused about the whole thing. As long as he has food, baba's and his blankie he is good to go. I really do think they are going to be horribly jealous when he comes. I hope I hold up well, for them. I won't be able to pick them up for a couple of weeks because of the c-section. I have absolutely no idea how that is going to go over.

Austin is handling the whole idea of a new baby very well. I think in his head it doesn't matter if their are three little brothers running around or 4. I just wonder if he realizes that the baby will be small and unimpressed by him. Not like the triplets that light up every time he walks in the room. Well, it will be eventful that's for sure!

We also got some great news this week. Emerson and Alex are being discharged from physical therapy. This is a huge deal. It means that our little teeny preemies are now considered completely age appropriate. I am so proud of them. All three of them have caught up and than some. Max was discharged way back in August but we all know he is super baby. But to have all three discharged in such a short amount of time is amazing! That's the power of prayer people!!!!!!

Happy Halloween

Alex-Monkey

Tigger-son

Austin Vador

Halloween Pow Wow

Daddy and Max

I have pictures of the three of them nesteled on this chair. Now there is no way! They are so Big!

Happy Halloween

Halloween is what you make of it. You can either go the goring, ghouly, blood and guts route or you can take it as an excuse to dress up, be silly and get treats. The ladder is what we chose. The kids had a blast. David came home early, we dressed the kids in their costumes and than we where off. We don't trick or treat, so along with our outing last week at the Zoo we went to show the boys off to family. We first stopped at Grandma Linda's house. She cracked us up by answering the door dressed as a black widow spider. We had just enough time to say "hi", take some pictures and grab some candy before heading to Grandma and Papa's houses (they live next door to one another). Of course the babies fell asleep in the car and where freaked out when they woke up in a strange place. Especially dressed the way they where. Grandma and her husband as well as Aunt Ella, Papa and Robin where all there to greet the boys. We hung out, handed out candy and played. The boys tried M&M's for the first time and LOVED them. They couldn't get enough. Titi came and played for a while and than the sugar high wore off so it was time to go. The boys slept the entire night...and so did Mommy and Daddy!

We have been trying to ween the boys off formula. This has proven to be more difficult than I had thought. Because Max and Emerson have reflux it has been a series of what milk can they digest and how does it react with the reflux. We have had some screaming fits, puking and sleepless nights trying to find the right combination. We where hoping all the boys would be either on Soy milk or whole milk but that's not exactly what happened. Now we have all the boys on half their amount of formula and Alex and Emerson are on half soy and Max is on half whole milk! I guess nothing is easy when you have triplets!

Austin is doing amazing in school. After talking to his teacher last week he seems so confident. He is reading better and his writing is improving immensely! We are so proud of him. Even his behavior is improving.

Pregnancy Update: Well we are in our third trimester. It looks like we have about 8 weeks left. The baby is extremely active. In fact he often wakes me up in the middle of the night with his kicks! I have the occasional Braxton Hicks contractions, usually at night. I think they happen more when I finally sit down and relax as opposed to when I am busy. Maybe I just feel them because I am sitting idle. I feel like I am huge. The doctor estimates he weighs around 3lbs right now. I personally think he is around 23lbs since that's how much weight I've gained! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Another Day in the Neighborhood

Another Day in the Neighborhood

Did you ever look at your child and think..."why am I so lucky?". With all the negativity that usually surrounds my children, I never think "poor me". I mostly just think, "why am I so lucky?". I still get such obnoxious comments when we go out. I wish people would just keep their negativity to themselves. I know I've said it a million times but, how could a child ever prompt such negative comments? I think people just don't know what to say, so they spew negativity!

I watched the kids for over an hour today. Don't get me wrong, I watch them everyday but today I really watched them. They played so nice. Alex took a toy out of the toy box and handed it to Max. Than Alex took another toy and handed it to Emerson. When everyone had toys he stood back and smiled. He was so proud of himself. He took a toy himself, sat on the floor and they all played. They would swap between these three toys. They did this for almost an hour. There was no crying, no fighting, just three little boys playing so nice on the floor. They are interacting finally and it just makes me smile. They love certain shows, Playhouse Disney in the morning, Baby Einstein and of course Nemo. They really love to dance. The second the music goes on, they laugh and dance up a storm. They most definitely get their rhythm from me. No offence to my husband, but he has absolutely NO rhythm.

My babies, getting their groove on!

On Thursday we had a parent teacher conference with Austins teacher. I shouldn't be surprised that she said Austin is doing very well. He is interacting well and his cognitive skills are right where they should be. I was mostly worried about his behavior but she said he has no issues with behavior. He listens and follows direction. I'm so proud of him. I'm glad he is doing well! I am rather shocked though at the amount of homework a 5 year old receives. I don't remember doing that much.

On Friday night we dressed the kids up and took them to the Halloween Hayride at the Buffalo Zoo. Austin was Darth Vador, of course. Star Wars is the "flavor of the month" with him. Maxim was Lion, Emerson was Tigger and Alex was a Monkey! When I got them dressed, I laughed so hard. They where so cute. We don't usually go along with the whole "Halloween" thing. We never allow the kids to dress up as any demonic or inappropriate. We just like for them to be able to dress up and receive some goodies. We are trying to do more contained projects or outings with the kids. Ones we can control what they see. If we take them trick or treating the chances of them seeing something too scary are beyond our control. Kids are innocent for only so long. We like to keep them that way as long as possible! Anyway, the Zoo was great. We got to walk around after hours see some animals and get treats from different stations around the park. It was great. Nothing scary, nothing jumping out freaking them out. After about an hour they where tired and sick of being contained in their wagon so we gathered our treat bags and left. It was a lot of fun. I can't wait to do it again next year!

Off to the Zoo!

Uneventful

Uneventful

This week was just that...uneventful. It's so nice to have a week of no stress and no drama! We played, hung out and just enjoyed are children. On Thursday the triplets went to the eye doctor for their 1 year wellness visit. I'm happy to say their are no problems at all with their vision. We where worried at first because preemies tend to have vision problems and so do multiples. So with two strikes against them, I thought for sure someone would need glasses, but NO! Just a little medical lesson here, when babies are "in-utero"at around 32-34 weeks gestation is when the eyes are fully formed. My babies where born at 31 week 6 days so they where at increased risk for premature blindness, astigmatism, near sightedness and other eye deformities. I was glad we went to the eye doctor, all my worries where put at ease!

Sunday was a day filled with friends and family. We had some friends come over for the Bills game. It was fun to interact with friends on such a nice day. The kids seem to enjoy it since our friends have a one year old boy and a 5 year old boy. (They also have a 11 year old who went to a school function)The babies enjoyed playing with Tyler and I don't think we saw Austin and Ethan but maybe 2 or 3 times for food refills. Uncle Michael and Aunt Kelly joined us to. It's always so much fun to be with them. They love our kids and you can tell they love to be around them. After all our guests left Oma and Opa came over for their Sunday visit. All in all it was a great week and weekend.

I am trying something new this week. I have decided to upload some videos of the kids. Now for all those friends and family who can't physically see our kids, they can view videos! VIVA Technology!!!!!

They Grow Up So Fast!

Morning play session.
Brotherly love!

Max needed to fix his lawn mower.
Doesn't Max look like a big kid?
The lawn mower was fixed, so Max moved on to the Elmo bike!
Emerson dug up the yard.
Daddy made Alex's boo boo all better.
Austin picked up all the chestnuts.
Emerson ate leaves.
Austin tickled Emerson until he couldn't stand it!
Alex was very serious about the yard work!

They Grow Up So Fast

It seems like yesterday that I brought my little babies into this world. They where so small and helpless. Now all that has changed. They are these 20lb, running, growling, wrestling little creatures that every time I turn around they are jumping on top of one another screaming like banshees. I have had to break up no less than 10 fights this week between my 1 year olds. Can you even imagine. Where did my sweet babies go? OK, their still here. Most times they play so nicely. Max will gladly give up a toy for another baby who wants it desperately. Emerson will go onto another toy if one gets grabbed from his hands and Alex, well, Alex will grab whatever toy he wants and run like hell! I can't believe how quickly they turned into toddlers. They are into absolutely everything. If you open up their "little gated community", our living room, they run for the front door, the basement steeps or the stairs going to the bedrooms. Max is now Houdini! He can disappear so quickly and get into something before you blink an eye. Don't get me wrong, the boys seem to love each other. They play so nice sometime. I catch them all rolling the ball back and forth or playing with their Fisher Price Kitchen. I can't wait until my 5th little angel joins the crew. Can you imagine the fights!

Speaking of baby #5. When I found out I was pregnant again I was a little shocked. OK, really shocked. I will never say I was unhappy because to me a baby is always a blessing. But I was absolutely shocked. The last 7 months I have pretty much put the pregnancy out of my mind. The terrible morning sickness is gone and aside from the occasional kick in the ribs and the increasingly expanding waist band, I forget this little man is growing inside of me. That is until I hear the comments. You know what I'm talking about..."OMG! They have triplets and she's pregnant AGAIN!" Or the "I wanted to kill myself with 2 kids, how are you going to do it?" Or my newest one "Those POOR people!" That one pissed me off, so of course I told the woman she was an awful and rude person! I think she was kind of shocked that I was pissed about her comment. I know I can be a little bit of a joker when it comes to my life, but I wouldn't change a thing. My children are my biggest accomplishment and I look at everyday as a gift from God and not a prison sentence. Who I truly feel sorry for is the people that dislike their children and their life so much that they can look at my kids and think they are anything less than a miracle!

Austin is doing better in school. He seems to be holding his own when it comes to the other children. Not that I had any doubts. I mean my son is "Mr. Personality". He's been wanting to play outside more which makes me really happy. He seemed to become a little bit of a couch potato over the summer. Maybe he's like his Mom and prefers the Fall air to the hotness of Summer. We all spent the day outside this week. Enjoying the warmer Fall days. It was nice to see all three of the babies running around the yard instead of having to be contained. The ran around and picked up leaves, most of the time trying to eat them but so what! Emerson has acquired a taste for rocks. Strange I know but it could be worse. Alex was just content to play on all the bikes and trucks. They are growing up so fast. The next few seasons should be a riot. I can't wait to put them all in their snow suits and throw them in a snow bank.

Fall!

Max helped Mommy pick out Mums for the porch!
Max loves the fresh picked apples!
Emerson is one pumpkin tall!
WEEEEEEE! Daddy making Alex fly!

Emerson wanted that one!
Alex "What's that?"
Austin wanted this one, but....too heavy
Max thought this pumpkin was a ride.
Alex, showing how BIG this pumpkin was.

Max really loved this pony.
Austin found a good one!
My kids are so cute!
Look what I found!
Happy Family!

Mike and Kelly, so cute!
Tyler, the birthday boy!
Alex says "what's that?"
Emerson didn't get it.
Max was a little freaked out by the Llama.

Austin Chowing down.
Yum!
How's your carrot? Mines great!
Max
Daddy and his boys

I can't get enough of these eating pictures!
Poor Austin, so tired!
Mike with Maxim
Mike and Kelly with Alex.

Fall!

Here we go again! Just when you think the last runny nose has been wiped. The last cough, coughed. The last fever contained...It's back! Emerson ended up with a terrible fever on Sunday and it scared me to death. This poor baby who just got over a terrible cold and there he sits on his dad, so lethargic and miserable. I was just heart broken. You just feel so helpless when your child is sick and no matter what you do, you just can't make him feel better. My poor baby! Than the rashes started. All 3 babies ended up with diaper rashes. All the moms out there know that when the antibiotics end, then the rashes begin. There is nothing worse than having your child scream in pain when you change his diaper. Thank God they are all getting better and the rashes are clearing up quickly. Hopefully this is the end of the sickness, for now. Last year my children qualified for the Synagize shots. This is a flu vaccination given to children who are immuno-suppressed or in my children's case premature. They got the shot once a month for 4 months and it helped. My babies didn't get any flu like symptoms at all. With Austin now in school it's so important for my children to continue to get these shots this winter flu season. Me and their doctors are lobbying hard to get these shots for them. It's a long drawn out process that includes approvals from the insurance companies and the makers of the drug, since it is extremely costly and only a certain number of children qualify each year. Anyway, this could be detrimental since my children's immune system is still considered premature. So keep us in your prayers that we get approved.

Just a random parenting moment...Austin came home from school on Tuesday, exhausted. He never does this! He went in his playroom and fell asleep. I go down to check on him and he is out like a light. He even got out his sleeping bag. I shut off the light and let him sleep for a while. After an hour or so I couldn't let him sleep any longer. So I got him up to eat dinner. He was still so exhausted that he fell asleep mid bite and was actually snoring at the kitchen table! I laughed so hard! Kindergarten is killer! I had no idea.

The weekend was wonderful. A perfect fall weekend. The weather was mild. Not hot, not cold. My kind of weather! Saturday we went to a friends house for her sons fist birthday party. I have to say it is wonderful to go to go to home that is completely baby proofed like at my own hose. I didn't have to worry about fingers in the light socket, staircases or getting into cupboards. I didn't have to freak out about nick knacks or glass tables. It was wonderful. I'm usually freaking out about every little thing they touch and I get so concerned now that they're walking that they will fall down stairs or smash someones expensive family heirloom. Thank God for friends with kids. Austin had a great time playing with kids his own age. He jumped on the trampoline and was playing the WII. He almost didn't want to leave. Only at school does he get to play with kids his own age. He's usually playing baby games with his brothers so this was a special treat.

Sunday was an adventure. We decided to take the kids to get Pumpkins at The Great Pumpkin Festival. It was a lot of fun. The boys loved looking at the animals, Alex called every animal a "kitty". He would look so sweetly and say "oh hi kitty". Or he would look and point and say "what's that?" He seemed impressed but confused. They really loved this little pony that came up to the gate and seemed just as interested to see them as they did to see him. It was actually funny to see this animal looking impressed that their where triplets. It was great. We than set the boys free to range amongst the hundreds of pumpkins. They seemed a little confused. At one point Max tried to bite one. They laughed and ran as fast as they could, running up to pumpkins and slapping them. They loved the whole experience and where glad to spend the day outdoors with us, their Grandma, her husband and Uncle Scoob! We all got large pumpkins and Mums for the porch, it was what October is all about. I know my children won't necessarily remember them running around slapping pumpkins but i will and this will be definitely one of those days I file in my memory and a wonderful fall day spent with my kids.