What Is She Saying?

Madison has a lot to say these days. She has started talking and clearly had a lot to get off her chest after all these months of being unable to speak.


We've got three rollers on our hands. Payson is now rolling to his tummy so we've got tummy sleepers and babies rolling all over each other. The good thing is that from their backs Madison can only roll to her left and Hayden and Payson to their right so I can position them accordingly which helps. As a result of their increasing mobility they are now reaching for things that used to be out of reach including each other's toys. When sitting in their bumbos or on the floor Madison has mastered the art of stealing her siblings toys.

They are also discovering the top of their own heads as well as each others. Hayden burst into a cry the other day when I was making bottles and when I went over to investigate I saw her hair sticking up all over the place and Madison's hand close by. I knew exactly what had happened.

And as if all of this development isn't enough, they are also now sitting up unassisted. Sure they could do this before for several seconds but now they can do it for several minutes with me close by to catch them when they get off balance. I can't help but be overwhelmed with God's blessings upon our life. We have three wonderful, healthy babies. It's amazing to think about the babies' fragile condition and small size just six months ago. God is so good.

90 pounds!

Ninety pounds. That is how much the stroller weighs these days with babies in tow (excluding anything in the lower basket). Sure the weather keeps me from the daily walks I long for but when I do get to take them outside, it is much more of a workout than it was when they came home at under 5 1/2 pounds.

The babies just love their exersaucer and took right to it reaching for toys, spinning themselves around to play with various gizmos and doing everything in their power to get the attached items into their mouths. Payson often likes to just lean back and look at everything while he sucks on his fingers so we stuff blankets behind him to help in lean forward and get in the action. Hayden plays beautifully but grunts and gets frustrated with the attached cell phone, especially when it falls off over the outside. Madison is light on her feet going in circles from toy to toy. They all love it when you give them attention while they are in it and sound like they are hyperventilating out of excitement.


We've been working on a four hour feeding schedule the last two weeks and we are slowly making a successful transition. This takes us from 15 bottles/day down to 12 and 4 naps/day down to 3. It may not sound like much of a change but, trust me, it is! The first two naps are *supposed* to be solid naps between 1.5 and 2.5 hours long but the last nap of the day is often a short 30 minutes. This makes it the best time to get out if we need/want to during a nap because they can usually get 20-30 minutes in the car to help make up for it. Also this way we don't ruin the entire day if they miss a nap.

Though we've taken the babies to the neighborhood grill twice for brunch we ventured out this week for an early dinner. We chose On The Border for the quick turnaround time and noisy atmosphere. We were in and out in less than an hour and were finished eating and able to leave just when the third child began to fuss (since our hands were full with the other two).

STRANGER QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
(From a male bartender when picking up food to-go)
"Wow, I only have one kid so I don't know how you do it. I've always wanted twins, but triplets are fine too. Do you know what kind of fertility treatments to go on for twins or triplets?"

Tooshies For Daddy!

Keith spent his birthday making a day trip to his cousin's wedding in Oklahoma (Congratulations Aly!) but I did get the chance to give him his big manly gift before he left town - a super large tool chest on wheels. He was excited and definitely not expecting it. My quad-mom friend Casey recently got one for her husband too and we decided that the gift is really a gift to ourselves so our husbands tools can finally have a designated place other than the garage floor! On Sunday morning he was greeted by the babies wearing onesies designed especially for daddy: "Happy Birthday, Daddy", "Daddy, You're My Buddy" and ""I Love You, Daddy" were donned by Hayden, Payson and Madison, respectively.

There is a darling little grassy nook a few streets down overlooking the golf course so I took Keith there for a family picnic.

After our picnic the babies and I gave Keith a birthday present that cracked him up - castings of the babies' tooshies! What a perfect way to embarrass future teenagers! Thanks Anna for the idea and Morgan for your helping hands! Then Pops and Nunie (my dad and step-mom) watched the babies for a few hours while I surprised Keith with an unusual outing full of fun. We did batting cages, go-carts, putt-putt, air-hockey and car racing, completely wearing ourselves out all before noon!

Happy Birthday, baby! I hope you're first birthday as a dad was a memorable one!

6 Months Old!

Wow! I can't believe that our little babies are 6 months old! They received great reports at their 6 month appointment, where Payson flirted with all of the ladies, and their pediatrician was really impressed with their development, strength and social skills. Their weights are:

Hayden: 13 lb, 15 oz.
Payson: 14 lb, 10 oz.
Madison: 13 lb, 4 oz.

I am sure glad I don't have to report my weight after all of my doctors appointments. Ha!















And a little action video for ya...

First Father's Day

Keith's first Father's Day was spent with both of our families including Keith's grandparents from Arizona. We all went to my brother's house for lunch and Avery got to push Madison around in her Fisher Price baby doll stroller - she fit perfectly!

The babies and I made a mug with their little handprints on them and it was a big hit with daddy. You're not officially a father until you receive a coffee mug on Father's Day! Up next: a tie.

Reaching and Rolling

There are no words... Madison has become a rolling machine. We separate the babies for the last short nap of the day and one baby sleeps in my dark closet. Madison woke up and was crying so Keith went to go get her. To his surprise he found her in the corner where she had rolled and rolled (and would have kept going if the step stool hadn't stopped her)! She only rolls in one direction and her left cheek has "carpet burn" to show for it. She also now likes to supervise playtime under the activity gym.












The babies are now reaching for objects, especially hanging toys. Once they began to show interest in wanting to grab things this development happened very quickly. Sweet little Hayden gets frustrated trying to grab something, bring it to her mouth or let go of it. Our little perfectionist. She also has a fascination with her left fist. Not sure why but we support her in whatever her passions are.

Life is not all play for these babies. Here Madison is researching the latest baby hot topics while Payson helps me with the laundry (yummy sock).

Keith usually gives the babies the baths these days (what a great daddy and husband) and here he is with little horsey Madison. The babies are so fun to play with these days, often squealing and giggling with delight. It's addicting!

Gettin' Payson

Payson has taken the lead as our happiest baby. He's just such a jolly little chap. Here's a video of Jessica getting Payson - he loves to be "gotten."

Perfect for Each Other

Yesterday was our 6th wedding Anniversary. I managed to get a card for Keith the day before. I was in a rush to finish grocery shopping while talking on the phone and trying to pick out a simple, not too cheesy or goofy card when I finally found one with a sepia tone photo on the front of two empty beach chairs. I began to skim it:

Front:

From this day forward...

Inside:

A toast to many more

happy tomorrows,

and may you

keep discovering

new reasons

...blah, blah, blah.

Okay, looks good to me, I thought, so I grabbed the envelope and moved on. When I gave the card to Keith he read it out loud slowing down and looking a little perplexed as he finished the remainder of the card which I had not yet read:

Front:
From this day forward...
Inside:
A toast to many more
happy tomorrows,
and may you
keep discovering
new reasons
why you're perfect
for each other.

Happy Anniversary

We were in tears laughing uncontrollably at my mistake. I guess this shows how rushed, exhausted and unfocused I am these days. Hey, maybe it was meant to be a card we could both sign for each other... or not.

We took the babies to a restaurant for only the second time for breakfast at our neighborhood diner. Hayden and Payson slept while a well-behaved Madison gave us a taste of what it's like to eat out while passing a baby back and forth so you can have both hands to eat from time to time.




In baby news, Madison was so close to rolling onto her tummy Sunday afternoon. She was practically there but her arm was just on the wrong side of her body to make it official. I have since noticed that she sticks out her tongue (think Michael Jordan) when she tries to make the final push as she is doing in the photo. We weren't surprised this morning when Keith found her in her crib - on her tummy. All day I saw her deliberately trying to roll over again and again, using her top arm as momentum and her heavy head to get her most of the way there but she was always just short for one reason or another. Even mommy being down on the ground cheering her on wasn't enough to make it happen for us to see. Soon enough!

Bellies & Babies

The amount of time I spend standing at the sink cleaning and preparing bottles is truly outrageous. We are still several months from adding solids to the babies' diet and are in no rush to add the messy time-consuming undertaking to our schedule.





During activity gym time Madison fish-hooked Payson in the mouth. And not just for a second but for several minutes, letting go and re-hooking him several times. He had no problem with it and at one point he was even knawing on her fingers.

Over Memorial Day weekend we were crazy enough to host a party at our place. A lot of our friends already had weekend plans so it just so happened that the only people who could attend were six HBS couples. It was so fun to have everyone together after almost a year since we left Boston. Babies Logan, Ella, Charlotte, Payson, Hayden and Madison (yes, 50% of the babies at the party were ours - gotta get used to that) gathered for their first photo together. And mommies-to-be Ashley, Daphna, Stephanie and their husbands celebrated their exciting news together. This party was a far cry from our parties a year ago!
Justin and Stephanie were visiting from Minneapolis and were a huge help over the weekend. They were feeding, burping, and diaper changing pros by the end of their stay. It was such a treat to have them share in our lives and spend so much time with the babies before their little ones' arrival. Stephanie outfitted the babies with "I love Cheerios" onesies an act which she admitted was a shameless plug for her employer. Maybe we can get some free Cheerios out of General Mills one of these days!

It Takes Two

The babies are so cute when they snuggle together and sometimes there just aren't enough places to put the babies so they go into a swing or seat together. It sure makes for some cute photos!

First Mother's Day & Baby Dedication

Sunday was a big day for us. Not only was it my first Mother's Day (having one child let alone three!) but it was also the day of the babies' Dedication. Baby Dedications are for publicly acknowledging your need for God's wisdom, guidance and strength in parenting and for committing to raise your children in the Lord. We don't baptize babies because we believe in letting the child make the decision on their own to follow the Lord when they are ready and baptisms follow ones personal commitment to Christ. This is a photo of us on the big screen.
There were about 20 families and we were the only ones with triplets. Keith held the girls and I held Payson. Thirty seconds before we filed out Madison fell asleep in Keith's arms. They did great and were quite the hit.

Our families attended the service and many came over to our house afterwards. There were lots of babies to fill willing arms and here you see cousin Emma with Madison in a headlock and second cousin Max on the far right.

Later we went to a portrait studio to get pictures with Keith's family. His grandparents were in town from Colorado so we were able to get a picture of four generations of Melker men. Keith and I planned it all out so that we would feed the babies at the studio so they would have 30 or so minutes of happy time for pictures before they would get sleepy and fussy. Unfortunately the studio was behind over 45 minutes so the babies were fussy and exhausted by the time our turn came around. They were fussy but to the studio's credit, their props and silly behavior kept the babies from fussing during the photos and at this point that was doing good. It was way too late to get any smiles!

Last minute Keith and I decided to get a few shots with just the 5 of us and I'm glad we did. The babies crashed as soon as they hit their carseats.

So what was my best Mother's Day present? The night before all three babies slept through the night sleeping for 11+ hours! The stars aligned because I accidentally snoozed through a pumping so I got 6.5 straight hours of sleep! Keith said I was like my old self that day!

In Action

The babies are very active these days and are smiling, cooing and even making little laughing sounds. They are really drawn to sounds and toys and to each other. They love to look at one another and they smile and laugh when looking at each other too. It's incredibly adorable as you can see from the picture of Payson smiling at Hayden. And below you see all three enjoying the mobile in Hayden's crib one morning just after they woke up.

Though we only bathe the babies a few times a week Madison had a few "blow outs," which caused her to have 4 baths in 48 hours! The babies and I still go on walks when the weather and schedule permits. Here we are cooling it out before our stroll.

Here are the babies in action with some of their favorite toys: