Photo shoot

The babies had their 1 year pictures made last Friday @ Easy Street Gallery. We think Jessica did a great job and wanted to share some with everyone. There are a lot of pictures so enjoy!!

Birthday Party Extravaganza - "Cookies & Milk with Elmo and Cookie Monster"

Yes, I am a little late with this one - the party was Saturday. We had planned on 50 or so but only ended up with half. The snow as well as stomach virus kept several away. We all had a great time any how and several lasting memories were created. Here's plenty of pictures:

The Decorations

Yes - this is a picture of pictures.

Play Time - We got the babies a Sesame Street inflatable jumpy house with ball pit. They love it. My plan is to have this up in the basement for several hours of exhausting entertainment.

Karis is the other little one shown here with Charlotte. She is the daughter of one of Jennifer's friend/co-worker. See Charlotte sitting in her lap? We don't know why she does this but she does it to her siblings too.

Ellie - It's Cake Time!!!

Evan's turn at some Cake!

Charlotte is ready to dig in.

All three had very different cupcake eating techniques. Ellie was careful at first but once she got the taste of icing it was all over. We think at one point she went into sugar shock - sucking away on her little hand. Evan was very curious of what was in front of him. He stared it down and then took it down. I think he would have finished the whole thing if we allowed him. Charlotte just wanted to play, play, play. She did not care too much for eating it just mashing it up and putting it in her hair.'
We really appreciate every one that made this such a special event. Like Jennifer say's "They only turn one - once!"

For those that were wondering - I am the biggest Cookie Monster - Ever!

Reflecting - The babies birthday!

The time was set for 1 pm sharp. We had a lot of paperwork to sign - general surgery stuff x 3. Here's a shot of Jennifer about 2 hours before showing off her belly for the last time.
You might be thinking that she is not that big, but keep in mind she just started her 3rd trimester. I can't even picture her any bigger. Our nerves were under check. It was a little difficult waiting but I did my best to keep her in good spirits. Here's Jennifer getting ready for transport. The OR was just a few steps away from her room.

I had to get ready as well. They did their best to find me some clothes but had to piece together this outfit.
All suited up ready for action!!! They wrote on my shirt each babies name and a place to put the weight. I guess that trick works for dad's of one or two but with three it was way to hectic. They took us down to the OR and I had to wait outside while they did some prep on Jennifer. I remember it being the longest 15 min of my life. All the nerves that I had held back were hitting me right in the face. Just get this going already. By the time they let me back, they had already opened up Jennifer. These were her two operating doctors. Dr. Saujani - the OB (she had never delivered triplets) & Dr. Allaire - Jennifer's perinatolgist.

They are smiling - you just can't tell with their masks on!

Here's a shot of the crew waiting on the babies. The OR was filled with over 20 people. They had all the needed tools to get the babies stabilized as fast as possible. The process was very quick but from where I was sitting (hidden behind the curtain, holding my wife's hand, and telling her everything would be alright) it was taking for ever. 1:07 pm - We hear a baby cry. Little Ellie has taken her first breath. They quickly show her too us and she is off to get stabilized. That cry was amazing! I did not know what to expect - I mean - we did not even know if they would be able to sustain life - and now I can her my baby girl cry. 1:08 pm - Another cry. Evan has made his entry and he pee'd all over the place. We got a quick glance. 1:09 pm - Another cry. Here comes Charlotte. Another quick glance and they went to work on her. This is a shot of the three baby teams working hard to stabilize the babies so they could transport them to the NICU.

I stayed with Jennifer while the doctors were working on her and on the babies. We got some report but not much. We did know that they had shifted their concern from Evan who was doing surprisingly good to Ellie. Jennifer sent me out of the room with the babies while she stayed behind to get her surgery completed. I went down the elevator with Charlotte. Evan was already down and Ellie was right behind us. I could not get into the rooms because there was just way too much going on. It was really weird - all the noise - people talking medical stuff - not being able to get into the rooms. The nurse told me it might be awhile and she suggested I come back in about a hour. I went up to recovery and Jennifer is still out cold. The hospital room was filled with Jennifer's family so I went by gave them an update and then headed out for some fresh air (actually I went to Zaxby's - the waitress even noticed by three arm bands). Back from a quick bite and Jennifer is waking up. She had to be on magnesium and pain meds for her preeclampsia so she did not get to go see the babies until 11 am the next day. Jennifer remembers bits and pieces of the rest of that day. The medicine made her a little loopy. She sent me down several times to check on the babies - some times 2x in a 3o min window. But I did as I was told and checked on them or called down often.

I think you can go back to my early post to follow the rest of our story.

Don't worry I will have some 1st b-day pictures up soon!!!!!

Happy Birthday Matthew

I just wanted to wish my husband a happy birthday! He is a great husband and a wonderful daddy. He is my very own Valentine!!! We love you.

Birthday Party Extravaganza - Getting Ready

For the last few MONTHS, Jennifer has been planning the babies birthday party. It is tomorrow! The theme is cookies and milk with Elmo and Cookie Monster. Jennifer has gotten all the decor ready to go. We both have been baking cookies all day! All of our guest should be in for a great treat. Only one problem.

Baby sick - no.

Balloons all popped - no.

The milk is spoiled - no.

The cookies are not edible - no.

How's this for a party pooper - we got 2 1/2 inches of snow. Jennifer loves snow and wants it to snow all the time - just not now! What to do, What to do? I think we have gotten past the disappointment of weather interfering with the party. Party is on whether we have guests or not. Jennifer, Ellie, Evan, Charlotte and I will all be there. My brother said it would take more than a lousy couple inches to keep him away - he's up for an adventure.