Video: Two years ago.

I feel as though I do not have a shortage of topics to blog about, but nevertheless, the lapses between my posts will likely continue for awhile. My first MBA class is all about the team, which equates to more time requirements than your typical grad level class. Oh - that's right, there are my daughters too - they require a little of my time. ;)

Videos continue to be my post of choice - Sarah takes enough pictures for the two of us!
This is a brief video of the girls before they were able to crawl. I just want to mention that everyone used to comment that our girls looked like dolls when they were babies and I never really saw them that way. But, looking back, I know what they meant!

Our "dolls", from left to right: Anna, Emily and Alicenne. Enjoy.

Our weekend, abridged version and video clips from the zoo.

This weekend went by in a blink of an eye, but for us, it contained a whole bunch of everything.

Sarah and I had two nights of not good sleep. Again. Oh well. Allie has not been a happy camper at all with molars coming in. Em has been Em at night - waking up crying and/or whining at odd hours.

I may be getting a cold - runny nose and sneezing a lot. Both Sarah and I have sore backs - the product of being the parents of two year old triplets. Not good.

The fun part of the weekend was FREE ice cream at a local ice cream chain on Saturday and it wasn't chaos. We were actually able to get three high chairs, sit and enjoy an ice cream! The bonus was the girls were VERY well behaved.

Fun, Part II was the beach today. Sarah took a boat-load of photos which I am sure you will see on her blog this week. The weather was near perfect today and the girls had a blast! It was our third beach trip and so far, each trip seems to go better than the previous. Sarah and I are absolutely exhausted. I don't see how the girls won't sleep well tonight.

The video clip is from our day at the zoo a few weeks ago. Nothing too exciting about the video, just a chance to see my cuties in action!

Soft as a marshmallow.

I came to the realization sometime ago - probably in my early twenties, that I was a fairly sensitive person, especially for a guy. After last weekend, I may have to replace "sensitive" with "marshmallow".

Yes, the weekend did contain a family wedding, but must I become teary-eyed at every opportunity for emotion?

Sarah and I traveled out of state to attend my niece's wedding on Sunday. Circumstances are not such that we have the luxury of doing an overnight trip as a couple yet, with or without the girls. So, we took the 2+ hour drive to a nice setting on a beautiful lake. It was nice. It was my niece. But it wasn't my daughter getting married. I love my niece like I love all my family, but I haven't spent a lot of time with her. I don't know her husband very well. I'm in my early forties. I've been to tons of weddings. No need for me to get emotional, right?

"It's time for the bride to dance with her dad..." says the DJ. So...my brother Ed, about 4 years my senior, escorts my niece onto the dance floor for the traditional father-daughter dance. I think it was a Rascal Flats song - I cannot recall. I get up from the table as I feel I don't want to miss seeing these few minutes of time. I am a marshmallow. I watch my older brother dance with his only daughter and I began to get teary-eyed.

Of my other 20+ nephews and nieces, I had seen four of them get married before my niece, but this is the first time one of my brothers gave away his daughter. That must have been it. My brothers and I are getting older. I will be taking the place of my brother Ed before I know it, right? That's why I was so emotional. I am not a marshmallow, just a sensitive guy.

Video: Quack Quack On The Piano

Several months ago I was surfing Amazon for a CD of nursery rhyme songs for the girls and came upon Classic Nursery Rhymes sung by Susie Tallman & Friends. It got great reviews by those who had purchased and rated the CD. (I am a HUGE Amazon fan, be the way. I started using it regularly several months ago and it is now the first place I look if I am doing any non-clothing related shopping.)

So I purchased the CD. The first song on the dISC is Six Little Ducks - a song I either had never heard before, or do not remember from my childhood. The latter is most likely true. Upon hearing the song, Sarah's mom informed me that Sarah had actually sung it in a pre-school recital.

While watching this video, you may be able to decipher QUACK QUACK coming out of the girls mouths. Em is in pigtails, Allie in the Tax Deduction onsie and Anna is in a diaper only. Anna's crazy hair helps make the video even funnier! I should also mention that since we purchased the disc, almost every night at bedtime, Allie has been saying "...I WANT QUACK QUACK MUSIC..!"

So...without further delay, I introduce my girls "performing" Six Little Ducks on Sarah's piano.

Picture from a year ago.

Sarah's post yesterday got me thinking bout how much the girls change from day to day, week to week, and year to year. Here's a pic from September 2008:



That's all for tonight. This week has been particularly draining for Sarah & me so I have not the energy nor brain cells for anything more.

Good night.

Sweet as Cinnamon French Toast.

It became official this week that I am a real dad. The day went like this:

The girls were up a little early, which meant that they were sitting in their chairs having Aunt Jemimah Cinnamon French Toast Sticks for breakfast when it was time for Sarah & I to leave for work. If they are awake, Sarah and I will say our good-byes with a kiss and a "...going to work for the man..." or "...gotta catch the train...".

Emily was first in the line-up so I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead - she kicked her legs in excitement and smiled that "Emily" smile. Then it was bye-bye to Allie, who decided to offer a hug to daddy. Thank you Allie. As I moved on to Anna, Allie said something to me which I couldn't quite understand. No time to ask Allie what she meant - back to Anna. Another beaming smile from a happy Anna. Bye -bye girls.

Sarah & I jump in to the car to begin our commute... To the train station. park the car. get on the train. get off the train. walk to the office and...on with my work day.

At some point, hours after leaving the house, I'm sitting at my desk and notice something kind of crumbly on my shoulder which I brush off, thinking it kind of odd, but no biggie.

This day is a great day for a run and my employer provides a workout room on my floor which includes two separate private showers - I often take advantage of this perc by either using the treadmill or running outside during my lunch "hour". I decide to go for a run today.

As I am putting my work clothes into the locker, I notice something on my shirt. I investigate and discover the mysterious substance on my shirt to be the cinnamon sugar from the french toast the girls had for breakfast! I guess what Allie was trying to tell me in the morning was that she had put cinnamon sugar on me when she gave me a hug!

I could have cared less that I walked around with food on my shirt all morning. The smile and joy this little episode brought to my day was priceless! Sweet as cinnamon!

Short and Sweet.

I have a few ideas for posts tonight, which is unusual for me. BUT, I have some reading to do for my first graduate level class tomorrow night so I do not have time to do a full posting.

I am returning to my undergraduate alma mater in hopes of attaining an MBA. I'll just say that it should be interesting. In the orientation last week, the assistant dean was reading off stats about the class of 166 students. One of which was "...years of experience range is zero to 21 years...". I have 20+ years of work experience, so I guess I am going to be the old-timer of the class!

Like I said, it will be interesting.

The first days.

Sarah and I personally know about six families who have, or will be welcoming a baby soon. Among those, Sarah's youngest brother and his wife (baby girl), and one of my younger brothers and his wife (baby boy) both had their first child. As one would imagine, these births get us thinking back to both of Sarah's deliveries.


We are fortunate to have some video clips of the Allie, Anna and Emily's first few days with us. In this video, the girls are about a week old and are visiting Anna at the hospital who had yet to be discharged (after her second surgery). Left to Right - Allie, Anna, and Emily.

It's a Boy!

My brother Don's wife delivered a baby boy this morning. Sarah and I were happy to hear that their baby and our sister-in-law are doing well.


This evens the playing field for my mom. In addition to her 13 children, she has now had 26 grandchildren - 13 girls and 13 boys!

Are they always this good?

Our girls are generally very well behaved when they are out in public. For example, I took the girls with me grocery shopping on Monday and they were having a great time. Em and Allie were seated next to each other in the "car" part of the shopping cart while Anna sat in the regular cart seat. Allie and Em spent most of the time hugging each other and singing Barney's I Love You (that may not be the title, but that's what I call the song). It was priceless. So, an employee at the grocery store starts with the questions. Among the questions was "Are they always this good?" The obvious answer to that question is NO, of course. They are not always this good, but they are good girls.

I caught a episode of sisterly love on video a few weeks ago. The girls have a ton of play kitchen stuff, including a favored slotted spoon. Emily had the slotted spoon and Allie wanted it. Enough said.

You'll hear Anna's voice as she watched the scene through the video camera's viewfinder - she loves to watch whenver I am recording!

A long time.

I've found that a long time has changed for me over the years. What used to be a long time is now a flash of time.

I remember talking to a friend years ago. Tom is his name. Tom had reached a milestone of sorts - I believe it was twenty years. I asked him what twenty years felt like. You have to know Tom is a guy a few years my senior - old enough to be my dad, actually. Tom has also been a man full of wisdom and strong character. Tom looked at me and said "...it feels like I was shot out of a cannon.."

I knew what Tom meant that day and I still remember today what he meant. I reached a milestone of my own today and I have to say twenty years doesn't feel like a long time. I do, in some ways, feel like Tom felt back then - it feels like I was "shot out a cannon". Twenty years is not such a long time.

Abigail would have been three years, two months and twenty seven days old today. In many ways Abigail's birth was a long time ago...in many ways it was like yesterday.

It's been twenty five years since I graduated high school - now that's a LONG time ago.

Today came and went just like most days seem to do lately. That's why I try to live my life ONE DAY AT A TIME.