9.5.11: Backseat drivers

(left to right: daphne, stella, fiona)

Originally our plan was to keep the girls' car seats rear facing until they reached the maximum weight allowance of ~45lbs or at the very least another year. While this may seem crazy, our girls didn't know any different and were definitely entertained by each other while driving, so why not? However upon arrival to the extreme heat, something had to give. Not only was the sun directly in their eyes a portion of the day, but the A/C never circulated to the back of the car since their seats created a giant wall. After a 20 minute drive home, I had goosebumps from having the A/C on full blast yet the girls were very wet, sticky, and flush. Needless to say, something had to give.

So we did it, we turned the girls seats around. They surpassed the minimum requirements but I was still apprehensive. The good news, the seats still fit. Yes, that's right - three car seats fit forward facing in our Civic. The other good news, the girls LOVE it. They love telling me all about the surrounding cars, animals and signs that they see. What I didn't realize is that I was getting three backseat drivers. Within one mile of driving forward facing, I received instructions to both stop and go. Contrary to what the girls think, you can't always go at green lights. I suppose our next lesson needs to be on learning why one yields even when the light is green.

9.1.11: Settling in

After two days of solid packing/cleaning, four hours of movers loading, six hours of driving, two days at Nene's house, and two more hours of driving we finally arrived at our new home. The next several days were spent conquering the abundance of boxes consuming our new abode. Once the necessities were uncovered we got garage door openers installed, bought a kitchen table, had our AC break, bought a car, went to the dmv, got our AC repaired, went swimming in our very own pool, fixed various irrigation leaks, and attempted to reestablish a routine. So needless to say, things have been crazy busy even with the help of Nene and Nana over the past two weeks.

I must admit the girls have probably watched more tv moving week than they have in their entire lives - and they loved it! Even while the movers were loading we watched movies outside on the patio sitting in our triplet stroller in an attempt to stay out of the way.

I am amazed at the amount of tasks we have accomplished in the past two weeks, but still overwhelmed by those to come. We are doing our best to settle in and make the most of our new home and community. The girls are loving their new freedom to roam throughout the house although it is still somewhat restricted to box-free areas. The girls have been amazing, adjusting to all the changes easier than Brant and me. Each day gets easier and for that, we are VERY thankful!

8.18.11: Playmates

It may be a while before we get together with our weekly playmates again, so I took pictures with those kids the girls have spent the past two years growing up with...we are sure going to miss them!


(left to right: kenley, kamryn, stella, daphne, fiona)


(left to right: kari, stella, daphne, heather, ewan, fiona, liam)


(left to right: fiona, stella, daphne, fausto, heather, matias)

8.10.11: First babysitter

(left to right: stella, fiona, daphne)

I blew up some balloons while the girls were awake without realizing this was a new experience for them. Sure enough, the girls decided to imitate me the rest of the day. It always cracks me up when they are so excited about something new...like blowing up balloons.


Tonight we had our first (unrelated) babysitter. Heather and I did a sitting swap so both of us could have date nights without the cost (or trust issues) of using an unknown babysitter. We decided to document our happy sitter upon our safe arrival home. Since the girls were in bed before we left, they had no idea that they were getting babysat while Brant and I had a very nice dinner out.

8.7.11: LA reunion

In honor of the annual Kentucky reunion, the Williams (LA branch) had a mini-reunion today. It was the last chance to all get together before we move to Arizona. The girls were treated to some delicious food (which they devoured). I actually can't remember seeing the girls without food the entire time we were there (~three hours). We couldn't resist taking a picture of all the great-grandkids (including one who is due in a couple months).


(left to right: daphne, ian, mette/baby boy tbn, stella, fiona, devin)

8.2.11: Swimming lessons

I meet someone who runs a swim school and was willing to take on triplets + one parent for lessons. She even gave us a super deal since the lessons are usually for two kids, we got the third kid free. Thankfully Brant was able to come to a couple lessons to build up my confidence to go it alone. So for the past month, the girls and I have been taking swim lessons a couple times a week. They LOVE swimming. They learned all about kicking, paddling with their arms (aka doggy/kitty), splashing, blowing bubbles, climbing out of/jumping into the water and even gliding under water a little bit. Below are some of my favorite pictures the instructor took (fiona/pink, daphne/green, stella/purple). It was A LOT of work to get everyone to the pool and changed before/after the lesson and back home again, but totally worth it. I think we now know how to teach our girls to swim and soon they will have their very own pool to learn in.

7.31.11: Hello apes

(left to right: fiona, stella, daphne)

Today Brant and I tackled the zoo without a stroller. It was incredible, the girls did great! We even went to the petting zoo for the first time. Daphne and Stella loved petting the goats and sheep, but Fiona wasn't so sure about it. After numerous requests, we went to see every primate we could find. The girls were very tuckered out by the end of the visit so we carried them to the car, but overall they did a great job 'self' walking (as they would say).

7.28.11: Home Owners

(front to back: daphne, stella, fiona)

That's right, we are officially home owners!!! In lieu of the quintessential key hand off picture, we had our notary take a picture just after Brant and I signed our lives away. The girls were rather patient during the signing but were getting a little restless around picture time (and who can blame them). After mailing the documents back to escrow, we had to wait for everything to be finalized....and today....it is! We are home owners! Brant and I have waited a long time for this milestone and we are more than ready to settle down and give our girls a permanent home where they can grow up.

7.17.11: Triplet tested

(stella/red, fiona/flowers, daphne/green)

Our local big box retailer recently added some intriguing shopping carts. Upon first sight I thought to myself...those shopping carts are ridiculous, who would need such a thing? Then I realized that they are perfect for triplets! Perhaps the carts are intended for families with bigger kids who can't fit in the actual shopping cart or perhaps they are intended for larger families, but dare I dream to think they were intended for triplets? Okay, probably not - but we chose to embrace them. Our girls had a great time riding around the store all together and our shopping experience went rather smoothly. Definitely something we will test out again. Of course now the only challenge is finding one of these magic carts amongst the masses of a multi-floored store.

7.6.11: Family Day

(left to right: fiona, daphne, stella)

Today was our third annual Family Day. July 6, 2009 was the day everyone was home from the hospital and we were finally all together healthy and happy. It will always be a very special day for our family.