6³

My babies turn six today. The title of this entry, six to the third power, perfectly sums up how it's felt to parent triplets (plus Ellie) over the last six years. It's more than six years of parenting; it's more than six times three. Dude, it's been six times six times six. Yes, it feels like I've aged 216 years since July 15, 2008.Not that I would change it for the world.  

Also, there's definitely power in threes. I always think of Ecclesiastes 4:12: "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." I hope one day they realize how lucky they are to have each other.

My favorite of their newborn photos, taken by the extremely talented, baby-whisperer, Kari Layland:

L-R: Zoe, Maddie, Aidan

Aidan has turned into a sweet, sensitive, smart-as-a-whip little man. He loves Legos, Star Wars, riding his bike (without training wheels!), tacos, chips, and tennis lessons, which he just started yesterday. Each night I sing "You Are My Sunshine" to him when I tuck him into bed and he's usually asleep about a minute after his head hits the pillow. He's the only one I can still count on to fall asleep in the car on long drives. He still sucks his thumb, but he's working on that. He's surely going to be some sort of engineer when he grows up: he loves to take things apart, figure them out, and then put them back together. Aidan can be fiercely independent one minute, and needy/cuddly the next. Although he loved preschool, he's starting to become a little nervous about starting kindergarten. He is starting to read, though, and with his love of books and numbers, he's going to have no problem at all.

Maddie is my always-happy, super snuggly, smiley tomboy who still loves the color pink. Her favorite thing in the whole entire world is, of course, Doggie, and she too still sucks her thumb while stroking her nose with Doggie's ear. Maddie is the best at sharing, and she's always genuinely shocked when she shares her candy, for example, but the others don't reciprocate very quickly with theirs. Maddie loves wearing her Minnesota Twins baseball cap and has decided she wants to take soccer lessons after a brief introduction to the sport earlier this summer. She's not a great eater, especially with meat of any kind. Maddie's my most consistently independent kid; she makes friends so easily with anyone she meets, and she is also very comfortable playing by herself and trying new things. She worked hard all last year in speech therapy, which has made her a little easier to understand when she speaks. But, when she does talk, she always has so much to say that she talks as fast as she can. She's also the most expressive kid when she talks; she makes the funniest facial expressions and is well known for her frequent use of "air quotes". I suspect Maddie might be left-handed, but we'll reserve judgement on that until she starts kindergarten this fall and we figure that out for sure. Each and every night Maddie and I sing "How Much is That Doggie in the Window?" together at bedtime, ending the song with a fast, "cha cha cha!" which she added for effect.

Last in birth order but certainly not least is Zoe. In trying to describe Zoe, I'm reminded of a song from The Sound of Music:

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria [Zoe]?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

When I'm with her I'm confused, out of focus and bemused
And I never know exactly where I am
Unpredictable as weather, she's as flighty as a feather
She's a darling! She's a demon! She's a lamb!

She'd out pester any pest, drive a hornet from its nest
She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl
She is gentle! She is wild! She's a riddle! She's a child!
She's a headache! She's an angel! She's a girl!

How do you solve a problem like Maria [Zoe]?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find the word that means Maria [Zoe]?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!

Oh, Zoe. My little spitfire, snuggle bug, firecracker, diva, daredevil, sweetheart. She loves to challenge Dave and me, almost as much as she likes to take on Aidan, who's twice her size. Zoe loves to smuggle snacks out of the kitchen, but she's not great at hiding the wrappers yet. Her favorite color is now purple. Her thumb is still firmly planted in her mouth, especially at night. Our orthodontist will soon be rich off of us.
Zoe is still a girly-girl who likes to wear dresses and skirts and lately refuses to wear any of her jeans that have holes in the knees. She's growing like a weed, and still bravely endures her daily growth hormone shot without a whimper. She loves art - drawing, coloring, painting: you name it. Zoe chooses a different song for me to sing to her almost every night. We have quite a repertoire to choose from, including nursery rhymes, Christmas songs, songs from church and Disney movies. I have to keep on my toes with this one.

Of course I had to throw in a recent photo of Ellie, too!

This past weekend we celebrated the kids' sixth birthday (and Ellie turning 8-1/2) with the extended family at our house. I asked the kids yesterday what they wanted to do/eat for their actual birthday, today, and of course got three different answers. Aidan wants pierogi for dinner, though Dave just spent three hours making a quadruple batch for their birthday party and isn't likely to make more so soon. Zoe asked for green beans. ????
Maddie would like to go out to eat, and I for one am inclined to accept her proposal. While we can't grant their requests for their own, individual birthdays, we continue to try to teach them how lucky we are to have each of them, and for them to have each other. God has truly blessed us with our four beautiful kids.