It's a Big, Big House, With Lots and Lots of Room....

*It has been a while since the last post and a lot has happened so I apologize for the amount of actual writing.  If you just want to see the pictures then feel free to skip down...I won't be offended.*

It's official...Julie and I are homeowners once again.  Everything went smoothly with the closing on June 30th and on July 12th we spent the first night in our new house.  We began moving a lot of boxes and other stuff over before the 12th but that was the big move day.  We couldn't have done it without the extraordinary help of a few people so thank you very much Trevor, Chris, Mary-Ellen, Don, Heather and Rebecca!  We also wanted to thank Grandmas Waskey and J as they watched the kids so that we could do the move and start unpacking.

The last week at the old rental house was bittersweet as it was hard to leave the place where we started out family and created a lot of great memories.  On the other hand the situation with our landlord escalated into the type of situation that I foresaw several years ago and has yet to be resolved.  Ultimately we are thankful that God led us to that rental house as we met people there that will be a part of our lives for many years to come.  We also said goodbye to two of the young women who have been helping us with the triplets for many months as they both finished their schooling at William and Mary and headed off to bigger and better things.  We are extremely grateful for the time we had with Kerry and Jen - they will be missed!  Thankfully the Lord provided yet another awesome helper named Alana who has been with us since the beginning of summer and will be around through at least the next school year.

While we were concerned about how the kids would adapt to the new house, any worries quickly faded as they got very upset when we had to take them back to the old house the day after we moved in so that Julie and I could do some unpacking.  They love running around in the new house as there is so much more room for them to play (and consequently a lot more to clean).  They also have a dedicated play room now which has been fantastic.  The down side to the new house is that sometimes we aren't quite sure where they are until we hear laughing, screaming or "uh oh".

One of the things that I really wanted when we moved was for the kids to be back in one room together.  We decided that we would try it for one week and then reevaluate.  We lasted 3 nights.  On the third night I had to move Andrew's bed into another room because they were still up and going strong at 11:30 pm which was not going to work.  Now that we have them split up again they have actually done a lot better sleeping here than they did at the old house.  We even get to sleep in until 7:00am now on weekends!

The boys continue to amaze us with the things that they know.  They are long past learning their numbers, letters and shapes and are now starting to learn basic math and all of their letter sounds.  They are also starting to get a lot more physical with each other and we regularly have to break up a wrestling match before one of them gets hurt.  The boys are also getting to the point where they are very concerned about whose turn it is to do something (like pick out a video to watch, close the gate to the stairs, etc...).  While it is great that they are becoming more assertive and active in making choices about their likes and wants, it is also frustrating to deal with the fights and whining that accompany their newfound independence.  We also treasure the occasional fleeting moments when the boys are quietly sitting together playing nicely with the same toy.

Andrew has recently developed a new fascination with the seams in pants and will only wear pants and shorts that have them.  Andrew has also figured out how to push Ryan's "buttons" by stealing whatever Ryan is playing with and then running away while laughing hysterically.  Ryan does not find it to be quite as funny.

Nadia has made a lot of progress with her communication skills.  She utilizes a lot of signs now (mostly dealing with food) and she has started saying words (mostly numbers).  We are not sure why our kids' fascination with numbers has extended to Nadia but I guess we shouldn't complain.  Nadia has also become the best swimmer out of the three kids.  While all of them love to be in the water, Nadia has quickly adapted to motoring around and she now needs the least amount of help in the pool.

The biggest change that is getting ready to happen is that Nadia will be starting preschool in September and will be riding an actual bus to school!  Neither of us have completely come to grips with this fact yet but we are getting there.  The boys didn't qualify (they must have at least a 30% learning delay) so they will get to enjoy a little more time with Julie in the mornings with one less sibling to divide mommy's attention.

That pretty much sums up what has happened over the past couple of months so now it's on with the pictures and videos!

Ahhhh...it is so peaceful when they are all asleep...too bad it doesn't last very long

Why ride when you can do all the work instead?

Nadia tries to write "I Want Food!"

So does the baby doll qualify as a great grandchild?

This is as close to cuddling as Andrew gets with anyone not named Julie

Nadia experiments with how much cupcake she can fit into her mouth at once...

And to think that one of the prenatal doctor's encouraged us to "selectively reduce" this beautiful baby girl

"So you're saying I can have this WHOLE cupcake?"

 

"Do you like see food?"

The triplets showed Jen how much they were going to miss her by making yummy cupcakes on her last day

Nadia primarily subsides on a cupcake diet

And you thought one set of triplets was crazy...

It wouldn't be a blog post without a "serious" Andrew closeup

From this picture you might get the mistaken impression that they sit peacefully like this on a regular basis...

Andrew asks Uncle Mike to keep him safe from the circles on the bottom of the pool

Andrew shows off his fearless jumping skills

Uncle Mike and the boys discuss the mysteries of the universe

"Goodbye Ms. Kerry...we'll miss you!!"

"If I want to make my train way to long to pull so that I get mad and yell, that is my business!"

Ryan, Nadia and Andrew show their enthusiasm for Mommy's attempt at a cute triplet picture

The obligatory "family on the front steps" shot of the new house

For those unfamiliar with the Dave Ramsey program, the following video relates to Dave's 7 Baby Steps that are used to prioritize your financial life.  They have been condensed slightly so that the kids could say them.  I honestly started this as a joke and was amazed at how quickly the boys memorized them.

As you can see in this video, Ryan LOVES to wrestle, jump and generally throw himself around.