Seasons Greetings!!!

I know, I know, I know... it's about time... sheesh, you'd think I had been busy or something.




Truth is I've been wanting to post, but wanting to post with pictures, and had misplaced the cord to transfer the pictures to my computer... could have done it on Kim's... but never found the time to do it there.





So here are some recent pictures of the kids, though they have been battling colds the past couple weeks, and just when they seem healthy, they come down with another. So most of their pictures they have shiny nostrils... you can guess why.

As you can tell they are sitting up now on their own, though Nate is still a little sketcy on his... it's fun to see.

Here is Jack in his big beautiful smile!!! He almost looks too pretty ;)

He's not wearing makeup... but it kinda looks like it?






Next is Gabbi sleeping on Uncle John after a night of Rock Band!
















Here the kids are taking a bath with their 18 month old friend Maddison

And then Sophia and Ben entertain the class of 2020

Aloha From Maui

Too long since my last post... I know. 11 days in Europe and then 11 days in Maui meant my job wanted some of my time as well. No excuses... our public needs us.

Maui was great with the family!!! Not quite the leisurely vacation we are used to, i.e. no just laying in the sun and reading. But it was still fabulous.

The kids all did great on the plane... but boy you should have seen the eyes of the people at our gate as strolled up to the flight with our kids in their stroller. The usual ooohs and ahhs.... and I'm sure several "Oh God, please not next to me" were uttered as well.

The cried a bit for the first 10 minutes or so on the flight, but after that they were great. It wasn't the most comfortable having to hold a child for 5 hours on the plane... but overall, I can't complain.

Sophia was awesome, as usual, and had a ton of fun, as she felt right at home at our hotel. She swam like a fish, and enjoyed the constant family time in the pool. It really helped that Ben O'Loughlin was there to help her get past her initial shyness with the water slide. By day two she was acting liked she owned the place.

Sophia, Max and Ben perform the Hoola at the Luau

Kim and Jack

The triplets were very popular at our hotel, and everywhere we went. I think we had as many people take pictures of us as the fire dancers at the Luau. I think on average we were asked about 20 times a day about the triplets "Triplets?", "You must have your hands full!", "All boys?", "Are you the mother?" (looking at our petite nanny Cori). There were a couple days it actually became annoying, especially when it prevented us from going where we wanted to go. I.e. being stopped every five feet while shopping Lahaina with "Oh, I just have to see them!"

The kids all did great in the pool, and i have more pictures to post, so stay tuned (yeah right, when pigs fly... I hear some of you scoff)


Daddy and his boys at the Luau

The Kids Are Alright

I haven't posted in a while, and now that I'm on my European excursion... see my other blog... I thought I would quote The Who with my title.

The kids are doing great... they are nearly sleeping through the night... but not quite. Kim is battling heavy with me being in Europe... HUGE kudos to her for that, and to all of our friends who have been helping out! THANK YOU!

I have included some pictures of a night that Kim got a wild hair and decided to try and start feeding them some rice cereal... to top it off she had Sophia taking pictures... so they are a little fuzzy, or as we say "artistic".

Other than that, they are growing great, and smiling a TON! It truly is amazing at how far they have come in the past couple months. I can only imagine what the next couple will bring.

We are taking them to Hawaii as a family vacation in the next week... wish us luck! We are thinking of taping our adventure through the airport... for posterity's sake.

Preview to Spring Break 2022

Hi everyone,

Nate's hernia surgery went perfectly and he was home the next day smiling his big smile. He really has become the little charmer as he bats his big eye lashes and gives you a grin that lights you up.

Here are some pictures from a trip to Chelan we took with our friends, I call this the preview to spring break 2022, because as you can see the kids (including Ryan O'Loughlin) are enjoying their first stint on an air mattress in a pool. I'm sure it's just a preview of lounging years to come.

It's nearing the end of summer (sigh), but with that the kids are starting to sleep more and more at night. YAY!!!!

The kids are becoming more and more interactive as you can see by the shots of Gabbi in her bouncy toy.

Also, it seems as though this blog site will now support video, so I will have to put some clips together (with all my spare time) and start posting some videos so you can get a better feel of our controlled chaos ;)

Nate Watch 2007

I have recieved several calls regarding Nate's health after his hernia surgery... and thank you to everyone for your concern and support. But we ended up postponing his hernia surgery until Monday, August 13th... so hold onto your prayers and get well wishes for a couple days :)

July Madness - I actually updated the blog!

July was the month I headed back to work... and so the fairly easy life ended.

Having to manage my sleep without the luxury of taking naps during the day between feedings has been tougher on me, and likewise on Kim. Our nanny Cori is a huge help, but on the days she is not there, the burden falls on Kim... and that can lead to a long tiring day for her.

Luckily, I'm taking 3+ weeks in August to spend with the family (and steal away for a fishing trip!!!)

The babies are getting bigger, and even little Nate is approaching the 10 pound mark.

Smiles are more common now, and no matter how tired you are, you can't help but let it touch your heart and smile back. It's amazing how one smile from a child can make everything better.

Here are some much needed pictures for the blog, I hope you enjoy.

Aunt Yvonne came to visit for a small bit one afternoon, and so I thrust all the kids on her for the picture I love to take so much. :)



Sophia has been a HUGE help! She likes to get in the kids faces a bit too much to give them her love, but she will endlessly run and get binkys, blankets, burp cloths etc... to help out. She has also learned the Cougar fight song and much to Kim's chagrin, she sings it quite often. GO COUGS!


We had a small incident with Nate the other night where I had to take him to the emergency room at Children's Hospital. Net Net is that he is going to have a hernia operation on the 8th of August to repair a hernia on the right side. It doesn't bother him much, but the doctor's say it could be very dangerous if not repaired, so of course... better safe than sorry.




Gabrielle is definitely showing that she is very vocal, and very demanding. Sophia has already nicknamed her "Crabby Gabbi" for the strength of her cry. When she wants something, you know it... and she seems to be wanting more and more these days. She is the one that most wants to be held all the time these days, which can be tough with two others that need it too.

All in all, things are going well. Trips in public are still a spectacle, and almost comical at times. You would be amazed at how many parents of multiples are out there, and they will always come up and commiserate with you ;)

During my time off I plan on building Sophia's playset, visiting with my mother and sister who are coming for a short stint, and going fishing in Idaho with my buddies. But I really plan on spending more time with the kids. I want to spend time with each of the babies aside from feedings, where I get to enjoy them and not just worry about the next task... we'll see how well I pull that off. I also look forward to spending some quality time with Sophia. She is a ton of fun these days and has the best sense of humor. She cracks me up all the time (and drives me nuts at other times... must get that from me)

Two Months Old - Where has the Blog gone?

Wow, it's been nearly a month since my last blog entry... I apologize for any of you still patient enough to check back in with the confidence that I'll eventually update things.

A lot has been happening, but pictures have not been as fluid as they were before... bad parents. I'll give you the highlights of the last month's happenings, but there won't necessarily be pictures to accompany things :)

Most recently, Grandma Harrington paid us a visit and got to see Sophia on her 5th birthday as well as the triplets who have nearly doubled in size since she saw them last, on the day of their birth.

Overall, we have been doing pretty well. The little ones are still feeding every 3 to 4 hours, but they are taking more, and eating faster, so the promise of sleeping through the night seems near.

We have decided to not be tied to the house, and take the kids out a couple times a week on errands and what not. We've been to Costco, the mall, and car shopping, without any problems. They actually have slept up to 7 hours on our day of errands before, though we were getting really nervous near the end that we may have a coma inducing melt down. But we feel pretty good that we can continue life as normal... well mostly normal.

You see when we go out into public with the entourage we are viewed as either a rock star or as a freak show... hard to distinguish the two some times. It truly is amazing how people feel the need to talk to us, approach the babies, or take pictures. No questions seem off limits, and people feel like the triplets are public property as many come up and try and get a view. I truly believe it is extremely innocent curiosity that gets them to throw away rational communication with strangers, but it can become overwhelming at times.

Some of the comments we have heard:
"You have your hands full" (90% of our comments are this one)
"Wow! I am so glad it's you and not me" (sounds like it's better that way)
"Did you use fertility drugs?" (excuse me... do I even know you?)

One lady even followed us for about two minutes in Costco asking me questions. Now while my comments may sound flipant, I have been answering these types of questions for about two hours so far on our errands.
(Lady) "Wow, triplets... how does that happen?"
(Mark) "I'm not sure I should tell you this but... when a man and a woman really love each other..."
Kim practically ran away from this lady... and I strolled after her pushing the monster stroller, trying to be polite to this lady, but at the same time end the conversation.

Kim found some videos on YouTube that other families of triplets have posted of their trips in public that really illustrate this fact as well.

But overall things are really great, and we feel truly blessed! We have great friends, neighbors, and family that have been offering their unending support. Thank you soooo much to everyone who has been so supportive and helped us through this exciting, yet tiring time.

All is Quiet on the Western Front

It's 4 days till the actual due date for Jack, Nate and Gabrielle and they are doing great! We have been doing a lot of things (well, a lot for having triplets I'm told). We went to Duvall days last week, and I'm pretty sure people thought Kim's pushing the triple decker stroller was part of the parade. We've been to Ixtapa, and found that the Fiesta table suits are needs perfectly! We even had Ryan Oloughlin, to make it a set of quads, with us, and we ate in peace comfortably.

We went to my in-laws last Sunday to celebrate Sister Virginia's 96th birthday, so we took some pictures of the kids with both Virginia and Great Grandma Wilcox.

Kim has been working on since getting out of the hospital, which is great, since now when we say "Baby needs a new pair of shoes" we mean it times 3. Since I'm off on paternity leave, it gives her a good chance to get her work done, and let us have a semi-normal social life :)

Our scheduling system seems to be working terrific (knock on wood) as neither Kim and I are ever feeling super tired, and a small nap here and there helps refresh us. The only thing that could be better is if Kim and I could actually spend some time together, as currently we are ships passing in the night.

Picture Day!

We had the great fortune of one of our friends and neighbors, Lynn Lehto, who is a very accomplished photographer, come up to our house for a photo shoot for the triplets. None of these pictures are from picture day... but it's the latest I have ;)


Kim bathed the trio this morning and did a great job with them all, while I got Sophia and myself ready.




Lynn showed up at 10:30 and we figured out where the best lighting would be for natual light. We started the photo shoot off with some family pictures, then lined the triplets up on a bean bag for some pictures still in their clothes. They were all awake, and all doing great at this point.





We next removed all their clothes and diapers for some of the au-natural pictures. The babies all threw a fit, as they are not super excited about being naked (hopefully they keep this trait through college).





Lynn is used to working with sleeping babies (Ryan O - fits the bill) but she worked through the nuances of trying to get three tired babies all to not cry at the same time. We did some binky manipulation, a bit of holding, and what not to get them okay for the pictures, but of course that came with a couple times of Kim and I getting pee-ed on... but oh well.





Lynn was great, and I'm sure the pictures will be great. Jack, Nate and Gabbi were not in their best form, but then again... they are only a month old.

One Month Old

The trio sleeps while they were still in the hospital

Once again I slack tremendously on the blog updates, thanks to all have pushed and prodded me to update the blog.








Sophia and Gabbi play


Kim had the idea that we should stay the night with them one night and both get up for each feeding, to make sure we can handle the process. I don't recommend this to our faithful readers, as all it really did was wipe us both out the next day. We stayed the night Thursday and Jack and Gabrielle came home with us on Friday. But little Nate had to stay in the hospital till he could do better on his feeding.

Jack and Gabbi - profiles

The first night home we tried a new e strategy: one of us goes to bed at 10:00ish and the other would do the midnight feedings. Then the one who was sleeping earlier would get up at 3 and 6 and do those feedings. The idea here was that we both could get a chunk of solid sleep (5 hours) that could be remedied with a nap during the day to make it more conducive to living a normal, less sleep deprived life. The concept was good... but there were a few glitches the system. For this night, the main glitch was that no one told the babies that they are supposed to go to sleep afte their midnight feeding. So from 1:30 to 3:00 they squawked and squawked, which had me checking on them every 15 minutes or so. I got a little more sleep after the 3:00 feeding, and then after the 6:00 feeding I was already up, so I started on my household chores. Tired.... but productive :)


So here it is Tuesday, May 29th, and we are hanging out at the hospital with Nate on what is (so we are told) is his last day here. Tomorrow, we will be a complete family at home.. YAY!

Gabbi says "let the fun begin"

Our feeding system seems to be working pretty good for the most part... but we will need to convince the little ones that their awake time is during the day and not at 3 in the morning. Plus adding Nate to the whole mix may change things.


Jack and Gabbi seem like they have jumped leaps and bounds in just the 4 days they have been home, and Gabbi has already scored higher on the PSAT then 40% of the juniors in Washington State. Okay, so maybe that is a stretch, but they are doing quite well. When we first took them home, it would take 30 - 40 minutes to get them to drink their 2 ounces of their bottle. The first ounce would scream by, then the remaining ounce we would have to continually wake them up, and shove it in their mouth to get them to take it. Now... they it's about 12 minutes to finish a bottle, which means quicker turn around on our sleep, another YAY!

They share a crib now!

Okay, okay, okay... so I'm not the most prompt blogger... sheesh. Sorry about the absence to our loyal fan base ;) All the pictures were starting to look the same, i.e. swaddled up, tube out of their nose... and half asleep.

The kids have been doing great, and are progressing as best to be expected. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful nursing staff helping us out, as they have definitely made this as easy as possible for us.

As per my title, they are all sharing the same crib now... which was very exciting for us, for some odd reason, it seems like progress ;)

Gabbi acting coy

They are working on learning to take their formula from bottles now, and they are doing pretty good on that front so far.

They have all gained weight since their birth, and continue to grow. Here are their original birth weights, and their current weights.

Nate gets a bath... ladies don't look too close

Jack was 4lb 7 oz and is now 5 lb 6 oz

Nate was 3 lb 1 oz and is now 3 lb 15 oz (might be 4 lbs by the time you read this!)

Gabrielle was 4 lb 1 oz and is now 4 lb 15 oz (almost 5lbs!)

Looks like the week of the 28th for them starting to come home... but we'll have to wait and see. Kim and Sophia and I will spend a couple nights at the hospital near the end of the week to get more used to the regular feedings and ween our way into the nights. Stay tuned!

Cribs for the Masses

Daddy and his little girls

It's Friday and the kids are now all out of there Isolets (sp?) Soon they will all be able to share the same crib!

Jack eyeing the world

We're mid way through week 35 for the triplets justacional age, and the nurses told Kim today it would probably be closer to week 38 before they were able to go home. I was looking forward to them coming home in week 37... but I guess I will have to wait a little longer.

Gabrielle gets fed

They are doing really well right now, but I can't imagine having them off of their monitors... as those really reduce the stress of "is he breathing, is he okay" We'll miss those when we get home... but it will be nice to have them home.

All three have been gaining weight this week which is great news, as they need to get bigger so they are not so fragile to hold.

Nate sports his spring outfit

Kim has become the resident expert on our equipment and process with the babies, so when they bring expecting couples through she gives them the whole spiel about what everything is, how the process goes, yada, yada, yada. It's pretty impressive to see how much of the information she has absorbed.

Triplets Pose Together

Things are going well for the triplets this week. Gabrielle has her own crib, and the two boys joined her for a short stint in a bigger crib, before rational minds figured out that wasn't the best idea just yet.

The babies are still working on getting their feeding through their tubes in their noses, but they are working towards being able to take a bottle hopefully in the near future.

All three kids are much more alert these days, and love to look around when they are awake. Jack still tends to lean towards sleeping, but he is definitely getting more interested in the outside world now.

Sophia got to hold Gabrielle on Sunday, and she was a very proud big sister. She is doing great through this adventure, though its cut into her mommy/daddy time at home.

Today, Tuesday, we finally got to put them all together for a short bit for a group picture... I was only sorry that Sophia wasn't there as well to make it more of a family photo. Still, it was good to put them all back together again, and gave a little more perspective on what we are dealing with ;)

End of Week One

Kim holding the boys with Sophia

The triplets are now one week old, and becoming more and more aware every day. We are getting to hold them more, and helping out with changing of diapers. They encougrage skin-to-skin contact when holding as it helps them feel more comfortable.

When I came in yesterday, Kim was holding both Jack and Nate at the same time. She made it look so easy, that I took a stab at it as well. But I had a harder time, as they kept sliding off my chest.

Kim and I are working from their room a couple hours a day so we can hang out with them, and get to spend time with them during feedings when they are awake. It still feels weird to go home at night and just leave them behind.

The nurses have been great, and do little craft projects at night that we find the next day. It's like having elves surprise us each day.

Gabbi is awake

Everyone has been very supportive, and great about acknowledging Sophia in this whole process as well. I think it really helps her feel part of the big picture, and not on the outside looking in.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

All the babies have the CPAPs off of them, and now you can see more of their characteristics. They are all taking food through tubes now, so we should start to see some growth on them.

Yesterday we were able to hold Nate for the first time, and it was pretty darn cool. He's a small little guy, and the nurses just laid him on our chest for some skin-to-skin contact. He stared at us for awhile before falling asleep, and he felt so precious laying on us like that. (Kim and I took turns, he's not big enough to span the two of us ;)

We have some more pictures, but they were all starting to look the same with all the tubes and what not, so now that those are off, we should get some photos with actual facial features and expressions.

It is very quiet in the babies room without all the breathing aparatus going as they were a couple days ago. Kim and I are working on our laptops as we wait for their feeding and changing times.

More to come later... and I'll put pictures up, I promise.

Progress

Kim holds Jack

Today was a good day for the little ones! Kim and I finally got to hold Jack and Gabrielle, so that was a big boost to our day!





Mark holds Gabrielle

Nate is still covered with little tubes and covers so he does not provide the most photo ops. He is getting better, but still needs some help along.















Jack sleeping






Jack sleeps alot, and slept the whole time we held him. He opened his eyes after we put him back in his bed, and looked at us inquisitively a bit.

Gabrielle takes her first bottle

Gabrielle was wide eyed and bushy tailed the whole time we were there, and looked as though she was trying to figure us out. She also took her first bottle today, while it was a very small amount, it was a big step in the right direction.









Kim is supposed to come home tomorrow, so we will see if that happens. Regardless we are going to be putting a lot of miles on the cars to go see the little ones till the can come home to us.