Daddy's surprise!

Daddy surprised the trio with a new Little Tikes picnic table. He assembled it while they were asleep so when the woke up the next morning, it was the first thing they saw.... Sloane decided to climb on top.
She really like the umbrella on top!
Reese was testing out the bench....
The trio and their table (L-R): Sloane, Reese & Brooks.

Picking on our brother

It looks like Reese and Sloane have already begun to torture Brooks. We were getting them undressed for bed and Reese decided to sit on Brooks in their Lego wagon. Then Sloane wanted to get into the wagon....
Brooks finally escaped! I wonder what Sloane is thinking about?

Birthday parties!

The trio had a pretty social weekend. It began Saturday morning with our swim lesson, followed by birthday party number 1 on Saturday afternoon. Then, we had birthday party number 2 on Sunday morning, followed by another swim lesson after the party. It seems that every weekend is similar...in fact, I think we have had a birthday party every weekend this summer!

Here is Brooks with Mommy looking at his party favors at the birthday party today.

Here is Reese playing with a birthday party favor from a party we went to a couple of weeks ago. Reese again sporting her new party outfit...
Sloane loves the camera!

I love this picture of Sloane....she is sitting INSIDE of the toy box. Here is Mommy's boy, Brooks

We are going on a vacation!

Well, last night Steve surprised me....

He said we are planning to drive with the triplets to Keystone, Colorado to stay at his Uncle's Ski Condo for a week! Well, I was excited and overwhelmed all at the same time! We will be driving to Colorado at night so the little ones can sleep in the car! Wish us luck!

It will be our first vacation as a family!

Playing at My Gym

Here we are at My Gym....Brooks loves the slide! He is such a "Ladies Man!" He also loves the trampoline!
Reese & Brooks jumping together.... Reese seems to be looking at herself in the orange ball (her favorite color)
Reese is sporting her "pony" on top....Sloane still does not have enough hair for a "pony".
Sloane.....I wonder what she is thinking?
We had fun at My Gym. I am still amazed how much they have grown over the past 18 months!

New toy & a new haircut!

Well, we FINALLY gave Brooks his first haircut!



He is now 18 months old.....I just could not cut off that baby hair! Here are the "before" and "after" pictures. We decided to cut his hair ourselves....I think we are ready to open a salon!






Steve and I also brought out some more new toys. We are still unwrapping toys from the trio's birthday in January! It looks like we have some future basketball players!


Reese

Brooks

He seems to like his new haircut!

Playing....

Toybox or new toy?

Hmmm..... Sloane also found a new toy. Who knew that a bottle of "Gain" would be fun!


Reese & Sloane

Sloane is amused by something on the T.V.

Reese & Brooks play chase! Sloane, Reese & Brooks will all chase each other from time to time....they really start laughing....it is a quick way to put a smile on our faces.








Reese sitting in her chair & wearing Daddy's Chicago Cubs hat...








Sloane and Brooks......

Sloane organized the chairs!




We love the playarea at the mall!

Steve and I are amazed every day how much our children are growing and changing. They are becoming little people...laughing, dancing and talking to us...and to each other!
We have also noticed that they begin to emulate our actions...so cute and fun to watch!
Now if I could just teach them to "stop" when they run in three different directions!

Sloane is sharing!

We have seen her do this once before when we had some friends over July 4th weekend (see below).....
Today, I was giving the girls some snacks (Brooks does not eat anything....ugh). Sloane holds out her hand and Reese opens her mouth....the next thing I know, Sloane is feeding Reese! I did not have a camera handy or I would have captured the moment. It is days like today I will need to remember when the girls are teenagers fighting over a pair of jeans or worse...over a boy!

Mother of Multiples group interview

So the Dallas Morning News called the president of our Mother of Multiples Group to ask if she could interview a group of moms, etc. Here we are at the mall play area.....notice the triplets in the middle all dressed in red! Yes, when it was time to take the picture my trio went CRAZY! Brooks decided he was not sitting on my lap....I am not sure how I managed a smile!

Also, notice the "Pumpkin Patch in the background?" Yeah, that is a cute kid clothing store....strategically placed just outside the play area. Oh, the play area does not have a gate at the opening so people are constantly chasing their children into that store....as well as other stores!

The girls...Reese & Sloane

Reese with "duckie"...

Sloane & Reese

Sloane....what are you thinking?

Hmmm...what can I get into next?

Pajama time!

Here we are just before bed.....Brooks loves this rocking chair. Brooks, Reese & Sloane know how to climb into the chair all by themselves. Steve decided to place Reese in the chair with Brooks and Sloane....this lasted about 5 seconds.

Well, we had our 3rd swim lesson today....still not 100% Reese and Sloane are doing well, but Brooks will still not allow the instructor to hold him. When we returned home, it was our usual routine: dinner followed by baths. Reese has a little rash so we were applying cream to her bottom. As I lean down to make sure I got all the spots, she does a little "toot" right in my face! I guess that is not the first time that will happen. :)
After baths, we played and watched Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go.
Steve and I were treating ourselves to some ice cream. I was sitting across the room from Steve....Sloane crawled up in the chair with me and tried to steal my ice cream. I moved to the couch with Steve and she followed me there and proceeded to again take my ice cream! I gently said "no" and she began to cry.
Then she turns to Steve and tries to take his ice cream.....he says "no" more crying!
So it seems, Sloane is already testing us to see if we will give in.....she is too darn smart!
Here are the trio sporting their swim sutis: top in white is Reese; middle is Sloane; bottom is Brooks

Things are starting to change...

For the past 2 days since our 18 month check-up, we have seen some changes in the trio.

Sloane is now saying "hi there" AND waving (sometimes). She also has become more detailed in her organizing skills...for example, she used to make piles with her toys. Now, she sorts things by color...size....even her food....I gave her cheese cubes and turkey and she sorted them on her tray...cheese on one side and turkey on the other!

I guess having two obsessive compulsive parents who love to organize has rubbed off on her!

Brooks is also staring to exhibit some of these characteristics. Today, he found a mirror page in one of those soft infant baby books and was laying on the floor looking at the reflection it made on the ceiling from the light of the sun. He also loves to clap and dance.

Reese still tries to "talk" to us....it is all so cute and amazing! She can also sit on the floor for a long period of time (well, long for a toddler) and watch Backyardigans...Disney...anything.

Reese, too, loves to clap and dance....especially when watching Yo Gabba Gabba (the strangest show...but they love it).

So, we are finally staring to see some signs of our little ones growing up. It is sad and exciting all at the same time.

18 month check-up

We had our 18 month check-up today, and the trio is doing very well.

Here are the stats:

Sloane is 32 1/2 inches tall and weighs 23 lbs, 6oz.

Reese is 32 3/4 inches tall and weighs 24 lbs, 5 oz.

Brooks is 31 3/4 inches tall and weighs 20 lbs, 6oz.

We still have some delays with speech and actions such as waving and pointing, but for the most part they are progressing right along.

Earlier today, I discovered that Sloane and Brooks can climb on the couch all by themselves, and I caught Sloane standing on one of our end tables today!

I guess from here on out there is never a dull moment in the Hickey House!

We are officially a blog family!

Well, it only took 18 months for me to get around to creating a blog for our family!
So much has happened since the triplets were born on January 10, 2007.
It is difficult to remember the ride before the trio was born:
preterm labor at 24 weeks
8 weeks of bed rest (1 week in the hospital over the Christmas holiday)
the sleepless nights and large amount of bottles.....

Brooks, Reese & Sloane are now walking, laughing and attempting to talk. We have created a gated area in our home to keep our three little ones contained, yet happy. :)

The July 4th weekend was full of events! It began on Friday, July 4th morning with a neighborhood parade, followed by a pool birthday party that afternoon. Saturday, July 6th we had some friends over to play and eat. Besides our trio, we had two sets of twins and a singleton. The group consisted of 8 adults and 8 toddlers!