Welcome Home Daddy!

I've been rather quiet on the blog front for a while. I didn't feel the need to broadcast that Dan has been gone for 8 weeks. 8 long weeks of military training in Biloxi. We are happy to say that daddy is home now and we couldn't be happier.

It's the longest that Dan and I have been apart since the day we met over 10 years ago.

We made signs for daddy and did crafts this morning to help time pass by. We got to the airport with perfect timing and managed to get situated and wait only minutes before Dan walked through the gate. The boys were so happy it brought tears to my eyes.

I think the person happiest to see Dan was Molly. We kind of knew this to be the case. As soon as she got into his arms she got a huge goofy grin and repeatedly stroked his cheek and face and pulled him close. I could've watched it forever.

Katie is even surprisingly very happy to see him. She woke up an hour ago and snuggled in the living room with me. She kept looking at him and looking at me and smiling, like she knows that things are now right again.

I cannot put into words how it feels to have him home. I had apparently adjusted to being incomplete. My soul is full now. My world is perfect. The boys are in hog heaven. The girls are on cloud nine. And I am with my best friend, my husband and I am happy.

My Choice

It's my choice what to remember, right?

From this day I have many things I choose to remember. I choose to remember the loves from Katie. She loves to grab (see PINCH) my cheeks, pull me close, and open mouth suck my cheek. Her form of a kiss. Totally adorable, and totally something I want to remember.

I choose to remember Molly's giggles as Thomas tickled her and played with her when he and she were both suppose to be sleeping.

I choose to remember watching the Veteran's Day special with music with the boys and discussing the different branches of the military and daddy's part in it. I choose to remember the story that followed where Thomas was on a boat and some mean guys came. But those sailors saved him. He knew I wanted to see him another day, so he didn't die. I choose to remember his little voice and the way he told the story.

I choose to remember Joshua's jokes of the day. "Knock knock. Who's there? Molly the interrupting cow...Molly the inter....MOO!"

I choose to remember those moments. Etch them slowly into my brain.

I do not choose to remember some of the other moments. Such as Thomas peeing out the back door on to the steps and thus creating a huge wet pee mess on the back patio (thankfully it's cement and will get washed away with rain). I choose not to remember the crying fit that Joshua had because he couldn't use the dump truck and he wanted to use the dump truck and yes Thomas had it first but he WANTED to use it so why can't he use it right now he wants it so bad right now. I choose not to remember that. I choose not to remember the mess in the playroom that took us an hour to clean up (or took me). I choose not to remember that Thomas and Joshua enjoyed a can of shaving cream, a roll of toilet paper and a running sink all at the same time upstairs while I dealt with the girls downstairs. I choose NOT to remember those moments.

So go away crazy moments of raising four kids. Stay you moments of sweetness, happiness, and just plain well-being. It is MY choice, right? :)

A Reminder To Myself

I just wanted to remind myself: You have it easy!

Today I caved and finally got my tires changed and an alignment done. This meant entertaining all four kids for an hour and a half while the car was worked on (during the boys' and girls' nap/rest time). Katie was a champ and slept the whole time (thanks Katie). The rest of us did well. I took the kids on foot to a somewhat nearby Dollar Store and allowed them a few dollars of free will. The boys were in hog heaven and picked out a sword, an activity book, and some dice. We then took another short walk to Safeway and picked out a doughnut and drink and sat for 45 minutes at a table snacking and doing the activity books. Man, so thankful for good behavior! We then went back to Les Schwab, got some popcorn and picked up the van. Today was hard. Doing it was difficult, but we managed.

And then I need to remind myself. Doing this next year will be way more difficult. Katie slept. Molly was content chewing on things. The boys were entertained by dollar items. Next year the girls will be walking and not as content in the stroller. Looking back, this time will seem like a cinch!

Halloween Traditions

Today was a day of Halloween traditions. The good thing is that sometimes we have to shove it all in one day, but because Halloween is on Saturday, we got to spread it out this year!

Every year we visit grandma Patti's office at the Health District. I don't generally get a picture, but this time I did! It was a visit filled with tantrums and humiliating crying sessions, but we left on a good note.

We then go to Ba's office (Aunt Kim). We meet up with Cousin Kierra (who is a caterpillar this year). How tough is it to get a picture of 5 kids age 4 and under? Impossible!

After lunch and a napping session, we hit the road again. What happens next is my favorite Halloween tradition. We first stopped by greatma's. She lives in a retirement/apartment facility. We've gone every year since the boys were born. It's so fun to hear the oooohs and aaahhhs when we walk in and the boys say trick-or-treat. The people we so excited to see them and sad they didn't have candy that they boys were being given money! :) Here is a progression of photos from our years with greatma.

Next we grabbed dinner and went to great grandma Alice and great grandpa Lyle's house. We've also done this every year since the boys were born. We don't generally do the dinner part but because of timing and the babes needing out it was a perfect fit! Thanks great grandparents! Here is another progression of photos from those visits (except the first year when grandpa forgot he didn't have a memory card in...oops!).

All in all, a VERY busy day with VERY tired children. Some parts were hilarious, some awful, and some just downright devastating. But, memories were made and issues conquered. We'll live to do it again!

Just Because We Did It, Didn't Make It Fun

I usually look forward to picture day. Seeing those smiling faces and those great photos that are captured by someone other than me. That is, until I had four kids to get pictures of. We don't do anything fancy, just the general Sears photo studio. We've been going there since the boys were first born and have always had the same photographer. This time, she was training five new people so our experience was just not the same. Didn't help that Katie hates anyone but me, the girls were tired, and the boys were rowdy. Sounds like fun, right?! It wasn't horrible...believe me, I've had sessions with the boys where I just walked out and rescheduled for another day without getting any photos. These are not my favorite photos, but they'll do. They show the personalities of the kids at this stage in their lives. I'm sending them in the mail to Dan, so I can post them here, but not my Facebook as I want him to be surprised by his mail delivery. :) Here's the best we could get (sorry if grainy, I stole from the website just to show you!).

My Little Pumpkins

Tonight was pumpkin night at our house. We do this every year. We carve the pumpkins, dig out goo, all the traditional stuff. For a fun twist, we put the girls INSIDE their pumpkins. It turned out soooooo cute!

1/2 Year Birthday!

The girls are now 6 months old! Crazy how fast time flies. Here's the new developments:

Katie- Katie can scoot and nearly army crawl across the floor. She gets very frustrated that she can't move faster. When we are outside, now, she will fuss until put on the ground. Katie enjoyed her first real food, pancakes, yesterday. She was very proud of herself that she got to eat what the boys were eating. This girl is nonstop action.

Molly- Molly is my one and only mellow child. She is so easy. When happy, she talks and giggles and is very easy going. However, she quickly goes to angry and there is no consoling her; it's bedtime. Put her in a crib, give her a binky, and that girl is out. She is a daddy's girl through and through (even though daddy is gone right now).

Here's the stats:

Katie-
Weight- 16#13 (60%)---Katie weighed 17#4 last week, swine flu really hurt her weight!
Height- 27 1/4 (95%)
Head circumference- 16 3/4 (50%)

Molly-
Weight- 15#6 (50%)
Height- 28 1/2 (Above the 95%)
Head Circumference- 17 1/4 (80%)

*Pictures to come!