Another Week in Paradise!

David and his boys!

All my men...except for Griffin who was snoozing! Aren't they handsome?

Max and Alex watching Sesame Street!
Happy Max.

Austin loves his baby brother!

My little penguin.

Austin giving his penguin presentation at school.

Griffin looks like he's saying "Who the heck are you?" to Alex!

Emerson playing with Sidney. She took a bite than he did...too funny!

Another Week in Paradise!

This week was great! The boys are all healthy still, the snot hasn't returned and the last cough has been coughed! Let's just pray it stays that way. We seemed to have successfully removed the people in our lives who insist on causing us stress so aside from the occassional drive by stalking it's been quiet on that front. All and all our lives are returning to a normal state of hectic ciaos.

Austin had a production, Tuesday at school. It was so cute. All the kids stood up one by one, said their names in the microphone than gave a little fact about penguins. Austin stood right up with no hesitation. He said his name loud and proud and gave his fact. He's a natural! No fear of public speaking on his part. In fact he seemed intensely confident. David and I where both very proud. Afterwards Austin showed us around his classroom, introducing us to his friends and proudly showing off his works of art and projects. He's growing and maturing so fast. Where did my little boy go???? We also got his report card this week and he did amazing. Any issues he had in the beginning of the year are gone. He is reading very well, his writing is improving and his listening skills are much better. On Saturday I took him to the Buffalo Zoo for his friends birthday party. He ran around and played like a wild man. He seemed to really enjoy being with kids his own age. I am hoping to get several play dates for him this summer since all the kids at the party live in our neighborhood.

The triplets had a terrific week. They are really getting into Sesame Street lately. They watch one episode every morning. This is great since I can take that hour and get ready for the day without having to tend to them. They will sit on the floor and watch, intensely. They love Elmo (of course), cookie monster and oscar the grouch. Emerson laughs out loud at them sometimes. I wonder what they are thinking while watching. I love that they are getting into it since it was so helpful to Austin when he was their age. I really owe so much to the Children's Television Workshop and PBS for helping teach Austin the ABC's and to count. I mean I worked with him constantly but they made it fun too learn! I even caught Alex counting as we walked up the stairs...he said "un, two, tree", close enough!

The triplets visited the Robert Warner Center at Children's Hospital today. They go there every 6 months to evaluate their growth. When I say "growth" I mean their physical, mental and cognitive growth. They are all completely age appropriate and above on all testing. No bad for being born 8 weeks early. So many kids, even full term children are just left to heir own accord. Then people wonder why their kids have delays. They evaluated the triplets to make sure they don't have any delays due to their prematurity. Alexander does have an issue with his one leg(it bows out) and he is pigeon toed so he is going to see a physical therapist next week but aside from that they all tested between 16 and 1/2 months(their corrected age) and 20 months. So they are all on target. They should have no long term effects of their prematurity!!! Amazing. I am so proud.

I have to say, I am so in love with Griffin. What an incredible baby he is. He sleeps like a champ, gets up only to get a diaper change, feed, smile and coo than goes right back to sleep. He is sleeping 6 hours at night and is only awake for 15 minutes to eat before going back to sleep. I am so lucky. It could have been awful throwing another kid into the ciaos of our lives but he fits right in. He is holding his head up for long periods of time. He is laughing out loud and cooing up a storm all at 2 months old. He sleeps through everything. He never wakes up when the boys are screaming or I am. He actually seems to sleep better when the house is at it's noisiest! I am so incredibly lucky!!!!

Thanks for all the inquiries on my new blog. I have been writing up a storm. I should have it all up and running later this week. I just had no time to publish it yet but I will. It's full of rants and raves that you all have come to love so I'm sure it will be a huge hit!

Finally Healthy!

Happy sick baby!

New slippers, they stayed on about a minute and a half! Austin was cracking up on the background!

Sick Emerson! Awwwwww!

Sick Alex! Awwwwww!

Sick Maxim! AWWWWWWWWW!

Finally Healthy!

Last night I was watching television after all the older children had gone to bed. When I looked over at Griffin, who was sitting in his bouncer chair I was amazed at what I saw. He was staring into the corner of the living room ceiling laughing, cooing and smiling. It almost looked as if someone was there. He continued on for about 4 or 5 minutes before his eyes became heavy and he eventually fell asleep. I wonder, do babies see things we don't? I remember the triplets doing the same thing and the ironic thing is, he was staring in the exact same place they always did. I like to think it's my Grandmother, who passed away in January of 2007, the same week the triplets where conceived. Or maybe David's mother who passed away when he was 10 years old. It's amazing how the mind works. I can just imagine my Grandmother in the corner making silly faces and smiling so big at my baby. She always loved the little ones. Or David's mother coming to check on her newest grand baby. One never knows I guess. I wonder what they both would have thought of all these baby boys. I'm sure they both would have been the best grandmothers and loved them unconditionally. I wish they where both still here, life would be so different, less dramatic I'm sure!

Me and my baby!

The triplets are finally over their colds. It was the longest month of our lives. They would feel good for a day or two than be sick for a week. I can't wait for the weather to break so we can air out the house and get rid of all these sick germs that seem to linger. They have started playing like big kids now. I think they are playing games. One smacks the other than they run after the third. They can do this for hours. They are needing me less and less which is nice since Griffin needs me now. But I kind of miss them only wanting me.

Austin had a great weekend. He hung out with his Aunt Ella. They watched movies, went shopping, visited Aunt Terri, who has been quite ill and went roller skating. Then on Sunday him and I played the WII and he crowned me Queen Mother of the WII! I think he was impressed that his mom could play his video game better than he could! Than he started watching the original Star Wars movie. I knew all the characters since I saw it as a child. Again he was impressed by his mom! I think he has a brand new respect for me after this weekend, as he should...I'm one cool mom!

As many of you know, I have been collecting data and writing a book based on my blog...mostly my experiences as a mother of multiples, foreign adoption and MY life. This includes all MY experiences as a mother and the trials and tribulations that come with it. This week I have started with the experiences of extended family and their opinions of you and your life. Let's just say my book is taking an interesting turn. I have a whole chapter in my head and can't wait to have the time to sit and write it down. I have also decided to start a new blog. I really feel the need to write on a more adult level sometimes. So I think maintaining a blog with more grown up content would be appropriate and leaving this blog about the kids is a better fit. I will start it soon and those of you interested in the site can email me at themamaofive@ hotmail dot com and I will direct you to my new site. It will not be a blogger site or able to be found through google so you will have to email me for the site name. I will still maintain this one about the kids but maybe keep my rants and raves to a minimum. Maybe not.

To those few people(they know who they are) who are telling stories to anyone who will listen, just know this. Everyone is now talking to each other and therefore the lies you are telling are now becoming very evident to everyone. So if your going to lie to several people in the same family it would be wise to tell the same lie instead of making up new ones with each new person. Maybe then no one would question your credibility or your sanity! It's like the story of the man that caught the 6 inch fish. By the time the story has been told and retold the fish is now 40 feet long with razor sharp teeth. I'm wondering, after 3 weeks...how big is the fish today????

All grown up!

Serious Baby!

Laughing Baby!

Too Cute! Smiley Baby!
Noodles!!!!!!

Alex loved the noodles so much, he shared with his shirt!

Austin tried to figure out how to eat them!

Emerson said "forget the fork" and used his hand!

Max had them EVERYWHERE!

Emerson stole my camera and took this of himself. Maybe he'll be a photographer.

Max apparently trying to convince me he didn't do it!

Alex was having an in depth conversation with me prior to this picture.

ALL GROWN UP!

I don't know exactly when it happened but I recently came to the realization that my babies (the triplets) are no longer babies. They are growing so fast. Maybe it's because Griffin is so little...OK, he's not so little he's actually a pretty big baby but I think somewhere in between me having Griffin and now, my 3 little baby boys turned into toddlers. I was looking at them today, they where running around playing tag with Austin and it almost looked like they understood the rules to the game. Max would get tagged by Austin and then he would run up and tag Alex who would run over and push Emerson. Somehow they all ended up in a "baby pile up" as Austin calls it. They where all on top of each other laughing hysterically. Than Alex was saying "get up". Yes, Alex talks. In fact Alex doesn't shut up. He doesn't say your typical "Mama, Dada, Baba, Baby, NO NO". He says "Get down, My baby, I do it, Hiya Griff, AAAAUUUTTIN (no S), Mommy and Daddy" as well as other phrases and words. He's exceptional in his speech. He reminds me of Austin so much at that age. Emerson has learned fear. He doesn't like scary parts to movies and will call me when the scary part is coming so I can hold him on my lap. He sits and plays for hours with his cars and blocks or whatever he can give sound effects to. I love when he makes the car noises..."broooom brooom". He spits everywhere. It's great. Maxim is just huge. He's so long right now that when I hold him his feet touch my shins. He climbs on and in everything and loves all the musical instruments in the house(we have a ton). He will bang on his drum and hum. He hums constantly. I'm not sure where the last 18 months went. One minute they where these little tiny babies and now they're kids. I'm trying not to blink, I think if I do I'll miss something.

Griffin went to the doctor for his 1 month check up. He's 6 weeks old but since he was in the hospital for 10 days he is two weeks delayed on his appointments. He now weighs in at a hefty 11lbs 7.7oz! He is 24 inches long and is measuring in the 90th percentile! That is a far cry from the triplets who at 6 weeks old where only around 6lbs. He lifts his head with ease now and searches the room when he hears my voice. He is beginning to "coo" and he smiles and laughs(with no sound). His face is changing but he still looks so much like David it's unbelievable. I do see myself in his big blue eyes and that just thrills me since I thought he would only resemble David. The doctor gave him a clean bill of health and said he was right on target and even above for his age.

Austin is my little golden child this week. It's almost like night and day. He has been on vacation from school so he started the week with my mom and sister but since Tuesday he's been home with me. What a huge helper he has been. He's been playing with his brothers and helping me with chores around the house. He's even been listening(for the most part). I think he's finally growing out of the terrible 5's! He's maturing and I think he's beginning to understand me more and I am beginning to understand him more. I wish there where more hours in the day though. Sometime he gets shafted when the little ones are demanding of our time. He really is a patient kid. Let's all pray he continues on this path. I know in my heart the hard part is behind us and we are starting a new more positive Stinner chapter.

I have begun to experiment with new foods again. The triplets are starting with new veggies and meats and I am introducing a lot more variety of things in their diet. Well, the other day I looked in the freezer and realized I had very little to work with as far as dinner was concerned so rather than order something I thought soup and a sandwich would be a change for dinner. Shortly after I realized all my bread was frozen so just soup may be fine. I would just give them crackers and fresh fruit for dessert. The only soup I had that would be filling enough for them was Ramen noodles. I was skeptical but gave it a whirl and oh my...it was a hit. Austin loved it and so did the little boys. We'll just say there where noodles everywhere. They laughed and sang during dinner and ate all their noodles. I couldn't help but snap pictures like crazy. The only thing you can't see is that there where even noodles on the walls. I guess my cleaning compulsion is relaxing because I didn't care. I loved that they had fun! That's what life is all about...Family, Fun and FOOD! Can I get an AMEN!!!!

A New Week, A New Attitude!

Griffin, my bright eyed baby!

Taking a bath, what a big boy!

Emerson

Maxim

Alexander

Playing in their new tent.
My Big Boy!

A New Week, A New Attitude!

This week was nothing if not interesting. It started out a crazy roller coaster of ciaos and drama. But we made a decision as a family to ignore the drama and put it behind us. Their is no reason to deal with awful people in your life. Just cut them out, ignore their lies and move on with our lives. That's our decision. We have no time in our busy lives to deal with negativity!

David had some minor surgery on Wednesday and all seemed to go well. He has been sore, but my husband is so resilient!!!! He still managed to run his business and go to a few meetings. He worked mostly from home for the rest of the week which was great because Emerson started to relapse with his cold! UGH! We started out with the snotty noses again, than the awful cough and by the end of the weekend had the full on coughing, sneezing, stuffy head, puking(the crap that's going down his throat), diarrhea and slight fever. I know it's just a recurrence of the cold he had two weeks ago so I'm not concerned about it being a flu. Unfortunately he just wasn't completely over it when he was obviously exposed again. We where so lucky last year. Austin got sick a few times but aside from a mild outbreak of the croup, the triplets remained healthy. So dealing with this now is actually better than if they where smaller. Griffin has been spared from all this, thank God! He gets a little congested than, it seems to go away quickly. I try to do my best to keep him separate from the little boys anyway. They are just way to rough with him still.

Austin had a great week. He is really into coloring and drawing pictures. He's so artistic(he gets that from me! Ha) He has been using all his new birthday craft sets to draw these cool Star Wars pictures. He's so proud of himself. He brings them up..."look mom, Luke Skywalker", "Look at this clone guy". I'm not sure all the characters but he sure does. David and I have discussed the whole ramifications of Star Wars and other more adult television that involves some violence. We decided it is best if he is exposed to his interests in a controlled environment like our home, rather than at a friends house or at school with his buddies. We can control and monitor him closely at home to make sure he knows this stuff is make believe and not reality. He knows, what's real and what is not and we believe this new fascination with Star Wars is just a faze like everything else that he he will eventually grow out of. It's no different than 50+ years ago when young boys played cowboys! Good vs. Evil. It's all the same, just different characters. He's really into the good guys beating the bad. I love that my big boy wants to be a good guy. He's turning into a really cool kid!

Aside from their minor colds, yes they all have it as of today. The triplets had a great week. I spent a lot of time playing and singing with them. They love "ring around the rosie", the "ABC song" and "Elmo's world" theme song. Alex tries so hard to sing. He thinks the words are coming out but they are just a series of babbles. David and I can easily understand him but in general I'm sure it's just babbles. Max hums along just like he did when he was a baby. Any day now those words are going to come flying out. I brought out the tents and ball pit they got for Christmas, what a blast that was. They played for hours before dismantling it and trying to put it back together. Emerson is my dare devil. Lately he's been climbing up on all the furniture, throwing the pillows off and jumping down on them. He's missed a few times, but he needs to fall and pick himself up to learn cause and effect. Max is playing so well now. He loves to play ball and is constantly handing me the ball to throw back at him. He will do this by the hour and makes me laugh so hard. He his like a little robot. He runs, grabs the ball, throws it at me, I through it at him and it starts all over again and again and again! My children are just such a blessing to me. They are the reason I was put here. They give us both such joy!

Griffin is great, he's growing like a weed. I have already put away the Newborn clothes and he is now in size 3 months. He's gonna be a moose. All he seems to do is eat and sleep. This is great for me. But the more he eats and sleeps the more he grows. He's gonna be huge! As long as the Doctors say he's healthy, I'm good with it. He's my little bonus in life! I just want to eat him up!!!!

On a somber note: There was a tragedy in our area late last week. Continental Flight 3407 crashed on Thursday evening into a home in Clarence, New York. 50 people lost their lives. It's the most devastating occurrence to hit our home town since 9/11. I want to extend our love, thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families. I suggest all of you take a few moments to call your loved ones and say a prayer for all those lost and their families.

Happy Birthday, Austin!

Happy Birthday Big Boy! Nice Cake!Max is such a bad ass!

Austin and his Papa

Ready for the Party!

Happy Birthday All!

Emerson, too cute!

Alex was so tired.

Austin opening his gifts with Ethan.

Mommy and Emerson!

Alex loves Pizza

Run Max!

Cool bounce houses

Baby bath time!

Happy Birthday, Austin!

Well, it's official! My 1st baby is now 6years old! It seems like yesterday we brought him home and he was this little teeny kid, running around and drooling all over the house. Now he's this big kid running around spelling everything and explaining to me the intricate details of Star Wars. He's such an amazingly smart kid with a vocabulary unlike anyone else his age. I am so proud to be his mother!

We started out the "Birthday Extravaganza Weekend" by having a party at Bounce Magic. This place has large bounce houses and games for the kids to play. It was great fun. This year Austin asked that it just be his "guy friends". I didn't realize that there is separation of the sexes so early. But apparently there is and girls have cooties. Anyway, he had a blast. It was a Star Wars themed party since Austin eats, sleeps and breathes Star Wars. I asked my friend Jenn (also Austins best friend Zack's Mom) to make the cake(She made the triplets Nemo cake). It was a huge R2D2 cake. The coolest cake I've seen. I can't believe all the work she put into it. She has a true gift, it was an amazing cake and tasted Delicious. We had around 14 kids including the triplets and my friends one year old. The triplets handled it well, they ran around and dodged in and out of all the people. Emerson was the only one that liked to bounce in the toddler area. The other two just wanted to people watch. It was a great time had by all.

On Saturday, we had a family party here at our house. Every year we have a "universal" party for all the February birthdays. My mom shares hers with Austin. Her husband is the last week in January. My brother-in-law Jose is on the 11th and my sister Gabrielle is on the 14th. Everyone came over and we had cake and ice cream. Austin spent most of his time in the basement playing with all his new birthday toys. He only came up on occasions to eat or show some Lego machine he built. He had so much fun. On Sunday his extended birthday was spent with a visit from Aunt Kathy and My dad and his fiance. He got way too much stuff and that was fine. He had a rough 5th year so we made a pact that 6 would be the best year!!!!!

The triplets are feeling so much better. The sickness everyone had is almost completely gone. We still have some snotty noses but in general everyone has returned to their normal toddler selves. They have recently discovered Elmo and Sesame Street. I find it so fascinating that a show I watched 35 years ago is still relevant and appealing to my children. They love watching Elmo's World and Alex sings along with the songs. It's too funny. Alex amazes me with his verbal skills. He now will pretty much say what ever you do. I now have to watch my language like crazy. Emerson is my player. He will sit and play with the cars by the hour or read his books. Max is Mr.Mommy's Boy lately. He just seems to want to be on me. He's been whining allot but in his defence he has been sick and he is still waiting on 4 teeth to break through while the other two have ALL their teeth.

Griffin is the best baby boy. Not that I'm comparing him to anyone. He is the most even tempered baby. No drama. He sleeps great, he eats great and when he's up he amazes me with how well he lifts his head and how strong he is. Because I have had such a bad infection(yes, it's still going on), I had some breast milk issues and had to supplement him with a little bit of formula. This is devastating to me. I didn't want to ever give him formula but what can I do...9 rounds of antibiotics and still having issues! But I am still giving him just 2 ounces of formula mixed with 2 ounces of breast milk. And he is nursing 3-4 times a day. I was just a little bit decreased in production. All is returning and I'm hoping we won't need the formula. He has begun to smile when he sees me or when I kiss his cheek. I love it. It's like no one exists but the mommy. Motherhood is the most gratifying thing I have ever done. It makes me crazy sometimes but so worth it!

On a personal note: I have a motherly rant! I know, big surprise! This is my Forum and therefore I have the right to rant if I want too! If you don't like it, don't read it!
I was recently faced with a situation in which I felt compelled to defend someone I shouldn't need to defend. Without giving specifics I would like to say the following:
I am a person who feels very strongly about defending those that can not defend themselves. This includes my children who have yet to find their voice and those adults that for what ever reason can not speak for themselves. Sometimes it makes me crazy when I'm faced with a situation in which a person or persons treats these who can not speak with such a lack of respect that I instantly go into defensive mode and begin to defend them. From the time I was very young I can remember having a compassion for those that where "different". I never judged, never stared or discussed and never developed fear. I felt everyone was put on this earth by God and everyone of God's creatures has a purpose. This purpose is not to be questioned or feared but to be tolerated and accepted. This means those that are different colors, religions, sexual orientations, mental and physically challenged as well as everyone else. For those of you who can't understand need to reflect on their own Christianity instead of judging others and respect for all God's creatures. Remember, he makes NO mistakes. Your going from person to person looking for validation of your allegations and questioning others Christian beliefs are just idiotic rants from a lunatic who uses Gods words as tools for their intolerance to a world they fear and know nothing about! So judge yourself before judging others and take some time in your prayers to ask Gods forgiveness for all the HATE and FEAR in your heart! Say what you want about me, I'm doing just fine. I know I am justified in my rant. I will continue to stick to my morals and beliefs and to love those you so strongly hate. I will even continue to love you.

I am going to make one request to the person on the receiving end of this rant, if you are going to continue to lie about the situation at least keep your lies consistent. You are just making yourself look bad!

Sick, Sick, Sick, Sick & Sick!

My sick boys!

Austin and his new baby brother!

Austin playing in the snow!

Me throwing Austin in the snow!

My handsome baby!

He looks like his daddy!

I couldn't resist the Emerson eyes!

Sick, Sick, Sick, Sick & Sick!

What a week we had. All the kids ended up with the most terrible cold. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, it did. The puking, constant snot and diarrhea showed up. I thought the baby might have been spared. But Sunday early morning he puked up his feed, had terrible diarrhea and a stuffed nose. So far David and I have been lucky. We both ended up with the stuffy nose but that's about it. The brunt of it also seemed to miss Austin. He only was stuffy for a few days with a bad cough. I'm certain he was the one who brought it home! Damn Kindergarten germs! I am even a bigger stickler about letting people in the house during this cold and flu season. Especially anyone who works in high public areas. Nobody understand the severity the common cold has on premature children or Griffin for that matter who just 4 weeks ago(today) was born with a collapsed lung. Anyway, don't be offended if I say no to a visit when the kids are not 100%. David and I are the ones up all night not anyone else!

Austin proved to be a huge help to me this week with everyone else sick. He held Griffin and played calmly with his brothers. He also was my little gofer. I sent him all over the house for diapers, tissues and food products. He is finally maturing and growing out of this crazy boy phase he's been in for the last year. Either that or he knows his birthday is on Saturday and he's just being a brown noser. We'll see. We had a record snow fall last month and Austin was dying to play in the snow. But since he had been under the weather we where unable to take him out and let him go crazy. So when he got off the bus on Friday I couldn't help myself. He was all bundled up so I took him and threw him in the snow! He threw snow balls at me and I took the shovel and threw a ton at him. It was a blast. I only hope he gets to go sledding before the season is up. He would love that. He is my little snow bunny!

The triplets where rather lethargic this week. They where so sick, that they didn't eat or sleep much. It was just a series of whines coming from the living room at an alarming rate. It was the first time in forever that I felt helpless. I could do nothing to help them or ease their pain. They just wanted to be held and loved. This was difficult since Griffin is home. Sometimes I just had to remove myself and take a "mommy time out" in the kitchen. That helped, until the next drama.

Griffin has been growing like a weed. I'm not sure exactly how much he weighs but I'm sure he is already over 10lbs. He nurses every 3 hours and sleeps like no baby I've ever seen before. He is awake maybe 3 hours a day. So all he does is eat, sleep, poop and grow. He is already out of his newborn close and is 0-3 months. Some of them even seem a little small. He's gonna be a chunker! That's' fine by me. I had such teeny tiny babies before, that it is a true blessing to see this big, healthy, happy baby. I have been a little concerned about his eating habits. So over the weekend I went to a local lactation store where I picked up some herbal supplements and mothers milk tea to help facilitate my milk more and sure enough the supplements work. My production has increased and he is eating more and more every time. Thank God! I was dreading giving formula. Although I have tried 1 ounce here and there mixed with breast milk just to see if he would take it. Just in case I got sick and would be unable to feed him. He finally seemed interested in the last brand I tried but all the others he spit out and gaged on. It is true that nothing is like the all natural, real deal breast milk that is best for them in the beginning.