This weekend was a Mommy/Sammy trip to New York! It’s such precious time together. Steven, Sammy and Amaya are getting old enough that I think they are realizing it, too. On our way to NY Sammy asked not to leave him at Nana’s house. I think he might remember the August trip when I went to Iceland. He had a great time at Nana’s while I was gone but I think it was still a surprise that I’d left, because we hadn’t talked about it in advance, and I was so glad to be able to tell him that I’d stay with him the whole time. I’m keeping that promise, even sleeping in the same room together – just because I can.

We’re at the airport and we’re off!

Sammy loves the fountain. Back in August, he was also totally enamored in a way that Steven and Amaya aren’t. I sat on the floor by the fountain while I ate my dinner to give Sammy a little extra time to watch the water move.

Our dinner was a McDonald’s treat. We usually try a restaurant together but I thought fast food would give Sammy the most time at the fountain and I knew how much he wanted to spend time there. He asked for a hamburger with no ketchup and no cheese. When I gave it to him, he was terribly upset to see there was meat in the bun. It turns out he just wanted a plan bun to eat for dinner! Crazy kid. He ate most of his bun, a few chicken nuggets and a nice amount of fries. He was also fortunate to meet our pilots at the gate and got some cool wings.

I was hoping to wait to potty train Sammy until after this trip but he had other ideas. So here we are two weeks in with a flight to NY. Our first potty break was before we boarded the plane. As soon as we were on, Sammy said he had to go again so we high tailed it to the back of the plane for potty break #2. The hardest part was fighting our way pack up stream as everyone was boarding. I was so proud of this guy for his flexibility as we traveled.

Sammy was a little nervous when we boarded the flight, which is new. Even though this is his 10th trip to NY, I think he might be at an age where fears can develop even in situations that aren’t new. He is starting to understand that we’re up in the air. Sammy was able to distract himself by looking at photos of my iPad and reading books during take-off. It distracts Mommy, too!

Potty break #3! Sammy was nervous because we were up in the air and he wasn’t quite sure how we could go to the potty. I showed him the flight attendants walking on the plane and offered to carry him to and from the bathroom. (I also told him he could just go in his nighttime diaper but he wasn’t having it. I think he may have progressed with the potty training too quickly! 😉 )

We landed in NY around 10pm and, sure enough, Sammy fell asleep about 30 seconds after we touched town. I couldn’t bear to wake him so I managed to unhook his seat while he slept and then carried his seat off the airplane, with him in it. I was able to get his travel cart hooked up and then get our bag and all the way out to Nana’s car without him stirring. Poor Bubba was tired! This was our last flight with a car seat – all 3 are now at Nana’s house – so I may need to take flights that get in a littler earlier in the future knowing that I won’t have the luxury of keeping the kids in their seats.

Saturday morning, Chase and Charlie came over early. Everyone – in NY and MI – settled in for breakfast.

We had a huuuuuuge treat when everyone was done eating. There was snow on the ground and it was a mild day so everyone bundled up and went out into the snow! It was only Sammy’s 2nd time ever in the snow and his first time this winter. He absolutely loved it! We had snowball fights and built snowmen together!

While we were off in the snow, Steven and Amaya were having a great day back in MI with their daddy. It included a trip to Home Depot and this awesome, awesome cart. Just perfect for an outing with 2 kids.

Miss Amaya’s got the potty training down. She knows the drill, even when that includes pooping in the potty in the van. I’m so glad we ended up training them one at a time. I know all three at once works well for some families but the slow roll seems to be the right fit for SSA because they’ve been ready and we don’t have the dilemma of 3 kids who all need to go right.now without the skills to hold it. (I will spare you the photo of the actual poop that Jason sent my way. You’re welcome.)

One of the best parts of my solo trips with the kids is the opportunity to freely cuddle and snuggle and cuddle some more. There is always cuddling before bedtime in a way that just isn’t possible with all 3 – especially with room sharing and the exact same bedtime. It feels indulgent.

Saturday afternoon we had the opportunity to go to Auntie & Dod Shuki’s house where my cousin Mike and his kids, Jake & Naomi, were visiting. Sammy isn’t always quick to warm up but Mike worked so hard and it paid off!

Oh, the potty. I told my triplet group that I’ll have a book worth of bathroom selfies by the time all three kids are potty trained. Similar to how Amaya had big issues pooping in NY back in December (when she was 6 weeks into the process), Sammy struggled using the potty yesterday. He’s only 2 weeks into potty training and I think the change in environments threw him. He didn’t pee or poop all day despite saying he had to go and sitting on the potty over and over again. Amazingly, he didn’t have an accident either.

This photo was taken after we’d already gotten in the car to leave Auntie’s house and Sammy said he had to go potty. (He didn’t go. But we tried. At this stage, there’s definitely no asking him to hold it and, at that point, it had been hours and hours since he’d gone.)

On the way home Sammy said he wanted pizza for dinner so we stopped off an grabbed a pie. He wanted pepperoni. Little did I know that meant only pepperoni. One meltdown later, the sauce, and along with the cheese, were scraped off and he had his bread and pepperoni dinner.

Because he hadn’t peed all day long, Nana was willing to make an exception and let him use the little potty on the carpet while he watched Daniel Tiger. Fortunately, it did the trick – three times!! Yay! The seal was broken!!

Chase and Charlie slept over last night and I slept in the room with Sammy again, as I promised him I would. He woke up around 6:15 after a nightmare about bugs crawling on his hands. I was happy to be there to be able to scoop him right up and take him into bed to cuddle with me. We talked together for about half an hour before joining everyone in Nana and Papa’s bed. We talked about umbilical cords and belly buttons and looked at images of babies in their mommies’ bellies. He told me his favorite animal is a ducky and his favorite color is green so he likes green duckies best. We looked at photos of farms. It was lovely.

It was a quite morning at home inclusive of cupcake baking!

Almost everyone cleared out by 11am which gave Sammy a bit of quiet time in the house. I think he needed it. He had some peaceful play. It’s interesting to see that, even when there are no other kids around, he’s still worried about someone taking his toy when he goes potty.

Building a BIG tower with Nana!

Notice no pants? That was the theme for the morning. Here he is reading a bit before nap, lol.

Everyone came back this afternoon and we had time for games and a great dinner together.

The day wrapped up with Wonder Pets and the potty. Somehow Sammy convinced us to let him watch in the den even though everything you see could have been accomplished on an easier to clean tile or wood floor! He did great with the potty today, though. He told us every time he need to go, pooped twice and didn’t have a single accident. I’m so proud!

At that’s it! Tomorrow Sammy and I head back to NY and I’ll try to go to work for the afternoon. It’s so nice to work close enough to the house to be able to do that.

Here are some photos from the rest of the week.

Last Sunday the boys really wanted to wear dresses but we planned our trip to Ikea and I thought it might be best if we save dresses for Monday. So on Monday, I delivered.

Steven started the morning off at a picnic with Baby Jenna. Sweet boy.

Watching Mommy go to work. It’s always a little more difficult on Mondays.

Sammy and Steven had similar ideas about how to play with their magnatiles.

Rosie told me that, in these photos, they were saying “you’re my friend” over and over again to each other. <3

Tuesday was another swim day for Amaya. She loves swimming but we’ve had some challenges with the teacher’s aide who walks the kids down to the pool. Amaya really doesn’t like her. On Monday night I asked her some questions about the teacher who we’ll call “Miss Fern”.

Me: Amaya, do you like Miss Penny?
Amaya: Yes
Me: Do you like Miss Fern?
Amaya: No
Me: Does Miss Fern make you feel good or bad?
Amaya: Bad
Me: Do you have the words to tell me why she makes you feel bad?
Amaya: I don’t have the words.

Based on Amaya’s reaction and specific feedback from Rosie about things “Miss Fern” has said, I decided it was best if Rosie stayed to walk Amaya to swimming. I also reached out to the assistant director at the school who told me they’d do some observations and look into it further.

The great news is that Amaya still loves swimming! She got right in the water and was even willing to let the instructor help her float on her back. Miss Lena, one of their teachers, said it usually takes a while for that to happen. I’m so proud of her!

That’s Amaya in the water by the edge of the pool with her back to us.

BIG smile!

it’s hard to see but she’s on her back in the water!

Some photos of sleeping kiddos. I love watching them sleep.

One morning this week, Steven and Amaya were playing a game where Steven made a “gate” with his monkey’s tail and Amaya had to go “through”.

Another morning, everyone was taking it veeeeery easy.

We had a visit from Megan and Baby Taco during the week. Just two weeks to go until May May returns to us. We’re so lucky she’s coming back and doubly lucky that Rosie will be able to stay with us for the afternoons.

Baby Taco has grown so much since this first photo on 12/17!

Finally, some after work Mommy/kiddo time. First up, snacks. Then Wonder Pets & Daniel Tiger!

Last bit for this week… We had the kids’ 2nd semester parent/teacher conferences on Thursday.

Steven’s Class Report

Steven is much more comfortable in class. No more crying at drop off and he’s a chatterbox. The assessments are tough when it comes to questioning the kids because so much is dependent on what they’ll share. Miss Penny said that, when you’re talking to Steven, somehow he ends up asking the questions and you’re not quite sure who’s in charge. Sounds about right.

Sammy’s Class Report

Sammy loves to give the teachers hugs. (Steven, too, but not to the same extent as Sammy.) He’s participating more in music but will only hold hands with his siblings or a teacher. When asked, Sammy still says he lives  “at my house.” Which is right!

Amaya’s Class Report

Miss Penny noted that Amaya is talking a lot more than she had been but never upon direct questioning. Just like at home, Amaya doesn’t perform just to give you what you want. Miss Penny found that, if you want to get information out of Amaya, it needs to be conversational.

We spent a good part of the conference talking about the issues with the teacher’s aid, “Miss Fern.” Miss Penny was awesome. She shared some of the concerns that we have and was completely supportive. ln fact, she assured me that Fern will no longer be walking the kids to swim and she’s going to pay close attention to Amaya’s interactions with Fern in the classroom. I’m so relieved and appreciative that they found a fast and reasonable solution for us.

And that’s it for this week! Have a good one!