Gratitude

Sorry for the dry spell, it's hard to get motivated to blog when you don't have good pictures. Aside from that, the boys have been a scab show, its been a bad week for falls (an oh crap! post coming soon). Anyways, here are some of the best of my lame pictures for the week!

favorite activity #213: wearing shoes that are too big for me

Caleb is safety coordinator of the Pittsenbarger household

Thomas, incase you couldn't tell by his red dot or his shirt

escapees

Instagram photo dump: thanks for making crappy iPhone pictures slightly more tolerable

two's company but three is a party!

C at the kids museum

at the Dig Pit, ETC

Caleb would rather pick dandelions than sit through Sunday meeting

daddy's boy

This is what Eli's dreams look like

Helmets!

I had intended on getting the boys helmets but procrastinated since I had to make a trip to the children's hospital where they have a safety store and sell everything at a very discounted rate. I was very worried that since they'd already gotten a taste of riding their bikes without them and thought they might refuse to wear them. Nervously I showed them the helmets and then showed them a pamphlet that had a guy riding his bike with a helmet on. I explained to them that from now on they have to wear their helmets whenever they ride their bikes. They were quite excited and all tried their helmets on. Thomas wore his for about an hour without ever taking it off, and Caleb wore his for a good 20 min. Eli was satisfied just to try it on once and then he went on his marry way. I was still nervous the day we took them to ride their bikes, maybe they would refuse to wear them since the novelty of the helmets had worn off. Thankfully my nerves were quelled when everyone complied and we had no trouble getting them to wear them but I still made sure to point out other bike-passerby's that were also wearing their helmets : ) I'm also thankful that the limited selection at the store had at least three different colors so I didn't have to buy three of the same boring color!

Updates

When teaching the boys to sign 'thank you' I may have forgotten to explain what it meant. Maybe I just got caught up with getting them to learn a new sign, which btw I quit teaching them new signs since I really only cared for them to learn a few useful ones. In fact I rarely sign anything my self, but the boys do to tell me something. The sign for 'thank you' was learned by Eli and Thomas but I can't recollect if my reluctant signer, Caleb, ever did. And by learn I mean they would sign it if I asked them to (it was not applied). Anyways, the other day the boys were playing in the back yard and out I come with three plates of food. I called the boys to the table for lunch. As I placed a plate of food in front of Caleb, he surprised me by not only signing 'thank you' but also by saying it simultaneously! A) He learned what it meant by observation, and B) He'd never said it before (actually he did once several months ago never to be repeated till now). What a sweet gesture of gratitude! Now he tells me thank you various times a day. And since they see Caleb getting praised for it his brothers will sometimes join in to tell me 'thank you' (but Eli and Thomas don't say it they just sign it). "Mr. Caleb, mommy is impressed!"

Here is a cute video of Eli and his Truck book. He has me like this ALL DAY LONG! I have some serious street cred now if I'm ever on a construction site, which will be never. I've since memorized the name of every truck that exists. You'll get the idea after 30 seconds, but if you like to indulge on Pitts Trips then enjoy the rest of the video. Oh, and pardon my fabulous lounging attire : )
 
I got this book from the Goodwill in anticipation of a truck obsession, best $2 I ever spent. At first I thought all the boys were into trucks but I think Eli just gets them excited about them. Kind of like how Caleb pretends to like the stuffed dog I keep in his crib since he see's how much his brothers like their Roarski (Eli, stuffed lion) and Girafa (Thomas, stuffed girafe). Eli has a complete monopoly on this book and you don't want to see what he's like if one of his brothers gets a hold of it! I have to be choosy with my battles and this is one we (even his brothers) don't want to fight him on. We just let him have this one : )

Bluegrass Festival

We took the boys to a bluegrass festival...they had some animals on display and...

What you are seeing is real, Caleb out of his own free will and want is kissing a goat! As an animal lover myself, this is the best picture EVER!!! (even his eyes are closed, so cute!)

Mr. Goat you are my friend

E eating yummy strawberries

AHHHHHH! TEC

I taught the boys to chew on hay

T eating more yummy strawberries

Now we moved on to yummy peaches

It took them a while to warm up or maybe they were waiting for the sun to go down 

The audience and the band enjoyed seeing the boys dance and being silly

It was chilly but I couldn't get Eli or Thomas to keep their coats on

I like this picture because Caleb has his hand in his pocket and Thomas has his hand in his back pocket, they never do this!

Now here is a short clip of the nights proceedings...Eli had me bouncing him like this till my arms were about to fall off! (also as a side note, it was 9pm 1.5 hours past bed time, they got a serious second wind that night and were so much fun)



Updates

Only have one but it's a good one!!! So last Friday after I gave the boys a bath I sent them to the living room before putting on their diapers and clothes since having all three in the bathroom for an extended period of time means total mayhem. At the moment I didn't have the energy to fight them to get their clothes on so I just let them be in their preferred state. I brought the potty's out just in case and was being very vigilant since we were indoors and was reminding them every 5 min to pee in the potty if they needed and that you don't pee on the floor. At one point I notice Eli walking towards the potty, he sits down and looks down curiously. I look too and see that he's peeing in the potty!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
He did it ALL ON HIS OWN, I was so elated I made a huge deal about it, potty dance, high fives, I showed all his brothers the wonderful thing that had just occurred. I fought back the urge to take a picture but now I regret not documenting it. I even took Eli to the big potty and let HIM flush his goodies down the toilet (they love flushing the toilet). Phil comes home a few minutes later and I tell him about it and he joins me in the praise giving. I wanted to so bad to write an emergency blog post right then and there bragging about this but couldn't get to it. It's a good thing I didn't because 20 min later Eli peed on the floor. Then 10 min later he peed on the floor again, at this point everyone got diapers and clothes. The end.

Potty Training pt 2 (Oh Crap! #34-37)

Like I mentioned before the boys spent lots of time outside in their birthday suites in California. With the help of my sister and mom, a clean 1:1 ratio, we didn't get anyone to pee or poo in the potty. Of course I didn't expect any miracles since we were away from the comfortable world they call 'home.' I (we) didn't try all that hard, we explained it to them and they sure acted like they 'got' it. They loved sitting on the potty and we praised them for it. While we couldn't even get one to pee in the potty (big sigh) it wasn't a complete failure since they are now fully aware of what pee pee and caca are. Also they now know how wonderful it is NOT to have poop smeared all over your butt and other unmentionables. They never seemed to mind it before but now they will either pull on their diapers or at the mention of a diaper change will run towards the bathroom in desperation. It was only a practice round just to see where we stand and for me to know what it is I'm getting myself into. We'll try again in a couple of months!

Oh Crap! moment #34

While most children learn to climb out of their cribs, Thomas climbs in! Still scary at the thought of an unsuccessful climb : (

   

Oh Crap! moment #35

Sometimes I take one or more boys with me into the bathroom because I'd rather deal with them than to hear someone scream at the thought of me leaving the room (this doesn't always happen just every once in a while when someone(s) is being clingy).

All this happened in front of my eyes before I could even flush the toilet....

Caleb turns the water on and grabs my expensive face wash (yes $6.99 is expensive for me). Eli thinks this is a great idea!

Eli usurps Caleb's position but Caleb retaliates

Eli holds his ground so Caleb pulls harder! *Flush* intervention!

Oh Crap! moment #36

They love dogs, Caleb and Eli (orange) were trying to take a better look at the yappy dog next door. You can't tell but there is an Eli sized opening between the neighbor's shed and the fence so if he had made it to the top he could easily fall through, but that's beside the fact that he's climbing the fence!

Oh Crap! moment #37

Phil and the boys are playing a game where he catches them as they are jumping off the couch (they are not yet capable of landing this on their own, so far Caleb is the only one that can jump off an 8 inch step, see video two posts back). Phil turns around for a second and Eli without a second thought jumps right off and lands flat on his face! OUCH!!!

Tips for Triplets

Because there is no manual for raising triplets most of us do a combination of figuring things out on your own and also being at our last straw and pleading with other parents of triplets for advice! Here are a few things I've figured on on my own that I'm sure you'd figure out too but let me save you the trouble : )

1) Tennis Courts: One cold but dry day last winter I loaded the boys up in the stroller and walked to the park. After a few minutes of swinging I could tell they were done with that. Since we had just gotten here I thought it was such a shame to head back home already. I longed to let them play on the jungle gym but they were new walkers and it was too dangerous to let them play on it with only myself looking after them (well actually it still is). Also at that age they went every which way and did not respond to 'stay close' like they do now. I noticed the sad empty tennis courts so I thought 'what the heck, lets give it a try.' I let them loose and used the stroller to block one of the two entrances so I'd only have to worry about one. It was the best idea ever. They ran and played with some left behind tennis balls to their hearts content! Now I also have a safe place to take them bike riding. You'll just have to figure out how to get both the babies and the bikes to the tennis courts on your own.

2) Reading to toddlers: Up until just a few weeks ago I could not read to all three boys at once. I could maybe get away with reading a very short book to one boy before they'd want to snatch it out of my hands and play with it. I think they've just arrived developmentally where they are highly entertained by being read to, this happened around 22months. But the challenge still remains, how do you read to ALL three at once with out it becoming a big fight over my lap or the book? I remembered I had this little wire book prop from my college days that I got after my neck hurt so bad from hanging my head down to read on a desk. I set the book on the table, and three chairs in front of it. I sit with one boy on my lap, there is no need to get the other two since they will quickly figure out what's going on and will plop them selves down right next to you. I keep the book at arms length and I only touch the book when I have to turn the page. As a rule the boys are not allowed to touch the book, you will have to remind them a lot, but so far they listen and do not get upset over it.

As a side note, the fact that I'm able to read to all three of my boys at once and have them enjoy it is absolutely fascinating! I can't hardly believe that we are onto this phase now. Is this for real, will the novelty wear out and I'll lose control again? I can't believe we can do something so structured now! I've said this many times before but it's the smallest changes that make the biggest differences to families with triplets!

I also highly recommend this book, especially if you are crazy about monsters like I am : )

3) Make your own veggie and/or fruit squeeze pouches: I'm sure you've seen these at the grocery store. What a wonderful idea, great for on the go, all organic, no sugar added and baby can feed themselves! If you are like me when you looked at the price it made you want to punch someone in the face and say "are you kidding me? you want me to pay how much for 3 stinking ounces of apple sauce!?!?!"

aside from being overpriced they contain so little, my boys literally finish them in 10 seconds or less!

I'm sure you will agree that the novelty makes for inflated prices. I'm sure it's just a matter of time until you can get these for 15cents a piece instead of the going rate of 75cents-$1.50 each, but by then my kids will be in elementary school and useless to us (on second thought they'd be great to throw into a lunch box, am I right?).

At home this is perfectly acceptable, but I certainly don't want to deal with this out in public!

I researched to see what was available as far as reusable squeeze pouches go. I found two options, the most expensive one was $16 and the other was $12 per pouch. I need at least three so this is way more than I want to pay or can afford. Further research leads me to these little beauties:

Is this Pintrest worthy or what?!

I guess bicyclists use these to eat something called energy gel (yum! sounds appetizing right?). They come in 5oz or 8oz sizes at only $8 per pouch. Score! They are still a little pricey so I only got three but would love another two sets. Oh well, I will have to make due with what I have. I got the 5oz pouches since I think it's the perfect amount for the boys at this age, maybe we'll do the 8oz later on : )

Fill em up with either your giant Costco vat of applesauce, or better yet make your own at home with any combination of fruits and veggies you like!

my happy customers : )

4) Restaurants: If you think I'm going to give you advice on how take your triplets to restaurants then you are wrong. If you can take your small children to restaurants consider yourself blessed and run with it. For the rest of us, Tina Fey couldn't have said it better. First a little back ground, she's twenty something and is at a restaurant interviewing for a waitressing job and is lying that she has had previous experience waiting tables.

"What was your favorite thing about waiting tables?"

My friend from home had not anticipated this question. "Um...the children. Waiting on cute kids...It was a family...restaurant." 

Game over. While "the children" may be a good nonsense answer for a Miss Universe contestant or a gubernatorial candidate, anyone who has ever waited tables - or simply gone to a restaurant with a child - knows that children are the soul-sucking worst. They take all the sugar packets out of the bowl, spill milk all over the place, and their wasted meals only cost five dollars... (Bossypants 2011)

Well said Tina! FYI if your triplets are normal children forget about eating at restaurants until a much older age. If you haven't guessed it by now my boys are the normal type and we rarely take them to restaurants. The evidence, if you could see it, was the terror in my moms eyes when I suggested we eat-in at Subway, the previous day we had taken the boys to the Black Bear Diner for breakfast. HA!

23 months!

A day early but...

The count down begins till we turn TWO!!!

C, is it just me or are their eyes getting bigger?

E

While Eli was getting dressed I was making a big fuss over how cute Caleb looked in his suite. So when Eli is done being dressed he comes toward me with a big cheesy smile expecting the same reaction that I gave to Caleb. I did not disappoint him! All the boys when they hear the word "cute" they get this big smile on their faces and look to see who's saying it. Let's face it they are adorable and they get it a lot, albeit 70% of the time it comes from me : )

T

Can your stroller do this? Oh the things I do to give these guys
as normal a life as possible! Yes the third boy is on my back in the ergo.

YAY! No one was playing tennis at the tennis courts (perfect enclosed spot to take triplets by yourself)!

10 sets of triplets (one set came later) at our local triplets picnic! After a failed attempt before they moved to ND we finally got to hang out with the Waind bunch .

Watcha lookin at?

Updates 

It seems like the boys take two steps forward and one step back with the whole speech development thing. Thomas just like Eli stopped wanting to repeat everything, that lasted a whole week and a half before he shut that down. They say new stuff every week but will they repeat it? No. But at least we are still moving forward! They have all said a lot over time but it's still about half a dozen words that they will repeat consistently. As of recently they are getting better at applying those few words and not just saying them when I ask them to. For example, after Thomas and Caleb finish nursing before bedtime they immediately look up at me and say mimi (spanish baby talk for sleep), yes that is what comes next, bedtime! A 'communication temptation' that their speech teacher suggested was to put a picture of mom and dad in one of their favorite books and let them discover it. Well I tried this a couple months ago and as Caleb was leafing through Happy Snappy, Frumpy Grumpy I notice when he gets to the page where I've inserted two pics (one of mom and one of dad). He gets this horribly disgusted look on his face like 'what have they done...my fav book, defiled!' FAIL. Fast forward to a few days ago and I hear Caleb yelling 'papa, papa' I look over and he's got that same book and he's pointing at the picture of his dad. WIN!!! Good application my boy : ) So many of the suggestions I get from their speech teacher you can't do with triplets, arg! That's one of the reasons they have a speech delay!

They boys all try to sing the Eebee Baby song (a baby video they LOVE), it's really easy, it goes like this 'eebee beebee beebee beebee baby.' It's really cute to see this because when I start to load it on the t.v. they start dancing and singing it : )

Eli calls his Hotwheels and trains 'beebees.' The boys are crazy about their Hotwheels, I don't think I would have even thought to get that for them, so thanks cousin David! Eli has this one Hotwheel that he loves and I always see him with it in one hand and in the other is usually one of the several yellow Hotwheels they have. His fav bike is the yellow one, do you see a trend here...

The boys are starting to get the hang of it, that when some says hi they need to say hi back, it's still a work in progress since they only say it back to me and there is bit of a delay, they all say it 5-10 seconds after the initial hi. Thomas says it most of the time, and Caleb and Eli sometimes.

Despite the speech delay the boys actually do communicate very well (this was also an observation made by their speech teacher). When Caleb wants a bite of something I'm eating he says 'ah-om!' and Thomas makes a popping noise with his mouth for the same reason. When Thomas does NOT want something he blows raspberries with his tongue sticking out (aka farting noise with his mouth). He could just say no, but I guess this is more interesting!

The boys are really getting into things that move, cars, buses, ambulances and especially airplanes, trains and fire/construction trucks : )

A new skill Caleb has acquired before his brothers is jumping off steps. Check it out in this video...