Elaina Marie.....

Our dear sweet Lainey Lou came into this world at a wee 4 lb.13 oz. and quickly let us know that she was no underdog! She may be the baby of the bunch, but little she is NOT! She rivals her big sister Addison in weight ( just proportioned differently), and she's definitely the toughest crew member. Rich and I often wonder if she has a magnet for a head since she leads with it and seems to bang into everything. As a newborn baby, she was quickly claimed by her brother, Luke, as "his girl" because she was (and still is) bald. As a baby, we spent many a night (okay - every night), holding her and patting her on the back for hours on end, to get her settle down. Thankfully that only lasted for 3 months and she has grown into the sweet and social one of the bunch (probably because she was held so often)! She loves to flirt with anyone who glances her way and gives them the sparkly eyes and sticks out her chin to reveal her 2 precious teeth! Lainers is the one you will find who always wants to be in on the action and is often found climbing on top of/over/under/or around her sisters to jockey her way to the center of attention. She has a hearty, gleeful laugh that makes us roll! It is amazing how God has created each of our children so differently. We thank God for the wonderful blessings he has given to us.

As you will usually find her............getting right up in your face!

One Month to GO!

I can't believe the girls are 11 months already!!! How can life pass by so quickly? Here they are holding their newly unwrapped Christmas ornaments from Grandma D (a holiday tradition in our family)!

Addie Roo........

It's only fair to give equal blog time to all the girls so today I will focus on my dear sweet blue-eyed girl, Addison Rae..........aka: Addie Roo, Rooster, Adders, Addie Girl, Chubbers. Addie is the oldest of the triplets (by 3 minutes), and the biggest. She was born at just under 6lbs (a whopping size for a triplet). She has held the heavyweight title since then! As a tiny infant, she was the apple of her mother's eye - content as can be and never made a peep. She quickly learned from her sisters, that this was not working for her, and in order to get the attention she so much deserved, she developed the a very hearty, throaty - "ehhhhh!". Whether happy or sad - this is the sound you will most often hear from her! She is quick to smile and flash those sparkly blue eyes and little dimple your way. She was the first to crawl and now has 4 teeth (her sisters have 2). We had to chuckle when we tried to squeeze her chubby cankles into these cute little cowgirl boots from a friend. We're not in Texas anymore - so she won't be walking far in these, but she sure felt like hot stuff as she posed for her picture! You go Girl!

Happy Fall!

We have been enjoying this gorgeous fall weather so much - I haven't had time to think about blogging! This is my absolute favorite time of year - the cool weather, blazing colored leaves, cider and doughnuts, football games, pumpkin carving, and of course the occasional sneaking of the kids Halloween candy! Did I say occasional...........ooops! Anyway, here's a bit of what we've been up to lately.

Mike Wazowski and "Boo"
The triplets were troopers all night!
Cousins Elizabeth and Ryan
The Three Little Kittens
Keeping the girls occupied while carving pumpkins!
The finished masterpiece
Pumpkin Patch
Hayride Fun!

10 Years of Wedded Bliss!

Today marks the 10th anniversary of our wedding day! It's hard to believe that 10 years can fly by so fast. Imagine if we had known back then, what the next 10 years would bring us - 5 kids, 4 moves, 1 back surgery, 2 parents who beat cancer (one of them - twice), TRIPLETS - we would've never believed it! God had it all in His plan when He chose us to be together for life. I am so thankful that my best friend, Rich, decided to move down to Texas in 1997 to "go to grad school". Ten years feels like just yesterday............I'm looking forward to what the next 10 years will bring us!

Then "1998"

Now "2008"

For all the Ava Followers........

It's ironic how I've had several people lately tell me about how much they like Ava, that I thought I would do a little update on our little "sweet petite" as we so affecionately call her! Ava is our middle daughter (of the triplets), and held the silver medal in weight at birth. She quickly gave up the ranking to her younger/lighter sister, Elaina, when her sweet and patient (aka: pokey) personality kicked in. She has always been very laid back, easygoing, and patient - especially when it comes to eating. Some people, (my dad), like to say she has "mysterious eyes". She has the most hair of the bunch, and it's coming in curly (too cute). However, having had poker straight hair my whole life - I am at a loss to know what to do with it! She has this funny way of wrinkling up her nose and breathing noisily through it, to make us laugh. She has 2 cute little bottom teeth and likes to use the little blades to chew on end tables and toes (not her own!). She is FAST and quiet as a church mouse - so she is quite the adventurer! She can make it to the top of the stairs in seconds if let out of the "cage" of our family room. She has us in the palm of her hand when she utters the sounds - Dadadada, or mamamama. We're looking forward to the many adventures to come with our sweet little girl!

Nine Months!

The girlies are 9 months old today! I almost get teary eyed just writing it. To think back one year ago at this time - being huge and pregnant, with 3 months to go - the unknowns were endless. Here we are today, with 3 bouncing (I mean bouncing) baby girls, and all I can say is "Praise God"! Who would've known that Rich and I would be capable of such a feat (along with the generous help of many!)
Today they stand as 3 stair climbing, hair pulling , crib standing, babbling, bundles of joy! We are loving every minute of it! Especially when 6:30pm rolls around!

Addison

Ava

Elaina

Happy Birthday, Luke!

As we celebrate Luke's 5th birthday today - it's hard for us to believe how fast the time has flown by! He still is and always will be his momma's little boy (as much as he'd love to deny it!). We are so thankful for our little man amongst all these girls! We figure he's got a great training ground here for dealing with all these women - what a great husband he will be someday! He never ceases to make us smile, to make us proud (most of the time), and make us shake our head and laugh. I am sad that he is now getting too old/cool to give his mom a kiss at the bus stop - but am thankful for every sweet moment he gives us each and every day.

Trying out new tricks on the board

Birthday Hole in One

The girls are ready to pounce

Birthday Boy

I've Been Called a Slacker!

Apparently it has been quite some time since I have updated, and I have been scorned! So much has happened in the past 17 days, which may account for the lack of blog! For starters, my one and only beloved sister got married to her childhood dream man. They got married at the beach last Friday, and managed to grab the only dry hour of the weekend. Together they have 3 great kids and it has been wonderful to see them so happy together! We are looking forward to having them in the family!

Arik, Kari, Mark, Andrew, Ashley
The other three stooges

The following morning, Rich and I got to sneak away on our first overnight trip WITHOUT kids, since the triplets were born! Despite the rain, we enjoyed a wonderful weekend away to Traverse City with 3 other couples. The guys golfed (in the rain), while we did some retail therapy. Can you believe I couldn't even sleep in past 8am??? I was quite disappointed in myself - I don't have it in me anymore! But you better believe I could fall asleep at 8pm!! My, how life changes.
Old Mission Lighthouse

As for the little ones...................Hmmmm. They are all crawling, pulling up, cruising, and otherwise finding all sorts of trouble to get into! Everything seemed to have happened overnight- and now I have no gates that fit where I need them - AAAAGGGHHH! They enjoy standing up in their cribs staring and making noises at each other, when they are supposed to be going to bed. Let the fun begin!! Ava and Addison got their first tooth. Elaina still looks like G.I. Jane - and acts like her, too. You can not feed this girl fast enough and she is stronger and more solid than anything! Emma and Luke are enjoying school. Luke started playing soccer this fall and Emma is taking a Hip-Hop class. I have been back to work at Metro Health Hospital for a few months now, too. SO, life is in full swing at the VanTol residence. I hope to be able to update more often than I have been. It's a great way for me to remember where the year has gone!

Addison,Emma, Ava, Luke

Not sure about the grass!

The Green Machine
G.I. Jane (with Trouble behind her)

Luke's Off to School

Luke's 1St Day
The Big Yellow Bus

Luke's big day has finally arrived! He started DK this year and actually gets to ride the BUS!! This a major thing at our house - something his sister has wanted to do for years and hasn't been able to. Granted, we could walk to school faster than it takes to ride the bus. Nonetheless - he gets to ride. Yeah for Luke! He is enjoying his new class and teacher, Mrs. Kelly!

Another new thing at our house these days................landscaping!! Rich worked hard all Labor Day weekend and got it all purchased, planted, and mulched (7 yards) - all in 90 degree weather! Makes us feel like we're back in Texas (or is that why we left?). It is so nice to not have to look at the piles of mud anymore!

All the girls are crawling and getting into EVERYTHING now. I can tell these next several months are going to be a challenge keeping everything off the floor. The other day Rich swiped a nice big ball of electrical tape out of Addison's mouth after she had been coughing on it for a few minutes - NICE. Elaina has definitely become the social one of the bunch, and will gravitate toward, and pounce on either one of her sisters at any given moment. They are not as fond of this as she is! Poor Ava has the most hair and gets a big handful pulled now and again, too. So much to keep up with anymore. We're headed for trouble!

We Have Grass!!!

Rich's job well done!

Addie getting in trouble!

First Day of School

Emma started school today, which means summer is officially over at the VanTol residence. My very helpful second grader was missed tremendously by her mother and brother and sisters today. She seems so grown up already and I realized today (in her absence) how much she really does contribute to our family! We love you, Emma Bear! Thanks for being a great kid!

And..............We're Mobile!!

Yes, people.....we are mobile in more ways then one now! Addison is the first crawler of the clan! If you'd asked me, I would've thought she'd be last. Way to go Addie!
And........this weekend the "big kids" and I got to spend some good quality time with Addison as Daddy was away on a much deserved golf getaway weekend! He planned months in advance to have 2 of the girls cared for by his wonderful parents and sister. We all enjoyed being able to love on one girl at a time - and they loved it, too! The four of us felt very "mobile" as we jetted all around town with our very portable baby girl! We dined at my favorite restaurant - On the Border - with friends, we played at the mall, we tried on clothes, we went to Spring Lake to see friends, then went to the beach with Aunt Kari! We felt so FREE! We sure missed the other two, though - and kept feeling like something was missing. They had great fun with their Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt and Uncle! Thanks so much for the wonderful weekend, guys! Our new favorite baby holder, Ashley
"Where did my legs go??"
Digging a hole to the Olympics in China

New Photographer on the Block

My friend Carolyn has started up a new photography business and so graciously allowed us to be some of her first guinea pigs. Our intention was to get some group shots of the girls at six months.........but they didn't have the same idea. She took some great individual pictures of all the kids which I thought I'd show off. If you're interested in booking her.......check out her blog at the right, under "all the small things".