The Georgia Guinn Triplets

This weekend the girls and I celebrated a up until this year, rarely known holiday in the world of education known as TEACHER FURLOW DAY!!!!  And since I was off (and not getting paid for being off), I decided to head out with the girls!  (Nana and Aunt Sandra headed the other direction to Birmingham for a race!) 

I thought our weekend might be in danger, when Friday we had the 3 inches of Snow, but Saturday morning by 10 am, it was clear enough for us to hit the road! 

And we did!  We arrived around 4pm and checked in.  We got dressed and headed down to the waterpark.  We stayed in the upper lodge, so we had to take the bus down to the waterpark area.  For the girls, the bus ride was the best thing ever!  They sang "The Wheels on the Bus" everytime we got on it! 

We arrived at the waterpark at around 5:30...We LEFT the waterpark at ALMOST 9 pm (and we did not eat dinner that entire time! )  The girls would not come out of the water!  I thought they would stay in the kiddie areas, but not my girls...We spent almost the entire time in the WAVE pool!  Yes!  I was in the WAVE pool with three little girls by myself for almost 3 hours! 

(And because I was the only one there, there are NO pictures to show you how much fun they had!  Next time, I'll have to bring a waterproof camera to snap some pics!

We came back to the room, ordered pizza and crashed!

Us getting ready to crash and YES that's right!  I took them somewhere without a tent!  I let them sleep on a bed (well two beds pushed together!).  They did really well.  I did learn that Alyssa is gonna be an early bird and she may have to have her own room so that Makenna can get the sleep she needs!  LOL! 

The second day, we headed to the lift to go up to Ober Gatlinburg (the ski resort!)  On the ride up, they packed us into the tram like sardines, so the girls could not see anything.  Heck they were yelling at me to get closer and I had to inform them that there were three little girls in front of me, who needed some room to stand! 

Waiting in line!

Issy looking drunk while waiting in line. 

Alyssa would not get away from my leg, so she not pics of her!

At the top, we ate lunch and watched the ice skaters.

We did the animal encounters, which I have a video of and will post as soon as I get it downloaded.

Then we headed back down the mountain! 

As soon as we got back to the room, we went swimming again!  More riding on the bus and tons of fun in the wave pool (although it was SO cold!) 

Today we awoke to this, which made me decide to try and get out before the roads got bad!

Yep, it was crazy!  So I finished packing (including a quick room escape and elevator ride for a girls without momma!) Luckily she did not get far! 

We did a quick breathing treatments and hit the road!

I just noticed that I did not get a single pic of Alyssa on my digital....Hopefully, I got some on the video camera! 

It was a great time!  I can't wait to do it again!

If you have lived in the South for any extended time, you know that we NEVER get snow.  We get ICE, SLEET, a Mixture or ICE, SNOW, and SLEET!  You will walk outside to "play" in the snow only to hear it crunch beneathe your feet and if you made a "snowball" (aka ball of ice) and chunked it at a window, they you could break it! 

But for the FIRST time in my 31 years on this earth, I have seen REAL snow in the South.  Soft, Fluffy, Pretty Snow!  And the girls, nana, and I had a blast!

It was so soft you could eat it!

We even went sleding in the South!  Can you believe it Sleding!

Nana Sleding with the girls!

We made Snow Angels!

My job was sled puller and carrier!  I got a workout today pulling these girls on the sled!

After a while, these little Southern Girls got COLD, so we went into the house to warm up a bit and dry off. After dinner however, we headed back out into the cold for a little more fun in the dark!

Issy in the dark!

Alyssa in the dark...the second time around, Alyssa was not as into the cold as she had been earlier so she and Nana headed inside for some hot chocolate!

And this final pic, just sums up how much fun today was....Makenna is completely content!

And now I have to get off the computer and get packing...because tomorrow, I am driving just me and the girls to a Indoor Waterpark resort to celebrate the holiday known as Teacher Furlow! 

Check on the photo section for more pics of the girls hanging out!

So for the last few weeks, we've been having a little trouble getting my girls to pic up their lovely toys! It becomes a bit of a fight pretty much every day (especially with Poppa Wallace who is a stickler for toy pick up!). Alyssa is usually pretty good with picking up her toys!!!! Isabelle will pick up a few, but the SECOND you turn your back, she will begin the slow walk while playing with the toy to the toy box game! Makenna is definitely her momma's child and she HATES, HATES, HATES to pick up any toy!

We have tried making it into a game, giving money (their favorite thing right now), and even a few times of momma losing her temper and in a very STERN Voice (Read: Trying not to scream at the top of my lungs!) demanding they pick them up!

Well this morning, Nana opens the Texas Guinn Triplets's Blog to see a post about a rough patch that they were having regarding good behavior! This "rough patch" resulted in the Guinn's entire toy room being stripped of all toys! Lathan, Lauren, and Logan were told the toys were gone! (They are actually hiding in the garage and Stephanie is making them earn them back ONE at a time! This idea is GENIUS!!! ABSOLUTELY GENIUS!)

So Nana had her own moment of genius! She told the girls to come see the Guinn Trips! Now, my girls know the Guinn Trips! They love their blog! They will even ask to see it, Alyssa has a HUGE crush on little London! When we got their Christmas Card, the girls fought over who got to carry it around!

They were so excited to see a picture of the Guinn's playing in their room...Only to feel GREAT sadness when Nana then clicked to show them the "NEW" toy room. Nana told them that they hadn't been picking up their toys when they were asked and Mrs. Stephanie had sent the toys back to Santa Claus! Issy and Alyssa BURST into tears! Makenna replied..."How Sad!!!! I'll pick up their toys!"

A few minutes later Poppa came home and asked the girls to pick up some toys, so that they could play trains! Needless to say, Makenna was the first to pick up the toys, and surprise, surprise, they picked them all up!

When I called to check in at lunch, Makenna was STILL talking about how she had to pick up her jack in the box, so Santa did not come back and get it!!!!!

Big Thanks to Mrs. Stephanie for creating a learning moment for both sets of Guinn Triplet! And thanks to Nana for getting it done!

And three years ago today, after what has to be the hardest time of my life, Alyssa came home.  I still don't understand why, but the time that Alyssa was in the NICU alone was more difficult for me than even those first few days when everything was so touch and go.  But this day was the end of all that, It was the day our family was complete! 

What can I say about Alyssa.  She may be the middle child, but her role is definately the baby of the family.  She is still the littlest of the triplets and continually weighs a pound less than her sisters.  She is also shorter than her sisters by about an inch.  She was originally a daddy's girl, but now that Issy has taken over that role, she is firmly a nana's girl. 

Alyssa is our wild child.  She is always bumped or bruised in some place, because she is always doing something crazy!  You really have to watch her when you get her out of the truck, because she will lauch herself at you when she gets ready to get out!  Right now, she has a huge bruise on her cheek, but no one knows where she got it from. 

We finally got her to eat more than a few things here or there!  It only took a large dose of steriods for her to realize that she actually likes to eat.  Her choices are still rather limited (not a bad as Makenna), but she will eat them in large amounts!  And she is a CANDY FEEN!  She would eat the sweet stuff everyday, all day long if we would let her (we DON'T!)  Halloween was as close to heaven on earth as this little one has ever experienced! 

Alyssa is still the child that can play alone and be okay.  She LOVES to cook in her play kitchen and her favorite present so far has been the cutting food that Aunt Sandra got her!  She will bring us cut parts of food at all time. 

She is a princess and loves all things castle and pirate themed.  She is in love with Spike the Dinosaur at Target (but momma can't bring herself to pay $139 for one toy! I was so upset when on Black Friday they did not mark it down.)  When we go to Target, we have to go see Spike and push his button a few times, while Makenna  and Issy cower in fear!

She is the cuddler of the group!  She loves to give BIG hugs and loves on us all the time.  She will come and lay down beside you if you are laying on the couch or floor.  She is the one triplet who will always give a kiss! 

And as you can see from the pictures, Alyssa is our binding triplet!  She is the one who can bring Issy and Makenna together.  She loves this role.  I foresee years from now that she will be triplet who will bring her sisters back together when they fight.  She will be the peace keeper when they argue, even if she started the fight.  LOL! 

She is our Lil Bit

She is our Lyssa

She is our Princess

She is our Pirate

She is Alyssa 

Well, two days after Makenna came home, Isabelle joined her! 

Isabelle was our healthiest baby at birth.  She had no brain bleeds, no staph infection, no issues other than learning to breath on her own, eat, and grow.  The drs predicted that she would be the first of the three to come home!   However, Issy suffered from what the NICU nurses called Wimpy White Boy Syndrome (WWBS).  WWBS is a joking term used to describe the fact that white males do the worst of all kids in the NICU.  So any baby that  is lazy can be labeled a WWBS.  Issy was LAZY!  She should have come home from the NICU probably 2 to 3 weeks before she did.  The only reason she did not was because she was too lazy to stay awake! 

We should have realized then that Isabelle works on her one time frame and schedule! 

Isabelle is without a doubt our FIRST born!  She is the leader of the group!  However, she leads by command not by action!  Isabelle will not try anything first, but she will tell Makenna and Alyssa to do it!  She is at times scared of new things!  She wants to be brave, but she is not by nature!  However, once she is pushed into it, she will do anything and love it!  She will try new foods, but only on her own time (meaning momma has to have it and pretend not to want to share it with her!) 

When Isabelle was a baby, she was completely and totally a Nana's girl!  However, in the last year, she has become a daddy's girl!  She loves her daddy so much!  She wants to be with him at all times.  She will cuddle with him and is the only girl of the three who can sleep all night in the same bed with daddy snoring!  LOL! 

Isabelle makes the funniest faces ever!  She still can't blow bubbles or blow out candles!  But it is so cute how hard she tries!  She loves to read and write with pens.  She is the best of the three at gymnastics, because she has the best balance.   Like Makenna, Isabelle LOVES school!  She is so happy to go and would go everyday if we would let her! 

Isabelle is very possesive of her color!  She will tell you its Issy's Green!  She doesn't like for anyone else to use her color, wear her color, or even attempt to color with her color!  It is too funny to see her need even at 3 to have things that are completely her own!  This year she even went to the Beach with her daddy for 11 days without her sisters!  She did amazing and really relished in the one or one time with her daddy! 

Issy is our Big Girl and she loves this role! 

She is our first to completely potty train during the day. 

She is our leader. 

She is our tattle tale (which MOMMA loves!)

She is our bossy triplet

She is our learner

She is our Isabelle!   

Yesterday was Makenna's special day and I COMPLETELY missed!  I always associate it in my head with the day before Thanksgiving, because that was how she came home, but I forgot that the days change. 

So tomorrow will have to be Makenna's special day!  We are gonna take the girls to the Children's Museum and then Makenna will get to go out with Mommy and Daddy for dinner and a special treat! 

So here's Makenna's year long update!!!!

What can I say about our little girl!  She is without a doubt our little ray of sunshine.  

In the last year, she has become more cautious than ever before.  All her therapy to calm done her cravings for sensory imput has evolved into her becoming a cautious child.  She is actually scared of things now...including the big dinosaur at Target, loud noises, and even tv shows.  She is more hesitant to jump into things.  She is our pickiest eater.  She will NOT try new foods.  She will not eat any veggies.  She will not even put them into her mouth! 

She loves to run and play.  She is becoming a little momma.  She takes VERY good care of her baby dolls.  She has even taught them to say prayers with us at night time.  She is concerned whenever anyone cries or is hurt.  When her daddy had his accident at the fire department and hurt his feet, she was so concerned.  She will even go a FIND medicine (which is NOT good) and bring it too you.  Nana hurt her knee and all the sudden Makenna disappeared down the stairs.  Nana went to check on her and found her bringing a wet wash cloth to her. Nana could not figure out why until Makenna told her to put it on her knee.  Maybe she has a future in medicine when she gets older?  Dr. Makenna Guinn...has a nice ring to it. 

Makenna loves going to preschool and learning new things.  She is so proud of herself when she learns to do something she has never done before.  Drawing is also becoming a speciality of hers.  The other day, she learned to draw faces.  She does a really great job too.  I will have to try and take a picture of one.  She will even tell you who she is drawing.  Makenna seems to have an artistic streak like her Aunt Sandra and Aunt Suzy. 

Although Makenna loves everyone, she is still a mommy's girl.  She and I have a bond that surpasses understanding.  I can't begin to tell you how much we are alike.  I see so much of myself in this little person.  She is gonna challenge me more than I can fathom now, but I will always remember the moments, when she just wakes up and wraps those little arms around my neck and tells me in her sleepy baby voice, "I love you, momma!"

She is our late sleeper and hardest child to wake up!

She is our loving baby, who wants to be held and cuddled.

She is our fighter, who can defend herself, but only when needed.

She is our baby girl, who loves doing her own thing. 

She is our Makenna!

I wish I could find the pictures on here of the girls when we had their pictures done in May of 2007.  Unfortunately, they have vanished. 

However, on that day, we put them in buckets with their names on them and took pictures.  Well, today they found those buckets! 

The first time we were worried they would fall out! 

This time we were worried they fall over!  (Isabelle sat in this bucket all day!)

Later in the afternoon....My girls still are little nudist in the making, so Nana draped them in feather boas before taking a picture! 

Makenna's turn...She was having a blast!

Poor Alyssa however got the boa that needs a little more fluff!  LOL! 

They are growing up too fast!

Okay, so you know that whenever I schedule pictures something has to go wrong, right? 

Well, I schedules pictures for last Saturday, so something JUST had to happen.  Too bad, I was the one who caused said something! 

We put the girls in the truck to go shopping. Issy wanted a book.  So I tossed a book between Makenna and Issy's car seat.  It landed perfectly and Makenna picked it up, so I had to throw another one to Issy.   Too bad this time, my aim was a little off....

Sorry for the sideways picture....webs is acting up and will NOT turn it at all!  See her pretty face!  Momma did that with a book...

But see the hat on her head???? Well momma felt so bad about causing the damage to poor Issy's face, that she spent $15 on a hat because she wanted it! 

And because I can never buy just one...

I ended up buying two more (Makenna left hers in the truck!) And when Issy told she wanted Chips and Cheese for supper, I took them to Moe's  So that one little accidental hit...cost me around $70 bucks!  Thank god I'm not an abuser, I'd go broke buying stuff to make up for it!!!!! 

So yesterday, I was reading Loren's blog over at sweetenedtaters.  And I was watching a little video that she had posted.  Alyssa came and crawled out into my lap.  She pointed to the male in the video and started saying over and over again...DADDY!  DADDY! DADDY!  I almost fell out of the chair laughing!  I had to call Nana over to let her see Alyssa's New DADDY!!! 

Do you want to see who she thought her daddy was? 

Hit Play...It not the Church Lady!!!!

That's right!  Danny Devito is now what she sees when she sees her daddy!!!!

But not to be outdown, she points to Andy Dick and annouces: Look Nana!

Well, once again we embarked on the pumpkin carving festivities today!   And unlike last year, Isabelle and Makenna would touch the pumpkin guts!  However, Alyssa only touched the gutsonce on her own accord and when she did her reaction was too funny.  It was like a chill went up her entire body and she began wiping the pumpkin guts off her hand on her pants furiously.

This year, we have THREE of the craziest pumpkins ever this year, because Nana and I just free handed them!

Beginning the pumpkin process! 

Issy was all about getting the pumpkin guts out!

Makenna cleaning the top and Alyssa doing everything she can not to touch it!

The girls and their crazy pumpkins!

Sorry for the blury pic, but Issy's face is GREAT in this one. 

This is when the girls finished singing happy birthday to pumpkins, because apparently anything with a candle is not a birthday party and someone must be sung too!

Here is a video of me torturing Alyssa with the pumpkin guts!