5 MONTHS OLD!!!!!!

and we celebrated with rice cereal and the exersaucer!!!

And one year ago today....we were conceiving these beautiful babies with the help of our wonderful doctor...Dr. Chin!

so much fun

The babies are getting more fun by the day. They are actually starting to 'play' with their play mats and the toys on their bouncy seats...and have found other uses for the play mat too! They LOVE watching tv....which isn't something that i want to last forever, but what cooler toy do we have that has tons of colors, moves, and makes sounds?

They are very attentive when we read to them, and sometimes get so excited that they start kicking their legs! It's very cute!

One of the best parts of the day is in the morning. The babies wake up in such great moods and are all smiles. Avery especially thinks it is hilarious to get dressed. Here's a quick video of her cracking up...

They are laughing out loud, squealing, smiling and for the most part are happy babies nearly all the time! We have gone to 2 mason football games....just this last friday, we stayed the whole game...even a few minutes after it was over (so avery could finish her bottle!) b/c they were so well behaved!!! Josh and i took them out to eat at red lobster, we go on walks at the park....it's just a blast. We are so blessed to have these little sweeties in our lives.

~Just a few random pictures~

Here's a pic from watching our first OSU football game....as you can see...the babies are still all looking at the TV!!

Future linebacker...

Although...this would make daddy pretty proud too...

And Avery and I are just going to go shopping and play dress up! Hope she doesn't mind matching her mom!!

Here's another one of Zach's sweet sweet faces.....

mom's night out ends in tears....from mom

(make sure you read josh's blog before this one first)

i guess the title ruins the ending...but i'm going to start from the beginning.

even before the start of 'mom's night out' it started out being a great evening to leave the kids with daddy...at 5:45 i went to get in the shower...and all 3 were asleep! that NEVER happens to me during the day! which i'm not complaining a bit b/c i would much rather them all 3 sleep at the same time during the night, but was very jealous of josh's time to himself while the 3 were all napping. i finished getting ready with zach in the bedroom with me and his bottle propped while i tried on a million shirts to try to find one that fit, but that's another story...i made it out the door a little after 7 and was on my way to hang out with my fellow multiples mommies.

everything went great. i was having a good time hanging out and catching up with everyone (and for those of you who read the story about Michelle Ranes and her car accident a while back...she made it to the meeting tonight!! she is such a miracle!) and was enjoying the night. at 10:07 i got a text message from josh that said "WOW". i promptly responded "what?".....and got nothing. i finished up a few conversations and decided that if it was really going that bad he would write more. Before i left, i said bye and thanks to my mentor mom, beth, who hosted the meeting and told her about the text. we were trying to figure out what the 'wow' meant...possibly 'wow, we have such wonderful kids', or was it 'wow, i love being a daddy', or was it 'wow, 3 kids! we're so lucky', or maybe even 'wow, i had a great night' or maybe the tone of the 'wow' was a little different 'wow, you better thank me for this' or 'wow, you better get your butt home...and fast'. so many possibilities...and still NO RESPONSE. so i got in the car, and called him...NO ANSWER....so i figured he had his hands full....and texted again..."please call me". NOTHING. knowing my hubby, i know that if he has his hands full, the last thing he wants to do is have phones ringing off the hook, so i left it at the 1 phone call, and waited (not so patiently) for him to call me back. NOTHING.at this point, i am driving like a bat out of hell wondering what is going on at the house, why he can't call me, what's wrong with my babies...and made the drive that took me 22 minutes to get there in 14 to get home. i nearly ran out of the car into the house, opened the door....and SILENCE. my heart is pounding, and i'm also VERY confused as to what the 'wow' with no other responses meant as i found josh sitting on the couch, feet kicked up, a movie on the tv, surfing the internet. i said "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" and got a very snotty response of "what?" i said "WHERE IS YOUR PHONE", and he pointed on the other end of the couch "right there". i said "WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER OR WRITE ME BACK!?!?! I JUST DROVE LIKE A CRAZY WOMAN TO GET HERE TO FIND YOU HANGING OUT AND THE BABIES ALL IN BED" and then melted. I was nearly shaking out of my skin b/c in those 14 minutes...i was contemplating everything that could have gone wrong and didn't know what i was going to be walking into and was prepared for the worst.....or at least to have a crying kid or 2. Apparently, his phone didn't have any service, so none of my calls/messages came through. convenient huh? all 3 babies were sound asleep in bed. after a few tears (b/c i didn't know what else to do to calm myself down), he said he had just finished writing a blog about the night. so i read it, and then wrote this....and for the record, the kids are definitely not for sale....and the dog isn't going anywhere either....and josh will be back to working his 10 hour shifts tomorrow through saturday and i will be here with my babies and know that they are safe and sound....and hopefully happier than they were tonight!

FOR SALE: 2 Boys, 5 months old. Would prefer to sell as a pair but will separate if necessary.

2 Boys, 5 months old (2009 model). Very cute (see pictures from earlier blogs). Not house broken yet and cannot feed themselves so it may be time intensive. As stated in the title, I would like to keep them together but could separate if necessary. If bought as a pair, I will throw in a 2004 Peekapoo mix free of charge. He IS housebroken, and good with the kids he comes with. No reasonable offer rejected!!!

**Before anyone goes crazy and reports this to children services, the fbi, or any other department with an acronym, that is totally a joke. Except for the dog part, he is free to a good home.

So tonight was "moms night out" with the tri state multiples group. That means I took the night off work and it was my night to stay home with the kiddos. Let me just get this out of the way, Kara, I don't know how you do it every night. I know it is tough on you and I have all the respect and love in the world for you, but my goodness, I don't know how your hair hasn't turned grey yet! I have an even bigger appreciation for what you do, and I am very lucky.

So when Kara walked out the door about 7 things were going good. As a matter of fact they were going great......until about 708. That is when Zach melted down and started to wail. And wail, and wail, and wail some more. I think "ok, I got this." Hungry? Nope. Wet or Dirty? Nada. Want some cuddle time? No Way! Swing? Bouncy Seat? Tummy Time? Boppy? Bumbo? Sit on the couch? Lay on the couch? Watch TV? Go for a walk? I got NOTHING but WHAHAHAHAHAhAHAH!!!!!!! WHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

So for a little over an hour I try to settle him to no avail. All this time Avery is being the perfect little angel, and Colby is asleep in his swing. Eventually Colby woke up and got a little fussy so it was time to feed him. I laid the sobbing Zach down on the blanket to tend to Colby. After 10 more minutes or so, Zach had finally worn himself out and fell asleep. Colby got fed, Avery got fed and we are all happy!!!! WRONG. Zach woke up with avenges. Once again, tried to feed (he ate about 2 oz out of a 5 oz bottle), changed his diaper and put him in jammies, cuddled, rocked, swung, and sung and once again....nothing worked. Another 20 minutes of sobbing and he fell asleep again. Now things are back to normal. 2 kids fed, 1 kid half fed. All 3 asleep. That is where the dogs devilish role came in. Apparently the neighbor had someone over tonight, and that unknown person decided to park on the road in front of our house. This did not make the dog happy. That was evident when he grew devil horns and went ballistic at the front window. Barking and howling, scratching at the window ledge. This in turn made the boys go crazy. Both of them screaming at the top of their lungs. It was so sad. You could hear both of them exhaust every last part of air they had in their lungs they were crying so hard. And what is Avery doing this whole time? Being the perfect little angel that she is, cuddled up with her snuggly sleeping away.

just for the record books....

since josh has been down for the count, i have been the sole bath-giver for the past month or so. not a big deal-he entertains the other 2, or mom comes over and entertains, and i bathe, lotion and dress. It works out well because which ever baby is bathed first gets fed first by josh while i bathe the 2nd, then he feeds 2 babies, and i bathe the third, then re-situate so i can feed 2. sort of like an assembly line rotation deal.

WELL....see this adorable face...

out of the past 3 baths she has gotten....she has pooped in the tub 2 of those times!!!!! talk about disgusting! i'm not one to shy away from poopy diapers...even when zach squirts it up his back to his shoulder blades, then somehow manages to get it all over the front of me in the middle of the portrait studio (after pictures thankfully), but something about soaking in your own poo grosses me out....and it is not easy to clean up effectively. so here's how it goes down: the poor girl gets in the tub....there's a little bump in the bottom of the tub for their hiney to fit in so they can semi-sit up, and before i bearly get soap on the wash cloth...there are bubbles in the tub coming from the girl.....then, even though i am in high speed mode just incase what i think is going to happen happens, a little poo starts creeping up the side of the ramp under her....then i scream "SHE'S POOPING IN THE TUB" or as i did tonight "SHE'S DOING IT AGAIN!!!!"....then i grab her out, hold her over the toilet (just incase she's not done), and wrap her in a towel, then hold her or pass her off to my mom, and josh rushes in to clean out her tub...b/c i frankly think it's gross. i really don't like the idea of a bath anyways-soaking in my own filth is gross enough....but soaking in your own poo is just. plain. nasty.

My adorable babies are getting so big!!!
Attitude update: Zach has taken over the "fussy pants" title though...he is either SO happy and smiley or SO whiney and sad. Avery had been very funny and pleasant lately. She thinks it's hilarious to get dressed and just giggles away! She takes everything in and loves to look around. Colby is just a big boy. As long as his belly is full...he's happy. He likes to stand up and sit up like a big boy and is already in a bigger size clothes and diapers than the other 2!

Look at these two with their heads up!! Watch the video...one of the learned how to roll over!!

(Just in case you can't tell...avery is on the left, and colby is on the right!)

Update on josh's back: he's still down for the count. he's been back to work a few days, but on light duty. he got a steroid shot today....so we're hoping for some relief!!

Photos Round 2

Today Kara and I took the kids to get some pics done. This time we went to a photo studio in West Chester. It came recommended from other parents and it was awesome. The photographer and her assistant worked quick, took great shots, and were very hands on with the kids. I think I can speak for Kara and say we were both impressed and will go back. The best part is, we spent about 2 and a half hours there (and the kids were great, very minimal crying) and we walked out with pictures in hand. We also got a disk with all 140 + pictures. I selected a small handful to post just to show off. And I do mean SHOW OFF. I hate to brag, but we have some good looking kids. It leaves me scratching my head and wondering where they get the looks from because I don't think it is me. One of the few traits they got from me is sleeping habits. They can go down for 8 to 10 hours at a time overnight. LOVING IT!! Anyways, not much else going on around here. I have been off work for over a week now and it is great spending time with the kids and Kara. It will be sad to have to leave them again when I go back!