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Tragedy

Jane is a much-loved member of our on-line triplet community.  It was a joy to watch her little ones grow.  There are no words.

Recent Pictures

Taken this morning 

Colin wearing a tutu with Gigi (as named by Colin).  Taken last weekend, Before Haircut (BH)

Keith, BH

Evelyn, BH

The last three pictures were taken last weekend by Edward's sister, Jane.  We were very lucky to have both Jane and Gillian in Ottawa for a few glorious days of additional freedom, which included TWO evenings out.  We also got a lot knocked off our shockingly long To Do list.  Without help, we find it nearly impossible to accomplish more than what's strictly necessary on weekends... and of course, only if Colin, Keith and Evelyn cooperate with their afternoon nap.

Chase!

We have all waited a long time for this!

As an aside, they got their summer haircuts this afternoon.  Keith loudly protested the mere sight of the hair salon, but Colin and Evelyn were less phased by the prospect.  Everyone will be much cooler - it was very warm under all those curls!

The Park

Evelyn, pointing to her scraped knees.  For the record, she was wearing pants earlier today while at the park, where she took a few tumbles.  She loves to "Go Go Go!" and usually at a pretty good clip.

We tried a new park this morning.  It's a little further away, and unfortunately (?) the dog can't come with us, but it is much more suitable for younger children.  Our regular park gets over-run with daycare kids every weekday, meaning that my three don't get much of a chance on the play structures.   So they spend their time running (in different directions) for the road.  This new park has a better grouping of activities and a huge field between them and the busier road.  Additionally, it has one structure that is for early walkers, with virtually no gaps to fall from and some neat built in gadgets to explore.   Fewer heart-attacks for me and Nana!  Three busy toddlers on a play structure is a nerve-wracking experience...

The new park also nice little gazebo with a picnic table, so we could even bring our lunch.  

Keith's Big Moves

Taken tonight.  This is Keith's moment to shine, on his own two feet!  I hope the video camera reflects his sheer joy at being able to toddle to Edward, Phil and myself.  He was beaming.

I think he's finally decided that this whole walking thing is pretty cool.  We had him assessed about a month ago by an excellent pediatric physiotherapist who agreed that while he was experiencing a delay in his gross motor development - namely, in standing and walking unaided - it was likely temporary.  In addition to an obvious lack of interest in walking (why walk when you can crawl at supersonic speed?!), Keith has very loose ligaments around his joints, which means that it takes more effort and energy for him to initiate and sustain movement.  She gave us a long list of exercises to help build his core strength and to keep him on his feet as much as possible during the day.  Some of these activities were already things he enjoyed (climbing on furniture and standing at the window looking for Opa, cahs, buses and buppies!) and some were less popular (baby sit-ups), but we could see that he was getting stronger.

The last missing ingredient was confidence.  We knew he could walk, but he had to convince himself that he could pull it off.  As you can see, that's an on-going process, but he really started wanting to walk over the past few days.  He was thrilled by the response he got from Margaret and Alison when he showed off his skills for them at the library earlier this week.  In addition to lots of praise from Edward and myself, he gets effusive "Brabos" from Colin and Evelyn for his efforts.

Come to think of it, maybe he's been holding out for the accolades this whole time...

Sprocket

How does our hyperactive, epileptic, hypothyroid (now hyperthyroid, thanks to his medication), terrified-of-everything-that-moves (literally) dog handle living in a house-hold with three inquisitive, loud and pokey-fingered 19 month olds?

Well, he spends some amount of time like this:

Those who aren't familiar with this Evil Little Spirit (said with love...mostly) must think I'm joking when I tell them that the dog is harder to manage than the children.

The Benefit of Having Multiples...

One of the many up-sides to having triplets.  They do entertain each other, most often when I'm out of the room.  Keith loves to sing, as evidenced by this video, and the babies love "Row Row Row"ing their boats!

Rainy Day