Thanksgiving 2016

Our Thanksgiving weekend was pretty eventful, despite the fact that we were homebodies and never left the house once. We were planning to host Will's family for Thanksgiving this year, and decided to keep those plans even after learning about my last-minute surgery. At the boys' age right now, it's much easier to have people come to our (baby-proofed) house than it is to travel. And since I'd be down for the count, we wanted to have the boys be in familiar territory.

Our plans to have a traditional Thanksgiving went out the window- instead of making a turkey and all the traditional sides, our Thanksgiving this year was sponsored by Honeybaked Ham. We bought a small ham, turkey breast, and all the sides from there in an effort to make the meal as easy as possible to prepare. Admittedly, Will and I were both disappointed by this (he likes to have a traditional turkey, and I enjoy cooking and baking, especially for the holidays) but it was the best decision for this year. In the end, our pre-packaged meal was pretty tasty, but we look forward to a more normal Thanksgiving next year.

The boys enjoyed the extra attention from Will's family, including a visit from their dog cousin Gus, and I did my very best to take it easy while still trying to be helpful with dinner prep.

Parade watchers

Cooper loves Gus!

Rare moment of bravery from Will

Best Thanksgiving family photo we could get this year.

Will insisted on a shot with my drains out- to truly document the celebration.

Cooper was the only one really interested in pumpkin pie

Little Snuggly Bears!

Unfortunately a bout of sickness hit the Mason house over the weekend. Saturday evening was particularly rough- Cooper threw up right before we brought them downstairs for dinner, which was heartbreaking for me. I felt pretty helpless as I was unable to do anything to help Will. I couldn't hold Cooper and console him when he was upset, I couldn't help corral the other two boys away from the mess on the carpet (which of course, they were drawn to...why is that?!), and I couldn't help Will clean up a really disgusting mess of undigested food that was enough to make both of us want to throw up ourselves. I just sat there while Will had to deal with the whole thing. This put dinner later than usual for the boys, which made them irritable. Cooper had to eat separately from his brothers on the island high chair. He was seemingly OK and was asking for food so we gave him some crackers, a fruit pouch, and some pedialyte. This was a poor decision as it ended up all over himself and the floor. At this point both Cooper and I were in tears. I HATE not being able to step in to help when things like this happen. I felt so guilty that Will was already stuck doing everything to take care of the boys and then had to deal with a sick baby on top of it. I felt even worse when Cooper got sick AGAIN in his crib right after Will got him bathed and into his PJ's. Needless to say, Will and I were both exhausted and went to bed as soon as we got the boys down.

Thankfully Cooper slept through the night and woke up more or less back to his usual happy self. Unfortunately, Will woke up feeling terrible- he had a fever and chills overnight and could barely get out of bed on Sunday morning. It took him over 30 minutes to work up enough energy to get the boys changed and downstairs for breakfast. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal- I would have sent Will back to bed and dealt with the boys alone for the day. But since I'm not allowed to lift anything I am not equipped for baby-wrangling on my own for awhile so I called in reinforcements.

First up- YouTube. I'm not proud of the decision, but the boys spent the better part of their morning watching YouTube videos while Will was in bed. We found lots of their favorite books set to music.

Green Frog, Green Frog, what do you see? I see bad parenting looking at me.

Next step- beg Aunt Cari to bail us out. She was here in time to get them up from their first nap and then spent the rest of the day with us- keeping the boys, cleaning the kitchen, and doing laundry. Thankfully Will's dad also came over and brought along his steam cleaner, saving our carpet upstairs.

Aunt Cari to the rescue!

Once again, we were reminded of how fortunate we are to have family nearby. From Sue and the girls coming down early before Thanksgiving to help Will keep the boys company, to Cari and Papa giving up their Sunday to help me so Will could get some much-needed sleep- we are extremely grateful to have family willing to drop everything and help us out! Thankfully Will woke up on Monday feeling more or less back to normal and no other babies (or adults) ended up catching Cooper's stomach bug! Happy Thanksgiving!

Big Changes

I was recently approved for a surgery 17 years in the making. I come from a long line of large-chested women and have had huge boobs for as long as I can remember. I was actually approved for a reduction in college but chickened out of the surgery at the last second. The ability to breastfeed my future children was something that was important to me and I didn't want to chance the possibility that I may not be able to feed when I eventually had children.

Fast forward to now- I am incredibly proud and grateful that I successfully breastfed the boys for a whole year. But I was ready to say goodbye to my large milk machines. They served their purpose and I was more than ready to rid myself of the constant back, shoulder, and neck pain. I had a consult with a plastic surgeon in early October and was told it would take about 4-6 weeks to get a ruling from our insurance company. With any luck, I would be approved and could have the surgery before the end of the year.

To my surprise I got a call last Tuesday from my surgeon's scheduler- she shared the good news that the surgery had been approved AND that Dr. Higdon had an opening in his schedule that coming Monday. If I didn't sign up for that date, I'd have to wait until next year for the surgery. So with very, very little time to decide, Will and I opted to go for it. I wanted to rip the bandaid off- there was no way I could have calmly postponed the surgery for a couple more months. And though the timing wasn't optimal, it never would be so we decided to go for it.

So Monday this week was the big day. Cari took the day off work and Will's dad came over to help watch the boys so Will could be with me at Vanderbilt for the surgery. The surgery went extremely well, and I was sent home that evening. I'm off work for 2 weeks recovering, and feel pretty ok for the time being. I had to have drains put in, and those are the most painful part of the recovery right now.

Will has been pulling quadruple duty since Monday, caring for the boys and me. I'm not allowed to lift anything for the next 2 weeks, and for the 4 weeks after that I can't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. This is quite an inconvenience when there are triplet toddlers in the house! Will is stuck doing literally everything around the house right now, from diapers to dishes, laundry to bath time, meal preps to gauze changes. He isn't the most cheerful every day (not that I can blame him!), but he's taken on every job with zero complaints. He really is our superhero these days! The boys are doing ok with the transition, too. They don't understand that I can't pick them up and it breaks my heart when they reach for me and I can't swoop them up. But hopefully my drains will come out next week and at that point I can hold them in my lap while I'm sitting. I miss my babies terribly!

So that's the big change- this time its mama related! I'm recovering nicely and really, really looking forward to getting the drains out so I will be in less pain. But mostly so I can shower. I'm so incredibly gross right now! T-minus 4 days til I get to take the best feeling shower of my life!

Post-anesthesia/hydrocodone selfie...the only picture I have to document the day! I like the cross- made me feel like I was taken care of during surgery.

16 Months Old

Since they'll be 17 months old in a week, it's probably time for me to make some notes on life with these babies at 16 months old.

• Their vocabulary is ever-expanding. They understand so much more than they can currently say, but they are starting to repeat things back to us with more frequency. Will is really good about signing and uses quite a few signs with regularity (milk, please, cracker, all done, daddy, banana- which is funny because we never feed them bananas). Cooper and Griffin will sign the basics (please and cracker mainly) but don't seem to be interested in learning new words right now. 

  

  Where most of their signing takes place

• They love phones- looking at themselves on the camera, seeing it light up, and FaceTiming with my family. 
• Griffin has an obsession with socks right now. He loves to walk around saying socks. I wish I could get a video of him saying it as it's pretty funny. He makes it into a 2 syllable word: sah-ocks. Of course as soon as my phone comes out to film it he's completely distracted so I doubt I'll ever get it documented.

  

  This sock-loving kid sent me on an extra 2 mile hike around the park a couple weeks ago when he decided to ditch his shoe mid-walk. Luckily a 5K was taking place on the same trail and a Good Samaritan turned his shoe into the lost and found!

• Cooper is our little bouncing bean. He loves to jump in his crib and can actually get some pretty good air time! He also loves to jump while he holds our hands. I think a trampoline is in his future. He is also starting to get the hang of animal sounds- he knows what an owl says, and just tonight he said "moo" when he saw a cow.
• Will is the last one we expected to be the climber, but he's the closest to climbing out of his crib. We are not at all ready for a transition to toddler beds, so here's hoping he doesn't fully figure out how to get himself out of his crib!

  

  He climbed into the exersaucer himself the other day!

• That's not to say that they don't all love climbing. Lately their favorite activity is climbing on the couch repeatedly. They are so darn proud of themselves when they get up there!

  

  Rare moment of quietly sitting on the couch

  
  

  

  
  

  
  
  
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• They also have gotten good about using objects to help propel themselves up. Lately they like to pull their cozy coupe up to a chair and use that to prop themselves up onto the couch.
• Will and Cooper continue to be Mr. Affectionates, and will offer us numerous hugs and kisses throughout the day. There was a stint where they weren't as into the smooches, so I'm particularly glad that they like to give them out again! Griffin is not quite as quick to dole out kisses, so when he does offer you one it's extra special.  
• The belly button obsession continues. They love to look for their own belly buttons, but they also really love to look for mine! As soon as I lay down on the floor with them, they immediately pull my shirt up to find my belly button. Cooper then proceeds to zerbert my belly, which makes me laugh, which makes him laugh, which makes him do it again. Will likes to lay down and use my belly as a pillow. And Griffin enjoys sitting right on my head with a book. Because that is apparently a great place to read books. 
• They all still love books and being read to. We have already worn through our copy of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and there are several other books that are on their last days. They will happily entertain themselves in their cribs while we are changing diapers as long as they have a book to look at. Granted, it has to be the right book- not just any book will do. They definitely have preferences! They will often jostle for prime lap position when it's time to read a book. While you would think there's room on my lap for at least 2 babies, they prove that only one baby at a time will fit.   
• All three have molars coming in, although poor Griffin has had the most trouble with them. He has 4 popping through at once, and his temperament reflects that these days. We're really struggling with his biting. He bites all. the. time. His brothers, his parents, blankets, books, toys. He's basically a teething puppy. He knows well enough now to know that biting is wrong, but it doesn't stop him from doing it. Will and Cooper are covered in bite marks from our little teething monster. I really hope he grows out of this phase soon.
• All 3, but especially Will and Cooper, will practice "baby yoga" on command- again, it's hard to get on video, but it is hilarious when they do it:
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• The toddler tempers are starting to show themselves more and more. All 3 will throw little tantrums if they don't get their way or are told no. They have a flair for the dramatics and will throw themselves onto the floor and cry big crocodile tears. Then seconds later, they have moved on.
• Will still is a daddy's boy, through and through. His favorite word is Dada. His favorite phrase is "Hi, Dada!", and his favorite spot is sitting in Dada's lap. Daddy is still the only one who can put him in his crib for bed at night. Occasionally I am OK with him, too. :)

  

  Rare Will/Mommy day date at Hobby Lobby, though the shirt is fitting.

•  Cooper remains our social butterfly- always quick to offer a smile and a wave to strangers when we are out and about. He loves the attention! 

  

  Always smiling, our little Cooper

• Griffin continues to love all things soft and cozy. He will often take a little breather in the play room and lay down on a pillow or use big bear as a pillow. He also likes to lay on his belly and look at books.

  

  Kid loves his cozy spots!

  

  With his pillow and a good book

  
  
• Yesterday we set up a high chair at the kitchen island- we let Griffin sit up there and "help" me cook dinner and then put Cooper in there to "help" us clean up after dinner. They really seemed to enjoy having the one-on-one time. I've been thinking more and more about trying to find ways to let them have a little downtime from each other. They are together 24/7- I'm sure they get tired of being stuck together all the time. Letting one of them sit separately from his brothers for a stint of time is a small step, but hopefully will help minimize bickering.
• They still love their accessories. They like to wear hats, except when they are outside and should wear them. I brought a hand-me-down puffy vest in to the play room one day to try it on for size, and ever since then they love to wear it while they play. As mentioned, Griffin loves to wear socks, and Will loves to take them off.

  

  I think he looks like Mikey from "Look Who's Talking"!

  
  

  

  Hipster baby

  
  

  

  This kid is nothing, if not stylin'

• They love exploring outside, and being out and about in public. We're still very fortunate that they are extremely well-behaved when we're out to eat or running errands. It's still quite a bit of work to get out of the house, but we're trying to be more open to getting out with them.

  

  Post-lunch walk. Extra hands make for happy explorers!

  

  They discovered the next door neighbors' dog

  
  

  

  Saying hi to Daddy!

We Voted!

I'm not political...at all...but I did think that it was important to bring the boys along with us to experience their first election. We early voted last week on the last day before the polls closed until election day. It was INCREDIBLY busy with people everywhere. Somehow we got lucky and instead of having to wait in the hour long line, they let us go to the express voter lane reserved for the elderly, military, and handicapped. And apparently triplet parents.Can't say I'm not excited for this election to be over, but glad we did our civic duty and voted.

Pants optional at the voter polls for these kids

Taking it all in

Go Cubs Go!

Last weekend we were scheduled to meet my sister and her kids for a kid-friendly weekend in St. Louis. Our hotel rooms were booked, we had a game plan for activities, and I had just started contacting friends to let them know we'd be in town.

And as quickly as that plan came together, it went out the window. The Cubs made it to the World Series and 3 of the games were going to be played over the weekend. In Chicago, our favorite city in the world. I'm not a Cubs fan, but I'm a huge Chicago fan, so even I was excited that they made it to the World Series. Will IS a big Cubs fan, and we started talking about how fun it would be to go up there and be a part of the action.

So Monday afternoon we spent the day researching logistics, and calling in favors. Amazingly, the far-fetched idea became a reality pretty quickly! My sister very generously agreed to cancel our hotels in St. Louis and instead watch the boys in Decatur. My parents were around to help her, and even my little brother agreed to come over from Champaign to lend a hand! We dropped the boys off in Decatur on Friday afternoon, and were in the city by Friday evening in time to grab dinner at Portillo's and meet up with a couple friends for drinks at Fado.

Babies, babies, everywhere...

Loved seeing all the buildings downtown decorated for the Cubs

Even Soldier Field!

Saturday we spent the majority of the day up in Wrigleyville, walking around our old 'hood. So, so much has changed since we left, yet it was all still familiar. We laughed as we walked down Southport looking for a bar to stop into for a drink during the afternoon. All the bars that I remembered frequenting in my early 20's have been replaced by baby boutiques. And of course, we shopped in them. Because we're grown ups now, with 3 kids. It's as though the neighborhood has grown up, too. There were still lots of young post-college kids milling around, but there are now FAR more strollers and baby boutiques and small playgrounds around.

It felt pretty darn foreign to be wearing a Cubs hat...

Where it all began for us...1038 W. Roscoe will always hold a special place in our hearts!

HUGE crowds everywhere

Harry was dressed and ready to go, green apples and all

Who needs a bar when you can shop for over-priced baby clothes?!

Christmas on Eddy- my other former home

 While we were reliving our glory days, the boys were having a great time, too! They spent Saturday at the bakery and Curtis Orchards for some fall fun. Based on the pictures we got throughout the afternoon, I think it's safe to say that they had a great time!

Will tends to cling to a buddy- it appears that Uncle Shaughn won the honors last weekend.

Seka joined the fun, too.

 

We never really intended to actually go to a game while we were in town. Will was watching prices on StubHub all afternoon, but the tickets hadn't dropped to a price that he felt comfortable paying. We met up with our friend Jessica late in the afternoon for lunch and drinks, and had worked our way back over to Clark to wait in line to get into a bar near Wrigley when Will sort of sprung it on me that he bought tickets. It was less than an hour before game time, so I was definitely surprised that he pulled the trigger! It was pretty darn cool to walk into Wrigley for a World Series game. I'll always remember what the older gentleman who scanned our tickets said as we walked in: "welcome to game four of the World Series at Wrigley Field!" He sounded so happy and proud, and you could tell he knew how special it was to be there. It was really hard not to be swept into the emotion of the whole thing.

We all know the outcome of the series, but unfortunately for us we didn't witness a winning game for the Cubs. We still had an amazing time, though! Eddie Vedder walked right past us as we first entered the ballpark, and David Ortiz walked right behind us as we sat in our seats. Our seats were literally in the last row of the section, with standing room only directly behind us, but we had seats! We saw Vince Vaughn sing the 7th Inning Stretch, and we sat next to an older gentlemen who pretended to be keeping score as he watched the game, but instead was much more interested in talking to Will about our boys. We met another lady who had amazing seats right along the 3rd base line. Her husband is a life-long Cubs fan who has had season tickets for 25 years. They live in New Jersey, but flew in for the games, and brought their kids with them to be a part of history. Their youngest son is 17, and he paid $750 out of his own pocket for a standing room only ticket that night. Being the good mom that she is, she gave him her seat so he could watch the game with his dad (and Vince Vaughn, who was sitting right behind them). It was a big deal for everyone who was there. I almost cried several times while I watched so many elderly folks being wheeled up and down the concourse by their loved ones, up way past their bedtime and all wrapped up in their Cubs blankets and scarves. These people have rooted for the Cubs for literally twice as long as I've been alive. It was breaking my heart to think that they might not get to see their team win. Thank goodness the Cubs went on to win it all as I'm not sure my heart could have taken the disappointment of the older generation!

Before we even knew we were going to the game!

With friend Jessica

Even though we bought them from a legit website, it was still a bit nerve-wracking to walk up with no paper ticket

But they worked!

This building was definitely not there when we lived in Wrigleyville

Game on!

We love a good party, and Chicago certainly did not disappoint! It felt good to be spontaneous again, even if our "spontaneous" trip involved several days worth of planning, prepping, organizing, and lots and lots of driving time. In our old world BT (before triplets) we loved spur-of-the-moment vacations. Last weekend reminded me that there is still a little bit of the old us alive and well, even if it takes a bit more foresight to pull it off these days! I am also reminded of how fortunate we are to have family ready and willing to help us out (even on a moment's notice). The boys are lucky to have so many aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who love to spend time with them!

So happy for the city of Chicago, and for so many of my friends and family who are life-long Cubs fans. How incredible it was to be a part of history last weekend. Go Cubs Go. But next year, Go Cardinals!