March of Dimes/March for Babies Walk

Hi, Everyone,

Saturday was the March for Babies walk.

It rained, but not enough to be miserable during the walk. The walk organizers shortened the route because of the rain. Gus, Kate and Claire did great -- they were just along for the ride. No one fussed, and they did not get even a little damp, thanks to the humongous visors on their strollers.

The main reason I am writing about this is because Chad and I want to say a great big THANK YOU to every family member and friend/co-worker who donated money on behalf of Gus, Kate and Claire to this cause. Because of you, our Moms of Multiples team raised $3065 for March for Babies! YAY!! THANK YOU!!

Also, Chad and I viewed March for Babies day as a day to celebrate the fact that we have three NICU Graduates who are healthy, happy and thriving in every way possible. We are so blessed and so thankful! To celebrate, we gave each baby a big old smooch from us. Notice that they are wearing NICU Graduate t-shirts from March of Dimes. :o)

Love to you all, and thank you again for your generosity.

Leslie

P.S. The top picture, left to right: Claire (in recline position), Kate, Gus. The next picture is of Claire being smooched by us. The next is of Kate being smooched. Then, the next is of Gus being smooched. Oh, and the humongous bruise in the middle of Gus' forehead is from his "meeting" with the See 'n Say toy. Goodness, the bumps and bruises have only just begun!

Happy Easter!!!

Hi, Everyone,

Chad and I hope that you all had a very Happy Easter!

Chad and I took the babies to Landmark Baptist Church in Mt. Enterprise to celebrate their first Easter. For those of you who do not know, this is the church that Chad grew-up in, and I was a member there for a while when Chad and I were engaged/newlyweds. So, Landmark has always been special to us. We are THRILLED that Gus, Kate and Claire finally met all of the sweet people who had prayed for them for such a long time!

So, our Easter went like this:

We left here at about 7:30 on Easter morning. We fed the babies their breakfast and plopped them into their car seats while they were still in their pajamas. We drove straight to their MeMe and Poppa Bear's house (in the rain) and fed them again and then we all got dressed for church. When we got to the church, Chad's dad met us at the door to help us unload and carry Gus, Kate and Claire. We took the babies into the sanctuary just before Sunday school got out. When we got to the sanctuary, we discovered that our niece, Hannah, had made a sign that said, "Reserved for Moore Triplets and Family" and placed it on the end of the pew! Now, if THAT doesn't make a person feel special, then I don't know what will! Chad and I put the babies on the pew while they were still in their car seats. As people got out of Sunday school, they stopped by "The Moore Pew" to say "hello" to Gus, Kate and Claire. The looks on Gus, Kate and Claire's faces were priceless! Their eyes were SO big as they watched all of the new and interesting faces around them. Everyone that stopped by to see the babies was SO nice. Chad and I also had just a few minutes to chat with some of the other parents. It was great to see the Jones twins -- they are BEAUTIFUL -- we had heard so much about them that it was wonderful to be able to see them and chat with their parents for a few minutes. And, one really big treat for me was that got to see Mrs. Jan Creel. I have to tell you that she is one of my "mom" inspirations! She has raised four AMAZING children (they are all grown now). Out of those four children, she has a set of twins, Austin (babies' honorary Uncle Austin and my "brother from another mother") and Tiffany. I always think that if Mrs. Jan could manage with four little children all so close to the same age and maintain such a sweet spirit and so much faith, then I can manage, too. She is my real life "Jon and Kate Plus 8" role model!

Of course, we also saw two sets of great-grandparents (Matlocks/Charles Strong) and my dad and Jill (Poppa Wayne and Ma DJ to the babies). It was great to see everyone all in the same place. My dad was a good sport and toted Kate and Gus around a little bit. He also helped us load the babies back into the car once church was over.

Prior to the sermon, we had a chance to take the babies down to the front of the church for their official "viewing" (I borrowed that word from Mrs. Deanna). Chad was able to thank the church publicly for their prayers for us and the babies. We fully believe that our babies are alive and well because of the prayers of many. It was wonderful to finally be able to thank just a few of our prayer warriors all in one place. To God be the glory -- great things HE has done!! Thank you, Lord, for saving our babies! Thank you for giving us such a sweet Easter Sunday with friends and family. Thank you, Lord, for our prayer warriors!

Once the sermon started, Gus and Kate did really well and sat with Chad, Matt, Brandy, Hunter and Hannah. But, poor little Claire went into meltdown mode. At first I thought it was because she was overstimulated with the new surroundings, new noises and faces. But, I soon discovered it was because she was exhausted! Church started right about the time she would normally be napping. So, we went and found an empty Sunday school room, and Claire zonked-out on the floor on her little blanket for the remainder of the service. Claire is usually a quiet baby and doesn't protest too much about anything. I'm not too worried about this because when she needs something, she will let it be known! She SCREAMED and SCREAMED loud and then SCREAMED some more until I put her down for a nap. Yes, I'm a little slow, but I finally got it! Meanwhile, Gus was enjoying being in church and looking around and listening to the music. And, apparently, Baby Kate decided that she wanted the tour of the rest of the church, so her Uncle Matt obliged and took her for a little stroll (thanks Uncle Matt and Aunt Brandy).

My only disappointment about the church experience was that I was unable to take all of the major family photos that I had planned to take once the service ended. I had planned to get pictures with The Moores, The Cooleys and The Matlocks. But, Claire fell asleep and I wasn't going to wake her for a few photos. One thing that pregnancy, bedrest and being the mom of baby triplets has taught me is that I AM NOT IN CONTROL!! No, correction...it has taught me that I am DEFINITELY NOT in CONTROL!!! :o) So, the big family pictures will have to wait just awhile longer, but that's okay.

After church, we had our first Moore Family gathering where everyone was present. It was so great to finally have everyone under the same roof! We had a terrific Easter lunch, and then MeMe and Poppa Bear gave Gus, Kate and Claire personalized Easter baskets filled with a few toys, new sippy cups and some really spiffy sunglasses. Our nephew, Hunter, loaned Gus his John Deere cap, which was really nice of him to do. He even posed for a few pictures with the babies so that we could get the first pictures of all five grandchildren together. Our niece, Hannah, spent most of the afternoon on the floor with Gus, Kate and Claire and getting to know them better. And, by the way, Hannah is FABULOUS with the babies. She is such a tremendous help and is so loving with them. We took TONS of pictures, needless to say!

I could just go on and on because it was so exciting for Chad and I to finally have our babies out and about and to admittedly show them off just a little. It's okay to be just a little proud of our babies, isn't it?

It was just such a great first Easter. We are SO blessed, but, I have already said that! :o)

We love you all,

Leslie

P.S. Kate is wearing the mint green dress with white bunnies and Claire is wearing the pink dress with chocolate bunnies. The pictures of the babies in car seats are of them sitting on the reserved church pew with cousin Hannah (left to right...Kate, Gus then Claire).

Update on Gus, Kate and Claire

Hi, Everyone,

A couple of Saturdays ago, we went to Mt. Enterprise to Chad's parents' house. We had a great day! Gus, Kate and Claire were able to spend time at their MeMe and Poppa Bear's house for the very first time and visit with their GREAT grandfather, Charles Strong. I took tons of pictures. If you are on Facebook, you have already seen some of those. This half day trip was a great learning experience for Chad and I on what we need/do not need for trips. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies because our Expedition was so loaded down!

Gus now has two little teeth, and he is also sitting-up all by himself. He is still rolling to get to where he wants to go, and he is starting to scoot just a little more this week. He is extremely accident prone (I know..he's a boy...I might as well get used to it). He has already had a small black eye from having his arm slip out from under him on the play mat. His face met-up with a baby rattle. Ouch! Now, he has a small bruise on his forehead because his head met-up with the "See And Say". Poor little guy! Otherwise, he is still rowdy, sweet and jolly!

Kate also has two little teeth. She has been sitting-up the longest, so she is the most stable at it. She prefers to sit as opposed to be on her tummy. She will roll to where she wants to go, but does not really scoot that much yet. She does do a maneuver that looks like she is bobbing for apples while she is on her belly. She is trying to figure out how to get herself to move forward. She will also tuck her knees underneath her and get into a crawl position, but then gets frustrated because she does not know what to do next. She is still a little anti-social with Gus and

Claire and is not fond of having them touch her or her toys. I think that the poor little thing is still in denial about the fact that she is a triplet and that someone will be in her space for the rest of her life!

Claire does not have teeth yet, but it looks like she will just any day now. She can also sit-up, but prefers to roll around on the play mat. She is now able to scoot herself forward -- very quickly -- and get to wherever she wants to go, which is great, but scary. She looks so proud of herself! She is a snuggler, so any toy that is soft is what she loves. We are trying to stay away from too many stuffed animals, but we do have some "snugglies" that she loves (has a stuffed animal's head attached to a blanket). She enjoys studying Gus and Kate and just loves being near them. She is a very content baby.

Otherwise...

We are still planning on visiting Landmark with the babies at Easter. We are excited that we will get to see everyone -- it has been such a long time!

We are still looking forward to the March for Babies walk that is coming-up at the end of April. Thank you to EVERYONE who donated on behalf of Gus, Kate and Claire. We appreciate you so very much!

Also, we will be participating in the Parent Commitment service (aka "Baby Dedication" in some churches) on Mother's Day Sunday at 9:45 at Green Acres. Chad and I are very excited about this! So, if you happen to be at Green Acres on Mother's Day, come by and say "hello" to us if

you have the chance.

Please continue to keep the babies in your prayers. They have appointments with their developmental pediatrician in Dallas next week, and prior to that they are all scheduled for hearing screens.

Love and miss you all,

Leslie

P.S. Picture order from top to bottom: Gus, Kate, Claire