3 Toddlers + 1 Summer = Exhaustion

Well we made it through another summer.  It seems like not a lot has happened since the last post but when I think about it I realize how much we actually did over the past few months.  Summer started as an adjustment, especially for Julie because this was the first year that she experienced the end of a school year and the shift back to taking care of three kids all day, every day.  While we signed the kids up for a few activities and we still had our helper a couple days a week, it was definitely a change from the prior months.

While we don't take a bunch of vacations like we did before we had kids, we did get away from home about once a month over the summer with visits to my mom's house in MD.  My family was even so generous as to take care of the triplets so that Julie and I could enjoy a couple days away for our anniversary in Ocean City, MD during one of the visits.  We ended up staying at the same condo where we go with Julie's family every summer which was nice but also very strange since it was the first time we've been there without anyone else.  We spent some time on the beach, relaxed, and ate out at a bunch of restaurants that we have wanted to try but have been unable to for obvious reasons.  We also braced ourselves for the craziness that would be our annual OC trip with Julie's sister and family that we just experienced (and will be recapped in a future post).

"You mean they put ice cream into sandwiches?!  What is all that PB&J crap you've been giving us?"

"So I'm a messy eater....whatcha gonna do about it?"

The kids have really enjoyed the trips to Grandma's and have spent many hours in the pool this year.  The boys have generally overcome their fear of the vents in the pool and by the last trip the boys were fearlessly jumping from the side of the pool.  Meanwhile Nadia has turned into a certified fish and basically put the boys to shame with her swimming abilities.

"If you didn't want us climbing on rocks Grandma then why did you buy a house with an awesome rock waterfall at the end of the pool that screams PLEASE CLIMB ON ME! ?"

Ryan does his best Criss Angel impression

"Gotta keep my feet up so they don't touch the vents!"

We're fairly certain that Nadia would stay in the pool the entire day if we let her

The only thing Nadia likes more than the pool is the pool with Daddy in it!

Hmmm...3 toddlers in the pool and their father seems to be the least mature of the bunch....

"I'm telling you Grandpa, you should have seen me, I was amazing!"

During another trip to MD we were able to take a day and visit Julie's aunt, uncle, grandmother, and cousins.  It was only the second time that the kids had gotten to meet their great-grandmother and we were very thankful for the opportunity.

Although we attempted to get pictures of all 3 kids with great-grandma Katie, only Nadia cooperated (as usual)

Some of the other activities that the kids did this summer included gymnastics (all 3), vacation Bible school (Ryan), mom's morning out (Nadia & Andrew), summer reading program at the library (all 3), and Tiny Tots summer camp (Nadia).  Some of the activities were only a week and others were all summer long.  The reading program was pretty fun because the kids had to go each week to the library and tell one of the volunteers about a book they had read that week.  Andrew was always very excited to tell the volunteer the entire story which was hilarious.  The Tiny Tots camp that Nadia went to was through the county and they had an aide assigned to her throughout the whole week.  The program was not specifically geared towards kids with special needs but the county will provide an aide to any child that needs help so it was great to take advantage of such an awesome resource.

"I'm pretty sure Mommy just signed me up for gymnastics so that she could put me in a leotard..."

"Pollock you say?  Never heard of him."

Nadia has a broad definition of "canvas"

Not sure who's idea it was to have them finger-paint in white shirts....

"Come on little butterfly, first hit is free!  Everybody's doing it!"

So he's terrified of pool vents but completely fine with a large butterfly licking sugar from a Q-tip in his hand...I just don't understand kids sometimes

Anyone who read the last post will remember that we attempted potty training with Andrew earlier in the year and quickly aborted after a few days when he showed absolutely no progress.  Well we mustered the courage to try round 2 this summer with the outlook that we weren't going to try to force it in a couple days.  Andrew started out pretty slow but over time he became very good at letting us know when he had to pee and then using the toilet.  Although we didn't really focus on Ryan he started to pick it up as well after watching Andrew (and seeing all the treats that Andrew was getting).  Eventually Ryan surpassed Andrew as he was also letting us know when he had to go #2 while Andrew has continued to struggle with that step.  We had a couple of days where Andrew was doing really well with it and then he regressed so that is our last major hurdle before we can declare the boys completely potty trained.  The goal is to get Nadia done by the end of the year so keep your fingers crossed!

"Ummmm....daddy did it?"

Nadia has really made a lot of progress this summer with her talking and is now using 2-3 word phrases on a regular basis.  She current favorite phrase is "I want....", usually involving food of some sort.  She has also memorized a bunch of the videos that she watches with the boys and starts repeating sections of the videos at random times which starts a fun game of "what video is that from?"  Another exciting thing that just happened was Nadia was chosen to participate in a fashion show at the local fundraiser/event day for Downs Syndrome that is taking place in October.  She and I will be dressed by Gap and walk a little runway.  We are just hoping that we get "cooperative Nadia" that day and not "stubborn Nadia".

"Do I really have to wear a dress mommy?"

Nadia channels her inner Dora the Explorer

Finally, as we come to the end of the summer, we are preparing for a huge change in our lives that is coming after we get back from our vacation....all 3 kids are going to school this year!  Nadia is continuing in the same specialized class that she was in last year with the same teacher but she will be put into a regular classroom for 1 hour a day.  The boys will be joining Nadia this year in regular preschool classes which are part of the same Bright Beginnings program that Nadia is in.  This means that all 3 kids will be riding the bus together and that they will be in school for the first half of the day every day of the week.  As part of the process to enroll them in the program, both of the boys underwent some testing to determine if they qualified for any additional services through the school.  Somewhat surprisingly they came to the conclusion that Andrew was not showing any signs of issues that would qualify him for services.  Ryan on the other hand scored on the Autism spectrum which means that he will get some additional services during the year like speech therapy and early childhood social therapy.  While we were a little concerned about Ryan getting an autism label so early in his school progression we decided that it was worthwhile for him to get the extra services.  The label will also not follow him through school unless he takes it into Kindergarten which won't be for a couple years so hopefully by then it won't be an issue any more.  

As a final note it occurred to me this past week that we have now been in Virginia longer then we were in Boston which seems really crazy to me for some reason.  Maybe it was because of all the stuff we did during the 6 1/2 years in Boston but in my mind it feels like we were there for a lot longer then we've been here.  I guess time has truly wiped away some of my bad feelings towards Boston and helped me appreciate all the good things that we experienced there.  Ah...nostalgia!

Well I apologize for the long post but that is what happens when I only post every few months.  I hope you enjoy the pictures and I apologize that they aren't any videos as I am having problems with the program that I use to convert them to a usable format.  Also, I promise to get another post up before the holidays!

There's always gotta be one...to be fair, he is looking at the camera

"Seriously boys, stop screwing around!  I want the fruit snacks Mommy promised us!"

I guess that will have to do since the 22 other pictures taken during that 5 minute photo shoot weren't any better

The kids less than enthusiastically say goodbye to our spring helper Meghan

They did slightly better when saying goodbye to our summer helper Jennie

Ryan is already learning how to be a man

Ok...this might be taking the numbers thing a little too far...

We're not sure what possessed them to suddenly want to dress up in costumes that they grew out of last year but if it keeps them busy for a little bit then its best not to overthink it

Nadia + 1 Box of Pasta + No Supervision =