Our First Weekend Away

We're a little behind in posting due to some Internet connection issues...BUT we certainly have a lot to catch everyone up on!

Last weekend was grandma and grandpa's 40th Wedding Anniversary celebration weekend. We were really excited because for the past few months mommy and daddy have been telling us we were going to go to our first Red Sox game. We couldn't wait to see Youk, Big Papi, Ellsbury (mommy says he's her favorite), and little Dusty (that's what Daddy calls him but we think his real name is Dustin Pedroia). We also found out that we were going to get to stay in a hotel for the first time EVER!!! So mommy & daddy told us that it was a secret and a BIG SURPRISE for grandma and grandpa and that we were not allowed to spill the beans until the week we were going. So when the day came to tell them, we all had been practicing our words so we could be the ones to give them the fun news. Unfortunately between the three of us all we could get out was "dadadadada....babababa...aaahhhhheeeeaaaahhhh". Luckily the rest of our family was able to interpret for us.

We left for the big weekend on Sunday morning. It took mommy and daddy all night the day before and all morning to get our things packed and organized. We even had to ask grandma if we could put some of our stuff in her car, too! We overheard mommy tell daddy that "this is why we don't travel much now" We just thought it was so much fun that all of our toys and everything we love was coming along for the weekend. After getting all three of the cars packed and everyone on the road we all fell asleep. We're pretty sure mommy planned it that way. We woke up though once when we had to stop at a wayside for Eli to get out and get some fresh air. He was feeling pretty car sick most of the way and even ended up puking out the side window while his dad was driving!!! YUCK...of course we were behind his car following them. Luckily nothing hit us or our windows. We got a good laugh though because Eli looked like a doggy hanging out of the window getting sick.

Once we made it to Minneapolis we tried to go to the Como Park Zoo but the crowds were so heavy we couldn't find a place to park. So, our first Zoo visit will just have to wait. We ended up going and checking into our hotel instead and trying out the cribs they had reserved for us. It was kinda fun to sleep away from home...Jack especially liked nap time because his crib had metal poles. He spent his time before naps making fun noises with his hand brushing the sides of the crib. Daddy said it looked like he was in jail. Especially the way he'd grab the bars and pull on them while he was laying down. Mommy wouldn't let Jordan sleep in one of the hotel's cribs because he loves to bang his head against the corners of his crib at home. Instead- we brought our pack and play along for him. He seemed to enjoy the new sleeping arrangements though anyways.

Jack at nap time



Isaiah in our hotel room & Jordan playing

That night we got ready for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Mommy was mad at Jordan though because right before we were about to leave he puked down the front of his THIRD outfit of the day. She told him he'd "just have to wear a gross, stinky outfit" because that's the only one she had left for the day for him. Luckily he didn't sit too close to the rest of us at dinner. hahaha

Addie & Auntie B


The Boys pretending to play the piano

Monday morning we got up and headed to the hotel pool! It was our first time to wear swim diapers, swim suits and to go in a pool. We were really excited because daddy told us he'd take each of us in one at a time. Little did we know that daddy was planning to try to drown us! We got in the pool (which looked like a HUGE bathtub) and daddy dunked us under the water! Jordan didn't seem to mind it but boy were the rest of us not very happy after that.

After pool time we headed to the Metrodome to see the game. We had some really great seats and luckily mommy talked the security guard into letting us leave our stroller at the top of our section. We were really well behaved and each of us actually took our afternoon naps on peoples laps. It wasn't until about the 6th inning that we got kinda crabby. We can't wait to go to another Sox game again sometime soon. Maybe when we go to Massachusetts this summer? Daddy says that he wishes we could, but he's pretty sure we pushed our luck already this season. hahaha

The Riplets Restful Week...NOT!

Well, the past week has been full of excitement for the Riplets. We celebrated Daddy's birthday twice-once on Saturday and then again on his b-day. We gave Daddy two polo shirts to wear golfing because Daddy REALLY wants to golf this summer. We cannot wait until he takes us in the golf cart each time he plays! He doesn't think we can come along yet but Mommy told us she's sure its not going to be a problem.

On Thursday morning Jordan finally rolled over all on his own!!! Of course he didn't wait for mommy or daddy to see him do it. Instead, while mommy was giving someone else a bath he decided to roll over for Vicki. She said he did it so well she assumed he had been rolling on his own for the past week or so!! Of course Jordan has YET to show mommy or daddy his skills again. We're pretty sure he's going to wait and just walk one day. No crawling, rolling or even sitting up...just straight to walking and running. Lucky us, huh? At least he'll bring the rest of us toys a lot faster.

This weekend was Auntie Dawn's dance recitals. We (ok mostly Addison and Jack) were SOOO excited to go watch all of the dancers, but mommy made us stay at home with daddy and uncle James until after the shows. Mommy said we'd be too loud and distract everyone. None of us knew what that was supposed to mean?? We usually blend into the crowds so well. Now that Addison realized her auntie is a dance teacher she's been trying to show off her flexible moves
whenever she's around.




Jack also said his first real word this week!!! He's saying "BABA"...which none of us are surprised by. I mean- most will say "dadadadadadada" but not Jack. He's all about his food. Mommy and Daddy thought maybe it was him just babbling until he actually said "baba" when we showed him his bottle!

On a naughty note, Addison has realized that eating her cereal and fruit in the mornings is just so boring. So to liven up the "mommy & me" time she's decided to spit the food back at mommy. She's thinking its REALLY funny but mommy is not so excited about it. Especially yesterday when the fruit was blueberries and mommy had on a light colored shirt, ugh.

This weekend we also all decided that sleeping is for the weak, so we've been testing mommy and daddy and ALL of us getting up at least once (sometimes twice) a night. We know that they really want to hang out with us all at 1,2, and 3AM. We don't get why they are both so annoyed with us though. We were having fun at 4AM wanting to play with the toys (like old times) and watch Curious George. Well, after about 4-5 nights of fun mommy and daddy must've talked and decided an intervention was needed. SO...last night about 1AM we all were in shock when NO ONE came to our rescue when we cried! Can you believe it?? Addie started in first, then Jordan and finally Jack. After about an hour (we took turns crying...that's a LONG time for one of us to cry straight through), we all decided maybe sleeping wasn't all that bad. Besides-what fun is being up if you are just stuck staring at the ceiling in your crib?

Riplets VS Our New Camera

We've had such a fun week trying to figure out mommy's fancy camera. Actually- mommy won't let us touch it yet, but she and daddy sure have had fun trying to figure out how it works. Here's some pictures of us from the week...ENJOY!



Jordan





Jack



Daddy & Addie



I LOVE this of the boys...Jordan's face is precious!



Addie's fat little feet




Jordan in his favorite toy...the Jumperoo



G'pa & Addie





The Boys...discussing the Celtics/Magic series




Mommy & Addison

Jack...saying "WHAAAAAT??!!!!! No BABA???!"

Jordan...Deep in Thoughts

Jack

Addison

Mother's Day, Birthdays, and Little Baby Kayleigh

The Riplets past week was filled with one party after another. First, mommy's birthday was on Wednesday and we helped her celebrate by getting up at 6am instead of 5am!! We thought we'd give her a break. Luckily- daddy got up with us that morning so mommy could get a little more sleep. For her birthday party we met grandma, grandpa, "Ba", and Auntie Dawn for lunch at Sammy's Pizza. The pizza looked VERY yummy, but mommy and daddy told us we can't have any until we get teeth, ugh! Teeth?! Why does everything happen after we get teeth?! and why don't these silly teeth show up already? For mommy's present we asked daddy to get her something for "just her" so he got her a giftcard to Retreat Spalon. It seems like a really nice place for her to go for a massage or pedicure or facial. Daddy says that the gift is for a day "away" from us. Whatever that is supposed to mean.

Tomorrow is Daddy's birthday!!!! We are excited to give him his gifts. We'd tell you what it is but you'll have to wait until tomorrow. Mommy says its a "secret" and not to tell him. Lucky for her we can't really talk much yet...unless its a "dadadadada" or "buhbuhbuh".

Sunday was mommy's first Mother's Day. We took mommy and grandma to Tokyo Restaurant for some Japanese Habachi cooking. Addison thought she was a comedian and tried to show us how the chef would come and chop things and cook for us. She almost got caught mocking him but luckily daddy moved her off the table just in time. We wondered if she would've gotten kicked out if she was caught. Anyways- mommy's gift was the best part of the day!! We went with Daddy and got her a new Canon EOS Rebel XS camera. It is a very, very nice one and we are excited for her to start taking more pictures of us with it. Daddy said it will be a very nice investment for the Riplet Blog and for all of our memories.

On a final note, I wanted to mention that little baby Kayleigh (who's blog I've been following) passed away on Monday. If you haven't read her story or followed her blog, please take a minute to now. Her story really touched me and strengthened my faith in God. Her parents are amazing and really need your prayers now. They've asked that each night as you put your own kids to sleep to please say a prayer for them and really cherish your time with your own (hopefully) healthy kids. Scott and I really are so thankful we were blessed with such healthy triplets. There are so many singletons and multiples born each year with health issues. We really take for granted how lucky we were to have our three come home within weeks of being born and all without any major medical issues. So, if you have a minute click on Kayleigh's Story on my side bar under "my blog list".

Jonah's Confirmation & Ouchies!

Sunday was my nephew's (& Godson) confirmation at Bethesda Lutheran Church where we all attend regularly. Jonah had been spending his Wednesday nights at his confirmation classes this past year and he had regular memory work and verses he that he would recite. At the confirmation service, he was asked to recite his Life Verse and give a brief reason on why he chose that particular verse as his. Of course, "Mr Calm, cool, & collective" had no issues speaking in front of the large crowd that morning. We are pretty sure he'll be searching for a public speaking position as a career. Anyways...during the service we got a call from Memere saying that Jack had gotten burned on the crock pot while she was prepping for the confirmation party. What a scary situation for them and for us! This was our first accident as parents so of course there were tears (oh from us AND Jack of course!!! hahaha) but luckily the burn wasn't too severe and our doctor told us to use Neosporin and bandage it up and just keep a close eye on it so it doesn't get infected.

Auntie B & Jack & his bandage

The rest of the day seems like a blur between Jack being out of it from his ouchie AND being on Tylenol. Not to mention the constant flow of people wanting to hold, talk to and see "The Triplets!!" We were very thankful that we had Memere and Pepere around for the day as extra hands because its tough keeping track of all three kids at once with so many sticky fingered adults!

Towards the end of the day, we asked Jonah to get a picture with the other "Special Guests" of the party (aka: The Riplets). Jonah was and is always willing to do anything for his newest cousins so he took all three on his lap for the photo shoot. Addison though, seemed really sad and started crying as soon as we started taking the picture. We all made our best funny faces to make her happy again, but she only got worse. After a handful of sad shots we decided that was as good as its going to get, so we took each baby off of Jonah's lap. Only to realize that Jonah's boutonniere had been poking her in the back of the head the entire time!! No wonder she was so upset. Which leads to the final "ouchie" of the weekend, when mommy started cutting Jordan nails and accidentally snipped part of his skin. All three of the Riplets have now officially had their first ouchies...and I'm pretty sure there will be MANY more to come...

Jonah, the Riplets...and the push pin!

Bonnie & Clyde

Looks like Clyde's a little loose lipped!

Memere & Pepere are here!

After months of skyping, Memere and Pepere have come to visit us from Massachusetts. We are so excited to have them, especially after mommy and daddy have seemed extra tired all week. We aren't sure why they called in the emergency "back up" but we think Jack might be the culprit. After our shots on Tuesday, Jack has been extra fussy and really wanting mommy's time to cuddle. Of course Jordan (anti-cuddler) found it silly that Jack was wanting that time on mommy's lap all of Wednesday until he woke up Thursday morning with a very runny nose and a bad cough. Besides the cuddling, Jack (and let's be truthful...ALL of us) has been having issues with sleeping at night. Mommy told daddy she's "hoping" this is all because of the shots but we were talking and we realized its kinda fun to wake up and have mommy and/or daddy feed and cuddle with us one-on-one each night! Although, the other night, mommy threatened Jack at 3:50am telling him he needed to either "eat this bottle and go back to sleep or mommy will just put you back in bed right now!" So...maybe we better start thinking about sleep at night again.

Jordan & Memere

Which brings us back to Memere and Pepere's visit. They showed up yesterday afternoon to give us big hugs and kisses and bring us a bunch of new outfits and shoes! We were all really excited to see them and also VERY surprised to see how big they are when they leave the computer from skyping. Today, we all spent the morning outside on the deck soaking up the sun. Jordan enjoyed using his playmat under the umbrella while Addison used the walker. Jack came out after his nap and spent his

entire time in the "adult conversation" at the table. He just wanted to wear his Sox cap and his sun glasses.

This afternoon, mommy and daddy left for a much deserved "night out" without the Riplets. Of course we weren't sad when they left though, because we had SOO much attention from Memere and Pepere! Mommy and daddy went out for a break and to celebrate both of their birthdays that are coming these next few weeks. They went for dinner to Manny's and then to get a full nights sleep at the Holiday Inn. (We all didn't get why they needed sleep? hahaha)

Mommy & Daddy

Mommy getting ready...

Daddy at Manny's