Naughty, Naughty, Naughty

We're in a naughty streak at our house. It's a bit painful to say the least. Yesterday both boys had a rough day. Thomas was quiet for a while, which I appreciated, however I soon found out it was because he was doing a stamping project. A project where he stepped on the ink pad, and then inked his hands as well. That way when he put handprints all over the kitchen walls, he also left footprints. I sent him to his room after putting socks on him and wiping down his hands. While in his room he took a book and tore out the pages. ARG!

Today was just more of the same. The boys constantly intentionally woke up their sisters. Meaning no girl in the house was happy. I had pulled out a bunch of dresses for the girls for the wedding this weekend. The boys decided to take them off the hangers, and then throw them around the room. I've been searching and matching up outfits and bloomers all evening. At rest time I put baskets of books in their beds so they can read quietly. Apparently they found a coloring book and decided it needed color. Joshua snuck a couple markers into the bedroom where they not only colored the pages, but also the floor, themselves, their beds, etc. My parents are reading this and rolling on the floor laughing. Ugh. :) I took them outside and handed them a rag, and then hosed them off. This did not thrill them, but it saved me the time of wiping them down for hours trying to get marker off them so they didn't leave footprints and marks throughout the house. I then explained they could not leave their room until the books were picked up. This resulted in tons of tears and crying. Both boys fell asleep in their room crying. Of course, they had to tear up a few more books first. Luckily they both got a good nap in, so we could all be happy.

On another note, the girls turned 12 weeks this week. Took a few pictures. Molly is definitely a daddy's girl. She smiles for him, looks for him, you can see the adoration in her eyes. She is still having bowel issues and crying a ton, but we are finding more what works for her, so life is slowly improving. Kaitlyn is a mommy's girl. She likes to be held by other people, but will quickly need to come back to me. Luckily, I can soothe her pretty easily. She is loving her exersaucer and figured out just today how to turn one particular part on it. She was shaking it took so much effort and concentration! CUTE! She is extremely close to rolling over and has done it a few times already. Both girls are becoming thumb suckers and are getting better at finding their hands. They are both holding their head up well.

All American Memories

Tonight was the girls' first baseball game. We joined our friends Beth and Don, with their kids Claire, Kyle, and Jake and watched an Indians game. I spent all day in preparation with clothing changes, fans (it was 86 degrees today), etc. The planning paid off and luckily the seating around us was very open and in the shade so everything went very very smoothly. Dan and I decided we want to go again! You game Beth and Don?!

The Summer is Flying By!!!

Wow! Mid-July already?! Where is this summer going? My last summer with little babies and I can't seem to soak in every moment. They just pass me by!

What a great week we've had!

We FINALLY made it back to breakfast on Monday with my dad. The boys have SO missed this special time of meeting dad and grandma every Monday, but we haven't been able to get out of the house by 8:00 since the girls were born. We're finally getting back on track! :)

We spent a day at Riverfront Park. Those passes are one of our best investments. The kids can run and play and get all that energy run out while I get some time in the sun and get to watch the boys happy. This was the first time they've ever done bumper cars. They don't quite meet the height requirement, but I convinced the kid to let them ride. It was so funny I had tears streaming down my face...the kid didn't find it as amusing. Thomas continually ran into the walls, but eventually got the hang of it. Joshua, I had neglected to explain the purpose of bumper cars to. He spent the entire time screaming and crying, "Don't hit me. Stop hitting my car." It was hilarious.

Friday I had some help in the form of Maliya. Maliya is our best friends from college's little girl. She was the flower girl in our wedding 8 years ago and is now old enough to be my helper! She needed somewhere to go for the day, and I gladly accepted. Of course, it's an ethical fine line between child labor and her getting to hold babies and play with boys, but she had fun so that's all that counts, right?!

This weekend was absolutely fantastic (aside from the fact that Dan had Guard and we missed him all weekend). My brother from Seattle was in town, so we spent the weekend at the lake with the family. The boys had an absolute blast. When searching for life jackets for them I came up empty handed (poor timing, I know), but I DID find these tops that snap to their swim trunks that have floaties in them. It was enough for the boys! They would swim out to the dock with uncle Adam and take turns jumping off. Mind you the water is about 200 feet deep right there, so floaties are essential, especially for jumping boys. In the end, they'd say, "Don't help me, I can do it myself." They would jump off the dock, swim to the ladder, climb up and do it again. It was so much fun to watch! They also enjoyed slip and sliding with the cousins. That was fun to watch too. Most people go for speed and distance when doing this. The boys go for speed and height. It's painful to watch. Joshua went for a tube right. Luckily I did not catch the boat going out, so I missed this adventure. I love that the boys tube, but it makes my heart beat just a little bit faster in fear they will fall. Which Joshua did. That's right, he took his first tube spill at the ripe age of 3. Apparently he handled it well and they went back and picked him up and he was perfectly fine. I would've jumped out of the boat and totally overreacted, so I'm glad I wasn't there.

We are home now and have a busy week ahead of us before we take off next weekend for Corey and Priscilla's wedding/family vacation.

4th of July Outfits Discovered

As I start to put away the girls 0-3 month outfits (slowly), I also start to pull out the 3-6 month outfits. One sack I pulled out contained outfits intended for 4th of July...oops! They are so darn cute, I couldn't resist putting the girls in them and taking pictures. Maybe they'll be good for Labor Day too? :)

Don't Blink

When at the park for the fireworks show I was sitting on the blanket with the girls. Dan's parents and sister had yet to arrive and Dan had taken the boys to the beach. A couple, who looked to be about our age, was sitting at a picnic table not too far away. They commented in surprise that we had two sets of twins. They kept exclaiming how great it was and were genuinely reveling in the girls. We talked for quite a while and then they went to meet their kids and leave. Only then did I find out that their kids are 14, 15, and 16. They didn't look old enough to have kids that age!

What struck me was that in the end, they walked over to get a closer peek at the girls, looked right at me and said, "Don't blink." They said it with great sadness. Like they had mistakenly blinked. I knew. If I blink, all my kids will be older. Instead of yearning for time by myself (like I do now) I'll be yearning for them to sit and share their day with me instead of running off with friends. As my new friends walked away, they kept saying, "Don't blink, it'll all be over. This seems like it's going to take forever, but you blink, and it's gone."

But, upon further reflection, I realized that this is my favorite time of life so far (and I admit, my college years rocked). :) I'm so scared for this part of my life to pass. What will I do when my kids are grown? What will I do when I'm not wiping markers off the wall, packing lunches, getting juice, attending to a cry, or even blogging a funny story? This is my life now, and I love it. I might complain, or stress out, but these are my days. MY days where I am the star of my kids life and they want nothing more than to be with me. I will not blink. I will take pictures, do projects with my kids, and simply enjoy the moment. I will laugh when they pee on the neighbors fence, I will not stress that they can't write their names. These things will come. But their overwhelming love and desire to be here with mommy is now, and I will be present to that.

I will not blink.

Happy Fourth of July!

We have survived our first weekend away from home with 4 kids! PHEW! We went to Dan's parents place out on the Spokane River in Post Falls, Idaho.

Friday we spent all morning packing and cooking. I baked four loaves of bread, two batches of Chex Mix, some Cheerio Peanut Butter bars, as well as packing bags for 4 kids, 2 adults, 2 bouncy seats, 1 swing, a package of diapers and several miscellaneous items. The preparation and planning paid off! Our entire weekend went off without a hitch!!!

We left Friday afternoon (Dan's mom came and picked up the boys giving me an hour to finish packing and follow them). Dan rode his bike out with his dad. I had a nice quiet ride with the girls and my apple juice slush. :) After playing outside for hours with cousin Kierra, the kids watched a movie while the adults played cards.

Saturday was SUPER hot! There is no air conditioning so the girls were very warm. Most of their day was spent in front of a fan on the floor. The boys spent the day at the beach and then on all the play items by the house. After 2 days in the sun the boys were EXHAUSTED! They fell asleep on the way to church and we managed to carry them in and they slept through the entire service. Crazy! After church we went straight to the beach for the fireworks show. Again, planning ahead paid off. The boys spent hours swimming, playing at the playground, coloring, playing Leapster, etc. We knew the noise from the fireworks would be bothersome to the boys, so we brought ear guards (that Dan normally wears when working on airplanes) and the boys were perfect! We had learned from watching fireworks the night before that neighboring places had set off that Molly would sleep through the fireworks and Katie would cry, so I planned ahead and nursed her to sleep and then tucked her in my shirt for the firework show. Worked like a charm.

Sunday we slept in until nearly 9:30...all of us! Obviously, we were tired! We did our last swimming sessions and had a wonderful breakfast and then packed up to head home. All kids are now sleeping peacefully and Dan and I even got some time to sit and relax.

Overall, a fantastic weekend. Dan's mom commented that it's the most nudity she's ever seen out at the river (the boys stripped frequently). :) I believe it's the most peeing in the grass she's ever seen either. :)

2 1/2 Months

The girls are now 10 weeks. We've gotten a small handle on life and have semi-happy girls most of the time. Summer seems to just be flying right by!

Both girls are now smiling. If you catch a really good moment, you'll even get a chuckle or giggle. There have been a couple times where I have found the girls on their stomachs, so they are rolling over, but not consistently or often. Kaitlyn will sleep through the night if she's feeling well. Molly is still eating every 3 hours, or more often. Hey, the girls got some catching up to do! :) On a good note, they are starting to take their binkies better. They did not want to be binky babies, instead they enjoy their fists and fingers. The battle is not yet over, but they are starting to give in. Anyone with twins that I've talked to has agreed that binky is better (maybe it's a multiples thing?).

Kaitlyn has been showing signs she's ready for more than the bouncy seat. I got out the exersaucer for her this week and she's loving it. I don't trust her head control entirely, so I surround her with mass blankets. You can see, she's totally loving it!

The boys are loving being outside and the constant activity. We generally find a splash pad 3 times a week. On days when we feel like staying home, the boys are loving playing outside with our neighbors. Lily is 4 and Rowan is 18 months. We all pull the outside toys out and the kids roam from yard to yard playing. Thomas recently found a skateboard next door and was extremely happy. He's been asking for a skateboard for months!

Happy 4th of July dear friends and family. We are heading out to Dan's parents place on Spokane River. The 4th of July festivities are low-key and not as well known and we LOVE it! The boys can experience fireworks without the crowd. I hope to have tons of pictures for you when we return!

l