We have 6 teenagers in the house now!!
When we had decided to announce the quintuplet pregnancy, I remember a friend asking, "What will you do when they ALL go to school?!? I responded, a little overwhelmed, "I'm just focusing on trying to keep them in utero as long as I can. I can't even think about them being in school yet."
And here we are, 13 years later, with Gabby, Riley, Addy, Cooper, and Emmy in 7th grade. For all the obstacles that we were warned about, including cerebral palsy, blindness, and neural tube defects, the kiddos beat the odds and even surpassed our expectations. God has blessed us with three of the five in the gifted and talented program at our school, while the other two are in advanced math.
Gabby, Addy, and Emmy all played the piano and instruments at one point, but with being involved in competitive sports teams, they opted to just do multiple sports. They all played soccer for 5yrs, before they decided that they wanted to try other sports.
We finally let them separate in 5th grade into the sports they really enjoyed. Gabby (slapper and outfield) and Emmy (short stop), play softball year round, while Addy plays basketball year round, and runs track in the summer. John coaches the sisters in flag football in the fall.
The sisters' along with Gianna joined National Charity League this year. It's fun to volunteer with them and see them enjoy working together and partnering with various organizations to give back to the community!
Riley and Cooper briefly took piano lessons in kindergarten, but as sports took over, it was very hard to find time to get them to practice with all the other sports practices they had going on. The boys mainly play football, tackle and 7v7 (off season). Riley plays quarterback and Cooper plays middle linebacker. Riley will also be playing middle school basketball while Cooper tries out wrestling this year. The boys also run track with Addy in the summer.
As an Asian parent, I feel like a semi-failure for not fostering the musical side of them longer (IYKYK...haha).
Let's start this 13th birthday tribute by celebrating...
💚Gabby: she is very social, loves to laugh, and super creative/artsy. She has a talent for organization! Whenever the pantry needs to be re-organized, she can knock it out pretty quickly in Pinterest style. I am amazed at the end product, because that just overwhelms me 😂 One of her love languages that is my favorite, is gift giving. For example, the girls had received more birthday gifts from their friends then the boys had. Gabby wanted to immediately go to the store after the party to go buy her brothers a gift with one of her gift cards. The siblings are so lucky to have a sister like her!! At this time, Gabby still wants to be a teacher for her profession.
💖Riley: he is a hard worker, tender-hearted, and I love my one-on-one time with him when we go for his monthly food and allergy shots. Whether it's playing phone games together, or talking about his day, I will treasure those moments! John enjoys working with Riley on his QB training and also taking him to his various lessons and tryouts. He likes to dabble with cooking as well. Eggs are his specialty right now. I was laughing so hard this morning, cause he ran downstairs and in a fake deep voice said, "Good morning Mom!" Don't worry Bubs, you'll hit puberty soon!! 😆 Then you will become a BEAST!! Riley's dream is to play QB in the NFL someday!
💛Addy: is the quietest of the five, but is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Her sweet smile and overall chill disposition balances all the personalities in the house 😁. I love watching her play basketball! She plays hard and running track has definitely elevated her game in steals and fast breaks. I also love that she has a servant heart and willing to help when needed. I love my one-on-one time on the days when our drive is 35-40 mins to her bball practices. In the future, Addy would love to play in the WNBA and become an RN.
💙Cooper: has a heart of gold! I've always mentioned that he LOVES to read! 📚 His goofiness gives me a chuckle. He is very good with assembling things! In fact, it's his job to fix the door handles, when they come off. Or tighten loose fixtures around the house. He comes up with creative games to play with his siblings in the house. They can be occupied for hours with one of his games, which I am SUPER grateful for 😂. I'm pretty sure he has the most money saved out of all the siblings. And he is still interested in becoming a robotics engineer someday.
💜Emmy: is my sous chef. The other 2 sisters like helping in the kitchen, but Emmy is consistently in there with me, whether it's cooking or baking. Her sense of humor is the closest to mine, of the 5....haha. We can make each other laugh anytime. She also is my Costco and errands buddy. Really good at sticking to buying only things on the list...😉 She does a great job with massages and Theragun usage on me on the days that I go to work! Of course it has to be reciprocated, but I don't mind. Her tenacity and grit will get her far in life. As of now, she still wants to be a physician for her profession
There are SO many people to thank who have gotten us through these last 13yrs. First and foremost we are so grateful and humbled that God would entrust us with these lives! His hand in the pregnancy til now still has me welling up with tears at His faithfulness and provision for our family.
We are also so thankful to our parents, relatives and friends, that helped take care of the kids early on. We were also blessed with volunteers when they were babies to 2.5yrs old. From all the various moms, dads, families, church leaders, teachers, and coaches that have DRIVEN, taught, and coached our kiddos up til now, we will never be able to articulate how grateful we are that you have served and are still serving our family in this way!!
Happy 13th birthday Gabrielle🎂, Riley🎂, Addison🎂, Cooper🎂, and Emerson🎂!!!!! Mom, Dad and Gianna love you so much 💚💖💛💙💜
