Goodnights

The last three nights, the girls have gone to sleep...by 10:30. We can hardly believe it. Is this the start of something new? The dawn of rest? All we know is we are enjoying it one night at a time. The girls do wake a few times, very lightly, during the night, but as they sleep beside Momma, they quickly nurse and go back to sleep, while Mom and Dad wake every morning, actually refreshed, look over at each other and wonder if it indeed has happened again like it did the night before. The picture here gives you an idea of how happy this makes us -- all of us.

Eight months and counting

Kendall headed out Sunday, concluding more than eight months with us of being nothing but a huge help in every regard. During those months, she took a slew of photos of the girls on her cell phone. So here in 36 pictures are eight months, in no particular order, of our little girls. Can you tell which is which, when? Always? Really?....
PHOTOS

Sisters in Action, Sisters at Rest

The last few weeks our little girls have been developing an increasing fascination with each other -- each other's hands, each other's eyes, and, naturally, each other's toys. The other day, as we sat with them on our laps facing each other, Danni did her darnedest to put Rory's hand in her mouth. Rory didn't seem to mind at all. And when their paternal grandparents visited over Thanksgiving, they brought the girls' first Christmas gifts -- and what seemed to interest each girl most, besides the wrapping paper, was the present her sister was opening. Tonight, we're posting one recent photo of each of our little ladies in action, including Danni's carrying dinner and her sister waiting for it, or so it seems, as well as a picture of the growing pals together, plus a picture of them taken this summer by the professional photographer we've mentioned previously. Note their matching ears -- crimped just like one of their Daddy's ears is. Aren't they lucky?

Kendall

On Thanksgiving Day, the only appropriate entry is for us to recognize our beloved Kendall for all her help this year. Kendall, cousin to the Momma, true friend to both of us, arrived here in late March to help us for a few months as we acclimated to having triplets at home. Little did any of us know what this commitment would mean. She has been with us -- beside us and behind us, in the deepest sense of the terms -- every step of the way. She decided to stay, even, through 2009, and has been a help in more ways than any of us ever imagined. We are truly thankful to her, and today want to celebrate her with entries from four lovely pictures of her and the girls taken back when the professional photographer was here in July.

Kendall indicated when she arrived that she would be glad to help, but she wasn't crazy about babies. Looking at these pictures of her with the girls, we can't but wonder: hmmm, really?

We love you Kendall.

Little Pumpkins

Trick or treat, from our little pumpkins, below.

In Motion

The girls continue growing and getting stronger, and in a week, at our next doctor's visit, we'll have their latest weights. Bets anyone?

Both are getting good at holding up their own heads and reaching for things, and are now learning to sit up, and we continue teaching them how to crawl, although sometimes we cannot help but think educating them in mobility is a highly questionable goal. They love smiling, which means so do we, and continue to experiment with numerous run-on vowels, sometimes for hours, as they work their way toward language. Meanwhile, they have cool rides that require no work from them at all -- one a new baby sling, and the other a rockin' chair they both enjoy, especially Rory, since as the big sister she is able to pull free from its hiding place the little stuffed bee that turns this chair into a hide-n-go seek too. Here they are in today's pictures, cruising in these rides, up close and personal.

Six months

Today marks six months since we lost our little boy, and we know anniversaries like this are going to be hard days. Sometimes it doesn't even seem possible that he is gone, our connection with him is so potent, and other days the depth of that connection only makes his life that much more profound. We know we are living in a unfathomable situation, trying to learn to live with this grief and yet feeling truly blessed and grateful to have been his parents, to have our little girls, to know the three of them, and to know all of us will be connected forever.

We are grateful to everyone for their continued understanding and support, and the prayers, kindnesses, and warm thoughts family and friends near and far have shared with us. One friend told us that he and his wife are amazed at how sad they were at Leo's death, having not even met him. We are truly sorry about the pain his passing caused those around us, and at the same time grateful that others felt and feel a connection to him. With all that has happened, we would still not for a minute trade the joy of being his parents or the memories of his strength, character and beauty for even the removal of this pain.

We are building a memorial garden in our backyard for Leo, and are enclosing three pictures of it in progress below. The first shows the space where the garden will be. At that time, Dad was about half-way through clearing the shrubs and weeds from it. The second photo shows the view that will be directly behind our house, out our kitchen window, beyond our small fish pond, with the first stones laid. At the top of the garden is a weeping cherry tree, kindly given to us by Leo's uncle and aunt Brant and Celeste and their two sons. The third photo shows the trim stones of the garden in place, laid with the help of three friends of Leo's Dad. Through the garden we are going to lay a path of other specially chosen stones (the pallet of which you can see stacked near the cherry tree), in the shape of three interlocking paths, and they will curve underneath a bench we will place in the space that will ultimately lie beneath the cherry tree's shade as it grows. Three colored interlocking stones will sit in front of the bench. The garden will be covered with flowers, low-lying flowering shrubs, and the like, and will have three entrances. The pile of topsoil that will be their home sits under that blue tarp, and we'll be fixing up that arbor as well. We'll add additional pictures as we make more progress.

As you know, thanks to the generosity of many people who are honoring Leo with their gifts, we have also been able to make several contributions in his name, as noted here, to help children in his name. Gifts actually continue to come in, and we deeply appreciate everyone's generosity.

In addition to that effort, Leo's Mom and Dad have decided to sponsor a poetry reading in Leo's honor at Bucknell University, in part to say thanks to the community here that has been so kind to us. The reading will be the evening of February 23, at Bucknell's Stadler Center for Poetry, and will feature Michael Blumenthal, an accomplished poet based at Old Dominion University. Read more here.