One Year Ago...

Last New Year's Eve the pregnancy test came back positive. :)
Happy New Year everyone!

Baptismal Bliss

We packed the triplets into the car, and drove Sunday morning to Richmond to have them baptized in the church Erin used to attend when she was younger. In attendance would be Erin's mom's family, her dad's family, and some family friends (the Hoyles). While Nana, Pop Pop, Great Grandma, and one set of godparents (Auntie Em and Uncle Eric) were unable to attend, two other sets of godparents (Aunt Allison, Uncle Matt, Aunt Heather,and Uncle Tristan) helped us out enormously during the service - though we were concerned that Aunt Heather and Uncle Tristan would show up midway through the service, as they were running late in a separate car.

The service went surprisingly smoothly. The triplets behaved for almost all of the service - Arthur kept jumping in my lap during the hymns, they didn't cry too much when the holy water was poured on their heads, and they acted extremely cute knowing the focus was on them today. Highlights include Arthur loudly kicking a prayer book to the floor, and their cousin in the row behind us loudly exclaiming about his brother - "Adam's sucking on the pew!" Afterwards, we had a pleasant brunch at Joe's Inn, the first time we've taken the triplets out to a restaurant.

Their baptismal gowns turned out wonderful. Grandma Toni had lovingly handcrafted them out of Nana's old wedding dress, and the triplets seemed to love dressing up in this fancy attire (though somehow during the changing process Coraline never got her shoes put on). While the satin and lace made these three squirmers difficult to hold during the service, everyone appreciated how attractive they were in them.

Great Grandma

So Great Grandma had a stroke, or more specifically, one of a number of TIAs (Transient Ischemic Attacks) that she's evidently been having. It turns out she has arthlesclerosis disease, which means her brain's small arteries are too thin, and clot too easily, cutting off the blood flow to certain areas. Nana and Pop Pop had to rush her to the hospital (doing 85mph), and decided to wait with her while all the tests were being run. Meanwhile, at the insistence of the family, we loaded up the triplets in the car to take them to their baptism on the other side of the state in Richmond. Since we wouldn't know the results of the battery of tests for a while, and there wasn't anything we could do for Great Grandma, they felt the church service in the morning should not be cancelled.

The damage done by the stroke, and the recurring mental confusion is especially upsetting, as their other great grandmother on this side of the family has end stage Alzheimer's. The possibility of losing another loved one in a similar manner that strips them of their cherished identity is almost unthinkable. She will remain in our prayers (and be with us for another week before flying back to her home in Florida), and we hope that her symptoms will resolve themselves in time.

A Chaotic Christmas

So this morning we did a quick head count, and found that the number of occupants in the triplet commune had risen to 14 over the holidays. Besides the five of us, there was Nana and Pop Pop, Great Grandma, Auntie Em and Uncle Eric, Aunt Heather, Uncle Tristan, and their two children. With their cousins visiting again, it was fun to have 4 five-month olds, and an almost-three year old running around the house, but it did add to the chaos.

We noticed the bottle of advil was being passed around more frequently than normal (which is saying something), and Great Grandma's cold was quickly passed to Betty and Coraline, who then shared it with the rest of the household. With too many cooks in the kitchen, we managed to burn a rising loaf of bread and an early dinner was finally ready by 8:30 at night (with the sweet potato casserole arriving an hour later). The triplets were over-stimulated with all the guests, and went into prolonged crying fits at the end of the day. Each evening we attempted to watch a video we rented from blockbuster, but with putting down all the various children, by the time we were ready it was always too late at night (and the adults were exhausted). The family portrait never was taken, as we could never get the 14 people awake and in the house at the same time.

With all the suitcases, baby toys, and Christmas gifts scattered about the house, the place became even more hectic at the end of the vacation. Auntie Em and Uncle Eric had to pack up their stuff for their return trip to Singapore. We were loading baby stuff into our car for the trip over to Richmond for a few days for the triplets' baptism. Uncle Tristan and Aunt Heather were following us, before heading up to DC to catch a plane back to California. And then Great Grandma was rushed to the hospital.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Pictures

For those of you who didn't make the short list for Christmas cards this year (sorry, time and money are tight this year, but at least you are reading the blog!), we thought we'd share with you our Christmas photos. These were actually taken a month ago.

Second Cousin Rachel Visits

Continuing the whirlwind tour of family members meeting the triplets this holiday season, today brought their second cousin Rachel, along with her parents Sharon and John while they were en route to North Carolina. Rachel helped out with their feedings, and kept them company on the play mat. We tried to convince Sharon to stay and babysit the triplets, but she had to continue with her family to their Christmas celebration. Perhaps when Rachel grows older she'll want to babysit during the summer :)