For some reason, the girls love to go hunting for food on the floor and in the seat of their highchairs after they have eaten. Does it taste better off of the floor than it does the first time I serve it on their tray? It takes me a few minutes to take the girls out of their chairs one by one and get them cleaned up and by the time that is over, someone has already managed to crawl beneath the chairs and find some scraps...totally gross if you ask me. So, we have our own version of the family dog (times 3) to clean up the floor! Here are a couple pictures of Alyssa in action. I was starting to think the girls had some weird Quilao genetic mutation, but my girlfriends who have kids have assured me that their kids do it too! Does anyone else's kiddos do this or are we just weird out here in California?

"Quick, mom's not looking....I'll get the checkbook, you guys find the car keys."

It seems like the girls discover something new they can climb on a daily basis.....Makena is usually taking the lead in this department. Seriously keeping us busy toddler proofing the house.

A new fashion statement has made it's way into our house, compliments of Riley. She likes to pull out just one of her pony tails and run around the house laughing with delight. She then chases Makena around until she manages to give her the same look....for some reason she

hasn't forced the style upon Alyssa.

Riley showing off the look

Makena...happy to become Riley's hairstyle victim. Riley looking on with pride and a matching hairdo!

A typical day trying to keep the girls entertained outside quickly turns into 3 toddlers on the loose! The girls think it is great fun to have mom chase them up and down the sidewalk. Luckily, we live on a street that doesn't have much traffic, but once they start running in the street, mom's not playing anymore and we head inside. Unfortunately, we don't have a backyard that is suitable for the girls yet, because it is all dirt. Daddy is working hard to try and get the backyard done sometime this summer.

The girls will be 21 months old on Monday. I can hardly believe that time has gone by so fast! I have noticed some fun personality traits lately.....

Makena wins the award for "Mom's best climber!" This girl tries to climb onto everything and makes mom go into panic mode on a daily basis at the potential fear of injury. Recently, she has started climbing into the front seat of the stroller on her own.....this is a picture of her getting caught in action.

Alyssa wins the award for "Mom's best napper!" Lissy is usually ready for her nap after only being up for 1-2 hours in the morning. When I take her in to her crib, she looks at me with the biggest grin on her face. I tell her that I too, get very happy when I see my bed. This girl sure does take after mom in the napping department and I feel a twinge of jealousy everytime I put her down that I can't crawl right in there with her! Most of the time her naps go about 2.5 to 3 hours....gotta get that beauty sleep. Bein' this cute ain't easy!

I am always trying to keep the girls occupied while trying to foster their need to climb and get some energy out....so we borrowed Auntie Jessica's slide and have been getting alot of use of it throughout the day!

A few more random pictures.....

Makena & Riley
(the two daredevils trying to balance in the glider that rocks back and forth)


Makena...."Gee mom, did I scare you when I was standing up in the stroller?"

Riley & Makena, just being silly!

What do you think? Do these 2 look alike?

Triplet teamwork in action!

I have had a very stressful week at work due to the tragic death of a young student at one of the elementary schools I work at and my usual workload to juggle. An unfortunate reminder of how precious life is and how thankful I am for my friends and family. I've had one of those weeks where I feel like I need more hours in the day to do everything I need to do.

What keeps me going are these three kiddos!

Makena viewing the world from upside down

Riley... puckering up to give her sister a kiss

Before I was a Mom -
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late

I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -
My house didn't get dirty RIGHT after I cleaned it.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Spit on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests,

or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel

so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes

to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

We have been enjoying the beautiful weather all week long! I have quickly figured out that the girls are much happier and we have fewer tantrums if they can spend some time outside everyday when I get home from work. This sounds like an easy task, but when you have 3 toddlers who sometimes go in 3 different directions with only one mama, it can turn ugly real quick! Most of the time, Riley and Makena stay put in the front yard and Lissy is my girl who tries to run up the street. Luckily, Auntie Jessica is right next door and she has been helping me wrangle the girls most nights this week (usually with 2 month old Calum in her arms)!

The girls love the wading pool and hose! I have to be quick or else they jump in the pool before I get a chance to get their swim diaper and bathing suits on.

The week of May 6th- May 12th is National Nurses Week, which was designated to recognize the contributions that nurses make to the community. The Quilao girls want to thank all of their fabulous NICU nurses for all the love and life saving support that you gave them while they were in the hospital. Steve and I will never be able to thank these wonderful people enough. We are forever indebted to you!

A very special thanks also goes out to the Labor & Delivery nurses that took care of me during those 13 days that I was hopitalized trying to prevent the girls' early arrival.

We made some lifelong friends.....we think of you often!

Makena, Riley & Alyssa

Alyssa: Sweet Lissy has had a sporadic fever for the last few days and I'm not sure what is causing it. She has not been sleeping well at night for the last 4 days or so. She likes to have 2 a.m. pow-wows with mama to have a cup of milk and maybe watch a Baby Einstein DVD before going back to bed. She then goes back to bed, but is pretty restless as I can hear her whining off and on in her crib. I don't know if she has some teeth coming in or what, but mama needs her rest! Lissy gets out of her sleep routine so easily when she is sick and it takes a few nights of making her cry herself back to sleep before she returns back to normal. She would much rather hang out with mama all night long then be in her crib all by herself. Thankfully, the girls sleep in separate rooms so that they don't wake each other up!

Miss Lissy also had a close encounter with our tile floor in the kitchen and now has 2 chipped front teeth to show for it. You can kind of see her teeth in the picture below. I didn't realize she chipped her teeth until the next morning. I was looking for blood when she fell and was relieved when I didn't see any. Little did I know, I should have been looking for pieces of her teeth. Oh well, all of the girls have been blessed with Steve's overbite so we will be paying for orthodontia times three in the future!

Evidence of Makena's misbehavior.....teeth marks on the bottom of Lissy's wrist and those are scratch marks at the top of her arm


Mom & Dad: Steve and I have actually had a few opportunities to get out of the house (just the 2 of us) the last couple of weekends for various activities. Last weekend, we had dinner and drinks with some friends. On Friday, we went to see Spiderman 3, which Steve was dying to see. Like the good wife that I am, I accompanied him to the flick eventhough I hadn't been to the movies in 6+ months and Spidey would have been on the bottom of my list to see. Tonight, I had a party for work and we didn't have a babysitter so Steve stayed home with the girls for almost 4 hours (you have no idea what a big deal this is) and I was able to go have dinner and a couple of drinks with my co-workers. I was happy to find Steve and the girls were all in one piece when I got home! Steve is now trying to convince me that he deserves an entire weekend off in return...not so sure about that.

I have been spending the last few nights up and down with Lissy and could really use a solid night's sleep. I fondly remember the days when I could sleep in or take a nap whenever I wanted. MAMA LOVES HER SLEEP! Hopefully, we will get back to our regular routine where all the girls sleep soundly ALL NIGHT LONG. A girl can only hope.

I have also developed quite the shopping addiction for girl's clothing. Have you seen the cute stuff they make for little girls? I walk into a store and no longer do I head to the women's OR shoe section to look for myself. I make a beeline for the toddler's section and can't resist buying something. However, rarely do I pay full price for anything. The loot below was purchased at Kohl's and everything was 55% or more off. I was in heaven! They can't just walk around in their diapers all day right?????

I have always been a big fan of the Shrek movies, but I now have 3 more reasons to go see Shrek 3, which opens May 18th.

Shrek and Fiona have triplets!

How cute is that?