Back!

Well, it has been a while.  Tonight as I sit here writing I think back to the last time I posted on the blog.  It was December, shortly after their first birthday.  It was cold outside.  Now we have experienced everything from snow and ice storms to severe spring (and summer weather).  We have gone from extremely cold weather with windchills below zero to extremely hot weather with heat indices above one hundred ten.  Just when we thought we could not take it any more we get tonight where you step outside and it feels like October. 

Well enough about the weather.  I guess I am just using as a point that it has been a long time since I have written on this blog.  Now onto more interesting things–the kids.

Not much has happened since the last time I updated everyone.  Okay, that is not true.  We had Daniel walking shortly after his birthday.  Max started walking shortly after the first of the year.  Abby caught on in February and there has been no stopping her since then.  We celebrated Christmas in cold, snowy Iowa,  Hunted for Easter eggs in Wichita, and in general get out mor frequently than we used to.  We have had several visits from grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends.  The kids really love the park.  Any park.  Especially if there is a slide.

Don’t even try to get a word in edge-wise with them around.  Our vocabulary has expanded exponentially, and there seems to be no off switch.  They all like to play with keys, and not just any old plastic play keys.  They have to be real keys, and not just any set of spare keys.  They have to be the keys to the van.  Those are the only keys that go “beep, beep.”  They attempt to say just about any word they hear us say now.  Pancake, hotdog, thank you, stop it, and Daniel, no are all part of the lexicon now. 

Do not get in their way if it is nine on a weekday morning.  They have to watch Sesame Street.  It is a distinct possibility that we will have a Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Abby Cadabby for Halloween this year.  I guess the rabid fanaticism can be attributed to the fact that it is really the only show they get to watch regularly.

This summer while cousin Nicholas and cousin Meghan came to visit over the Fourth of July we all went to Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park and met some farm animals.  Abby loved the goats, even the one who tried to eat her shirt.  Everybody had a good time getting up close with the dairy cow.  It was good, cheap fun for evereybody. 

I better go for now.  I hope to write again soon.  In the meantime, here are some pictures of the last 8 or 9 months.

Playing in the sandobox.

At Grandma and Grandpa Poorman's.

Daniel and Paul

Grandma P, Abby, and Daniel

Splish! Splash!

Loves to have her picture taken.

Brothers on a cold winter day.

All right.  That’s it for now.  More to come.  Soon, hopefully.

Birthday (cup)cake!

A Few More Pictures

Daniel

Max

Grandma Pam and Daniel

Enjoying the weather.

Uncle Steve and Cousin Nicholas.

Now they are one year old.

Who is chasing me?

Max contemplates the meaning of life and his jeans.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been a few weeks, I know.  The older they get the busier Julie and I become, it seems.  Well, after their stint as M & M’s for Halloween they rested up for a big visit from their cousins Meghan and Nicholas all the way from Detroit. 

Once the Marlettes arrived in Kansas the chaos began.  First it was a trip to the Kansas City Zoo.  It was the first trip to the zoo for our guys and Cousin Audrey.  It was a nice day for November in Kansas City.  Not too cool.  A little bit of sunshine.  The kangaroos were lounging on a hillside.  The tiger was snoozing in its log.  The zoo turned out to be more of a success than the KU football game against Nebraska the next day.  We made Uncle Justin and Aunt Rachel’s house home base for the next few days since the Marlettes were staying with them during this trip.  They had their pack ‘n’ plays for naps and sleeping at night.  We brought them home after the festivities of the day ended and they went back to sleep for us.  Basically, they had everything but the kitchen sink there.  Thank goodness for the mini van.  They played and squealed and decided they really like macaroni and cheese.  We ventured out one night to the Salty Iguana and they all had various bites of Mexican food.  It was fun, but exhausting.  We will miss the Marlettes—until we see them again.

A week or so later we packed up the troop transport—with everything but the kitchen sink again—and headed down to Wichita for Thanksgiving.  We arrived Wednesday night and immediately put the kids to bed.  Thanksgiving morning we were short one high chair.  Another one was purchased so there would be no fighting amongst the rabble rousers when dinner time came.  The box that it came in turned out to be a big hit later on in the weekend.  We played and tried some turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing. For the most part Thanksgiving food was accepted. 

The weather was beautiful so we went out back and played in the grass one afternoon.  Max and Daniel chased each other and the beach ball.  Abby crawled through the grass and decided that the late November grass was a little too prickly for her.  I think she also decided she was ready for her nap. 

We visited Great Grandma Whitaker a couple of times.  Daniel was fascinated with anything breakable and really fascinated with her walker.  He seemed to like the brakes and the handles.

Later on the box that the high chair came in was discovered.  It brought hours of pulling up, pounding on, crawling in entertainment.  Abby loved to just stand next to it and pound on it.  Max and Daniel learned to play peek-a-boo with Grandpa Whitaker while they stood in it.  All in all, it was a very nice Thanksgiving.  Looking forward to many more. 

So now we look ahead to birthdays this week, the Christmas season after that.  It is hard to believe it has been a year.  Max loves to clap, pull up and cruise the furniture.  He literally squeals with delight.  Sometimes you can catch Abby swaying or dancing to the music.  If I ask her where my nose is she will point to it most of the time.  Sometimes she will even touch her nose to mine.  Max and Daniel were chasing each other around one of the big toys in the living room last night and having a blast.  Daniel lets out his hearty laugh if you tickle him or turn him upside down.  He also can incite riotous hand waving from all of them with his excited noises and his own hand waving.  We think this might be the first attempts to wave the wheat.  It is hard to believe that this time last year they were less than a day old.

Halloween

Well, they had their first Halloween.  They did very well even with a late start.  It was not as scary as you might think.  It was definitely not as scary as what happened in broad daylight earlier in the day.
Here is where the scariness starts.  Julie and I had planned on test driving a mini van that Saturday. We figured it would make it that much easier to take the kids to a few houses for Trick or Treating.  Plus we saw one online that we liked.  Julie and I went to the dealership and looked around a little.  We saw several mini vans that we liked, but the one we saw online was no longer there. 

There was one that did have all of the features we wanted for a reasonable price.  A little more than the one we saw online and a different color, but it had what we wanted—and probably a little more.  We were told they do not do extended test drives any more.  I guess that meant we had to seriously consider if we wanted to buy something.  We took it to the gym for a test drive (the kids were at home with Grandma), and then brought it back an hour and a half later.  We liked it.  We wanted it.  Then we had to haggle.  We haggled over APR’s and the trade-in value of my Honda Civic.  It seemed to take all afternoon.  We had to go home and get cleaned up.  While we were cleaning up at home, the dealer was cleaning and prepping the van for us.  We had to go back and sign, sign, and sign some more.  We ended up getting the APR we wanted and the trade-in value we wanted.  Nightmare over.  On to the Halloween fun.

After frantically cleaning the kids after their dinner and then getting them into their costumes it was time to take them out.  It was already after seven and probably a late start for a five year old, let alone three eleven month olds.  But we went to three houses.  We saw neighbors Paul and Patti, Mike and Jen and their sons Tommy the bag worm and Alex the leopard.  We ended the night at an old family friend’s house.  There was no shortage of arms to hold them.  I think they made some new friends too.  Unfortunately, in my earlier haste I did not have the camera on me at that point.  By that time it was after 8:30 and past their witching hour by more than an hour on a normal night.  We found Max’s limit to be about 8:45.  He had enough by that time and wanted his PJ’s and bottle.  Luckily, home was just a few minutes away. 

Hope their dreams were not too haunted.  I imagine they will look forward to the day that they actually get to have some candy.

A couple of little devils

The blue one is getting away!

The sinister Mr. Daniel

Paul and Daniel

Where's my candy?

Look at those good looking M&M's.

The Great Pumpkin–Patch

Well, fall is here and we finally got the kids out to enjoy out.  Last weekend Abby, Max, and Daniel joined their cousin, Audrey, at Carolyn’s Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch.  That was a mouthful. 

The weather was what you would expect for October in the Midwest.  The sun fought with the clouds for the early part of the day.  The clouds were a little grayer and a little heavier.  When the clouds parted, though, the brilliant sun bathed everything in fall gold. 

Anyway, after getting everybody used to their shoes and socks, which they have not worn much of until recently, we were off to Carolyn’s Pumpkin Patch adjacent to the Liberty Corn Maze.

While we unpacked the stroller and diaper bags we realized that we forgot the baby carrier.  That meant somebody was going to have to be carried at all times.  Abby had fallen asleep on the ride over, so Max took his turn first.  It did not take long for him to become a sack of potatoes.  In fact half way through our first destination inside the pumpkin patch, the petting farm, I had to set him down.  He did get to see goats, chickens, calves, pigs, and donkeys up close.  There was also something there called a turken which I can only imagine was a cross between a turkey and a chicken.

Next it was on to the pig races.  Uncle Lester led the raucous crowd in how to cheer the on the pigs.  Abby was awake and enjoyed this part the most.  She was hopping up and down on my lap.  Max looked very into it.  We watched three pig races.  I am still not sure that they were not the same pigs, but with different names each time.  It was fun and I think the kids just liked being outside for that long extended period of time.

We took some time to sit and eat Cheerios at the picnic tables and let the sun shine on us.  Finally, we all took a ride on the hay wagons (minus the hay) out to the actual pumpkin patch.  I think Daniel was a little nervous about the bumpy ride.  He was riding with Aunt Rachel when he reached out to grab onto my shoulder.  I thought it was pretty cute. 

They were acting pretty tired on the way home and especially when we got home.  They ate their bottle and their bowls of mush and went up to bed.  While the rest of us watched football and ate our pizza we could hear them partying up in nursery.  I doubt they will remember this outing but I like to think that they will.

The Three Amigos

The fight over toys begins.

 

Aunt Rachel and Daniel at the pig races.

Uncle Justin and Cousin Audrey cheer those pigs on.

Julie and Max cheer for their pig.

Abby is really getting into it!

Happy Halloween, pardner.

Family Photo

Max enjoys the ride.

Daniel is not sure about this hay ride thing.

Autumn in a Midwest corn field.

We made it to the pumpkin patch.

Goodnight (maybe) from Daniel.

Late summer

Here is a short video of their personalities, expressions, and actions.  Enjoy.

Nine Month Pictures

For those of you who have not seen them yet here are the triplets nine month pictures.

 

 

Here comes autumn

Okay.  I know it has been two months.  I think I was subconsciously resting in anticipation of the coming autumn season.  I probably thought it would be good to lay low in the heat of the summer, you know, stay cool.  Well, the summer weather couldn’t have been nicer.  If it got above ninety we complained.  The kids did not stay dormant during this nice summer.  They got out to meet friends.  They went out to dinner.  They learned to crawl.  They learned to get into things.  They learned to climb over and on each other.  They went on their first “long” road trip.  They grew up a lot.

July saw Abby, Max and Daniel going to the baptism of cousin Audrey.  They showed off for everyone.  They melted down early in the afternoon.  They went home and went to bed. 

Max and Daniel suffered their first colds (along with Dad) early in late July/early August.  It lasted a few weeks for all of us.  Max sounded like a lawn mower.  Daniel’s nose ran like a river.  We all recovered.  Summer colds are no fun.

Our old friend and neighbor Neil and his eleven month old son, Landon, came to play on one of my days off.  At that time Daniel and Max were just practicing their crawling.  They were in the rocking phase of the crawling.  When Landon came over he must have inspired them.  He was lightning fast.  I think our guys were in awe.  They had some lunch.  They played together as much as a bunch of eight and ten (at the time) months old kids could.  Then it was time for Landon to go home and take a nap.  We hope to see Landon—and Neil—again soon. 

Grandma and Grandpa Whitaker came to stay with us one weekend.  Everybody had fun.  Grandma and Grandpa were going to stay with Uncle Justin and Aunt Rachel, but Uncle Justin turned out to have a wicked throat infection that put him out of commission for a few days. 

The next weekend Grandma and Grandpa Poorman came to visit.  We were playing in the yard when they arrived and I think it kind of freaked Abby out.  I think between the last time they stayed with us seven weeks earlier and the middle of August the triplets were developing longer memories.  They might not have had an immediate memory of them.  That soon changed.  After a few minutes everybody was smiling again.  It was a fantastic weekend.  The kids played.  The grandparents played.  Everybody went to eat at O’Dowd’s Little Dublin.  We ate at the street side tables.  The kids behaved marvelously and just watched the people and cars go by in the beautiful weather.  I think Max was flirting with the ladies at the next table.  He tried to grab a Guinness off the table.  They slept hard that night. 

Labor Day weekend was something new for them.  And it was not the same old road trip to Davenport for us either.  The weekend started Thursday night when I picked up our mini van rental from the airport.  We left at about 8 am Friday morning.  We arrived just in time for a nap Friday afternoon.  Their nap, not ours.  Then came the first wave of friends and family to meet the triplets.  They did so well.  They smiled and played and then went to sleep like good babies. 

The next day they went for a walk in the nearby park.  They met an old teacher of mine and her son with whom I attended grade school and high school.  I better get my grammar correct because she taught English and literature in junior high.  The rest of the day was spent napping and playing while Julie and I got ready for my high school reunion that night. 

I will now devote a paragraph to something other than the triplets.  My old high school buddy, Ryan, Julie and I went to Kelly’s Irish Pub.  Anybody who knows the history of public watering holes in the Quad Cities knows that the name Kelly holds a certain cache.  It was a wonderful night on the patio.  It was really good to see friends that I had not seen since the first reunion ten years ago.  People asked about the triplets and we were obliged to tell them everything about life with triplets.  It was a good thing we brought some pictures. 

Sunday was wave two of family and friends.  Mostly family this time.  Again, the triplets did not have any trouble making friends.  My Aunt Rita did a wonderful job of giving Abby her bottle before it was time for her nap.  That night we went to our friends’, Russ and Cathy’s, house.  They have four year old twin daughters.  They gave us some good advice in the beginning before we knew what to expect.  They made some more friends and Mom and Dad had some good brats and hot dogs courtesy of Russ and Cathy.  The cookie cake was supplied Ryan.  The jokes were supplied by Brad.  It was a good way to finish up the trip.

We got back Monday afternoon.  The last two hours of the car ride were not the best.  Max and Daniel did not want to sleep and they let us know that they were tired of being in their car seats.  For the last two hours.  Non-stop. 

Now, we are looking at one weekend leading to the next weekend.  We are looking forward to taking the triplets to a KU football game or two.  In Kansas City, as it is in a lot of cities around the country at this time, there are fall festivals coming out our ears.  If we get to one of them they will have a wonderful time and we will be lucky.  Soon it will be time for some birthdays (grandma’s and Julie’s first).  Then comes Halloween.  If you see three shady characters knocking on your door do not be afraid.  Do not make any sudden moves, but do not be afraid. 

After some birthdays, football games, Halloween, and visits from grandparents, it is time for a visit from Uncle Steve, Aunt Jen, cousins Meghan and Nicholas.  Next comes their first Thanksgiving.  And it culminates with their one first birthday!  You can see what I mean when one thing leads into the next thing, and the next thing, etc.  After that, the holiday season will be upon us.  We kind of skipped Christmas last year.  We were a little busy.  I think we can consider this their first true Christmas. 

Hopefully, I can keep up with the blogging.

So long for now from Abby!

Abby’s surgery explained

A month ago Abby was getting ready to have her heart surgery.  These days you would not know she had that kind of surgery (or any surgery, for that matter) if you did not see her scar.  I told you I would explain her surgery, and finally I am getting around to it.

 It all basically goes back to the fact that because her tricuspid valve that should pump blood from her right atrium to her right ventricle grew together in the early stages of her development that whole process is skipped.  The important thing to remember is that the right ventricle pumps used blood returning from her body to the lungs to be re-oxygenated.  Because of her heart defect good blood (oxygen-rich) mixes with the oxygen-poor blood causing her heart and lungs to work less efficiently than they should.  This surgery corrected the problem, at least the upper half of it.

 The bi-directional Glenn Procedure, as it is called, uses gravity as an aid.  Instead of having the used blood return to the heart through the superior vena cava and mixing with the recently oxygenated blood, the used blood does not return to the heart.  Instead it goes directly to the lungs.  This is accomplished by tightening the band on the pulmonary artery which was put on during her first procedure in December.  Then the two main veins (left and right, the bi-directional part) that feed into the superior vena cava, along with the vena cava are surgically altered to feed directly into the lungs.  That is it. 

 Of course, this was done by opening up the chest, so we were on pins and needles for a few hours that day.  To give you an idea of how well this worked, prior to her surgery her oxygen/blood saturation level was at 63%.  That is not horrible for someone with a heart defect.  You and I have a saturation level pretty much set at 100%.  A couple of days after her surgery her saturation level was consistently in the upper eightieth percentile.  This, obviously, gives her so much more energy. 

There you have it—two down, one to go.