Favorite Moments of 2009--January

I really did a poor job of blogging in 2009. I started looking back at pictures of the year and I'm pretty sure I am already starting to forget things. Of course, that really comes as no surprise to those of you who know me well as I often complain about my lack of memory since the kids came along!!!

So, I decided that I will do a year-in-review series of posts ... mostly to help myself remember some of my favorite moments of 2009. So here goes ... January 2009.

One of the best things about the start of my day is that almost every day starts with one or two or three kids "helping" me get ready in the mornings. Of course by "help" I really mean just play with all of my stuff. I probably have the most well-versed toddlers when it comes to understanding make-up ... what's that Mommy? mascara, eye-shadow, blush, lip stick, etc. They know it all. Of course, their favorite items (other than lip stuff--chapstick) are mousse and hair clips. Not a day goes by that I don't share my mousse with someone! Oh, and they love to build towers out of my rollers!

Most days, this is a great way to start my day and I thoroughly enjoy this precious time with my kids. Being a working Mom, I feel like I miss so much and this time each day helps to make up for it. Of course, that is most days! Some days, I am running late, the kids are whining, and I have to help two kids go to the potty. But it is just all part of the package! I wouldn't trade that time for anything.

Back when they still slept in their toddler beds, William went thru a stage where he had a tremendous number of stuffed animals that he wanted to sleep with each night. So many animals in fact that there was barely room for him! William has never really taken to a lovey ... he has a lamb that he really loves and his Aubie, but it is not like Jackson with his glowy!

Their toddler beds lasted all of about 3 months. After that, they decided they all wanted to sleep in a pile on their floor. It started off just Jackson and he would sleep in the floor in their bathroom. Soon William joined him ... since William always does what Jackson does! Within a few months, Addison had joined them. Mimi and Granddaddy got them some great sleeping bags from Land's End ... and Addison's didn't come in when the boys did. So we went a little retro and Addison used Mommy's old Holly Hobby sleeping bag for the first few weeks of her floor sleeping time.

Somewhere around October, the kids suddenly decided that the floor was not very comfortable and that Mommy and Daddy's bed was. Kids started showing up in the middle of the night. Sleeping with one three year old in a king-sized bed is really no big deal ... sleeping between two of them? Not really comfortable. They are like little heaters and will sweat you out of a bed!

So, for Christmas, we got them big girl/boy beds. Addison's bed is a family piece. Her Grandma Jack remembers sleeping in that bed on the sleeping porch at the beach when she was a little girl. The boys got a new queen-sized bed that is really comfortable. Has it kept them from coming downstairs in the night? Nope! But that's OK ... I love to snuggle with my kids!

Just a cute picture of Addison! Her little personality has blossomed this year and I love having a daughter. Addison has always been a Mommy's girl ... and now she is old enough to do things with me. I so enjoy spending one-on-one time with her. This past Wednesday night, she told me that she wanted to go to class with me ... she said "I'm a girl Mommy." I guess that does qualify her to attend the ladies Esther class with me! Of course, at one point Beth Moore asked the women to raise their hand if they were sitting beside a mean girl ... Addison raised her hand! The other women in the class got a kick out of that!

We tend to generate a lot of static in this family. This picture was too cute not to include ... especially with Al's back-ground of getting shocked all the time!

For Christmas 2008, G-Daddy got the kiddos a Learning Tower. This has been a huge hit around here and I highly recommend it. It allows the kids to be counter level to help with cooking dinner, etc. And help they did. One of their favorite things to do is to help Daddy cook breakfast or dinner. Daddy makes a wonderful homemade pizza ... here they are making the dough and the pizzas.

We worked on our utensil skills this year. Now they are great ... they were still a little messy in January! Currently we are working on big boy/girl cups. The kids are starting to prefer a normal cup to their sippy cups. For several weeks now, they get big girl/boy cups at meal-times. They are doing great and we haven't had any major spills ... yet!

And we can't forget Rosie! The kids received a Thomas starter set from Mimi and Granddaddy for Christmas 2008. We headed out with our gift cards and purchased a couple more trains and some more track in January. Addison picked out a pink train ... of course! Rosie. Unfortunately, Rosie doesn't always watch what she is doing. If you look closely, you can see the chunk of hair that Rosie pulled out of Addison. Rosie ended up getting William a few months later! We still love our trains and play with them almost daily.

Well, this started out as a January update ... but I really covered a lot of ground here! But, the pictures are all from January 2009.

More to come!

Quenta

Oh, and these last two pictures are of the kids at the McWane Science Center. We spent a lot of time there in 2009 ... or I should say that Al and the kids spent a lot of time there!

Three Years Old (three months ago!)

How do you measure time? We measures time in minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years. And yet that really doesn't capture the essence of what time feels like.

When you are 10 and can't wait to be in your teens ... 3 years seems like forever! When you are 13 and can't wait to turn 16 and get your license, you think the time will never pass. When you are 38 and staring down 40 ... time seems to blow away as quickly as a dandelion's seeds are disbursed by the puff of breath from a toddler.

And that is how the past three years have gone in our lives. In some ways, it feels like Jackson, Addison and William have always been a part of my life. It is hard for me to imagine what my life was like pre-triplets. And in other ways, it is as if they have just been here for a moment.

A few weeks ago, we took the kids to have their pictures made at Portrait Innovations. We go there every year around their birthday ... good pictures for a great price! Later that day, back at work, I put their 3 year old pictures in the frames that I have in my office. There under the 2 year pics were the 1 year pics. And it took my breath away how much they have changed.

Gone are my babies. Gone are my toddlers. I sat there looking at their pictures and it was so easy to imagine what each of them will look like at 18 ... when I will be placing their senior portraits in those frames. And I am already sad. Sad that they are growing up so quickly. Sad that I can't just stop and cherish every moment ... the good and the bad ... and just enjoy now. Sad that I have already forgotten so many things.

And so I resolve (once again) to blog more often for posterity. To remember the funny things my kids say and do. To treasure each day for the beauty it brings. To remember that happiness is fleeting, that God is good and that ultimately loving our Father is what is important.

So let's see how long I can keep this up! I'll leave you with something insightful that Addison said the other day when I was sad:

Addison: Mommy, what is wrong?

Me: I'm sad Addison

Addison: Mommy, don't be sad.

Me: It's OK. Sometimes Mommies get sad.

Addison: There is no room for sad Mommy.

Seriously, who is the parent here? I definitely know that I am learning as much from them as they are learning from me. The interesting thing is that God is using them to help me grow Spiritually. And I thought that was my job to help them. God is amazing that way.

So, without further delay, here are some of their 3 year pictures

Out of the mouth of babes ...

Al took the kids to the zoo today. Tonight at dinner I asked the kids what animals they saw ... to which William replied:

"We didn't see the gorilla."

Sadly, Jamie, a 24 year old western lowland gorilla at our zoo died this past week. He was a beautiful, graceful creature of God and our kids enjoyed visiting him each trip to the zoo. So, I wasn't sure what William thought about the gorilla being gone or what Al may have told them knowing that at 2 1/2 they are too young to understand death.

Then William promptly said, "The gorilla was gone to work." Oh, if only life was only that simple! It already makes my heart sad to think of losses they will have in their lifetime. If only there was some way to protect them from such pain and sadness. I imagine that is how our Heavenly Father feels toward us. How wonderful it is to know that we can lay our pain and suffering at the cross and Jesus will carry our burden.

Jamie 1985-2009

Quenta

And no Pollard family vacation can be called a "real vacation" if we don't catch something! I like to call 'em "critters" because it makes us sound really Southern!

I must say I was really impressed that the boys were first, fast enough and second, not scared at all of these little crabs. They both caught at least half a dozen of them by hand after Mommy showed them how to find them, stalk them and then grab them (gently of course)!

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a picture of William holding one of his crabs. Who knew that after approximatly 38 minutes of being handled, the crabs would get ... well, a little crabby. Both of the boys were pinched a couple of times at the end and they didn't seem to care too much for it. Since I also was pinched, I knew it didn't hurt them. When I asked ... "did it hurt you or just scare you?" they both were quick to say "it scare me!"

We had so much fun!

The Beach ... a preview ...

No time to post tonight as I am tired from my vacation! Do I really have to go to work tomorrow? Anyway, we had a great time at the beach. Here is a quick peek at the pictures ...

NO FEAR!

And perhaps the best part of this story is that "Milli" was waiting for me in a pitcher outside my office door one morning last week! I think it is great that someone on my team brought this to me. No one in Dallas ever brought me bugs! :)

It is pretty cool that the kids love stuff like this. It is so fun for me! The only problem with "Milli" was that William wanted to keep her/him ????? William, maybe when you get older and can take care of her we will get you another one. By the way, Mommy used to get paid to raise these things when she was in college working in the Entomology lab!

Milli is a Giant Millipede, has 200-300 legs and can live up to 3 years. According to some, millipedes make good pets

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/invertebrates/Millipede_GiantAfrican.pdf

Who knew! Maybe someday William!

Quenta

Aldridge Gardens

We love Aldridge Gardens! It is a free park in the B'ham area and we usually take a pic-nic lunch and stroll around for a couple of hours. Great place for pictures too! The kids enjoyed covering each other ... and us ... in pine straw! It was a little challenging to get them to keep it out of the grass! We did a little "critter" hunting ... with some success! :)

Our first earthworm!

The kids always like to "help" pull the wagon!

And they enjoy dancing with the Rabbit!

We even managed to spot a snake ... I think it is a Midland Water Snake???