Tuckered Out!

The kid just crashes when he's tired. It doesn't matter where he's at.

Playdate with Tate

We had a playdate with Tate today...and Jenna and Todd too of course. :) The kids had a great time playing with Aunt Jenna and Todd and I enjoyed spending time with my newest little nephew. I even dressed him up so he could have his first experience with dress up clothes.

Madelynn's new bed

Last weekend we drove to Saline to buy a bed that we saw on Craigslist. Madelynn's bed was getting really flimsy and wiggled a lot so we were afraid it would collapse. Her new bed is in really good shape and durable. It is a bed that converts from a crib/changing table/dresser to a toddler bed/dresser (which is how we have it set up) and later to a twin bed with a separate dresser. It should last her a long time. The best part of it is that it has 5 drawers in it. We were able to move all of Madelynn's clothing to it and we still have one empty drawer. Madelynn absolutely loves it!

New Pajamas and Silliness

We had forgotten about the clothing that the kids got for Christmas. We put it to the side and forgot it was there. Last night we dug out the silk long john pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa Ketola and the kids were way too eager to pose for me as I took pictures. Some turned out so cute I had to share them.

Aiden is potty trained!!!

We can officially say that Aiden is potty trained!

He's been consistantly wearing big boy underwear except for nap and bed time. He even wakes up dry or nearly dry during those times. He is successfully telling us when we has to go when out in public and does it on his own at home. Hurray!!! Way to go Aiden!


Update on the other two...

Madelynn is wearing big girl underwear around the house and was doing quite well, but then she got lazy and is having lots of accidents again. We are still trying to encourage her to use the potty. She is only wearing diapers when it's nap or bed time and when we leave the house.

Malachi hasn't really been potty training. He is mostly content with his diaper on, however just recently he's been tugging at it when after he goes. We are trying to get him to become comfortable sitting on the potty and he's done it a few times. He is currently wearing diapers nearly all the time.


So what does all of this mean for Josh and I???

• We are saving a lot of money with having to buy diapers however, I'm not sure where that money is going. :)
• We are doing more laundry! (Still cheaper than diapers)
• We choose stores that have public bathrooms.
• We make more bathroom trips while doing our grocery shopping.
• Our trip up north to the U.P. is going to be MUCH longer this year!!! :)

Homework

Almost the trio's entire life I've been going to school for my masters degree (I know...way to wait until I had triplets!). It's not uncommon for me to disappear into another room with my laptop and do my homework. Now the kids will grab their laptops or LeapFrog text and learn toys and sit down to 'do some homework'. They think it's fun now, but wait until they are teenagers. Three hard working students learning their ABC's.

3 Years, 3 Months, 3 Days...

What do you do when your triplets turn 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days old? You make cupcakes! Aiden pours the cake mix in.

Madelynn adds the water.

Malachi adds the oil (way too fast for me to snap a picture).

Yummy in my tummy!

Yummy!

Mmmmmm....

The end product.

Our First Sledding Adventure

A few weekend's ago, we were going stir crazy and decided to try real sledding with the kids for the first time. We went to a local park and had so much fun!

This is what sledding has been for the past two years. Somebody pulling the kids in their infant/toddler sleds, but this year was different! Aiden getting ready for his first trip down the hill.
Madelynn and Malachi getting ready for their first trips down the hill.

On your mark...get set...

Go!

On no...Madelynn wiped out! Oh no...Aiden's butt slid right off his sled! Oh yes...Malachi loved it!

Malachi going down on daddy's belly.

Maddie trying again.

Mommy and Malachi....weeeeeee!

I think we need a bigger sled!!! Samantha, Madelynn, Malachi, and Aiden (back to front).

I convinced Samantha to ski down the hill using my kids' sleds. She made it! I think this is the best picture from that day!

Thanks to Aunt Janet and Samantha for tagging along with us that day. We had a blast! Also, thanks to Aunt Janet for most of the pictures. My camera ran out of batteries after the fourth picture.

No Tubes...At Least For Now!

Yesterday was Malachi's ENT appointment and what we found out isn't nearly as bad as we'd first expected. Malachi does have thick syrup-like fluid in his right ear which is pressing on his eardrum, not allowing it to work correctly. This is why he has the low tone hearing loss. This hearing loss will NOT get any worse (yeah!!!) and is NOT permanent (yippee!!!).

We could have done tubes again if Josh and I pushed for it, but Dr. Mucha really doesn't want to immediately put him into surgery again. It's only been one week since we noticed Malachi holding a toy to his ear and we don't want rush into anything. We are giving him nasal spray once a day in the hopes that it will help to thin the fluid and his body will heal itself and remove the fluid from his ear. We go back in 6 weeks for another check up and if the fluid remains the same or gets worse, we will look into doing tubes (and who knows what else) at that time.

While we still have concerns about Malachi falling behind, we respect Dr. Mucha for not wanting to go right to surgery, as we don't want to subject our children to surgery if it's not needed. We were assured that it would not get worse, so we hope that he will not fall further behind developmentally. As of today, Malachi is still hearing us when we talk to him, talking like crazy, and singing and dancing to music. If we begin to notice more signs that his hearing is getting worse, then we will go in sooner than the 6 weeks, but for now we are pleased with what we found out and are trying to be patient with our waiting time. Thanks to all who prayed for us...we appreciate it.

Two steps forward...one step back...

On Wednesday evening, Josh and I noticed that Malachi was once again holding a musical toy to his ear. We looked at each other in shock and concern because this is one of the things he used to do when he was having a hard time hearing. I almost immediately emailed his preschool teacher, speech therapist, and OT to ask if they've noticed anything. Luckily the answer was no. His speech therapist was doing a hearing screening on another child Thursday so she did Malachi also just to ease our concerns. His left ear passed, but the right did not. I was crushed!

We got him in to see our family doctor on Friday and we learned...

• no infection
• thick syrup like fluid in his right ear
• hearing test resulted in hearing loss of low tones
• left ear appears fine
• most likely needs another tube in the right ear

It was suggested that we make an appointment with Dr. Mucha, our ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT). That appointment is scheduled for 10:30 on Tuesday. I'm extremely nervous about this appointment for the following reasons...

• another surgery (which he'll be put under for)
• a second set of tubes most likely means the adnoids come out too
• longer, more invasive surgery if adnoids come out
• possible over night stay
• longer recovery time
• time missed from preschool
• additional time lost for adjustment when he returns back to school
• lack of preschool could result in additional weeks/months behind developmentally

Everyone keeps telling me that "he'll do great", "he'll be fine", "don't worry, it will all work out" however, it doesn't help. The best that can be said and done at this point is prayers. Prayers for healing, understanding, guidance, and strength for Malachi, as well as Josh and I. We want to do whats best for Malachi, but that may mean difficulties in other areas. We will learn more on Tuesday and I'll post an update then.

Hot Cross Buns

Each month Malachi's preschool teaches a nursery rhyme with the hope that the children will pick up and begin saying them too. So far we've learned Wee Willie Winkie (which is a hard one) and he didn't do well with it. This month's in Hot Cross Buns. Here it is only 2 weeks into the month and he knows the entire rhyme and he sang it to us a couple of nights ago! I know the video is sideways, but thats how I held my camera and didn't realize it until I went to play it back. It's still way too cute and precious to not show it! Hasn't our boy come such a long way!?!?! I'm so proud of him!

Happy New Year!

We were thrilled to get together with Christine, Josh, George, and Esther and all the kids again this year on New Year's Eve day. We had a great time catching up and the kids played well together for the most part. Oh, and the food was great! :) Then we went to Brenda and Jim's again which has been our tradition for several years. I don't have many pictures, but here are a few cute ones. Madelynn being a princess in her cousin's dress up clothes. She was spinning and being a ballerina!

Aiden made it until 12:15am and then passed out on Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim and daddy really wore him out playing Wii. I swear Aiden is better than any of us.

Malachi, daddy, and Madelynn right before I drove us all home. They lasted until about 1:15am. I'm shocked that my kids made it that late. I didn't expect them to make it past 10pm! At least they let us sleep until 9am the next morning.

***By the way, I made 4 posts today so keep scrolling down when you're done here.***

Catching up on sleep

This was just too stinkin cute not to post. Josh took pictures of all of us catching up on our sleep one afternoon. The holidays just caught up to all of us! Madelynn in her bed.

Malachi on the couch.

Aiden, mommy, and Tugger in mommy's bed.

The kids still very much need naps, but are getting really bad about laying down. We resorted to separating them all over the house. Looks like it worked!

Christmas Day

Since the crowd for Christmas day was smaller this year, we opted to have everyone at our house this year. While there was a bit more added stress of preparing for the meal, it was so nice to just be able to wake up and let the kids play. In past years, we had to rush off to any number of places and it gets so hectic. The kids enjoyed being able to stay in their pajamas for awhile and playing with their toys. Josh, my mom, and I also got to sit around a bit and drink coffee and just enjoy the morning before everyone came over. I can't wait until we get a bigger house so we can claim Christmas day every year! Santa brought them mini-quads and their stockings. Malachi got Lightening McQueen, Madelynn got Tinkerbell, and Aiden got Handy Manny. They loved driving them in the house although there were several traffic jams.

Malachi on his "car" as he would call it.

Aiden nearly took out the broiler door on our oven. He rammed right into it and got his bumper stuck on the door handle. I had to pry them apart!

Madelynn taking a break....princesses have to do that you know....

Grandma and Grandpa Ketola got them guitars. Lessons in the future???

Aiden already knows what to do. He is so musically inclined!

And in true Princess Maddie style, she got a pink one! She was sure to let the boys know it was hers too!

Grandma and Grandpa Ketola also got the kids a drum set to share. They love it! I think every kid needs to have a drum set like this! We have a whole band at our house now. Aiden also got a musical set from Aunt Brenda and Uncle Jim which has given us many added instruments in our group. Give us a few weeks and maybe we'll be ready to do paid gigs!?!?!?

Christmas Eve

Christmas this year was a blast! We have a tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve so they got to open the majority of the things we had for them. This was the first year that the kids actually did the opening themselves. Josh and I didn't open a single present that belonged to them...hurray! Malachi is excited that he got a Leapfrog Text and Learn so he won't have to steal Aiden's anymore.

Madelynn loved the Crayola backpack. She put it on right away and wore it for awhile. I don't think she was really even aware of the crayons, markers, chalk, and more inside of it.

Aiden and all of his loot. His favorite for the night...the drum set we got him. Nothing else mattered for quite some time.

Madelynn and her pile. She was so excited that she got a huge assortment of the Little People princess and fairy lines. Also, notice that she's wearing a tutu...pretty much every outfit these days includes one of those unless she's got a dress on. Oh, but if it's a dress she doesn't like, then she'll wear a tutu over it. Such a princess!!!

Merry Christmas from the Ketola triplets!