Suzy and I are busy bees these days. School is in full swing,and so are the triplets. I think it was just a couple of nights ago that after putting the omnivores down, I was on my way to the grocery store with a newly composed grocery list when Suzy said, "Didn't we just go shopping...yesterday?" Yes, we had. They're monsters (don't let the pictures fool you, especially that third one of Charlie)--Suzy and I are surprised we still have all our fingers (--helps that they have but 11 teeth between them)........... .
Anyway, Grandma Martha and Suzy took the beasts in for their yearly photos (--yea, as I have just been informed, there is some law about taking photos which apparently maintains the cosmic order or something--thanks to the ladies, all of us on this little Earth are safe as far as the DeStefano duties are concerned). So here are all the best of those photos for your viewing pleasure. The babes are about 13 months old in them.................................. 
If they seem a little less than exuberant, that is probably because of our having just gotten through a week and some days of illness. In fact, we aren't totally through it yet, and starting to doubt whether normalcy will ever return. Suffice it to say, it has been as tricky a stretch as we have had. Three sick infants are too much for one pair of hands, especially when the three primary caretakers (the third being the nanny) are sick as well. Fortunately, the nausea was staggered for the three adults, and, in the end, we managed. The trickiest night, due simply to depleted energy reserves, was when Scout introduced the whole family to her coincidental first upper tooth (--the new eleventh, as I mentioned above). Apart from that, and the first night of throwing up, the babes still slept through every night--yea, Babywise.
Anyway, Scout only has a runny nose any more, and she doesn't seem upset with it at all...so far.
But all of that stands for nothing compared to the health and fortune we more regularly enjoy. Here are some updates:
Scout has taken a few steps on her own, but prefers crawling, and, to tell the truth, she hasn't walked a step since about a month ago. Charlie is also standing on his own, and, reportedly, he took a step two days ago with the nanny, but, again, crawling seems to be the in-thing these days. Actually, Charlie often straddles his plastic blue walking bike and will go as far as he can go straight. And Scout does often grab your finger, even if your hand is planted on the ground, and tries to stand and walk everywhere. Cute as her stilted stagger is, our favorite part of this transition is that when she does walk, your finger in hand, the boys often dive-bomb her: they crawl straight up to her, and head-butt her in the belly. Yea, they laugh, but she laughs harder, and we all end up cracking up. Sometimes, she even sticks out her belly like bait to lure the two sharks in only to stiff-arm them. Oh, and by the way, Kiefer shows no inclination to walk at all--just our content little stationary guy. 
Let's see, favorite food: cold cut turkey. Favorite activity: dancing. Wherever the music comes from, the stereo or a little plastic song book, it is the cue to dance. Charlie rocks and cups his hands. Scout stands at the gate and kicks out a leg. And Kiefer conducts the music. Favorite music: Lady Gaga. Second favorite activity: Reading. They are all, as of three days ago, bringing books to you and then turning to sit in your lap, Scout most frequently. Her favorite book: Goodnight Gorilla. She giggles at every page, especially the way mommy reads it. (Friends, do everything you can to find a second grade teacher to mother your children. It's wonderful.)
Let's see, what else? They wave to you and at each other, share sundry manipulatives, and they climb up stairs. Oh, and they come to the glass door in the morning to watch you leave for work. Either Suzy or I will exit from the front door, walk across the lawn to the car, turn to look back and see all three standing at that door with their hands on the glass. They're not necessarily upset--just straved for entertainment, I guess. Kiefer, for a time there, was even pressing his face up against it so that his lips and nose were smashed flat, and his little tongue would flicker forth for a taste of the cold--he looks like one of those algea-eating fish in a fishtank. Hilarious. And what about talking? Well, Scout does it the most, but none of it resembles English yet, except for two syllables: "Doey." We use to think she was saying my name, but now we think she has a pet mouse that keeps her company when she is supposed to be napping. Seriously, she'll talk for an hour, hour and a half in her crib sometimes. Most mice come for food and water, but Doey comes, we think, for the conversation.
Current nicknames: Chunk, Charlie Cuddle, and Stink Face.
Anyway, I feel like it's been a long time since I gave you guys an update, though, once every couple of months is about the pace I think I will go now. In the interims, dear friends, know that generally our great fortune continues to unfold, and we are, as always, grateful for all of your love and well-wishes, grateful in every way. Thank you. One thing I realized a few years back is that there is no such thing as obliviousness. We are, just as infants, aware of more than we can name.
And so, with all our hearts, thank you.
Okay, wees outta here,Joe, Suzy and the cannibals
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