Moments

"How many times have you noticed that it is the little quiet moments in the midst of life that seem to give the rest extra special meaning."  (Fred Rogers)

Grandma Meade here and let me tell you there are lots of little quiet moments here with these three little boys!!  I am going to share a few photos that I hope will help to show you what I mean. Those special  magical moments only a baby can bring into your life, where you sit back and think "this is what it is all about".

 There are also many other moments around here.  Like all the cheering the boys do for teams their family and friends root for.  Enjoy Skyler's look, "Wow, Wisconsin did beat Ohio State!".  And then there is Daddy enjoying Asher being a San Francisco 49'ers fan, in honor of Aunt Carrie and the special 49'ers outfit she got for the boys.  They have alot of hats to wear because of course they have to be Vols fans, Packers fans, not to mention soccer fans in general.  They will be well-rounded little sports people.

 They will also be huge fishing fans and I surmise many "fishing moments" in their lives. They proudly wear the little fishing shirts Grantie Dawn made for them, complete with little pockets for bobbers, sinkers, lines, lures, hooks, and of course worms!!  Thanks Grantie Dawn, what special little shirts!! They were also excited to have their first up close look and actually get in Daddy's boat with him for the first time!  A special moment for sure!!

 And of course we have our walking moments.  I truly enjoy walking with the boys and there is no one who enjoys it more then Bella.  She almost jumps off the ground when she hears the "walk word", truly a" moment' Bella loves about the day.

 There are also fun moments, many of them that are hilariously hectic, like the "shopping moment" Summer and I had at Target.  We had the 3 little umbrella strollers, Summer had 2 hooked together and I had one.  Well, we got in the store and realized neither of us could push a cart!!   We improvised and bought one of those neat little gadgets that go in as a insert, put Skyler in the cart, folded the other stroller and stored under the cart and we managed to do lots of shopping!!!  A fun and funny moment for us!

Just a few updates from me on this, my last evening that I'll be here for a while.  The boys are doing wonderful.  In the six weeks I have been here this time they have turned into amazingly fun little guys.  They laugh, giggle, play, roll, make funny faces, they are incredibily enjoyable. Skyler has the little temper (albeit a very cute one) and is never happier than when he has your undivided attention!  He is on the go all the time!!  A very lovable handful!  Asher is doing great with his physical therapy.  He is gaining more strength and moving his neck much better.  He is incredibly loving, he will cuddle just as long as he can, I think he brings new meaning to the word "sweet".  Ryder is absolutely hilarious.  He laughs at just about anything, he is fun, fun, fun, I call him  "Happy". He is a little character,  I now truly know the meaning of "let me tell you about my grandkids"!!  Even though it will be nice to get back to my life in WI, I can hardly bear to think of leaving in the morning!!   I will just miss them so much, they each have a big piece of my heart! 

The 6 week stints that Nana Harding and I have been doing will be coming to an end.  As many of you know Summer's sister Carrie is having a  bone marrow transplant for the leukemia she is fighting.  Carole will be with her during some of her treatment and it made being here not possible.  (Carrie we are all pulling for you and send you love and prayers!!)

Jason and Summer have hired a nanny.  A lovely young lady named Jenna will be here every day for 6 hours.  Summer's business is doing good and she is quite busy.  Since she works from home the boys can stay in their own house and for the most part Summer will be here upstairs in her office.  Jason has some flexibility from his job so he will be able to fill in when needed.  So there will be some changes here but I know Jason and Summer are looking forward to getting back to life as a family and I also know they will do a wonderful job. They are amazing parents and handle the triplets in a calm and loving way, and believe me, that is quite a compliment!  I can now look forward to the next visit as just "Grandma" and let me tell you there will be lots of visits!!

I am thankful for all of the "moments" I have had here helping with these precious babies.  Being here for six weeks at a time has been a special gift.  Getting to spend so much time with them from the very beginning of their little lives!  These are certainly some of the most precious "moments" I have ever had.  Thanks Asher, Skyler and Ryder for letting me get to know you and your little personalities. I love you with all my heart and  I can't wait for our next visit!!

So much so little...

I hear the grumblings in the wind from folks wanting more blogging.  We're very sorry it hasn't happened more, just so little time these days.  The plan was to blog earlier this week, but the boys have not been sleeping through the night much.  Last night we finally had a break and slept through the night.  So here be the scoop:

We had some fun guests last week.  Grandpa Biggie came in the middle of last week and lent a hand.  It's great to see the boys with him, and they all look a like with that full head of hair :)

Biggie and Asher

Summer and I were barely able to keep the surprise that Tom and Mary Klein were coming in to visit and join in on Grandma CiCi's birthday bash. 

We thought she had us figured out, but we actually managed to pull it off.  Tom and Mary came in on Friday afternoon and gave a great surprise.  The weekend consisted of great food and good times.  We took a field trip downtown Knoxville on Saturday to "air the kids out".  They proved to be a handful, but we still managed to enjoy the great TN fall weather.  It was sad to see Bigs, Tom, and Mary leave on Sunday.  The time went by way too fast.

Tom and Skyler

Tom, Marry and The Boys

The boys continue to grow, not sure of their weights, but they are starting to feel heavy.  The just hit the seven month mark a few days ago and are already outgrowing their clothes at an alarming rate.  This weekend we are having our first garage sale to unload some of the stuff and make room for new.

Post Game Huddle

Asher is still in therapy and continues to progress.  We're hopeful he will start trying to roll over soon.  He impresses his therapist each visit with his quick wit and boyish charm.  He is definitely the thinker of the bunch, we are hopeful he will make quicker decisions as he grows.  And maybe he can start looking beyond his hands.  The little guy is totally content looking at his hands all day long, but who can complain I guess.  It makes it much easier to look after the little fella.

Skyler and Asher

Skyler is the first to get a tooth.  His bottom one is starting to come in as of last week.  He is a total ham and acts much like Animal from the muppets.  Gots to keep an eye on him as he will roll all the way across the living room floor and if you're lucky he'll look up at you with that sly little smile.

Skyler Pregame

Skyler aka Animal

Animal

Nom, Nom

Ryder is doing great on his reflux medication.  He is a fun little guy that laughs often and always in making fun new noises.  He rolled over for his first time earlier this week.  Which is fun and scary at the same time.  Not sure what we'll do when the three of them are scooting around the house.  Maybe invest in a few helmets I guess.

Ryder Chillin'

Come on Mom...

All of us here in Tennessee want to give a BIG shout out to Cousin Bryan.  Dr. Meade has earned himself a PHD in Biomedical Sciences.  We all know he'll go on to do great things, just can't wait to see what that will be.  For now Bryan, kick back and enjoy.  I'm sure a huge load has been lifted.  Cheers!!!

Can I get a wo, wo?  Skyler Raise the Roof...

Row, Row, Row your boat, gently down the stream....

We want to tell you all about the fun weekend our whole family had.  Mommy and Daddy got to do what they call a little "Getaway".  They went to Chattanooga for two days.  They were really excited to tell us there is one of the world's largest aquariums and children's discovery museums, they want to take us to when we get bigger.  They loved Chattanooga.  They also went whitewater rafting.  They loved it and said when we are old enough we will get to do that too.  It looked super-fun to us, although Grandma M said no way would she do that. (she said she is kind of a chicken)  There is a picture of Mommy and Daddy on the Ocoee River rafting, so you can see for yourselves. They said they also did some fun shopping, eating in restaurants, and listening to some good music.  They love fiddle music and they got to hear Blueground Undergrass w/ David Blackmon and they seemed really excited about that.  We know they love music, and we know we already do too.

While Mommy and Daddy were away Grandma M was in charge of us.  She had some great helpers.  Grantie Patty (Great Aunt Patty) drove down from Wisconsin and she brought two friends who we now call Auntie Barb and Auntie Karen.  They are friends of Grantie Patty's and Grandma M's, and they tell us they have all known each other since their kids were our age!!  Those are some long-time friends!!  We were so happy we got to know them and we had such a good time.  We also loved the fact there were lots of hands and laps for extra cuddle time and maybe a little bit of spoiling time too!  We loved it!  We were the best boys and Grandma M was very proud of us.  We were very excited, they all got really brave and packed us up for a trip to the mall!  Auntie Karen and Auntie Barb were kind of shocked to see everything needed for the excursion!! It was so much fun, we did some big-time shopping and then they went to Silver Spoon Restaurant and had lunch.  We were good boys and sat in our car seats and napped!!  It was a great outing.

(Fun at the Mall)

(Auntie Barb, Grantie Patty, Auntie Karen)

While they were here Auntie Barb figured out Mommy's new Beaba food processor and made our peas!

Yummy!!  We have been doing pretty good eating real food, so far applesauce and peas and we are loving it.  Grantie Patty made a homemade ice cream cake that Grandma M, Mommy and Daddy are still enjoying and she also made Great Grandma Mitchell's famous cheese spread and Daddy has some every night when he gets home from work. 

While they were all cooking Auntie Karen was holding and cuddling us, we loved the extra attention and enjoyed every minute of it.  Thank-you Auntie Barb and Auntie Karen for taking the time to come and get to know us and also for helping Grandma M, and thank-you Grantie Patty for coming again, we know  this has been your third trip to Tennessee since we were born!! That is lots of miles in your Caravan!! Thank-you for helping too so Mommy and Daddy could spend some on their Getaway. Grandma M told us she thinks all of you enjoyed meeting us and being with us as much as we enjoyed all of you.

Grandma M has been back here since Sept. 13th.  She was amazed at how much we have grown and changed.  She thinks we are even more fun to play with now then we were when she left the end of July.  She is especially excited how much we love to be read to..  She says she is a big reader and she loves reading to us and knowing we love it as much as she does. 

She is taking care of us sometimes during the day since Mommy's new business, Smart Close LLC is keeping her busy (which means she closes small business loans for banks).  It is so nice to have Mommy working from our home, because she is still here with us and helps with our feedings and play times.   Daddy is off every day to his job with the US Forest Service, so we are happy Grandma M is here to help out.  She says we keep her really busy and she loves being here with us.  We are also happy to report Nana Harding had her gallbladder surgery and she is recovering nicely!  Yea Nana!!  We send you lots of smooches!

Mommy or Daddy will add some pictures for us, we hope you enjoy them, we don't quite have all the computer knowledge to do that yet..  We send you all hugs and kisses and a little drool, thanks for checking in on us through our blog.

(My brother has a mouth - wow...)

(My brother discovers my ear)

(We're a little kaleidoscope)

Love, Asher, Skyler, and Ryder

P.S. Happy 1st Birthday to our 2nd cousin Nolan Pertzborn!!  A year ago he was in a NICU in Madison, WI and is now a completely healthy and happy One Year Old!  Way to go Nolan!!! We are excited to get to meet you in person and play with you as soon as our Mommy and Daddy can work that out!!  Happy Birthday!

6 mos old and we are still alive!

Hi Everyone!  I have heard a few rumbles out there that we are slacking in the blog department.  I have thought about it on several different occasions knowing I was pushing it so...here I am...

Gosh, I feel like so much has been going on since the last blog update!  We are at constant mach speed; some days I feel like I have been moving with my finger on the fast forward button.  Let's see, where to start...

Nana Harding left last week, and I think this visit was harder on her to leave because the boys are really interacting more.  It was way too hot to do much, but the boys got a ton of playtime inside. At the end of my mom's visit, my sister Carrie decided to surprise her for her b-day and flew down to stay for a few days.  It was the first time she had met the boys and it was just awesome to have her here.  We had some BEAUTIFUL weather and actually drove up to the mountains for a relaxing picnic.  Well that's what we thought we would do...see there's this thing called "baby's prerogative"  have you heard of it?  They get to choose the best times to be fussy and just go with it all day!  Needless to say, we drove two hours to a beautiful spot in the mountains, unpacked the crew in a grassy spot by a lake and bam! we were hit with the "baby prerogative" thingy.  We tried our hardest to make them happy, but it didn't quite work.  So, we got a few good moments and then packed up and drove 2 hours back.  We did decide to just try one more thing on the way home because we adults believed we were entitled ice cream.  We got our ice cream and then homeward bound.

It was great to have my mom helping us once again, thank you Nana...the boys already miss you.

Grandma Meade will arrive here on the 13th for her 6 week stint, and Grandpa Biggie will be here to visit in a week.  I am sure we will be even more busy now that the weather is cooling a bit.  I can't wait to get outside!!

Yes, the boys are now 6 months old.  I can't believe how fast time goes.  They are getting HUGE!  They just had their 6 mos check up and our heavy-weight champion is...SKYLER, weighing in at 19.4lbs!  Asher pulled in at 18lbs and Ryder quickly approaching the big boys at 17.2.  The Dr. said they look great and we can start solids!  Thank goodness, I am so over all these bottles!

This morning was the first attempt at rice cereal.  Ryder and Skyler did great and ate more than I thought they would, and Asher just wasn't too sure about it.  I am really excited about starting food.  I plan to make our own, it only makes sense to me to do it this way. 

We are all doing great, we continue to be challenged as new parents.  Everyday is a "trip" and we are lovin' every minute of it.

Enjoy the new pics!!

Asher and Nana

Asher and Nana

Ryder and Daddy

Skyler lounging in the Mountains

Ryder sitting at dinner table like a big boy!

Ryder

Skyler and Ryder having a conversation

Asher relaxin'

Auntie Carrie and Nana

Auntie Carrie

Skyler at his first cereal feeding

Ryder at his first cereal feeding