Testing the Waters

Another first for the babies. They got to experience their first swim!!! We went to Conyers to visit their Aunt, Uncle & cousins and they have a pool. We could not wait to see how the babies were going to react to the water. They love the bathtub, but it is far less intimidating than a pool. Our trip to the beach is coming up and I just had to know if we were going to be dealing with crying babies that hate the water or little water babies. Fortunately for us they Loved the Water.

Ellie "the adventurous one" was first. Her legs were kicking with excitement and could not wait to get wet. She smiled, laughed, and splashed with me for a few minutes and then off to the crab to play.

Evan "the thinker" was next. He does not mind a challenge but you can see his wheels turning as he thinks about what he is getting into. It was hard to tell if he was loving it but after awhile he was splashing around and trying to drink the water.

Charlotte "Curiously Cautious" was last to get in. You could tell she was interested in what her brother and sister had just experienced, but did not crack a smile for a few minutes. Then she was grinning from ear to ear. She was kicking and moving around the pool having a blast.

Three little Crabs

Ellie is trying to work on her tan for the beach!!!
Evan is trying his best to look like the frogs on his towel.

Charlotte wanting to get back into the water!!

I guess you can say that going swimming will be on the vacation to do list.

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Jennifer wanted us to March for Babies to celebrate her birthday and that is just what we did. It was a 3 mile walk that started at Pitts Park, went up through Clarkesville, and then back down to the Park. There were 100 or so walkers all walking for babies. We have raised $245.00!!! A BIG Thank You to all that have already donated!!! It is not too late to donate. Our goal was $300.00 - that's $100.00 per baby. Please help our team - "Triple-Smith" - make our goal.

http://www.marchforbabies.org/triplesmith

Here's the babies at the starting line.
We are celebrating the big finish. Jennifer should have take a picture of me pushing the crew up a real big hill. I did not think I was going to make it.

Later that afternoon, we went to Lake Russell for a picnic. Here's a shot of the babies and mom about to eat some cake.
We did not get them in the water - still too cold! But they liked looking at the water.

March for Babies

This Saturday we are going to walk for babies in the local March of Dimes fundraiser. Look who decided to start walking just in time!!!

The video - as promised!!!

Charlotte was first to crawl (by a month or so) but when it came to walking she has taken her time. The night that Evan shot his performance video, Charlotte sat back and watched her two siblings walk around the room. She had not really given much thought to walking until she saw how much fun Ellie and Evan were having. She was leaning against the sofa, took one step, and on her second step she fell flat on her face. She rolled over, laughed, pick herself up, and tried it again. Over the last couple weeks she finally got her coordination together enough to walk. We are so excited they have come this far. I guess we now have the adventure of keeping up with 3 walkers.

For many years the March of Dimes Foundation has raised millions to support premature babies. Ellie, Evan, and Charlotte were 12 weeks premature but we have been so blessed with their health, but several babies that are born premature are not as fortunate. We have decided to walk in the local event and try to raise some money for this foundation. The walk will be held at Pitts Park in Clarkesville, GA. Jennifer and I will walk 3 miles and the babies are going with us. They obviously can't walk that far so they will just ride along. If you would like to support our walk for babies, you can go to this website and pledge a donation.

http://www.marchforbabies.org/triplesmith

Fun Filled Weekend

The weekend started with the babies going to their first parade - the Annual Mountain Laurel Festive in Clarkesville, GA. We parked a little way down the road and then walked to find us a nice spot. I think people thought we were part of the parade - everyone loved seeing the triplets riding down the road in their choo choo wagon. Here's a shot of everyone waiting. Here comes the Habersham Central Band of Blue! Surprisingly the noise did not bother them. They just rocked back and forth to the beat of the drums.
Evan eyeballs a big green tractor.
Here's Charlotte watching the cars go by.

Ellie trying not to smile for the camera.
The horses were the last in the parade. The kids definitely recognized them.

We then got home and had some visitors. My Aunt Terri, Uncle Terry and Cousin Stuart. They came into town from NC and were willing to watch the babies so Jennifer and I could go to town. They stayed the night and were a big help. I think they enjoyed their first triplet experience.
After church, we took the babies to see Granny D. It was a beautiful day so we brought their walkers so they could walk around her drive way. We were surprised by an afternoon thunder shower. This was the first rain experience for the babies. Here's a shot of the girls getting a little wet.

Evan checking out the wet pavement.
We let them run wild and they got as wet as they wanted. Charlotte our prissy girl didn't even get wet enough to have an outfit change. See her in this picture - she is nice and dry under the carport - the other two were completely soaked.
Be on the lookout for a special video tomorrow night!

Weekend Update (Hotel and ZOO)

I appreciate your patience in waiting for explanations. So here it goes.... We traveled to Spartanburg, SC to attend a wedding for my cousin Tara and her (now) husband Brandon. The trip would give us a much needed opportunity to test the travel waters. Weeks ago we did the overnight stay with family and survived. So now lets see how difficult an overnight in a hotel would be.
We left the house about 11am and hit the road. Babies all sleeping - everything nice and quite. They made it just about to Spartanburg but now it's time for lunch. We grabbed a quick bite at Jason's deli and then headed to the hotel. We checked into the hotel and then tried to get them to eat a bottle but they were to excited to eat. We all got ready for the wedding and we were off. Wedding was at 4:30 which was nap time. We let Jennifer out to go to the ceremony and then rode around so the babies could get some sleep. We made it to the reception just in time to party. As you can see from these pictures, we all had a blast.

Here's Evan busting a move - notice he's the only boy on the dance floor.
Ellie sharing a dance with her cousin Sadie Charlotte bouncing along with Lauren.
We had a great time at our first family wedding. We made it back to the hotel and had an interesting night, but we survived. We did make note of somethings we definitely need on our next trip. The next morning we got to enjoy brunch with some of my family and then it was off to the ZOO!!!
Jennifer requested a zoo trip for mother's day because the babies are starting to get into animals and we thought they would enjoy it. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed it. Here's some pictures of our trip.

Jennifer and Ellie checking out the Ellie-phants.
This was a baby Orangutan that was checking out the triplets.
Evan posing for a picture.

Charlotte in front of a lion statue

Mother's Day 2010

This year Mother's Day started off in a hotel. I'll get to why in another post, but for today it has been a great one. Jennifer woke up to three happy little faces and they all piled into bed with her. Early morning loving is the best!!! Only one problem, is it true love or do they just want to be first to get a bottle? We will assume true love for today since it's all about MOM. I tried my best to keep Jennifer from having to do very much, but come on - we got three babies and we are off in a hotel - so she had to help more than I would have liked for her to.

After leaving the hotel, we headed to our first ZOO experience (once again this will be another post). But here's a shot of the Mom and her babies taking a break to eat some snacks.

Finally back home and in our PJ's. I think you can tell by these three pictures that the babies love their Mommy. Lots of Smiles and Hugs!
Charlotte and Ellie have learned how to give KISSES!!! Here's our little smoochers!
I hope Jennifer had a great day! I'm not sure how we would survive with out all the many things she does for us.

Happy Mother's Day to all you great Moms!

Swingin'

The babies got lots of money for their birthday and we bought swings with their money. This week we have gotten some use out of them. They love being outside!

Springtime

Here is an example of our attempt on getting a picture of all three.

All 3 sitting in the chair (no one is looking) Ellie on the run
Evan says - where are you going?
So much for a group photo - having babies that can get up and leave adds a new element.



Charlotte
Evan
Ellie