Last Post of the Year- Christmas Recap!

OK, I know that Christmas was last week, but with the kids getting sick and us geting back from PA - I have been a little busier than usual! LOL
We had a great time seeing the extended family over the holidays! The kids handled all the new people, extra noise, new foods and schedule changes like champs! Their travel peapods worked awesome! Jess would get so excited at bed time saying "sleeping bag, sleeping bag!" But before I get into that -

A few days before we left for PA, a friend brought over the trampoline for the kids. They love it and bounce alot of energy away! Dave, myself and the little guys attened the playgroup christmas party the weekend before christmas. The kids ran around, enjoyed the time with their friends and saw Santa! He even handed out presents! Will wanted nothing to do with him, but Logan and Jess waited for their turn and enjoyed unwrapping their gifts.


Jessica was exhausted after the party!


We were also very fortunate to have visits from both the Roach's and Cornoyers before we left. The kids enjoyed the company and opening more gifts! While they may not be family by blood, they always treat us like we are! Love you guys!

We headed down to PA on the 23rd at nap time in our fully loaded van. The kids slept most of the way and we were at my Aunt and Uncle's in little over 3 hours.
We had dinner out with my dad at a pizza place I used to work at while in high school! The owner was excited to see me and my crew! The kids behaved for the most part, but Logan had a meltdown towards the end. I think he was just tired of sitting!

My sister and I made a trip to the cemetary on Christmas eve. We had a little trouble finding the right spot (the snow did not help!), but we finally found my mom's marker. It is beautiful! I wish I took a pic, but that will have to happen next time. We also uncovered my grandma and grandpa's markers right next to mom. We stayed for a while and let ourselves grieve.
Then it was back to start enjoying the festivities!

Christmas eve is always at my Grandma Guerrise's. She is 98 and full of spunk! She insists that dinner be at her house and only in the last few years have her and my great aunt accepted help with all the crazy cooking that is involved! They usually start prepping the week before!
There were more than 25 people for dinner and even more relatives came after dinner! It is always lots of fun with all the family and great food! Here are just a few pics from the event.












Christmas morning the kids were very excited to see all the gifts under the tree! We opened gifts from Santa and played with a few new toys until Aunt K and Kayla came by and they got even more! It was awesome to see them so excited! Makes me excited for next year when I think they will actually understand a little more about "Ho Ho" as Jess calls him!

While the kids had naps, we ate dinner! It was nice to sit down and eat a meal without worrying about the kids. Turns out Logan and Jess were getting sick, so they napped pretty good. After nap was a trip to my other Aunt and Uncle's and even more presents! The kids enjoyed hanging out with more relatives. We tried to get the kids to eat, but were pretty unsuccessful. I was glad that I brought a case of pedisure with us! At least we were able to keep them hydrated. Jess had a rough night of sleeping, and ended up with us, but the boys slept fine in the peapods.

Here are just a few pics of our christmas day fun!










The day after christmas both Logan and Jess were sick. They were running fevers, had nasty coughs and still not eating. We quickly packed up the van, even more loaded than when we arrived, and made a hasty retreat back to CT. Thanks to Aunt Claire and Uncle Bill for all the help with the kids and for hosting us! I hope no one gets sick!

Doesn't Jess look pathetic!



Everybody seems to be on the mend for the most part. The nurse came yesterday and Logan and Jess lost quite a bit of weight. I scheduled doctor visits for all three next week to make sure nothing else is going on because Will is starting to run a fever again!

Wow! This post is very long! I wanted to catch up before the year was over. Sorry, but I hope you enjoyed all the pics!

I want to close by wishing everone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to 2010!

Merry Xmas!

The Hokey Pokey!

While the Roach's were here this past weekend swapping xmas gifts and hanging out, Allison taught the trio the Hokey Pokey! They loved it and made her sing it many times!

Let it Snow! - Monday photo frenzy!

We are walking in a Winter Wonderland! Almost 14 inches of snow fell over the weekend! Logan was so excited and kept racing to the windows to look out.
We bundled everyone and headed out for some fun.

"Come on Mom! We want to go out and play in the snow! Now!"










"Mom, I'm cold and my mittens won't stay on! Can we go back inside now!"


Nothing better after playing in the snow than warm chocolate milk and cookies while watching an xmas movie with Dad!

Monday Update - 2 Years Old and 8th Grade Photos!

Monday Morning Update and Picture Preview!

Well, as the above photo shows - the trio's 2 year pictures turned out awesome! I am so excited to share them on here, but we used them for Christmas cards that are getting mailed today, so I won't post them until next week to give the cards time to arrive! However, I hope you also noticed the new family shot as the new header for the blog. I absolutely love it - Charleen did an amazing job with all the kids and the dogs.

This weekend was a busy one. We were up and out the door by 8 on Saturday to have breakfast with Santa! The weather did not cooperate on Saturday. It rained all day so the parade that Lucas was going to be in got cancelled. Dave did manage to get most of the xmas decorations up on Friday, but could not do anything on Saturday, so he still has a little bit of work to do.

Sunday was church and then I had a day out while Dave stayed with the kids! My friend Rebecca from playgroup and I headed to Newport Rhode Island to tour a few mansions! They were stunning! It was amazing to learn the history and see how the very rich lived in the early 1900's! I really had a great time and it was so nice to get to know Rebecca. She is also a Navy wife and we had a lot to talk about. I felt bad about leaving Dave with all the kids, but I figure it gives him a glimpse into what I do everyday while he is at work! LOL!

We are getting all the stuff done for our xmas travel home. Most of the shopping is done, the dogs stay at the kennel is reserved, the packing list is being made, bags starting to fill and I am getting excited and nervous about Christmas! This is the first Christmas without my Mom and I am not sure that I am ready to handle it. Thanksgiving was not too hard since we were not often together, but we were always (except 1 xmas in HI) at my Mom's for Christmas. This year we are staying at my Aunt and Uncle's and it will be very different. I know it will be fun, but I am nervous too.

I guess we just have to figure out the "new" traditions and make it work!

Photo with Santa!

As you can see, it did not go well!

Jess went right up to him and wanted to sit with him! Logan was very nervous, but got more comfortable with his sister there. Will was just a nervous wreck from the get go. We went last night to the mall in the hopes of getting the kids excited to see Santa for our actual pics on Saturday, but now I don't think we will be making the hour trip to Dayville to go to Charleen's as planned. Logan and Jess stayed on Santa's lap for quite a bit while we tried to get Will to relax enough to take a good picture. I guess we can hope for a better try next year!

Monday Morning Update - The Holiday Season is Here!

We had a great Thanksgiving Weekend around here! Both Dave and Lucas had really short work/school weeks and enjoyed hanging out with me and the little kids.

Thanksgiving was nice. We put the Macy's parade on in the morning and relaxed until the Roach's came over for dinner around 2:00. Dave fryed our 20 pound turkey in his new fryer from Cabela's! He was so excited to get to use it! We have not had a roasted turkey since we bought our first fryer several years ago. The turkey always turns out juicy and delicious! Aunt Jen was in charge of the side dishes and she did a great job. We all ate a ton, enjoyed watching football and spending the afternoon with each other. It was a fun day!

I looked over the ads for black Friday and decided to hit the Toys R Us at midnight on Thursday! I stayed up, drove the 10 minutes to the store about 11:40, saw the INSANE amount of people and traffic and came right home! I decided that my sanity was not worth the $30- 50 I was going to save. Instead, Fri morning Dave took over toddler duty and I ventured out around 7 to see if I could score any deals. I did awesome! WOO HOO! I scored most of the deals I wanted the night before at Toys R Us and even a few I found just cruising the store! I did so well on time that I called Dave and asked if I could hit Target before going home. He and the kids were having a fun time without me, so he said to go ahead!

All in all, I was out for 4 hours and got our xmas shopping 99% DONE! Go ME! That is a big worry off my mind!

Lucas went camping Fri night thru Saturday evening and we even got most of the stuff wrapped!

Our friend Paige came over Saturday night to babysit and we had a night out! (Thanks again Paige! - whenever you need some more toddler time, just let me know!) Dave and I really enjoyed the time out just by ourselves - we really need to add that to the monthly calendar!

Sunday was church in the morning and then we started to decorate for xmas! We put the tree up and tonight we will be decorating it! It was so much fun watching the kids get excited seeing all the lights and decorations! Our neighbors put a ton out in their yard and the kids stare out all night!

We are going to a tree lighting tonight and then on Friday at the base! I love all the holiday happenings! Can't wait to see the kids faces tonight!

I am also working on updating the blog and hoping to get a new pic for the header while we are out tonight so please be patient with my "work in progress"!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a very quick post to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!! The kids had a really great time visiting with The Roach's and their Nana and eating lots of great food!

I hope you all had a great day! Now I'm off to Toys R Us for their Midnight sale!

Monday Morning Update -Fun with Leaves!

OK, I did not get many comments for the Cans for Comments, but I will be donating 10 cans to the Navy/ Marine Corps Relief Society's food bank. I really loved this idea and will probably do it again soon! Thanks Helen for including me!

We went Thursday night to check out the family photos we had done. They turned out awesome! We got a great family shot and everyone smiled for their individual shots -even Will! I can not wait to share them with you in a few weeks!

We had a pretty laid back weekend. We worked on getting the house ready for Thanksgiving. Dave bought a new, bigger turkey fryer and some cool gadgets to go with it!

The kids enjoyed the weekend and really had a blast playing in the HUGE leaf pile that Dave and Lucas made! Can you spot the kids in the piles? LOL!


Lucas

Logan

Will

Fight for Preemies!

Did you know that November is National Prematurity Awareness Month, and today, November 17, is National Prematurity Awareness Day!

I have to admit before I had the triplets I never thought too much about this topic. That all changed with my high risk pregnancy! It is very scary to realize that your baby, or in my case, babies are going to be preemies and have to spend time in the NICU.

William was 4lb 10oz at birth.
Logan was 4lb 12oz at birth.
Jessica was 3lb 10oz at birth.

They were only in the NICU 10 days! They got to come home together! (that is not the norm - I found out afterwards)

I am very thankful to the March of Dimes and the work they do! The advances in medicine have saved many many, babies, including my three, but still too many are lost. I am truly blessed to have 3 happy, healthy toddlers and want to help spread the word!

P.S. the photo shoot was exhausting, but I think we got some awesome shots! We go back Thursday to pick our fav's! WOO HOO!

and don't forget to Comment for Cans for Comments all this week! Even new comments to old posts count!

Monday Morning Updates - Cans for Comments, Sickies and the Show!

I am participating this week in Cans for Comments. For every comment I recieve on the blog this week, I will donate one non-perishable food item to the local food bank. I think that this is a great idea to help local food banks get ready for the holiday season. Thanks for starting this Helen!

It has been quite a weekend here at the Dudley house. The kids are still fighting off something, with little appetites and low grade fevers. Dave and I both have symptoms of head colds and Lucas is also starting to feel ill. UGH!!

Saturday Dave and I took the triplets to a show in New Haven. The Imagination Movers have a show on Playhouse Dusney. The crew LOVES this show! We even have a dvd for the car! The show was amazing and the crew had a blast! We got seats in the balcony's first row. That gave us a little more room for the kids to get up and dance and boy did they! One of the Movers, Rich, came up to the balcony and Jessica got to "high 5" him! She was so excited! Will spent the show on my lap, but he was really enjoying it. Logan and Jess keep bouncing from seats, to laps, to the floor to dance! They really enjoyed themselves! We got home around 7:30 and they were in bed by 8:00!

OK, we have the family photoshoot this afternoon. I hope to report back with good news! Until then - Bring On The Comments!!!

Happy 15th Anniversary to Us!

I can not believe that another year has gone by! It has been an amazing year and I look forward to many more!

This year has certainly seen its share of ups and downs, but Dave has been my rock through it all!

Dave, hon I love you so much but really don't have the words to express exactly how I feel! I only hope you realize just how much you mean to me and how important you are!

The sitter is set (I think) so I can't wait to celebrate this weekend!

All My Love, Kris

Lucas' Monster Golf Party

As you can see, Lucas had a great time at his party!

Monster Mini Golf is an exciting indoor monster themed glow in the dark 18 hole miniature golf course. This is not your average putt putt golf course! There is lots of excitement and adventure playing mini golf among scary but cool monster décor with custom and animated props!

First, it was time for pizza and b-day cake and presents! The pizza and cake were very yummy. (Dave brought some home for me!) Lucas enjoyed all his gifts and then it was off to play golf! Everyone had a real good time! Dave had a hard time taking pics in the dark, but you can see a little in the next few pics.




They have several walls covered with hand prints of people who celebrated b-days there and Lucas was able to add his print! How cool!



Lucas got several great gifts for his b-day, but the biggest hit was from Aunt Jen and Uncle Larry - a self contained frog habitat!
Here is a pic of Lucas' new pets: 2 African dwarf frogs!

The best part about these pets - only feed twice a week and change their water every 6 months! I think he can handle that!

Lucas also wanted me to let you know that Commando is doing great and growing big!