personality

Mary, Gabby, and Mateo are really starting to show different personalities... as well as similarities between the three of them.... They all love to make one another laugh and giggle. (see below) and they show genuine care and concern for the other.

Mary likes to tease her siblings...especially Gabby. When they sit next to one another in the car, Mary will usually take her leg and swing it around so that it is resting on Gabby's arm or leg. And no matter how much Gabby protests, Mary refuses to move it. In fact, she smiles when I tell her to take her leg off of sissy. And if I move it, right back it goes. She gets a kick out of annoying Gabby.

Gabby will try to get as much out of you as she can.... The other day, I watched her walk "tip-toe" across the kitchen floor...and she slipped on a book or something and landed on her toosh. She got right back up and continued on, before she noticed me chuckling at what happened. All of a sudden, she started to whine, like she had hurt herself... and she knew that she was too late in her pretending....so she just walked away. She is always trying to get more food after we are "all done" or get picked up one last time before bed. Her favorite word is "more."

Mateo is a true ladies man. He can be in the middle of a melt down, and as soon as he sees a girl or lady or woman come over to say hello, he is all charm and dimple smiles. Sheesh...

They are a true riot.... one minute I am at my wits end, and the other moment I can't stop laughing at how they interact! The other day we went out to lunch to cici's pizza. Gabby sat next to her sister and fed her the pasta. Yep, she literally put food into Mary's mouth... so that they could both get a laugh out of it. And while this is happening, Mateo is waving at the ladies that walk on by. Lou and I just look at each other and smile. We are truly blessed.

summer fun

I was curious to see how the trio would react if I set up a baby pool outside.... and they weren't quite sure what to do with it. "Um...we are in cold water?? With our clothes on?? And you want us to sit down and splash? Not sure about that one, Mom...." They were pretty mudane..... Maybe next time!

carousel

There is an old-fashioned ice cream store in Charlottesville that has a large merry-go-round (inside the store) that the kiddo's can ride. I was crazy to think that they would finish their ice cream before riding it... so, they rode it twice! (Once before and after!)

(can we look a little more lively, mom?)

somewhere over the rainbow...is a pot of honey?

Winnie the Pooh says that the best pot of honey is at the end of the rainbow.... We didn't find the pot, but we sure got a look at the rainbow!

Aunt Liz & Uncle Jim

I think that we mentioned during the "welcome home, Mateo" post that Aunt Liz and Uncle Jimmy (sister and brother to our Pa) visited us during Mateo's surgery. They were guardian angels sent from above. The week would have not gone as smoothly as it did without their help, encouragement, and support. The girls LOVED, LOVED, LOVED spending time with them and were sad to see them go. (So was Mommy!)

Aunt Liz took over 100 pic's...way to many for me to post... so I am going to only post those where Aunt E and Uncle J were part of the picture....

Thank you again, to Aunt Liz and Uncle Jimmy for visiting!

me & my sister

We are definitely starting to see "sisterly" signs of how the girls play and act together... They have to do exactly what the other is doing...or have the same toy as the other one. There is hitting, screaming, and lots of hugs and kisses...

New potties that Mommy bought to slowly get the trio accustomed to going on the potty. The girls know how to sit... it is just a matter of them "knowing" when it is time to go, and oh yeah... that they will have to take their bottoms off to do it!

Sisters showing some love on a recent trip out to lunch...

helping sissy with her shoe..

another trip to the ER

Mateo took another one for the team. (By "team" I mean, his sisters...) We were minding our own business.... enjoying a lunch of chinese noodles and dumplings...and BAAAM! out errupts wheels (i.e. hives), red splotches, and lips 4x the size of the norm.

Poor baby boy.

Thankfully, we got him to the ER in enough time for them to give him a shot of epi, benedryl, and a steroid... He is doing just fine.

Dare I ask what more this boy is going to have to go through?

bringing sexy back

Isn't that a song by J.Timberlake? The girls seem to be dressing more risque as the days go by! Whether it is showing "skin" or wearing outfits that are too tight or too short...


Mary couldn't keep the shoulder strap on her shirt up - and walked around with it hanging down all day :)

Happy Father's Day...

Happy Father's Day, Lou! (Mateo, Mary, & Gabby)

18 months!

As promised... 18mo "professional" pictures from Sears. Some of you already saw these...for those that didn't, enjoy!!!

mary, mateo, & gabby

gabby, mary, & mateo

mary

gabby

mateo

trio with Mommy

welcome home, Mateo!

The doctors surprised us today by taking out Mateo's chest tube and allowing him to come home! I wasn't quite sure how the girls would react because the few times I was able to leave Mateo's bedside (Thank you, Uncle Jeremy for staying with Mateo!) and visit with the girls, they didn't seem to inquire about Mateo's where-abouts. All my questions about "sibling multiples" were answered when the girls saw that their baby brother had returned home! Their love for their brother made me cry.....

Mateo is home!

Mary see's that her baby brother is home and rushes to give him a hug...

Gabby sees Mateo and rushed over to join him and her sister for some catching up.

Mary was obviously still excited that her brother was home and had to give him a 2nd hug!

hospital stay

I am sure that anyone who has had to watch a loved one suffer in pain would agree that it is the worst thing in the world to have to go through. These past few days were extremely tough.

As Lou alluded to in the June 11 post, Mateo's upper right lobe was not able to be extracted through the easier means of telescopes and small incisions.... They had to cut him open (i.e. he has an incision just under his breast bone that goes under his armpit and around onto his back) and remove it the traditional (but more painful) way.

I am still astounded as to how fast Mateo rebounded. He is truly a strong and resilant little boy and I am really, really proud of him. Hopefully, with this being done so early in his life, he will have little or no memory of what happened....

I also have to offer a "more than" hearfelt thanks to Aunt Liz and Uncle Jimmy for their help during this difficult time. They took care of the girls while Mateo was in the hospital to the point that the girls rather be with them, than me! It was such a relief to not have to worry about them while I stayed day and night with Mateo. Thank you will never be enough!

Mateo on day2 of surgery holding his favorite Lion.

Mateo on day2 of surgery holding Mr. Whale. Mr. Whale was with him during surgery and he slept with Mr. Whale every night in the hospital.

Mateo on day2 of surgery with Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear (upper right had side beside Mateo's head) traveled the miles from Cleveland to be with Mateo and give him the courage and strength to recover.

Mateo day3 of surgery. You can tell he is already feeling better!

Mateo day4 of surgery.. up and ready to go!

Mateo day 4.

Mateo day 4... thoroughly enjoying his cheeseburger

Update on Mateo

We just wanted to post this short note to let everyone know that Mateo is doing well. He had his surgery today, and although they couldn't do it thoracoscopically he is doing just fine. We hope to have him back home around Sunday.

18mo extravaganza

Alright...so it was a pretty small extravaganza. It included me and trio (Lou is out of town at a medical conference), strawberries (freshly picked yesterday by the trio and Uncle Jeremy) and some whipped cream. A child's delight. We needed to celebrate the milestone somehow.... I can't believe how fast time has flown. I barely remember them at 6mo of age... (isn't that sad?)


gabby, mateo, and mary

gabby & mateo

mary

who knew?

who knew that a newborn hoodie bath towel could be so much fun? The girls thoroughly enjoyed walking around with their new capes! (Gabby wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a shot!)

see...mateo is standing on his own!

the last time for naked-ness

I am guessing that 18mo is the last time that I can actually post naked pictures of the babies... they LOVE their bathtime....

gabby, mateo, mary

gabby, mateo, mary

silly mary

i get so emotional, baby

I am not sure if it is because I am a mother to multiples...or just that I am a mother...

but somtimes I feel as if I can't love them enough. Their smiles, their laughs, their eyes... the way that they "find" my lap to sit on me... their chubby little legs and the way that they try to run away from me in the form of a game... I just can't hold them enough or love them enough.

ahem... and then there are those times... when I am beyond pure exhaustion... and I just don't know if I can take one more piece of food on the floor...or one more scream because a toy was taken away by a sibling...or constantly tripping over tiny bodies that seem to put themselves in the way while you make dinner... or finding them playing in the toilet bowl water or sitting on top of the dining room table...

the ups and downs of motherhood...
I am guessing that I am not alone...
and I KNOW that there are more ups than downs :)

how far we've come..

This past week was a busy one....and things won't slow down anytime soon. Mateo (along with the girls) came down with an upper respiratory infection which required several visits to the doctor. He is on breathing treatments with a nebulizer until our follow-up appointment this coming week. The girls ended up with just fevers that have now broken.

Lou leaves for a medical conference on Tuesday and will be gone for a week as I prepare for our first set of guests, Aunt Liz & Uncle Jimmy. Alone with the trio for the week- wish me luck.

With all the upcoming distractions (Mateo's lung surgery being 6/11 - he is having a lobectomy to remove the part with cysts), I am not sure I will be able to post as often over the next few weeks...so I want to do a quick summary of the babies as we near their 18mo mark. (18mo pictures from Sears to follow in the next few weeks.)

1 year ago - babies at age 6mo. Mary, Gabby & Mateo

Mateo Michael. Will you ever walk? You keep teasing us with your 3 step advances...and your slow, but steady "standing on your own." Your phase of throwing food on the floor seems to be subsiding (fingers crossed) and you love to drink fruit smoothies. You can finally sign the word "more" and have caught up to your sisters in knowing where your nose and toes are. You HATE to take naps...and need Mommy to rock you to sleep or rub your back. You are the biggest flirt with your mouthful of choppers and deep dimples. You light up the room when you smile and continue to wave "hello" with your hand facing yourself. You have the awful habit of pulling your sisters' hair and laughing when you get into trouble. You aren't detered when you can't do something and follow the motto "try, try, again." You love to talk gibberish and play with your sisters. I am waiting for you to say your official first word.

Mary Mistica. Mare-bear. Mary Misty. How is it that we have so many nick-names for you? Your brown eyes stare so deeply into ours... You are quite the passionate child. We know when you are happy, and we definitely know when you are sad. You have the biggest crocodile tears that I have ever seen...and they linger, even when you have stopped crying. You are an excellent eater and sleeper. You have the bad habit of thinking that you can have any toy that you want, at that moment - even if it means grabbing it out of your siblings hands. You know your body parts (head, nose, toes, belly) and can say "sissy" and "ball." We are working on other words, although you really don't show an interest... you rather be playing or bull-dozing over your sister and brother. You love to drink your warm milk at night and cooperate fully to having your teeth brushed. You have a smile that melts everyones heart.

Gabrielle Loreta. You are still our itty bitty. How is it that you can still wear 12mo clothes, but eat at the rate of your brother and sister? You are one smart cookie. Not only do you know your body parts (head, eyes, nose, belly toes) but you are eager to learn more, like shoulders and knees. You listen when Mommy talks and you try to help out as much as possible. You can saw words like "yeah" and "no", "ball" and "baby" , "more" - and you mean them. You may be the smallest, but you are the fiestiest. No one can hold you back from what you want to do....and you play hardball with both your brother and sister. You need to be rocked to sleep at night, and still sleep in your swing during naps (good thing you haven't exceeded the weight restriction.) You have a special blanket (actually, several favorite blankies) and like to sleep with any stuffed animal. You are starting to walk on your tip-toes. You find many things to be funny and your laugh is contagious to your brothers and sisters.


All of you know how to give kisses (even if it is "blowing" them) and hugs... and you enjoy the attention we get from friends, neighbors, and even the strangers when we go for walks. You all like to have mommy sing songs (poor people listening) and love to dance around to music. But most of all, you are all happy babies...and mommy is very lucky to have you.