FIVE. They are each officially a full hand…also known as a handful… I suppose that’s nothing new really but this feels like a BIG milestone. It’s amazing how much they are growing up and how quickly they are changing before my very eyes.
Myles is one of those little gems of the world. His eyes sparkle with energy and his laughter is one of the best sounds on earth. His latest phrase has become “let’s do this day again!” He tends to find joy easily and for that I am thankful. Christmas time is one of my favorite times of the year but truthfully, as a mother, it can also be one of the most exhausting. This year I tried to keep things simple, to DO less and just enjoy the moments more. Honestly, looking back, one of the moments that stands out in my “favorites” category was an afternoon introducing the kids to the joys of hot chocolate bombs, store bought of course. Each one of them had their very own hot chocolate bomb and as they watched it melt in their mug of warm milk I had never seen such wild excitement as when they realized tiny little marshmallows started floating up to the surface. They screamed as they each counted in anticipation of who would end up with the most. Four might have been the total number for each of them but it didn’t matter, they were all thrilled with the entire experience as they stirred their cocoa up with a peppermint spoon. It was Myles though that turned to me with his eyes shining bright and laughed as he said, “Let’s do this day again, Mommy! This was a funny day!” Those words went straight to my heart and I hope to never forget them. In that moment, I was on top of the world. It didn’t matter that we had been sick half the month and had bailed on most every event outside our house because it’s moments like those that really mattered.
Jack has a heart of pure gold and so many of the things he says or does often has me holding my hand over my own heart for fear of it bursting right out of my chest. When I say good night and tuck him into bed in the evening, his arms wrap the tightest around my neck as he whispers in my ear, “I’ll never let you go…” I certainly never want him to… He still takes on the role of the responsible one and is often quick to remind his brothers, Kylie, or me for that matter, “uh uh…that’s not how life works…” He consistently has the most stickers on his sticker chart for staying in his bed at night. His eyes are like a window to his soul and it makes it very hard to say no to some of his requests. He is the true motivation behind our entire FIVE GUYS birthday party. All of the boys and Kylie thought the idea of a burger themed birthday party sounded pretty fun, but it was Jack and those sweet little eyes that sealed the deal. It was decided…we MUST have a cake that looks like a giant burger. I barely slept the night before their birthday stupidly worrying about how I would accomplish the task and I proceeded to spend approximately four hours the next morning working on it. But in the end, Kylie and I were able to present the boys with their burger birthday cake and their excitement was worth it. I will forever count myself lucky to experience that joy with Jack as he took his first bite of birthday cake and said, “Mmm…this is really yummy…” and then looked up at his grandma beside him and proudly explained, “my mommy made it…” Thankfully, the other boys were in agreement and even “sweetened” the deal by yelling out, “We’re five guys!” multiple times throughout their big day as requested.
Colton is our little hidden treasure and every now and then shocks me into a state of pure amazement. He is so fun to watch and is so very sweet and clever. He has mastered the art of winking and often, if he catches my eye, will throw the most endearing little wink my way. I can’t help but smile or laugh at how smooth he is! I recently signed the boys up for tumbling and I can only describe their first class as an epic disaster. Their excitement got the best of them and it was a 45 minute downward spiral as they realized they could run their poor tumbling coach ragged. In their defense, triplets are a whole different ballgame… By the end of the class it was determined by their coach that maybe a “listening activity” was in order and she proceeded to school them in the game of Simon Says. All three of the boys lost each round…and quickly… I couldn’t help but feel a bit humiliated as we left the gym that night, hoping to avoid eye contact with any of the other parents who witnessed their defeat. It was Colton who spoke up, in his most innocent voice, and said, “Mom, I winked at my tumbling coach but she didn’t wink back…” I laughed and laughed as I replied, “no… I’m quite sure she didn’t…” but somehow the night didn’t feel as bleak after that. We spent the next few days playing a whole lot of Simon Says and the next time their tumbling coach tried to trick them up with the game, they were ready. They may not have many tumbling skills in their back pockets yet but by the grace of God they can sure play a good game of Simon Says.
Lately, the boys have all gotten more into coloring and I love how much their personalities shine through in the pages we pull from their coloring books. Colton puts so much effort and attention to detail into his pictures and has quickly mastered the entire idea of coloring within the lines. He is willing to spend the most time on his projects and often doesn’t want to quit until he’s finished. Jack colors with an intensity all his own and loves to put a lot of different colors on his pages as he covers up all the space. Myles always seems like he’s along for the ride, he’s happy to be there but doesn’t seem to stress much about trying to follow any of my prompts to complete a picture. Each of their pictures say so much about themselves and each of them make me SMILE when I look at them because it is so uniquely THEM.
Kylie continues to focus a ridiculous amount of effort into preparing them for school next fall and I’m happy that they have her to help guide them through that process. Her bond with her brothers is something so special, even if she doesn’t quite know it yet. At our last parent/teacher conference for her the term “mother hen” came up…and I could only giggle because very few people can truly understand what makes Kylie Kylie unless they have witnessed the last five years of her life. I tease her often about playing up the drama of how exhausting it is to be the big sister to three little brothers but I know she is exactly who God made her to be-our special little girl.
Happy Birthday Myles, Jack, and Colton and congrats on another trip around the sun! And, of course, as Kylie likes to remind us, happy anniversary to Kylie becoming a big sister! It’s so hard to believe how much our lives have changed in the past five years but, no matter what, John and I can only feel extremely grateful and so very, very proud of these four children. Five years later, I can confirm it’s still a pretty wild ride but the little moments make it worth it. If I’m being real, sometimes you have to sift through a lot of other stuff and dig deep but thank God those little moments are always there.
Our Triplet Journey 