Tis The Season!

Remember our Christmas Miracle last year? You know, the photo with Santa where all three babies were smiling?

I can now confirm that it was in fact a miracle. For an entire year, I've tried unsuccessfully to take a photo with all three of them in the same shot, let alone all looking in the same direction or God forbid all three of them actually smiling! Our visit with Santa was a little more dramatic this year...poor Santa...If you notice he has two black eyes when he's unloading his presents under your tree, you can blame Haley and Ellison...




















HALEY LOVES SANTA




















ELLI REALLY LOVES SANTA




















TYLER REALLY, REALLY LOVES SANTA






















Jeff enjoys decorating our tree, and it looked beautiful this year...when we turned it on the babies said a collective "ooooooh". The tree is looking a little top heavy these days. All the ornaments that once resided at the bottom are now crammed at the top, and the lights are dragging on the ground. Our stockings survived less than 24 hours before being ripped from the mantle. Mom bought them a cute little nativity scene (thanks to our Ohio peeps!), and more often than not, baby Jesus has been found hanging from a lower branch. Mary and Joseph are riding through "Bethlehem" on a Barbie scooter, and tonight I caught Hartwell chewing on one of the three wise men. I'm pretty sure we're all going to hell...

Merry Christmas from Jennifer, Jeff, Haley, Ellison and Tyler!

A Beautiful Fall!

Don't you just love fall?! I wish we could have it year-round! We've been busy enjoying the warm weather while it lasts!

Oh - one more thing - thank you all SO much for your kind words of encouragement with our new running challenge! We completed our second race last weekend and are signed up for another on Thanksgiving morning, and yet another the first week of December...I'm tired just thinking about it!!!

FUN AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH

I'LL TAKE THIS ONE!


















IS THIS THING FOR REAL?


















I PREFER THE EXOTIC (EXPENSIVE) ONES!


















MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY, TYLER!!!



















BIG BOY TYLER
























































BIG GIRL HALEY

























































BIG GIRL ELLISON

























































A little side note: My grandmother made these precious Halloween costumes for the kids. They are priceless! It was really rainy and cold on Halloween here, so we decided to dress up again this weekend! Thanks Mama! You're the best!

We Did It!!!

Jeff and I have made every excuse in the book of why we don't have time to work out. And true, we do have THREE good reasons why our free time is limited, but it is also true that we aren't getting any younger, and the kids are requiring more and more of our energy to keep up with them!! Todd and Erica have been running for awhile now, and we have been so proud of all they've accomplished. Todd just completed his second marathon in October, and Erica completed her first. We are so excited to head to Boston with Todd in 2011 - he qualified!!! Suffice it to say they have motivated us to get our butts off the couch and get in shape! We also have a few good friends who have motivated us as well - you all know who you are!!!

Seven weeks ago, we downloaded a program called "Couch to 5k", printed it out, hung it on the fridge, and followed it step by step. Literally. And it led us to our very first race...well, some people called it a race. For the first time in my life, I entered a "competition" with absolutely NO intention of beating anyone. Weird.

So on Saturday, we officially laced up our running shoes, donned our race numbers, and hit the road with over 1000 other people. They played the national anthem, shot the gun thingy, and we were off! Our only goal was to complete the entire 3.1 miles without walking. For the first 1/2 mile, I felt like I was running backwards! People were flying by me on my left and right...one guy sprinted by as he hurdled the orange cones! My fiends were all well ahead of me, and I remember patting Jeff on the back as he ran ahead. Erica, God love her, ran my pace with me, so after about 5 minutes it was just me, her and the road. A very hilly road. A mostly uphill hilly road.

Mile one was a breeze! When we saw the mile marker we cheered and high-fived! It was much easier than any of my first miles in training! Mile 2 was another story! We climbed up...and up...and up and for some reason, we rarely went down! By the time I saw the 2nd mile marker, I couldn't even speak, let alone cheer and high five! I did, however, have the energy to chuckle at the cone-hurdling idiot who was sucking air and barely walking at that point!!! The third mile is a total blur! I remember Erica coaching me on keeping my head down and leaning forward to go up the hill (did I mention we were going up still?). Bless her heart, I yelled "I'm hurting" several times in that last mile...I think I scared her! I wanted to stop SO bad, but she kept telling me we were almost to the top of the hill (liar)!

The race finished with a final lap around the minor league baseball stadium. In my mind the night before, I imagined entering the stadium and finding another gear and really running to the finish. Well, reality was quite different! I most certainly did NOT find another gear, and I'm almost positive I was drooling. Good thing it was raining...

I finally shuffled my way through the outfield and crossed home plate!!!! Jeff and Todd were there waiting for us in the stands! Jeff did SO awesome!!! Todd was a great coach for him...they ran together the entire time and Todd kept him on pace. I was so proud of him! He ran it much faster than any of his training runs, and seriously kicked my rear end!!! He did however get beat by a man dressed in women's clothes. That's rough. When we were comparing notes afterwards, we realized Jeff really didn't see much along the way. He just put his head down and ran. Too bad. Maybe he would have seen the transvestite in time to kick it up a notch.

So it's official. We are runners. And it actually feels good. Oh, and I did beat a few people along the way. Including the pylon hurdling moron who is still on the side of the road downtown.



THE WARM-UP JOG TO THE STARTING LINE - LOTS OF ENERGY AT THIS POINT!















JEFF AND TODD FEELING GOOD ON THE WAY TO THE START!















MY BUDDIES MARY AND REGINA!




















OUR RUNNING CREW: TODD, ERICA, STACY, REGINA, JEFF, ME AND MARY















THREE OF MY AWESOME STAFF MEMBERS WHO BEARED THE RAIN AND HILLS BECAUSE THEIR BOSS IS CRAZY AND THEY WERE AFRAID THEY WOULD GET FIRED IF THEY DIDN'T SHOW UP!!!!



















ME AND MARY AT MILE 2.75 (CAN YOU FEEL OUR PAIN?)
















TODD AND JEFF FEELING GOOD AFTER A GREAT RUN!
















SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. 3.1 MILES LOGGED. WATCH OUT WORLD.

Up to our knees in...

You can fill in the blank. The dreaded stomach flu hit the entire Lippens household minus one (not sure how Jeff avoided it). Wow. Yuck. Is it over yet? God I hope so.

Tyler got it first - scared the heck out of me when he barfed all over me - I never even saw it coming! He was so pitiful - we just laid on the floor in the basement (did I mention our AC was out and it was 85 degrees?) and jumped up every time he moved. Next was Haley. By then we had learned a little and we were better about making it to the sink (although she shook her head no every time we ran toward the sink...I think she thought we were going to put her in it, bless her heart). Then there was Elli...and by then we were pros...if you can become a pro at dealing with a barfing toddler! They were all so pitiful...it just plain sucks seeing them so sick. After a day of barfing came a day of well, you know. And to top it off, by that time I had the bug and Jeff was left to deal with the cleanup on his own. He really does deserve Father of the Year for what he endured!

Since then, we have been staying busy playing and growing! I think our babies are officially not babies anymore! Here are a few photos - you can see for yourself!


HALEY IS A COLTS FAN!!! GOOD GIRL!!!



















NOW THIS TAKES SERIOUS PACIE TALENT!!


















TYLER FIGURED OUT HOW TO STAY COOL IN THE SUMMER!!!



















ELLISON SNUGGLING WITH HER STUFFED ANIMALS!!!



















ONE DOULBE AND A SINGLE HOOKED TOGETHER...SWEET NEW RIDE!!! (We ditched the triplet stroller because of the attention it attracted - now we can split up - by the time people realize we are a triplet family we are long gone!!!!)

















WE ARE WORKING ON USING SPOONS...IT'S BEEN A HUGE SUCCESS.


















DANCING WITH DADDY



















A BOOK BEFORE BEDTIME



















BATHTIME...A SPLASHFEST...WE GET AS WET AS THEY DO!!!


















ELLI IS A CLEMSON FAN!!! GO TIGERS!!!

How can I resist?

"Mommy, why does daddy drag his foot when he walks?"

"Mommy, why does daddy drool when he smiles?"

"Mommy, why does daddy run into walls?"

Well baby, this is why...






































What more can mommy say?

Labor Day Fun!

I am the first to admit that the first year with triplets was just downright HARD. Period. Sometimes I look back and wonder how on earth we did it. I guess the power of prayer and laughter combined is pretty strong. I'm also the first to say that now that the babies are 18 months old, thing are still HARD! No, seriously, we are really enjoying this phase of their lives. Yes, they are a handful, but they are so much fun! They are so curious and are trying to say new words all the time. As a matter of fact, "Bob" is now affectionately known as "Bo" - we're getting closer to Nemo...just not quite there yet! Elli can say "milk" VERY clearly, but she says it without opening her mouth. Try it...not easy is it?! Haley says "piggy piggy piggy"...could be a commentary on our recent weight gain, or hopefully it's just her way of saying how much she loves playing "This little piggy"!!! Early on, I half-heartedly taught them a couple of words in sign language. Tyler has picked up on it really well. He knows the sign for "milk" and "more" and actually uses them appropriately which just blows me away. One of these days I need to take the time to learn more words for him!

Our final weekend of summer was a blast! The babies donned their life vests and went for a swim, and we went on a couple of boat rides! They LOVE being on the boat! Tyler was especially mesmerized when Daddy and Uncle Todd were wakeboarding...I will need a separate blog entry for those priceless photos!!! Elli loved the sunset cruise and fell asleep on the boat! Haley had a ball waving at all the boats we passed! I took a few photos of the girls on the evening cruise (Tyler was hiding from the camera)...might have to send these first ones to my rep at Costa del Mar! And of couse, some other summertime photos...


Ellison


















Haley


















Hey Tyler, can I have a ride?


















32oz shake split 3 ways...a true lesson in sharing!