Quad Stroller!

So, Tom and I took the plunge and purchased a used Quad stroller. I NEVER

thought I would be going anywhere alone with four babies, but that thought has changed! I am sick of being stuck in the living room, and constantly needing Marc and Lexi to push the 2nd stroller. And, of course, what 13 or 15 yo WANT to push a stroller in the mall?! :) Soooo, Tom and I drove up to North Jersey and bought this stroller in excellent shape from a triplet mom I met online. It is in great shape, and I am very excited to get some use out of it. We still have to figure out if we need to hitch it to the back of the van, or if it can break down enough to go in the back of the van, so once the snow stops here, that is the next plan. BUT, I am so excited to even take a walk around the block during the day, when the rest of the kiddos are in school! :)

Playing.........

Emma, Katie, and Matty

Go Giants!!!!

Sorry this is a bit delayed............but here is Austin supporting the Giants! This is actually Nicky's old 18 month old outfit that now fits Austin..............he's surely getting so big!

Katie IS going to be fine!!!

MY KATIE GIRL had a PERFECT swallow study today!!!!!!!! She is absolutely FINE and had NO ASPIRATIONS ON THIN OR ANY OTHER LIQUIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely began crying during the study b/c she was doing sooo well. Just the past 15 months of everything we have been through with her came to mind. With each liquid they gave her, and she swallowed it perfectly, I got more and more teary eyed. My baby girl IS going to be okay. The docs kept telling me that she would outgrow it, but deep down I was apprehensive. I kept a positive face, but I was really unsure what would happen. The speech therapist (who overlooks the study along with a Radiologist) and I laughed, and hugged, and shrieked after the study. This therapist has been working with Katie for over a year now, and I swear, she seemed just as excited as I was. So, what this means is that we slowly begin to transition her to all oral feeds. We don't want to "shock" her body, as the speech therapist said, so we will start out slow. I must keep track of how much PediaSure she takes by mouth, and subtract that from her tube feeds. It may take a month or so. Once we get her to the point that she is all oral fed, then we will still keep the G tube in for up to six months. This is done as a precaution in case she becomes sick, is hospitalized for any reason, and needs to gain weight. It's just a precaution b/c it is already in place. I am fine with that. I am just sooo overjoyed-I feel like I am on Cloud 9 today...............

15 month checkup!

They had their 15 month check up today.
They did so well-they did have one shot-the MMR. Austin cried, it seemed like for HOURS!

Here are the 15 month weights:

Matty 19.12 lbs 28 3/4 inches
Emma 20.9 lbs 30 inches
Katie 20.10 lbs 29 1/2 inches
Austin 23.11 lbs 31 1/2 inches

I am amazed how big they are getting. The gap is slowly closing between Matty and Austin.
Katie gained a good amount of weight this month and I can't believe she suddenly weighs more than Emma!!!! Can't wait for Katie's swallow study tomorrow!

Cute things we do..............

with our girls' hair..................

The Breakfast table in the morning............

So here is what the troops look like, all ready for their morning breakfast....................

check out all the bedheads I have!!!!

Giving kisses...............

How cute is this face?????!!!!!!!!!

I'm not allowed to cut these bangs!

Yes, I have been given strict orders from Daddy to not touch the girls' hair. It is driving me insane! I've been buying little bows like crazy, trying to get them out of their faces!!!! I sure hope their bangs grow out quickly!

Austin's new way to walk!

Lately, Austin has been walking with his hands behind his back-it's the weirdest thing. I am not sure where he got it from, either! But he places them behind his back, and sometimes the hands go down the pants ( !) or he just plays with his fingers!

Matty's 1st professional haircut!!!

Matthew Thomas..........filling out sooo well!

Just wanted to "show off" my little guy a bit. He is filling out soooo well-can't believe he's getting sooo big! He has taken his first steps this past week or so. He takes 3-5 steps at a time now-very very wobbly, and then falls on his butt. But he seems to be determined. He is my last baby crawling!!!!!!!

Emma's devil-ish face!

I finally captured the look of Emma when she's in her ornery mood! She scrunches up her nose sooo darn cute-you just want to kiss her! :)

We LOVE our hand me downs!

Thanks to our good friends, the Zerilli family, (who have triplets by the way), the girls get lots of extra clothes to wear! :) This is one of the outfits that was handed down to them and it fits them sooo perfectly and was sooo comfy for them today! We're sooo lucky to have such good friends! Thanks, Brandi and Micaela and Juliana!

Can you believe............

this was ONE year ago???? Time sure does fly...............

Oreos for dessert!

So, we allowed the babies to kind of "go wild" tonight on dinner. We had chicken, parmesan noodles, and peas and beans. Matty loved the noodles! Afterwards, we gave them each an Oreo Cookie. OMG-they loved it!!!!! And my Katie, well, she spent most of the time "inspecting" the Oreo, and then scraping all the cream out of the cookie. She's sooo funny! :)

PS-Our bath tub was super dirty tonight!!!! :)

Nicky did sleep with the NY Yankee Bear.........

Nicky spent Friday night with my parents. He was sooo excited to sleep over Nanny and Poppy's house. On Saturday, he ended up getting them to buy him a new outfit at Old Navy and a new Giants winter coat from Modell's (along with a new hat to match and a pack of socks!)................and he soooooooooo wanted this bear. After much convincing on NIcky's part, Nanny and Poppy bought it for him if he promised to sleep in his own bed with it. Well, Saturday night, he did sleep with it, but in Mommy and Daddy's bed! :)

"I don't want to sleep in my room!"

Warning-this is what happens when you let your baby sleep in your bed!!!! When he does have to sleep in his own bed, he makes himself cry uncontrollably because he can't be in yours!!!!! I have sooo learned my lesson with the quads. No sleeping in my bed (unless you are sick!).............Oh, Nicky gave me a run for my money tonight trying to get him to sleep in his own bed. He did, but definitely after some crying and many, many, many hugs and a few renditions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by me! :)

Things they are interested in............

You know, we go out and spend all this money on all these fancy toys, and this is what kept my Matty occupied for such a long time today! One of the older kids was cleaning up the living room, and put this green ring on the closet door knob instead of in the toy box. Well, Matty was fascinated for such a long time with this. He tried and tried to get it off, and finally, he gave up! Sooo stinkin' cute! :)

Mommy's Big Bear!

Look at those beautiful eyes! Austin is such a good boy! He is still soooo sensitive and non-confrontational. It's amazing how this young, their personalities are already forming. Austin loves to be on the couch with the rest of us-he laughs and laughs when he gets to run back and forth on the couch. He thinks it's hysterical! Everything is "dah"............he says it in different ways to let you know what he wants. And............he's even been caught picking his nose lately! He's been walking around the house, with one finger in his nose as he walks. I have to say-it is fu nny to see! :)

What a GREAT big brother!

Nicholas is really a great big brother. He is ALWAYS trying to play with the babies. He does sometimes get a little too rough, but it's all in good spirits. He loves to try and "tackle" the babies, but he always cradles their heads in his hands as he wrestles them to the ground. He really is good with them. And they adore him! Austin and Emma especially-wow, they laugh and laugh when they see him coming! They know they're in for a good time! :)

Matty, Matty, Matty!

So, we took Matty to CHOP today for his follow up NUtritionist appointment. The GI doc thought he might be "malabsorbing" and that is causing him not to gain a ton of weight. Well, the blood and stool tests came back and everything was virtually normal. Some things were a little off, but nothing that would indicate malabsorption. So, we are back to the drawing board. The Nutritionist said that for Matty to begin to catch up, he needs 1100 calories/day. Now with his Pediasure ALONE, he is taking in at least 1400 calories/day! And this is not including all the table foods he eats. So, it seems like something is not right somewhere. But, the good news is he is continuing to grow on his own curve. He finally made the growth chart for his adjusted age of 12 months. He is in the 5th% for his HEIGHT. But as for his WEIGHT, still below the charts, but following his own curve. If he continues on this growth curve, he will hit the curve around 2yrs old. Not too shabby for being 2 months premature....................and holding up all the babies while inside of me! :) He looks just fine to me!