The Sacramento Zoo and other adventures...

Hey Momma!

(Sidney)

Elliott (shown here) and Jenson have started to pull themselves up on stuff.  Cue me lowering their cribs yet again!

The boys with their friend Emma

(she's been helping us keep the boys entertained

almost since they were first born!)

The boys and I stopped by Jason's office last Friday to have lunch and visit with his coworkers.  The boys had fun, Daddy had fun, and I'm pretty sure we distracted enough of his coworkers that productivity was possibly affected.  :)  Jason's coworkers have been so amazingly supportive of us and our little family from the beginning, and it's so fun to see how excited they get when we show up.

Sidney

Sidney & Jenson

Sidney

Jenson

(did I mention we're pulling ourselves up on stuff?!?)

With Jason's coworker Tessa

... and we've really started crawling up the 2 steps into the kitchen too!

Sidney is the only one who hasn't done this yet, which is totally fine.  (And let's be honest- life will probably be slightly more crazy when all three are going in three different directions, so Sidney can just take his sweet little time if you ask me!)  

I used to get all feisty and worried about whether or not the boys were meeting their developmental milestones on time, with each other, at the "head of the class"...  I finally realized that I was getting way too worried about things and had to just CHILL OUT.  I think a lot of my neurosis in this arena was tied in with my guilt over having to try and split my energy and time evenly between the three of them... and realizing that I was just not going to be able to achieve any sense of perfection in this area.  So, might as well settle down, chill out, and just enjoy each little step whenever the boys decided to achieve them!  And since I've adopted this as my agenda, I've been enjoying parenting so much more.  

At the Sacramento Zoo, where the boys were pretty much not at all interested in any animals, but were totally fascinated by some growing bamboo

But we did get all of them to look at this bird at the same time.

Roaming the trails at the zoo with Daddy

Jenson nodded off in the Reptile House...

The trip to the zoo was a little bit of an eye opener for us.  I'm used to people coming up to me when I take the boys out for errands/adventures and asking us questions, etc.  But I was totally unprepared for the zoo.  Here we were surrounded by other families- parents and children!- and I have never felt like such a circus freak as I did that day.  People were making rude comments, laughing, stopping right in the path of our stroller to gawk and stare, taking our picture without asking, etc.  While Jason and I enjoyed our time with our boys, we really didn't enjoy the reactions that we garnered.  I realize that three babies together are a little bit more unusual than one baby alone, but it's not like they are totally foreign.  To be sure, we are a little more visible when we dress the munchkins alike and throw them in the triplet stroller.  But I bet the zoo could have charged extra for admission that day for people looking at the new exhibit- the elusive and rare "Human Triplets"!!

I know that our life together with these boys is going to be a little bit different than the average person's.  I get that concept.  But I also firmly believe that when you break things down to their base level, we're not that much different than other families.  Yeah, I probably change more diapers than the average momma.  And my guess is that not every parent has to remind their sons that "we don't use our brother's head as a jungle gym!" like Jason and I do.  But still- we're just two parents... trying to raise three little boys into respectful young men... just like every other parent.

So the zoo trip left a bad taste in my mouth, and I was kind of bummed about it for a few days.  But you can't stay bummed for long when you hang out with these three happy little dudes.

We've started eating finger foods...

(Elliott)

... and we're pretty darn happy about it...

(Sidney)

... and proud of ourselves too!

(Jenson)

Elliott LOVES to pull himself up to the fireplace...

... but sometimes he has a hard time figuring out how to get down.

Sidney LOVES to smile for the camera...

... and he's started pushing up onto all fours and rocking.

Jenson LOVES to use anything around him as a jungle gym...

... especially Momma!

Father's Day fun

Yesterday was Father's Day, and we tried to all enjoy it to the max.  The boys and I decided to give Jason the best gift ever- the opportunity to sleep in!  I got up with them, fed 'em breakfast, got us ready, and then the three munchkins and I headed off to church so Jason could snooze in peace.

It is wonderful to get to take them with me to church.  They seem to really like the music (I love dancing with them too!), plus there are PLENTY of people there who can't wait to help hold them!  Elliott even yelled/sang along with one of the songs yesterday. A part of me worries that I'm imposing on others because I need help with the boys during the service, but people seem to be okay with them so far.  I also wonder if I should apologize to the pastor when we come because I'm pretty sure my fellow churchgoers are a little distracted by the munchkins...   :)

We stopped and got breakfast on our way home to bring to Jason.  After their afternoon naps, we got the boys into their swimsuits and took them to a local splash park.  Because pools can be a little challenging for us when it comes to safety (we're outnumbered!), splash parks are a pretty cool alternative for now.  Splash park = foam-like mats with holes in them for jets of water to spray up, so you can get wet but it's easier to keep the boys safe and happy.  I think the boys like the pool better, but we do have to make accommodations at times because of the triplet thing!

We came home, had dinner, and had a gentle evening putting the boys to bed.  All in all, it was a happy, happy day that we got to spend together as a family.  Love!

Elliott cuddling with Auntie Jen after church

Sidney and Elliott

(patiently waiting for Jenson to wake up from his

nap so we could leave for the splash park)

Jenson in his full pool regalia

Those yellow hats make it pretty easy to

spot the boys from a distance

Playing with the jets of water.  Jenson, our little

daredevil, was the only one to really get into playing

with the jet.  He kept sticking his hand in it, over and

over, and was so intrigued by it!

Sidney, on the other hand, was way

more excited about standing up with

Daddy's help

L to R: Jenson, Elliott, Sidney

Check out the drool rolling down

Elliott's tummy- have I mentioned that

we're teething?!?

Sidney really enjoyed his dinner (he's apparently trying to save that cheerio

for later).  

We've really been trying out some new things lately when it comes to their meals.  They are loving finger foods- it's so adorable to watch them all learning how to stuff peas, Cheerios, cheese, etc. into their mouths.  I've also been making their vegetables and fruits here at home, so they've gotten to try a lot of different foods in that respect as well.  Homemade baby food, while definitely not as easy as buying premade stuff, is totally the way to go.  Way cheaper, healthier for the boys, and better for the environment.  And it seems to fit my cooking skill level- who could mess up steaming and pureeing?  (Actually, if anyone could... it'd be me).

Last night, the boys feasted on yogurt, a veggie blend of broccoli/ sweet potatoes/ spinach/ squash, and followed it all up with some bananas and cereal.  I'm really trying hard to get them to enjoy their veggies, and so far it seems to be working.  They haven't spit out anything yet (knock on wood- I suppose it will happen someday).  Needless to say, these kids can EAT...

Jason's gift that the boys and I made together

Happy Father's Day!!

I've been bad... a total derelict.  My name is Brittany Deen, and it has been two months since my last post...

On the plus side, the boys are great!!!!  All three of them are sitting up on their own and are doing the army crawl all over the place.  Elliott and Sidney both have two teeth (Elliott actually cut two teeth at the same time- he handled it like a champ).  Jenson and Elliott are having fun trying to pull themselves up to a kneeling position on stuff (Jenson's preferred way of doing this?  Climbing up on his brothers!). All three munchkins are loving their solid food meals and are starting to shovel Cheerios in on their own too.  Did I mention that we're almost all able to hold our bottles by ourselves?

And since I know that Jason doesn't check the blog on a regular basis, I'm showing you all the pics that he'll be getting for his Father's Day present...

Sidney

Elliott

Jenson