Jack Micah is turning 3

It is crazy to think that a year ago today we had no idea that Jack was facing a major health issue. We had noticed that he had a lot of bruises, but we thought it was because he was a clumsy toddler boy, and our pediatrician agreed. Only three days after his 2nd birthday, though, Jack ended up in the ER with extremely low platelets and our lives have never been the same. Jack has had periods of stability with his platelets, but they have only been in the normal range a couple of times. Thankfully he has mostly been able to lead a normal life as his platelets have only dipped to a dangerously low level a few times, but we have lived most of the last year not knowing when his platelets will drop. During the first 9 months after his diagnosis he was given platelet transfusions when his number dropped, but his platelet count never remained high for very long after a platelet transfusion. Three months ago Jack received his first IVIG treatment, and this has seemed to have a more long lasting effect on his count. Tomorrow Jack will be hospitalized overnight to receive his fourth IVIG treatment, and we pray that this continues to help his body fight his platelet antibody so that his platelet count can normalize.

Throughout the last year Jack has shown tremendous strength, courage, and resilience. Although he does not like getting his blood drawn or having an IV put in, and he cries really hard as soon as the needle appears, he recovers very quickly and he does an amazing job of coping with the situation through his play. He knows all of the steps for a blood draw and often spends time playing "nurse" with his sisters, stuffed animals, one of us, or a grandparent. He gets the most satisfaction when we pretend to cry when we get poked by him as I think this makes him feel like we understand how much it hurts when he gets poked. Although I hate being the one to hold him down for a blood draw or an IV, I feel better knowing that he has found his own way to deal with the trauma of the situation. It is also fun to hear him say that someday he is going to be a nurse, not a doctor. I don't think many 2-year-olds have their future career in mind, but Jack is always thinking about being a grown up.

Jack's love of guitars, violins, and all things music has also become apparent in the last year. I remember that right around his 2nd birthday we noticed that he would "strum" the toy tambourine, and soon it became obvious that he was obsessed with guitars. We now have three toy guitars, three ukuleles, and countless other instruments in our house. Although I took piano lessons for four years in elementary school and I played the french horn in middle school, I have never been that musical, and Micah has never played any instruments in his life. I think Jack's love of music is extra special because he hasn't had any influence from us and it's just something he saw and fell in love with at a very young age. He loved the music class we attended over the last year, and we hope to find another music class or enroll him in lessons of some sort in the future.

Like Alexis, many of the traits I described in his 2-year-old blog post remain true today. He continues to be a picky eater, and his staples are now PB&J and fig bars, which is a source of frustration for us as it's hard to make a child eat. He is still the smallest and when I last measured he was 1-2 lbs. lighter than the girls and 3-4 inches shorter. Recently we have been telling him that he needs to eat more so that he grows bigger as he often asks us if he can do grown-up things, such as drive our car. He has taken this to heart and he likes to talk about how he is growing bigger like us because he's eating his food. Hopefully he doesn't get disappointed when this growth takes years, but at least he has some motivation for eating his food right now.

Last year I wrote that Jack loves cars, bikes, motorcycles, and other things that go. This fascination has only grown more intense. Unfortunately we haven't spent much time using the balance bikes that the kids got for their birthday last year since we were worried about Jack getting hurt while his platelets were low, but more recently we have been using the bikes and Jack has taken to it really well. He loves to talk about driving cars and he gets a kick out of sitting in a parked car and pretending to drive.

Jack is really observant we are always surprised by what he knows or remembers. I think he would spend more time studying things and how they work if he wasn't so busy playing with his sisters (they rarely play separately, which has its pluses and minuses). 

Unfortunately, Jack is still sucking his thumb. He was really close to quitting around his birthday last year, but as soon as he was hospitalized I knew it would be comforting to him so I let it slide and it seems that the habit is getting a little worse. He literally cannot remember to keep it out of his mouth for more than a few seconds if he is watching TV or riding in the car. I know firsthand that this will be a hard habit to break as I sucked my thumb until 1st grade, but hopefully we can find a method that works for Jack sooner than later.

Jack is a very caring and loving boy. He randomly gives the girls hugs, and at almost every meal he gets up a few times and gives me a big hug. 

He has also become more of a little boy over the last year. He is super busy and never wants to sit down long for a meal or to read books. It seems that he turns every stick, including his triangle stick from music class, into a sword. He is constantly pretending to be a monster and he loves to come up to us, grab us with both hands, and say "rooaarrr!" Jack also loves to just run around the house making a huge racket for no apparent reason. The boy / girl differences have become very obvious to us over the last year as our kids are at the same developmental stage and they have access to the same toys, but Jack plays very differently than the girls a lot of the time even if they are playing the same game.

Jack continues to be a mommy's boy, but he also loves his grandparents. Although he is more reserved than his sisters in general, he is not reserved with his grandparents which makes it easier for us to leave the kids with them.

Here are Jack's responses to the questions that I asked each of the kids:

•What is your name?

Jack

•How old are you?

3

•When is your birthday?

June

•How old is Daddy?

5

•How old is mommy?

4 to June

•What is your favorite color?

Paint

•What is your favorite food?

Peanut butter jelly

•Who is your best friend?

My Faithy friend and my Lexi friend

•What is your favorite song?

A guitar with a microphone

•What is your favorite animal?

A zebra

•What are you scared of?

A cave

•What makes you happy?

An animal to sing

•Where is your favorite place to go?

To go to grandma and grandpa's house

•What do you want to be when you grow up?

Eat food so I grow up

•What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?

Drive daddy's car

•What is daddy's favorite thing to do?

Daddy's going to ride in the back

Here are photos of Jack throughout the past year:

24 months

25 months

26 months

27 months

28 months

29 months

30 months

31 months

32 months

33 months

34 months

35 months

Our hope and prayer is that Jack is able to go into remission in the near future so that he no longer has to receive monthly treatments for his low platelets. We love Jack and all of his interests and boy stuff, and we feel honored to be the parents of such a strong little boy.

Alexis Joy is turning 3

We are quickly approaching Alexis, Jack, and Faith's 3rd birthday as it's a week away, and I want to keep up the tradition of devoting a blog post to each of them. Alexis was the first born, so I will start with her post.

I looked back at the list I wrote to describe Alexis in her 2-year-old blog post, and most of it is still true today. It's continues to amaze me that a child's personality is already so strong at such a young age, and that various traits just become stronger as time goes on.

For the most part, Alexis is our most intense child. She feels joy, sadness, excitement, and frustration and all other emotions very deeply. Sometimes it is impossible to get her out of a grumpy mood, especially if she falls asleep at nap time (which doesn't happen very often anymore). Other times she will be upset about something and then someone will do something funny to try to cheer her up and she will start laughing heartily. 

Alexis continues to be a Mommy's girl. She always wants me to be the one to pick her up, change her clothes, or help her with something. Not Daddy, not Grandma, and certainly not an unrelated adult. Most of the time I comply since I try to avoid meltdowns whenever possible with our three toddlers.

Last year I wrote that Alexis loves dirt, and this has stuck. She definitely doesn't mind getting filthy, which is quite a contrast to her identical sister who loves to be clean. Alexis is one of our messier eaters and she likes to clean her face and wipe her nose with her sleeve, even when we tell her not do so. 

Alexis is also a fitful sleeper, which I know firsthand as she often spends some portion of the night in our bed (most mornings she wakes up around 6:00 a.m. so I take her back to bed with me so I can get another hour of sleep, and she usually falls asleep too). She moves a lot while she sleeps, which means her feet end up kicking me in the stomach. Her hair is usually a crazy mess in the morning and after napping from moving around so much.

Right now Alexis is the most aggressive as she tends to push, hit, and bite to get her way or just get a reaction. So far she has only done this with her siblings, and hopefully we can get this behavior to stop sooner than later. 

Although it isn't very loving when Alexis is aggressive, she is the most affectionate child. She tells Micah and I that she loves us all of the time, and she often tells Faith and Jack that she loves them as well. She gives giant bear hugs which I love. I'll never forget the day a few months ago that I went for a short run and when I got back she stopped what she was doing, ran towards me, tripped, and then hugged my foot because that was the only thing she could reach from where she fell. From her actions one would have thought that I was gone for weeks as she was so intent on hugging me at all costs. Her deep, genuine love is awesome and she isn't afraid to show it.

In last year's blog post I wrote that Alexis loves to run, sing, she is timid around dogs, she is super silly, and she is demanding. All of this remains true. She loves to point out that she's a "fast runner." She has gotten into the habit of singing her own version of a Daniel Tiger song to us every night before we leave the room ("Making something to say, I love you Mom and Dad"). She also likes to tell us when we can and cannot sing at bedtime (most often she tells Micah to stop singing with me mid song). Life with Alexis is definitely entertaining. 

Now that the kids are speaking so well, I decided to start a new tradition that I've seen others do on their blogs. I asked each of the kids the same set of questions a week before their 3rd birthday, and I plan to ask the same questions every year. Here are Alexis' responses:

•What is your name?

I'm Lexi

•How old are you?

3

•When is your birthday?

June

•How old is Daddy?

3

•How old is mommy?

I don't know

•What is your favorite color?

I want pink

•What is your favorite food?

Broccoli [although she tries it once and awhile, it's definitely not her fav food!]

•Who is your best friend?

Auggie and Eland and Griffin and Val [this is a family that we see often]

•What is your favorite song?

Skip to my Lou [we often call her "Lexi Lou" so that's probably why]

•What is your favorite animal?

Giraffe

•What are you scared of?

Lion

•What makes you happy?

The elephant

•Where is your favorite place to go?

The park

•What do you want to be when you grow up?

Lion

•What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?

A cheetah 

•What is daddy's favorite thing to do?

A elephant 

Here are photos of Alexis throughout the past year:

24 months

25 months

26 months

27 months

28 months

29 months

30 months

31 months

32 months

33 months

34 months

35 months (Faith left, Lexi right)

Although it is a cliche, I truly can't wait to see how Alexis grows and matures in the next year. We love Alexis as deeply as she loves us, and we feel honored to be her parents on this wild ride.

Most Valuable Gift

Imagine someone handed you the most valuable gift you can imagine, and now your job is to protect that gift. Wouldn't you do everything in your power to make sure that this gift remains safe? You wouldn't let it out of your sight, you would do research to determine the best ways to keep it safe, and if you had to leave the gift with someone else for any reason you would give them detailed instructions to insure that it was safe when you returned. You wouldn't take chances and you would expect others to do the same.

In December 2012 Micah and I were told that we would be receiving three of the most valuable gifts we would ever receive: Alexis, Jack, and Faith. After struggling with infertility, we hit the jackpot with triplets, but we also received three times the burden of protecting these valuable gifts.

I did as much research as I could about triplet pregnancies to make sure that I was doing the best that I could. I went to the doctor every two weeks, and sometimes more, to check on the babies' growth and to make sure I was healthy. I rested and ate to grow the babies, even though I had previously been a runner and a climber and all I really wanted to do was resume my normal activities. The pregnancy was trying, but I knew it would be worth it in the end.

When Alexis, Jack, and Faith were born prematurely at 31 weeks and 2 days they were tiny and fragile. We had so much to learn about preemies as they are nothing like full-term babies. We spent two agonizing months visiting the NICU to hold and care for our three babes. It was truly the hardest time of our lives as all we could do was wait while doctors and nurses cared for our three precious gifts. Although we knew we were protecting them by giving them the best care in the NICU, in reality it was completely out of our control.

When Alexis, Jack, and Faith finally made it home, I could hardly sleep. Of course there was the sleep deprivation from feeding and caring for three babies 24 hours a day, but mostly I was terrified. What if one of them stopped breathing? How would we even know? In the NICU they were on monitors and although I hated the monitors and their alarms, they were reassuring. How can I protect my three most valuable gifts if I'm asleep?!

Somehow we made it through those first few weeks of being terrified (although I don't think the fear that your child will suddenly stop breathing ever goes away completely), but there were new things to figure out. Car seats are tricky, much trickier than most people realize. I did a lot of research on how to properly install car seats and how to properly buckle a child (which is definitely not as obvious as one would think as most people do it wrong. Sorry, but it's true!). Properly installing and buckling car seats is one way we can protect our most valuable gifts.

Baby proofing was also a way to protect our most valuable gifts. Most of the time our babes were confined to a completely safe gated off area of our house. We had to do what we could to keep our three most valuable gifts safe because they were on the move and we were outnumbered.

Our strollers and our wagon were critical to keep our three most valuable gifts safe. Once they could walk they still didn't follow directions or understand safety, so the best way to protect them was to strap them in. If they balked, too bad. My number one job is to keep my three most valuable gifts safe.

For awhile I felt like my main duty as a mother was to keep my kids alive as they truly didn't understand that they could not walk into a street or walk off a cliff. Thankfully we are past this stage and there is some understanding and reasoning, but we are not completely there and I'm sure we will continue to teach them pieces of this into their teen years when they start driving. Water safety is a top priority right now as our kids have not been exposed to it much. We plan to do swim lessons this summer, but for now they don't understand much about keeping themselves safe in and around water.

Sometimes I feel like I'm being judged for being protective, and maybe I am a helicopter parent at times. But most of my waking hours are spent caring for and protecting the three most valuable gifts I will ever receive, and I take my job very seriously. I love Alexis, Jack, and Faith more deeply than I'll ever understand, and the last thing I want to see is them get hurt.

When you see me, or someone else you know, being protective of their children and asking you to do something in a certain way when caring for their children, please respect their request. After all, wouldn't you want someone to do everything in their power to protect your most valuable and precious gifts?

Almost Three 3-Year-Olds

As we are quickly approaching Alexis, Jack, and Faith's 3rd birthday, I find myself looking at pictures and reflecting on the great year that it has been for us overall. Alexis, Jack, and Faith have continued to grow and develop their skills, and they are no longer considered delayed in any way even though they were born 9 weeks early.

Watching them change from toddlers into little kids in the last 12 months has been amazing. Although our babies were never chubby, what little baby fat they did have has disappeared and they now look like kids, not babies. They talk our ears off, which is awesome since they were once considered to be speech delayed, and sometimes overwhelming (I recently heard that the average preschooler demands attention 180 times an hour...so that's 540 times an hour for me). They run everywhere, jump off of everything, climb up everything, dance, and do somersaults. Their energy is endless. All three love to sing and "strum" their ukuleles. They sing their ABC's perfectly, and they sing nursery rhymes, Jesus Loves Me, and some songs that they learned in music class (the only issue is that sometimes they want to sing alone, so they end up fighting over who gets to sing). They are learning their colors and shapes, and they can count to 10 (and higher, but they usually miss a number or two). We are blown away every day by what they can do, what they know, and what they say.

On the other hand, it has been a rocky year. Of course there is the issue of Jack's low platelets that came to light only three days after their 2nd birthday, which has added a lot of stress to our lives. Thankfully it seems we have found a treatment that works for him, but for awhile the unknown was difficult as we never knew when his platelets would drop and when he would need treatment.

There is also the fact that 2-year-olds are sometimes difficult to be around. It is great that they are gaining independence, but that means we had to learn how to parent and discipline toddlers with their own ideas. The kids love to play together and they have a blast most of the time, but we never know when a fight will break out and when it does they are usually physical (biting, pushing, hitting). "I want to do it myself!!" is a commonly heard phrase at our house. They want to climb in and out of the car seats on their own, which means we never leave the house on time. They have strong opinions about their clothes most of the time, so I've gotten in the habit of picking out clothes with characters or words on them, or just letting them pick themselves. I have found that it is a lot harder for me to be patient with 2-year-olds than it was for me to be patient with babies. Although babies cry and have needs, they really are helpless and they don't know any better. When toddlers start talking in full sentences it feels like they should have some reasoning, even though I know they still have a lot to learn, so it is easy to become frustrated with them.

Although some days are frustrating and I long for a break, overall I love being a stay-at-home-mom to Alexis, Jack, and Faith. I feel so fortunate that I get to spend so much time with them and teach them new things. I love taking them to the Botanic Garden, the zoo, and the park. It is fun to watch budding friendships when we do playdates. They add so much humor and interest to my days. I cannot believe that I have already been a mom for almost three years, and that we are at least halfway to kindergarten (or more if they start when they are 5....we haven't decided yet). Alexis, Jack, and Faith will start preschool in September and, although it will only be two mornings a week, I am already starting to feel like my days with them are numbered.

Thank you to everyone who has given us encouraging words throughout the first three years of our kids' lives. When I was pregnant we were completely overwhelmed by the thought of raising triplets, and it was difficult to imagine all of the joy three at once would bring. Although there are have been many challenges, now that we are entering the "little kid stage" I am finding that there are many benefits as well. I look forward to seeing how Alexis, Jack, and Faith grow over the next year, but I also want time to slow down as the baby stage is starting to become a distant memory.

Here are some photos of the kids together throughout the last year. I hope they always have this special bond.

24 MONTHS

25 MONTHS

26 MONTHS

27 MONTHS

28 MONTHS

29 MONTHS

30 MONTHS

31 MONTHS

32 MONTHS

33 MONTHS

34 MONTHS

35 MONTHS

Micah's Birthday Trip

Micah has been working on a climb called "Goliath" in the Enchanted Tower climbing area, which is near Datil, NM. It is a 5.13a, so when he gets the route it will be the hardest one he's ever climbed. He has had Goliath in head as his first 5.13 since he first saw it over five years ago. Goliath is the main route on the Tower and it quite impressive to look at from the ground. It is much longer than most sport climbing routes as it's about 115 feet long. For those of you that are non-climbers, climbing a route is not just about reaching the top of the rock face on top rope. It's actually about lead-climbing (which means you bring the rope up the route with you and clip it into quick draws as you make your way up), without any "takes" (which is when you ask your belayer to take up the rope so you can rest on it), or any falls. As of today, Micah has been up the route five times to learn where the good holds are and to practice the moves, but he has yet to do it without at least one take.

Micah knew this route would take some commitment. Although it used it take about 2 1/2 hours to get to the Enchanted Tower, the access through private land has been closed so now one has to drive an extra 45 minutes on a rough dirt road to reach the area. Micah and his climbing buddies have been leaving ABQ around 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, driving over 3 hours to the Enchanted Tower, climbing for 5-6 hours, and then driving over 3 hours home so that they can be home for dinner with their families. Although it is a sacrifice on my part to have Micah gone climbing on Saturdays, I'm thankful that he is home for dinner even though half of his climbing day is spent driving. I also understand how important this climb is to Micah and that he only puts forth this kind of time and effort when he is working on short-term goals such as Goliath. Soon it will be too hot to climb at the Enchanted Tower so, although he has spent the last four weekends climbing there, he only has a couple of more weekends to go back.

Last week Monday was Micah's birthday. I asked his parents if they could come to ABQ and watch the kids overnight the weekend before his birthday so Micah and I could camp at the Enchanted Tower. It just isn't worth driving 6 hours in one day with our kids for a few hours of climbing each (since Micah and I have to take turns climbing with friends when we go there with the kids), so we don't have much opportunity to climb there together. Thankfully they agreed to come down.

We decided to camp in our 4Runner like we did pre-kids since it is much more comfortable and warmer than tent camping. We took out the car seats, put the backseat down, and created a bed in the back of the car.

We got to the Enchanted Tower just before 4:00 p.m. on Friday and we had the whole place to ourselves. Micah climbed up the route slowly, with many takes, for his warm-up while I belayed him. Around 5:30 our friend Dan and his 7-year-old son Auggie arrived. Dan and Micah have been working on this route together and, since the route is so long and one has to belay for 45 minutes or so because of the climber working out the moves and re-climbing various sections of the route, I welcomed Dan's idea of camping at the Enchanted Tower with us since it would mean that I wouldn't be Micah's sole belayer. In fact, I only belayed Micah on the first of his three attempts during our time time at the Tower, and the rest of the time I got to relax and watch!

I truly relaxed as I drank a cider while the guys climbed

It's hard to watch someone climb from the base of the climb since you have to spend so much time looking up, so I ventured down the campsite where I had a great view of the guys on Goliath. This is Dan.

The true perspective from the ground. Goliath is front and center and it definitely stands out! 

My only complaint from our trip is the flies...they were awful but at least they didn't bite

Micah getting close to the top

After the guys got in a little more climbing, Micah made dinner (he is always the cook when we go camping, which is great news for me!). Then we enjoyed sitting around a campfire before we watched part of a movie in our car. It was a great kid-free evening.

My cook

I always enjoy a good fire, and we even had mini marshmallows in the car (our car seat bribe) for Auggie to roast

We slept great, especially because we didn't have anyone waking us up in middle of the night or at 6:00 a.m. After making breakfast, Micah, Dan, Auggie, and I went up to some easier routes that I could lead and Auggie could get on too. I led three easy routes, which felt like an accomplishment to me since I rarely have the opportunity to climb outside and leading outdoors is much different than leading at the gym. Then the guys both got on Goliath for awhile and made some progress with the route.

Good morning! Goliath beckons...

We enjoyed our breakfast, and my chai, in the car since the flies were ridiculous at the campsite

Auggie

Me

A rare moment of Micah and I climbing together

As I was sitting there watching Micah work on a route that is a challenge for him, I was thinking about Grendel (5.11b), which is a route that I once attempted to lead on a whim in my stronger climbing days. It is on a slightly smaller side of the Tower, but it is still a long climb, and I am not in the best climbing shape right now so I knew it would be a challenge. I decided that if Micah was up for leading it, I would attempt to top rope it. Attempt is the right word as, although I made it to the top, I had to take three times, but I was proud of myself for doing it.

Micah taking his turn belaying Dan

Auggie spent a lot of time riding his bike on the road below

Micah belaying, Dan climbing

Micah records his attempts with a Go Pro so that he can watch it and learn the moves better. This is serious business.

Micah headed up

Micah going over the bulge

Our car is hidden between the trees below at our campsite

Micah at the top

Micah coming down

Maybe Micah really likes this route just because he gets a big swing ride on the way down...

Me heading up Grendel

Somehow I made it to the top, but I was sore for days!

We left the Tower around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, stopped in Socorro at a brewery for an early dinner, and then headed home for birthday cake with Micah's parents and the kids. Although the kids were happy to see us, they had a great time with Grandpa and Grammy and it sounds like the grandparents had fun too!

Jack was sad that we weren't celebrating his birthday. Only a few more weeks!

Daddy always enjoys tickling the girls...look at that reaction!

Micah with his parents and the kids

On Sunday Micah, his dad, and Jack went out to eat at the Waffle House. They enjoyed talking about Jeeps and other guy things. A quote from Jack at breakfast, "Someday, I'm going to drive a Jeep, you're going to drive a Jeep (to Grandpa), and Daddy's going to drive a Jeep."

All in all, it was a great trip and the perfect way to spend Micah's birthday weekend. I think he will remember this one for awhile.