Well, what a year it has been!
I've spent so much time these past days/weeks, reflecting on the past year and, subsequently how fast it has gone by. The girls were born a year ago April 13th! An amazing milestone - true, because of their prematurity, developmentally they won't be a year until the end of June but...we will keep April 13th as their birth date to celebrate!
We have so many recollections of the past year - full of fear, anxiety, joy, bliss, chaos, giggles, exhaustion....it's funny that now that I am looking back, it's only the joys that I recall - the rest of it seems to be falling away. In reality, we're still too busy to dwell too long on anything in the past...we just keep going forward and trying to keep up with these four busy and growing girls! As I've been putting together this blog, I've been going through old pictures -- even though I was there, and gave birth to these three beautiful little girls, I find it hard to grasp how small they were when they started out...they have done so well and we are so blessed to have such healthy happy girls x4!
We have received so much support from friends, family, neighbours and more -- it's been a humbling year. We couldn't have done this without the amazing supports that have been bestowed upon us. So if I may, please accept my/our gratitude for the ongoing support and interest that you've taken in our wee family - we are so grateful.
Given that my last post was a month ago (shocking I know) there have been a few developments of note....
We had the girls in for their 9 month well-baby visit -- these visits to the paediatrician go according to their corrected age not their actual age -- all are doing well and growing accordingly.
Cailtyn is now 17 lbs 9 oz - she's the smallest of the three but she is also the quickest! Cailtyn has shown great progress in her motor skills - she continues to make attempts at crawling however gets around quite will with her make-shift "commando-crawl". She surprised us all the other day by standing up at one of the chairs....poor Jennifer - now she has to put all her toys away off the tables where Caitlyn could otherwise reach them! Caitlyn is our little "cuddle-monkey" - she wraps herself around you and snuggles in! It's a wonderful feeling! She's got an ear for music and no sooner are some tunes playing, she is swaying and grooving to them -- her father's daughter?
Emily weighed in at 18 lbs 7 oz and has fallen into the middle for weight! We've watched Emily struggle with her motor skills - still trying to propel herself forward in some way however, she continues to compensate with rolling and really can get around just about anywhere! She is such a fun-loving girl and always willing to share a giggle with anyone wanting to offer a tickle (usually Jennifer). We have been struggling (and worried) so much with Emily's eating - she just would not take a spoon and subsequently we've had a hard time getting solids into her -- over the past two weeks, we've changed her to finger-foods. Well -- we're feeding a different girl! She pretty much clears her plate every time! What a relief - what a joy!
Heather came in at a whopping 18 lbs 10 oz surpassing her sister. I suspect this will change the next weigh-in as we've run into some difficulties with Heather. The girls have all been sick with a cold - Heather more so - we discovered that she had some sort of throat ailment (likely thrush or a viral infection) which put her off drinking and eating. So a week of medicine and significant coaxing has passed and, I'm not sure we're getting anywhere...hopefully she'll rebound soon and get back to her hungry appetite! We affectionately refer to Heather as "happy-Heather" -- she is such a joy to be around, always flashing a toothy grin or, if we're lucky, giving us her infectious laugh! She too relies on her commando-crawl to get her where she needs to go however, we've seen her working hard at trying to crawl. She's started to "stand" on her knees a bit so I'm sure this will lead to table standing in no time. Heather is the closest to being able to say words...she can sometime be coaxed into saying "papa" -- although lately she just smiles a big gigantic smile and looks at her Papa!
The girls are all still wearing their head-bands for another 2 months or so (likely) but our visits to the clinic are now only every 6 weeks (YAY!). Overall, our visits to the hospital and doctors have slowed right down --phew!
Jennifer continues to delight us all with antics and imaginations -- I'm the first to admit, 3's are challenging -- all this time I thought the "terrible twos" were supposed to be the worst (they were quite smooth)...however, despite her desire to exercise her independence and choices in a manner that does not always make life easier...I can't count how many times either Jer or I come out of her room after saying goodnight and say how blessed we are with her...
All in all, an amazing year with some amazing little people and a wonderful partner to share in this incredible parenting journey.
So...you've been patient enough with my rambling....here are a "few" pictures to enjoy....
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| I've come a long way....baby Emily day 0 |
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| I've come a long way - baby Caitlyn day 0 |
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| I've come a long way - baby Heather day 0 |
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Look at me now...(from left) Emily - Cailtyn - Heather -
"Celebrate" their first year with cake! |
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| Emily exploring her birthday cake....this looks interesting... |
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| Oh yah...wax! Yum! |
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Emily ate up her whole cake!....okay teasing, but she enjoyed
the whole experience! |
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| more...more...more! |
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| Heather eagerly anticipates what is about to come... |
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....tentatively exploring her cake...
What is this stuff anyway? |
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| take it away....take it away! |
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| Cailtyn not wasting time... |
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| ....and making quick work of her iced candle! |
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| ...and onto the icing! |
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| ...again! |
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| ...pre birthday treats...a little helper got to lick the icing whisk! |
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| ...sweet sisters - Cailtyn and Jennifer |
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| ...Cailtyn enjoying some pre-cake card appetizers! |
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Emily did not want to be left out of the
appetizer course... |
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| Heather got a new book! |
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| Caitlyn got a new book! |
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| Emily got a new book! |
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patiently waiting for the best part of dinner...
DESSERT! |
Some photos leading up to the big birthday day!!
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| Bath day - Caitlyn! |
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| cozy girl! |
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| Bath day - Heather |
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| roasty toasty! |
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| Emily's bath day -- getting a scrub behind the ears! |
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| All's well that ends in a cozy towel... |
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| squeaky-clean Emily! |
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Monkey-one and Monkey-two
Heather and Cailtyn |
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| Had a great visit from friends - Terry and Lynn Green |
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| Caitlyn showing her ability to multi-task - sit and touch the toes! |
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| Emily playing peek-a-boo! |
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| fun times in the kitchen with Jennifer Caitlyn and Heather (front) |
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| the girl on the move...Cailtyn |
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| ...up close and personal! |
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the virtual play room...a favourite game of Jennifer's is to
have the babies follow her into the hallway for fun and "dancing' |
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| Jennifer-in-a-bag |
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hanging in the kitchen with Mama...
Heather - Caitlyn - Emily |
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| Standing practice -- (from far) - Emily, Cailtyn and Heather |
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| Mirror, mirror..in my hand...whose the fairest in the land? |
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| ...why it's Emily! |
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hanging out in Caitlyn's crib while Mom grabs Emily...
Caitlyn, Heather. |
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| fun-times relaxing! |
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| "...down goes Fraser...down goes Fraser!" |
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| Caitlyn (top) and Emily --- round 2...ding! |
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| One of these "things" does not belong.... |
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| story-time! (Caitlyn) |
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| happy-girl...Caitlyn.... |
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| ...helping Mama with laundry! |
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| Caitlyn's recent skill of kneeling is getting well practiced! |
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| Emilly and Caitlyn at the "cookie jar" |
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| ...three helpers (Caitlyn kneeling, Emily under) |
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| the "spa" |
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| ...just out from her "spa" treatment |
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| happy-Heather! - part I |
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| happy-Heather - part II |
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| Cutie -Caitlyn |
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| entertaining-Emily! |
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| "Papa-pile!" |
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| watch out I'm bigger than you think....roar!!! (Caitlyn) |
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| whispering sweet nothings in Heather ears.... |
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| a favourite spot for Caitlyn...in the toys! |
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| pretty pals - Emily and Cailtyn |
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| spying on the neighbourhood.... |
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| busted Heather and Emily! |
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Picnic on the lawn on a warm spring day!
so...here's the deal...it's been so long since my last post that I couldn't fit all the pictures in -- so please go to the next post in order to see the remainder of the pictures....if you want -- no obligation and no pop quiz! Just purely for your enjoyment...so, grab a coffee, relax... this could take a while ;-) ......click HERE to go to the next post.
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