Friends are never far away.

Wow, I can't believe it's October and the girls are now over 5 months old!  Lots and lots of things have been going on in the Kennelly house hold over the past little while. We have started experimenting with some Rice Cereal, one of us is sleeping through the night, we had a great Grandpa come visit (among others) and oh yeah we moved...to another city.

Well, we actually moved at the end of August but I haven't 'officially' announced it on the blog so thought maybe I should.   We realize to some that it may seem as though the move came from out of the blue. The plan to move however had actually been in the works for quite awhile, long before we found out we were pregnant with triplets. About a year and a half ago or so Todd and I decided that one day we wanted to move out of Vancouver and move to a smaller community. We were looking for somewhere that was a little more laid back and maybe had a better climate (well, more sunshine and less rain ideally) Like many we were looking for a 'lifestyle change'. So we began to explore the Okanagan of British Columbia specifically the City of Kelowna which is located about 4 hours drive from downtown Vancouver. Kelowna is situated on Okanagan lake and enjoys just under 2000 of hours of sunshine per year the climate allows for fruit growing and is similar to that of Napa and the wine growing regions of France and the Rhine. The region is also known for powder skiing and snowboarding so it's a bit of a Summer/Winter resort area. The area is full of activities for children and adults a like and it really is a great area if you want to be active (which is something Todd and I both enjoy) We ended up purchasing a house from a couple that was building themselves a new house so we were able to actually rent the house back to them for a year. We weren't exactly sure of our time line but we knew that we at least had a year to get things organized back in Vancouver. So once we knew that the girls were all going to be ok to leave the Lower Mainland and specifically Children's Hospital we started making plans for our move. It was an extremely busy time for us all but we took the plunge, followed our hearts and we are slowly settling in. Originally Todd took 3 months paternity leave from him position but ended up very quickly finding a perfect opportunity here in Kelowna with another Credit Union. Unfortunately he did not get to enjoy as much time as he would have liked at home with the girls and I but when the career opportunity presented itself we both felt that it was one he couldn't pass up. Now here we are in Kelowna  in our new life enjoying a beautiful fall.

The girls turned 5 months old as of October 22. In some ways it is so astonishing to us to see how much they have changed and how far they have come since they were first born and in other ways it feels like they have always been with us. Our three little tiny babies our growing and changing every day. Our latest big news is that we have started to experiment with some first tries at solids. The extremely yummy Rice Cereal! So far both Victoria and Violet have met with some intermittent success...aka the majority of the tablespoon of cereal actually makes it into their little mouths without being pushed out by their tongues but no one is really convinced that solids are the way to go yet. So we will continue to try every few days and see what becomes of it all.

The girls are definitely becoming more and more aware of their surroundings and when mommy or daddy is in the room. Victoria had her first acknowledgment of our little French Bull Dog 'Dotty' today. It was very sweet. Our dog gets very excited when she sees the girls and Dotty was shaking her head and jumping around and this caught Victoria's eye. As she followed Dotty's movements around the room you could just see her little brain trying to process and understand what she was actually seeing. It really is amazing to see their minds expanding this way.

Violet is sleeping through the night! Yes, it's been a few weeks. It's been fantastic. She doesn't love to nap during the day (although it's really just that last afternoon nap) but the night....not a problem (knock on wood).
Victoria and Evangeline have both found their legs and can stand on our laps with support. The smiles from all three are lovely and they are really starting to talk up a storm.  We are not exactly sure what they are saying but I like to interpret some fantastic stories from all. The 'cooing' is just so very, very sweet.

Here are some approximate weights for you:
Violet 14.3, Victoria 12.9 Evangeline 11 (give or take) oh and Victoria is actually taller then Violet.
Our favourite book is currently 'Bears on Chairs' thanks Auntie Jan!

I have been trying desperately to get the officially announcement/thank you's out and I have to tell you that taking a have decent mildly successful picture of three small squirming little babies all at once is absolutely no easy task. Someone is always, frowning and crying or looking away or falling over or spitting up or any other thing that you can possibly imagine. So that is the thing I feel most pressure about right now.... but I am determined to get something 'official' out to everyone. It's not so bad sending them out at 6 months is it? :)

a days to have Great Grandparents but our girls are very lucky as they have 3 very proud Great Grandfathers. It was a nice visit and we were sad to see them go but I did manage to get some tips on how to care and maintain my rose gardens which my Grandfather was a bit of an expert on at one time (although he seems to modestly deny that now.

Auntie Tracy also came for a visit as she was on a business trip in the area and made us some fantastic meals and provided some great conversation, Christine and Brook came over when they were in town visiting Brooks' mom for her birthday and we enjoyed a lovely bottle of bubbles, Auntie Marla drove up from Seattle to see us all and also cook amazing meals and just simply provide me with some sanity, we also saw Darryl and Laura Thanksgiving weekend....oh and of course our parents have come and gone a few times.  So it's been really great having all the visitors and help and we know that there is more to come. That is the thing about real, true friends and I know this for a fact as I haven't lived in the same city as some of my closest friends in years...no matter where you go your friends are never far away.....you know that if they can visit they will visit and if they can't they'll call and send you lovely emails and surprises and it's so wonderful to have good friends. Distance is irrelevant. This goes for family too of course.

I think I should probably stop here or soon. I could really go on typing for a very long time but then I would never get this posted and I've already been trying to get it done for awhile.

Life is good. It's busy but we are starting to get a real routine going and the past few weeks I have felt less stressed then I have in quite awhile. I have to fantastic college girls helping us out a few days a week and it really is a treat to be able to have some time for me. Even if it is just getting out of the house for a little run or heading down to the store to get something for dinner. Just guilt free 'me' time. We joined the Kelowna Multiples group and have our first 'get together' tomorrow; A Halloween party. Yes, the girls will be in costume. I will definitely post pictures of everyone in their special outfits made by Grammy.

Each day Todd and I are just really trying to enjoy every moment with these little souls. Lots of things can get in the way of enjoying life and embracing joy. It's very, very hard at times, don't get me wrong...there are days where I am just exhausted mentally and physically but I still always feel very blessed. Especially when you get that one little face smiling at you or in our case three.  I think you just have to try and stay open and focused. I take little blessings wherever I can get them....eg. Victoria and Violet both slept through the night last night....oh Thank you for the small blessings....I love them.

The Kennelly's

Victoria

Evangeline and Victoria

The whole family

Todd and Violet

Violet in the big chair

Victoria with Great Grandpa McCall

The Girls

Violet

Evangeline, still the peanut

Violet and Todd

Victoria

Our new home