Road Trip!

In the last week, Cooper finished Kindergarten, they refer to it as "graduating" (dumb if you ask me).  Also, I finished my work on the mobile dental office for the summer since it was the last week of school in ABQ.  So, on Thursday after work we made the 4 hour trek to our place for the weekend 25 miles north of Durango, CO.  This place is beautiful!  Coming here has made me realize how much I miss the mountains, and green landscape for that matter.

 

Triplets room for the weekend

We got in late Thursday, put the kids to bed, and went to sleep.  Friday we woke up and decided that we were going to load the family in the Yukon and go over to Silverton (about 25 miles straight up-hill).  On the way there the road gets up to 10640 feet(ish).  That's the elevation they let you turn your electronic stuff back on in airplanes.  I am surprised that the Yukon made it!  Just outside of Silverton we went to a gold mine, literally, a gold mine, "Old Hundred Gold Mine".  Yes, we loaded up all 6 kids, got our slickers and hard hats on, boarded the train to go 1/3 of a mile into a mountain, and learned how they used to mine the mountain.  There were a couple of times the tour guide turned on the old-school equipment--it was LOUD!  Taya slept through the whole thing, and the boys (all of them) were just fine with the noise.  After the tour we decided to try our luck at panning for gold.  It's a good thing I have another job, because we would not make it very far if I was a panner.

Cooper doing some demolition, "Fire in the Hole!"

Me and the boys, look at Ethan the gangster with the backwards hard hat

We got back to our place, took the boys to the pool, which has a little slide, got them all worn out, came home and went to bed.  Saturday was the day of the big race!  The Iron Horse.  These guys are nuts!  They rode their bikes from Durango to Silverton.  It is a 50 mile race, uphill probably 75-80% of the time, gaining approximately 5000 feet of elevation.  We actually had a couple of friends do the race, they did it in about 3.25 hours.  That is awesome!  Because of the race, the main road in and out of our place was completely shut down so we decided to walk to the pool and get sunburned in the morning.

Plum-tuckered

Taya

Mom and Anderson

We went into Durango after naps, and got some KFC and went to a park.  We drove around Historic Durango for a few minutes, and then the babies started to cry which is our cue to head back.  Today (Sunday), we went back into Durango and went to church.  We then made the 45 minute drive to Mesa Verde National Park.  This was an amazing place, it has several Native American homes that are built right into the overhanging rocks on the side of cliffs.  We (yes, all of us) hiked about a quarter mile downhill to one of the ruins.  We then went in the opposite direction...uphill, back to the car.  It is a lot harder to go uphill pushing a double stroller than going downhill pushing a stroller.  

You know how your blood kinda curdles when you are driving with your kids in the car when the baby starts crying?  Well, this was our situation today, only it was all three babies, and then the brothers constantly asking if we're there yet, keep in mind that they are trying to talk over the decibel level of the 3 crying babies.  Needless to say, I was doing all I could to not stop the car and run outside to scream my head off!  After about 30-45 minutes of this, everyone finally calmed down and watched the movie that was playing during the fiasco.  I tell you this so that next time you go on a car trip and your baby starts to cry, just remember to think positively, "at least we're not the Hutchings!"  

We went on a road trip.  Yes, we are that crazy!  And we haven't even gone home yet!  Keep us in your prayers!

Time for an Update

It has been 2 and a half weeks since I have updated.  That seems like a lot, but then it seems like it was yesterday.  However, these babies are going to be 5 months in a week.  I cannot believe how fast it has gone.  In church today, several people commented on how big they are.  They are now eating rice cereal, that is a chore (especially when it is just Emily), I think that we should have waited another month or so until they are able to sit up in the triplet table.  Now we put them in their bouncers and it is just difficult.  Anyway, they are doing pretty good at the solid stuff.

This is pure talent! Notice the foot feeding action.

Bennett is rolling on to his tummy now, the frustrating part is that he does it when he is sleeping too.  So, he'll break out of his burrito wrap and flip over then start screaming his head off when he pushes himself into the corner of the pack-n-play...poor little guy.  Anderson just today started to roll on to his side, he was super close to going all the way over too!  He is a yapper!  He talks, coos, giggles, blows spit bubbles.  He must get that from the Jewkes side...the spit bubbles that is.  Taya is super sweet, that is if you are holding her correctly, and for the first five minutes after she is fed.  Otherwise, it is a fight trying to get her to calm down for more than a minute at a time because you are not bouncing your leg, or you don't have the correct hand around her belly, or her head is touching your arm instead of your chest, or she is laying down at a different angle than her brothers, etc, etc, etc.  She too is rolling on to her side, she still hasn't quite got all the way over yet.  She really is a super cute baby, especially when she is laughing, such a cute laugh.  

Ander-Buddy

Tay-Tay

Bennett

It is especially neat to see them as they lay next to each other, then look over to see each other and when they make eye contact break into a big smile.  They have even talked to each other a little.  I will put them in front of a mirror and when they see their reflection they will smile.  It is so incredibly amazing to see the discovery process in these babies.  

We are constantly getting the question, "So, what's it like to have triplets?"  I don't quite know how to answer this question, because it is hard, it is amazing, it is a learning experience, it is fun, it is a pain, it is joy, it is everything!  We really know no different now.  It is life.  For me the hardest thing is trying to feed all three at one time by myself in the evening, especially when the older brothers will not help.  It really gets crazy when all of the babies are crying at the same time, and the older brothers are arguing about something silly like the green car is Ethan's and Luke has it, and Cooper is trying to help figure it out then comes to me and tattles on Ethan for yelling at Luke, and then Luke will hit Ethan (or vice versa).  Yes, it gets crazy here!  This usually only seems to happen to me when Emily is out at her Booty Fitness (or something like that) class.  Would I change it for anything in this earth?  Absolutely not!

We look ridiculous walking to the park!

Mom and her kiddos!

Happy Mother's Day! Steak dinner with mashed potatoes and salad

Cooper and Mom's puzzle, WWII planes

Cooper's Kindergarten Graduation!  Now he can get a job and help support this family!

A Year Ago Today...I Was Scared Out of My Mind

Last year May 5th was a Saturday.  Our lovely mother-in-law had just flown in to ABQ and Jake and I caught a plane to visit Chicago, together, for the first time.  I was scared.  I mean, so many hopes and dreams and struggles, both financially and mentally, had gone in to this trip; this moment.  I remember constantly thinking of a quote that my amazing sister-in-law, Amy* (see her story at the end of the post), had given to me with a "Fertility Package" she had put together for us:

"We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -Joseph Campbell

I remember thinking that I was pretty sure that I wasn't ready to let go of the life I had planned.  In fact, I was fiercely fighting for the life I had planned for myself.  I wanted so badly to be surrounded by many children.  That was my plan.  That was what I was fighting for.  However, I knew that I needed to be content with what I had already and I had come to that point.  I had finally conceded that three children would be enough but I knew that I would never have felt fully complete.  But I was ready to put it all in the Lord's hands....after all I/we could do.  I knew that if I wanted a miracle from the Lord then I was going to have to do my part.  And we did.

When we got to Chicago I was really overwhelmed and anxious.  I was supposed to make this exact mixture  of medications and it was vital that I got it all right and I wasn't quite sure if I had.  So, thankfully, the clinic decided to mix it up for me and left it at their doorstep.  I had 2 shots to give myself that night and I had to do them at precise times in order for my retrieval to work correctly on Monday.  We went to dinner at Olive Garden and I had to leave partway through to go give myself the first shot in the bathroom.  I felt kind of sneaky, like I was doing something wrong giving myself shots in a bathroom stall!  Then we tried to go to "Thor" but it was sold out so we ended up going to "The Lucky One" (that weird movie with Zac Efron).  We weren't too impressed and ran out after to give myself the next shot in the car.  Had to be on time!  It turns out that I had actually mixed up the two shots and given the wrong one at the wrong time which my nurses were none too pleased about it turned out okay!

That was a year ago.  So many hopes, so many dreams, so much faith, and a lot of fear were overwhelming me that day.

This morning, I woke up to 2 little boys crying at 6:30 a.m.  I got to get up and put their binky's in.  They looked up to me with so much hope and joy thinking they were getting fed--but they still had to wait 30 minutes!!:)  They contentedly waited in their cribs.  When I went in at 7 a.m., Jake was getting Taya out of the crib and she was stinky.  We fed all 3 of them and then Anderson went into a talking frenzy.  Hilarious.  Then we got to bath all 3 of them and get them dressed for church all before the Brothers get up at 8 a.m.  I felt so blessed.

Never would I have imagined last year on May 5th that in one year I would be snuggling with three adorable 4 month old babies!  We are so blessed.  I don't know why we were chosen for this amazing journey but I am so grateful.  I am also grateful for the struggles and the sacrifices and the trials of faith that we had to experience.  They have greatly helped to mold us into who we are today.  They have also helped me to form this testimony of my favorite scripture:

"And no, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles....Behold, I say unto you, Nay, and God had not ceased to be a God of miracles.  Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes?  Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?"

-Mormon 9:15-16

God is definitely a God of Miracles...still.  I know this to be true.  I have witnessed it in my life, with each of my children.  With Cooper it was the miracle of the so-called impossible, medically, happening.  With Luke, it was the miracle of adoption and selfless birth mother.  With Ethan it was the miracle of making a child without doctors.  With Anderson, Bennett, and Taya it was the incredible miracle of having three very healthy babies when we thought we were done and there were more no more avenues for us to go down.  God is definitely still a God of Miracles!

**It turns out that Amy, my sister-in-law, and her husband Beau were doing IVF the same time as us (3 days ahead of us) and nobody knew about it!  I was anxiously sending her all of my updates all the while extremely worried how she was going to take it all emotionally!  Well, they were blessed with a beautiful baby boy, Tennyson, on the same day our triplets were born!  Here she is in all of her beauty:

4 Months

I cannot believe that the little munchkins are 4 months old.  Well, they were a week ago.  It has been a little bit crazy in the Hutchings household, I had an interview in Missouri at a brand new dental school, which is amazing!  Hopefully I can get in, keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  Anyway, enough about me, the babies are doing amazingly!

Taya, Bennett, Anderson

Some quick highlights: last Friday was their 4 month check-up with their pediatrician.  She was amazed at how big they are.  Apparently when you have a preemie, they have a different age then what you would think, their age begins at their actual due date which means that the triplets "adjusted age" right now would be 3 months, so they should be doing what 3 month old babies are doing, not 4 month olds.  Anderson came in weighing at 14 lbs 6 oz, and his younger brother Bennett has surpassed the older brother and tipped the scales at 14 lbs 7 oz!  Amazingly, that is the 50th percentile for 4 month olds!  Taya came in at 11 lbs 9 oz, still my petite little diva, that is the 25th percentile for 3 month olds and 10th percentile for 4 month olds.  The boys are eating 7-8 oz every feeding which is every 4 hours, and Taya is eating about 6 oz every feeding.  They are sleeping through the night from 8pm to 7am, occasionally waking up around 4am to get their binkie put back in their mouth, sometimes we have to re-wrap them at that point too.  Honestly, we can't complain about getting that much sleep though.

Bennett and Taya are right on the verge of rolling over from their back to their tummies, they will roll to their side and hold it on their side for awhile, they just need a little extra push to get over the arm that is in the way.   Overall, these babies are doing amazingly!

Emily and the babies get recognized everywhere they go.  Emily started a workout class tonight and a lady kept staring at her and asked one of Emily's friends why Emily looked so familiar, to which Emily's friend replied, "she just had triplets, you've probably seen her on a billboard, or TV, or something."  The lady said that is indeed where she recognized Emily from.  It can be a little embarrassing sometimes, Emily definitely doesn't like all the attention she gets from it, but I say she just needs to embrace it because let's face it, we have triplets, people will always look at us funny for the rest of our lives, especially when they find out we have 3 more in addition to the triplets!  Might as well have some fun with it, right?

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures:

Anderson

Bennett

Taya

The Triplets!

Fun with Dad on the hammock

Bennett, Mr. Smiley

Anderson, The Grump Face

Taya.  I would be crying too if I was forced to wear a BYU shirt