Christmas Day

The girls slept in late since we had been up late the night before.  Savannah was the first to wake up.  She could tell that Santa had come because she could see the bikes downstairs.  She was pretty excited and tried to wake up her sisters telling them that Santa had left them bikes, but they were still moving slow.  Finally we got everyone up and ready and headed downstairs around 10 to see what Santa had brought.  At first they were slowly walking down the stairs taking it all in and shouting about what they saw.  Then they decided faster was better and 'scooted' down the stairs to see everything.

Savannah in the 'castle'

They were most excited about the big castle Santa had brought.  It is a round castle with 4 corners that have shelves inside that make a dollhouse.  The outside is mostly a tent type material.  It is plenty big enough for all 3 girls to play inside together.

Olivia really liked the fire truck that Santa left, her daddy had taken her to see a real fire truck on Saturday when Emma and I had gone to a shower and Savannah was with Nana.  Olivia talks about the firemen and firetrucks and asks to see the photo Scott took, so I wasn't surprised when she showed such an interest in the toy firetruck. 

Savannah got on the bike and wanted to put on her helmet and ride it around, we let her go a little ways in the house but then promised we would head outside in a bit.

Emma on left, Olivia middle, Savannah on right

We opened gifts after playing with all of the things Santa left and we all got some very nice things.  I got a nice pearl necklace and earrings (always a good thing).  Scott got a paperweight with the girls photo and a calendar.  He also got a nice pair of shoes for work (he has expensive taste in shoes) and a few tools.  The girls got some Tinker Bell pjs which were a hit as they are in a Tinker Bell phase right now.  They also each got a pink Scooter from mommy and daddy which they loved, again we had to promise to make it outside later to play with it.  They each got an ornament and together they got a triple stroller for their dolls.  They each got a special electronic toy, Emma got a small green iphone type toy, Olivia got a book reader toy, and Savannah got a pink ipad type toy. 



After gifts we had some quick breakfast and headed outside to ride our new bikes and scooters.  We were fortunate that it was a nice sunny day and pretty warm too in the mid 50s.  We stayed out for about 1/2 an hour and then came in to see what Santa had left in our stockings.  More goodies for everyone including some candy canes which they had asked for and of course the toy they had requested -- dinosaurs.

We headed down to my Aunt Pat's for lunch with the entire family, usually my mom does Christmas Day at her house but there was a scheduling conflict for one of my aunt's kids so they needed to do it there this year.  It was nice out and the kids had fun playing outside while we all ate way to much food.  The small cousins all draw names so they each got a gift, there names were actually all drawn by the same family which was kind of nice because they all got a princess crown and teacups with plates that were specific to their princesses.  They loved their new gifts and we all had a great time.

As if that wasn't a full enough day we then had to head over to my mom's house and do Christmas with my sisters and their families.  We arrived a little after 5pm but some of the kids had fallen asleep on the way so we didn't really get started until 6pm.  We had some breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls but mostly we were all still too full to eat.  We opened gifts and tried to make it organized but with 7 kids we finally just gave in and let them open them up.  The girls got some new clothes and some toys including stuffed animals and play doh.  We were all exhausted by the end of the night and ready to crash.  The girls fell asleep on the way home, which hasn't happened in a long time and we ended up carrying them to bed.  What a long, but fun day!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a bit different for us this year, this was the first year in my life that I did not go to my grandfather’s house for Christmas Eve.  He passed away 2 years ago, but last year we still had it there since my Aunt owned the house.  Earlier this year my aunt sold the house so we wouldn't be able to meet there this year.  We could have moved our Christmas Eve gathering to another house but with everyone having families of their own it is hard to do a gathering on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day both.  It is kind of sad to see a tradition go away, but we decided to still do the present exchange and just moved it to Christmas day.

 

With this change we found ourselves with nothing to do on Christmas Eve.  I've always thought it would be nice to do a Christmas Eve service so we called my parents to see if they would be interested in doing one with us.  There church as having one at 7pm, so we decided to do dinner together and church afterwards.  I worked until 2pm so it was still a little rushed to get the ham biscuits made and a few last minute things done, but we made it there by 5:30 and had a nice meal.  It was cold and a little rainy so the soup and hot ham biscuits were perfect. 

 

The service was very nice, the girls sat with us and did very well.  They even went down and did communion with us.  The highlight was the candles they passed out, each girl got to hold one (with assistance).  The wax dripped on Olivia a little and she was a little timid about holding it after that.

 

After service we came back and had some cookies and took a few pictures by the tree. 

















Nana and Paw-Paw were trying to make the girls laugh so when it was Nana and Paw-Paw's turn for a photo the girls were busy trying to make them smile.

When we left the girls wanted to go see the Christmas lights so we drove down the street to a house that has tons and tons of lights that are synced to a music station.  We stayed for a bit listening and watching all the lights and inflatables.

 

When we got home it was already 10pm, we hurried to get everyone in bed so Santa could come but the girls were so excited.  They kept thinking they would hear Santa's bells and then they would realize the cat had come in (she has a bell on her collar) and they would say to each other, "No, that is just Cuddles"  They finally fell asleep around 11pm.

Gingerbread House

We invited Nana over on her first day of Christmas vacation to come eat lunch and decorate a gingerbread house.  I put the house together the night before, who knew that would be hard.  I had to take it apart and start over after a while.  The icing was not drying very fast so I'm very glad I had started early so it could dry overnight.

We had lunch at Showmar's which was very nice. Then we came back and I prepared all of the icing bags for the girls and put candy in their cups for decorating. They were very into decorating the house and did well. We had a lot of candy eating during the event, and everyone was caught liking their icing bags. Olivia was especially bad about getting some icing on the house and then squeezing it in her mouth.  It was a success we all had fun, but I have to say after watching them decorate the house I will not be eating any. 

 

 

Preschool Christmas Party

The girls had their second party at school this week and it was my turn to help organize.  I choose to do the craft since I really like being crafty.  I signed up to do the Christmas party because I thought there would be lots of fun things to do that time of year.  As Scott pointed out though the timing was not very good since there is always a lot of stuff to do around the Holidays. 

It was fun to see the girls at school, they were surprised and happy to see me show up at an unexpected time.  The first thing we did was my craft which was a tree I had cut with my Cricut and all the kids glued on tissue paper on the back to make 'lights' for the tree.  They turned out so cute that I had the girls make extras at home for family and friends.

After craft was story time, here is a cute picture of everyone listening.

Olivia caught me taking pictures and turned around to smile.

After the book everyone enjoyed a cupcake.  Something interesting I noticed was were they choose to sit during the craft and cupcake.  Olivia and Savannah sat at one table and both times Emma sat at a different table.  Olivia sat beside Olivia A. (another triplet) both times, they seem to be good friends. 

A little off topic but Olivia A has 2 brothers in the class and so she calls my girls her 'sisters'.  She has done it for a while now and so now my girls call Olivia A. their sister, it is so cute.  They talk about their friends sometimes at home and on Fridays we usually go to the playground so they can play and I see them interact with some of the girls.  Emma has a friend named Sarah Kate that she just loves to play with, it is funny because she is not in her class so I'm not sure how they met.

Here is a picture of Emma at her own table, notice how it is mostly boys...hmmmm.  I hope that is not a sign for the future.

Christmas Parade

Today we had a fun time at the Christmas parade in Waxhaw.  It was a nice warm day but a little cloudy, and though it looked like rain a few times it only sprinkled for a few minutes. We went to church then drove down to Waxhaw to eat lunch before the parade.  We had a nice spot by the train tracks.  We even took a few pictures of the kids before the parade that turned out cute.

The kids had fun getting the candy at the parade, at one point Emma looked at me and said, "Mommy I'm so happy".  So sweet, and it sure made me happy that a little parade could bring such smiles to everyone's face.  The girls liked when the bands would come by and they would do a little dancing, especially Emma and Savannah.  It was a nice day.

Santa Claus Visit

We took the girls over to our clubhouse where Santa and Mrs. Claus were visiting.  They watched the other kids sit on his lap and patiently waited their turn.  While we waited, no one seemed extremely excited but then again no one was crying either.  When it was our turn Emma ran right up to Santa and sat in his lap, Olivia surprised me a bit and ran right past Santa to sit with Mrs. Claus, they were both excited and each told what they wanted.  I tried to get Olivia to sit with Santa but she wouldn't.  Savannah would not sit with either at first and hid behind her dad.  Finally I coaxed Savannah into sitting on Mrs. Claus while I held her hand.  Once she was up there she didn't seem to notice as I backed away. 

After we were finished we asked the girls what they had asked Santa (or Mrs. Claus) for.  Emma said "a baby doll".  Olivia then said, "Emma you don't need any more baby dolls, you have enough".  Scott and I laughed at that and agreed with Olivia quietly.  Olivia said she asked for a dinosaur and Savannah said she asked for a dinosaur too.

Why a dinosaur, I have no idea honestly, but that is what they have all been saying lately.  The colors change from day to day and most recently, Emma wanted a green one, Olivia a purple, and Savannah a pink. 

Scott and I are confused over why everyone suddenly wants a dinosaur so we took Emma and Olivia to the dollar store (Savannah was spending the night with my mom) and we let them pick out a dinosaur, yes one for Savannah too.  So now we are hoping that they have a dinosaur and will ask for other things.

Aubree Turns 3

For Aubree's third birthday we were invited to Chuck-E-Cheese's to celebrate.  The girls do enjoy going to these places and honestly we don't think to take them often so it is a good treat for them.  The girls like to use their tokens on the rides.  There is one ride that is a little carousel and has 3 little horses so that one is a score for us, 1 token and all 3 get to ride.  There was another one they took a big interest in this time that had a big seat that moved in sync with a cute video of a kid doing 1 of 3 different activities.  The girls were able to ride that one together and really enjoyed it. 

Here are a few pictures of them enjoying the ride.

It even had a little monitor so you could watch them while also watching the screen.

 

 

You may have noticed that the girls were dressed differently, that was for the benefit of Amanda and her girls and Jesse (but I don't think Jesse really cares who is who, he just calls them 'hey triplet').  They still have trouble telling Emma and Savannah apart.  We typically dress the girls the same when we go out in public, yes it is cute but mostly it is for their safety.  It is hard to keep an eye on everyone when we are out and about so dressing them alike means I just have to look for 1 outfit 3 times.  This outing was very stressful because I was constantly trying to figure out who I couldn't see at the moment and remember what they were wearing.  So next time they will be dressed a like again!

Halloween Fun

I really enjoy Halloween a lot more since we have had the girls.  I love dressing up and going trick or treating with them.  I know the days of dressing up and being a ‘wanted’ part of this activity are limited.  Before I know it they will want mom and dad to keep their distance while they go with their friends.  But for now Scott and I are enjoying this holiday.  This year the girls wanted to be their princesses, meaning that they wanted to dress up like their baby dolls.  So a funny story on these baby dolls, for their first Christmas Scott and I bought them baby princess dolls we gave them to each based on hair color.  So Emma got Cinderella since her hair was the lightest color brown, Olivia got Snow White since her hair was the darkest by a good bit, and Savannah got Belle.  Well about a year and a half ago they really started playing with the dolls and Savannah said that Snow White was hers and so Olivia played with Belle.  I don’t know why Savannah decided that Snow White was hers but since no one every complained we let them switch.  They love everything that has to do with their ‘princess’.   Here they are as their princesses, I think Savannah actually looks a lot like Snow White (minus the dark black hair of course).

Emma



Olivia

Savannah

 

 

I was excited they choose to be princesses because that allowed me to dress up like a queen.  Finding a queen costume was not very easy though, especially since I wanted a nice regal looking queen costume.  I finally found some material at a yard sale that would do, however, I found it only a few weeks before Halloween so Kathy helped me pin it together instead cutting and sewing it.  Thank goodness she was available that night to help me get into my costume as it required a lot of pins.
 

Getting everyone ready was quite a task luckily I had some help from our nanny and Kathy came over, Scott ended up being almost 2 hours late which really put a lot of stress on me.  I had to do everyone’s hair and get them dressed and do pictures.  I’m so fortunate that our nanny was able to stay an extra hour to help out.  If her and Kathy had not been there I would not have gotten such great pictures of the girls.

 

My sister and her family usually come to trick or treat with us but decided to stay in their new neighborhood this year, unfortunately that meant my parents did not come either.  We missed not having a big crowd like in years past.  The evening was overcast and a bit chilly.  At first the girls were so excited that they ran/walked around the houses on our street.  Then about half way through the small loop we do they decided they would rather ride in the wagon wrapped up in their blankets.  Scott was pulling them right up to the doors so they could put out their buckets and get the candy.  They were doing a great job at playing the role of ‘princesses’.  Scott decided he should have been the horse instead of the King since he was just pulling them around.  I also decided I should have been the servant and not the Queen as I was playing the role of servant when the girls needed something and when they couldn’t get close enough to get the candy I was the one running buckets back and forth while they sat there looking pretty.  We had lots of candy in the end and the girls were allowed to pick out 2 pieces when they got home.  Scott and I helped them go through their candy (we had to take a few of our favorites Reese’s PB cups for Scott and Twix for me).  They got all of the usual chocolate candy but also this year there were a lot of Spree candies which I hadn’t seen in years.  Their favorite candy was the lollipops, tootsie rolls, and smarties.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our Royal Family

 

Cinderella (Emma), Belle (Olivia), and Snow White (Savannah)

 

And don't forget the Queen and King

Staying Busy with the Girls

So now that I am officially working part-time and staying at home with the girls things have changed a lot for me on those days.  At first the girls didn't understand why I was home and kept asking where their dad was, I think because they thought it was a weekend.  We have kept pretty busy during my days off.  Here are just some of the fun activities we have done.

We have visited Noah's Art on several afternoons for their 'free-play' where you pay $5 for each child for an hour of painting and craft activities.  Considering how messy they get and how much they love painting at the easels it is definitely worth the money.

Emma

Olivia

Savannah



We also went to visit my mom's work for an afternoon and even got to visit a pumpkin patch that was all home-grown.  The girls enjoyed picking out their pumpkins, they were very proud.

The girls and I also did a music class every Tuesday for several months, the girls seemed to enjoy that too.  They didn't sing much in class but they sang in the car and at home.  Scott even learned several of the songs from hearing us sing them in the car.

We were invited to join a group of mom's going to the pumpkin patch on another day as well, so we headed off to enjoy a nice morning of fun.  There was lots to do at the pumpkin patch for the kids including a hay maze, bouncing toys, duck racing, a hay hut and more. 





Emma playing in the 'hay hut' with other kids

Savannah bouncing around

Olivia and Emma with the big spider

 

As much as I enjoy taking the girls to do things, I also enjoy just hanging out at the house.  It gives us a chance to sit down at breakfast and eat and talk.  Sometimes they will sit there for an hour just being slow, eating, talking, and sometimes singing (Savannah).  Then they will play for a while, during this time I have tried to leave to do laundry or clean-up but they start fighting or come find me.  So for now it is easier just to sit down and watch them play.  We usually do coloring or bracelet making or some games before lunch, then we will do lunch and play outside or do more games.  In the afternoon sometimes they will take a nap but usually it is only 1 or 2 that will nap so I end up sitting in their room during nap time to make sure that those who need to sleep get it and those who don't stay in their beds and don't bother the other(s).  Usually I take this time to read a book or catch up on my computer, or just nap in the chair (my favorite).

 

So those are our days spent at home, I can't believe how fast the weeks have gone by. 

Final Beach Day

So this morning we had to clean the house before leaving, it was a busy morning but with everyone helping it seemed to go pretty quickly.  Scott the girls and I took one last ride in the golf cart before returning it to the rental place. 

We had an uneventful trip back, I think most of us got in a little nap.  The girls especially as they slept for most of the trip home. 

We really enjoyed our trip and I'm glad that we were able to go with both of our families.  I'm also glad we were able to stay at the campground where I grew up camping.  I'm glad we didnt' wait until the girls were 5 like Scott had said he would after our first trip to the beach.

So even though we are tired we are very much looking forward to having the rest of the week visiting with Scott's parents.  Now with my new schedule I will even get to be home on Tuesday all day to have fun the girls and Grammy.

Beach Day 3

I woke up not feeling so well, Savannah has been coughing for a few days and I think I've acquired her cold. I have a terrible sore throat and chills.

Today we decided to just hang around the campground.  My parents rented a golf cart so we could get around easier, unfortunately they only had ones that seated 4 adults so we had to take turns walking but it was no problem.

We spent the morning down at the beach, we showed them the little clams that come up with the waves and then bury themselves in the sand.  Emma and Olivia were especially fascinated by the clams.  I tried to show Savannah but she didn't want to be even close to the water and screamed when I tried to take her down and show her.  Olivia wanted to play in the ocean some more so Scott took her in again with him.  Emma enjoyed jumping the waves with me.  Grammy helped Savannah build a sand castle and soon all the girls were playing in the sand.

We went back and had sandwiches for lunch and then took a nap.  Apparently while Scott, the girls and I were sleeping my parents and Scott's parents took the golf cart out for a ride.  I even heard they stopped and had a snack without us. 

In the afternoon we headed back to the pool one last time.  Today not many adults got in, mom and I braved the cold and got in again, but even the girls thought it was cold so we didn't stay very long. 

I wanted to take some pictures of the girls on the beach together and also with us and their grandparents.  So we all got dressed to go out to a nice dinner on our final night and before leaving we went down to the beach for some photos.  I always love pictures with white dresses by the ocean so I brought some white dresses with us and also a dress for me and something for Scott so we could take a family photo on the beach.  Here is my favorite:

You should see us trying to get them to laugh, there are spiders attaching Scott's head as he is holding the camera.

 

Beach Day 2

We all had a fairly good night sleep, Savannah woke up and tried to squeeze into our bed which was a full size and not a queen size like it had been advertised.  My back hurt from trying to not fall off the side.  We decided to hit the Flea Market this morning since it would probably be less crowded on a Friday than a Saturday.  It proved to be a good decision and we all had a good time.  The girls were pretty good, we had to get them pop-corn and drinks to keep them entertained after a while.  We stopped by a booth where my mom had met a lady who makes hairbows last time.  She wanted to take some pictures of the girls with her hairbows.  The girls cooperated so nicely and let her pose them, the pictures turned out cute. They even got 2 free hairbows a piece, what a great deal!

 

 

We stopped and had chick-fil-a for lunch and the girls had a chance to play in the play area.  Then we headed back for a nap.  Scott and I laid down with the girls to try to get them to sleep, and we all ended up getting a little nap. 

After naps we headed out to the pool, we decided to do the pool first and then the ocean so we wouldn't have to try to rinse off all the sand before getting in the pool today.  The pool was a little chilly but both of my parents went in, mom and I did some laps but I found her cheating a good deal.  The girls thought the big pool was too cool so Olivia and Emma went to the indoor pool with Scott and his mom.  Savannah wanted to play in the shallow pool so Dick watched her, she is so good at going all the way under.

After swimming we walked over to the ocean and Olivia was excited to get in, she is getting more brave and wants to stand but wants you to hold her hand.  Scott and his dad took her out into the waves some and then Scott, Dick and I all went 'wave surfing'.  We all got a few good ones and had fun.  Savannah was having a great time playing in the sand and Emma kind of went between playing in the sand and wading in the water.

We headed back to the house to enjoy some nachos for dinner.  It took all 6 of us helping to get everyone dressed and ready and dinner cooked too.  It took a little while to get the girls to sleep but afterwards Scott got out his helicopter from the flea market and we all watched him fly it around for a while, then we all retired to our beds.

Beach Day 1

We have been planning a trip to the beach for several months now. Last time we went the girls were only 9 months old and afterwards Scott said he wouldn't do it again until they were 5. But alas I talked him into doing it now that they are 3. I think what really convinced him was how much they love to play in the sand. They also have a cd in their room at night that we play that has the ocean sounds on it and so they talk about the ocean a lot.

We invited my parents and Scott's parents to go with us and enjoy their experience at the beach. Scott's parents flew down on Wednesday and we left Thursday morning. The girls were great for the ride down, we stopped once to let them eat and play. We had rented a 4 bedroom house at the campground I use to stay at when I was little. I have great memories of camping in our pop-up camper there. The campground has changed some but a lot of what I remember is still there.

The house was beautiful and looked like a model home and not a rental.  We had a small issue with bugs, apparently they had sprayed before we arrived and we found lots of dead bugs, big ones which made me uneasy.












We then went down to the ocean with the girls, they were excited to see the water. Emma and Olivia did not hesitate to get their feet wet but Savannah wasn't very sure so we held her. The water was pretty warm still so Scott and his dad got in and did some wave surfing. Emma and Olivia let us take them in but Savannah didn't want to go in. Lynn was holding Savannah and trying to make her feel better about the water but then a wave came and knocked her over and her and Savannah both went under. This sealed the deal for Savannah she was done with the ocean. Savannah really enjoyed the sand, Olivia was more fascinated with the water but did do some sand digging. Emma was not happy about getting her feet 'dirty' and wanted to be held. Scott dug a big hole for Olivia to get in so he could bury her, she was a great sport. After Emma saw Olivia get buried she decided getting dirty wasn't so bad and let daddy bury her too.








After the ocean we headed to the pool, it was colder than the ocean so we ended up swimming in the indoor pool which wasn't as cold.  Olivia and Emma liked wearing their wings and swimming around themselves but Savannah wanted to play in the little pool where she could stand up and jump around.  Savannah has no problem going all the way under the water and diving for toys as long as she can stand. 

After our long day Scott and I went and got some pizza and food for breakfast.  We all had a busy day and were ready to crash.  My parents arrived around 10 so we all got to visit just a bit before heading to bed.