Happy Holidays!

Halloween Rewind

The girls had a great Halloween and it keeps getting easier every year for trick-or-treating. No more whining that they are tired of walking and this year they weren't even afraid to go to the "scary" houses! It's all about the candy baby!!

Sooooo we are past the point of mommy being able to choose their costumes for them (as evidenced by Riley and Makena's choices this year). I still try to steer their decisions but darnit, they have minds of their own!

Steve made several trips to the Halloween store with them this year as they tried to make their final decisions as to what they wanted for costumes. We did try to convince them to wear their costumes from last year since they still fit, but that was a no go! When Riley came home expressing her desire to be a jailbird (because it reminds her of a zebra!) I had to laugh. No pretty princess or fairy costume for my girl. Makena quickly followed suit in her choice to dress the same as Riley (as usually happens with those two) and next thing I knew I had two jailbirds on my hands. Alyssa (my girlie-girl) DID want to dress like a princess, but I thought we just HAD to round out the theme and we convinced her to go as a police woman! It totally fits her rule-following personality too!

Two jailbirds and the Po-Po

Makena

Riley-making her mean face with a smile

Alyssa the Policewoman, complete with her pink badge!

Next year we will have a 4th girl to dress up! Can't wait!!

My Little Turkey

(Can you believe those cheeks? I can't get enough of them!)

We survived Abby's 2 month dr. appointment...shots and all! She is a whopping 12 pounds already which is somewhere in the 80th percentile range for weight. Big difference from the triplets who have always been below the 10th percentile (and still are). I looked back in their baby books and they didn't weigh 12 pounds until they were 7 months old. It is amazing to experience what a full-term baby is like! We are all doing great.

Hoping to update again this week with some Halloween pics (better late than never).

She's Here--Part 2

How has a month already passed since Abby has been born? Sheesh....was hoping to update the blog much sooner! Get ready for picture overload!

Mama at 37 1/2 weeks pregnant. Sooo ready for the big day!

My c-section was scheduled for 6:30 a.m. on September 15th which meant we had to be at the hospital at 4:30. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep the night before. The surgery went smoothly and it was very surreal to be awake during the c-section. Completely different from the emergency c-section with my big girls where I was put completely under anesthesia. Abby came out crying and was with me in recovery and never left my side. What a miracle! We had lots of family come to visit that day and couldn't wait for big sisters to get out of school and come meet Abby.

I love this picture. Our FOUR girls!


Daddy and the girls.

Me and my besties taken with the camera phone. And yes, I'm still totally drugged up from the spinal block!


Lolo and Abby


Lola and Abby


Grandpa Hank and Abby



The cousins...all girls! I LOVE this picture.

Auntie Jodi and Uncle Craig with Abby

Our baby girl at 2 weeks old

Abby is a true blessing to our family! Hard to believe sometimes that we have 4 kids, but she was meant to be part of our lives. Amazing how I forgot all the little things....love the smell of a newborn baby, their tiny squeaks, the cuddles, the diaper blow-outs, and of course the middle of the night feedings. And Abby has a set of LUNGS when she gets mad! I seriously would not be surprised if the neighbors told us they could hear her crying. She just might be louder than her big sister Alyssa was.

We are adjusting. It is and will continue to be a challenge to address everyone's needs during the after-school hours. Getting homework done, dinner made, baths etc.... for the big girls when Abby needs me can be stressful if Steve isn't home from work, but we are managing. Several moms from my local mom's group have been gracious enough to bring dinner over the last 3 weeks. Such a lifesaver!

I will try my best to blog again before another month goes by!

She's Here!

We welcomed our newest addition to the family into the world yesterday morning. We have been blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby girl and couldn't be more thrilled. I will try to update more about the big day when I get a chance.

Miss Abigail Samantha Quilao

7 pounds, 6 ounces

19 1/2 inches long

Proud big sisters with baby Abby

Happy 6th Birthday to my girls

It's hard to believe that it has already been 6 years since our itty-bitty miracle babies were born. You are growing into beautiful, smart, independent little girls. Mommy and daddy are so proud of you!

The girls on their first day of 1st grade


HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY!!

The Belly

Another month is flying by, but we are doing well and enjoying our last week of summer vacation before the big girls start 1st grade (EEK!) and I go back to work for a short while. Maternity leave is right around the corner for me. We have a c-section delivery date scheduled for mid-September. I am approaching week 33 with baby girl #4 and continue to be thrilled with the experience of a normal pregnancy.

Other than bouts of daily heartburn now, slightly swollen feet, and difficulty sleeping comfortably for a full night's sleep, I can't really complain. That's all normal right? It was kind of funny though when I glanced down at my feet while at the pool with my BFF and our kids on Monday and I gasped as I noticed my toes looked a little like sausages. Needless to say, I soaked those bad boys in the cool water in an attempt to get my skinny toes back!

Belly pic at 30 weeks

My BIG girls!

This past Spring, we had some professional pictures taken of the girls and I'm finally taking the time to post them. I had to keep them under wraps for a few months because they made great Mother's Day/Father's Day gifts for grandparents! I was thrilled with some of the great photos that were captured. Although I have these three running through the house all day, it doesn't hit me how grown up they are until I see pictures like this.

In the past, I have had the girls wearing matching or coordinating outfits when they take formal pictures, but guess what has happened as they've gotten older? They now have opinions about what they will wear and of course, each have their own favorite color. SO....that just meant I had to back off a bit and let them choose what they wanted to wear. I'm glad I did as their personalities just come through a little bit more in the pictures.

Riley in yellow, Alyssa in pink, Makena in purple

A little 80's flashback


Cute....even with the flamingo pose!

Sisters!

Candid, but adorable

Makena

Alyssa

Riley

Milestone

I am feeling so blessed by being able to type that I have passed the 24 week mark in my pregnancy with Baby #4. For those of us who have lived in preemie-land, 24 weeks is the 1st HUGE milestone that we strive for knowing that the baby is now able to survive if born early, although would still be in need of significant medical intervention. In fact, I've now passed the 25-week, 1 day mark which is the day that my big girls were born. Baby # 4, or "Kung Fu Panda" as I lovingly refer to her based on her acrobatic kicks and jabs in my uterus, is growing well. I don't remember being able to feel the triplets moving around so much, which may be due to the fact that they had less room and spent time kicking each other instead of me!

Big sisters and I are ready to jump start our summer with a trip to the pool today. Our weather has been unseasonably cool through May and early June, but we are expecting 100 degree weather this week. The only thing worse than shopping for a bathing suit, is shopping for a maternity bathing suit, which I did last week. I found something sufficient that will allow me to submerge myself in a large body of water to help me fight off the expected heatwave!

I'm hoping to capture some of our adventures on film and will try to post more soon!

Kindergarten Graduation

My big girls graduated from Kindergarten last week. It's crazy how fast this school year went by. They are looking forward to their summer vacation and spending lots of time soaking up the sun at our favorite swimming spots!

From L to R: Makena, Riley, Alyssa

Mommy and Daddy with our big girls!


The girls with their Kindergarten teacher



And we can't forget Baby girl #4 can we? I had my detailed ultrasound a couple of weeks ago (at 19 weeks) and was lucky enough to get a 3-D picture of her sweet little face. She is growing well and everything is progressing as it should. So far, no complications and we hope to keep it that way! I can feel her all the time now and enjoy all the thumps and bumps throughout the day.

Until next time....hopefully some summer fun pics will be included!

Father-Daughter Dance 2011

Daddy and the girls attended their first father-daughter dance at their elementary school this year. The girls loved getting all dressed up and heading off to school to dance the night away with daddy run around with their friends. I thoroughly enjoyed having a quiet house allllllll to myself for a few hours.

Daddy and the girls get to continue this tradition for the next six years.

And then daddy gets to continue the tradition for another 7 years with baby #4 because we are having a

GIRL!!!!

13 weeks-Updated

Baby #4 is doing well (although this ultrasound picture resembles a baby's head on a chicken's body)! Nevertheless....all human body parts and crucial organs are accounted for :) I am now officially under the care of my trusted perinatologist and will return to him next week for another ultrasound. Our gameplan at this point is to monitor signs of pre-term labor with weekly ultrasounds starting at 15 weeks. Crossing my fingers that everything continues to progress with no problems.



I've been feeling pretty good. I seem to be getting my energy back and can stay up past 8:00 p.m. without feeling like I'm going to fall asleep standing up.

Random pregnancy cravings have included Taco Bell, McDonald's egg mcmuffin, and root beer!

Worst pregnancy symptom-acne like a 16 yr-old-BOO!

Thanks for all of your well wishes! Until next time!

Update: I forgot to mention that after seeing the above ultrasound picture, the 3 big girls now believe they are having a little sister! We shall see...............

Growing!

Just wanted to post a quick update. I had a dr. appointment yesterday and had a chance to see baby#4! Everything looks good so we will keep on keepin' on. Big sisters love to hear me talk about the baby and all that is happening with the pregnancy. Their favorite fact right now is to know that the baby is the size of a grape. Too cute!

I have my first appointment with the high-risk clinic next week so I will have another update soon. I'm anxious to discuss how "high risk" this pregnancy might be considered and whether any preventative measures should be taken to make sure I stay pregnant as long as possible. Keeping our fingers crossed for a late-September birthday for baby #4!

The big girls are doing great! Spunky and full of life as ever. Their kindergarten school year ends in 2 1/2 short months. Geesh, this year has flown by! So far we have 2 votes for a baby brother (Alyssa and Riley) and 1 vote for a baby sister (Makena). Can't wait to find out whether we will be buying pink or blue!

Surprise, SURPRISE!!!!

After taking a 3-month blogging break, I wasn't sure what life event would ever bring me back. Life has been so busy with work and three kids in kindergarten that I have had absolutely no motivation to blog. Well, this week, we had such a life-changing event occur that I found a reason to come back to the good, ole blog.


Baby #4 is on the way!!!!

Yes, you read that right!

Needless to say, this mama was shocked! After our fertility problems that first time around, we just never thought it would happen naturally.

So I will jump right into a little Q&A.....

1. Only 1 baby? I had an ultrasound this week and yes, there was only 1 baby.

2. How far along am I? Initial estimates this week say I am 6 weeks.

3. What do the girls think about being big sisters? The girls are absolutely THRILLED to be big sisters. Right after we told them, they jumped into planning mode (hmmmm....wonder who they get that from?) and started listing all of the things we would need for a baby (crib, stroller, baby clothes, diapers etc). It was actually the cutest thing I've ever seen. The next step was to list off all of the things they were going to teach their baby brother or sister.

4. How have I been feeling? Pretty good. Other than being really tired and having cravings/aversions for certain foods, I've been feeling good. However, my sleep cycle has been totally jacked up this week. I am dead-tired by 9:00 p.m. but wake up after sleeping 3-4 hours and can't fall back to sleep. Initially, this was feuled by anxiety and planning that I could not turn off in my brain when I tried to go back to sleep. But, this cycle has continued and I'm really hoping I can get back to a full night's sleep soon.

5. What is the due date? Early October

I think that covers the basics. I am praying for a non-eventful, healthy pregnancy. Bed rest, pre-term labor, and an incompetent cervix are things I do not want to experience again! I have an appointment scheduled next month with my favorite high-risk Perinatologist who monitored my pregnancy with the girls.

Until next time.....I promise I will try to post more regularly again.