Frog and Tiger Make Five

Easter

2011-04-24T11:59:00.001-07:00

Passing

2011-03-19T11:38:00.001-07:00

Whenever we start an new activity I find myself torn about the "A" word. Does the subject of autism need to come up? Quinn has made such good progress that I always wonder if anyone would think anything was not as it should. Then it's usually the case that things don't go quite as they might and I end up offering an explanation for why Quinn is clinging to the front door when it's time to do parachute at Gymboree or why he is covering his ears at the swimming pool. It's then when I think of idea of passing in the way I read about it in books, people of other races passing as whites in order to have a better life, or Jews in Nazi Germany passing as non Jews, to be treated the way a person would like to be, not as a second class citizen. I always wonder if that's what I am hoping for, that Quinn can pass, just be another kid, not someone who needs to be treated differently. Do I want that for me of for him? I guess the answer is for both of us. I want him to try different things to see what he enjoys doing, but then I stop to wonder when he isn't having fun doing those new things, do I keep pushing to see if he will grow comfortable with it or do I just assume it's not an activity for him and try something else. How hard do I push and for how long? I guess that's a mystery to be handled delicately.

St Pat's

2011-03-19T11:30:00.001-07:00

The weather on St Patrick's day was so warm! It was a great day to play outside! We did wear green, but not much else about the day spoke to what one might think of doing on St Pat's, no parades were attended, no corned beef was consumed, but we still had fun!

Swimming

2011-03-19T11:23:00.001-07:00

The kids started swimming lessons last week, it was not a rousing success! It went pretty much as expected. Cooper was happy about going, Sydney was excited about the pool, but not going off with a stranger and Quinn was down on the entire experience. At least this week went much better! The kids went out one at a time with an instructor and no one was as upset as last week. Maybe by the end of the six classes they will be little fish!

Taste of Spring

2011-02-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

Thank you spring for sticking your head out and saving our sanity after months of house arrest! Each day brings my spirits alive! Yipeee! Now if I can just convince the kids to pedal their bikes, we'd really be talking!

Bounce House

2011-02-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you what a great investment the bounce house has been during what seemed to be a never ending winter! The kids have become such outdoors people and it is always very hard on them to be stuck inside trying to ride bikes around the kitchen island. We were planning on finishing off the basement for additional play space, but realized there was no big hurry until the kids were more independent in their ability to go up and down the stairs. There was no way everyone would want to be down in the basement all at once and with meals and snacks, the downstairs could wait. With our first floor already bursting at the seems with toys, I wasn't sure we had the real estate for the bounce house, but it has worked fine! The kids use it every day! Now that the weather is getting warmer, we'll have to see what the fate of the bounce house will be. Probably it will get packed up at some point until the next winter season, but for right now it is still a good friend.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T11:49:00.001-08:00

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Christmas was more fun this year than last year! At least this year the kids were able to say Santa, tree, reindeer, Christmas, etc. I don't think they really get who Jesus or Santa is completely, but they are getting the hang of it. We haven't had our big family party yet, so the holiday has been pretty low key. They definitely think it's fun to have new toys to play with.

I'm sure next year will be more fun. We'll have to be more on our toes and get our stories straight. No more storing presents in plain site until they are wrapped, no wrapping presents right in front of them. Cookies will have to be set out for Santa, we'll have to start hiding presents and wrapping the Santa gifts in a different paper. Next year the kids will be out of cribs and may wake us up earlier than the 7:30 we got up this year. Next year may be a whole new ballgame. I was sure to enjoy how low key it all was this year. I can look back at how it was last year at this season and in some ways life is so different, in other ways not much has changed. I look forward to doing this again next year and hopefully seeing even more progress. Maybe next year Sydney will be eating food, maybe Quinn will be talking as well as Cooper and Sydney? Who knows? All we can do is wait and see how this life unfolds.

Christmas Card

2010-11-23T11:41:00.000-08:00

Once again I foolishly hoped we could pull off a family photo to use for a christmas card instead of having a collage of kid pictures. My thought was if we had someone the kids really liked they would sit still and possibly even smile. I asked Trish, our kids special instructor, to take our picture. Despite our valiant efforts, this was the best we could manage. Even getting individual shots of the kids was not an easy task! This is just a super squirmy age! I keep the camera on the action setting all the time, but I still don't always capture the shots I want. I guess I should actually read the book on photography that I bought, maybe then I would be happier with my pictures. There's always next year. For now, here is our real life family photo.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

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Not much excitement for halloween this year. We decided the kids still didn't really understand the holiday well enough to force them into a costume they didn't want to wear and take them out just for our benefit. We did take them for a wagon ride as the early trick or treaters were out, but I don't think the kids really realized costumes were something out of the ordinary to wear. They just had halloween T shirt to wear, otherwise it was business as usual this year. Maybe by next year they will care about dressing up and candy! I hope so! I'm looking forward to it!

Cooper's First Haircut

2010-10-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

Our poor little Cooper, who was hairless for the longest of the three kids finally had his first haircut! Needless to say, he would have been happy to go a bit longer without having had the pleasure! Poor Greg had to take the boys one at a time for haircuts, Quinn was needing his second one of his young life. Quinn did much better the second time around, but Cooper was not to happy. He did get a free ice cream out of it (we didn't get one when Quinn had his because Quinn won't eat ice cream)! Another right of passage at our house!

The Beautiful Face of Autism

2010-10-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

One of the most important and life changing events for our family centers around Quinn being diagnosed with autism. He has obviously been delayed in his speech, especially compared to his triplets siblings who both seem to pick up language like a shiny new penny from the ground. I have been questioning his therapists about if they thought he might be on the spectrum since about when Quinn was one. Everyone thought Quinn's social skills were to well developed to include him in that quickly growing group of kids that now fall under the umbrella diagnosis of autism. Despite their opinions we pursued the matter with Quinn's pediatrician, who strangely enough has a child with autism himself. He seemed unsure if Quinn would fall into the diagnosis or not, but agreed we should have a formal evaluation done.

We went and had the eval done and had a second opinion, both teams of experts felt Quinn fell on to the high end of the spectrum. So begins our new life, reading books and books about the diagnosis, finding out that the topic of autism is as emotionally charged and polarized as breast feeding or not, and that there is no set plan for what to do know that you have this diagnosis to deal with and treatments to select. There is no perfect recipe to apply to our child to be sure we are doing what's right. In spite of Quinn's age of just two, he now has a part time job, 20 hours of week of behavioral, speech and occupational therapy to help him find his voice in this world. We have to always be questioning are we doing enough of this, should we be doing more of that?

The other aspect of the diagnosis that you can't even imagine is how do you think of your child now. At first you have to remind your self this is the same Quinn you knew before he had this new label. We are so lucky that Quinn is even here, he is the baby that struggled the most after being born prematurely. I was awakened on the night he was born and asked to call my husband to the hospital because they were unsure if he would make it through the night. But he did. And he is here. He may not be able to speak many words, but we know he knows as much as his siblings from what he can show us. We don't know what challenges he will face as he grows up, but what parent knows that about their typically developing child? I hope he finds his voice and finds some friends and has a career and lives independently, but I don't know if that will be true. All I know is he is our beautiful boy, whose laugh and smile can fill a room, who loves cars and letters and has a family of people that will move heaven and earth for him and give him the best support we have to give. Just remember that 1 in 110 children are diagnosed with autism, so you never know when you might be beholding the beautiful face of autism!

At Last The Choo Choo Wagon

2010-10-27T12:41:00.001-07:00

We have been on a waiting list for about a year now for the one item of transportation much coveted by the triplet family with toddlers, the Choo Choo Wagon. They have been out of production and don't think for a minute that families outgrowing their Choo Choos weren't very aware of that fact. A used Choo Choo was going for about 3 times what a new one costs! I almost didn't get one thinking the kids might outgrow it soon, but after the long wait I caved in and bought one. I'm so glad we did, we use it every day and the kids love it. By the time we outgrow it, it could be worth a small fortune, who knows!

The Family Table

2010-10-27T12:34:00.001-07:00

No more high chairs at this house! I finally dug out the family dinning table from the barn and crammed it into an open space behind the couch where our sofa table once resided. I couldn't spare the precious play space in the dinning room where it should be, so we had to make due. Quinn and Sydney are still such limited eaters and the one thing that seems to make an impression upon them is the social component of eating and Greg and myself modeling eating behavior. That, coupled with the fact I was struggling to cram the boys legs into their high chairs any longer was my inspiration to make the transition. The kids seem to enjoy very much sitting at the table in their booster chairs for meals and even choose to sit there to color at non meal times. They are growing up before my very eyes!

Dog Days of Summer

2010-10-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Indian summer is definitely my favorite time of the year. I know it's time to savor the perfect temperatures and the beautiful fall colors and store them away in the annals of my mind for the cold months that will follow. The kids love being outdoors more than anything and I know the winter months will soon stretch out before us as a long and never ending road! So stop fooling around on the computer and get out there and enjoy the beautiful day while you can!

Quinn's first haircut

2010-07-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today Greg took Quinn to the barber shop to have his first haircut. I was not fortunate enough to have been an eye witness to the event, but it looks like it was a lot of drama for all involved! Thank god Nick is an old hat at first haircuts, so it was no big deal. I know first hand that the kid doesn't even like to get his hair brushed, much less cut! He looks pretty cute! Too bad it wasn't just a one time deal! See you in a few months Nick!

Talbots Turn Two!

2010-07-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

The kids turned two on saturday! They are toddlers now, not babies. No more expressing their age in months! Our celebration was pretty low key, we just had both sets of grandparents over for lunch and cake, that was it. No pony rides or get together with 100 of our kids closest "friends". I don't know how many more birthdays we will be able to get away with that kind of celebration, hopefully a few more! I think they had a good time and we managed to add to the clutter of our first floor play area. I think back on how much they have changed since their last birthday and marvel at it all! It just makes me that more excited to see what this next year of life has in store for this family of five!

Water, Water Everywhere

2010-05-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

The kids have discovered the garden hose! Life as we know it will never be the same! Now that we have our big swing set and swings in the back yard, we converted our old sand table into a water table. Who says you can't have fun on the cheap?!

Help Around the House

2010-04-16T11:28:00.001-07:00

The kids are at an age now where they like to get in on the act when something is going on. They love vacuuming, they climb on it and love to push the tank around. Now they are taking an interest in yard work, the hose is cool, but even better, who can resist a bobcat or backhoe in the yard?!

Newest Walker

2010-04-07T11:52:00.001-07:00

At last! Sydney has joined the ranks of the walkers in the family! Yipee! She is running around like a mad woman! The funniest thing is how proud she seems and how her overall mood has even lifted! She thinks she is the stuff!

New wheels

2010-04-02T20:23:00.001-07:00

We got the kids their first tricycles, but sadly even with the small trikes, their short legs won't reach. The boys wear 3T shirts and 18 month pants and Sydney wears 2T shirts and 12 month pants! They definitely have the Greg Talbot body so far! It's not so bad but I need volunteers to comes push some of them around until they can pedal themselves!

First Trip to the Zoo

2010-04-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went to the zoo for the first time. I couldn't figure out why Quinn was crying as we approached the entrance. All I can figure is that he thought we were going to the doctor, since that's been about the only time they get out! After a few minute, he calmed down and they had fun. Cooper and Sydney really liked seeing the animals, especially the meerkats. I think that's because they were on ground level and would come right up to the glass. The red pandas could get pretty close to us too. Now that I've gone once, I'm looking forward to more trips!

Quinn's just being a good boy!

2010-03-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Poor Quinn, not up to any mischief, but deserves a little press as much as his siblings, if not more so for not giving me any gray hairs like his brother! The funny thing about the lawn mower is we don't even have a mower like that! Since we have 10 acres, we have a big zero turn commercial mower! He has never seen a mower like that be used!

Daredevil !

2010-03-26T12:08:00.001-07:00

Cooper's new favorite trick is climbing up the outside of the stairs, then crying for me to get him down because he is stuck! Kind of makes you want to buy a ranch house doesn't it!

Look Who's Walking!

2010-03-26T12:05:00.001-07:00

Sydney has finally started walking! I am so excited, not just because this has been a long time coming, but with all three walking it will make playing outside so much more fun this summer!

Cat or Kid?

2010-02-24T11:03:00.000-08:00

For some reason both Quinn and Sydney have taken to getting in the basket I keep all the "blankies" in. I guess it's a spot of comfort for them. It makes me laugh because I think of the cat we had growing up, 99, and how she would sleep in the laundry baskets in out basement. I guess these two kids are cat-like. The only bad part is the blankets never stay folded, so are always wrinkled. It's hard to tell what's clean and what needs washing!