So Much to be Thankful For!

We truly have so much to be thankful for!!!! So Thanksgiving is a very special holiday for us because we get to spend time with family and truly reflect on how blessed our lives really are. Now don't get me wrong...we appreciate all that we have all year around but sometimes we get caught up in day to day life and sometimes we feel we haven't really stopped to thank God enough for all that we have. I could of course go on and on about what we are thankful for but of course at the top of our list is our three precious children and the fact that despite their rough beginning, God has given them their health. I often don't feel like I can be thankful enough for that! At this point, it is hard to imagine what life really was like for Bryan and I before our three little miracles came into our lives. What we do know though is that they are the best things that have happened to us since we found each other and for that we are forever THANKFUL!

As far as Thanksgiving Day went...it was wonderful!!! We spent the day at my mom and dad's house and Bryan's mom also joined us. I always love spending time with the whole family together and it is great to see the triplets play and interact with their grandparents. We all chipped in for a delicious dinner that turned out great! Harry, Olivia and Madeline got to eat their first real Thanksgiving Dinner too...they loved it! Especially the pumpkin pie for dessert;) They all of course have mommy and daddy's sweet tooth! Here are a couple of pictures from the day:
The family on Thanksgiving Day

Madeline riding mommy's rocking horse....this thing got a serious work out by me when I was little and Madeline loved it just as much...can we say future equestrian?!?!? ;-D

I think the turkey did Olivia in!

Harry LOVES his Grampy:-)

They're ready to eat!

Madeline playing with my parents' dog, Darma

Harry sitting on the footstool like a big boy

My mom and dad with the kiddos

And of course I had to include a few random pictures from the last couple of weeks:-D

Playing with Daisy...they LOVE Daisy and she is so good and patient with them.

Harry and Daddy...he was pretending to be a super hero in his cute pajamas;-)

Madeline

Harry playing with his truck

We took the kiddos to Holland Park a couple of weekends ago since it was unusually warm out. Here is Madeline trying out daddy's hat...she is of course a Colt's fan;-D

Olivia playing on her bouncy zebra

Harry...such a cutie!

Look! We are brushing our teeth!

Here they all are playing together...it is so much fun to watch them!

Madeline can now point to your nose when you ask her where it is...she was showing Daddy where his nose was:-)

So much fun to play on the couch!

Madeline watching Daddy put up the christmas lights...she was fascinated!

We got Christmas pictures taken of the family by Amanda last weekend so as soon as I get those I will be sure to share! Happy Christmas shopping until then:-D

Trick or Treat!

Harry, Olivia and Madeline got to go trick-or-treating for the first time this Halloween! We had so much fun with them and our three "little bugs" were a big hit:-) We met up with our good friends the Kline's and our friends from Louisville, the Angermeier's so that the triplets could trick-or-treat with their buddies Garrett and Addie...they were all so cute! Here they all are ready to go:


Here everyone is going to their first house to say, "trick-or-treat!"....well sort of;-)

Daddy pulling the trio along by the scary spider...well actually only mommy thought it was scary...the kiddos loved it!

Here we are with our first lollipops...we decided it was a special occasion;-)

Heading back home after a big evening of trick-or treating...that's "uncle" jeremy pulling us:-)

Olivia the ladybug

Madeline the bumblebee

Harry the spider

Whew! So exhausted after such a big evening...can't wait for next year:-D

Fall Fun!

Happy Fall to all!!! We have some serious catching up to do with everyone since I have not updated this blog since the beginning of September...time just gets away!!! Anyway, things have been going great for the "terrific trio" since their first birthday. Everyone has continued to develop and grow great. In fact, they are getting down right big! Olivia is now 23 pounds and Madeline and Harry are both 21 1/2 pounds...which is fabulous! Developmentally, they are all doing great also...all three are pulling up and cruising around the house a ton. As some of you may have already seen also, the girls have even taken a couple of steps all on their own!!! Harry can walk around with help but he has had a little more trouble because he has what is called pronating ankles. Basically, his ankles are weak (mainly from being a 27 week preemie white male) and so they are rolling inward which makes it hard for him to walk around for extended periods. So his physical therapist had ordered him orthodics which will help him a ton! We think he will be walking all over before we know it once he gets those........uh, oh;-)

As far as the family goes, things have been basically the same except for one piece of big news....Bryan just accepted a new job!!!! Starting monday, he will be working for Exact Target as their Sr. Financial Analyst. This is a great opportunity for his and will be much better for the whole family because he will no longer have to travel and he will have much more advancement opportunities...we are so proud of you Bry/Daddy!

So here are a few (ok, maybe more than a few) pictures to catch you up on what we've been up to the past several weeks....enjoy!


Well, once these three started really moving around we had to whip out the gates to keep them corralled...here they are begging to be let out. They are the cutest little "jailbirds" we've ever seen!

They love to look out the front window...especially when the neighborhood kids are out. We tell them they can join them soon;-)

Playing in our tent!

Back in early September, I took the kiddos to Conner Prairie with our fellow triplet friends the Corcorans. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time petting on the animals and watching the people. Here is Madeline "riding" the pony....I think she looks like a natural!

They thought the blacksmith was really cool!

Madeline touching the baby chick

Harry trying to decide is he wants to touch the baby chick;-)

Olivia petting the baby sheep....they loved the sheep!

I mentioned that they are cruising a ton now....here is Olivia taking her walker for a spin around the family room.

Daddy and Harry...looks more like Daddy every day!

In the middle of September, we took the trio to a local Alpaca farm to experience something new. For those who don't know (we didn't!), an Alpaca is basically a smaller looking Llama. They were so cute and I think the kids enjoyed the excursion:-) Here is Olivia smiling at the alpaca.

Madeline checking the alpaca out.

Harry and Olivia

What is it about Grampy's? The triplets LOVE their Grampy so much! They get more excited when they see him than anyone else...including me;-) My Dad is so great with the kids and I just love watching them together....such special moments!

For the first weekend in October, we made our first family outing to the Stoneycreek Pumkin Patch. It was so much fun! The girls had their first pony rides and then we took the kids out to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. We got one big one and three little ones for each kiddo. We will definitely plan on doing this every year!

That pumpkin was about the size of Olivia!

MAdeline and Harry

All three in the pumpkin patch

On our way to the pumpkin patch!

I could probably go on and on for hours about my girls' first pony ride;-) It was one of the happiest moments of my life! I am officially convinced both are naturals and will be wanting their own ponies in a few years...Bryan just rolls his eyes at me;-D

Harry being cute...as usual:-D

Madeline is still as crazy and fun as she has always been...this picture really sums her up!

Madeline with her pretty head band...this is a close as we get to hair accessories since she has minimal hair.

Princess Olivia LOVES her new hat...she feels sooooo pretty:-)

Madeline

Olivia sitting on her bench

All three taking their bottles...we've got it down!

Watching Mommy outside

A couple of weeks ago we took the kiddos up to Potters Bridge Park in Noblesville to enjoy the nice weather...here are a few picks from the day:

Madeline and Harry

Big girl Olivia...they are all looking so much older!

Madeline!

Last Sunday we took the kids to Zoo Boo with my mom and dad. They decorate the Zoo in a Halloween theme and we even dressed them up in their costumes. Olivia is a ladybug, Madeline is a bumblebee and Harry is a spider. It was SUPER crowded so we decided to carry everyone which worked out ok. Nonetheless, we had fun and I know the kids loved getting out to see something new.

Olivia with Grammy

Madeline with Daddy

Harry and Grampy

Harry and the monster;-)

The 'Fam'

This is my most recent picture of the triplets from a couple of days ago...I'm beginning to feel like I can't call them babies anymore:-( Look how big they are getting!!!

Olivia

Up next for the Callahans is Halloween! I will be sure to post pictures from our first trick or treat:-D

Big Steps!

So our girls finally took their first real steps on their own on this past Sunday. Here's the video of both of them...enjoy:-D

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

First Birthday Memories!

Well here they finally are!!! The amazing pictures Miss Amanda took for us at the triplets' first birthday party. It was such a wonderful day of celebrating the amazing (yet sometimes challenging) first year with the three best babies any parent could possibly ask for:-D Thanks so much to all who came as it meant SO much to us. Enjoy the pictures!

Here they are at the end of their big day!

The whole happy family:-D

With Grammy and Grampy Skinner

And with Nana...that's an armful;-D

Can you find Harry in the picture? He loved the wrapping paper as much as the new toys!

Daddy helping Harry and Olivia open their presents

Madeline reading her card...she is very advanced;-D

This is a very special picture for us because this is Dr. Bobbi Byrne who took AMAZING care of our three angels during their long stay in NICU. We cannot tell her enough how much she means to our family and how much it meant to us that she cam to celebrate such a special day:-D

Doesn't Olivia look to be about the happiest baby you've ever seen eating her cupcake?

I just LOVE this picture...all 30 toes we love more than anything in this world!

So Harry does not like sweet things so as you can see he did not really care for his cupcake. Olivia helped him out with it though:-)

This is such a funny picture! They are all looking at their cupcakes like "what do we do with this?" Well it didn't take them long to figure it out!

Sweet little Madeline:-)

Here's all five of us getting ready to sing the trio Happy Birthday!

Such happy babies! They loved being the center of all the attention:-D

Madeline walking with Aunt Leah

My best friend Brooke with her little man Garrett

Our little Man Harry....he's such a special, happy little boy:-)

So cute!

Still happy of course...

Isn't this a beautiful picture of Olivia? Love the coloring!

Beautiful little Madeline...

She has a look like "I'm caught!"

And beautiful little Olivia...look at those eyes!

This is too cute of Olivia! She looks like a little jailbird:-D

Madeline!

My very dear friend Katie with Olivia...she helps me out SO much with the kiddos...thanks Katie!!!

The cupcakes...yummy:-D

Olivia "eating" her present from Nana

Ohhhh Harry....you melt your Mama's heart!

Three Lil' One Year Olds

Well, it's official...my three little angels are one year olds!!! Yes, I am still trying to get used to this fact...my babies are growing up (tear...). But seriously, it is SO hard to believe that just a year ago, we were faced with the reality that our precious babies were suddenly born at only 27 weeks 6 days. It sometimes seems like a lifetime ago, but I can still remember plain as day the fear of the unknowing and also the guilt I felt at the fact that I was unable to carry these three innocent babies until my goal of 34 weeks. And then to deal with the emotional roller coaster of having them all in NICU for over 10 weeks. I remember the first time I really saw them all...each only weighing just over 2 lbs. each! Nothing can prepare you for seeing your babies so unbelievable tiny and fragile hooked up to so many wires and monitors and breathing tubes...it was surreal. At the time, it seems like you will be there forever but then, through God's grace, we finally got to bring home our amazing little miracles...it was one of the best days of our lives! And then for the next year, Harry, Madeline and Olivia have developed and grown into the most beautiful little children we could ever ask for. We have TRULY been blessed!!! Especially when we consider just how different things really could have been...

So I thought to really put into to perspective just how much these three have changed in a year's time, I would show you where they were a year ago...

Olivia


Madeline


Harry

And here they are today! Proof that miracles happen everyday:-D

On a lighter note, of course we celebrated Harry, Olivia and Madeline's big first birthday by hosting a party filled with family, friends and fun. It was such a wonderful day of celebration and Bryan and I were just so thankful and touched by everyone who showed up to help us celebrate a day that was so imprtant to us. Here are some pictures from the day:

Here's Olivia thoroughly enjoying her cupcake...she probably would have eaten the whole thing if I would have let her:-)

Here they all are with their cupcakes. The girls of course loved them...Harry on the other hand made a face like, "why would you give me something so disgusting?!?!" Harry does not care for sweet stuff, which begs the question of how can this kid belong to us???

Singing them happy birthday:-)

This is their buddy Garrett, the son of our very dear friends the Klines

Here is the whole fam...what a happy day!!!

Don't you just love the hats? They actually let us put them on them for a short period!

Mommy with her 'little man' Harry

Here are their fellow triplet buddies, the Corcorans. We had just helped celebrate their birthday 2 weeks earlier!

Friends hanging out...Tara is holding Olivia and Brooke is holding Tara's baby boy, Cole...such wonderful friends we are blessed with!!!

Our amazing picture-taking friend Amanda was also so gracious as to come and take pictures of the whole day...as soon as we get those pictures back from her I will be sure to post them. I know they will be amazing!!!

Almost One...

Hello everyone! It is so hard to believe that in a week from today, my three precious little babies are going to be turning one?!?! Although I knew this year would fly by (because everyone tells you that) I still find myself getting rather emotional about the fact that my amazing little angels are growing up. But of course it is a wonderful thing because they are doing SO well!!! This weekend we will be celebrating their birthday with family and friends at our house so I will be sure to post pictures from that.

As far as the past month (since it has been that long since I last posted a new blog...oops), we have just been enjoying the summer months as a family. We have done a lot of fun things such as go the Fishers Farmers Market for the first time. We also went out to eat with our friends, the Corcorans (they have the triplet boys), and boy was that fun! As you can imagine, it was quite a site with 4 adults and 6 babies at a table:-D We also attended their boys' first birthday party and that was tons of fun too!

And to update you all on the triplets...they are doing GREAT!!! Still getting bigger and bigger and just changing everyday. Everyone is officially crawling....and not only crawling, but crawling fast!!! They are EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING. But it is just so much fun to watch them:-) They are playing a ton together...their favorite game is to chase each other around the house...they just squeal! All three of the kiddos are also pulling themselves up to a stand and are able to take a few steps with mommy and daddy's help....it's only a matter of time before our house is officially a zoo with crazy kiddos running wild:D

Anyway, here are some pictures to recap our past month of summer fun:

Bryan and I went to Kings Island with our friends Jay and Mary without the kiddos...we had a blast!


Here are the kiddos rooting on Daddy at his soccer game;-)

Daddy and Madeline hangin' out

Harry being a goof ball

Olivia and Harry playing with Mommy

Doesn't this picture just put a smile on your face???

Using Mommy as a jungle gym...look at Harry watching the t.v....he is watching Tiger Woods:-)

I just couldn't resist putting this picture up....are we having fun yet???

Sisters playing...

Olivia looking at Daisy outside...so cute!

Madeline LOVES to stand up in her crib now that she knows how

Now they are using Daddy as a jungle gym

Isn't this a funny picture of them all sitting watching the t.v.?

Harry and Daddy....this picture just melts my heart!

Harry!

Here's Olivia showing off her new trick!

Sisters playing:-)

The next few pictures are of our first family trip to Holland Park. We had a blast with the kiddos! We let them play outside and they got to go in the kiddy swings for the first time. They all enjoyed it but of course Madeline, our little adventurous one, LOVED the swings. Here are Harry and Madeline exploring:

Harry swinging!

Madeline loving the swings

Olivia and Harry wondering why nobody is swinging them;-)

In this picture, Olivia is in the background begging for some of Daddy's milkshake...hehe

All three at the park!

Harry when he was first starting to crawl...go! go! go!

Here the triplets at their friends' the Corcoran triplets' first birthday party:

Harry and Madeline playing with Will

Olivia playing

Madeline riding the horsey...Mommy loves this!!! ;-)

Daddy and his girls...

Madeline's new thing is to crawl around with her toys in her mouth....crazy thing!

Here is Harry watching Daisy outside...so cute!