Our loss is Heaven's gain

Today we lost a very special lady, Grandma Siemsglusz. She was an amazing woman who we all loved and will miss dearly! I can only imagine the things she experienced in her 96 years of life. She loved her family but she also cared for others and volunteered at the hospital and hospice boutique. Even into her 90's she was still driving and doing her volunteer work. She was a wonderful artist and enjoyed painting. She also had a passion for swimming and traveling the world. Her mind was sharp and she could remember every little detail (and I have trouble remembering something I did last week). She could do crossword puzzles in record time and she would read several books in one day. She also amazed me by her emotional & physical strength, if she was sad, mad, angry, hurt or in pain your rarely knew it. Grandma Siemsglusz taught us a lot by her actions and I only hope to teach my children and hopefully one day grandchildren the strength, love, confidence, respect, and talents she showed all of us. 

Luckily we have shared many wonderful memories with Grandma Siemsglusz and we will treasure these moments for many years to come. About a month ago we took all three babies to visit Grandma and have lunch with her in the nursing home. Grandma was proud of our babies and she wanted to show off the triplets to all of her friends. The babies didn't disappoint and put on a show for everyone. It was a great day and we have the pictures to prove it.   

Four Generations of Siemsglusz's

Alan and Bryce, Grandma and Collin, Steven and Addison

Grandma Siemsglusz was recently hospitalized and we had several good visits with her before she passed but I hope to always remember the smile on Grandma's face when she watched the babies playing behind the curtains and running around her room. Bryce our charmer really made Grandma's day when he reached out for her and gave her a kiss, Collin patted her hand and Addison gave her kisses.

Grandma holding Addison at 1 month old

Grandma holding a sleepy Bryce at 3 months old

Grandma holding Collin at 5 months old

Grandma holding Addison at 5 months old

Rest In Peace Grandma Siemsglusz!

Jake turns 1

It's hard to believe that just about one year ago we were having our first playdate with Jake.

Bryce, Collin, Addison and Jake (8-25-09)

And now our friend Jake is ONE and we had to help him celebrate!

Jake and his cute cake (it was almost as tall as he is and yes it was all cake)!

Addison and Daddy in their cool shades! Addison is all girl and loves accessories :)

Addison and Mommy

Bryce our superstar!

Bryce loving on Jake's Grandma. Bryce is definitely our social child and rarely meets a stranger!

Collin trying to figure out the pinwheel

Happy Birthday Jake! We are so happy we were able to help you celebrate your birthday.

I turn my back for two seconds and.....

With three babies you can only imagine how easy it is to turn your back on one for a second while you are paying attention to another one and this is what I get.

Sweet and innocent Collin

Caught him (so proud of himself)!

Standing on top of his toys instead of riding them.

Addison takes a small fall and scraps her head.

And Bryce is trying to steal Addison's bottle. Okay so I didn't get a picture of this because I was to busy trying to stop the screaming but here is a cute picture of Bryce.

And yes this all happened today! We are hoping tomorrow is a better day! If I didn't laugh (or cry- depending on my mood for the day) I would go crazy!

Our Precious Godchild

This last weekend Steven and I were honored to be baptismal sponsors for Nate Rau. Our families have always been close but it is so special that we are able to share our children's special moments together. Sunday was Nate's special day and he did great! Aunt Alison and Uncle Kevin came over to watch the triplets so Steven and I were able to go to church and the reception by ourselves. It was nice to sit back and actually pay attention in church but I have to admit I missed them a little at the reception when all the other kids were running around. Congratulations Nate, we are so happy to be apart of your special day! 

Nate and his sponsors

(Steven and I, Melonie, Nate, Dane, Jamie and Mark)

Bryce is walking!!!

On Friday Bryce decided he was tired of watching Addison and Collin walk everywhere so he took his first steps! It still takes a lot for him to balance his big head and weight so he still crawls more than Addison and Collin but thats okay, he will soon figure it out and be walking everywhere with his brother and sister. Sorry about the lack of clothing!

13 Months Old

Bryce, Addison and Collin

I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep up my monthly picture routine after 1 year but I kind of like looking back at the pictures and seeing how they change each month. I decided if I could get a picture of all three I would. I took these pictures last night when we celebrated Brandon (my nephew's) birthday.

At 13 Months Old they play so well together and keep each other occupied but they also have moments that they are fighting over a toy. They will wave bye bye when you tell them "bye bye". Their favorite game is hide 'n seek and will crack up laughing when they hide behind the curtains or chair. They have also learned to crawl on and off their riding toys but most of the time sit on them backwards. This is what they are individually doing now:

Addison

has learned to pull out her earrings

likes to put things to her ear like she is talking on the phone

will throw a fit if someone tries to take her from her mommy

does not like to ride in her car seat

loves fruit

weighs about 20 lbs.

Update on Addison: her CMV test came back negative so she does not have the virus and we are back to square one in figuring out a diagnosis.

Bryce

is getting three new top teeth

has started to take a few steps

is crawling out the door just as soon as it is opened

is so friendly and will crawl up to a stranger if they will hold him

weighs about 25 lbs.

Collin

is talking more and has such a quiet, soft voice

will clap when you say "yea"

can still play and entertain himself for a long time

likes to throw food on the floor (and he will make sure you are watching when he does it)

weighs about 19 lbs.

We also got to meet Kathy, John, and Les (my Aunt, Cousin and Uncle) for the first time. They live in Virgina so it was great to see them and introduce them to our threesome!

Happy 4th Birthday Brandon!!!!

Family, Friends and Fireworks!!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! We had a busy one which included a day trip on Saturday to Llano to visit with family. Its only a three hours drive but with three babies it can be very long! We did everything we could to entertain them (DVDs, food, bottles, toys, etc) but it only last for so long! On the way home they were pretty worn out and sleep most of the way home. I didn't get many pictures but here are a few.

On Sunday we celebrated the 4th with some friends and then headed to the Country Club for the babies first fireworks show. We were worried about how they would react to the "boom" of the fireworks but they did much better than we expected. Addison was not a fan, she laid her head down on my shoulder and refused to watch! Bryce and Collin fused a little at first but then sat in Daddy's lap in awe of the show!

This is the only way I could get a picture of all three together in their festive outfits that Aunt Linda and Aunt Dee gave them. When I took the bottles away they crawled off within seconds so I settled on the picture with bottles!

Dane and Collin

Amanda, Collin and Morgan

Bryce just chillin'

Collin riding a tricycle for the first time with the help of Stacy!

 

Baby Nate being a trooper letting Addison play with him!

Waiting for the fireworks to begin

Bryce was not happy!

The fam watching the show! Bryce and Collin were mellowed out by this time but Addison was still in refusal mode!

Addison clinging on tight to Mommy!

Addison Update

Tuesday we took Addison back to Texas Children's for her monthly visit. She wasn't scheduled to go back until July but since her last platelet count came back really low (21) the doctor wanted to see her sooner. We still don't have a diagnosis but our long list of monthly test are starting to pay off. The results from last month showed she had elevated IGG levels which is a sign of CMV (a common virus that infects most people at some time during their lives but rarely causes obvious illness.) This time Dr. Lakshmi did blood work to check for that virus so we can make sure that is it. We should find out if it is positive in a week or so and then we will go from there. It did get our hopes up that we may get a diagnosis but we really got our hopes up that her platelet counts were up to 111. 111 is still not in the normal range but is much higher than what Addison has had. The doctor told us we could be excited but we still needed to be cautious that it could come back down again. We are starting to be able to tell when her platelets drop or go up by the number of bruises she has and we both felt confident that her levels went up before the doctor even told us.

We are really hoping this is the end to a 4 month long question. Poor Addison has already learned what is going to happen when she gets to TCH and as soon as the nurses come to take her vitals, weight, etc. she is screaming bloody murder. She caused quite a scene and the nurse wasn't able to get her blood pressure. Even when the doctor examined her you would have thought we were having a wrestling match with her. She just really hates being held down! After we left she was extremely worn out and fell asleep almost immediately when we put her in the carseat. On the way home we treated her to Willie's, okay so it was really a treat for mom and dad but Addison had a great time checking out everything and she even tried the fried pickles and french fries.     

We had to keep her entertained for over an hour waiting in the waiting room so here she is digging through mommy's purse and looking out the window.

When we finally got into a room the wait didn't get any better so we played ball. I've learned to pack toys that she likes and that keep her busy.

When we left we let her ride forward facing in Bryce's carseat and it must have been comfy because she was out.