Today is my Mom's birthday (and it just so happens to be a big year for her, but I won't reveal her age ;) ). As Micah demonstrated on my birthday last month, a blog post is a great way to celebrate a person's birthday, so I decided to follow suit.
The other day my mom asked me how many times she came to visit since our trio was born. My family lives in Michigan and we live in New Mexico, and there isn't a direct flight between the two, so traveling back and forth takes time, not to mention money. Well, I determined that my mom came twice when I was pregnant to help get stuff ready for our babes and 10 times since they were born 19.5 months ago! Although it is difficult to be so far away from family, we are so thankful for all of the times they have come here to help (my dad came with my mom 5 times since the babes were born, and Micah's parents have come numerous times as they are only a four hour drive away).
Although I have never had a singleton (that is the term those of us with multiples use to refer to having one baby at a time), I'm assuming grandparents mostly take on the role of baby rocker and cook so the new mom can sleep. In our situation with triplets, though, every time my mom came to visit (or any of the grandparents for that matter) Grandma left exhausted as she had helped feed bottles, prepare and feed meals, clean up the kitchen after meals, load the dishwasher, pick up toys, entertain babes, hold babes, give baths, load everyone in and out of the car, push strollers, run after toddlers, diagnose ailments, and everything else that is done throughout the day with triplets.
One of Alexis, Jack, and Faith's favorite things to do is call Grandma and Grandpa on FaceTime, and I'm sure that they will enjoy this even more as they get older. They get so excited when they see their grandparents' faces on the screen, and they love to show off their toys, interact with them, and they always blow kisses at the end of the conversation. I am so thankful for this technology as it allows my parents to be more of a part of my kids' lives, and it helps our kids to know who their grandparents are when we see them in person.
Now that my dad is retired and my mom is doing freelance work which means she isn't tied down to a 40-hour-a-week job, we hope to continue to see them several times a year. They leave soon for their first cross country RV trip, and their last big destination of the trip is our house (surprise!). We so look forward to their time here, not only for the help that they selflessly give us, but also to spend quality time with my parents.
Here are some pics from the last couple of years with my mom...
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| April 2013: 27 weeks pregnant (and huge!) |
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| First time holding all three while they were still in the NICU in July 2013 |
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| Visiting Faith in the NICU after Alexis and Jack had gone home in August 2013 |
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| A, J, and F at home in August 2013 |
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| We had to learn how to feed bottles using the side lying position, and Grandma practiced this in the hospital in front of the OT so that she would know how to help when the babes got home |
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| Grandpa and Grandma with J, A, F in October 2013 |
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| A, J, F October 2013 |
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| F, J, A in November 2013 |
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| Both grandmas before our babes got baptized in December 2013 |
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| Out for a weekend visit in February 2014 (F, J, A) |
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| At our new house in March 2014 (A, J, F) |
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| Swimming at the YMCA in June 2014 |
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| F, J, A in June 2014 |
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| 10 day visit in October 2014 (J and F) |
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| A, J, F in October 2014 |
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| One of my favorite pics even though it's blurry. Grandma braved the slide with Alexis before I tried it! |
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| ONE YEAR AGO TODAY: January 24, 2014 |
Now for the "Happy Birthday Grandma" pics this year. Although I had been wishful that I could get each of the kids to say one of the words on camera for this year's birthday wish, they weren't really into repeating those words so I gave up. Next year I'm sure we'll be able to do a video with a birthday wish instead. But for now, here was my attempt to replicate the ultra cute photo from last year. It was actually harder to do this year since no one wanted to sit still for very long, especially holding a sign, and I ended up doing outfit changes for the girls partway through as they spilled so much water on themselves.
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| We now have actual art supplies in the house (unlike last year when I used scrap paper), and the kids each decorated a page |
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| Faith was not into showing what her sign said and Alexis didn't want to hold it |
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| In fact, Alexis decided her sign should be stuffed in the chair next to her |
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| And they all walked away... |
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| Outfit #2 of the day, plus the headbands that the girls wore in last year's photo. Last year their heads were inches from the top of the couch! (A, J, F) |
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| The girls wanted to get their snack cups which I put on the ground for the photos. I actually love this photo as it portrays their personalities so well. Jack is just hanging out doing what Mommy wants, Alexis is trying to decide if she can safely get her snack cup since the girl loves her snacks, and Faith is thinking about the mischief she can get into. |
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| They weren't really into smiling even though I was playing a Kazoo. Last year this would have worked like a charm! |
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| Happy Birthday Grandma! We hope you have a great day and we all love you, even if we didn't smile for Mommy :). |
