Happy Fourth of July!!! And a special thanks to those serving in the military!

We took the kids and Nana out to Kingston today for their 4th of July event on the water. Troy's Kingston location sets up to sell pizza and drinks and we wanted to check it out and bring them some supplies. You might notice Mr. Slice in the corner of a picture. Emma seemed to really enjoy seeing Mr. Slice. The kids were quite a sight in their Choo Choo wagon decked out with umbrellas to keep them out of the sun. We didn't try to decorate the Choo Choo this year (as it would probably get pulled off and eaten) but that's the plan for next year. They were very cute in their festive red-white-and-blue outfits though!

Summer Fun

We have some family visiting from Ohio this week and the kids met for the first time last night. Emma Grace is almost 2, so she's a little older than our three, but they were thrilled to have someone much closer to their own size in the play zone with them. She had the cutest pigtails that Clark was eyeballing from the get-go. I think he was planning his attack, though he never actually pulled on them. Nanny Barbara also took our three back to the zoo today and used her recently purchased Runabout Triple Stroller. I'm sure this drew some attention, but she loves this type of stroller much more than trying to pull the choo choo wagon around. Three toddlers can get a little heavy to pull all over the zoo. :) We have more "footage" from our new porch area that now has shade and the padded mats so that they don't knock themselves out if they fall down. It can get a little "slippery when wet" (a little Bon Jovi memory here), but it's lots of fun and we just have to be careful.

We also have a little video from our Father's Day breakfast at McDonald's with Grandpa, Uncle Stevie and Uncle Albert (and Daddy, of course). Notice the burp by Clark while snuggling with Daddy. It was his little gift. :)

I'm going to get this posted and go visit with the family for a while. We'll check back in soon.

Trips Go Flip

While it may be Father's Day coming up on Sunday, Mommy got a new toy! I found a GREAT deal on a Flip Video camera. If you don't know what they are, you should check them out. Too cool and very easy to use. I thought I'd share some of the fun with our readers. Just be warned that we are all new to the camera and still learning the ropes. I'm excited about getting video and less concerned with "technique" right now, so don't look for anything that appears to be professionally recorded. :)




We recorded some time at breakfast this morning. Yes, we almost always remember to get pictures and video while they are eating. It seems that we tend to realize that they are being funny or cute during mealtime. It's chaotic at times, but it's also the one time that we are usually alone with them and they are almost always in a pretty great mood when they wake up in the morning.

We have a play area set up in the garage as well and I got a little bit of video while we were out there this afternoon. "The garage?" Well, the area can be contained (for the most part), we can control the amount of sunlight they are exposed to, we can provide cooler air by turning on a fan, they can observe the outdoor sounds (wind, rain, dogs barking, cars driving by, kids riding around on their bikes, lawns being mowed) and it's a change of scenery. It also works out great for us to be able to load and unload them in the area safely because the garage door can be closed. So, it seems a little weird, but it functions and provides a new place to play, so we go with it.


That's all for now. I hope to be back soon with more fun video clips.

Memorial Day - the lost pictures

Well, I just "found" these pics that Daddy took on Memorial Day. Grandpa, Uncle Stevie and Uncle Albert came over for a cookout (of sorts) and we decided to eat on the back porch. Honestly, I can't remember what they had to eat, but I think it was sweet potatoes that did the most damage. And the pie. I just had to share these pictures before I forgot about them.

Slacker Mommy Blogger

Pics: (These posted backwards in terms of when they were taken.) Kendall kickin' it in the choo choo wagon after some outdoor fun in the water. Ems showing off her "hi-ya" karate chop. All three in their pool. Looks like Clark had the best time, though he still thinks he can breathe under water which is NEVER good (but how cute is he in that suit????). Kendall showing us another cheesy smile and her adorable green suit that Miss Lisa got for her during her weekend at "Casa de Carroll". Emma looking exceptionally cute in her purple swimsuit (and FINALLY feeling better after being sick for more than a week!). All three of them in the carnage that was an entire can of pumpkin (it was "orange" day for lunch - carrots, pumpkin, peaches, cheese toast). They ate/wore a whole can of pumpkin between them (they do LOVE the pumpkin!). Another picture at mealtime when Emma had a particularly crazy hair day. Last week we had our first trip outside with the "sprinkler mat-thingy" and there are a few pics of everyone outside playing in it. They were NOT wearing their bathing suits, so we started in clothes that got soaked and got down to diapers that were soggy and drooping by the time we headed back inside. Lots of fun though! The deck/lake picture was taken during Mommy and Daddy's time at our friend's lake house a couple of weeks ago. And the other pics were from Mother's Day.... We didn't do a great job getting pics that day, but you can see where Emma tried to run off to some other family (she was the one with the stick). And then you will see the back of Kendall as Daddy returned once he had captured our little runaway. The last picture was taken at IHOP on Mother's Day. Mommy and Emma went out to celebrate with Nana, Auntie Karen and Uncle Tom and Tommy and Stephanie. Daddy got her dressed to surprise Mommy so that she would get out for breakfast with Nana. It was great to get out and Emma had fun stealing my whipped cream off of my strawberry crepes. :)


OK, I'm a terrible mommy-blogger. If we are being honest here, I will just say that lately I have enjoyed reading blogs but haven't wanted to write on one. I know that there are triplet-baby-fans out there waiting on pictures, so I'm going to try to give you guys the "fix" that you are looking for and post a few pics to get everyone caught up. Check back in a couple of days and I'll track down the card from the other camera and get more pics posted and actually post an update.

But, I do want to announce that CLARK IS A WALKER! Yes folks, he is walking and has been for a couple of weeks. We are so happy for him because he seems to LOVE it. Our Big Boy is getting around on his own and giggling constantly.

I promise to try to get back here with the updates and more pics. And I will make the effort to be a better Mommy-Blogger and keep everyone up-to-date on the happenings within the Louis household.
Thanks for your patience.

Two walkers in the house!!!

Pics: Kendall in the front yard. Daddy and Clark (pulling Daddy's hair - a new favorite pasttime is pulling hair!). Emma and Auntie Karen giggling. Clark in the grass. Warren Jr, Cindy, Uncle Warren, Aunt Barbara, Nana and the three kids (Kendall was VERY fond of Cindy but Ems was being fussy at picture-time). Grandpa's special bunny cake. Mealtime at the counter in our clip-on chairs. The carnage below them after dinner. Bring on the FOOD! Emma the paci-theif (note that she has all THREE pacifiers at this point!). Clark and Kendall playing with the keyboard. Kendall watching The Masters (golf) on TV (for the record, we had her dress bunched-up in a rubber band because she kept tripping over it). All three babies in the super zone set up at Grandpa's on Easter Sunday.


Yup, you read it here first...there are TWO walkers in the house. Both girls are officially on two feet these days. Emma was the first to really take the plunge and is already trying to RUN. Kendall has been a little more hesitant, but tonight she was definitely more interested in walking upright than crawling. And boy are they working hard at it! They are constantly tumbling over and just keep getting back up for more. I'm so glad that they don't seem to get very frustrated by their clumsiness. Clark actually took a few steps between Mommy and Erica on Saturday morning, but he doesn't seem to be ready to just let go yet.

They are learning so much and are SO curious. Everything is a new discovery and every trip out of the play area is a new adventure. On Friday and Saturday evening, we had them out in the grass in the front yard. Clark was all over the place and excited to touch grass, leaves, etc. Once they got over the initial fascination, they quit putting every piece of yard waste into their mouths. You can see the sense of wonder on their faces when their bare feet touch the cool grass. They are excited to walk and stumble in it as well.

The babies met their Great Aunt Barbara and Uncle Warren this weekend as well as cousin Warren Jr and Cindy, who drove to Knoxville from Greensboro, NC. We had a really nice visit and managed to get the kiddos to do almost all of their "tricks". We were sorry that we didn't get to see the whole family before they left this morning, but the babies partied a little too hard Saturday evening and didn't get up until 9am today.

All three babies had colds beginning last Thursday and lasted until this Friday. One question I intend to ask God is "Where does all of that snot come from?!?!?" Seriously, it was unbelievable. The kids were pretty miserable at times. We have humidifiers in all three rooms as well as vapor plug-ins to help relieve some of the congestion. It was an all out snot-fest around here, but it looks like we have come to the end of this round. What a relief!

On top of that, Clark was getting TWO new teeth this week. His nickname, "Howler Monkey" really fit this week as he spent most of the day crying or whining. Poor thing. I have to admit, I'm a terrible mommy and really just wanted the whining to STOP. But I did feel so sorry for him because I knew it must feel awful and then the crying created more snot...which means it was a vicious cycle of crying and snot and blowing the nose...you get the idea.

In other news, some of you may know that I've had trouble with my wrist since last summer. I was told that it was tendonitis and very common with new moms because of the motions to change diapers, pick up babies, etc. Multiply that times three babies and I had a problem and no way to "take a break" to let it heal. It was very painful and really limited my ability to hold the kids and do certain tasks and activities. It was hard to give them baths, load them into car seats, etc. Writing and typing were also very uncomfortable (See??? I had a reason for not blogging more!). The good news is that I'm 100% PAIN FREE today! I went to a specialist and he gave me a cortisone shot in my wrist (um, ouch), but I was willing to do just about anything if it meant that I would no longer have wrist pain. I'm SO thankful that the shot worked and hope that it means I can be hauling the kids around easier by myself now.

We had Easter dinner at Grandpa's house last Sunday with Uncle Stevie and Uncle Albert. The adults ate first and then we perched the kids in the clip-on chairs on the bar. They didn't seem to mind being up so high and enjoyed the turkey, sweet potatoes, corn pudding, rolls and Grandpa's special bunny cake! They were all feeling pretty yucky with the colds and Clark was having an especially tough day, but we were glad to get to spend time with family.

Anyway, babies are sleeping peacefully right now and I'm headed for bed as they kept mommy hopping until about 1:30AM last night. We hope to be headed to Nashville in about 10 days or so. Aunt Marsha is getting ready for the onslaught of the Louis family. :) We will welcome the change of scenery.

Saturday in the Park....OK, it was really Sunday, but I like the song....

So, on Sunday, we managed to get to the park for an impromptu picnic. Auntie Karen was even able to meet up with us there and help feed the kiddos lunch and stroll them around a little. She and I also took them to the swings and I had to throw my "Mommy Muscle" around and ask some parents if they could move their kids out of the swings.

NOTE: I should explain that the parents were under a tree talking and barely watching their two children hang in the swing. I say "hang" in the swing because they were not swinging, but just hanging there. The parents didn't bother to stay with them and push them and the kids seemed completely uninterested. After waiting patiently, I decided to ask (ever so politely) if we could use the swings for just a few minutes (the mother understood what I was asking). This was my first experience with "swing set etiquette" and, while I wasn't sure of the protocol, I hoped that if I was REALLY polite it would be OK to ask them if we could have a turn.

Anyway, the girls had a BLAST on the swings. Clark laughs when he watches the girls having so much fun, but he isn't as interested in swinging. He would rather spend his time picking up the little pebbles on the ground (and eat them, of course). He's also good at sliding down the slide with Mommy (something we actually did today during our outing at the park).

Our big news amongst the crew is that the girls are walking. OK, Ems is walking more than Kendall, but both are really working on it. Emma is still mastering her stablility and learning to turn, twist, dance and clap - while walking, but she is doing an excellent job. Kendall is just now starting to get more comfortable standing without assistance and taking those first few steps on her own. I think she is inspired by her sister's movements and wants to be as independent as little Emma is. Clark has been experimenting with the walker and still seems pretty steady, but not really taking any steps without being able to hang onto something.

Emma and Kendall also continue to chat using jibberish and Clark has joined in on the fun. He's really quite talkative, though not saying specific words - although I swear he said "mama" and "dada" yesterday. They all are interacting more and I continue to enjoy overhearing them in the play zone chasing each other and laughing together.

It still amazes me that they are SO very different despite being triplets. They look different and have obviously developed differently. But I have noticed that they seem to follow similar patterns, such as starting to pull up and stand confidently and then they begin to climb onto riding toys. After that, the girls both started walking. I'm hoping that this will continue to be how Clark progresses as well. Only time will tell.

Mealtime continues to be a challenge for me as I hate the monotony of what I am feeding them, but lack the culinary expertise (or the nerve) to try very many new things. We tried zucchini today and I think it didn't agree with little E as she had a complete meltdown (for 40 minutes) followed by three of the biggest burps I've ever heard (Daddy was truly proud of his girl). We are stuck in the fish stick, ham or turkey and cheese, carrots, peas, corn, sweet potatoes, peaches, pears, apples routine. I try to "mix it up a little" by serving ham or turkey on bread (toasted) and then another time as a quesidilla (insert "La Cucaracha" melody here, please). I've added applesauce and cinnamon to plain old boring sweet potatoes. But, in the end, it's the same thing...different day. By the time I've gotten through their meals each day, I'm ready to just have cereal for my dinner because I lack the creativity to think of anything else (and Troy doesn't seem to be interested in fish sticks - go figure).

I've had a long day, so I'm going to pack it in for now. Thanks for checking back with us. We will be back soon with more pictures.