The Klopp Quads

Lots of Love!

2012-02-14T10:23:00.001-06:00

Happy Valentine's! Don't look at the card from a year ago- apparently I really like that design...I didn't realize I used the same one last year, haha! Hope you have a good day.

March for Babies (teeny tiny babies!)

2012-02-08T17:21:00.002-06:00

Countdown to Florida begins! We leave in a week from Saturday! I will be bringing entertainment and snacks on the plane to lessen the chances of meltdowns. Once we get there, my parents will be helping us at the condo so we can have some down time too. I can't wait!

Sofia, Madeline, and Josie seem to definitely be on the mend, but I don't think they're quite back to 100% normal. We're still having clingy moments, which I don't mind because I still love cuddling.

Sofia showing me the gorilla

Sweet Madeline

Josie is so serious!

My friends Chelsey and Jess and baby Nolan (Chelsey's baby). Sofia was the only one who would pose with the baby. They did have a fascination with him though :)

Sisterly love! (J on left, S on right)

A friend from my multiples group here in St. Paul started a team called "Multiple Blessings" to raise money for March of Dimes. The walk, called March for Babies, is in April. I joined her team so I'm hoping to raise a couple dimes (or more) to help out with the cause. Here is my shpeal from my
personal site on the March for Babies:

When I found out I was expecting quadruplets (spontaneous- making it quite shocking), I immediately knew March of Dimes would become an important organization to my family. Two of the four were mono-mono twins, so the doctors warned me they wouldn't even let me go more than 32 weeks. I expected to go that long with no doubt, so I was stunned when I went into preterm labor at 27 weeks.

Everyone calls the NICU a "roller-coaster". I hate to overuse a word, but it exactly was a roller-coaster. There were so many ups and downs- a lot of times in one day. Our biggest "down" was our son, James's bilateral grade IV brain bleed. The neurologist called it the "worst brain bleed she had ever seen". We lost him a week later but we remember him everyday. Among the girls, we experienced four surgeries and some infections scaresa. Our biggest "up" was of course seeing our girls wean off the breathing help and ultimately bringing them home with a relatively clean bill of health.

Today, we don't have too many reminders that were born at 27 weeks. Their scars are the obvious reminder, but they are for the most part extremely healthy. We sheltered them the first couple of winters which is one of the reasons their lungs are so strong now.

Neonatology is an amazing field- I was in awe of how preemies are treated. Both the non-life dependent efforts- physical therapy, diligent head placement, the conscientious effort to keep the blood saturation at the perfect level (too high contributes to eye problems) to the life-saving efforts of ventilation, surgeries, and infection-prevention.

March of Dimes is a very special organization to me and I know they are responsible for many of the advances in public awareness- from pushing folic acid and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, plus the money they give towards neonatal research is so important. Please donate whatever is comfortable! Also, visit my blog to see how healthy my three surviving quads are.

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Sofia, born at 1lb 11 oz

Madeline, born at 1 lb 14 oz

Josephine, born at 1 lbs 13 oz

James, born at 2 lbs 8 oz

My three surviving quads all snuggled together (when they were sick). Sofia, Josephine, Madeline

Uncle Steve

2012-02-01T14:40:00.001-06:00

The last couple weeks have been very rough in many ways. The most tragic was an accident my uncle Steve was in while in Scottsdale. Three weeks ago this Friday, my uncle was riding his bicycle and was hit by a drunk driver in an SUV. Steve was NOT wearing a helmet- actually he had promised his friend that he would the night before. Sadly, he was a stubborn guy. This drunk driver was at a BAC of .18 in the early afternoon crash. It sickens me to think of such a senseless act. The court system in Arizona is maddening also... this guy won't even see the court room for another 2 years because everything is so backed up. He gets to just keep hanging out like normal until then.
Enough ranting about the drunk driver, sorry. My uncle was in a deep, deep coma right away. The prognosis even at the start was bad and he kept getting either worse or the same. All the scans showed no brain activity. He ended up passing away this past Thursday, January 26th. We are all devastated by this accident. My parents were down in AZ as soon as they heard about the accident and just got back this past Monday. They did all the logistical work, which was so draining in itself.
Steve was a great, fun guy. My brother, Andy, started a memory blog post about him if you want to see our memories. Another memory I didn't add to my brother's blog was when I was younger, he used to take me to Best Buy when he was in town. He drove a sparkly corvette and I just felt so cool in it, and any chance to look at the newest music was a treat (especially before internet and iTunes were the main sources for music). We always kidded around with each other and when I started drinking coffee we even had a couple coffee outings at Caribou. Talk about a cool uncle. We didn't see him too often, but when James died he made a point to come to the funeral. He was pretty invested in the quads even if most of the time from afar. He hadn't met the girls yet, but he was probably going to this summer when he was back in Minnesota. When he was younger, he was a bit of a wild child- the complete opposite of his brother, my dad. He was living a really happy life as of his accident. He had just bought a condo in Scottsdale for winters and was biking all the time. Here's his official obituary from the Willmar and Scottsdale newspapers.

Steve in Scottsdale, probably at a coffee shop

To top off the emotional turmoil, our family was hit with a stomach bug. I don't have to give you the details- I'm sure it would be TMI. Let's just say we had three mornings in a row of walking into their room with a surprise. Josie started with a fever only Jan 22, and we only just now can say we are healthy (as of yesterday). I only had a fever for one day, so I was spared. We really didn't get out of the house and everyone was just tired, sick, and crabby. Elmo was on TV a lot. When I think of my uncle's accident, we really shouldn't complain of a little virus.
Minnesota is in Spring-time mode and it's only February 1st! I'll include some pictures from a walk yesterday. Even getting out of the house for walks these past couple weeks was a big relief and refreshing. Today, since they have been healthy, we made it to ECFE. The girls had fun and didn't care when I left for the parent discussion time. I was told that they don't usually stick together while playing. I wish I could spy on them and see what they do!

Josie: slow and steady wins the race! (she walked for the longest)

Madeline off-roading it

Madeline

Sofia found my hat! Someone graciously left it on a bench after I lost it yesterday! Thanks, whoever you are!

Sofia is way in the distance! Run, Sofia!!

Even though we can't walk as long, I really love when the girls can run free instead of being cooped up in the stroller. I always feel a little bad when they just sit there for a half an hour walk! I don't have any other fun pics this post...just wasn't in a camera happy type of mood! Anyways, hope you all are avoiding the winter bugs, but if you aren't, "this too, shall pass!" Thanks for reading.

NICU Follow-up Evaluation

2012-01-23T13:07:00.000-06:00

How's everyone's January? We are finally getting "real" January weather- hitting below 0 temps, snow, etc. I don't mind so much but I am looking forward to Florida, not going to lie! The girls have been doing well except they have been waking up at night a lot lately. Normally, they just cry for a couple minutes and go back to bed on their own.

The main news is the results from the NICU evaluation. Each girl had one caregiver and one therapist running the tests. Sofia was with her grandma (Dan's mom), Madeline was with Dan and Josie was with me. I wish I could say they all tested well, but no! With all the other NICU follow-ups, Sofia has never tested well and the other two did better. This time, Sofia did a great job! (ehhh, and Josie and Madeline not so much.) When I was with Josie, it was just apparent she just didn't want to cooperate. She was not comfortable. Dan told me Madeline was cooperative until a certain point, but then the therapist would want a toy back, which would push her over the edge.
The sections included: cognitive, fine motor, gross motor, receptive language and expressive language. None of the girls did that well with gross motor but all three were past the point of cooperation at that point (this was the last part of the test). I can't say this for sure, but I think they would have scored better if the therapists watched them play at home or open gym.
One funny tidbit from Madeline's test: one of the fine motor tests was putting Cheerios in a little film canister. She totally ignored directions and would stuff all the Cheerios in her mouth! So the therapist would get more Cheerios out... but Madeline would stuff them all in her mouth again! This went on for a while, until I finally said "You know, she's just going to keep eating them- she's really hungry apparently!" Needless to say, she did NOT pass that test! The test has to use little objects that aren't choking hazards so we couldn't use different small objects. That test was towards the end and hitting lunch time- luckily I brought lunch so they could eat while we waited for results. Here's how the girls did.... ("Normal" is scoring between 85 and 115)

Madeline-
Weight- 23 lbs 9 oz (10th percentile on the regular chart- as opposed to the preemie adjusted chart)
Height- 32 1/2 inches (25th percentile)
Head- 18 1/4 inches (25th percentile)
Cognitive Score- 95 (age equivalence 24 months)
Motor Score- 91 (fine motor 21 months, gross motor 22 months)
Language Score- 94 ( expressive language 21 months, receptive language 24 months)

Madeline, just reading a book.

Josephine-
Weight- 22 lbs 1 oz (under the 5th percentile)
Height- 31.5 inches (under 5th percentile)
Head- 18 1/2 inches (25th percentile)
Cognitive Score- 95 (age equivalence 24 months)
Motor Score- 97 (fine motor 26 months, gross motor 20 months)
Language Score- 94 (expressive 22 months, receptive 23 months)

A new thing Josie does with her mouth.

Sofia-
Weight- 20 lbs 15 ounces (under 5th percentile) *this would mean she gained more than a pound in the last month so I think either the weight was wrong at her 2 yr appointment, or wrong at the NICU. I would be happy if she really is almost 21 lbs, though!!
Height 31 1/2 inches (under 5th percentile)
Head- 18 1/4 inches (25th percentile)
Cognitive Score- 100 (25 months)
Motor Score- 100 (Fine motor 28 months, gross motor 20 months)
Language Score- 115 (expressive 29 months, receptive 31 months)


Sofia putting the eyes on Mrs. Potato Head.

We truly believe Madeline and Josie are at least as skilled in fine motor, verbal and cognition as Sofia, so we just see Sofia as representing them all. I think we're caught up to their real age! (except size... Maddie is the only one "caught up"-kinda- in that department.) We'll work on those gross motor skills, though! All three girls showed no red flags, even if all the numbers were accurate. We don't have to go back until they're 4 1/2 years old for an IQ/school readiness test.

Here are some pictures! The snowy ones are from New Years Eve weekend up north.

The whole family up north at the cabin! (Sofia, Josie, Maddie L to R)

Sofia and Madeline getting pulled in the sled.

Josie and me!

Hmm...are we supposed to be on these shelves??

Group picture on my birthday! (I'm 28 now!) S, J, M

Madeline and Josie- sister love!

More sister love... (and thanks, Elmo, for letting me cook!)

All for now! I hope everyone has a good work week!

It's 2012!

2012-01-05T13:14:00.002-06:00

Well, I feel like we're almost settled in after getting home this past Sunday... we were in Duluth for over a week. We are putting away Christmas decorations, catching up on laundry, and trying to keep up in general. Duluth was great- Christmas Eve with my family (we missed Andy and Aimee as they had to get back to Iowa, Ben couldn't get time off busy residency, but Jon was home!) We spent Christmas day with Dan's family. The girls got fun new toys- highlights being new dolls, a little people set, movies, books, and trikes (trikes were from Santa!)....and so much more. We probably need to clear out old/baby toys to make room!

New Year's Eve was spent at Dan's family's cabin. The girls did NOT make it to midnight (but their parents made it- barely). There are a couple of things I'm looking forward to in the next couple of months. Mid-January we bring the girls to the NICU follow-up appointmet to see how they are doing developmentally and physically. I'm not expecting them to be fully caught up quite yet but it's fun to see what they can do. In February, we are taking the girls on the plane to Florida! My parents are renting a condo so we will stay with them. I'm so nervous about the plane part but I don't have to think about it too much yet.

I don't have much to report on- this post is mostly to show-off the latest pictures- but I did want to throw a question out there. Everything I have read says not to be a short order cook, but to me, it's different when we're struggling to make the growth curve. We're on the fine line of turning Sofia (and a lesser extent the other two) pickier than they would because I end up making her other food when she refuses a new meal. Arg! Any ideas for picky eaters? I will try to keep introducing new foods over and over but I need to get calories in her! Plus some of the fattening stand-bys are not working anymore!

Here are some new pictures.

At the winter carnival at the nature center by our house. The girls are looking at the "snow dogs".

Sofia is still not a fan of big animals!

Turkeys and chickens aren't so scary.

The very scary Santa. We were with him 0.2 seconds.

S, J, M in their Christmas dresses! (stuffing their faces with crackers and cheese- yum!)

Josie opening her doll with daddy (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!)

Maddie with Grandpa

Langager family (minus two brothers and a sister-in-law)

Watching the Christmas train with Grandpa

Grandparents with all their grandchildren

Christmas morning discovering the trikes Santa left them (Sofia, Maddie in background)

Cuddling up watching Winnie the Pooh. Peaceful!

Sadly, I didn't get any from the cabin, but I know I will get some from Dan's dad (the designated photographer of the family). Here is a video from our Christmas Eve church service (the church I grew up going to). They attracted quite a little crowd watching them. Lots of pent up energy!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years! Here's to great things in 2012!!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T22:12:00.001-06:00

Countdown to Christmas!... here is our Christmas card this year.

Hope everyone is having a great week leading up to Christmas! Tomorrow, Dan and I get to see some friends from college, and Saturday we head up to Duluth for the week! The girls are doing great- they have little colds but just a runny nose thing.
The two year appointment was fine. The doctor said Sofia's weight gain was getting better. She weighs 19 lbs 8 oz and is 32 inches tall. She made the growth curve for her REAL age for height (not so much her weight)! Her head is 45 percentile for her real age too (they have all been on the growth curve for their head sizes every appointment so far).
Madeline is 22 lbs 6 oz and is close to 32 inches tall (which is hard to get accurately anyway- I think they're the same height).
Josie is 21 lbs 2 oz and also close to 32 inches tall. Both Josie and Madeline had similar sized heads to Sofia. Nice big brains! The doctor thought the girls were developmentally on track- similar to other 2 year olds. We don't have to return for another year. (Let's not come back for illnesses, OK, girls?)

Have a very Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays!

Two years old! (Belated birthday post!)

2011-12-15T15:03:00.000-06:00

I had the intention to write a post closer to their birthday, but this is the best I did!   What a bittersweet time of the year. Two years ago today, James was still alive, though at this point we were getting to be certain he was brain dead. Their actual birthday was a happy day, but we knew it was just too early. 27 weeks and 1 day...definitely not even close to my hopeful (maybe lofty?) goal of 32 weeks.
   On the other hand, look at our three healthy girls! We couldn't be luckier in how they turned out. In early winter of 2009 we weren't sure if Sofia would pull through her sudden illness/surgery, whether Madeline would resolve her unexplained blood gas issues or even whether, late in the NICU stay, Josie would be sent home with a trach. Now, they are pretty much like any other 2 year old! (Maybe too much like a 2 year old lately!)
   We had some family over for their birthday party this past Saturday. It was more low key than last year (when they had a party on top of a reaffirmation of baptism). They got a lot of fun presents and had fun opening them. Their BIG birthday/Christmas present they couldn't open- both sets of grandparents chipped in to get them a sweet play set. Of course, we also had cake at the party. When we sang to the three girls, Sofia started bawling! I felt bad but I still got a couple pics. All three of them get pretty hesitant around a crowd, which I am sure is common (but I'm more introverted than extroverted so I could have passed on those genes).

Party before the party


The girls and grandma

Opening presents with mom and dad by our side (the room was filled with people, though!)

We're ready for some cake!

Sofia: "wait, I didn't agree to the singing part!!!"

Sofia exhausted by the end of the party (laying on her new sleeping bag)

Here are some random 2 year stats (besides weight/height- I'll give those next week after their 2 year appointment)...

Sofia
favorite food- I would have to say blueberries, but she definitely will eat all the lasagna or scrambled eggs you put in front of her. She would mostly prefer fruit to anything else.

favorite toy- stuffed animals (especially dogs), dolls, books, the doll stroller and grocery cart. She currently has no real attachment to anything- she likes to sleep with something but if we don't have a particular thing she doesn't freak out.

tidbits- loves wearing shoes (but NOT the ones I want her to wear), picking out clothes (and micromanaging her sisters' clothes too), loves Elmo, has been fighting battles with mom such as where she gets to eat a meal (trying to refuse the high chair, but I'm winning that battle) Sofia can hang holding onto a bar the longest- I discovered this at the jungle gym at ECFE (of course I'd like her to weigh more and not be so great at it!!!)

Sofia on her birthday

Sofia

Madeline
favorite food- cottage cheese, sweets (like the rare occasion I give cookies, etc), lasagna
favorite toy- still has to have her blankie ("kinki"), anything to climb on, books, dolls, the doll stroller and grocery cart.
tidbits- she loves fighting battles too (where to sit and when she doesn't want to get clothes on).... she is acquiring the love of shoes also, has some extreme oppositions such as hitting and pulling her own hair. Still the biggest daddy's girl and recently was soothed at bedtime when Dan was out of town by me telling her "Daddy says goodnight, I love you".

Madeline on her actual birthday.

Oh, sweet Madeline.

Madline

Josie
favorite food- mac and cheese, vegetables, all fruit...basically the least picky but who knows if that will change (AND she doesn't battle over where to sit since it freaks her out to sit on the stool- but we had a recent battle of removing her cat).
favorite toy- blankie ("kinki"), her cat stuffed animal, other stuffed animals, puzzles, the new fridge farm toy, books, stroller and grocery cart.
tidbits- Making the quickest strides verbally and possibly cognitively (she usually has the best patience so that helps). We're worried she's going to start getting deformed because she constantly has her cat tucked in her arm- she's always trying to do things with mostly one arm (we're not actually worried!)

Josie on her birthday

I'm happy because I have my cat :)

Josie playing peek-a-boo!

Here are some more random pictures. Sofia and Josie had a long hugging session today that I have to include. I also have to add a couple videos I sent to Dan JUST in case he's missing them a little bit. ;)


Sofia and Josie. Sister hugs melt my heart!

Josie can still hug holding her cat!

Sister hugs inevitably lead to sister wrestling. (I like how Josie is still happy with her two sisters on her!)

Last week at the Macy's display with grandma. Fun times!

OK, sure, but can you do pull-ups?

Dan has been gone for work this whole week, but amazingly it has gone by pretty quickly. It helped that I got to go to the play "Cinderella" on Tuesday night with a bunch of the ladies in Dan's family. Thanks, Pete, Steve, and Dave for babysitting! I know it was the first diaper change for a couple of you!!! Lara and I were impressed with a job well done.
This weekend is the last weekend before Christmas- crazy! One fun thing planned is the family Christmas party at a nature center close by where they can meet Santa. After all the holidays, we get to anticipate the NICU followup evaluation. We better study up, girls! Have a nice weekend, everyone.

Closing in on December!

2011-11-30T13:39:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We are a little more than a week away from the girls' second birthday!! We're going to have a small party with cake- nothing big. I hear there may be an Elmo theme...

Thanksgiving for us was in Duluth with both of our families. My family had the early one and Dan's the late one. (YES, we ate two dinners in one day, only about 4 hours apart!) Oh, and I earned at least one of my meals because I ran the Gobble Gallop 5k! I didn't run as fast as I was hoping but I improved from my last 5k this past summer. While the girls and I were in Duluth (and Dan was working) we did all kinds of fun things...play time with cousins Dane and Peter, the aquarium, open gym, and the Duluth Children's Museum. Fun times.

I'll give little updates on all the girls...

Sofia has been showing her toddler side a little more lately with lots of defiance. I don't know why but lately she screams bloody murder during baths (physically hurt? or mental?- no idea) and hasn't been eating as well. I just weighed the girls yesterday with the home scale and she was 19 lbs 10.5 oz. Most one year olds are 20 lbs so we still have a peanut. We continue to push high-cal foods but apparently we need to try harder. What will be important will be what the doc says about her weight gain since the 18 mo apt. They don't go in until the 20th so we'll see then.

Sofia looking adorable (photo by Andy Langager, my brother)

Sofia (photo by Andy Langager)

Madeline is in a DADDY DADDY spurt. When Dan joined us in the Duluth for Thanksgiving, that's when Madeline realized she needed him! Sometimes she screams when he gives her to me!! Hurts my feelings! ;) During the day when he's gone, I'm an adequate substitute, luckily. Madeline's weight yesterday was 22 lbs 9.5 oz. Her 18 month sized pants are getting a little snug on her! I think she inherited my eating gene. Madeline and all of her sisters are talking so much more now. She was the first to ask for water (she just says "wateee wateee"). They will identify things in books and out in the world. One example lately was all three shouting out "cow! cow!" when we passed the milk section since Kemps milk has a cow on the carton. I am so excited for this talking development.

LOVE this picture of Madeline (photo by Andy Langager)

Madeline (photo by Andy Langager)

Josephine now weighs 21 lbs 12 oz. Josie has been doing well. She has been the best sleeper lately (Sofia has been getting up a lot lately and Madeline only waking from Sofia.) Josie is also doing really well with eating- still loving her veggies! She recently grew attached to a little Beanie Baby cat from her grandparent's (Klopp) house. It's a little problematic during meal times when she'll throw a fit if I take it away... hmm. She also likes to throw fits when I try to get her dressed. All three girls think they have more say than they really do. I say "Time to take a nap!"Josie nonchalantly shakes her head and says "No... no." (Not even a fit, just saying it matter-of-factly). Oh really??

Favorite of Josephine (photo by Andy Langager)

Josie as happy as can be (photo by Andy Langager)

Here are some more random pics, and some from Thanksgiving. I need to get a pic of the Klopp Thanksgiving still, so hopefully I can put that one up later.

Thanksgiving group pic. Just missing brothers Jon and Ben. (photo by Andy Langager)

Through the window (J, M, S)

Aimee, Sofia, me, and Madeline all on a train at the Depot/Children's Museum

Well, I hope everyone's having a great week. Here comes the busiest time of the year in the Klopp household (I'm sure the busiest for most of you!) We're ready, December!!

2011-11-24T12:32:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving from the Klopps!

I'm thankful for my healthy girls and my wonderful husband. How about you?

Halloween Fun/Update!

2011-11-01T22:13:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween! It was the girls' first time trick-or-treating this year- we just went to 10 or so houses in our neighborhood. It is really funny to think of the whole idea of trick-or-treating through the eyes of a young toddler. They had to be thinking "Really, what are we doing, Mom??" We brought them along in a Choo-choo and then let them walk to the door at each house. They were all distracted during their short walk to the door, looking at garden statues, rocks, and pumpkins. Once they got up to the door they would all yell "hello!" At one house, Josie tried to walk in the house. It was all pretty amusing! By the last couple houses they were getting tired. Mission completed!

Sofia, Josie, and Madeline with their pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.

Madeline!


Sofia acting silly.

The Sunday before Halloween we had fun carving pumpkins. The girls sat in their high chairs watching and playing with the slimy seeds. At first they didn't touch the goop but then they had fun playing with it.

Dan working on his Jack-o-lanterns

Josie being typical Josie- she's putting the seeds in the cup holders. Organizer!

Here are some costume pics!

Josie, Madeline and Sofia

Thing 1, 2, and 3. (Sofia, Madeline, and Josephine)

Josie having fun on the front porch!

Madeline held the candy basket and Sofia's ringing the doorbell. Look at the dog!

Their transportation.

If you have a couple minutes, here's a video demonstrating pre-bedtime madness. They are get this hyper most nights!

Have a good rest of the week, everyone! One last pic.

Sofia walking Oreo (Dan's aunt and uncle's dog). She didn't want to stop!

Quick Update

2011-10-21T14:36:00.001-05:00

We've had a great week! They haven't been sick in awhile now (knock on wood!) There was no ECFE this week because all the teachers in MN have a conference (or something) so we headed to library story time instead. The girls had fun and did a little better sitting still for most of the stories and songs.

A couple cute new tidbits:
*Josie LOVES puzzles! She will sit and do one of our many puzzles and is very patient in getting it right. The other two would try for a second- if that- and move on. Just a little too busy!

Josie looking serious

*All three, but Sofia in particular are having fun with new words. Sofia has a little bit too much fun with the word "no". At times it's helpful though- like if I ask if they want peanut butter for lunch I'd rather Sofia tell me "no" than have her not eat the lunch!


Sofia

*The girls love to spin and get dizzy and dance to music. Watching them try to walk after spinning is hilarious. Why would you want to keep spinning after that!?

Madeline looking in the distance

Love this pic! They are chasing after Odin.

You want us to stand here and smile? Are you kidding me?

Have a great weekend everyone!

22 Months!

2011-10-10T21:24:00.002-05:00

The girls are acting a lot older lately! They will copy words a lot more. They also point and say "dog", "duck/quack", etc; not enough to communicate when they really need to tell me something, though. Tantrums are still the main form of communication...oh, and "uh-uh-uh" while looking in my eyes willingly. I usually know what they want but they should TELL me!

ECFE (Early Child/Family Education) is going well! We've only had two classes and we haven't separated yet. The girls seemed more comfortable the second class so I hope it only gets better and better. The girls had an "art" project the last class which was the teacher painting their feet to get footprints on paper. All three cried during it- "Mommy, WHAT is happening to my feet?!" The class is every Wednesday- something to look forward to!

A couple days ago, Madeline weighed in at 21 lbs, 5 1/2 oz. I am eating my words when I said Madeline has been the easiest. Lately, she is pretty needy and is definitely a mama's girl at the moment. All of the girls have gone through cold after cold, and Madeline always gets hit a lot harder. I attribute some of her moodiness/neediness to that. She also has a hot temper lately. She will bite objects or pull her own hair when she's worked up. When she's sweet, she's really sweet though. When she practices saying all of our names and comes to mommy, she'll say it so nicely and look at me with those big blue eyes. I just melt!

Madeline

Peek-a-boo, Madeline!

Josie is great and weighs in at 20 lbs, 13 1/2 oz. She's catching up to Madeline! (She has been the best eater in the last week or two.) She can still get worked up with her tantrums but nothing worse than before. A cute, really new thing they've been doing is during story time. We read "Goodnight Moon" almost every night, and when Dan reads it he always asks "Where'd the mouse go? Where did it go?" (the mouse is in a different spot on all the room pages). Now, the girls say that on almost every page. Josie gets the most into it and uses her hands while asking. It is so cute! Dan and I love to take the girls on walks in the woods by our house and Josie is the most gung-ho. She is usually in front and can walk the longest without needing to be carried. She may be the cross country runner! (And all this time I thought that with her lungs being the weakest in the NICU that she may not.)

Josie looking extra pretty.

Josie getting ready to go down the slide

Sofia is doing well and weighs 19 lbs, 4 1/2 oz! I am pleased with her weight gain- the difference between her and her sisters is decreasing. With talking, she accentuates probably the best of all the sisters. You can really understand "where did it go?" Crazy! All of the girls love Elmo right now. All moms know you need a little help during certain times of the day (maybe not the supermoms, I don't know), especially getting dinner ready. I just put Sesame Street "On Demand" and they just light up! Sofia looks at me and giggles when she knows it's coming on.

Sofia is SO FAST the picture came out blurry! (Having fun at the park)

Sofia loves dolls lately!

Here is this past Sunday during a walk in the woods by our house. I love these woods and we are so lucky to have it close by. Yes, I am wearing a TANK TOP in October. I'm ready for real fall weather, Minnesota!

Daddy and Josie (in white) and Madeline.

Mommy and Sofia

Josie in the woods!

Sofia looks like she's strutting, not hiking. Ha!

What do you see, Madeline?

Here are a couple more random play/park/woods pics. Hope you don't mind!

OK, no more pics! You said we were going to the park!

We want to ride the horse! (Maddie in green, Sofia in blue)

They look so LITTLE on the path!


Group pics- a thing of the past.

Thanks for reading (if you made it this far)! Have a great week!

Duluth is a Cool City

2011-09-17T20:35:00.001-05:00

This weekend is the opener for bird hunting, so of course my husband had to provide for his family and bring us home some healthy meat! I went along for the ride to Duluth to hang out even though my parents and Dan's parents are all out of the country (mine in England, Dan's in Canada). Lara and her boys were around in the morning so all of the cousins got to play. This afternoon I brought the girls to the Lakewalk and Canal Park- touristy but wonderful! The girls squealed just looking at the huge lake..then they were even more excited with all the seagulls. Seagulls are no longer annoying when you see them through the eyes of a toddler! Oh, and we saw trains twice, and a huge ship go through the canal (from afar), complete with the ship and bridge horns. SO Duluth! Makes me miss the city so much.

Josie and Madeline right by the Aerial Lift Bridge in Canal Park

Sofia and Mama!!

Mama and her girls (thanks, kind stranger for taking the pic).

Madeline on the rocky pebble beach. It's even colder than it looks!

Josie with Lake Superior in the background. LOVE this lake (and look at the ship!)

What do you see, Sofia?

I also wanted to share some new tidbits...
*Of course, Dan and I shower the girls with kisses all the time, and finally they are kissing back! Sofia and Josie lean with a closed mouth (not puckered or anything), but Madeline leans in with her mouth WIDE open and her tongue hanging out!! No thank you!!!
* They learned how to wave a long time ago, but weren't interested in doing it much until. It started when one time a truck came down the street and I announced it, and when it was out of view, I said "byebye truck. All gone." Sofia would wave and look at me. Now, she waves byebye at the most random times, like when we see a squirrel and then it becomes out of view, she'll wave. She'll wave bye or hi to trucks/cars a lot too. It is so darn cute!
*Josie has become a lot more aggressive lately and stealing almost more than Sofia! Madeline has been pretty permissive and less likely to fight for an object. I still have to say that Maddie is still the "easiest".
*The girls are in FULL BLOWN getting names for things. Plus, they bring me books to read constantly. They used to just page through by themselves and refuse to let me read aloud to them, but now they sit and listen to stories! Or they just have me name everything in books or in real life. Their word for when they point and wait for a response is "dit". I'm excited, for when they tell ME what things are! Let's get talking (more)!

The best they could do for a group photo today. Way too busy for the camera! (J, S, M)

Well, Dan will be home any minute with some greasy Vietnamese food including the best egg rolls ever. We'll save the healthy game food for later. All for now!

FIrst Haircut!

2011-09-11T21:02:00.004-05:00

The girls' hair lately was pretty much a mullet and I knew something had to be done about THAT... I bought the scissors a couple weeks ago but I finally bit the bullet and did the girls' first haircut! I have absolutely NO experience, but I could have done a worse job, right? The girls did really good sitting still... I found a nice long Elmo clip on YouTube. Here are some pics of their new hairdo. They look a little older!

Before... (J, M, S)

Back view before

Josephine modeling her new 'do

Josie!

Madeline!

Madeline's back. I could touch it up a little....

Sofia!

Sofia's back of head

21 Months!

2011-09-06T13:59:00.002-05:00

In a couple days the girls will be 21 months, 18 adjusted! When strangers ask how old they are I have to stop telling them in months at this point! Things have been really busy with trips and illnesses so I didn't get to the blog until now. I don't like getting behind! A couple weekends ago we brought the girls to my parents' cabin close to Ely (waaay up north, 5 hour plus drive from here with the freeway construction). Our friends Marie and Adam came with their two kids too (Luke, 4-almost 5 and Eva, 2 1/2). We missed some of the warm days they had been getting there, but at least it didn't rain during the day. I stayed an extra day because my parents and brother Ben were arriving the cabin. Ben lives in Portland right now so I don't get to see him much!

Sofia on left, Maddie on right. The background is my parent's cabin.

Josie on the dock

Madeline (and Sofia's profile). What a pretty lake!!

Mom, we found some flowers! (Josie on left, Sofia on right)

The girls have been doing well besides the sicknesses (fevers and bad cold/cough).

Sofia is obsessed with shoes. She'll try to get in the mud room where we keep shoes and she'll muster all her concentration to say "shoes". So, I'll put some sandals on her... but that won't keep her satisfied for long. She'll want to put a different pair on. Sometimes she'll go through 3 or 4 shoes in an hour (only outside because some are too dirty for inside). She still babbles a bunch- working on real words!

Miss Sofia!

Madeline was the sickest with her cough. Every time she gets a cold, her cough sounds like croup, but the doctors agree that the specific sound of her cough is from the surgery way back in the NICU (she had a gap between the esaphogus and trachea, and a gap between the esophagus and the stomach that they fixed). She must have scar tissue or abnormal structures still but it's supposed to get better with time.

Madeline!

Josephine is working on words, along with her sisters. Among the words they say/try to say: mama, daddy, baby, hello, dog, duck, quack, woof, shoes, Elmo, diaper... I know there are more but I can't remember them all! Oh, and of the three, she loves to give "sister hugs" the most when we ask her to! I have to show a video of that!

Josie managing the rough terrain!

Josephine and Sofia holding hands. *heart melts*

Lara, Charie and their boys Dane and Peter came to stay with us for almost a week since Charlie had to work in the cities. We had one busy but fun house! It's great having another adult around during the day too!

Awwww... Sofia and Dane (what a good big cousin!)

Awwww again! Dane, Sofia, Josie, Madeline

Pools are fun to play in even without water!

The cousins watching Sesame (Josephine, Dane, Madeline, Sofia, and Peter)

We all went to the Minnesota State Fair when they were in town. What a zoo! It was so crowded and we still brought our triple stroller. You would NOT believe the looks and overheard comments! I don't know if I'll ever be fully used to it. I'm sure we'll be back next year, though. Fun times!

Little farmers at the Minnesota State Fair! (on top: Peter, Dane, bottom: Sofia, Josephine, Madeline)

They look thrilled... :)

Ok, I have to add this video of my nephew, Peter! Isn't he the best dancer?? (It's also on YouTube)

Happy Little Toddlers

2011-08-11T18:37:00.002-05:00

The girls have been little characters lately. Usually very happy but also getting more stubborn. They are usually easily distracted though!

We've been going to Story Time at the library again. Last week, they sat like little angels (until towards the end when their attention span got the best of them). This week they wouldn't let me hold the book to read along and were up and about most of the time. Who knows! Good thing it's practically expected for this age group to act like that. It's really great talking with other moms though and the play time after is fun for them.

If these pictures don't make you smile, I don't know what will....

Group photo....?

That's a little better! (J, S, M)

Josie just relaxing and smiling away!

LOVE this picture of Madeline!

Sofia looking more and more grown up. So pretty!

Just try to resist Josie's smile!

If I look away, it is not uncommon to find Madeline on the dining table! Look how happy she is!


My good friend, Marie, has been giving me hand-me-downs (really really cute I have to add). One item was this winter jacket. I had Sofia try it one and now whenever she sees it she wants it on! Doesn't she look proud?

Popcorn feast! The video is SOLELY of them eating popcorn, nothing too exciting. It's just cute to see how into it they all are!

The feast! (S, M, J)

It can't be all done, it just CAN'T!

Sofia signing more popcorn!


He's a good dog...

Dan and I at the latest wedding in Duluth. What breathtaking views of Lake Superior! Congrats to Blake and Joy!!!

Biting, Tantrums, and Climbing, Oh my!

2011-08-02T13:20:00.001-05:00

We are hitting the terrible twos a little early! All three of them will get really steaming mad when things don't go their way. They will screech, roll around and fling out of my arms, bite, and hit! Usually, they will swat at the floor or an object, but sometimes it's me or a sister. This behavior isn't out of control or anything, I'm just surprised they are this old now! On the other hand, they still bring each other their blankies and they even blow kisses when I show them how.

Josie's arm with Sofia's bite marks.

Sofia probably has the hottest temper of all. When I tell her to stop hitting or biting she will listen to me. Sofia has used the potty (on purpose) a couple times. She will smile when she's done and you can tell she loves the praise. I know we are far away from potty training but it's good to know that she understands a little bit aleady.

How does this sweet face have such a hot temper?? (Sofia)

Madeline is doing well. She is our biggest climber of the three, and she is very determined about it! I have even caught her on the top of our computer desk (and taking her down provokes a tantrum, of course!) Also, I bet all the girls know this, but when I ask where Madeline is, she points to herself! Before the girls would just look around a little confused.

Mom, I need these shoes on! (Madeline)

Josephine is doing really well with open cups and utensils. I don't give them the utensils at every meal or anything, just once in awhile. She got the concept pretty quickly. Sofia and Maddie are working on it too and are getting better every time.

The boxes that toys come in are always more exciting than the toys themselves. (Josie)

Now that Lara and Charlie live in Minnesota, we see them a lot more often! Just last week, they stayed a couple nights since Charlie had to work in the cities. We took the kids to the zoo one of the mornings. (Oh, and apparently we are one of the exhibits. That triple stroller attracts more attention than the gorillas!) I had to include a picture of our car- we fit all the kids in! Nice!

All the cousins in the Yukon!

Dane and the gorilla!

We are not an exhibit!

Hey, Peter!

We will be in Duluth for another wedding (we had one last weekend too). Yay for Blake and Joy! Congrats! Hope everyone is doing well!

Rest in Peace, Great-Grandpa Al

2011-07-15T13:56:00.001-05:00

The summer is half over! Why does the summer fly by too quickly? We are all doing really well except early this past Wednesday Dan's grandfather, Al passed away. He was 96 years old. I'm glad the girls got to meet him. The whole family is at peace with it because he hasn't been doing well the last couple of years, but a passing is always sad. This is Dan's first grandparent that has passed away.

November 2010. The girls met their great-grandpa Klopp.

Last weekend was busy. We went to our friends' housewarming and then we provided the house for Dan' uncle's 50th birthday party. It's nice having the party come to us!

Sofia (? I'm honestly not 100% sure it's her but based on size, that's my guess) helping uncle Dave open birthday presents!

Josephine, Sofia, and Madeline. They love picking flowers!

Hi Sofia!

Sisters! (S, J, M)

We will be heading up to Duluth Saturday or Sunday for the funeral on Monday. Hopefully you all have a great weekend! The video below is from the cabin over 4th of July. I had to post it because it is just too cute of Sofia and Madeline.

Nice Long Update!

2011-07-06T20:14:00.003-05:00

Did everyone have a great 4th of July weekend? We absolutely did with a good ol' fashioned cabin trip. We went to Dan's side of the family's cabin on a lively lake. The family did a lot of tubing, water skiing, and wake boarding (and I got a couple runs in). We all had a lot of fun... Then my brother Andy and his wife Aimee stopped by on Tuesday for a quick visit. The girls thought it was funny when Andy put sunglasses on them.

Josie trying on the sunglasses

Madeline, Sofia, and Josie showing off their new patriotic outfits and new picnic table!

Madeline is doing very well- she was the biggest fish at the cabin! After she went in the lake once, she would NOT want to get out. We really have to watch her around water because once we caught her about to back off the dock to get in the water. Maybe she'll be the next female Michael Phelps! What a cutie. Another tidbit I thought was fun: we saw her pick up a bottle of sun lotion and pretend to put it all over her body! The girls have imitated us before with combs, phones, etc, but this caught our attention! Smarty pants!

Madeline with a watermelon.... YUMMY!

Josephine has been cracking me up lately. I have noticed she is really independent and can stay focused for longer than the other two. She will collect books or toys and place them in a box or on a chair (or ottoman). All the while she contemplates where the best spot for a particular toy would be (and if it looks like it might tip she would secure it better). Outside she loves to sit by the rocks and carefully place each one on the grass in a pile. It is so stinkin' cute! From what I hear from Dan's mom, Debbie, this would reflect how Dan was when he was little- focused on a particular task for a good chunk of time (while the siblings are darting around the room).

Josie working on a pile of rocks.

I would still call Sofia our little ham- soaking up attention and making people smile. She and her sisters are getting good at pointing out their noses, eyes, ears, heads, hair, etc. One thing I love about Sofia is that she gives me the best hugs. When I get them out of their cribs, the other two are antsy to get on the floor, but Sofia will wrap her arms around me so tightly! What a great feeling! One other funny thing they do- Sofia the most- is point to just about everything and say "dat" or "izit". They love for me to say what each thing is over and over again!

Sofia walking up from the lake.

Here are some more cabin pics, plus some pics from a Duluth trip early June that I stole from my friend Leah.

Mommy with the little fish, Madeline

Dad with Josie and Sofia

Family pic- I'm so lucky!

Love snuggling with Sofia! She looks ready to take a nap.

Cousins! (l to r: Madeline, Sofia, Peter, Dane, and Josie)

Uncle Pete with the girls! No easy task to hold all three like that!

Grandpa (bumpa!) walking Josie and Madeline down the hill.

Thanks for the shirts, uncle Dave! (Sofia, Madeline, Josephine)

The girls thought Anna was the coolest!

Wow, what a great picture! How in the world did we get 5 babies/toddlers to look at the camera?? (PS isn't it weird that both Leah and I had three older brothers and NO sisters- and now we are making up for it!)

So a little side story... I was outside with the girls and they were so cute sitting close together right at the side of the house. I thought it would be a cute photo so I ran inside to get the camera. By the time I got back out (probably 20 seconds) they were nowhere! I immediately looked under the sunroom porch and saw all three! Josie realized quickly it was a little scary and started crying. I pleaded for them to come out because it would be pretty hard to crawl under, and they came out right away. Phew!!! Dan and I had talked about the possibility of them crawling under but I didn't realize how quickly they would try that out.

You can make out two of the girls under the porch :/

This video is so cute- Leah's girls and my girls thought Leah's parent's dog was hilarious. Hehe.

Have a great rest of this short work week! This weekend we are staying in town which is relaxing. Until later!

2011-06-23T11:06:00.002-05:00

How's everyone's summer? Here in MN, it's really off and on. A couple weeks ago we had record heat and now we're 60's and drizzly. Don't even bring up Duluth! I brought the girls to Duluth while Dan went on a BWCA fishing trip. The whole time the weather was not summer-like. Cool, drizzly, foggy...just not nice. BUT, we did have a fun time up north. The girls and I got to spend a lot of time with my good friend Leah and her two girls, Anna and Elsa. One of the best parts was when Leah's parent's little dog ran around and played with the girls because they got in the biggest giggle fits! I could watch that all day. I didn't get any pictures with them but I know Leah did so maybe I'll get them from her at some point and put them on the blog.

Madeline and Sofia exploring all the nooks and cranies at their grandparent's house.

Wagon ride with cousin Peter!

Also when we were in Duluth, Dan's cousin, Tessa, had her high school grad party. Some of Dan's family that hadn't met the girls before finally got to at the party. The girls were a little clingy but warmed up after awhile.

The girls finally had their 18 month well check up. The doctor is pleased with almost every aspect of the girls' health. The one problem was Sofia's weight gain- or lack of. She kind of stalled out the last couple months. The pediatrician suggested PediaSure, but so far she has only had a couple sips. I know she'll be fine, but let's eat more, Sofia! Here are the newest stats on height/weight/etc.

Sofia- 17 lbs 6 oz, 29 1/2 inches tall... not on the growth curve except head at 30th percentile

Sofia is doing a lot better than a couple weeks ago. When I wrote the last update about Sofia, we weren't quite sure what was going on with her. I ended up taking her in after her temp got all the way up to 104.3. The pediatrician found an ear infection and nothing else so we had to do a week of antibiotics. Then, her fever broke but she developed a rash on her body. I had to take her in again to make sure it wasn't a reaction from the antibiotics. Turns out she had roseola... a common and mild illness. I was happy it wasn't serious but bummed it was a VIRUS so I had to wait to see if the other two got it. They share everything! How could they not get it? The day or two once the rash came were really hard because Sofia was pretty miserable. She only wanted me, not anyone else. Anyways, I think the other two would have gotten it by now but haven't! What a relief! Since then she feels better but isn't quite herself. She's been clingier to me lately and had a couple of nights where she woke up and was hard to soothe back to sleep. I don't think it's teething because she recently got a couple molars without even a hint of notice.

What are you thinking about, Sofia?

Miss Sofia looking sweet!

Madeline- 20 lbs 4 oz, 29 inches tall...also not on the curve except head at 30th percentile
Madeline is doing well! The pediatrician said her weight gain was perfect! Recently, she has started making a funny laugh noise that reminds me of their cousin, Dane. Just a silly rough housing noise that you would think came from a toddler boy. She is so funny! I bet she did pick that up from him since
we saw them a lot last weekend.

Blurry, but cute pic of Madeline

Madeline's thinking "Mom! Let's go outside!!!"

Josephine- 19 lbs 3 oz, 29 inches tall... same with the other two except head at 25th percentile

Josie is Josie... One of the things I've noticed about Josie is that overall she is the most even-keeled throughout the whole day and even close to bed time, unless something sets her off (and it is something that other times she would just brush off). It could be that daddy put her down when she wanted him or someone stole her toy... but when she gets mad, she cannot cool herself down! The other two seem to cool off a little easier, but not Josie. Even if we try to give her the toy she fought over or daddy picks her back up, she still has a tantrum! We have to get creative to distract.

Josie babbling away...

Josie showing off her smile!

Oh yeah...we got a fence! My summer is complete!

Sorry, Odin, your running-away days are OVER!

If the girls weren't toddlers before, they certainly are now. Look out, world! Couple more pics... Have a great rest of the week. We are staying in town this weekend so it should be relaxing (and I hear we'll see the sun again??)

Sorry it's so blurry, but I had to put this up! (M, J, S)

Gotta represent! (M, J, S)

18 Months (TOMORROW!)

2011-06-08T11:06:00.004-05:00

Wow, crazy! 18 months is typically a big milestone for development. I'm not expecting them to be quite equal to a full-term 18 month old, but we're getting there. Now that the girls are basically running, I need to hear more words!

This past weekend we had our two reunions- NICU and St. Olaf 5 year. The NICU one was really fun...there was a 3k walk in the morning, then the actual reunion, which was under the Grandstand at the MN State Fair fairgrounds. It included St. Paul and Minneapolis Children's NICUs, so it was packed. I couldn't believe how many people were there! We met a couple other families with higher order multiples, including quints! We also met a family I have known through our very similar stories (Mary and her quads. They were born at 27 weeks and lost one also) It was so great to finally meet her and her family!
The St. Olaf reunion was fun also. I went for the day with the girls and Dan stayed over. We saw some good friends (I'm sure I missed a lot of friends because there were too many people there to know who all was there!) I didn't get good pics of either reunion because we were just too busy chasing our girls! They were running every which way! Exhausting!

Sofia's little run is super cute. She twists her body and it seems like she can't quite go as fast as she wants. Her legs are getting there! Right now, Sofia is a little sick. Not sure if it's a virus or possibly heat illness from yesterday. It's really only a fever and lethargy. Her temp was 103 last night and 103.4 this morning. After ibuprofen her temp came down and her spirits were a little higher- actually playing a little. We'll see how she is after her morning nap. This really is the first fever of the girls- impressive we made it this far!

Sofia is feeling better after her nap!

Madeline is doing really well! I'm not sure if I blogged about this already, but Madeline is the best at communicating with me. Well, just along the lines of FOOD. She actually signs "more" to me! I've been half-working on it for a couple months (just in a relaxed way). An impressive example is after they have eaten, sometimes Dan and I eat dinner while they are playing. They all usually beg by whining, but the other day Madeline actually signed "more", so I HAD to give her some of my dinner.

Madeline giving me a pretty smile!

Josie is great too. Depending on her mood, she'll walk on the sport court, but not always! I never would have thought that'd be something to get used to. She is still the least picky eater and the biggest daddy's girl.

Josie is always photogenic!

A couple days ago I blew up a little kiddie pool since it was so hot (yesterday Minneapolis was the hottest city in the COUNTRY- what?!?!) Josie surprised me and was open to trying it out right away. It was cold water from the hose, so she was surprised at first, but she was happy in the pool! She was the first one in! Sofia enjoyed it right away too, but Madeline was watching from a distance for a while. When I put Madeline in she freaked out, but it helped that I sat with her in my lap in the pool. By the end, Madeline liked the pool the most.

Did we hear there was a POOL outside? (Doesn't it even look hot from the picture? So bright out!)

Josie and Sofia are very interested, but Madeline wants to keep her distance!

Josie on left, Sofia on right enjoying the pool

Madeline: "Hmmmm I just don't know about this"

The girls splashing in the pool! (Madeline is on the left kicking her legs, Josie on the right, and Sofia is the one who is standing up.)

The girls love all thing shoes. They love playing with their shoes, and they love taking adult shoes and carrying them around. I thought it'd be funny for them to try on one of my shoes. They thought it was hilarious and if it fell off, they would bring it back to me to put it back on. They couldn't be more TODDLER!! :)

The shoes fit really well, right Sofia?

Madeline loves mommy's shoes!

Josie with mommy's shoe!

The girls have their 18 month appointment in a couple of weeks. I will be interested what they will weigh. This weekend our plan is to go to a friend's cabin unless the girls are sick. Hope you all have a good rest of the week!

Life is good...

2011-05-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

We are totally adjusted to our new house! :) Who wouldn't love a little extra space? We have a company set that will come build us a fence and then we're set. This Memorial weekend Dan has been getting our old house ready for the new tenants. They move in on Wednesday and we will be working until then. Dan's been such a good worker.

Our girls are fun like always. We are transitioning to one nap a day. It's hard for even me to get used to! The pictures under each girls' updates are from today after their nap. They were pretty photogenic!
Sofia's latest thing is to speak gibberish... a lot different than the baby babble- this actually sounds like a language only she understands (maybe her sisters get it too, who knows!) It is so funny and I need to catch it on film. I would still say Sofia is a bit of a bully to the others (sometimes she is really nice and gives her sisters their blankies) but when they're all playing nicely, Sofia can get impatient if she doesn't get what she wants right away. (And she hogs the sit and spin!)

Sofia so happy!

Sofia with HER doggy! (looks suspiciously like Odin!)

Josephine is doing well! She seems to have the biggest laugh-attacks, where she's just looking for something to be funny...she especially loves to be chased or tickled by mom or dad. She is no longer afraid of the sport court, thank goodness! Josie is also starting to become a little more adventurous outside. Normally, it would be Sofia or Madeline who wanders off and the others follow, but now Josie wanders all by herself. I have noticed that both Sofia and Josie are becoming empathetic like Madeline. Maddie was always the one to bring blankies to the others, but now they all do it! We are so lucky to have girls who look after each other!

Josie's pretty face!

Josie is pondering something...!

Madeline is great too. I still see her as the leader of the pack- usually the first to wander while the others follow. You can tell she's sensitive, though. If a sister steals something she gives it up quickly. Lately, I've noticed all three girls can get major temper tantrums. All three seem to be equally likely to get a tantrum. It's actually a little funny to watch, admittedly. An example would be if someone steals Maddie's blankie and instead of chasing to get it back, she'll throw herself on the ground...walk a little...then throw herself on the ground again. Another example would be if Josie is having a fun time with dad, but then he pays attention to another girl or he gets up, she will flip out! Then when he wants to play with her or hug her she'll be pouting and mad/ignore him!

Madeline's turn!


The most genuine smile you can get!

The video below shows Madeline pushing Sofia in their Cozy Coupe. Look how Madeline knows how to turn the car to avoid going in the rocks! Nice job! There's just a couple more pics too.

Group shot! I didn't get one where all three are looking at the camera...oh well!


You can see the thought process going through Sofia's brain. Hmm, this rock looks tasty...should I eat it?

Josie especially LOVES to take off her shoes!

This weekend is another busy one, but in a good way. First, Saturday morning is the NICU reunion for St. Paul Children's Hospital. We will see some familiar faces hopefully- nurses and docs. They won't believe these are the same girls! After that, we go straight to the St. Olaf FIVE year reunion! I'm signed up just for the picnic lunch, but Dan is staying the night in the dorms. Reliving college, eh? Also, we have some of Dan's family in town for Dan's cousin's high school grad party. Lara, Peter, and Dane will be here- FOR GOOD! Tomorrow, all of them except Charlie will drive to Minnesota- their forever home! That is just too exciting for everyone!!! So I know we'll be seeing them this weekend. Poor Charlie has another month 'till he joins his family.

Have a great, short work week! I'm so excited it's almost June!!

Josephine and the Roach (and some new pics!)

2011-05-20T10:38:00.001-05:00

My brother, Jon Langager is in the middle of his thesis film, "Josephine and the Roach". He has much of it done but he needs more money to finish it up. Even if you donate a couple bucks, it could help! (If he doesn't reach his goal of 4,000 then your credit card won't be charged, that's how Kickstarter works.) You're going to see him get nominated/win an Oscar someday! Seriously! :)

We are heading to Duluth for the first time in a LONG time! We are going to a wedding and seeing family. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Here are some fun pics from a couple days ago... enjoy!

Sofia, Josephine, Madeline

The girls and Odin

Sofia!

Josephine!

Madeline!

Sometimes the girls like to just hang out right there, looking at wood chips and pine cones.

On the sport court. Many years ahead to enjoy playing here!

We're so lucky!

2011-05-16T19:55:00.000-05:00

This is the BEST part about having triplets... they are pure entertainment to each other and to us! They just make me smile and laugh and think about how lucky we are! I love them so much!!

17 Months Already?

2011-05-11T09:46:00.002-05:00

I've been so busy the last week and a half (and before that getting ready to move and the FL trip!) Like I said in the previous post, I had a lot of family in town too. Jon was the last to leave yesterday. The girls are adjusted to the new house. They have so much space inside and out.

House view from the back (photo by brother Andy)

The girls on move-in day, exploring the upstairs (Sofia, Maddie, Josie)

Odin and the girls enjoying the backyard

The move itself was very tiring, and I didn't even do much heavy lifting. We had lots of help from family and friends, so THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN! Our old house is almost ready for our tenant to move in (oh, we signed someone for rent-to-own- woohoo!!) June 1st.

We promised the old owners that the girls would become concert pianists someday (they left their grand piano in exchange for one month's rent- one sweet deal) (M, S, J)

Our favorite room in the house is the sunroom- a 4 season porch. We also love the sport court in our backyard. We have some summer play toys outside already- the school bus slide, the cozy coupe car, and a swing that attaches to a tree branch. The girls like the toys but love exploring...which is why we need a fence ASAP! They are constantly either going to the neighbor's driveway or towards the street. They aren't good enough at listening so I'm always chasing after them and bringing them back to our safe yard area. What a workout!

Grandpa showing the girls a book of themselves! (J, M, S)

Madeline and Sofia checking out the school bus slide

Our family! (Dan has Josie and Sofia, I have Maddie) (photo by Andy)

My whole family! (photo by Andy)


My mom, me, and the girls (S, M, J) on Mother's Day (photo by Andy)

Yesterday the girls went to the NICU follow-up clinic. It's an exhausting couple hours for mom/grandparents and toddlers alike. The assessment is hit or miss depending on the girls' moods. I was worried about the stranger-danger but all the girls eventually felt comfortable. There were three therapists and one guardian per toddler. I was with Madeline and she was off-and-on cooperative. At different points during the session, she would just have enough and would try to arch off my lap. She was just getting antsy and frustrated! Anyways, this is how they did.

Sofia-
Cognitive: 15 month level
Motor (fine and gross): 14 and 13 month levels
Language (expressive and receptive): 8 and 14 month levels

I really don't think the language is an accurate portrayal because Sofia is making the most effort at home to talk. My mom said she was really quiet the whole session.
Lately, Sofia has been such a ham and clown! She seems to devour attention and does things to attract. She just cracks us up! We also noticed that for the last month or so she has been the most adaptable and "easy"...going with the swing of things more so than the other two. We need at least one of them to be like that! When all three girls get a minor bump, a lot of times there are no tears but they will need a hug from me or Dan. It is so cute!

Pretty Sofia (photo by Andy)

Madeline-
Cognitive: 14 month level
Motor (fine and gross): 14 and 15 month levels
Language (expressive and receptive): 12 and 14 month levels

Madeline still has the most stranger-danger and is quite sensitive. With that, though, comes a very compassionate and empathetic girl! When her sisters get hurt and/or cry she is sad with them and brings them their blanky/dog. What a sweetie.
The last two days, Madeline has a problem walking on the hard floor- carpet is fine, but the tile and kitchen floor aren't. I have no idea what's going on with her. I really hope this goes away... I don't know if she has a pain or if she developed a fear randomly.

Beautiful Madeline (photo by Andy)

Josephine-
Cognitive: 16 month level
Motor (fine and gross): 16 and 15 month levels
Language (expressive and receptive): 12 and 14 month levels

Josie is a daddy's girl currently and loves to cuddle in general. She takes a while to grow accustomed to things. It took 4 baths for her to be alright with the new house's tub. She also refuses to walk on the sport court! Maybe it feels funny to walk on? Who knows!
Josie's smile still melts anyone's heart.

Gorgeous but messy Josie! (photo by brother Andy)

In my opinion, the girls are pretty even with their development compared to each other. One walks first, another talks more, and another can do fine motor better. Then they switch up on me! All in all, everyone is pleased with their development: Dan and I, and the therapists and the neonatologist that reviewed with us. They are still below their actual age growth curve (under 3rd percentile except their heads are on the curve). The girls go back to the follow-up when they are 2 years old, and they will no longer be compared to their adjusted age, but rather their real age. The follow-up clinic was also helpful to me to get new ideas on what we can do together!

A couple nights ago, Dan got tickets to the MN Twin's game from work. They were awesome seats in the Champions Club! I don't know if we'll ever have such good seats again but it was great. Free food and drinks and we got to sat behind home plate (6 rows up). Too bad they lost by 8.... oh well, it was worth it!

Morneau!

I think that is all I wanted to update you all on. It's been awhile so sorry it was a long post!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2011-05-08T17:03:00.001-05:00

I wish I had a nice long update with tons of pics but I really don't. One of the main reasons is I'm not sure where my camera charger is so I can't upload pictures. Really quickly, all 3 brothers plus Aimee were able to come see our new house this weekend. The photo below is courtesy of Andy who does know where his charger is.

Anyways, happy mother's day to all the moms out there, ESPECIALLY my mom and Deb! You two are the best!! :)

Dan was good to me on mother's day... some nice meals and some BEAUTIFUL hanging baskets for our front porch! Major points!!
Until next time....


The girls and me on Mother's day (l to r Maddie, Sofia, Josie)

The Official Florida Post

2011-04-26T12:05:00.004-05:00

Where do I begin? First, a huge thanks to Dan's parents, Mike and Debbie for inviting chaos to their rented condo! They rented a condo close to the beach in Florida for the month of April so we went for one week. The whole crew was in FL- Mike and Debbie, Lara and Charlie with their boys Peter and Dane, and Pete and his girlfriend, Erin, and US- all five of us! Dan's grandparents Jim and Sue, plus the Purdy family (cousins)- Connie, Dave, Tessa, Jenna, and Jack were also there. Fun group!

On the way out to Florida, we had a really early flight, and we were so nervous and anxious to see how the girls would handle their first airplane ride. We were lucky to fly with Dan's brother and dad to help out. One baby was able to sit on Mike's lap, and the other two with Dan and me. All three girls ended up sleeping for half of the first 2 hour flight and basically all of the following 45 min flight. So far so good....! We were pleasantly surprised. The girls attracted a lot of attention at the airport and on the plane and people were nice about everything.

So...what'd we do for cribs and highchairs, you ask? WELL, there's a thing called the "Triplet Connection" where people ask each other for advice and I have seen people reaching out for help when traveling. I posted whether there were any families in Pensacola so we could borrow three pack and plays...and guess what! It worked and we picked up three cribs on our way to the condo (not even out of the way, really) to borrow! I love Triplet Connection! For highchairs, we recently got gifts from a family friend, Anita. They are fabric highchairs and they work well! (You have to really supervise because they aren't completely fool-proof.) I included a pic below showing how they work. They are such a great alternative and pack really small! Perfect!
Madeline showing off the highchair for the week.

The girls needed a couple of days to adjust to all the new-ness. You could tell they were overtired and overwhelmed. They were scared of the ocean for the first half of the trip and didn't even want to touch the sand at all. A lot of crying went down and I was a little scared it would be a long week. Madeline was the hardest to adjust, Sofia the easiest. It's so funny because that's not always the case. They weren't into the pool at first either! We eased them into it and evenutally they had so much fun with the pool AND beach. It was even more fun to watch them! (They started to like the sand TOO much and started putting handfuls in their mouth. YUCK! We definitely had to stop that new habit).

We went to see the Blue Angels practice- the first attempt the clouds were too low but we saw it the following day. The girls didn't love it, but I did! (They especially didn't love me covering their ears and sitting too long). On that first day we attempted, we went to the Naval museum instead, which was very interesting. The best part, of course, was a little playground they had. The girls went hog-wild! They were running (no, walking really fast!) all over the place! Even though they weren't together and didn't have matching outfits, they still attracted a lot of attention. Everyone was asking about them!

Sofia and Maddie

Hi Peter!

Sofia and Josie LOVING the museum playground

Here's some fun pics!


The girls loving the pool (not at first)

Sofia hard at play outside the condo (we were on the first floor so we had a communal yard for them to enjoy!)

Madeline

I just love this picture of Josie

Lara and Peter enjoying the beach

Dan and Josie- she was the biggest daddy's girl in Florida!

I tried to get a group shot with my girls but they are too busy!

Josie! (and mom keeping a close watch!)

(Maddie) Yes, they DID eat a lot of sand (quickly taught them NO!!)

What do you see, Maddie?

Surfin' babes!!

Grandpa dipping Sofia's toes in the ocean!

Easter was our last day. (Side note: my triplet mom friend, Elizabeth- yes, the same one who gave me the Choo-choo wagon- gave me these handed down Easter dresses! I was so thankful I didn't have to go shopping for them when I was so busy with getting ready/etc. Thanks again, Elizabeth!) We brought them to church and they lasted, oh, maybe 3 minutes into the service. We brought them to a big empty room (Lara and Peter joined too) for them to run around in. They had fun but no service for us! After church we had a delicious brunch while the girls napped. After nap they got to go on an Easter egg hunt! Dane had a blast and the girls got in on it too. Their eggs had some baby treats- lucky them!

Grandpa and grandma with ALL the grandkids!

Family Easter picture- windy and bright!

Easter Dresses- Madeline, Josie, Sofia

Josie found an Easter egg!

Daddy showing Maddie what to look for

Sofia and Maddie

The trip back went alright too. Dan's brother, Pete, held a baby on the flights back home. The problem was when a baby would see me and had to be with me! Plus, the first flight was at 5 pm, a notoriously fussy time of the day. We played musical babies for sure. I felt badly for Pete- not a very relaxing way to travel. Thank you so much again, Pete! Thanks to Charlie too who helped us out until we parted ways in Atlanta. I don't think we could have handled any of that by ourselves! The second flight was better because they slept the whole way (the flight was at bedtime).

All in all, the trip was a success! Tiring, yes, but we had a lot of fun. I have realized that vacations are no longer vacations with young kids, but it was life in better weather! :) Thanks again, to everyone. Now, we have the countdown to the big move! Our first night in our new house is Saturday. THIS Saturday. Wish us luck! (Luckily it is just a move across town, not the country.)

If you made it through the whole post, good job! Sorry it was so long!

PS. BLOGGER, WORK ON YOUR FORMATTER! It is impossible to work with and this post looks screwed up!

Preview of Florida!

2011-04-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

Stay tuned for plenty of pics! Look at my adorable beach babies!!

Almost 16 Months!

2011-04-04T21:34:00.002-05:00

The closing went smoothly... we move in on the 30th (the owners are renting from us this month until they can move into their new place) but we can start moving our things in right away. The weekend of the 30th will be crazy, though! Hopefully, someone will be moving into our house that same weekend.

I brought the girls to Baby and Me Storytime at the Roseville library. I have been thinking about going for awhile, but they recently had a cold that I didn't want to spread. I was also nervous about how they would act in this new surrounding WHILE missing their morning nap. (Quick side story showing how they can be unpredictable with being scared. In the tub we thought it would be fun to blow some bubbles to show them. They all kinda just looked for a second, then all started bawling. They were so scared of the bubbles! Who would have thought? Plus they take awhile to warm up to strangers.)
Well, it was a hit! The girls weren't scared and had fun playing with toys and other toddlers. Sofia left my side first, followed by Josie. Madeline was pretty much within a couple feet from me up until the end when she finally ventured farther away. The WHOLE circle/story time, Josie was across the circle hanging out with another toddler and mom! I was so surprised! It was so great for ALL of us to get out of the house! I think this will definitely become a regular for us.


Madeline all smiles!

Josie's BIG smile! (blurry)

Sofia deciding whether to let Madeline in their room.

Maddie, Josie, Sofia looking out the door window!

OK, those two look identical in that picture :) (J on left, S on right)

All playing so nicely! (L to R Madeline, Josie, Sofia)

Have a good week everyone. We are counting down the days until Florida and the move. Hope time doesn't go by too fast though because we aren't ready for either!!

Spring in MN! (?)

2011-03-28T13:58:00.000-05:00

If you are a true Minnesotan (especially being from Duluth), you know that official "spring" doesn't mean it will feel like spring. The past several days have been quite chilly, but lately, it has at least been clear and sunny. The sun is strong enough where we are getting good snow meltage even if it's still only 30 degrees. Gradually it's supposed to warm up to 40's (average) this week. Nice! I can't wait until all we have to do to go out is GO OUT! No jackets, hats, mittens, etc.

My dad's birthday is today! Happy Birthday, Grandpa! The girls do NOT do group pictures barely ever anymore. This is the best they could do today.


"We LOVE taking group pictures!!" (L to R Josie, Sofia, Madeline)

One development is I'm pretty sure the girls know who is who. If Sofia is paying attention to me while I ask "where is Josie?" (or Madeline) she points to the right sister! Plus, she points to herself when I ask "where's Sofia?" Or when I say to them, look at so-and-so, they will look to the right sister.

The girls still aren't great with drinking cow's milk. I don't think it's the type of sippy- and it isn't really the taste...they just take some sips and are satisfied. Hmm. They are off and on good eaters besides that.

Josie just reading her book!

Sofia is trying to tell me something.

Maddie!!!

Dan has been working hard on the basement (and his brother Pete did a lot this weekend too!). The finishing touches are almost done, but the main room is all carpeted and painted. We brought the girls down there to romp around and they had so much fun! Josie especially was beside herself with spunk and energy. She was practicing walking, but wanted to run so badly! She would resort to crawling just because it was faster! What a great way to burn off some energy...

Speaking of the housing situation, we close on our new house on Thursday! We won't be moving in until the end of April, but it'll be nice to know it's official! Ahhhh! This was just a quick update. Nothing too much to report. Have a good week!

What's new in the Klopp household...

2011-03-21T13:35:00.002-05:00

A couple weekends ago, we had a visit from my brother Andy and his wife Aimee, and my brother Ben visited a different day. Fun times! This past weekend Dan's parents stayed with us to help get our house ready to sell. We bought our current house 4 years ago and it's been an ongoing project ever since! I just can't wait until this process is done. Thanks for all the help, Mike and Debbie! Our goal is to finally list our house on the market next weekend.

Sofia is a walking machine! She still copies us and she even covers her eyes to play peek-a-boo. At her 15 month appointment, she was still not on the growth curve for height or weight, but she is 25th percentile for head size! Woo-hoo! The doctor said both Sofia and Josie are "holding their own", which is nicely saying they aren't gaining weight quite as quickly as would be ideal.

Sofia patiently waiting for food.

Madeline walks everywhere too and even is trying to run. All of the girls understand so much of what we say- more than we even realize. When I was changing Josie's diaper, I said to Madeline "Madeline, pass me a diaper", and she did! What!?! At the doctor's, Madeline wasn't on the growth curve, but was 25th percentile for head just like Sofia. The doctor is impressed with her weight gain and he says she is catching up. He also said they act closer to 15 month girls than 12 month.

Madeline.

Josephine is still unsure about this walking thing. We see her stand up on her own and take about 5 to sometimes 10 steps, but she doesn't want to take it up full-time. She also gets really intimidated if she's up taking steps and she sees a sister walking towards her. She is just a more tentative girl! Josie is right there with understanding and also practices saying more words. At the appointment, Josie of course wasn't on the growth curve but also has a head in the 25th percentile. Maybe we'll have smart girls!


Josie

Family pic! (Josie and Madeline with me, Sofia with Dan) Photo courtesty of my bro, Andy

Madeline, Sofia, and Josie.

We took the Choo-choo out!! The girls love it! Thanks again, to my triplet mom friend, Elizabeth!! (Laila, Lily, and Caitlin, thank you too for passing on your wagon!)

Madeline, Sofia, and Josie!

Sofia lovingly hugging Josie!

Have a good work week!

One Year Anniversary...

2011-03-20T20:27:00.001-05:00

Josephine Louise came home last year on this date! This is the post marking that happy day. It truly was the best day ever because we finally were done with the NICU. Everyone has a special spot in their heart for Josie because she had that extra month in the hospital.

Josie :)

We had a busy weekend, and I promise I'll put up a good update post tomorrow!!

Happy Due-Date Birthday, Toddlers!

2011-03-09T14:52:00.001-06:00

    March 9th....the girls' original "due date". Of course, we knew there was no chance on actually getting to their due date- or even February for that matter, but it is an important date to us! The due date tells us what their adjusted age is. So, they are ONE year old, adjusted! Next year we won't even be thinking about the "adjusted" age because they are supposed to be caught up by then.
    Tomorrow, the girls go in to their 15 month appointment! (No shots, phew!) We'll see if they make their real age growth curve yet, but I doubt it. We don't have big girls by any means. Luckily, my parents will be able to help me with the appointment. They are in town to pick up my brother Ben from the airport (visiting from Portland).
   Now that Sofia, Maddie, and Josie are toddlers, my initial plan was to be done with formula as soon as their stock pile ran out. So.....I confess I went out and bought just one more can ("toddler" formula this time) because I was just not prepared to be done with bottles just yet. It's more sad than I thought it would be to be done with formula and bottles. They just seem to like their routine, but I know it will have to change at some point. My main excuse is that I need to talk to the pediatrician about cow's milk/water/nutrition in general before we're done. Giving up formula along with giving up pumping were two hassles I thought would be so easy to give up but both proved not to be! They aren't babies anymore!
Yesterday, I got a call from the library saying the book I requested was in, so today I brought them all to go pick it up. I really don't take them out too much, and every time I do take them out I'm reminded that it is out of the ordinary to have triplets- and that's putting it lightly. We were stared at by just about everyone. Some pointed, some just gave me sweet smiles, and some commented to me. I haven't experienced any negativity but I hear from other triplet families that they do. Anyways, I am not used to getting stared at for any reason. To make everything harder, the girls sometimes start bawling when strangers look at them up close. Today, it was Madeline and Sofia. I wonder how the airplane and airport will be in April...
   Madeline is walking full time now- she surprised us because Sofia had been ahead but Madeline just got motivated lately. Sofia will be full time walking soon enough, and Josie is walking more each day! All three love to imitate us more than before and they clap and point so much! They are so fun!! OK, picture time (and video to show Madeline's skills).

Sofia looking up at another balloon (thanks for the entertainment, Mary).

Josie peeking.

Madeline- now what color are her eyes? I can't tell.

They're saying "You're really making us wait for food?!"

Odin just cracked us up yesterday- he gradually and nonchalantly got up on Dan's lap like he is a true lap dog! Uhhh, I don't think so, Odin!

I'll try to update with their percentile stats tomorrow. Have a great rest of the week!

PS

2011-03-03T12:27:00.000-06:00

I have to add these videos... anyone out there have/had a baby that does this mode of transportation? All three girls have been doing this for a long time but I haven't posted a video of it yet. Every person who sees it thinks it's funny and hasn't seen it before. Have you? The first video is of Sofia doing it, then Josie is doing it in the second.

I just wrote a full update so scroll down if you haven't read that one yet!!

The Girls...

2011-03-03T10:38:00.003-06:00

Our girls are busy, busy TODDLERS. Oh my! They love to see what they can climb on and what non-toys they can discover. Their recent thing to climb on is their music activity table. Who cares if it can play fun music- it's way more fun to sit on! They also love to climb on the fireplace brick and just hang out. It makes me really nervous when the girls are up there.

They had their last RSV shots of the season this past Tuesday. Wow, I'm glad we're done with the monthly terror! I'm so thankful they were able to get them but glad we're done. It's a sign of spring! Knock on wood, the girls really haven't gotten sick this winter but we've been diligent about keeping them away from the public. I miss being out though! Come quickly, summer!

Sofia so happy!

Madeline :)

Josie- this pic makes me smile!

Sofia in the chair backwards...Maddie and Josie patiently waiting their turns?

Josie joining Sofia and Madeline

Here are some walking videos. The first one shows Madeline walking (this movie cracks me up) Josie is in the next one and Sofia is the last one.

One big piece of news is that we found a new house to fit our huge family! It's in a suburb of St. Paul and we close March 31! We have the mortgage rate fixed so it feels very real! I'll miss our neighborhood but not the tiny house (really, it wouldn't feel tiny if we had just one baby). Some of the highlights are 4 big bedrooms, a big kitchen, main floor laundry, a sport court (you can play basketball, tennis, etc on it) and hot tub in the backyard, and it's really close to a nice nature preserve and park. We plan to get our current house on the market really soon but we are in the middle of fixing up the basement. Hopefully it won't take too long to sell.

Dan's sister, Lara, and her two boys are here for a couple of days, plus my parents are coming back from Florida so we'll be busy in a good way! Have a great weekend everyone!

One Year Ago...

2011-02-24T13:59:00.006-06:00

One year ago today, Sofia and Madeline were discharged from the hospital! This day was just as life-changing as their birth. We went to the hospital that morning expecting to bring just Sofia home, but the doctor let us know Madeline could go too if we were alright with it. It was a big surprise but we couldn't say no to that! We were so sad to leave Josie behind but she had to get stronger before she could join her sisters. I'll link-up the first couple posts of them being home.

All set to leave the hospital!


Josephine around the time of her sisters' discharge. So sad to leave her behind.


Tiny! Sofia on left, Madeline on right.

Madeline on left, Sofia on right. (Madeline still had jaundice.)

Madeline had a bath her first day home!

Comparison photo of Madeline today!

I'm so glad I don't have to re-live that first night with Sofia and Madeline home. My life was flashing before my eyes- I was picturing every age and how hard everything would be. The following night was much better and I finally believed we could do this! And here we are today- they are so happy, healthy, and manageable!

Sofia and Madeline have been walking across the room! Their main mode of transportation is still crawling, but they are definitely progressing. Josie is taking a little break in the walking department.


Sofia and Madeline

Josie is happy after her nap!

Josie!

All three of them are so funny lately. We already knew they think it's funny to burp, but now they are pretending to burp, then breaking out in hysterics! I hope we aren't creating bad manners monsters! (Hehe I'm not actually worried about that.)

Have a great weekend!

February 16

2011-02-16T14:29:00.003-06:00

I'm back into the swing of things after being away for the weekend! It was my FIRST night(s) away from the babies since they came home from the hospital. I missed them terribly, but I got a chance to meet my good friend, Leah's, new baby, Elsa. I couldn't believe how little Elsa was (she's about 8 lbs) and that our babies were 3 lbs smaller when they first came home! Leah and Mike's other daughter, Anna, is going to be 2 in April, and she was so much fun. When ours are her age, watch out! When I came home Sunday night, I rushed back to see the girls before they went to sleep (thanks, Marie, for the ride!) I got huge smiles and I couldn't help not crying! Thanks again, to Dan's parents who helped out this past weekend- both with babysitting when Dan was at work, and for helping us redo our basement.

Sofia is really turning into a little toddler. It just seems that she is a lot more engaged with us. I've noticed this with the others, but when Sofia burps she laughs about it! We have also noticed that she seems to tease the others by handing over a toy to a sister, but then yanking it back and laughing. Stinker! :) She is still the most social and doesn't shy away from new people as much as the other two. I can't remember whether I wrote this already, but Sofia is also turning into more of a daddy's girl than before. (She used to be pretty clingy to me.) One more tidbit is that she "adopted" two little stuffed dogs to be her "loveys". The other two like the blankies we gave them a while back but Sofia waited around for the dogs!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Sofia's favorite animal is the dog (and I love that she has one hand on her sippy!)

Sofia just standing there!

Madeline is getting braver with taking more steps. She seems really proud of herself when she is able to keep her balance and practice walking. Lately, I've been showing them how to color with a crayon and seeing if they will try too. Madeline was the first to make the color motion over the paper with a crayon in hand! The other two would try to taste the crayon the first couple of times I tried this activity. Maddie has the strongest stranger anxiety right now...sometimes she will start crying even if a stranger just looks at her or talks to her. She is still the biggest and is getting close to 20 lbs! We're going to switch to convertible seats really soon.

Madeline to Sofia "Move over, I'm coming in!"

Madeline!

Josephine is finally willing to try walking too! She is still hesitant and almost forgets how to step with her left foot, even though she does fine behind a walker. Lately, she is the momma's girl and clings to me when she gets tired or moody. Yesterday, the Roseville ECFE people came by again and Madeline and Josie kept their distance in the beginning. They just sat in the hallway and watched until they felt comfortable enough to join. It was really typical but so cute to see them just watch us! The ECFE people said the girls are still doing well, and they are going to come one more time before the plan ends.

Josie in the shelf- all the girls love to be in shelves, boxes, etc!

Josie standing with Sofia's dog

I did a "photo shoot" for a Valentine's picture... I learned that group shots are a thing of the past. I finally put them in this laundry basket to contain them instead of sitting them on the couch (L to R: M,S,J).

Looking out the window (closest to farthest: J, S, M)

Edited: Dan found a great deal on tickets so we are now flying...a whole new scare- anyone out there with advice for flying with multiple 1 year olds?
Well, hope everyone is having a great week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T13:50:00.000-06:00

Customize your own free digital greeting

We Have Proof!

2011-02-04T12:25:00.001-06:00

The girls have been working on taking steps for a while now. I never realized how long of a process it is. They have been taking a couple steps here and there since late December/early January. I always thought Sofia would be the best because her balance is the best, and I'm right! The record steps is probably about 10 by Sofia, but of course it's impossible to catch that on tape. Here's the best evidence so far that we do have beginner walkers! It's pretty obvious, but this is during "Naked Baby Time". Go Sofia, Go!

I'm about to take the girls out to an endocrinologist appointment when they wake up from their nap all by myself! Talk about scary! It's not really the logistics of it all, it's more that they have stranger danger so they will all want me to hold them. Mama only has two arms. We'll see...maybe they'll warm up to the doctor. I plan to bring the huge Runabout stroller since I figured how to fit it in the car (without disassembling it!)

I've been thinking about all the changes that will be happening soon (goal is by their due date March 9).... only one nap a day, no more bottles/formula, no more pureed food... It seems like we're really transitioning into TODDLERHOOD. We've already cut out most of the spoon feeding except one meal of Greek yogurt/fruit/cereal mostly because Sofia and Josie were becoming more difficult with my concoctions. Now for dinner it is all finger food! They're definitely not perfect with finger foods though and it's a little disheartening- I'm always wondering if they're eating enough. They do NOT like meat (I think it's still too hard to gum up- I don't think they mind the flavor), Madeline won't touch cubed squash, and they all try to cram as much food in their mouth as possible. It's a little nerve wracking because of the possibility of choking, but I've learned to put food on the tray gradually, not all at once. Anyways, we are so close to having toddlers... once they start walking around more I guess we can finally call them toddlers. That is so crazy to me!

Hope everyone is coping with winter- sounds like crazy storms everywhere but here..and St. Augustine, Florida, where my LUCKY parents are! Say "hello and miss you" to the ocean for me :(

OK, here are some of the latest pictures!

Beautiful girl, Sofia!

Madeline's typical smile!

Josephine :)

Sofia and Madeline- I didn't put either in the car- I just found them like this!

Just had to add this picture of Sofia to show off her BIG front tooth!

13 1/2 Months!

2011-01-24T20:17:00.002-06:00

I have to say, Happy Birthday, Grandma (my mom)!!

Hello everyone! The Klopp household is still bustling and having fun!! Can you believe the girls will be 14 months on February 9th? We are getting close to the anniversary of coming home from the hospital, too! The girls are great- nothing to really report, but here's what I came up with...

Sofia is getting at least another tooth on top of the one she already has! She is practicing standing up without pulling on anything and still takes a step once in awhile. I don't know how long this stage is until they finally walk, but it's fun to watch!

Sofia making a funny face- I make this face too!

Madeline is getting her first tooth finally! She stands up without pulling up like Sofia. It's the funniest thing- they usually stand up during "naked baby time" at night before their last bottle, but not as often during the day. "Naked baby time" is notoriously HYPER time, I really should video tape it- it's so entertaining.

Madeline! (You're missing a sock!)

Josephine has been extra pleasant and may be getting another tooth as well (so teething is not a huge deal around here). She hasn't tried to stand up yet but that's the timid side of her. She is probably just too happy crawling around.

Josie and her cute self.

(S, J, M) trying to get a picture of them all standing is tough (and I'm cheating with using the couch as a support)

S, M, J love hanging out together!

Uncle Jon is teaching them to be child prodigies at the piano (J is white, S in pink)

I love, love, LOVE this video of Josie babbling. What do you think she's trying to tell me?? Isn't her voice impressive too considering she has/had a paralyzed vocal cord? What a cutie pie! Have a great week!

Grandma Rachel

2011-01-14T13:52:00.000-06:00

A couple days ago in the early morning hours, my Grandma Rachel passed away. This wasn't a shock or unexpected, but that doesn't make it any less sad. She was a very sweet woman who thought of others all the time. She was a fantastic cook and baker, plus she was talented at sewing and knitting. She loved her family and was really grateful that she got to meet her great-granddaughters. I am so grateful that I brought the girls to meet her. At the time I wasn't sure how much longer she would be around, but I thought I had some time. I'm glad we went when we did because I would have regretted it if we hadn't made the trip. I'm also grateful my last words to her in person were "Love you, Grandma!" She had the most contagious laugh you've ever heard, and her stories never got old. That is how I will remember her!

This weekend we will be going to Willmar for her funeral. Miss you, Grandma!

We Have a Daredevil!

2011-01-12T13:56:00.009-06:00

I hope everyone's surviving winter! I think all my relatives out east are getting bombarded by some big snow storms today. We feel your pain! Luckily, Minnesota has been quiet this week- on the warm side actually (in the teens).

MN winter walks- all bundled up!

Our Madeline is proving herself to be a little daredevil lately. I had to add a couple of pics and a movie to show you what she's been up to. Right after I took the picture and movie with her on the purple car, she had a huge cry fest. Why? Not because she fell, but because I took her off and she was having too much fun! She makes me a little nervous! We've also noticed Madeline is getting in a lot more cranky moods and it's probably because of an impending tooth. We're waiting, Maddie!!

I found Madeline standing like this when I got into the living room...Must watch her constantly! She was sad when I took her off!

Sorry the movie is a little dark...but you get the gist.

Madeline as Evel Knevil! Worry warts look away!


Why is everyone always picking on me? (Madeline laying down, Sofia in pink, Josie in purple)

Josephine is such a sweetheart lately. With her tooth halfway up she is definitely a lot happier than before the tooth. Josie is the opposite of Madeline- she is a little bit of a scaredy cat. When we put her up on the couch to look out the window, she grabs on to the couch like she's holding on to dear life. She just needs time to get used to new things. She also is a lot more hesitant to stand alone too.

Josie so kindly providing entertainment to her sisters.

Sofia is still a bit of a bully- which it's not too fair to say because she obviously doesn't have bad intentions. I wonder if she'll always be like that- a big personality trapped in a tiny body. She's getting better with not spitting out food. We just noticed this past weekend that she is sprouting a little tooth! It's an upper tooth, though (unlike Josie's)!I guess it's not as common to start with an upper tooth, but who says any of these girls are common?

This is dark- but it's more for the sound, so it doesn't matter. It's of Sofia during her last bottle of the day- usually when all the girls are basically sleep feeding!

Sofia after a berry sneeze.

Speaking of meal times, it's fun concocting up new meals for them. The other night I pureed pork, brown rice, and green beans...but it was NOT a hit! So what do I do? Add banana. I know, it's probably not good to start a habit like this, but I will just keep introducing the offending foods until they don't need a banana to go along with it. At least I can get them to eat it one way or another.

So I've been thinking to myself how comfortable I am with our routine- and how "easy" it is to take care of them (I don't really mean easy because it's not like I'm taking them out grocery shopping or flying with them), but I'm realizing that there will be changes coming up. Right now, I still puree a majority of their food and they still take 3 bottles a day. I'm scared for the day that they feed themselves their whole meal- how do you know they'll eat enough? Not to mention the mess! We've also been working on sippy cups but they do not drink much out of them yet. They understand how to drink from them but they have never taken a substantial amount. By March I would like to be done with bottles but it's hard to know whether they'll drink enough. Also, it's hard to know when they'll be ready for one long nap a day instead of two. I'm shooting to go to one nap by March, which is their adjusted age of one year. So confusing. I like the way things are right now! I guess, in past stages I had the same sort of worries about stuff I figured out since. It just works out!

The girls love looking out the window. (L to R Josie, Sofia, Madeline)

Christmas and More

2011-01-03T14:33:00.005-06:00

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year's. It's been a while since I last posted! We were in Duluth for about a week. We split up time between my family and Dan's family. For Christmas Eve, we went to the church Dan's family goes to. The girls made it 20-30 minutes until they were too restless, so we took them out to the reception area. They were hilarious out there- hyper and loud- we were afraid the whole congregation would hear them! They had so much energy built up. There's a video below, but it doesn't show the extent of their mood! It was fun to be around family and everyone got fun presents. This feels like their first Christmas even though it wasn't (they were in the NICU last year)!

After Duluth, we had a relaxing weekend to ourselves to decompress. On New Year's Eve, Dan and I surprisingly stayed up until midnight! I bought Dan a Wii for Christmas so we had fun playing Mario and toasting with champagne. It was perfect. Having Dan home from work was great but now it's back to reality. Here's a couple of updates for each girl.

Sofia... well, her eating is our latest battle! She is getting picky and actually learned how to spit out food. At first she did it with foods she wasn't familiar with, then she started doing it with food I know she likes! The last couple of days have gotten better but it was really frustrating. It was especially maddening because she is smaller- every calorie counts! Besides that, she is fun and cute like always. We notice that she is probably the biggest bully of them all. She does not back down and frequently wrestles with her two sisters (instigating it usually). Her size is not holding her back!

Sofia peering out the window

Madeline... a week and a half ago she took a couple of steps! She was standing in place and I held out my arms and she took two small steps to me. Dan said she did it again when I wasn't there but I'm not sure if these little steps "count". She is definitely more of a risk taker than the others...before long they'll be running all over the place.

Madeline!

Josephine... I wasn't lying last post- Josie did get a tooth!!!! It finally cut through the gums. Woohoo! We were starting to wonder whether there would be NO teeth! The great part about this is we didn't notice her being especially cranky- maybe a little bit here and there, but nothing we can pinpoint as "oh, that was teething". We would be just too lucky if all the teeth here on out are this easy. Knock on wood!

Josie smiling away

One more tidbit about Josie and Maddie is that they are rock stars at climbing the stairs. We live in a one level so the girls aren't used to stairs, but Josie and Maddie quickly learned to climb the whole staircase at their grandparents' house. Because of this new ability, we had to watch them that much closer! Sofia just looks up the staircase and whimpers- she hasn't tried really, but I'm sure she could too.

OK, picture time!

Christmas Eve during Church

Christmas morning- looking at one of their new toys

Testing out the new sled! (L to R Peter, Madeline, Sofia, and Josie)

(J, M, S) with their FIRST dolls!

Sofia and Madeline looking out the window

Nightly routine (naked baby time!)

Testing out the sled outside! (Sofia in back, Josie in the middle, Maddie in front)

Maddie: "you guys alright back there?"

Family picture right before heading down the hill! (just kidding they're not to that point quite yet!)

Peter checking out his cousins

Having fun, girls?

Time to eat! (J, M, S)

(J, S, M)

Back at home, testing out a new car!

This is DURING the Christmas Eve service...oops! The "ahhhhh" they do is the new thing they do all the time. One baby starts and the others chime in.

This is baby wrestling time...Sofia is in pink being a little bully. (The camera got put down for a few seconds but resumes so watch 'till the end!)

I have to say, I AM DONE PUMPING!!! At one point, I wrote on the blog that I would pump through the cold season, but I changed my mind- and I have no regrets. I made it longer than I ever thought and am proud of that, but now I have so much more time. Plus, now I can run in the morning before Dan goes to work, which makes for a happier and better mom! (I used to have to pump first thing in the morning, making running right away too hard.) Stopping was actually a little emotional, which I never would have guessed, but I hear some moms are sad to stop nursing so it's kind of the same deal.

Resolution for the new year: be a great mom and get back into running shape (hopefully a handful of 5ks!) What are your resolutions?

Have a great first week of the new year!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-22T12:19:00.002-06:00

In case things get too hectic, here's a little Merry Christmas card from our family to yours!

Don't Mind if I do... Picture Happy!!

2010-12-19T21:59:00.003-06:00

Today marks a year ago that we lost our little boy James. If I write too much I will break down (again) so I wanted to keep this short and sweet. We think about him always and will in the future. Dan and I toasted to him during a special dinner on what a great job he's doing watching over his sweet sisters. OK, can't do this anymore, just wanted to share that it is the anniversary.

We got the one year photos back today! Sarah Swanson is an amazing photographer! When I can figure out how to work the slideshow gadget, you will be able to see the pictures...hopefully soon.

I hope everyone's having a smooth December. I'm realizing having their birthday in December puts more stress into the month! Luckily, despite the CRAZY storm during their birthday weekend, the party went on like planned. The recognition of baptism went pretty well. The girls didn't have to get doused with water (since they already were baptised a year ago), but we all stood in front of the church and had special candles and shawls. The pastor spoke to each girl individually. Sofia and Maddie both broke out crying when they were singled out, and Josie looked to be on the verge. After we sat down, the girls lasted another 20 minutes, but started to get noisy (happy sounds) so we took them out to the reception area. The party went well despite the crazy storm. Of course, we couldn't pick up the cake until the day of their party because Coldstone didn't open during the storm! And we also missed the Purdy's who couldn't drive from Duluth. Besides that, the girls had fun playing with all the guests and opening (well they kinda helped) presents. They tried the Coldstone ice cream cake but the cold ice cream did not go over well. Maybe they'll like ice cream this summer!

I have to write down a couple of things I've noticed lately, just so I have it on record and the girls can have fun reading this later...

~Madeline is very well mannered throughout the day, but a lot of time gets tired and cranky first at night- BUT a lot of times she copes by sucking her fingers and blankie (but sometimes, like TONIGHT, she does have a meltdown).

Happy Maddie!! Warms my heart!

~Josie's love of her daddy is growing more apparent every day! She crawls really fast when he comes in the room and freaks out when he leaves! Josie, please love me too! (Haha, I know she loves me, don't worry.)

Josie with her million dollar smile

~I have to say that Sofia is still the most social. I taught her to make her tongue go back and forth, making a noise, and she copied it to a tee. Madeline tried but got it all wrong and Josie just didn't care! She doesn't look very social in the pic below, but believe me!

Sofia waking up from a nap.

~We've been talking about teeth since the start of the summer and not ONE yet! But, I think Josie is getting one, for REAL!

~All three girls LOVE getting pushed in their new car when Dan or I push them, but, depending on their mood, start crying when one of the sisters pushes them! Sometimes they don't mind (as evident in that video a couple posts back).

That's all for now. Here are some more pics....

The Public Recognition of Baptism (l to R Josie, Sofia, Madeline)

Dan and I braved the storm for Stephanie and Pete's wedding (the storm last weekend that collapsed the Metrodome!) Beautiful wedding!

Cousin Peter is not used to so many babies around!

Playing with cousin Peter, top view. He does not win the most hair award.

I tried to get a good pic of them all standing but Sofia started to squat down too fast! (M, J, S)

Sofia and Josie just playing

Sofia is NOT so sure about Maddie pushing her

Yes, Odin really is that big (Sofia and Maddie)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOFIA, MADELINE AND JOSEPHINE!

2010-12-09T21:53:00.005-06:00

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sofia-Madeline-and Josephine, happy birthday to you!

They are officially one year old today! They were born at 3:15 in the afternoon on Wednesday the 9th last year. Read these two posts if you weren't reading the blog a year ago. What a bittersweet moment their birth was. Most births you only think of as sweet, but at 27 weeks we knew that we were in for a long NICU stay. We were hoping it would be uneventful but as you know we lost our boy James (and the three girls had their share of struggles). We are grateful for our girls' health but we miss James! He is doing a wonderful job looking over his sisters.

To celebrate we had a busy day! First, we had a visit from ECFE (they still come every month or so) and they told us they are developing wonderfully (it's OK to brag about them on their birthday). The other big event today was their one year physicals, complete with a round of shots (bleh!) Sofia weighed 15 lbs 3 oz, Josephine weighed 16 lbs 6 oz, and Madeline weighed 17 lbs 5 oz. I'm actually glad I got to ask the doctor all of my questions, but having their blood drawn (for thyroid and hemoglobin) and shots were NO fun!

Dan had a fun idea to post both of our baby pictures so you can all vote on whether the girls look more like me or Dan. Maybe they are the perfect combination of us!

Madeline

Sofia

Josie

To celebrate today, we let them have some cake and played with them a ton. The real party is on Sunday, when they'll be baptized again and then a birthday party after. The party will be pretty small, but I'm sure it'll be more than lively enough for them!

Playing with a new toy from grandma and grand

I have to post some fun cake pictures or it wouldn't be a birthday post...

First we have pre-cake and squeaky clean babies....

Sofia

Josephine

Madeline

Then the cake was introduced!

Sofia's first tastes of the cake...

Josie's pretty wary...


Hmmm..what does Maddie think about this?

Sofia is full force now!

Josie warms up to the cake


Madeline does not care about getting dirty! They had a nice little bath after that... haha! I feel exhausted after our busy day and we haven't even had the party yet! This is my life flashing before me with every December being a mad house! Girls, you should have waited until January! (Just kidding, but really.) Well I can't wait to go to bed, so off I go!