Project 52; Week 18

Birthday Boys!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Garren, Caden & Kellan,

We love you very very much & couldn't be more proud to be your Moms!

What is April 28th?!

For days before the boys arrived I couldn't get the date, April 28th out of my head. I felt like I was forgetting something important about the date. We have friends whose little boys birthday is April 28th but I felt like there was something else about that day that I just couldn't put my finger on. I asked Donna, my mom & my dad  if there was something I was forgetting about the date, an anniversary maybe? No one knew of anything. On April 27th I was still talking about it. When I couldn't get comfortable that evening & the doctor came in to examine me I asked Donna again if she thought of or remembered anything about the date. She still had nothing.

The reason for my discomfort that evening was that I was dilating, when the doctor examined me I was 3cm already & I had gotten there without contractions. I was quickly moved from my comfy room in antepartum to labor & delivery & monitored over night. By morning I was 5cm, no turning back at that point & I hadn't been contracting so there was nothing to try to stop. Our boys were coming at just 29 weeks gestation,

Once the staff had changed shifts my doctor from the previous night came in & said "you know what April 28th is? It's your babies' birthday!" The doctors decided there was nothing else to wait for & they didn't want the boys trying to come out on their own, so I was headed for an emergency c-section...

At 10:14, 10:16 & 10:19am April 28th, we became moms to 3 beautiful baby boys. It was the scariest & most exciting day of our lives!!! Caden was surprisingly healthy, he didn't even need oxygen let alone CPAP or anything like that. Kellan & Garren were very healthy too but needed a little help with their breathing. They were quickly whisked off to the NICU, but not until after I got a glimpse & gave a kiss to each of them.

Happy Happy Birthday to our miraculous big boys who say they are still babies & never getting big!!!

Caden then 3lbs 10oz, 18" long

& now 41lbs, 43" tall

Kellan then 3lbs 5oz, 16" long

& now 40lbs, 42" tall

Garren then 3lbs 3oz, 16" long

& now 35lbs, 41.25" tall

Birthday Celebration #4!!!

We celebrated the boys' 4th birthday Saturday with their first party in their very own home :) The boys were so so excited to have friends to "their house" & to have a birthday party again.

I LOVED their invitation! We changed "triplets "to each of their names though :)

They were super into their birthday this year! They picked their themes, what kind of cake they wanted (theme & flavor), what they wanted for their birthday, they even named who they wanted to come to their party although some were too far away to travel just for a birthday party & a death (or 2) in the family made it so some couldn't attend at all.

The boys even discussed amongst themselves who was having/getting what & who/how they would share, lol...

Garren chose a Spiderman theme & chocolate cake (Cadens favorite flavor)

Caden chose Thomas the Train of course & yellow cake

Kellan chose the Toy Story theme & he wanted black & white (marble) cake.

They all like all 3 themes and although they were happy to share their cakes, the decoration toys were specifically their own and Caden snatched his train off his cake just as soon as the candles were out & everyone was done singing, lol...

I was surprised at how well they listened & waited before blowing out their candles, Caden got his candles all out in one big blow (he really wanted that train!) It took Garren & Kellan & extra blow or 2 & then everyone grabbed their toy/decoration off & I grabbed the cakes so that they were edible for everyone at the party :)

I was terrible about taking pictures. I never even got my camera out & my phone was nearly dead by the time we ate cake so my sister grabbed Donna's phone & snapped some pics of the cakes & the boys blowing out their candles.

Kellan, Garren, Caden

I'm not exactly sure what order cake & presents are suppose to go in, if any order really? The boys were begging for their cakes though so we went for cake first. Shortly after eating cake the boys opened their gifts which they were also very excited about. It probably didn't even really matter what was in the packages, they just loved the idea of getting presents. I don't know how many times I heard "presents! I love presents!" lol... I did take a few photos of them opening gifts but they were so fast all but this one was fuzzy. Their friend Liam was helping them with their gifts here :)

(Donna & Liam) Caden, Garren, Kellan

Grandma & Grandpa Tilyou got them little monster trucks, toy flip phones, the dreaded recorders/flute things that we insisted should stay at grandma & grandpas house, lol... & also some cash :) Their friend Canan got them each a Hot Wheels car case & some fancy race cars. Chandler & Nadia got them a new "big" pool (it's the one between the blow up kiddie pool & the full fledged above ground pool, a 12' x 36" mini pool) Their friends August & Liam got them Magna Tiles which they have been building garages for their race cars with, lol... The great Aunt Linea & great Uncle Ben sent them each a movie & sticker albums with stickers. My parents gave them cash for swim lessons & we will be giving them bikes with training wheels on their actual birthday. 

My bonus mom's BIL passed away last week so she was in MN with her sister & couldn't make it to the party but we will celebrate with her when she gets back home. Kellan was fixated on his cousin Aliyah coming to their party. I tried to explain that she lived kind of far away to come to the party but he insisted I "call her mommy on the phone!" Well they ended up going to MN with my bonus mom so that didn't happen but the boys had a great time with their cousins who were here & their friends!

This little lady napped the last half of the party & woke up ready to party some more,

check her out wearing the boys' monster slippers with her sweet pajamas, lol...

It rained off & on so we ended up being inside a little more so than outside but the kids still bounced in the bounce house some & played on the playhouse. Towards the end it cleared up a bit & the kids filled the kiddie pool with water & played in that too, lol. My BIL was a saint & handled grill duty in the rain, he did an awesome job on the burgers & hot dogs & only required payment in the form of beer :) It was a great party, the boys had a blast! I think all the kids had a good time & the adults seemed to have enjoyed themselves too. 

Now to recoup & brace ourselves for school friends next year, lol...

Project 52; Week 17

Sometimes you've just got to get out of the house to get along & play nice nice together.

K, G, C

Sea Turtle Release, SBL #4

I've been dying to take the boys to a Sea Turtle Release since we moved back to this coast 3 years ago now. We lived close to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center when we lived in GA, we aren't super far from it now even though we've crossed the state line into FL. The GSTC rehabilitates injured or sick sea turtles & also educates people about them & their environment. We took the boys when they were barely a year old & I've been trying to catch a release since then. They do not announce the releases early as they don't want to draw a huge crowd, so it's usually  the night before a morning release or the morning of an afternoon release. Tricky when you've got toddlers to work with, not as tricky with preschool aged children :) 

So tuesday night just as I was about to log of fb & go to bed I got a notification from a local page I follow, it was a post that there would be 3 sea turtles released the next morning at Main Beach at 10am. WooHoo, that was totally doable for the boys & I and the boys have been asking to go to the beach, so a win win! 

Garren was very into seeing the turtles, he wanted to pet them & "hold them in his hand." lol. Caden & Kellan were just stoked to go to the beach! We happened to pull up behind the turtle transport van at a light just as we got onto the island & followed them the rest of the way. There were a good amount of spectators already on the beach, mostly retirees since kids were in school. There were a couple people from the Sea Turtle Center telling people about the turtles & law enforcement explaining how the release would happen, where to stand & warning not to get into the turtles path.

"Turtle Road" going to the water

view from the water

the boys collecting sea shells & sharing with another kid

I think the boys might have been just as much a spectacle as the turtles

GIANT bubbles!!!

sea turtle #1

sea turtle #2

so beautiful!

sea turtle #3

I absolutely adore these creatures!

Once they release the turtles they wait to see them flap a fin to make sure they are going the right direction, it's hard to catch it in the video but this is how it went down, one turtle at a time :)

playing in the waves between turtle watching

G... maybe not so big

C & G

Kellan found a baby crab

Project 52; Week 16

My beach babies have transformed into beach boys, 

where oh where has the time gone?

Project 52: Week 15

We went back to regular naps a couple months ago, the boys just can't make it through the day without napping, not everyday anyways. So they nap most days & we save no nap days for special occasions, day trips or events.  

I like it when they sleep :)

Finally Made It!

Donna finally caught a break at work & we made it down to Orlando to see my bonus mom & Donna's parents. We headed down Saturday morning only making a slight detour for Krispy Kreme donuts. (I don't know why the interstate isn't lined with KK, lol)

We got to my bonus mom's just before lunch time. The boys got a big surprise when we arrived, their cousins Clark & Tucker were at Grandma's along with Aunt Meg & Uncle Aaron of course. 

My bonus mom has been working on a paver patio in her backyard most of the winter & now spring. I can't believe she took such a huge & labor intensive project on herself but she's a good example of what a little determination will get you. She tore out all the sod, put in drains, pressure cleaned & painted the fence, leveled the entire backyard, re-did the flower beds & layed the majority of the pavers herself. She's had a little help here & there but overall she's done most of it herself. Well we showed up just in time to cut the pavers that needed cut to finish off the patio. Our brother in law was building a fire place for her.

Donna cutting pavers

Garren helping Uncle Aaron mix cement

Caden's turn to help

So while we were all busy outside the kids all kept themselves busy playing inside, and outside a bit too. It's fun to see them all at ages that they can play together. Clark is 6 & Tucker just turned 5. I really enjoyed seeing them all play without much intervening from any of the adults. When it was time for lunch they all sat together, 3 at the table & 2 at the counter. Clark sat at the counter first & as the others got up to the table Garren decided he was big like his oldest cousin & he sat at the counter too. After lunch the boys all played some more & watched a movie.

Tucker, Kellan & Caden

Clark & Garren

Kellan, Clark, Tucker & Caden

Caden, Kellan, Clark & Tucker

In case you're wondering where Garren was, he was being a busy body, inside playing, outside helping, inside dragging more toys out, outside "helping" again...

Once Aaron got the fireplace set up he, Meg & their boys had to head back home. Soon after they left rain clouds starting rolling in & it started thundering so we cleaned up for the night with plans to finish it up Sunday morning. We were suppose to head to Donna's parents Sunday though, so Donna called her mom & dad to see if they could come to Marie's instead, allowing us to finish up but still get to spend some time with them. They agreed & we had lunch & a good visit Sunday afternoon before we had to head home too. It was a short visit but we learned that her parents won't be doing the snowbird thing back & forth between FL & NY anymore, they'll be here year round now. We always miss them over the summer so it will be nice to be able to visit them a little more. Donna & I have actually discussed me taking the boys down to see their grandparents during the week every so often this summer while she's working so they get to see more of them. I hate being away & they miss her like crazy when she works late or has to be gone overnight so we'll see how it goes, I know all the grandparents would enjoy it though.

Donna's Mom & Dad

Project 52: Week 14

A special trip to the donut shop after seeing their new doctor

Easter 2015

It's been a hell of a couple months for Donna at work. All the nasty winter weather across the midwest & northeast affected them getting their planes & backed up the company as a whole. This all, of course resulted in working many 6 day weeks & turned already long days into even longer days.

We've been trying to get down to Central FL to see the parents for the past couple months but every week, she comes home saying she has to go in Saturday, even Easter weekend :(

So we had a pretty low key Easter. I sucked at the whole Easter Basket thing this year! I saw a great project online & made each of the boys one, got them half filled & needed a couple more items but I dropped the ball & never made it back to the store for said items. Nana hooked them up last week though so they did get something :)

Easter day we went to a cookout with some friends in the afternoon. The kids all swam in the ice cold pool, blew bubbles, got their faces painted & after we all ate they hunted Easter Eggs.

Garren & Kellan

Caden with his Easter Bunny face

I thought the next few photos were funny, the kids were so excited to hunt for eggs but had to wait for the last couple of people to get there before they could go, the anticipation  was too much for some of them & they became giddy & hilarious, cracking up at each other. Silly kids :)

Kellan

Caden & Garren

Garren found these 2 & was content with just them, lol

Kellan, Garren & Caden