Some "Firsts" before the Big First Birthday

I have to start by appologizing because this post is chronologically out of order. I had intended to post these pictures a few weeks ago, but got busy with birthday pary plans and out-of-town visitors and it never happened. So, just imagine you are reading this BEFORE the babies birthday and it will all make more sense!

The weeks before the babies birthday were filled with several new experiences. Here are a few of the things they experienced for the first time:


First trip to Costco! My friend, Liz and sister Tiare came to help. Ryder, Kassidy and Rustin sat in the triple stroller and Kyndall and Kaydence got to ride in the cart. Because they were seperated this way, we had a few people that came up to the stroller and said, "Oh my goodness---I have never seen triplets before!!" (I bet they had never seen quints before either)



First trip to HEB (local grocery store)! Tiare and I did this one on our own with all seven kids. HEB has these great race-car carts that have a couple of seat belts in them, so we could fit all the girls in one and the two boys in the other. The girls were a little squishy, but they all had fun. We looked (and felt) a little bit like a parade as we went through the store. Tiare has been getting really good at her parade wave since she has been here. (elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, wrist)

First Steps! Rustin was the first one to take some walking steps! He has always been my most determined one, and he just kept trying and trying until he figured it out. I love the early walking stage---the babies are just so proud of themselves when they take some steps and they have these huge smiles on their faces. It is totally adorable!

First Independent Stander! About the time that Rustin was figuring out walking, Kyndall figured out how to stand herself up in the middle of the room. Her balance was great when she was standing still---she could stand there forever, but as soon as she would take a step, she would fall over. She always tried to prepare herself for the walking attempt by laughing and putting her hands in the "Frankenstein" position. It wasn't until her birthday that she figured out how to take more than one step without falling. Now she is hilarious to watch because she has these cute spindly legs and she toddles unsteadily for 5-6 steps, falls down, stands back up, takes 5-6 more steps, falls down, stands back up, etc. until she reaches her goal. The whole time she is smiling and laughing.

First Birthday Present! Kyndall, Kassidy, Ryder and Rustin attack an early birthday present brought over by some friends that were going to be out of town on the babies actual birthday. I think they had almost as much fun with the tissue paper as they did with the actual present.

First Mac and Cheese! I am almost embarassed to admit that the babies were nearly one year old before they had Mac and Cheese for the first time. Giving one baby a bowl of pasta and letting them go at it creates quite a mess, and the thought of cleaning up FIVE TIMES that mess was a little daunting. But my guilt at depriving my kids of one of the rites of toddlerhood finally overtook my desire for cleanliness and I decided to go for it. The babies loved it, of course. They also made a huge mess, as expected, but nothing that a little soap and water couldn't fix!

Kassidy (I don't know if you can see very well in the picture, but several noodles made their way to her hair)

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

Some "Firsts" before the Big First Birthday