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.