FAIRFIELD ELEMENTARY'S FIRST set of triplets include, l-r, Ashlynn, Parker and Garrett Pavlas. The siblings moved to Fairfield with their mother, Donna Pavlas, during Spring Break.

After moving to Fairfield during Spring Break, the Pavlas trio, Garrett, Parker and Ashlynn, have become the first triplets to enroll in Fairfield elementary.

When Ms. Pavlas job forced the family to move, she looked for a school where the highly competitive siblings could be separated.

"They are a competitive bunch and they tend to tell on each other a lot," says Ms. Pavlas' mother, Paula York.

"It was important to their mother that they be separated and placed in different classes because they have been together since kindergarten."

Fairfield elementary fit the bill and Ashlynn, Parker and Garrett began attending school on March 23.

Both Parker and Garrett play machine pitch baseball and their sister Ashlynn plays coach pitch softball.

Ms. Pavlas works as a project estimator with KAD Enterprises in Buffalo. She and her husband divorced two years ago but with some help from her mother she is able to manage the lively brood.

Of course, as a grandmother, Mrs. York enjoys the additional time she gets to spend with her grandchildren.

The fraternal triplets were born in Waco at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center on Sept. 20, 2000 to Freddie and Donna Pavlas.

First to arrive was Garrett, followed by Parker and Ashlynn. All three children were born prematurely.

Parker and Ashlynn remained in the hospital for four weeks with Garrett being released a week earlier.

Ms. Pavlas was originally pregnant with quadruplets but lost the fourth child during the first trimester.