First Birthday!!!

July 29, 2011... it's our BIRTHDAY!!! Happy First Birthday Caitlyn, Ashton & Brittany. We didn't do much on their actual birthday since it was on a Friday. We went out to lunch and stayed home that night. Saturday we had a party for them. The party was at my parents house. We had a bunch of family and friends there to celebrate this special day with them. Our local grocery store does a baby's first birthday cake free. I was able to get them each a birthday cake for free. I thought it was going to be a small little cake, but it was a 8" round cake. It was pretty big for a baby!! We had a bunch of food, so everyone ate first. Then it was the cake time!!

We laid a sheet down on the floor and sat the bumbo's on top of the sheet. We put them in their bumbo's and put the cakes in front of them. They weren't quite sure what to do at first. Kevin gave them each a little taste of the icing. After that, Ashton went to town on his cake. The girls still weren't too sure about it. They started getting into the cakes a little more, but still didn't want to get messy. Ashton didn't care at all!! I think he ate all the icing off the top of his cake!! The girls would look at him like he was crazy! He would even try to eat the girls frosting of their cakes!



Waiting for our cakes!



Caitlyn's Cake - Before

Brittany's Cake - Before

Ashton's Cake - Before

Ashton is digging in and Caitlyn is looking at him like he is crazy!

 

Ashton with frosting all over him!

Brittany getting into her cake!

Caitlyn getting into her cake

Ashton's Cake - After

Brittany's Cake - After (Notice some blue icing in there!)

Caitlyn's Cake - After

After they were done with the cake, it was clean up time! We took them straight to the bathtub!! Wash up was a breeze! Word of advise... get Whipped Icing not Buttercream! Whipped Icing comes right off with water and is not greasy, plus it smears so much better! After they got cleaned up, it was time to open presents.

Kevin and I sat with them as they opened (tried to open) presents. Once the first toy was opened, they didn't care about the other gifts, they just wanted to play with their new toy. They received a lot of learning toys made by VTech. A lot of number and letter toys. We also received a double and single umbrella stroller, clothes, stuffed animals and money.

Once we got home, I went through their dresser and got rid of everything that didn't fit them so all the new clothes that they got from their birthday would fit into the dresser. Since they received so many toys, we had to go out the next day and get a toy box for them. Kevin and I took down our dining room and turned it into a play room for the babies since they needed the space for all the toys and so they could play.

Since the babies did not get a nap at their party, they were exhausted when we got home. They just wanted to sleep!

We thank everyone who made their first birthday a special one!!

Camping Trip

We just got back from our week long camping trip at Bethpage. We had a great time!! We kept the babies on schedule the whole week!

We would get up in the morning and feed the babies breakfast then let them play with their toys for a little bit. Then it was lunch time and nap time! After they woke up from their naps, we would head down to the pool area. The first couple days we were there, the water was so warm! We would play in the pool for a couple of hours. They also had a little kiddie pool that was 6 inches of water and we would let the babies crawl around in there for a little bit. They enjoyed that a lot! Then it was back to the camper for dinner. After dinner we would take our nightly walk around the camp ground. During the week it wasn't that busy but come Friday & Saturday it was packed!

Saturday we had our friends come and spend the day with us. They have a 10 month old that the babies treat like a sister! They all played in the pool together, then went back to the trailer and played with toys. After dinner, we headed down to the Ice Cream store! It was packed!!! Everyone had the same idea! We got our ice cream and of course, the babies know what ice cream is!! They had to have some too. We gave them some ice cream and I cut them off since it was almost time for them to go to bed! They were not happy with me!! They screamed for more!!! When we got back to the camper we fed them and put them down for bed. 

This is how we went down to the pool on Saturday! Kenly is sitting on top!

Sunday morning we packed everything up and then headed down to the pool one more time for a swim. This was the earliest that we have been to the pool all week...it wasn't such a great idea! They were fussy the whole time because the usually take a little nap after breakfast. So we headed back to campsite to head on home. Before we even got out of the campground, they were all sleeping! I'm pretty sure the babies enjoyed their vacation! 

Now that we are home, we are planning their 1st birthday!!! They turn 1 next Friday! We are having a party at my parents house in Virginia Beach and invited all of our family and friends! Hoping that they have a very special and memorable (for us) birthday!

July 4th Weekend

We had a very busy weekend! Saturday we had a cookout at my parents house. We had Kevin's family over, my family over and family friends over. My mom and dad bought the babies a little pool so they went swimming for a little bit during the day.

Sunday we had a cookout at my sister's & Tommy's house. They have a big pool in their backyard so we went swimming! We bought the babies the swimsuits with the floatation devices built in them before we went over. The babies didnt' want to swim that much in the beginning. But it was busy they were tired, not because they didn't like the water. So we fed them and put them down for a nap. After they woke up from their nap, they went swimming again. Caitlyn had a ball!! We put her in the baby float and she was splashing and laughing. Ashton still wasn't very happy, but I'm pretty sure it was because of the sun. He did not want to keep his hat on, but when he didn't have it on, the sun was in his eyes and he couldn't see. Brittany had to warm up to the water first, then she started splashing around! It's a good thing that they love the water!!!

During the cookout on Sunday, my sister's boyfriend had a little surprise for her. He gathered all of their friends that were there and had them on the deck and while my parents were in the pool, he knelt down in front of them, grabbed my sister's hand and proposed to her!!! Of course she said Yes!!!

On Monday (July 4th) we spent the day in Hatteras with Jerry, April and their kids. They were camping since last week down there and invited us over for the day. The campground has an indoor and outdoor pool. We started off in the outdoor pool, but then again, Ashton wouldn't keep his hat on so we went into the indoor pool. We swam for a little bit, then went back to the camper to feed the babies and see if they would take a nap. We hung out at the camper for a few hours. After they ate their dinner and took a little nap, we went back down to the indoor pool. We swam for about an hour or two. We dunked the babies underwater for the first time. I was expecting a cry, but instead we got giggles!! They loved to go underwater!!! By the time the fireworks started last night, they were all asleep so they didn't get to see them!!

Overall we had a fun filled weekend!! Next trip... camping at Bethpage for 9 days!!!

Month 10: Growing up

We are 11 months old today!!!!

It's been a month since our Charlotte trip. When we were there, Brittany was trying to pull herself up in the playpen to stand up. She was the only one that was trying to make that effort of standing up. A week or so after we got back, she started to pull herself in her crib and stand. Now she is doing it everywhere and pulling herself up on anything that is stable enough to hold her up.

Caitlyn and Ashton weren't close to pulling themselves up yet. We would try to get them to stand, but they really didn't want anything to do with that! One night Kevin was putting Caitlyn down to sleep in her crib and her stood her up and let her hold on to the side rails. She stood for a minute or two and that was about it.  Well, the next day I went into the nursery and Caitlyn was standing up all on her own! It just took Kevin to stand her up that one time!! A few days later, Ashton started to stand up on his own! It's only going to be a matter of time that they will be walking around on their own. Maybe when their first birthday comes they will be walking around the party!

When they are all on the living room floor playing, they always end up in the same place. They have the whole living room, but this is where they always end up...

Teeth time!!! Caitlyn has her 2 canine teeth coming in at the same time. Brittany has 1 canine and Ashton has his 2 bottom teeth coming in. He is finally starting to get some teeth!!!

Since they all are sitting up on their own now, we have started to bathe them in the big tub and let them play with bath toys with each other. Ashton and Caitlyn splash the water everywhere!! They love taking a bath in the big bath tub! The little ducky that Brittany is holding was her favorite toy that night. She would not let go of it!

We are getting ready to go on another camping trip. We are going to Bethpage again for 9 days!!! The babies will be getting in the kiddie pool for the first time!!

Charlotte Camping Trip

We are back home from our week long camping trip. We got to Charlotte on Monday. We didn't do much on Monday. Tuesday, it was so hot outside, we spent most of the day at Concord Mills Mall since it was indoors and air conditioned!! The babies did great!! They stayed on their same schedule as they are on at home. When we would go up to the bath house to take a shower, we would take them up with us and use the family restroom and give them a bath. It was so hot the first part of the week. Luckily we had light summer dresses for the girls and Ashton just wore a onesie.  At breakfast tine, we would put the babies in their bumbos and sit them at the table.

Wednesday we went up to Camping World in Statesville and then stopped by Red Bull Racing Team shop. We stopped by Wal-Mart on our way back to the camper & bought a little pool for the babies. They loved playing in the pool! We did get a storm that night, really windy and rainy!

Thursday we spent pretty much all day going to different race shops around the area. We went to Ganassi/Earnhardt, Gibbs, Penske, Kyle Busch Motorsports, JR Motorsports, Kasey Kahne Racing, Martin Truex Racing, Red Bull Racing. We didn't get the babies out at every shop because some of them were small. Kevin and I would take turns going into the shops to look around or if Allie didn't want to go into one, she would stay in the truck with them. When we went to the Ganassi/Earnhardt shop, JPM and McMurray were signing autographs, when they got done, we asked if we could get a picture of them with the babies.

Friday was the Red Bull Fan Day at their shop. They had the Shutter Speed cars that Vickers and Kahne raced at the Coca Cola 600 race out so everyone could see up close the pictures on the cars. I downloaded a bunch of pictures of the babies on the car! Miss Sprint Cup Monica was at the shop, so we got a picture of her with the babies. We even did a little interview with her inside the shop!

We did have a lot of attention at the shop, but they get attention pretty much every where we go. We had some people from Red Bull take the babies pictures in their little Red Bull outfits. When I went up to get the autographs from the drivers, I asked Brian Vickers if he would hold Ashton for the picture. Of course he said yes, and joked around a little about last time he held a baby, it dropped. Kevin said it's OK, they bounce. They just laughed at it, knowing everyone was joking around!

One of the people who was taking event photos asked Kasey Kahne to get in the picture also. There was probably like 6 different camera taking pictures, we had no idea what camera to look at!

I absolutely love this picture!!



After the fan day was over, we had a little get together back at the campsite. Even though it rained, it didn't stop everyone from having a good time. We played some corn hole and hung out. I met some new friends and got to see old friends!

Saturday, we went out to breakfast with Kevin's family that live near Charlotte! After breakfast, we hung around at the trailer, then walked up to all of the merchandise trailers. It was so hot out there, we didn't stay too long. We went back to the trailer and let the babies swim in the pool again. I think Kevin got so hot, he got in with them.

Sunday, we went back up to the merchandise trailers that we didn't get to see on Saturday. We weren't out their too long since it was race day!! We were so thankful that Amy and her kids weren't going to the race and offered to watch the babies for us so Kevin and I could go! We did have fun!!

Monday we headed home! We stopped for breakfast & lunch. The babies did a lot better coming home than they did going there! Overall, they did AWESOME on the trip!!! They are pro's at camping now!

Vacation

We are vacationing for the weekend down in Corolla, NC at a beach house. Last weekend we camped at Kings Dominion campground in Doswell, VA. The babies had a good time. We didn't actually go into the amusement park, we went to Potomac Mills mall and did a little bit of shopping while the rest of the family went to Kings Dominion for Allison & Justin's chorus concert & rides. It rained every night that we were there, but that didn't stop us from having fun. We had the dinette in the trailer set up as the babies sleeping area & we also had 1 pack 'n play for sleeping. Let's just say that last weekend was the last time for the dinette area to be a sleeping area. Brittany has learned to grab on the edge and pull herself up! So we went out and bought 2 more pack 'n plays for sleeping.

When we were getting ready for our trip this weekend, we were greeted in the nursery by Brittany standing up in her crib! Ashton was half way up, trying to stand! Great!!! I have a feeling this is going to be a busy summer chasing them all around! With them standing up and now crawling around everyway. Brittany and Ashton have gotten the crawling down pretty good. Caitlyn is fine with army crawling around!

We leave on Monday for a week of dry camping at Charlotte. Everyone thinks we are crazy for dry camping with 3 babies! I think it will be fun!! Most of the time we will probably be out doing things around town, going to the mall and all of the race shops around the area! Stay tuned for the vacation recap!!

The babies turn 10 months old in a few days. I need to start planning their 1st birthday party!! I can't believe they are going to be turning 1 soon!! Where did the time go!?!

Month 9: Getting bigger

The babies had their 9 month check up yesterday. Doctor said they were perfect!! They are now considered true 9 month olds!!! It usually takes preemies 2 years to finally catch up to their age, so considering it's only been 9 months, we were extremely happy! They have been on Neosure(formula for preemies) since they were born and we finally get to come off that and go to regular formula! That is going to be like a pay increase for us!! For those who don't know about it, it costs about $16.00 a 13.1oz can. A 48oz. can of regular formula at Sam's club costs us $19.00!! They also get to start eating meat baby food and finger foods! We bought some Gerber Graduate puffs and some Cheerios yesterday for them to start eating.

Caitlyn is getting this crawling down pretty good. We were packing for Richmond and when we went into the living room and Caitlyn was trying to escape and get down the hallway!! She is also trying to stand on her feet when she crawls.

Ashton has started to sit up on his own. He will go from laying down, to being on his hands and knees, to sitting up!! He is sitting up all the time now!! He hasn't mastered the crawling yet. He is still going backwards or rolling around. Somehow he got into the hallway by the bathroom & bedrooms last night. Still haven't figured out how he got there!

Brittany is sitting up on her own now. She has started to army crawl a little bit. She loves to say Baa-Baa now.  She is starting to get her 3rd tooth, one on the top. Caitlyn and Brittany are going to have a bunch of teeth before Ashton has any!!

We are getting ready to go camping this weekend at the campground in Kings Dominion!!

Month 8: Growing!!!

This past month has been an exciting one! Caitlyn and Brittany has each gotten a tooth and their second tooth is popping through now! Ashton doesn't have any yet!!

We had to lower the mattresses in their cribs last night. It was getting to where they were be on their knees and grabbing onto the rails. They like to pull the bumpers down and look over them.

We spent the evening over my parents house last week and we had all of them on floor to play around. Well, Caitlyn tried to crawl! She moved each knee once! I think once she realizes that she can move around, she is going to take off!! Ashton and Brittany haven't moved forward yet. They both are moving backwards. Ashton got himself stuck under the end table in the living room and couldn't go anywhere!

We had an Easter brunch at my parents house with my sister and her boyfriend and took a nice walk around my parents neighborhood. Then we went to Kevin's parents house for Easter dinner with his family.

Next week they have their 9 month check up! Then we have 2 camping trips planned for May!

Almost crawling...

The babies are so close to crawling. I think Caitlyn will be the one that will crawl first though. She is always getting on her knees and hands and rocks back and forth.

While Caitlyn is the only one that looks like she is ready to take off crawling. Brittany is mastering the sitting up on her own. She does get a little excited sometimes and falls over, but she is definitely getting stronger at sitting up.

Ashton is too excited to sit up. Every time we try to sit him up, he arches his back and falls over. But, he is just a happy little man! This week he has been trying so hard to crawl.

They are also starting to get their little attitudes. This picture I took of Brittany at my parents house made me laugh. It was like she was saying, hurry up and take the picture!!

Eye see you....

Since the babies were born, they had to see an eye doctor when they were released from the hospital. They want to see preemies or preemies that have been on oxygen because there is a higher risk for eye development problems since they did not get a chance to fully develop. There are risks for crossed-eyes and lazy eyes and chance for glasses at an early age.

Brittany and Ashton had their first appointment before Caitlyn came home since they were released before she was. It wasn't a pleasant process. We were not aloud in the room when they did their exams because of what they had to do since the babies couldn't focus or move their eyes around yet. They would have little broken blood vessels in their eyes because of the process. But we were told that would happen. Caitlyn was seen a few weeks after. Everything looked good, so they didn't have to come back for another 6 months.

Ashton and Brittany went back a month ago and they had a great report!! Everything was developed the way it was suppose to. Caitlyn had her appointment today and she got the same report. So now they don't have to go back for another 2 years!! That was great news for us!