Getting ready for Christmas

We had a fun visit from Grandma and Grandpa A. (and Uncle Jeff and Aunt Amy) last Saturday. Santa arrived a few days early and brought the kids some really fun and cute presents. It was a small glimpse of how crazy Christmas morning will be around here!

Today, Jacob, Jon and I decorated some Christmas cookies. Jacob really enjoyed putting 10 M&M's on each cookie and about 100 sprinkles! Tonight we are going to load everyone up in the 'ole minivan and go check out some lights around town. Then tomorrow (Christmas Eve) we are having Grandma Lynnie and Papa Tommy over for our traditional Sugo pasta dinner. Mom and I will be taking the kids to church for our Christmas program, but unfortunately Jon has to work until Costco closes, so he'll miss out this year.... bummer! :o( But he'll be home in time dinner and our yearly watching of "A Christmas Story" while we finish wrapping presents and filling the kids stockings.

Guess which ones I did, mommy??

We hope this Christmas finds everyone filled with love, hope, joy and peace! Merry Christmas!!

Love - Jon, Lisa, Jacob, Megan, Ryan and Dylan

Snow!!

We had snow at our house this morning! It seemed to be a hail/snow mix, but it definitely stuck on the ground for a little bit. If you look closely at the photos, you can see little white dots of snow falling from the sky! Too bad it wasn't Christmas morning! How fun it would be to have a white Christmas!?

18 month check-ups

The triplets had their 18 month check-ups yesterday. Everyone is doing great! They got one shot, but we'll have to go back for their chicken pox vaccination another day because they were out of it. Here are their stats:

Megan (aka "teeny-tiny") - 19lbs 6oz / 32" tall
Ryan - 25lbs 15oz / 34" tall
Dylan - 23lbs 5oz / 33" tall

It's crazy that Ryan weighs 6 pounds more than Megan! She is so tiny! We just turned her carseat around to forward facing, which is not suppose to happen until 1 year and 20 lbs. But her long legs were all scrunched up against the backseat, so we decided to graduate her up to forward facing. Besides, now she can see the movie on the DVD player! It is such a blessing to watch these little bodies grow and change. Jon and I were just talking about how our kitchen counter next to the sink used to be completely covered in baby bottles! Oh, how I don't miss washing baby bottles! But I do miss the quiet time when we would feed all three of them on the couch. Now they barely sit still for two seconds!

Ok, just a few more cute photos from the week, then I'm off to bed!

I just discovered that Ryan has a molar! I thought he had a piece of paper in his mouth the other night, but it turned out to be a tooth. Plus, he's getting two more on the top!

The kids watching "Frosty the Snowman" - a staple in our house right now. Jacob almost has the entire song down, it's so cute!

Megan playing in the laundry basket. For once, it doesn't have actual laundry in it!

It's hard to believe these three little monkey's once fit in my tummy! And now they are 18 months old!

Definitely "Mommy's favorite present"!!

We got our Christmas tree!

We got our tree this weekend from Home Depot. Our tree finding experience was the quickest one in history. We walked into the tree lot, looked at two trees and bought the second one! We were literally there for less than 3 minutes. It was great! Jacob was very excited about getting our tree and putting it up. He helped me with a lot of the ornaments and we had a fun time!

Go, super-Dad, go!

Jacob put up ornaments all in one spot! So cute, but mommy did have to move some! :o)

Even Daddy put his ornament on the tree! Jon has a few hand-made ornaments (like we all do) from elementary school. Every year he loves to put them right in the front and then when he leaves, I move them to the back!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

So far we haven't had any unfortunate ornament breakage.... but it has only been a few days! Dylan is the most fascinated with the tree. He loves balls, so all the round ornaments he thinks are balls. Oh, and he loves to throw things in to the tree. It'll be a miracle if this tree makes it in one piece to Christmas day! Megan is the tree police. She puts her hand on the boys and pushes them back away from the tree and says "no". She's becoming a tiny little mommy already! I love it!

Thanksgiving photos

I'm a little late, but here are a few cute photos from Thanksgiving at The Allingham's...

It's officially Christmastime

Tonight marked the official start to my Christmas season ... "A Christmas Story" was on TNT! It is my all-time favorite Christmas movie. I'm actually watching it right now (because of course it's already on again) and Ralphie is beating the tar out of the bully kid. I love that his mom just leaves the kid all beat up with a bloody nose lying in the snow! I don't know why, but this movie cracks me up and I could watch it over and over. In fact, on Christmas Eve/day when TNT has 24-hours of "A Christmas Story", I love to keep it on all day. It drives Jon nuts! I know he likes the movie, but not over and over again! We're getting our tree this Friday. I'm not really looking forward to all the "don't touch that" and "no, no, no's" I'm going to have to say to the little kids, but it'll still be fun. They'll love the colorful lights. Hope everyone else is having a great start to their Christmas season!

Lisa :o)

P.S... Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the movie -

Ralphie: I want an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle! Mrs. Parker: No, you'll shoot your eye out

Ralphie: Oooh fuuudge!
Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Only I didn't say "Fudge." I said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the "F-dash-dash-dash" word!
Mr. Parker: [stunned] *What* did you say?
Ralphie: Uh, um...
Mr. Parker: That's... what I thought you said. Get in the car. Go on!
Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] It was all over - I was dead. What would it be? The guillotine? Hanging? The chair? The rack? The Chinese water torture? Hmmph. Mere child's play compared to what surely awaited me.

[Mr. Parker reads a side of the box with the prize that he won]
Mr. Parker: Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian.
Mrs. Parker: Uh, I think that says FRAGILE, dear.
Mr. Parker: Oh, yeah.

Mr. Parker: He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny.
Mother: He does not!
Mr. Parker: He does too, he looks like a pink nightmare!

[overdressed for winter]
Randy: I can't put my arms down!
Mother: Well... put your arms down when you get to school.

Thanksgiving eve

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is already tomorrow! We've started listening to Christmas music and there are a few houses in our neighborhood that have lights up! I always love this time of year. It's such a fun and magical time, especially we the kids. Jacob is really excited for Christmas this year. He loves looking at all the lights and he's already watched "The Grinch" about a hundred times! I can only imagine how many more times we'll watch it before Christmas day!

This year we are so thankful for all the blessings we have in our lives. We are thankful that we've made it through another year with triplets and a preschooler! We are thankful that Jon has a job and that we have a roof over our heads. We are thankful that I am able to stay home with the kids and be here for them whenever they need me. We are thankful for a wonderful and generous family that constantly help us out with the kids and things we need. We are thankful we are healthy. We are thankful that every day our kids grow and learn and make us laugh. I could go on and on for all the wonderful things we are thankful for, but the thing we are most thankful for is the love, faith and joy we share with each other and with God.

We hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
XOXO,
Jon and Lisa

8 kids - ages 7 and under!

Today we met the Nelson clan (my sister and family) at the mall to have photos taken of our kids - all 8 of them! To say the event was chaos is an understatement! The older kids (Livie, Matty, Nathan and Jacob) cooperated pretty good. It was the 4 little ones that didn't want to look at the camera, let alone crack a smile! Megan is not a fan of getting her picture taken so she pretty much cried the entire time. Ryan wanted to sit on everyone's lap and Dylan wanted to chase the bouncy ball around instead of sitting with the other kids. Derek (Heather's 8 month old) didn't like all the noise - but who could blame the poor kid!? There were 6 crazy adults (me, Jon, Heather, David and 2 employees) yelling and jumping around trying to get the kids to smile. Thankfully, there was one reasonably good photo that we were happy with.

After the photos, we headed to the food court to get some dinner. Yet, another chaotic experience... at least for my family! The kids were starving and ready to be out of the stroller. I scurried around the food court buying food for the kids while Jon held them off with bits of Jacob's pretzel and cheerios. I finally got them something to eat and things calmed down - temporarily. By the time they finished, I was just starting my dinner - which Dylan was screaming for and Jacob was running around the tables and Megan was choking on a chicken star and Ryan was screaming for more food and so and so on. I scarfed down my nasty food court pizza as fast as I could and we booked it out of there! I swear, people were staring at us probably saying "wow, they've got their hands full!" If I had a nickle for every time I heard that! I think at one point I yelled to Jon that he was getting a vasectomy! :o)

We made it back to the car, got everyone buckled up and steered the 'ole minivan towards home. After about 10 minutes, I looked back to find all the kids sound asleep. The quietness lasted about 2 seconds and then Dylan lost his binky and the screaming started in..... :o)

Poop in the potty!

Today was Jacob's 4th consecutive day of pooping in the potty! This is a huge milestone for him! We've been trying to potty train Jacob all summer, but we've really started getting serious the past few weeks. It's been a slow process, but each day we see little bits of improvement. He's wearing big boy undies during the daytime and he's only had a few accidents. The photo of is of Jacob's Backyardigan's tattoo that Daddy put on him for going poop in the potty. We've been bribing him with this tattoo for a month or two and he finally got it! We've been using candy treats as rewards for going potty and the little kids have totally caught on to this treat. It's hilarious! Every time Jacob goes potty and asks for a potty treat, ALL the kids race over to the cabinet with the M&M's and everyone squeals with delight upon receiving their candy treat. I can only imagine what it will be like potty training the triplets! Agh! :o)

XOXO,
Lisa :o)

Ryan

Ryan is the middle triplet and some times he certainly has the "middle child" syndrome! He likes to be held, especially when mommy is on the phone. Ryan is the biggest of the trio, weighing in at 24.8lbs (just this morning). He loves to lay his head on your shoulder and cuddle. He reminds us so much of Jacob - it's a little scary. He eats with gusto and has recently started putting food in his hair and ear. I know, it's lovely. Ryan likes to push the boundaries by doing things he knows he is not supposed to do... like climb on top of the kitchen table. I was talking to my mom on the phone the other morning and I came out in to the kitchen to find Ryan sitting on top of the table! I thought, "oh, this is new!" You should have seen the look on his face - he had a smile from ear to ear! He was quite proud of his accomplishment. I'd say Ryan is the best sleeper out of the three. He's like his mama - he likes to sleep in and is not really a morning person. Breakfast is usually his quietest meal. Ryan has very thick hair that grows completely forward, just like his Grandpa Tommy and his Great Grandpa Spiv. If we don't keep it short, it grows so straight forward it looks like he has a visor on! Ryan is Jacob's favorite playmate. They love to wrestle and Ryan can actually hold his own pretty good against Jacob. He loves to dance to the music from The Backyardigans and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (two staples in our house!). Ryan is the only one of the triplets who has started going to "time-out". He's been there (his bed) twice in the last week for being stubborn and not listening. Can you imagine that? A stubborn 1 1/2 year old!? I'm still waiting for Jacob's stubborness to wear off... and he's 3 1/2! We've got a long way to go! :o)

Look what we can do!

We've been giving the little kids spoons and forks lately to help them get the idea of how to use them. It's just another step towards independence for them - and us! It's so great to see them change and grow every day, but at the same time, it breaks my heart how fast they are growing up! It's hard to believe they are 17 months old already! Here are some photos from their first attempts at using a fork (and might I say they were excellent attempts!!) :

Mmmm... I'll eat anything, even a plastic fork!

I finally have as many teeth as the boys! I can't wait to use this fork!

Oh yeah, I've got this mastered! Check me out!

Ok, babies ... let me show you how the big boys do it!

Election Day

Today, I voted in my very first election! And I only had to wait in line for about 30 minutes. Not too bad considering they are expecting wait times of a few hours later this evening. I think it is so neat to be apart of history making. I saw a news story today that featured a local Sacramento lady who has been saving as many magazine, newspaper and internet articles as she can on the Presidential election. She hopes that some day, she'll be able to dust them off and show her kids that she was a tiny part of this historic event. I thought - good for her. I wish I would have thought about that... Actually, I'll save tomorrow mornings paper! That's about all I can do at this point!

I hope everyone got a chance to vote today! I don't know which I'm more excited for - a new President or for the political ads to be done with ... hmmm, let me think... I'll go with the political ads being over!

Lisa

Happy Halloween!

Jacob the Pirate

Dylan the Cowboy

Ryan the Ninja

Megan the Princess

Preschool Halloween party

Jacob had a Halloween party at school today. They got to dress-up in their costumes and had lots of treats. Jacob is a pirate this year (he's sitting on the top right next to Darth). When I picked up Jacob from school, he said "Hi mommy! I'm captain Jakey!" It was cute! He is very excited about trick-or-treating this year. We're hoping we don't get rained out!

Apple Hill field trip

On Tuesday, Jacob's preschool class went on a field trip to Apple Hill. Mommy got to go while Daddy stayed home with the triplets. Our day started off with a tour of High Hill Ranch, a real working apple ranch. Our first stop on the tour was Apple Hill's largest pumpkin.



Next was the trout pond. There are over 2,000 lbs of trout and catfish in the pond and you can actually rent fishing poles and fish if you want to. Oh, by the way, in case you were wondering, Jacob is the little blondie NOT wearing his Sierra Snowflakes t-shirts they made in class the week before. He decided he didn't want to wear it, he just wanted to carry it. So, we went with that. Of course, the second we got home from the field trip, he wanted to wear it and didn't take it off all day. I even had to put it on over his pj's the next morning... 3 year olds! What are you gonna do? :o) Just love them!!

We went on a hay ride through the apple orchard. There weren't very many apples (unless you count the rotten ones on the ground) as it's getting to be the end of the season. But we did see a small pumpkin patch and a Christmas tree farm.



This part of the tour was through the main store where they sell all of their goodies. This guy with the pumpkin head was making "carmellows" - marshmellows covered in carmel (not sure how that is apple related, but they looked tastey!).



We also toured the 32 degree cooler where they store all their apples, the apple peeler machine and where they make apple cider (which we learned is the same thing as apple juice, just a different name). Our last stop was at the picnic area for fresh apple juice and lunch.


Of course we couldn't go home empty handed! So we picked up a Dutch apple pie fresh from the hill for daddy. Even Grandpa Tommy got to enjoy some homemade pie later that night. Overall, Jacob really enjoyed his very first field trip!

Apple Hill and the pumpkin patch

On Friday, we went up to Apple Hill with Gary, Fran, Jeff, Brittany and Amy for a picnic and other Fall activites. We got apple doughnuts, apple pie and fudge - Yum! The weather was perfect, a nice warm fall day. Despite the kids not really napping all day, they did great.

Aunt Amy and Megan

Uncle Jeff and Megan

Us at Zittle's Pumpkin Patch