I stole an idea from another triplet mom I know and decided to "interview" the girls. Lily was pretty chatty, Eve seemed a little uncomfortable, and Julia was totally distracted by what was going on in the next room. But it was pretty fun and I've been wanting to get more video of them just talking about stuff to capture their voices and the pronunciations and mannerisms they have right now. Here they are...
Eve told her first joke yesterday. She prefaced the telling of said joke by saying "I have a joke I'd like to share." Where do they learn to talk like that? Anyway, here was the joke:
Eve: How does a puppy walk with no feet?
Me: How?
Eve: Cuz it can't move!
Insert much hysterical laughter from all three girls. We were in the car on the way to the store, and this joke was followed by many others with a similar format.
Julia: How does a hippo jump in the water without jumping?
Me: How?
Julia: Cuz they have to stay in the air!
Eve: How do bugs eat with no mouth?
Me: How?
Eve: Cuz they can't even know that they're hungry!
Lily told one too but I couldn't really understand her because she was laughing so hard. All 3 of them were just completely cracking each other up. I'm afraid they come by their comedic abilities (or lack thereof) naturally. My family loves to talk about how my cousin Katie and I used to sit next to each other in our high chairs and tell knock-knock jokes that went something like this:
Katie: Knock, knock!
Me: Who's there?
Katie: Peanut butter!
(Hysterical laughter)
I am just grateful that their jokes don't consist of liberal use of the words "poop" and "butt." Yet.
There are two things about this video that really make me happy.
1. The sound of all 3 of them giggling like maniacs, which is one of the best sounds in the world.
2. Imagining how completely grossed out they will be watching this video when they're about 14.
For your viewing pleasure...
I have been receiving much-deserved harassment from friends and family about how long it's been since I've updated this blog. It's not like there hasn't been stuff to talk about. Thanksgiving at the in-laws. Christmas at home, just the 5 of us. The day-after-Christmas Potty Party/Booty Camp, when we began potty training in earnest. The Potty Party/Booty Camp aftermath. Our first time getting out and playing in the snow. (Why didn't we do it last year? I don't know. We are mean. And too cheap to buy 3 sets of boots and snow pants.) A discourse on why legwarmers make the perfect potty training accessory. Many hilarious conversations with 3-year-olds. A special song Tim and I have been writing together titled "The Drama Queens" (sung to the tune of Abba's "The Dancing Queen") And dozens and dozens of pictures. I just haven't been making time to get it all down. Or to install the software for our new camera so I can get the pictures off the camera and onto the computer. I can't promise to do better, but I will try. In the meantime, I will leave you with two stories that will give you a little look into life in our house.
1. (Copied directly from an email I just wrote to my friend Liz, because I am nothing if not lazy.)
There is a "Lightning McQueen" (from the movie Cars)
game at the Children's museum. Months ago, Tim incorrectly identified
the character as "Speed McQueen" and as far as the girls are concerned, that
is in fact his name. Sometimes if they are in a good mood they will
concede that other people call him Lightning. But really his name is Speed.
Anyway, they talked about that game so much I decided to rent the Cars
movie and see if they liked it. We've watched it twice now. There is
one scary part in it that Julia will tell you she doesn't like. About
five times a day. There's a still from that part of the movie on the
back of the DVD box so she will periodicaly pick it up, show it to you,
and tell you that this is the part she doesn't like. Because it is
scary. And she doesn't like that part. And last time we skipped over
it. Because it's scary. And she doesn't like it.
But she can't have been too traumatized by the movie because now she is absolutely insisting we call her Speed. And talking about herself in the third person ("Speed is hungry! Speed needs to go potty!"). Yesterday I had the following exchange with her:
Me: Julia, I've told you twice now not to play on the stairs. Go sit in time out.
Julia: Actually, I'm Speed.
Me: Ok, then: SPEED - you are not supposed to play on the stairs. Go sit in time out.
Sometimes it is hard to keep a straight face.
2. Conversation among three 3-year-olds
Julia: I pooped in the potty!
Eve: I want to see!
Lily: Me too!
(Everyone gathers around the potty to admire.)
Eve: Wow Julia, that's a big poop!
Julia: Thanks, Eve.
Lily: It looks like a puppy!
Julia: You're right, Lily! Look, there's its mouth!
Oh my goodness but I am exhausted. It's been a whirlwind week. Last Wednesday, on the terrific trio's birthday, the girls had their first dentist appointment. (I know, we are unspeakably cruel. I can only imagine the therapy bills.) I'm so mad I forgot to bring my camera, but they did great. I had my teeth cleaned the week before their appointment and they came with to watch, so they knew what to expect. I think that helped. Wednesday we also gave them their birthday presents from us, one of which was a little indoor trampoline. It's been a big hit:
Lily giving me a YO-HO-HO!
Lots and lots of fun, but between all the excitement of the past several days and then staying up late for election results I am seriously behind on sleep. I think the girls are behind too, as they were absolutely rotten last night and today when I went home for lunch our nanny asked what the heck was wrong with them (much more diplomatically than that). Here's hoping for a little catch-up for all of us tonight!
You've come a long way.
We've had a beautiful fall here so far, and are spending as much time outside enjoying the weather as we can, before winter arrives and we're trapped inside.
Cloud-gazing:
Another month, another wedding! This time the trio got to be flower girls in their Aunt Megan's wedding. A couple pics with their cousins:
At the reception:
They did a LOT of dancing:
One of the best parts was getting to see Liz again! Liz is a family friend who stayed with us all summer while completing an internship at the company Tim and I both work for. I really should do a whole post about Liz but I wouldn't want to embarass her. The girls were thrilled to see her again, as were we.
We were really worried about how they were going to manage the wedding, because it started at 2 and usually they nap from 1 to 3. I don't know how we would have survived the first 3 years with triplets without sticking to a schedule, but the downside is that if we want or need to deviate from the schedule all hell breaks loose. We fed them an early lunch and managed to get them down for a nap at noon. They got to sleep for an hour before we had to wake them up to get ready to go, which turned out to be enough to get them through the rest of the day. Phew!!
And a tip for anyone who has to keep a little kid quiet at a wedding: A little box of raisins (like the kind you stick in a lunchbox) will keep a small child busy for a good 15-20 minutes. They have to do a little work to dig the raisins out of the box, they take a while to eat, and they don't make noise when chewed or dropped.
I think we are done with weddings for a while, though it's too bad - they're getting to be pros at this!
Phew.
This summer has just flown by, with the last few weeks taken up with preparing for, enjoying, and recovering from our first big family vacation. We flew with the girls to the East Coast, where they were flower girls in Grammy and Mr. Rick's wedding. Then we spent a week in a big rental house by the beach with Grammy, Mr. Rick (now known as "Pa"), Uncle Brendhan and Aunt Wendy, and Rick's daughter Kristen and her 2 kids, Allison and Kevin.
I was VERY anxious about the flight. We spent lots of time researching, planning, and playing "airport" at home so they wouldn't freak out when they had to take their shoes off and watch their beloved Shrek babies go through the X-Ray machines. We got them their own Dora backpacks and filled them with never-before-seen books and activities to keep them busy on the plane. It was quite a job getting everyone through security, and I really don't know how we would have done it if Aunt Wendy and Uncle Brendhan hadn't flown to our house (quite a bit out of their way) a day before the trip just so they could travel with us and help with the girls. Here they are waiting to take off:
It was a direct flight (we paid more and got up earlier to get this flight - totally worth it), everything was on time, and the plane was half empty. Really I don't know how it could have gone better.
We arrived at our destination Friday morning, and the wedding was Saturday. I was standing up front as one of the attendants, so Tim had quite a job keeping the girls busy during the ceremony. Unfortunately he didn't really get to enjoy it, but he did a great job keeping the girls quiet so everyone else could. Here they are after the ceremony:
Trying to get a shot of the whole wedding party. Julia was crying and Eve didn't want to stand still, so I wound up holding both of them. They are getting way too big for this!
The reception site was gorgeous, and the weather was perfect. The girls especially enjoyed this courtyard, which had several dog statues. They kept running around petting all of them:
Another attempt at a group shot:
The happy couple:
Allison and Lily were quite taken with each other:
Unfortunately we had to leave the reception early - they still take a nap every day, usually about 2 hours, from 1 to 3. They made it until about 3 before we decided we really needed to leave. Then it was off to the "big house." They had some fun things to play with there, including some interesting headgear.
The girls went to the beach for the first time - I didn't bring my camera, but I'll get video up one of these days. We had lots of fun adventures, including a trip to Mystic Aquarium and our first train ride.
A rare family shot:
Sitting on the train:
And finally a couple of our favorite "big house" activities - swinging in the hammock:
And shucking corn, which they thought was just crazy fun for some reason:
It was exhausting, but lots of fun, and Tim and I came out of it feeling like we might be able to do this again. Maybe.
Now, on to our next big adventure... Potty training.
Wish us luck.
