Thanksgiving Fun

Thanksgiving is never the same after you have kids, is it? I remember just a few years ago when I would contribute a dish or two to Thanksgiving dinner but would otherwise relax, stuff my face and do what I want, when I wanted. It really was a vacation day, no school and no work. Now, with three kids, it is more like any other day in the Melker household that is filled with lots of diaper changes, entertaining, and policing of fights and temper-tantrums.

We did have a great Thanksgiving though and got to enjoy time with the kids and our Dallas family. After visiting my mom that morning we headed to my dads for a little playtime and last minute cooking. The kids had a blast picking up pecans from their front yard and putting them into baskets. It was like Easter all over again!

That afternoon we headed to my step-grandparents' home for lots of great food and playtime outside. Payson and Daddy had lots of green grass to rough house on.

"Ring around the rosie, a pocketful of posies..."

..."ashes, ashes, we all fall down!" The kids LOVE this song and game. We still don't know where they learned it but several weeks ago they were singing and doing it around our tree. It must have been in childcare at church because that's about the only time Keith or I isn't with them! The girls were both swinging around the tree and singing the song together. At first I watched them in awe, but by the time I got the camera they were losing interest. I did manage to catch Hayden singing the last half on video...



Mommy's turn...

There was a little hill in the backyard and Madison made up her own little game of going up the hill, turning around, and running back down it... again, and again and again with lots of laughs and giggles. It was so cute, and I love this photo of her in action.

The kids learned how to blow dandelions and they couldn't get enough! It was so cute to see them run to look for a new one to pick out of the ground and attempt to blow off the seeds. More often than not it just got stuck to their runny noses!

We had a second Thanksgiving at our house on Friday and Keith cooked up a yummy turkey while my SIL, Negeen, and I split up the task of cooking the side dishes. We love cooking our own turkey for Thanksgiving because then we have lots of leftovers for turkey sandwiches.

Thanksgiving dinner #2 with my mom and my brothers' family.

I just love this shot of Payson and Madison reading and sharing books together.

On Thanksgiving eve, while I was cooking dinner in the kitchen, I gave the kids a little snack and they lined up on the kitchen floor all by themselves.

Madison flying a helicopter on her arm, sound effects and all.

Reading to my girls.

This book makes me laugh... can you read the title? We checked it out from the library and the kids love it!

The week before last I planned a social for the triplet and quad moms in my local multiples group. We took a half hour of private group Salsa lessons before heading off to dinner. We were all talking about how humbled we were, especially those of us who consider ourselves as "dancers", and were giving props to the Dancing With the Stars contestants for having the guts to do the show.

As it turns out, we were dancing at the studio (and in the same room) that Michael Irvin would be practicing in for the DWTS finale just as we were finishing our lesson. We got the chance to meet him and get a picture with him and his partner, Anna. What a fun surprise!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"I always pray that if God is going to give me twins that he give me triplets instead because people see twins and say, 'How cute!" but people see triplets and say, 'Oh honey, how can I help you?'"

(From an employee at Toys R Us. I was thinking, what, are you crazy?)

1, 2, 3 Staples... In The Head

If you get squeamish at the sight of / stories about blood, skip the first few paragraphs and photo...

Hayden can now count to 10 and if she could have seen the top of her head this weekend she would know that she had 3 staples in it. Last Thursday, Hayden was sitting in her booster seat, which sits in an adult sized chair, and she pushed herself back onto the back legs... and completely tipped the chair over. The chair slammed against the tile and her head hit the back edge of the chair. I knew she was scared, as she was crying hard, but didn't know she was hurt badly until I lifted her up and blood gushed from her head. Not a pretty or comforting sight!

Thankfully, Keith hadn't left for work yet and was there to step in and stop the bleeding by applying pressure while I called 911. Keith checked out the wound, which was not as bad as we first thought, and told me to load Payson and Madison so we could drive Hayden to the ER instead. When I offered to call 911 again, he said "yes," followed by a quick "no." The blood flow was slowing and she was calming down and acting normal so he wanted to drive.

The kids still all sit side-by-side in the middle row, so after cleaning his bloody arm and putting a towel over Hayden's car seat, he climbed in the "way-way back" (as I've called it since childhood). I loaded the other two and drove us down the street to the ER. Keith read to the kids in the car and Hayden was talking and naming objects in the pictures in between saying, "owie, owie" and patting her head.

Pretty quickly after checking in, Hayden was seen by the doctor. He said that kids do that often and that she would need 3 staples to close up the gash. After some small donated toys to keep the three occupied, some numbing cream, and 3 staples, we were sent on our way. She had pink hair for the rest of the day because we couldn't wash the area. We had the staples removed five days later and she's doing great!

Then, as if we didn't have enough going on that day, Payson ran a 100-degree fever that evening, followed by Madison the next day. But thankfully the near-symptomless virus was short, and we were all happy and healthy by Monday.

Hayden was feeling well enough that same afternoon to prance around in her tutu and wear her shades. She and baby laid on the kitchen floor for some R&R.

She also loves to wear Payson's "Cat in the Hat" hat from their 1st birthday party. Here she is all adorably goofed-out!

Speaking of birthdays, today the triplets are 23 months old! I seriously can't believe my babies are almost two! Their t-shirts from their 1st birthday party, which were too big then, fit them well now. Although I was reminded this morning at my stroller workout class that they are much heavier than they were a year ago. I now push around nearly 85 lbs of toddler weight plus the 55 lb stroller.

Hayden continues to be a little Mommy-in-the-making. While Keith was comforting Payson after waking up grumpy, Hayden grabbed her baby doll, climbed up on the couch, leaned back and began patting her doll the way Keith was patting Payson. Also, after her injury, if Madison starts to push back in her chair, Hayden gets really upset and cries and reaches out toward her. The other day when Madison started to push her chair back Hayden ran over and cried, "No, no, Maa-maa, no, no!" Hayden definitely remembers her injury and wants to make sure Payson and Madison don't experience it too. Those two have a wall behind them so they couldn't get hurt in the same way, but we are still disciplining and doing all we can to get them to stop the behavior.

While the girls prance around in their tutus, Payson flies through the house wearing his cape, which was his Daddy's when he was a toddler. It cracks me up to see him in his cape while pushing a baby stroller. Little boys who have sisters get to play with all of the fun girl things that families with only boys don't. This time there was a baby in the stroller but he often stocks it with Hot Wheels and his magnetic cars.
Hayden watching the birds (and being cute).

The tutus stayed on for music class. Hayden just gets more and more beautiful.

Madison watching the bubbles. It's possible you've never heard a voice as sweet as hers. I love the long "s" sound she makes when she says plural words and "bubbles" couldn't sound cuter!

Payson catching bubbles. This boy gives me hugs and kisses all class long. He'll go participate in a song or activity and then catch my eye and, with eyes only for me, run as fast as possible to throw his arms around me. Love it.

Madison was terribly frustrated that she couldn't successfully push two strollers at once. Now she knows how Mommy felt trying to push a double and a single stroller alone through the airport and hotels in California this summer!








Below are the links to my recent Dallas Morning News Moms Blog posts:

Jessica: Rooting with "One Heart" for kids who need it

Jessica: Connecting with multiple moms like Jane Seymour

On My Toes

Hayden, Payson and Madison will be TWO in less than 6 weeks, and I am constantly on my toes with these three little toddlers. In the last two weeks, the kids have begun to pull doors shut, Payson can open the playroom gate (all three can push it down), they can swing their legs over their cribs (and climb out if we weren't there to stop them each time) and buckle themselves into their booster seats. To date, Payson has followed our instructions to leave the gate shut when I need to leave the room. And we have been able to avoid telling them not to climb out of their cribs by using distraction instead. We know that as soon as we do say "no," they will no doubt climb right out in defiance.

Thankfully, buckling is not near the issue that unbuckling will be. I hope they don't learn how to do that for a long time! Here is Madison with a silly smile after she first buckled herself in her booster seat.

Days later Payson learned to close the buckle in his Get Dressed With Elmo Book. Check out this proud grin!

He sat there and buckled Elmo's belt 25 times in a row and after each time he clapped and exclaimed, "Yay Pit-ton" (his current pronunciation for his name) with a huge smile on his face. Hey, why not give yourself a pat on the back every now and then!

This weekend we went to sweet little Charlotte's 2nd birthday party. The kids loved the petting zoo with the rabbits, goats and sheep and my friend and proud mom Robin got this awesome shot of Charlotte and Hayden peeking through the fence. They could be sisters!

Payson practiced his golf swing. I'm gonna love this photo if my son ends up playing golf at Oklahoma 17 years from now. Pops and Nunie should be very pleased with this photo!

Unfortunately he soon threw down his club and focused on gathering up the balls with his sisters. It was like Easter all over again! We about had a serious fit on our hands until I was able to find a third ball bucket.

Our other friend, Juliet, also turned two and we had a record number of toddlers ride in our Choo-Choo Wagon. I'm not sure if the real miracle was Hayden allowing someone to share her seat or the fact that I could pull all 200 lbs!
(l-r: Hayden, Elle, Juliet, Claire, Madison, and Payson)

Keith created a homemade walking rope for the kids so we've been practicing with it on our recent outings. It's basically a rope with four loops, one per child and one for the guiding parent. Not surprisingly, Payson and Madison do great with it, but Hayden struggles working within the team given her independent nature.

The kids continue to love books. Make that LOVE books. I've read that toddlers will often read only a few books at a time or for a few minutes. We can sit down and easily read 20+ books for over 30 minutes. And even then, I usually stop because it's time to eat, sleep, give my legs relief or ensure that the kids have used up enough energy for the day! The kids often fight over space as they are outgrowing my lap, but dad caught this sweet and peaceful moment on camera.

I played a slideshow of pictures on my computer for Hayden and Payson and they were glued to the screen. They were yelling out everyone's names while pointing and giggling. At one point Hayden rested her head on my laptop as the pictures flashed by.

Last month, Grammy and GP visited and the boys spent some time outside picking weeds.

Payson is always our sweet little helper. He will bring you anything you ask for, run to give something to a sister when prompted and asks "more" or "please" in desperation when you run out of weeds, trash, or X, Y or Z for him to carry. It's so cute.

Madison, with GP, playin' it cool.

My little mommies-in-training continue to hone their skills. There are knock-down, drag-out fights in this house over getting a baby bottle to feed to a baby doll. I got a shot of Madison during a peaceful feeding moment.

My BFF Lane was in town for a movie project (more on that to come), so we got to spend some time with my high school friends. Good times as always. (l-r: Brian, Hud, Keith, Lane and me)

Me and my good friend Morgan were out together without babies for once!

Two nights out in a row! Thanks Negeen and Morgan!