Busy is one word but FUN is another...oh, and It's almost Christmas!

I must confide that I have been really feeling extremely guilty about not getting this update done much sooner. In my mind it was a priority and I kept saying that I was determined to get it done a.s.a.p. but then just when I would think that I would have time to sit down and start typing something would inevitably take precedence.

Driving along in my car this morning, I had a thought. It is a thought that I have had in my mind before so, not a new thought but a thought that motiviated me none the less. I resolved then and there that I would get some work done on our blog...today! NO matter what.

Life is short. You know it and I know it but often I hear those words and I am guilty of letting the true meaning of this statment fall away. I need to keep everyone (who wants to be updated) updated. I started this blog for our friends and family near and far and it's grown beyond that...I am amazed at how many people share this diary of our triplet life. I can't stop now! I mean I have no intention of stopping but it's been so long you might have thought that I had stopped.  I don't want anyone out there thinking that life just got too busy and we couldn't keep it up.  I am never too busy to share with loved ones. I think about you all the time. Getting this blog to you. Making sure that you get to know and witness the lives (as much as we can show you) of our three special little girls.  I hope you feel that you know them, (if you want to) even if only in some small way.

So before we get to the pictures, let me tell you more about these three....

Victoria Rose. The baby of the family. The Princess.  The happiest, smiliest and most fashion forward 19 month old I have the pleasure of knowing.  She loves clothes, loves to try and wear mama's clothes. If we let her loose in our room 9 out of 10 times she heads straight for the closet and out she comes with the fanciest shoe that she can find with the biggest grin on her angelic little face. Boy, can she run...off she goes shoe in hand! The good news is, I'm still faster....for now.  She melts my heart in about 1 second. On the opposite side of this she absolutely loves to push boundries. Ask her not to do something or tell her 'no' and she does it anyway, glancing back at you with a grin to see if you are paying attention. She's a bit of a 'little Devil'...hmmm, perhaps next years Halloween costume?

Violet Elizabeth. A total ham. Easy going, most of the time.  Sometimes however she is our extra attention girl. Basically she likes attention....as much as she can get. I have spent many an evening making dinner in the kitchen with her clinging to my legs as I walk from the sink to the fridge to the stove etc. and back again. She would rather be hanging out with you then sleeping.  Her most recently learned skill is turning door knobs. She hasn't quite managed to figure out that she needs to push the door open but there she is on her tippy toes reaching way up, just barely grasping the handle rattling it back and forth as hard as she can.  She is a very happy, very talkative, very gentle little girl with the curliest locks on her adorable little head oh and she is a vegetarian of sorts, no meat, no protein but seemed to enjoy some Italian sausage this evening...interesting.

Evangeline Jenna. Miss Serious has lightened up. Don't get me wrong she still takes herself pretty seriously and can go from '0 to 60' in about 2 seconds but she loves to laugh and dance and sing and smile. Shoes and socks are two of her favourite things and reading is a much loved past time although she tends to hog the book when Mamma is trying to read to all her little girls. Evangeline and I attend swimming lessons on Saturday mornings. It's our special time together and I really enjoy seeing some other facets of her not so little personality.  One of the regular drills the children do is jumping off the side of the pool into the waiting arms of a parent. Sometimes Evangeline will just stand there staring down at me. She will glance to the left to see what that child is doing and then glance right to see what that other child is doing and then stare at me defiantely absolutely refusing to jump.

They are all just so amazing and special and individual. It's a lot of work but it's FUN work now!

Enjoy the photos. We wish all are friends and family a very Merry Christmas!  Looking forward to blogging a little bit more in the new year.

 

Lots of love, the Kennelly's.

splashing in the back yard

 

Evangeline smiling for the camera

 

Victoria...hmmm, what is she thinking about?

 

A Birthday Greeting for Auntie Tracy

 

Violet in her cheetah pj's

 

Evangeline getting ready for breakfast

 

Victoria was a Dragon for Halloween

 

Violet the Lion

 

Evangeline the Zebra

 

Goofing around

 

Violet just waking up from a nap

 

Victoria up to no good?

 

Evangeline and Victoria out for a walk in the snow

 

 

Victoria, what are you up to?

 

Evangeline's first sleigh ride

 

Evangeline stomping the snow off her boots

 

 

Victoria enjoying her first sleigh ride

 

 Oh, oh...Victoria......

 

 

 

2012 Visit with Santa

Evangeline, Victoria and Violet

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 12 MONTHS AND 12 TEETH LATER.

I would like to dedicate this blog to my Auntie Jan who left this world on May 11 2012. A wonderful Mother, Wife, Sister, Daughter, Aunt, Niece, Cousin and Friend and so much more. 

I have to admit sitting down to write I am keenly aware of the absence of her presence. I could always feel her cheering our family on from a distance. Often when I was able to pick up my Canon and take some shots of the girls I thought "Oh, Auntie Jan is going to love this one..." since the day she found out we were having triplets she was a dedicated fan. In fact the very last person to post to this blog was Auntie Jan with words of encouragement, optimism and love. So I thought it only fitting to take a few moments and spend them on her. I was grateful to be able to attend her service and Life Celebration in Toronto. It was helpful to connect and reconnect with all the lives she touched and all the people she loved. Her physical being is gone but I know that her spiritual being is alive and well and never far away and that does help in some way. Her passing just reiterates to me what we of course already know, you have to try and live every moment and be true to yourself and be happy and not get stuck in the past because you are right Auntie Jan; "Life is too short." Missing you.

Can you believe it's been 1 year? Really? 12 whole months since these 3 little Sweethearts were born!? Where in the world did the time go? I realize that everyone says that....I have heard it a thousand times before but it is so true! The past year has mostly been a blur. In some ways though it seems like a long time ago that we were up all night feeding them every four hours; sometimes for an hour and a half at a time! I know that I was completely exhausted back then, more exhausted then I had ever been in my entire life. Functioning as though I was a rational being was tough. I have come to the conclusion that I may have gone slightly insane because although I know it was really, really, really hard being that sleep deprived my brain has somehow managed to dull the memories a bit; sort of take off the hard edges and soften it up. I guess that's what happens...that is why people continue to choose to have more children...you go slightly insane the first time around..?
Well, my last blog update foreshadowed the arrival of teeth. I am happy to report that the teeth have begun to arrive! Victoria 6, Evangeline 4 and Violet 2. So 12 in total. We are still working out the kinks with these new teeth however. Some of us seem to sort of know what to do with them, like brush them, (we are fairly good at that) and some of us still have no clue! I am sure the girls must be thinking to themselves "How could I possibly eat that Mama? It's lumpy and bumpy and makes me gag? I can't get it down like that! I only eat pured food!" Oh my girls, let's practice using those teeth a bit more shall we? There is a whole world of wonderful food just waiting for you to enjoy. Wait until you try Pizza! So we are experimenting. Some things work better then others like Mango, Toast with Almond Butter and an occasional squished pea or two...oh and a cupcake with icing (more on that later). A mushy cheerio or a pasta star however, not so much.

The past few months have found us (Todd and I) very busy (as per usual). I went back to work as of April 2nd and our full time Nanny arrived the first week of May. Todd was given another three branches to provide Investment needs for and we have both happily managed to devote some time to working out. I have joined a trail running group that is just absolutely FANTASTIC; a really great group of people that are forcing me to push some of my physical and mental boundaries (I have actually entered a race this weekend...slightly anxious about it! Been a long time since I participated in a trail race) and Todd has joined a cycling group to help him prepare for his upcoming GranFondo at the beginning of July. I have also somehow become a Director of the Okanagan Mission Residents Association (this is the area of Kelowna in which we live) and I am now doing the monthly newsletter for the Kelowna Multiples Group. I know it sounds like a lot but for now I feel up to the challenge.
We celebrated the girls birthday on May 22nd but we actually had a 1st Birthday Party for them on the Saturday of the long weekend, May 19th. We had lots of friends and family make a special visit just to celebrate with the girls and us. It really meant a lot to both Todd and I to have the support of those we love. My Grandfather McCall from Toronto and his friend Joan even came out to join the party! It has been quite an amazing year and our little girls have been such troopers. It's hard to believe they were in the hospital for 45 (Violet and Victoria) and 89 days (Evangeline). Thanks to everyone who joined us on that special day and to everyone else who couldn't be here but sent lots of love and well wishes for the girls. We are very blessed to have such great family and friends!
We ordered a special 1st birthday cake for the party but the girls each had their own individual cupcakes that they were able to enjoy. They were a little apprehensive at first but once they got a taste of that icing all hesitation quickly vanished. Todd and I had fun picking out pretty little birthday dresses for the girls and my Aunt Mary (the girls great Aunt) also decorated very sweet and special birthday crowns/tiaras for the girls individually personalized with their names.   It was a really great day and the girls did fabulous.

Some brief updates on the girls:
Evangeline is now 19.6 pounds and loves to beat her drum and play her 'piano'.
Violet has moved to the next car seat so she is over 22 pounds probably almost 24 and is CRAWLING everyone...she can make it across the living room in about 4 seconds.
Not sure what Victoria weighs currently, meant to get that done today...she is crawling but currently only backwards and believe it or not she has light, light (almost blond) hair...of course we are fairly certain that will change but interesting none the less.

So here are some pictures of the past little while, including our first adventure with swings and of course the birthday!
(oh, and I hope to upload some video in the next day or two but thought I should probably get this update done asap.)

Lot's of love,
The Kennelly's

Evangeline on the swing

Victoria enjoying the grass at the park

Dada and his girls

Victoria

Violet (a dare devil like her Mama)

Evangeline and Victoria out for a walk

Victoria just out of the bath.

Pappa and the Flower

Victoria, Grammie and Violet

Pappa with the Angel and the Princess

Yummy cake!

Pau Pau with Evangeline

Pau Pau and Victoria

Pau Pau with Violet

Grandpa with Evangeline

One of our first and only family photos EVER!

Evangeline showing off her party dress

Violet, Joan and Auntie Wendy

Evangeline and her Great Grandad McCall

Violet and Dada

Birthday Kisses for Evangeline

Mama....we have rollover and Where are my teeth anyway?

Happy February everyone! The month of LOVE! Spring is in the air....the days are getting longer....life is good!

Well, let me see....what have we been up to since our last update.....Hmmmm. Ahhh, I'll start with our baby food adventures. Yes, I am in fact successfully making it all for the girls. To be honest it's really not that hard or time consuming I just tend to do a whole lot at once and then freeze it for later. It's kind of fun trying to figure out what new item to blend next or what two items to blend together (I know, I know..it doesn't take much to keep me amused now a days) So far we have experimented with the following: banana, butternut squash, avocado, apples, pears, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes and yogurt. Everything has passed the triplets discriminating tastes except for (to my horror) yogurt! (And it's the good stuff too! Those of you who have had the pleasure of sharing a lunch room with me or have happened to open my fridge on occasion know that I am a true YOGURT SNOB! Full fat Greek yogurt only if you please...the richer and thicker the better!) Anyway, no one is quite sure about it yet. Evangeline happened to gag on her first little bit and then proceeded to toss her cookies, without hesitation.

I am happy to report that Victoria has officially begun to roll over. It's a bit hit and miss and there is absolutely no grace to it what-so-ever but it's definitely an accomplishment in my books. The other two girls are still trying to perfect their technique and to be honest I think Violets lower body is a bit too......um, shall we say....robust? to quite get the momentum going but I have to say she is gaining ab strength every time she tries; which is only a good thing. The girls are not sitting up on their own quite yet but they can do the 'tripod' for a minute or two before toppling over and Violet is trying very hard to get there. Razzing is our all time favourite thing (of the moment). Particularly when we have just taken a swig from the bottle or eaten a bunch of peas (now that's fun times for all).... a little messy but we have fun watching them amuse themselves....and Todd has diligently Scotch Guarded every surface in this house so, I think we're ok.

Everyone is teething....I think. It kind of seems like it's been going on FOREVER but still I can't find a single pearly white. I wake up to red cheeks, am constantly wiping at slobbery babies, have given Tylenol to cries in the night, the girls have been chewing themselves silly on teething rings yet still, that darn Tooth Fairy had eluded us (I say the Tooth Fairly because I figure if she/he taketh away she/he must also giveth).

Unfortunately I am not exactly sure what everyone currently weighs (we have a visit to our Pediatrician early next month) but for now I can tell you that little Evangeline is over 16 pounds!
Victoria I am guessing is around 18.5 and Violet is probably about 20 (again this is just me guessing). So the girls are getting big!

Oh, I had an exciting little trip away....yup, a whole night on my own! The plan was to head down to Vancouver for my girlfriend Carol's baby shower (she was actually going to pick me up from the airport) and wouldn't you know it...... little baby Paige Elizabeth wanted to attend the shower too! The shower was postponed to the next weekend but I was so thrilled that I actually got to meet her! Congratulations to my dear friends Carol and Torey! You already know how adorable I think she is but I will tell you again; she is the sweetest little thing!

So while in Vancouver a large group of some awesome friends were able to get together to catch up with me. It was so great to see everyone and reconnect. Thank you all for coming and listening to my crazy stories and special thanks to Christine for hosting us all late into the night! Of course you all know you are welcome here anytime!  Oh and I can't forget to mention my wonderful hubby Todd...he was all on his own for about 36 hours and did an awesome job with his little baby girls! I know he enjoyed some special bonding time with our trio.

Ok, ok...I know what everyone is waiting for...enough already right?! Where are the pictures??
Well, here you go..enjoy. I hope you all also enjoy your February.  If you have Love cherish it and if you're looking for Love just remember you've got to give it to receive it....

Welcome sweet Paige Elizabeth!

Evangeline ready for an adventure!

Victoria does a fashion shoot



Violet and Todd relaxing

Mama and two of her girls...shhh, don't tell Violet.

Ah yes, the good life!

Violet

Evangeline

Victoria ready for some food

Ev and her Bunny

Two excited Sisters, Evangeline and Violet

The teeth are coming....?

Awww, can you feel the love Sister?

'WILL FOLD LAUNDRY FOR BANANAS'