March of Dimes

Owen "cheesing" it up, as usual

Claire and Emma enjoying a sandwich after the walk

Emma doing some stretches- too cute!

Brendan's monkey tattoo

Thanks to all who donated to the March of Dimes!  The Columbia Mothers of Multiples team raised over $2400.  Woo hoo!  I really appreciate all your support.  They had many posters of families affected by prematurity at the walk and I realize how truly fortunate we were to have such healthy preemies!  Lots of folks turned out even though the weather was iffy.  Obviously many had been affected by premature births- not all ending up with happy, healthy kids like us.

This was the first year the kids have walked with me...well, the first year they were all in strollers and it was a long walk.  That was in 2005, so they were about 1 and 1/2...need I say more??  So for the next few years I left them at home and Darran met me at the finish line.  This year though it was a shorter walk at 1.7 miles and I knew the kids would love being included.  The weather held off and, although it was wet, we did not get rained on.  We had a great walk.  Charlie came with us and was a big hit.  The kids got their faces painted and got balloons.  It was too wet for the bounce house, but they still had a great time.  

Being part of the walk today really made us count our blessings.  Every birth is truly a miracle! Thanks again to all those who donated!

Tanya

Easter

Easter at Dad's with extended family.  They loved looking for Easter eggs.  The grown-ups were thankful the rain stayed away.  Jaxon was prepared though for puddle-jumping...check out those boots!
Easter morning after hunting for the eggs the Easter bunny hid.  He was tricky but the kids weren't fooled.  It was fun waking up on Easter morning somewhere other than our house.  The kids weren't sure if he would find us all the way in Pevely.  Of course, he did!  I love the innocence of children!  

We went to St. John's for Easter service.  I hadn't been there in ages and was amazed at the changes going on there.  I wish I would have been able to see old friends, but the kids were perfect in church and it was great to go with Dad and Grandma and Grandpa Wendling.

Emma lost her second tooth!!!  It is hard to believe.  She is awfully pleased that she can push her tongue through the hole of her missing two bottom teeth.  She is one proud lady!  It is especially fun when your triplet siblings aren't anywhere near losing any teeth!  I think the tooth fairy will have a bit of a rest now but I'm sure she'll be back soon enough!

Emma lost her first tooth!

After weeks of wiggling, Emma finally lost her first tooth!  I have a feeling the Tooth Fairy is going to be visiting the Alberty household a lot in the upcoming days and weeks.  Emma has another really loose tooth.  Claire has two loose teeth and so does Owen!  That Tooth Fairy better have her wings tuned up and ready to fly!  Stay tuned....

A New Puppy!

Well, things were just starting to get a little too quiet around here (haha), so we decided to get a new puppy!  Actually, after a recent break-in and a questionable home delivery, I started to think we needed a protector!  After some research, we decided a german shepherd would be a perfect fit.  Protective, great with children, loyal, extremely smart.  So, on Saturday we made the trek to Bowling Green, MO and found the perfect match for our family.  After narrowing the name choices to Rex, Max, Gus (or Gus Gus as Owen wanted), Lennie (Emma's suggestion), Charlie, and I can't remember the others, Charlie was the name we all decided on.

Charlie instantly bonded with the family.  When the kids were at grandma's that first night home, he cried and looked for them.  That first night was a bit rough.  Charlie had never been inside and definitely never stayed in a kennel before!  But he is a fast learner and is already doing a great job at potty training.  He even slept in his kennel for 5+ hours straight last night.  Woo hoo!  It feels a lot like having a newborn around.  The kids were actually amused that Charlie's birthday is one day before their cousin Evelyn was born.  Of course, he already weighs more than she does at a whopping 15 pounds.

Brendan loves to help out with the dogs (Charlie plus Sierra, 11 years old and NOT a protector). He loves to walk Charlie, helps feed the dogs and is careful not to forget Sierra in all the hub-bub.

Emma LOVES dogs.  She has said she wants to be a vet when she grows up for at least the last year.  She makes sure to love on the dogs whenever she gets the chance and is always talking to them.  She gives him his toys and plays with him.

Owen loves to run with Charlie.  It is really cute to see Charlie run after Owen.  They should hopefully help tire each other out!  It's a good thing german shepherds will let children climb all over them because Owen is a rough boy and definitely needed a dog that wasn't fragile!

Claire loves the idea of Charlie.  She thinks he is so cute.  She has a harder time playing with him because he is a puppy and still a bit rough.  I think he nipped her once and since then she has kept her distance.  I know as Charlie gets better at controlling his rough play that she'll be just as happy with him too.

Sierra (our 11 year old dog) is doing pretty well with the new addition.  She's curious about him especially when he whines, not happy when he tries to eat her food, and will play with him only on her terms and for not near as long as he would like.  Otherwise though it has been so far, so good.

Ahhh, the sound of chaos at the Alberty's!  Two parents, 4 children, 2 dogs and a hamster.  I feel better already:-)

Tourney picks

...and Missouri wins the NCAA Championship!!!  At least, that is what 5 out of 6 Albertys predict.  We are a little partial to the hometown favorites, but for the first time in ages Missouri has a real chance at going at least to the Elite Eight (which Darran believes they'll make it but not advance).  We printed up brackets tonight and let the kids each pick their winners.  We'll track the games and see who really comes out on top.  Just a little fun experiment.

Here are the finals as we see it:

Darran: Conn vs. Duke- Conn wins

Tanya:  Missouri vs. Villanova- Missouri wins:-)

Brendan: Missouri vs Duke- Missouri wins

Emma:  Missouri vs. American- Missouri wins

Owen:  Missouri vs. Wisconsin- Missouri wins

Claire: Missouri vs. VCU- Missouri wins

Who are your favorites?  And how can you NOT vote for Missouri to go ALL THE WAY!!

Uncle Patrick came home!

After what the kids say was "a really, long time," Uncle Patrick made it back to Mid-Missouri for a 9 day long visit.  The kids were living it up and kept Patrick hopping.  He went to Brown Bag Lunch at school with Brendan, came for show-and-tell at preschool with Emma, Owen, and Claire (see pic), came over for Shakespeare's pizza and some Guitar Hero World Tour action, cheered all the kids on during their soccer games, taught Brendan some chess, found "skunky" for Emma and the list goes on.  What a good sport!  It was a great visit and it was sad to see him go.

Of course, while he was here, he started to get them excited about wanting to go visit him in NYC.  It's hard to believe that Brendan was the same age as the triplets are now when we took him to the Big Apple. I guess we better start saving asap.  Brendan did so great though, that I hate to tempt fate a second time with triple the trouble:-)  However, it is also amazing at how much Brendan remembers from that trip.  Darran is considering trying to run the NY Marathon.  It's a lottery, so we not sure if he would be selected this year or not, but it would definitely be a good excuse to go.  I guess the trip is at least officially on the radar!