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