Loving the Manning Triplets: January 2014

Over the past couple of months, I've learned that raising triplets is kind of time consuming. One of the questions I get asked all of the time is, "What's it like?" The short answer is, "Busy." Seriously. Ryan and I virtually never sit down. On this blessed Saturday night, we have finished all of our chores and we are sitting down to watch Louisville basketball and drink a little bourbon. (Shout out to the state of Kentucky! We miss you!) When my mother-in-law mentioned that she felt like she hadn't seen pictures of the babies in a while, I realized just how long it has been since I updated anyone on our life. Here's a quick and dirty version of our last two months.

In early December, we packed up the car and made the trek from Colorado to Kentucky with our little munchkins in tow. We decided to drive overnight so that they could sleep and we would get 12 hours of uninterrupted driving time. On the way to there, things went really well. The kids didn't get fussy until the last hour and a half of the drive. To be honest, I couldn't blame them. At that point, they were vocalizing how I was feeling as well.

The trip itself was absolutely lovely. We were able to keep the kids on schedule, catch up with family and friends, and we even had some help caring for the babies. The journey home, however, was a different story. The weather was dangerous through Kansas and Missouri, so it took us about 22 hours to make it home. 22 hours in a car with 5 month old triplets is its own special kind of hell. I would recommend it only to the most loathsome enemy. But, having lived through it certainly toughened us up. I believe the old adage, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," applied well to the situation.

Some huge milestones have been reached in the past several weeks. The kids are beginning to eat solid foods which is really fun. We've been making all of their baby food, so that adds to our baby-related chores, but I feel it's well worth it. They've also started babbling and wriggling around quite a bit. Sometimes changing a diaper on Lincoln feels more like wrestling an alligator. They're rolling over from time to time, but not with any consistency. We're practicing all the skills like pulling up, sitting, and putting weight on their legs when standing. They're doing great so far. I would say the milestone we're most excited about seeing is them holding a bottle and feeding themselves. That will give us so much freedom. In the mean time, we are trying to take it one day at a time. We sincerely try to appreciate all of their sweetness and manage their melt downs. We struggle like any parents, but there are more good moments than bad. In the end, I think that's what really matters.