Look how far we've come...Taking a look back.

Our boys just celebrated their 4th Birthday on December 16th. Every year as they turn another year older I remember back and think of all we have gone through to get to the point we are at now. This year I had a lot to think about as they have changed and grown up so much. The past 4 years have been incredible. I would never have dreamed that this is what my life would be like, but now I couldn't imagine it any other way. It has been an amazing, crazy, busy, stressful, fun, challenging, exhausting, wonderful 4 years. There are many, many great memories, and there are some not so great ones, but none the less they are what got us to where we are. We have been blessed with some great kids, even if they do drive us absolutely crazy. There have been many days I seriously thought I would not survive the day, but somehow at the end of each day we are all still alive.
I found out that I was pregnant with triplets on July 13, 2005. I already knew I was pregnant but not with triplets. I had gone to my first doctors appointment the day before and they could not find a heartbeat which wouldn't have been too concerning normally but I was measuring very large for how far along I was. So to find out what was going on, they wanted me to have an ultrasound. They were concerned that maybe something was wrong with the baby and maybe I had lost it. I was working the night shift, so the next morning I went to the ultrasound after I got off work. Rob was at home with Railey and it was early in the morning so I told him I would just go on my way home. So he told me to call him as soon as I knew what was going on. I went into the ultrasound and the lady had turned the screen so I wasn't really able to see. She was very quiet for a long time and I just knew she was going to tell me I had lost the baby. When she finally spoke she said.."I'm seeing triplets" My response was "HUH?" Then she turned the screen and showed me each baby and all their heartbeats. I was speechless. After finishing I headed out to my car and I got in and just sat there. And then it hit me and I just started to cry. So I called Rob and as soon as he answered he said.."What did they say? Is the baby alright?" I said "Well, so far the babies are fine." He said.."What? We're having twins?" I said, "No, they said we're having triplets." He said.."You're such a liar." And then I started to cry again. He then realized I was not joking and told me to get home. I headed home. I called my parents as I drove home. As soon as I got home and showed the picture to Rob he started making phone calls. I had to work again that night so I should have slept during the day but that just didn't happen. The next couple of weeks until it really became reality are pretty much a blur. I was pretty sick throughout the pregnancy and very tired, but I did pretty good. I worked until I was 18 weeks along. At that point the doctors told me I needed to start taking it easy. I did very well other than getting big and uncomfortable until about 27 weeks. At the point I went into labor and they admitted me to the hospital. They were able to stop labor and give me the steroid shot for the babies, and I was released after two days and able to go home for the next month. But from that point on, I was on strict bed rest. My entire family came to St. George for Thanksgiving and my parents took Railey home with them. We figured it wouldn't be long until I would be having them. They left on Saturday, and by Monday when I went in to see the perinatologist they readmitted me and told be that was where I was going to be until I delivered. They were able to stop labor a few more times with the use of magnesium sulfate. Not a pleasant experience for me but worth it because we were able to buy some more time. I felt awful while I was on it. After 3 weeks in the hospital, the boys were taken at 33 1/2 weeks by C-section. What a crazy experience... multiple doctors, tons of nurses. Robby was born at 3:38 p.m. He was 4 lbs 4 oz and 17 1/4 inches. Ryder at 3:39 p.m. He was 3 lbs even and was 15 1/4 inches, and Ranger at 3:40 and he was 3 lbs 12 oz and 16 1/2 inches. Each one of them gave a cry as soon as they were born. It was so amazing. I could not believe how tiny they were. They showed them to us and immediately handed them off to the neonatologists, and then they were taken to the NICU.

The boys very first picture

25 weeks pregnant (already bigger than I was at 40 weeks with my first pregnancy)

28 weeks pregnant and getting bigger
31 weeks pregnant and living in the hospital

32 weeks pregnant (barely able to stand without falling on my face)

Robby 4 hours oldRyder 4 hours old

Ranger 4 hours old

This was Christmas Day 2005

They were 9 days old.

Ryder and Ranger (almost ready to be out of the isolette)

Robby (just out of the isolette)

Life was very crazy for a long time. It still is, its just in different ways now. This was how I used to feed them when I fed them by myself.

Crazy became our normal. This is the first time they got to see Santa.

This is their first Birthday. And not only is it their Birthday but a celebration for me because I survived the first year. I still don't know how we did.

When one found trouble they would teach it to the others.

Their 2nd Birthday. They grew so much that year.

I think back to how I used to not even be able to bathe them together because it was dangerous. I seriously couldn't put them all in together because I couldn't hold on to all of them. But now they can play in the swimming pool all together and they have a blast.

Their 3rd Birthday

They love to read books.

The love to cause trouble and get into trouble which leads to lots of timeouts.

They love to play outside and ride their trikes and bikes.

They love to help in the garden and they drive their Tonka trucks out to help haul in the vegies.

I used to think we would never be able to go anywhere again, but slowly we are venturing out. We took them all to Lagoon this last summer and they had tons of fun. And we did too.

We had our pictures taken at Lagoon.

I love this picture because they are all playing nice together. And that is very typical of Railey to try to get them to do something that she wants. Its moments like these when I find them doing things that make me smile.

Their 4th Birthday Cake

We have to give them a cupcake to blow candles out on because we don't think anyone wants to eat cake that 3 little kids have blown (spit) on.

Birthday Presents

We have come a long way in the last four years. I think about all the visits to the Emergency room and the few hospital stays and hope that those are in the past. We spent their first 2 Christmases in the hospital, and when they were really little they would pick up every little bug that went around. Just 2 weeks after we got them home from the hospital they were all 3 readmitted for RSV. The next Christmas we ended up taking them in on Christmas Eve. They had the flu and RSV and we ended up staying. We have had other ER runs with Robby. Mostly because of his asthma. He can't breathe when he gets sick, even if it was just a cold. But this last year has been so much better. He seems to have grown out of the worst of it. We haven't had to give him a breathing treatment or any of his medicine in almost a year. I am so glad. We finally finished potty training this year. I am so excited not to have to buy diapers or pullups anymore. For a while there I thought it was never going to happen. I began to wonder if I would be sending one to kindergarten in diapers. But we are now completely done. I would say that potty training was one of the most challenging things we have gone through, along with the lack of sleep. That first year was so exhausting but even after that it seems like someone was always waking up. I went a long time without sleeping through the night. Now that I can I am so grateful. Sleep is wonderful. It kind of makes me sad to think about how all the baby in them is gone, but I am grateful they are growing and healthy and happy. It's just hard to believe they are four years old already.

Savvy Dog

About a month ago our dog got hurt, but we really didn't know what happened. We were in the house and heard her just start yelping and crying. We could tell by the sound that something was wrong so we rushed outside to find her lying on the grass. She had hurt her leg somehow and couldn't really walk on it. So we watched her for the next week or so, and she started to bear weight and eventually started walking and then running again. We figured she was back to normal. But then last Saturday afternoon, Railey came running in the house and said that she had just tripped and fell on the bricks in my flower bed and she was hurt again and wouldn't move. She was really hurt this time. We could tell she was in a lot of pain. She was crying and couldn't hardly even move. Of course there is not vet around on the weekend so we decided to wait until Monday and see how she was and then take her to the vet. It was a long weekend. She was very miserable and bawled for two days. So finally on Monday we took her to the vet. The x-ray showed that she had a crack in her hip, some damaged ligaments around the knee, and a fresh break in her leg. He figured the crack in her hip was older, as well as the ligament damage. We are guessing that was from the first accident (we don't really know what happened on that one, we were thinking maybe she fell off our deck, but we're not sure). It had started to heal and was doing pretty well when she took a tumble onto the brick. He figured that just snapped the bone in her leg in half. So anyway, she is now sporting a new look. She looks pretty ridiculous, but hopefully it will allow her to completely heal. She is supposed keep it on for 6 weeks. The first day or so was a little hard for her to get around but now she seems happy just to be able to move. She has started to use it like a peg leg, and it doesn't really slow her down anymore. She goes up and down the stairs just as fast. She isn't able to bend her leg at all, and it is helping to keep the hip immobilized so it can completely heal as well. The vet said he figured because she is so young she should do pretty well. We feel so bad for her. She really is such a sweet dog.

Halloween

For Halloween this year, Railey wanted to be a witch and the boys were a bunch of monkeys. (I thought that was very fitting) They love to sing the monkeys jumping on the bed song (as they are jumping on the bed) This was the first year we actually let the boys walk up to doors and trick or treat. The last couple of years I pushed them around in the stroller. They were so excited to go, but we only made it around the block with them. About half way around they starting saying they wanted to go home and didn't want to go to anymore houses. I think they were tired of walking and carrying their buckets. So we finished the block and went home. Railey got to go with a friend after we took the boys home so she was pretty happy. The kids had fun carving their pumpkins (or watching us carve them) and thought it was really neat to light them up. I let them each pick out their own pumpkin at the store a few weeks ago. They thought it was cool to have their very own pumpkin and each time we went outside they had to tell everyone which one was theirs.

L to R Railey's Robby's Ryder's Ranger's

Red Ribbon Week

Last week it was Red Ribbon Week at school. Monday was Crazy Hair Day, Tuesday was wear a tie day, Wednesday was Funny Hat day, Thursday was dress in Red day, so she wore her school shirt which is red but we forgot to take a picture, and Friday was dress in your Halloween Costume.

Monday

Monday Tuesday
Wednesday

Friday

Decorating Halloween Cookies

This year the kids (especially the boys) seem to be extra excited for Halloween. The boys ask me several times a day if it is Halloween, and if they get to go trick or treating. They have been packing their pumpkin buckets around for days. So on monday I made sugar cookies in halloween shapes and we decided to let them decorate them for family home evening. They were so excited all day. They couldn't wait to decorate their own cookies. They kept calling them "boy" cookies. They had tons of fun icing them and putting on sprinkles and candy corn. They probably would have used the entire bottle of sprinkles on one cookie if we would have let them. We made a huge mess, and they were sure to tell me about it and tell me I that I needed to clean it up. It made me laugh. The last two days they have asked if they can decorate more cookies, so I assume it's safe to say they had a good time.

Antelope

One day last week we were driving down the highway just a couple of miles from our house and we saw these pronghorn out in the field. We didn't know there were any this close to us so we thought it was pretty neat. We had to take some pictures just so we could prove that we actually saw them. They are not the best pictures but you can at least tell what they are.

Cutting Firewood

We have spent several days out in the hills cutting firewood for the winter. The kids like to go and play while we cut and then they help carry and load the truck. They get so filthy but they have a good time. I usually strip them down at the door when we get home and put them straight in the tub. They dig in the dirt and find big sticks to play with. We have been lucky enough to avoid any major catastrophies. We took the dogs on the last 3 or 4 trips and they had fun. The boys chased them around and everyone got pretty worn out. Railey likes to find trees she can climb up in and hang out.

The boys and their puppy dogs

Rob cutting up a tree

Boys hangin' out in the back of the truck

They found a good tree on this day

Taking an apple break

My Crazy Crew

Railey and Robby chillin' in the tree