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!

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!!

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!

Superstar!

Another milestone was conquered this weekend. Miss Makena is no longer in need of her training wheels and she couldn't be more proud of herself!

Makena in her best "superstar" pose....couldn't help but think of SNL's Mary Katherine Gallegher :)

Congrats baby girl on your latest accomplishment! Your sisters are eager to follow in your bike tracks!!

NICU Reunion

Over the weekend, we took the girls to their first official NICU reunion since they were discharged 5 years ago. We had our own unofficial NICU reunion 2 years ago when the girls turned three but we were more than ready to go back.

The girls were happy to pose with one of the furry friends who were walking around...Disneyland flashback anyone?

They got their fill of cotton candy!

Alyssa painted a pumpkin :)

We enjoyed caramel apples....a sticky mess!

And who can pass up face painting?

They ate some more while taking a train ride around the hospital.

And luckily, we ran into some of our favorite people.

Nurse Tess with the girls

Nurse Cathy with the girls!

We missed our favorite Neonatalogist and two of our other favorite nurses, but it was a great day! We are so thankful for the care we received in the NICU and feel like we can never say thank you enough to all of the special doctors and nurses who cared for our girls.

FIVE

Sunday was the big day. My babies are five.

We had a family party at home to celebrate. The girls had their birthday cakes made by their daddy....which has now become a tradition.

Makena...wise beyond her years. She keeps me on my toes. Her latest thing is to tell us that when she gets older she is moving out so she can do whatever she wants!

Alyssa....sweetest heart ever, but just as stubborn! Most of the time she is easy to please but if something gets her going, watch out!

Riley, the comedian. She has the cutest giggle ever and loves to make us laugh.

Girls, you continue to amaze me with your humor and intelligence on a daily basis. We are so truly blessed to have our happy, healthy girls! The luckiest part for me is that even though they are five, they still snuggle with me most of the time.

Kindergarten

Sooooooo the girls started kindergarten today. Although we've been preparing for this day, it is still a little bit hard to believe that we have reached this milestone! A little part of me is sad that I wasn't making our drive into preschool today...we will miss the teachers and staff there so much and the sheltered preschool life. Mama has to put her big girl pants on and adjust to making lunches x 3 every night, getting out the door on time every morning, and of course homework.

The girls are all in the same class and I am hopeful that we will have a great year.

My big girls outside their classroom.

Makena, my first born.

Alyssa, my mini-me...she's going to love school as much as I did.

Riley....she was so over mamarazzi taking pictures of her this morning!


Mommy and daddy are so proud of you girls! We can't wait to see how much you grow this year. We love you to the moon and back!

Wordful Wednesday and The Future Class of 2023

Another milestone has come and gone in our house. The girls graduated from preschool last Friday. It was an exciting day for them and a little hard to believe for their mama. The last two years have flown by. They started out going to preschool two days a week for the first year and a half, but started going five days a week this past December. They have shown so much growth in the last six months. They learned so many school readiness skills that I couldn't have taught them at home and thoroughly enjoyed all of the classroom activities that they were exposed to. Paying for preschool has been a tremendous sacrifice, but has been worth every penny.

I had to search through the picture archives to find the 1st day of preschool pictures that I had taken. The girls still have the "baby look" in their little faces! They were newly potty-trained and experienced quite a few potty accidents when they first started going to preschool. I also vividly remember having to chase the girls out of the preschool building because they would all bolt in different directions on the way to the car. FUN TIMES! I don't miss that part of the preschool experience. They quickly learned to hold hands and stay right next to me on the way to the car.

My 3 year-old "Penguins" with their first teacher, Tami. She is such a loving person who really cared for the girls and helped them adjust to their new school routine.

The girls on the first day of their 2nd year in preschool. They were now in the 4 year-old "Dolphin" class and loved to remind me how they were too old to be in the "Penguin" class now.

Their graduation ceremony was very cute. They sang quite a few of their favorite songs and braved the unseasonably windy June weather. Their teachers set up carnival games for them to play after the ceremony.

The girls with Teacher Mary and Teacher Stefanie. The woman in red was a representative from our local Congressman's office who helped hand out the diplomas for the kids.

My happy graduates!
From L to R:
Alyssa, Riley, and Makena

Daddy with his girls!


The girls with Teacher Diana. She has helped in the girls classes both years and has a true talent for working with kids. She has the patience of a saint!


The girls with Teacher Stefanie. She has made this second year of preschool tons of fun for the girls. We will be seeing Stefanie again in July when the girls return for swimming lessons with her.

We are looking forward to relaxing over the summer and spending lots of time with our friends. It's time for our summertime playdates!

For More Wordful Wednesday

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Confessions of a sleep loving mama

When the girls were still in the NICU, I spent hours every day bonding with the nurses. As the girls got closer to coming home, we often started to talk about how I was going to manage the poop-eat-sleep schedule for 3 babies every 3-4 hours. One of the pieces of advice that I never forgot was to DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO TO GET YOUR REST.

Over the years, the tricks to get the girls to sleep while getting enough sleep ourselves has obviously changed. We went through countless crib/sleeping arrangement changes when the babies were little....co-bedding 2 babies, while seperating our screamer/difficult eater (Alyssa) and splitting nightime feeding shifts between Steve and I. Mastering the tightest swaddle possible to propping their binkies in their mouths with rolled up blankets while they were napping in their swings. Eventually, we moved them all into seperate bedrooms so that they didn't wake each other up in the mornings or during naptimes. ALL IN AN EFFORT TO SLEEP as best as possible.

We didn't transition to beds until they were 4. Primarily because they never got out of their cribs after they went down for naps or bedtime and I didn't want to ruin a good thing. When we did transition to beds, it was really smooth. They truly are great sleepers.

And now for my confession. The confession that I am completely embarrassed to admit in public. The confession that I haven't blogged about for fear of blog commenters being completely judgemental of me. The girls still have their binkies at bedtime. GASP! I KNOW. They are almost 5 and are certified binkie addicts. There has to be a support group for us somewhere.


For the last 6 months or so, I have been telling the girls that they can't go to kindergarten still using a binkie. I emphasize that they are big girls and that they don't need it. There were times when they tried to sleep without it for maybe 5 minutes before sobbing that they couldn't sleep without it. And I was probably exhausted and in need of a nap myself, so I gave the beloved binkie back just so we could all get some sleep.

BUT, we have had a binkie breakthrough people. It happened by accident. Last Friday night, Alyssa couldn't find her binkie and I was tired of looking for it. Seriously. She's almost 5. So in that split second I decided I wasn't going to give in and go get one from the binkie stash in my dresser. Yes, I have a binkie stash. I told you that we were in need of a 12-step program. Anyway, Alyssa cried in her bed for about 10 minutes. She got herself all good and worked up and was at the point of hysteria about not having her binkie. So I did what all good moms do. I bribed her with candy. And guess what? It worked.

She was SO proud of herself for being a big girl and sleeping without her binkie. She picked out her Hello Kitty candy necklace on Saturday morning. I told her that if she was able to go a whole week without her binkie, we would take her to the store and she could pick out a new toy or dress. So we are on night 6 of no binkie for Alyssa. I am confident she will be picking out her new dress on Saturday.

Makena and Riley have gone back and forth in their willingness to give up their binkies since Alyssa's milestone on Friday. They were pretty envious over the candy necklace she picked out on Saturday morning but it wasn't enough to convince them to ditch the binkie themselves.

Until today.


Behold, Miss Riley's first night without her binkie. She's got her little heart set on a candy necklace tomorrow and mama's got her bribing pants on.

Sometimes peer pressure from your siblings pays off. Let's hope Makena has a breakthrough soon.

Wordful Wednesday and Kindergarten Prep

Kindergarten is right around the corner for the girls. CRAZY how fast time has flown by! Our local elementary school has a kindergarten orientation program that allows the kids to come in an hour a week over a 6-week period for "mini-kindergarten" classes. This has been a great way to introduce the girls to the elementary school campus, the kindergarten classroom and a few of the teachers.

This has also given me a little taste of what is to come....in the form of homework! Yep, each week we have gone home with a little packet for the girls to work on and return. Sheesh...not sure I'm ready for this! Of course the girls have done lots of worksheets and activities at home, but I've never had the pressure of having to turn them in to a teacher. Juggling homework x 3 is going to be interesting next year! Mommy needs to get a refill of her chill pills pronto :)

Miss Alyssa couldn't be MORE thrilled to have homework. She can sit and do school activities for HOURS! She totally gets this from me. When I was little, nothing made me happier than going to Gemco and buying one of those jumbo-sized activity books or playing school with my chalkboard. I printed out 100+ pages of preschool worksheets last weekend for each of the girls and Alyssa is already done with her binder. She totally wants to steral her sister's binders and do the work all over again. She cracks me up!

For more Wordful Wednesday

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1,460 days

I sit here in amazement this morning, wondering how the last four years have flown by so quickly. We have been blessed with healthy, happy girls who bring joy into our lives every single day. I am so thankful to be your mama. Thank you for making the last 1,460 days so special.

Happy 4th Birthday Makena, Alyssa and Riley!!!

Big girls

We survived the transition to big girl beds! The girls have done fabulously and our bedtime routines have not been affected at all. I am a lucky mama! We've only had one monkey fall out of the bed so far. I make sure to scoot everyone towards the wall when I peek in on each of them after they are asleep. All of the bedguards I have found online won't fit on the style of twin bed they have, but so far it seems like they won't need them.

I forgot to mention in my last post that the girls new bedroom furniture is their birthday gifts from Lolo and Lola (my in-laws). We can't thank them enough. The girls LOVE their new beds. They also have new dressers and nightstands.

Miss Makena

Miss Alyssa...who informed us that all she needs is a t.v. in her room and she is all set. Sorry girlfriend~you can buy that t.v. with your first paycheck!

Miss Riley

Six days to go until their 4th birthday!!