Fun with New Triplets at Christmas

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie.
The first Christmas we had the triplets (2008) we had lots of fun posing the babies in giant stockings, different Christmas outfits and different poses. Those poor babies probably wondered what was going on but they were good babies and cooperated for us. It was a new and wondrous time for all of us but is now a distant memory. Where has the time gone? Eight Christmases later, there are no more giant stockings, no more matching outfits and the only posing done is if the girls decide they will. But, every Christmas is a time for us to marvel at the miracles that were brought into our lives so many Christmases ago.  Beverly      My Facebook page: The Triplet Ballerinas

The best gift....

Guest blogger:  Megan J.

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet daughters, Makenna Anne, Jaeli Jo and Maysie Jailyn.
After trying to get pregnant for over a year, we decided to get some help. At six weeks, we thought we were having twins from the ultrasound. At seven weeks, we went for another scheduled ultrasound. Again, as I laid down on the table next to the ultrasound machine, I couldn't help but hope for two strong heart beats. Our nurse started measuring and as she measured, she told us they were both looking very strong and let us listen to the heart beats. It was amazing! We were finishing up and I thought I saw a third red spot flashing. I was a bit confused and not sure what to think. Then our nurse looked over at us and said, "Uh oh! I see another heart beat. You are pregnant with three, triplets!" At that moment I got tears in my eyes and was shocked. It was the best gift we could have ever received.

Beverly's Facebook Page:  The Triplet Ballerinas

The Christmas Gift of Triplets

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie.
December 24, 2007 will always hold a special place in my heart. On that day, 9 years ago, we found out we were going to be grandparents to triplets. Our daughter and her husband invited the whole family to their home on Christmas Eve. We knew our daughter was pregnant, we just didn't know how many babies she was pregnant with and we were finally going to find out. When we got there, I was handed a card that said "You must be so excited! Hope the time just flies and you'll be holding that precious little one/s (the "s" was handwritten) before you know it." Inside the card was also 2 ultrasound pictures, one at 5 weeks and one at 6 weeks. The 6 week one is below. Since I am not an expert, by any means, on ultrasound pictures, I did not know what I was looking at. So, my daughter explained the 5 week one was of twins, and I thought "Oh, how wonderful." Then, one of my daughters looked at the 6 week ultrasound and said, "Wait a minute, A, B & C...triplets??? I almost passed out. That day was just the beginning of the miraculous journey we would take as grandparents of triplet girls. Beverly                                   My facebook page:   The Triplet Ballerinas

Becoming a grandma.....

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie. The triplets are my first grandchildren. I became a grandma three times before I was even a grandma once. Before the triplets came along, I spent my free time mostly scrapbooking. Of course, I wanted to scrapbook about these wondrous, new grandchildren. I wanted to scrapbook about them and any other grandchildren I had through the years. Sadly, finding time for scrapbooking became second to spending my time helping taking care of the triplets and later on other grandchildren. So, the grandchildren scrapbooking stalled at the point of when the triplets were babies. Hopefully, I will get back to it someday when I find the time. All the pictures I have taken over the years are still waiting there for me. These days, you will find me still taking care of all my grandchildren, but writing my manuscript has replaced scrapbooking. Years ago, I had no thoughts of writing, let alone writing a children's book, but I was inspired by my own triplet granddaughters. (See my Facebook page: The Triplet Ballerinas). I am truly honored and blessed to have first been given the title of "grandma" to these three beautiful granddaughters. Beverly

Thankful for our three beautiful daughters...

Guest blogger:  Megan J.

My triplet ballerinas are my daughters, Makenna Anne, Jaeli Jo and Maysie Jailyn. 

One of the perks from receiving fertility treatment is that you will find out if you’re pregnant sooner than you would if you just took an at home pregnancy test. We had just finished our first round of Clomid, along with the Ovidrel shot. I was hoping, but not expecting to get pregnant the first time around. I get the call from the fertility clinic shortly after giving blood to find out the results. “You’re definitely pregnant,” the nurse said.   She commented that it was most likely twins because my levels were so high. We were ecstatic! During our first ultrasound at 6 weeks, the doctor wanted to measure the babies to make sure everything was good and on track. They were right, it was twins! The babies had not developed heartbeats yet, but they looked great. We were told to come back in a week to measure again and by this time, there should be two beating hearts.

At 7 weeks, we went into the ultrasound room and they started measuring the babies. We heard the first heartbeat. It was very overwhelming. Onto the second baby, another strong heartbeat. I laid there thinking about the conversation my husband and I had over the last week after finding out we were having twins. We tried for so long to get pregnant, we were thrilled we were getting two babies at once. The ultrasound tech said she was almost done and both babies looked great. While she was finishing up, I thought I saw a third blinking spot, very similar to the other two blinking spots that showed the heartbeats. I figured I was just seeing things from all the excitement. But then, the tech said, “Uh Oh,” very quietly. She looked at us, and then continued, “I see another heartbeat.” I looked at my husband, thought about it for a moment and instantly got tears in my eyes. The third baby was doing great as well. They were all three perfect!

We went home, in complete shock. After being so excited for twins, we thought “What’s one more?” We are very blessed and thankful to have our three beautiful baby girls.

Beverly's Facebook Page:  The Triplet Ballerinas

A little bit alike....

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie. As noted before, there are many differences between these triplet girls. But, are there any similarities between them? There are the obvious physical similiarities, although Makenna is a little bit taller and has a little bit darker hair. Look at the cover photo on my Facebook page: The Triplet Ballerinas. Can you tell who is who from the back?  I can only tell who is Maysie and who is Jaeli by the fact that I remember Jaeli (in black) wasn't feeling too good that day and is the one leaning against the wall. Maysie and Jaeli also have the same body shape and eye and hair color. (There is a reason for that and there will be a blog on that in a later post.) All the girls have some similiar interests too. They all love the American Girl dolls they got for their birthday and anything American Girl. They play well together with Barbies and other similiar dolls. They all love animals and camping. But, mostly, they have their own individual friends, activities and interests that they like. I think that is the way it should be since these triplet girls are all their own person. Beverly

The Parenting of Triplet Girls, Part 2

GUEST BLOGGER:  Cindy R.

My triplet ballerinas are my daughters, Abbie, Brynn and Claire.

People who find out the girls are triplets simply lose all sense of modesty or boundary – the questions that we have been asked by complete strangers is beyond belief.  Back in the days where the girls were less mobile and bound to a stroller a simple visit to a home store would turn into a circus.  We quickly learned that it was sometimes easier to keep two girls separate from the other and deal with some less intrusive questions about twins versus the gawking of the triplet crowd.

We haven’t raised our daughters as a unit – they are unique individuals that happen to share a birthday.  I hope, as their parent, that they have a strong bond with each other and find solidarity and support as they grow into adulthood.  Like any parent, I teach them the importance of kindness and being a helper – doing for others is our focus. 

Seeing them today at almost 9-years old it seems like the years have flown by in a blink.  We are half-way to college now and tonight I will hold onto the little hand and cuddle them a little longer and know how honored I am to be their mom.

Beverly's Facebook Page:  The Triplet Ballerinas

The Parenting of Triplet Girls, Part 1

GUEST BLOGGER:  Cindy R.

My triplet ballerinas are my daughters, Abbie, Brynn and Claire.

In January 2008, our family was completed by the arrival of our three amazing daughters, Abbie, Brynn and Claire.  We were instantly transformed from an easy-going couple who knew absolutely nothing about being parents to an even stronger and more determined duo – after all, God had entrusted us with the task of raising a trio of world changers!

The girls are as different as can be – they look like sisters but they are not identical (this confounds people as surely they must be the same).  Brynn is blond with tawny skin while Abbie and Claire are brunette with rosy complexions – people will argue outright that “where did that one come from?” as if she doesn’t belong.  You learn fairly quick how to dodge the most invasive and often rude comments. 

Being a triplet parent is something I am unsure I can speak to – it is the only type of parenting that I know so I do not know how different it is from “normal” – but three girls and three girls all at once?  I don’t think it was an accident that these are the children we were given to be our family.

Next week:  Part 2 of The Parenting of Triplet Girls

Beverly's Facebook Page:  The Triplet Ballerinas

Jaeli Jo: The Reading Triplet

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie. This week's blog is about Jaeli, the middle triplet, who sometimes seems to get lost in the middle. The character Jamie (Jaeli) in my story, (see Facebook page:  The Triplet Ballerinas), seems to be lost in the middle too. I never had to worry if I should make "Jamie" the main character or worry "Jamie" didn't have enough of a love of dancing to even be that main character. She was always just one of the triplets. We don't know much about "Jamie", but we do know that Jaeli loves to read, just like her favorite princess, Belle. Her favorite color is even yellow just like Belle's dress. Jaeli is the triplet most likely to be found reading a book or anything she can find to read. I was so proud of Jaeli reading "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss over and over again when she was in first grade. That was her favorite book for a long time. So, even though Jaeli may seem to be sometimes "lost" in the middle, at least she can read a good book while she is there.  Beverly

Makenna: The Sporty Triplet

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie.
This week's blog is about Makenna, the "oldest" triplet (by one minute) and, technically, my first grandchild. As mentioned before, Makenna is very sporty (likes to play many sports and is good at them). Makenna is also very smart.  And, when she is not having symptoms of the food disorder that can make her very challenging to deal with at times, she is the sweetest as can be, very affectionate, very inquisitive and willing to help with anything. So, when I ask her to read my manuscript (she is the best reader of the triplets and knows most of the words), she does it, but not without an eye roll or two since I have asked her to read it so many times. I haven't had her read the manuscript (and I should probably do that soon) since I changed the main character from "Annie" (Makenna) to "Macie" (Maysie), but I have the feeling she won't mind I "demoted" her character. I think she realized before I did that I had the wrong person as the main dancing character in my story. After all, she is the sporty triplet not the dancing triplet.     Beverly          
Facebook page:  The Triplet Ballerinas

Maysie: The Dancing Triplet

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie.   
This week I want to blog about my littlest (although she is not so little anymore) triplet granddaughter, Maysie. As has been mentioned before, Maysie loves to dance. She loves to dance so much, whenever she hears music, she starts dancing. It is just a coincidence that my picture book story (See my Facebook page: The Triplet Ballerinas ) is about a triplet girl, Annie (Makenna), who loves ballet more than her triplet sisters, Jamie (Jaeli) and Macie (Maysie) do.  When I started out writing this book as "The Triplet Girl", I wanted one feminine name, Annie, and two boyish names, which at the time were Jamie and Maxie.  Once the story became "The Triplet Ballerinas", I changed the character "Maxie" to "Macie" since it was not as important anymore for two boyish names, and I liked Macie better. At the time, it didn't occur to me that I could change the main character from Annie to one of the other triplets.  I recently realized, though, that I was not portraying very well the main character, Annie, as the triplet who loves ballet the most.  I firmly believe this is because I was not capturing the spirit of a girl who loves to dance because in my mind "Annie" is Makenna who is a bit of a tomboy who likes sports and has no interest in dancing. So, I changed my main character to Macie and I am now trying to infuse my story with Maysie's love of dancing. All I need to do, though, is visualize Maysie when she is dancing to make my story of Macie's love of ballet come alive.     Beverly

My Three Little Miracles, Part 2

GUEST BLOGGER:  Megan J.

My triplet ballerinas are my daughters, Makenna Anne, Jaeli Jo and Maysie Jailyn.
Each day, my three little miracles not only put a smile on my face, but amaze me in so many different ways with their fascinating comments and questions and also with their loving gestures.  Makenna Anne suffers from a sugar intolerance and deals with symptoms of it every day.  Because of this, her emotions can be exaggerated and her actions tactless.  Although she gives us many struggles, we wouldn't give any of it up as it makes her who she is.  She is a very smart, loving, opinionated young lady. She wants to play every sport she possibly can and be the best at it and everything else, always working hard to get it.  I can always count on her for help, no matter what the task may be.  Jaeli Jo recently broke her arm and her favorite thing to do lately is play "Go Fish" with me since she is limited in her activities.  She is known as the "klutz" of the family.  Jaeli is not very athletic, but she did outstanding at baseball this summer so she may surprise us after all.  Jaeli's most favorite toys are anything to do with "Beauty and The Beast", making her favorite color yellow, just like Belle's dress.  Jaeli has a heart of gold that continues to grow and will always be cherished.  Maysie Jailyn is usually pretty laid back like her father and content watching a movie or listening to music and dancing around the house.  She begged to take a dance class, so we signed her up and she loves it.  She is, and always will be, my little monkey, weighing only 3 pounds, 15 ounces when we brought her home from the hospital at 14 days old.  A day with a hug and kiss from Maysie is always a good one!
I couldn't have asked for three daughters more beautiful and loving than my girls.  I look forward to all they will bring to our future.

Beverly's Facebook Page:  The Triplet Ballerinas

My Three Little Miracles, Part 1

GUEST BLOGGER:  Megan J.

My triplet ballerinas are my daughters, Makenna Anne, Jaeli Jo and Maysie Jailyn.
My daughters, these three little miracles, are turning into three beautiful young ladies, each with their own unique personality.  Makenna Anne was the first born. From the moment Makenna took her first breath, she has made her presence known. With the loudest cry and weighing the most of the three, Makenna has had our attention from minute one. She knows what she wants and doesn't give up until she gets it.  Makenna doesn't give affection very often, but when she does, it is amazing. She can be very independent, liking to do things on her own, but she also gets into a great deal of trouble when doing so!  Jaeli Jo was born second.  Jaeli has always melted the hearts of those around her.  She has been by far the easiest of the three, but, occasionally, we get a glimpse of a very powerful temper.  She can be easily reasoned with though and is always looking for ways to make you smile.  She is very silly when trying to make you laugh and cries with you when you are sad.  Many times, I see her reading a book or playing by herself.  I know she enjoys her alone time.  But, when she makes a new friend, she will be their friend for life.  Maysie Jailyn was the last to be born and the smallest.  Maysie has continously showed us what love is all about.  We felt the most heartache with her in the NICU with her bad diaper rash and low sugar.  She always keeps us on our toes.  The drama this girl has just shows how passionate she is. Attention is what she craves.  She loves her one-on-one times and makes it very well known.  She is always giving away hugs and kisses and expects the same in return.
After struggling to get pregnant, then getting pregnant with three little girls at once, I will forever cherish my time with my girls and the love they bring to our lives every day.

Next week: Part 2 of My Three Little Miracles
Beverly's Facebook page:  The Triplet Ballerinas

From "The Triplet Girl" to "The Triplet Ballerinas"

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie.  In researching what I wanted my picture book story to be about, I took inspiration from where I could find it.  So, one day, when one of the triplets leaped off the couch, the idea of ballet was born.  I started researching ballet and ballerinas and found the book, "Ballerina: A Step-by-Step Guide to Ballet", which was very informative.  I decided to have one of the triplets be the most interested in ballet and the other two girls more interested in horses to make them seem boyish.  I found the book, "For Horse-Crazy Girls Only: Everything You Want to Know About Horses", which was also very informative about horses and ponies.  Sadly, through editing, I had to cut out some scenes that didn't fit and the "leaping off the couch scene" was one of the first to go.  But, it had served its purpose anyway by giving me the idea of ballet and ballerinas.  In one of my early critiques, the horses the girls got for their birthday were called "ponies" instead of "horses".  It dawned on me then that it would probably be better to have the triplets get the smaller, more managable, ponies for their birthday than the bigger horses so the horses became ponies in the story.  At one time, the ponies even had names:  Jamie's (Jaeli) was "Beauty", Macie's (Maysie) was "Ella", and Annie's (Makenna) was "Snow."  But, eventually, I sadly had to cut this scene too.  The real-life triplets were not happy with this since they were the ones to name their counterpart's ponies.   Beverly        
Facebook page:  The Triplet Ballerinas
The next couple weeks I will have a guest blogger of my daughter, Megan, the mother of my triplet grand-daughters.

The Triplet Girl

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo and Maysie.  When I first set out to write a children's book, I didn't know what I should write about.  I had my trusty pen and notebook to write down ideas as they came to me.  One day, a lost dog came to the door when the grandkids were here.  I saw how excited they got as they started speculating that maybe a little boy had lost his dog or the dog had run away from home.  I was so sure I found my story even after we found out the dog had just wandered away from his hunter master.  But, as I studied the art of writing and read over and over again, "write what you know and love and what children would find interesting", my thoughts turned to my triplet grand-daughters.  So, I started writing a story based on them.  At first, my story was titled "The Triplet Girl" (yes, I know the title should come later but I needed it to guide me).  It was about two triplet girls who were tomboyish and one "triplet girl" (the main character) who was girly.  The more I started writing about these three girls, though, the more the title of the manuscript bothered me.  What "The Triplet Girl" was about wasn't very clear from the title.  Was one of the triplets a girl and two of them boys?  Was it about triplet girls or maybe even triplet boys?  And then, one day, one of the triplets jumped off the couch and an idea was born......    Beverly         Facebook page:  The Triplet Ballerinas

Welcome to my first blog about triplet ballerinas (girls)....

Welcome to my blog about triplet ballerinas (girls).  I hope to post once a week and have a guest blogger at least once a month of parents or grandparents of triplet girls.  My daughter, Megan, the mother of my triplet grand-daughters, will be the first one in September.

My triplet ballerinas are my triplet grand-daughters, Makenna, Jaeli Jo, and Maysie.  In 2008, when we were blessed with triplet girls in our family, I never envisioned that I would be writing a children's picture book based on them a few years later.  But that is just what I did.  Check out my Facebook page The Triplet Ballerinas to see all about the picture book that I have almost finished writing after two years.  In the story, Annie (Makenna), the main character, is the one most interested in ballet.  In real life, Makenna is more interested in sports than ballet.  She loves playing soccer and basketball and isn't very interested in dancing or dance lessons.  In the story, Macie (Maysie) is more interested in ponies than ballet.  In real life, Maysie loves dancing and even starts dancing whenever she hears music playing.  She is a girly girl and will play sports but much prefers dancing.  Her interest in dancing (and dance lessons), though, is recent.  It is a funny coincidence that a character in my story loves dancing (ballet) too.  In the story, Jamie (Jaeli) also is more interested in ponies than ballet.  In real life, Jaeli likes playing sports, but she is also interested in dancing and will soon take dance lessons (including ballet) with Maysie.  I can't wait for their first recital to make my pretend story's recital come alive.  Beverly