Jessica's Favorite Things 2009

It's wild to look back at my Favorite Things post a year ago. Everything on the list was for babies and everything on this year's list is for toddlers. Oh, how things have changed! There is one thing that was on 2008's list that makes a repeat appearance on this 2009 list. Other than that, it's all fresh and new products I haven't shared yet. Writing this list makes me thankful to be so blessed that I can purchase many of our favorite things. And, also thankful for my network of multiples moms that helps me to stretch my dollar further by buying used products in great condition. Here they are, Jessica's Favorite Things 2009!

Starting with the hardest to find items...

Mountain Buggy Urban Triple Stroller:
This stroller has been amazing for us. I take a stroller workout class at the mall with other moms and without this jogging stroller I would look like an awful circus act. The ride is super smooth and easy to push with front wheels that swivel. It seems to be comfortable for the kids who each get a front row seat. They fit in it as well as they did over a year ago and it is a great quality stroller. It is very expensive (thankfully we found ours gently used) and is quite heavy (55 lbs), but it's worth it.

Step 2 Choo Choo Wagon:
I barely got one of the last wagons on the market this time last year, and thankfully I did! Unfortunately for triplet moms everywhere, Step 2 has discontinued this wagon yet again. And what is even more unfortunate is that people are selling them used for nearly twice as much as they bought them for! While it has been priceless for us, I think it is absurd that people are trying to make so much money off of something that other families really need. Most moms of "singletons" use wagons as a fun mode of transportation (and they are fun). But for triplet moms who have few strollers to choose from and often don't have the trunk space for traditional strollers, the Choo Choo Wagon is essential. The whole family loves this thing! We take it everywhere the Mountain Buggy Urban won't fit, which is just about, well, everywhere!

Toyota Sienna 8-Passenger Minivan:
I never thought I would be a minivan Mom. In fact, I was adamantly against it. But, when I found out we were having triplets, I knew we had to at least consider it. We went for this van because it has the LATCH system to safely hold three large car seats across the middle row. This has been big for us because we folded down the back seat to fit our triple strollers. The alternative is putting a hitch on the back of our car like many moms of multiples have to do. But, when we do want to carry a few extra passengers we can easily accommodate them. It rides well, has nice features, keeps my back pain-free and has plenty of space. I wouldn't have it any other way. (Can you tell yet that our most important challenge is transportation?)

Little Tikes Endless Adventures Easy Store Jr. Picnic Table:
We have gotten so much use out of this! We especially use it during the warmer months for snacking and dining outdoors. It is great when we need a "kids table" when hosting playgroup. I imagine that our new picnic table, which is bigger and better, will be on next year's list.


Sonoma Life+Style Hooded Towels (Kohl's):
Last year I had Mullins Square towels on the list, but I retract my statement about their being "big enough to last through toddlerhood." While they are much bigger than the hooded towels at the baby stores (and we do still use those in our towel rotation), they are not as big as the Sonoma Life+Style we received as a gift at Christmas last year. Plus, the Sonoma ones are much more soft and plush. I tried to buy more this year on Black Friday, but only found ones under the Jumping Beans brand. I am not sure if they are the same or not (though they looked as if they were).

Fisher-Price Little People Animal Sounds Farm:
The kids received this as a present for their first birthday, and it has been, by far, their favorite small toy of the year. We introduced it to them at around 14-months-old and they played with it full force for the next eight months. Now they still play with it, but on a more occassional basis. There's something about animals that kids just "get." When the kids were younger, they enjoyed the animals much more than the people in the Little People sets.

Fisher-Price Little Mommy Newborn Nursery Baby Doll:
We have a handful of baby dolls around here and we think that the Little Mommy baby dolls are the best of the bunch. They are the perfect size, their clothes stay on, and the entire doll is washable! They are also perfect for multiples because there are several different color options, making it easier multiples to have their own designated doll of the same type.


Circo and Graco simple Umbrella Doll Strollers:
Somehow these strollers stand up to lots of pushing, throwing, pulling and banging. They are surprisingly well made and the girls love them almost as much as they love the baby dolls themselves! Payson even gives them a push now and then after - typically after filling them with Hot Wheels. I've seen higher-end baby strollers, but I think simple is better.


KidKraft Train Table:
Although these train tables are usually for age 3+, this was such a great first birthday gift for our triplets. For months they cruised around it and crawled under it. Now they play at it with their cars, blocks, Little People, anything that can fit on it. I imagine that it will simply grow older with them and someday it will become the "train table" it is meant to be when we bring out my childhood train set. Love it!

Eezy Peezy Ball Pit:
This was a recommendation from a mom of quads and it has met every expectation. The kids love to swim in the ball pit and sometimes they can't seem to get enough of the slide. When they first got it at age one, we had to lift them in the ball pit. Pretty soon they could go down the slide themselves, and now they go down the slide backwards or any way they want, climb on top, get in and out unassisted and do just about anything they want with it. It has held up beautifully and is the perfect toy for multiples. They have learned to take turns sliding, clean up the balls and count "1, 2, 3" before sliding down. Assembly takes a few hours and laser focus, but it's worth it...especially if you can talk someone else into doing it (thanks Keith!).


A few others we love:
- DEX Dura-Bibs (even now, the kids have a hard time removing them)
- Vtech 3-in-1 Smart Wheels (After 15 months they still fight over it)
- Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn 2-in-1 Learning Kitchen (best for about 9-22 months old)
- LeapFrog Learn-Around Playground (easily accommodates three playing around it at once)
- Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat (easily clean-able, collapsible, and transportable)
- Hot Wheels (boys love them, but girls like them too)
- Kitchen and play food (great for developing vocabulary and make-believe skills)
- Books, books and more books! (Anything with flaps, animals or sound. Board books and bath books are pretty indestructible though we have used packing tape to repair quite a few)
- Rocking horse with sound (though, the sound seems to go in and out on the two we have)

Christmas Continues

The evening after our house guests departed on the day after Christmas, Keith and the kids snuggled up to watch one last Christmas show.

On Sunday we had a post-Christmas dinner and present exchange with my mom and my brother's family. Cousin Addison gave Madison a big Christmas kiss on the cheek while sitting in Aunt Negeen's lap.

Big cousin Avery served the triplets a variety of food as they played "dinnertime" before the real meal began. They obeyed her every command as she told them where to sit, what to eat, etc. I wish they listened to me that well! Moments later she performed for them on the piano, singing as she played - too cute!

Time to rip open presents! Poor Madison missed it because she was super fussy and exhausted, so she went to bed early. We tried to save a present for her to open the following day but Hayden did the honors herself!

Hayden loves mittens and, interestingly enough, is obsessed with her socks too. Oftentimes, when we get her up after her nap, we find her wearing her socks as mittens.

The kids love boxes so I always hand them over after I open a package. This time Madison squeezes into a box just her size.

My Uncle Craig and Aunt Pam visited and got to meet the kids for the first time. The kids opened up quite quickly and were talking about "Unca Craeg" and "Nt Paym" for days after they left.

The kiddos were spending New Year's Eve with their cousins at Pops and Nunie so we all met up early to celebrate our third and final family Christmas. Hayden LOVES their dogs and spent a lot of time dressing them up with Mardi Gras beads. Thankfully the dogs are good sports, even when they do get tangled up.

Hayden plays with the dogs, hugs them, reads to them, brings them toys, and lies down next to them. Moments after taking this picture, the dog laid her head down and Hayden followed, putting her face, straight down, onto the carpet. To Pops, Nunie and Hayden, the dogs truly are "Man's Best Friend."

When it came time to open presents, Madison, as usual, was content to find a warm lap to sit on as she played with a new toy.

Payson was all about opening presents and kept asking for permission to open more.

Hayden got a new baby doll which was her first one with actual hair! She immediately fell in love with her and, after taking suggestions, decided to name her Kimmie.

After a birthday party and three Christmases, I am sure the kids will go through present withdrawal over the next few weeks! Fortunately they have a lot of great gifts (but thankfully not too many) to enjoy until, well, next December rolls around!

A White Christmas

It was, indeed, a white Christmas for us this year. It was so much fun to go through Christmas morning with an occasional peek outside at the white lawn and rooftops.

On Christmas morning, all of the kids, Hayden, Payson and Madison plus cousins Mikayla, Chloe and Emma, waited upstairs. Once the adults were ready with cameras in hand, the kids made their descent down the stairs. The little kids had no idea what they were in for!

The little kids immediately headed to the fireplace where they were greeted with full stockings, their first gift (stick horses) and remnants of their cookies for Santa. Hayden discovered this Snoopy in her stocking and was all smiles as she exclaimed, "Nnnoopy!" She only knows Snoopy from the Halloween Snoopy inflatable a neighbor had down the street but she loves him as if she's an avid Peanuts reader.

Check out the awesome reaction we got from Payson when he found a wooden recycling truck in his stocking...Woahh. It was the classic reaction that parents dream about, and I happened to be ready for the shot. No, he wasn't excited about the recycling part, it was simply the fact that it was a truck.

Later Payson added to his Hot Wheels collection. He quickly lined the new ones up as if he were sizing them up to see which ones he got.

Books, books and more books. We have four book stations around the house and on the days we don't leave the house, I can easily hear upwards of 50 requests to read books. They loved a few of their Christmas books this year so we gave them the same brand of books that will last them year-round.

Hayden modeling Mommy's new t-shirt.

After opening presents we cooked up a big American breakfast and then headed outside to enjoy the remaining crunchy snow. This time the kids spent the majority of the time trying to make snowballs and eating it as Hayden is doing in this picture.

Payson and Emma taste-tested the snow off the outdoor playset.

Madison's playtime was cut short by a bloody, busted lip. The patio was covered in ice and she stepped on it before I could stop her and face planted into their little plastic picnic table. She had plenty of hands to help care for her inside and had no problem with the extra attention once the sting wore off. Here she is putting on her best pout face with Uncle Barry.

After a long afternoon of cooking Christmas dinner, it was break time! Chloe, Mikayla, Emma, Hayden, GP and Aunt Chelsey settled in to watch The Polar Express. It didn't take long for the adults to fall asleep.

Grandma joined us for the second half of the day. The kids are spoiled when either grandma is around, but with both Grandma and Grammy they have all of the attention they could ever need!

That evening the thirteen of us gathered, or should I say crammed, around our dining room table for a traditional Melker holiday meal including turkey and all the fixins. By the time the meal was over, the breakdowns had begun and it was time to get the exhausted kiddos to bed.

The next day we asked the kids to sit in front of the Christmas tree for a picture and all six walked over to it as if they've followed such directions a million times. Let me assure you that they haven't (the little kids anyway). We were all amazed at how easy it was (for once!) to get a picture of all six together.

A Sugary Sweet Christmas Eve

We were delighted to host Keith's parents and his sister's family of five for Christmas this year. We had enough beds for everyone and the kids had a great time playing together.

On Christmas Eve we started the tradition of making cookies for Santa. I had previously gathered six cutting boards, six rolling pins and more than a dozen cookie cutters for the six kids. With four 2-year-olds, I was certain that the activity was going to be a nightmare and would be aborted in mere minutes after we started. But, to my surprise, they all did great and loved every second of it! The older cousins, Chloe and Mikayla, were self sufficient so that left six adults for the other four kids which is a much better ratio than I am used to! After we used up all the dough on Santas, reindeer, trains, Christmas trees and a handful of other festive shapes, I popped the sugar cookies in the oven.


Before naptime Hayden hammed it up with Grammy's cool glasses.

Nearly 10 minutes after the kids went down for their nap, it started to snow! Snow is pretty rare around here, but snow that sticks for more than a few hours is extremely rare! It often turns back into rain quickly and melts the small amount of snow that had collected. We had to wake the kids up a bit early from their nap to make it to our church's Christmas Eve service so there was no time to play until we returned home. After the service the kids resisted getting in the car because they wanted to play in the snow. As soon as we arrived home, we bundled them up and ushered them outside.

At one point I told Hayden to stick out her tongue to catch some snow and she immediately bent over and put her tongue to the snow on the ground!

But after a quick demo she caught on.

Madison was giddy with excitement.

Although Hayden generally isn't as rough and carefree as Payson and Madison are, she is often the most adventurous when it comes to unique activities.

Pasyon and cousin Chloe are a close-knit pair. He loves playing with her and and they are always smiling and giggling together!

Once we were all too cold to bear the wintry weather any longer, we came inside to decorate the sugar cookies for Santa. Again, with lots of fragile cookies, dark icing and thousands of sprinkles, I was expecting the worst.

It went very smoothly and the big and little kids absolutely loved decorating the cookies. Hayden was the first to sample cookies and icing along the way but by the end every child had blue and green lips!

Payson accidentally poured the entire shaker of blue sugar sprinkles onto his reindeer cookie!

The cookies turned out really cute, I was quite impressed!

Each of the kids picked out one cookie to put on Santa's plate.

I love this picture of Hayden and Madison admiring the cookies and milk in front of the warm fire. Santa likes when we warm the chimney for him prior to his arrival.

Before bed, Keith told all of the kids the Christmas story using their Little People Nativity set... but there was one character missing! When he got to the part about Jesus being born, the kids had to go around the living room to find a hidden Jesus (like the real Shepherd's did) and then place him in the stable. The kids loved this activity!

The adults and big kids finished the evening with a modern version of the Shepherd's Meal, a dinner using simple ingredients that the shepherd's would have likely used. What a fun day it was filled with family, fun and new traditions!

Celebrating the Terrible Twos

We knew we had to do something special to welcome the Terrible Twos, so we planned some terribly fun activities for their birthday on December 19th. Although it is crazy having Hayden, Payson and Madison’s birthday so close to Christmas, there are lots of additional activities available for us to do.

We started our day by treating them to breakfast at a local café and then heading to see the Northpark train exhibit. The kids got to wear these cute little conductor hats, which Hayden especially loved, of course.

They simply loved the trains and could have spent all morning in the exhibit. It was a big hit!

Then, we went to Santa Story Time. The kids loved seeing Santa, but his stories were a bit too complicated for young toddlers. Following story time we attended the Puppet Show, which the girls loved! Although Payson enjoyed the puppets at the State Fair this fall (and some of the puppets were even the same ones), he was spooked when the first door flung open from the puppets' house and a puppet’s head shot out. He never did recover and spent the rest of the show with his head tucked into my shoulder. It was really cute though.

Keith and I gave Hayden, Payson and Madison a costume bin with lots of dress-up clothes for their birthday. The kids loved all of the fun clothes and accessories and spent the next few hours trying on their new costumes. Payson made the perfect Muscle Man!

There was a lot of mixing and matching as you see here with Madison wearing the Belle costume and purple fairy wings, which was her favorite dress-up item.

With each new costume they wanted to go see themselves in the mirror. Hayden was especially pleased with her various looks and would admire herself with a smile.

Payson made quite a jolly Police Man.

Although the kids have not yet seen Toy Story, Hayden enjoyed the Jessie costume and posed happily for the camera.

The next evening we took them back out to see Christmas lights, which was their favorite activity of December. They'd each pick a stuffed animal to bring along while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed sipping hot chocolate or cider. The kids would continuously request, "more lights, more lights" and exclaim, "Santa!", "Snowman!", "Reindeer!", "Baby Jesus!" and descriptors such as "moving" for the moving reindeer and "sleeping" when the characters were laughing with squinted eyes (which looked like sleeping to the kids). They are sure going to miss the Christmas lights!

The pediatrician gave us approval to move onto lower fat milk, so this week I poured their last glasses of Whole Milk. Goodbye babies, hello toddlerhood! (Sniff, sniff.)