1st Day of Preschool

Kayla officially started preschool yesterday. She goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for two hours. She goes to the preschool up at BYU-I. She had a lot of fun yesterday and is excited to go back tomorrow. I can't believe how grown up she is getting. I have really noticed the change since I have gotten all three boys home. Where did those three years go?

Yesterday it was so quiet during those two hours while she was at preschool. The boys were sleeping and I was able to declutter my craft room. Hopefully now that I am able to actually sit at the table again, I will have some time to actually work on projects.


The boys are doing so good. Each day is the same. Eat, sleep, poop. They are having times during the day that they are starting to be more awake. It is fun to watch their eyes wander around the room. They are just so dang cute.

Weekends

I have forgotten how nice weekends are. It has been so long since I have had a somewhat normal weekend. This is the first weekend that we have all been home together as a family since June. It was so nice to just have a weekend. Matt was able to continue working on our family room. He painted base boards, chair rail and crown molding and then he actually got all of the chair rail up. It is looking so nice. I was able to go to stamp group. Yeah!! A couple of hours to myself doing what I love to do. Stamp. Then of course I had to come home and do laundry, which I think ended up totaling 7 loads. It is amazing how much laundry three babies can create.

Speaking of babies, they are doing so good. Brock is finally eating as fast as the other boys and almost as much as them. They are really looking like real babies now. They are getting the baby fat rolls under their chins and their little legs are starting to get a little chubby. They are still really good babies too. Last night they actually almost went 5 hours between feedings. That was so nice. Getting that extra hour of sleep makes a huge difference. I can't wait until they sleep through the night. That will be the best, because if there is one thing that is the hardest, it is the lack of sleep. If that is the only thing I complain about, then I think we are going to survive. It is just so nice to be altogether as a family. Hope you enjoy these cute pictures of the boys. (I guess I need to remember I have two girls and try to take their pictures once in a while. I will work on that.)

Aiden (red), Brock (yellow) and Collin (blue)

Aiden

Brock

Collin

First Shots

Yesterday we went on an adventure to the doctors office. I am here to tell you that it is alot of work to get three babies fed and in their car seats and to an appointment at a certain time. It took longer that I thought. We got there though. At the doctors they got all checked out and they got their first immunizations. They got three shots each. It was awful. I always had a hard time watching the girls get their shots and this time I had to sit through three times the trauma that was inflicted on the boys. They also got weighed and measured. They are all growing so fast. Aiden weighed 6 lbs. 1 oz. and was 17 1/2" long. Brock weighed 5 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. and was 16 3/4" long. Collin weighed 5 lbs. 14 oz. and was 17" long. It is amazing how fast they are gaining weight.

Life the last few days has been a little crazy. Matt left Tuesday, but his mom was here until yesterday. It was so great having her here and helping out. It was wonderful. My mom stayed last night to help me and she will help me again tonight. I can hardly wait for Matt to get home so he can start helping me with the feedings. It takes about an hour and a half from the start of one to get through all three of them. Aiden and Collin eat pretty fast, it is Brock that takes a little longer, but he is definately getting faster than he was. I am also canning fruit cocktail and peaches. I don't know what I was thinking when I asked my mom to pick me up some fruit in Brigham City. Thanks to my mom, we have done 28 quarts of fruit cocktail and tonight we will hopefully do 7 quarts of peaches. What would any of us ever do without moms. I know I wouldn't survive. Thanks Mom.

Three Muskateers

Surviving. That is my key word these last few days, especially during the night. I guess it could get worse, so I won't complain too much. Matt is wonderful to help each time the boys wake up. We are able to feed them all around 10 p.m. Then they wake up again around 2 a.m. and then after one hour of feeding 3 boys, we hit the sack again until 6 p.m. for the next round. It could be every 3 hours instead of every 4 hours, so it isn't awful. The bad part is that Matt left today for meetings in Post Falls and he will be gone until Friday. Luckily his mom will be here tonight to help me and then my mom might stay one of the next nights.

The boys are doing so good. I think they can tell that they are all together again. They are always so content (until it is time to eat, then they just about eat their clothes off waiting for a bottle). I got all three of them together to do a few pictures today. Of course they didn't all cooperate. Some of the pictures Aiden was trying to eat Brock's face and Brock was sleeping through all of them. What a miracle these three little boys are in our lives. We love them so very much and are so glad to be together again.

Aiden, Brock and Collin together again on Sunday night.

Aiden trying to eat Brock.

Brock's Big Day

Well it finally happened. I got all of my babies home last night. Matt was able to get Brock out Sunday afternoon, and then he and his mom hit the road for home. He has to be on oxygen the whole time for a couple of weeks and then hopefully we will be able to get rid of that. He has gotten so big since I saw him two weeks ago. He still isn't taking as much as the other boys in his bottle, but he will get there. He just needs a few days to adjust.

Today has definately been way busier just by adding one baby. Matt's mom is staying for a few days so she has been a big help all day. There is always a baby that needs held and it seems like the four hours between feedings goes really fast. We will eventually get it figured out though.

I just can't believe that I finally have all of my babies home. I thought the day would never come. Now the fun begins. I will post some pictures of all three of them together when I get some cute ones. All of these pictures are from Matt's weekend with Brock.

Cute Boys

Can I just say that I am the luckiest mom in the world. I look at my little boys (and girls) every day and just can't even believe that they are mine. They are so very precious and they are also the best babies in the world. Let's hope that doesn't change.

Matt left for Utah yesterday. My mom and dad were going down to get peaches for canning, so he hitched a ride. They headed right to the hospital so they could make it for Brock's 5:30 p.m. feeding. He took his whole bottle for his daddy. Yeah! Matt went in again this morning and fed him twice and gave him a bath. The nurse practioner came in and visited with Matt and if he does really well, he might be able to come home tomorrow or Monday. I am so excited. Everyone keep your fingers crossed. He is still gaining weight and Matt says he looks so good. Wednesday night he weighed 4 lbs. 14 oz., Thursday he was 4 lbs. 15 oz. and last night he broke 5 lbs. I can hardly believe. I finally have 3 babies who weigh over 5 lbs. each. We have come a long way from where we started.

Collin is in yellow and Aiden is in blue.

Matt

My friend from high school tagged me. Now I tag Erin Bodily, Jenny Nielson, and Liz Cellan. Have fun!!

What is his name? Matthew Kirk Nielson

NICKNAMES? Matt, Stud Muffin (that's what he always tells the girls and Kayla actually calls him a stud muffin)

How long have you been married? 8 years

How long did you date? From when we first met to married it was 8 months

How old is he? 30

Who eats more sweets? I definately do. He likes candy and I like desserts.

Who said I love you first? Matt did.

Who is taller? He's 6'

Who can sing better? Definitely me. I am not a great singer, but I sing better than he does.

Who is smarter? Depends on the topic. With math and numbers it is him for sure.

Who does the laundry? I do, although he will do a load occasionally when I am gone.

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does.

Who mows the lawn? He does. I happen to be allergic to fresh cut grass, so I get out of that one.

Who cooks dinner? Me.

Who drives? Matt always starts, but I end up switching with him because he gets to tired and almost falls asleep at the wheel.

Who is more stubborn? Sad but true, it's me.

Who kissed who first? Matt kissed me first. He walked me to the door after a date and he just leaned in before I knew what was going on and he kissed me.

Who asked who out first? He asked me. I was his second choice. The first girl he called couldn't go, so he called me. We went hiking up Bridal Veil Falls with all of his roommates and their dates. It was so much fun.

Who proposed? He did. We were sitting in sacrament meeting at our college ward. He kept playing with my rings on my fingers. He was taking them off and putting them back on. Next thing I knew, I looked down and I had an engagement ring on. He asked me if I would marry him and you know the rest of the story.

Who has more siblings? Matt does. There are 7 kids total in his family and only 3 in mine.

Who wears the pants? Depends on the issue, but I think overall we take turns or somehow wear them together.

Matt is a super dad and husband. He is the best. He was Mr. Mom all summer long and there are no words to tell him how much I appreciate all he did and does for me and my family. I love you Matt.

Battle Wounds

Life is going pretty good. I think we have finally gotten into a pretty good routine. The boys are doing so good. They are gaining weight and getting bigger and they are really good babies. (Right as I say that, they both are crying) It is so nice being home and just being able to work on projects around the house while they are sleeping. What is really nice is that hour that the boys are sleeping and Kayla is down for her nap, and Paige is still at school. That is my hour that I lay down and try to take a nap of my own. I have come to realize how precious sleep is.

Brock is doing good. No big changes. We are still waiting for him to decide the bottle isn't that bad. He is doing a little better with it, but I bet he still has a good week to go. He is gaining weight though. On Sunday night he weighed 4 lbs. 11 oz., Monday night 4 lbs. 13 oz. and Tuesday night he weighed 4 lbs. 11 oz.

Here are some fun pictures of the boys.

Aiden ready for his bath.

Colln ready for his bath. (he scratched his nose right before this and he was bleeding)

Kayla ready for the little preschool that she goes to with kids in our ward. Isn't she cute?

Pictures

I haven't posted any pictures the last few days. To be honest I hardly take any pictures now that we are home. I need to be better at doing that. Hope you enjoy these cute little guys.

Collin & Aiden starving to death.

Collin & Aiden ready for the doctors.

Kayla holding Collin.

Life with Twins

We are getting somewhat adjusted to life with twins. I don't know how this is going to work when we add one more into the mix. We will figure it out though. Aiden and Collin are such good little babies. All they do according to the girls is eat and sleep. Which is actually correct. Thank heavens for the wonderful nurses who got them on a schedule. Right now they eat every 4 hours at 8:00, 12:00 and 4:00. Not to bad if you ask me. This is actually manageable. They are such precious little boys. I love just watching them and their little expressions. I am so very lucky to have three cute little boys.

Brock is still hanging out in the NICU. He is being somewhat stubborn. I was hoping that he would pick up the pace and get the bottle feeding figured out so he could come to Idaho and join his family. He has other things in mind. SLEEP. He is getting close to the point where he will take all of his feedings by bottle. Let's hope that he is successful when that comes. Matt is going down this next weekend and he will hopefully be able to bring him home. If not, he will stay down there with him and help push him along to get him home. He is gaining weight still, so that is a good thing. Thursday night he weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz., Friday 4 lbs. 11 oz. and then last night he lost 5 grams so he at about 4 lbs. 10 3/4 oz. I am sure he is getting lonely down there all by himself. Grandma Nielson goes in several times a week to visit and hold him. Thanks to Grandma for keeping a good eye on him. We love you Brock.

Doctor Visit

Life isn't to bad. I thought bringing home two babies (and eventually three) would be brutal. I am so glad the wonderful nurses got them on a schedule. They wake up every 3 to 4 hours to eat and then they fall right back to sleep. It is so nice having Aiden and Collin home. The girls absolutely love them. It is so fun to see them and how excited they are just to be together.

Today we took Aiden and Collin to their follow up doctor visit here in Rexburg. They checked out really good. Aiden weighed 4 lbs. 15 oz., his head measured 12 3/4" and he is 16 1/2" long. Collin weighed 4 lbs. 14 1/2 oz., his head measured 12 1/2" and his is 16" long. They are really close to the same size, except Aiden is edging Collin out. Aiden is definately a better eater so I think that has helped him out.

Brock continues to trudge along in the NICU. He is doing good. He continues to gain weight, so that is good. Tuesday night he weighed 4 lbs. 6 3/4 oz. and last night he weighed 4 lbs. 7 oz. He isn't getting any closer on the bottle feeding just yet. Hopefully in the next couple of days he will make some good progress, so we can bring him home. We love you Brock and miss you more than you will ever know. See you soon!!!!!!!!

Collin's Big Day

Yesterday Matt and I went to the hospital hoping to get Collin and head home to Rexburg. We arrived at the hospital and they said he was ready to go, but he had to leave with oxygen to use only when he eats. Since it was the holiday we weren't able to take him. I was once again really bummed. I was so ready to head for home. When we got back to Bountiful, the hospital called saying that they were able to get the oxygen delivered and we could come and get Collin. So back to the hospital we went. This time we left with Collin in tow. After 53 days in the hospital, he left weighing in at 4 lbs. 12 1/2 oz. and measured 18" long. We left with him but we had to leave Brock behind. I knew that would be hard, but until it happened I didn't realize how hard it was going to be. I know he his in good care of all of the wonderful nurses and hopefully we will be able to bring him home soon. He continues to gain weight, but is just slower at mastering the bottle. Sunday night he weighed 4 lbs. 4 1/3 oz. and Monday night he weighed 4 lbs. 6 1/2 oz.


After we left the hospital, we went to Bountiful to collect our other three kids. We loaded up the car and headed for home. I never thought the day would come. It was kind of a long drive, having to stop and feed the babies (which eat very slowly), but we finally made it home. I was so very excited. Last night was interesting, being our first night with two babies to take care of. It will take us a few days to get it all figured out and for everyone to get adjusted, but it will be really nice.


Here are some pictures of Collin's big day.