The Busy Days of Summer

We've been busy! So busy, in fact, that I haven't had a chance to blog! I'm just as tired by the end of the night as the boys are!

So what have we been doing, you might ask?! Lots of playing at the park. We've been back to some of our favorites, including this one. It has a small play area, which the boys enjoy for a while. But our favorite part is walking around the pond and looking for ducks, turtles, and frogs. It's also just plain beautiful!

Last week we went strawberry picking. Grandma Patti hung out in the car with the girls while the boys and I picked strawberries. We got a ton and the boys had a blast. Sorry for the cleavage picture, but I'm trying to get more of myself with the kiddos!

Dan and I also signed up at the YMCA. It's fantastic! We get free childcare and there are tons of things for the boys to do. We've really been enjoying the swimming. Either Dan takes the boys, or we drop the girls off in childcare and both go swimming with the boys. It's great bonding time!

Lots of pictures of the boys this time! I'm trying to make sure I keep up their pictures as well, although fairly difficult when they are in dire need of haircuts! :) More pictures and an update of the girls tomorrow!

Girls 2 Month Stats

The girls got their two month shots today. It included three shots and an oral vaccine. Dan met me there and then we pull in two nurses and do the shots at the same time. It makes it much faster and easier on the adult heart! I must've let Dan off the hook for the majority of the boys' shots because watching the girls scream through these was difficult for him. The girls did great and were easily calmed afterwards. They are currently asleep in their bouncy seats (squirming, but eyes closed). The boys also did fantastic. I prepared them for the shots and let them know exactly what would be happening. They were great and got only mildly sad when the girls were screaming afterwards. Molly had a bleeder so that was most disturbing (even the nurse was unhappy with the bleeding). *sigh*

We had the doctor check Katie's strawberry birthmark. He says it's fine and will most likely go away. We had him check Molly's skin tag (a little tiny piece of skin that sticks up on her chest), he also says this will go away. We also talked with him about Molly's inability to poop. We will now give her suppositories every 4-5 days (it's the only way she'll pooop) and I'm now off cow's milk. :( I don't really drink milk except with my cereal, but the lack of cereal means I have to cook a real breakfast every morning like I use to. The boys will at least be happy! :)

Stats:

Molly:
Weight- 10#5 (45%)
Height- 22 3/4 (75%)
Head Circumference- 15 1/4 (50%)

Katie:
Weight- 11#5 (50%)
Height- 23 (75%)
Head Circumference- 15 (25%)

I set up their 4 month and 6 month shots as well today. Man, forgot how much I DON'T enjoy this part!!!! Hopefully the Tylenol and soon IBProfen helps the girls through the night.

The Smiles Just Keep Coming

The smiles just keep coming at our house. Kaitlyn and Molly will be 9 weeks tomorrow (and as a consequence will get their shots tomorrow). Both girls are smiling up a storm. Molly gives her smiles freely, Kaitlyn makes you sing and work a little more for a smile. She, however, let out her first giggle today so it's very rewarding! Kaitlyn is also quite a talker and will make sounds nonstop if you are nearby. Molly just started cooing and it is absolutely adorable!

Today we attempted and successfully completed our first Costco trip on our own. The cart was immediately full with the two car seats and in the beginning the boys road on the rack on the bottom (until we added toilet paper). The boys received lots of compliments on their great behavior and were rewarded with fruit snacks from a grandma in line. :)

I also found this new carpet cleaner device (like a Swiffer but for carpets) for our living room. Our living room carpet attracts (seriously) dirt. I shampoo it once a month and it just shows every single smudge of dirt. It's awful. I was hoping this brush cleaner would help it out. Thomas saw me using it this morning and got very excited. I told him that he was in charge of his room and that once it was clean, he could clean his carpets. He was so excited and spent the rest of the day telling Josh that he was "in charge" of their room. He did in fact clean it up and then clean the carpet and did an amazing job! Sadly, while the carpet did get cleaner, it did not get the spots out so I'll be continuing the crappy job of cleaning the carpets once a month. :(

Here's some pictures to keep you happy!

Death and the Solar System

We've reached a new point in life of utter curiosity. I find it refreshing and extremely fun, although sometimes challenging.

One of their interests is the solar system. I have a series of books that are about the solar system, Earth, etc. We read them daily and the boys can nearly recite them word for word by themselves. On Father's Day, Thomas sat with Grandma Nancy and talked about the solar system. We asked him what planet he lives on and he replied, "Earth." Then he quickly turned to grandma and said, "Grandma, what planet do YOU live on?" It totally cracked us up! Their curiosity is amazing!

The other topic of interest in our house is death. I'm not sure how this came about, but it's something that is sticking around for now and gives us lots of up and down feelings. We've tried to explain that death is when the body is all done and broken and that people die and go to heaven. We had to call daddy last week at work because the boys had decided matter of factly that he'd died. They then told him, "I won't let you die daddy." :( We've talked about Grandpa Don and Grandma Dolly and how they are together in heaven with God. They replied, "We go to church to talk to God, so we'll talk to grandma and grandpa there too." Pretty insightful until they followed it up with, "We see Ba there too..." The boys are getting better at understanding, but thankfully have not had too many up close experiences with death. I'm thinking I might need to get them a frail fish to help them understand better.

It Only Took 8 Weeks

It only took 8 weeks to FINALLY figure out life with 4 kids and get into a semi-routine. The girls are awake more and happier more. They even slept 8 hours one night this week! Hooray! As long as we keep busy (which is fairly easy in the summer) we are generally a happy crew!

This week was filled with fun activities.

Tuesday I was pretty impressed with myself. We had a quiet morning and just generally hung out around the house. Then my friend Suzy called and told me they were heading to one of our favorite parks. By the time I had hung up the phone, the boys had grabbed their swim bag and lunch boxes and were waiting in their spots by the door. Even though it was noon we decided to go. We were able to get out of the house in 15 MINUTES! It was amazing! We then proceeded to spend 4 hours at the park and the boys thoroughly enjoyed playing with their friends and I got some much needed adult time. Then we met up with Dan's grandparents for dinner. A fun-filled busy day!

Wednesday we had a great playdate with some friends, Vanessa and Amber. Gotta love a girl named Amber! :) The boys had a fantastic time and enjoyed playing with all the toys. They have asked every day since if we could go back. :)

Thursday we didn't have any plans, but the boys really wanted to go to Riverfront Park. I decided it was time to take on that park by myself with all four kids. I'm proud to report that it was a great experience. We did all the rides, had lunch, and did more rides and the fountain! I did get lots of looks (especially while leaving with one baby in the stroller in a carseat, one baby in a sling, me dragging one child, and the other child in the front of the stroller carrying the car seat that is generally in that spot). Needless to say, the boys were exhausted after that!

Today was rainy and yucky. We did manage to meet the MIL and SIL's for our weekly Friday lunch. I told the boys that once we got to the park they could run and play as long as they realized their pants would get wet. Both boys needed to run out some energy. They loved playing at the park, but did not enjoy their wet pants. I did not enjoy the fact that I had just emptied the extra pants out of the diaper bag and the boys were left pants-less until we got home. Good news is that they took a nap after we got home!

Tonight was Boys' Night and we drug Auntie Kim along with us. Riverfront Park was once again our destination. We did all the rides and had a great time! Got home just in time to miss that fantastic thunder/lightning storm too!

On a fun note, the girls are getting extremely good at smiling. Molly gives up her smiles very easily and is so much fun to play with. Kaitlyn doesn't smile as often but instead talks and chats with you. So cute!!!

Petting Zoo and First Smiles

The girls are starting STARTING to turn a corner. The new concoction of Zantac, gas drops, Gripe Water, and apple juice is starting to pay off. The girls are still very very grumpy throughout the day, but they are starting to lay on the floor more and have more happy awake moments. When they are awake and happy we are getting those first smiles. It is SO rewarding. I could spend hours making a fool of myself just to see one simple smile. The simplest joys in life. :)

Friday was just a fabulous day. We went down to the school where I use to teach and visited all my old coworkers. Kaitlyn (Katie) was named after one of my best friends, my old co-teacher, Katie, so it was fun to see them together! The boys got to spend most of our time there with one of my first students, Aja, and were extremely sad to leave her. We'll definitely try to head down again!

The weekend was super super busy. Dan spent most of the weekend removing the debris left from tearing down the tree in the backyard. The evenings were filled with family events. Saturday we went to a BBQ celebrating both BIL's 30th birthdays. Sunday night we were invited to a petting zoo. A coworker of my mom's has a farm and invited everyone from work (and their families) to see the animals. The boys had a blast. Joshua was very brave and went into the farmyard and pet sheep, llamas, goats, etc. Thomas will tell you his favorite part was going into the chicken coop and getting his own eggs that we got to bring home. He wanted to go back in and do it again!

Who Do The Girls Look Like?

You decide...can't wait to hear what you think!

Jogging Suits

I wanted to get a picture of the girls in their jogging suits before they outgrew them. Just barely made it! The boys had little jogging suits too! The girls are 7 weeks in their picture. The boys are 5 weeks in their picture. Oh, the sweet memories.

4 Kids at the Store

The girls turned 7 weeks today. If you haven't seen the girls in the last several days, I believe you'll notice quite a difference. Molly is really really filling out. Her face even looks a little chubby! The changes in my diet have made a drastic difference in the girls. Not drinking caffeine has made the crying lessen considerably. I may cut out milk and see if that helps too. We also started Zantac for reflux last night. I don't really think the girls necessarily have reflux, but I want to rule it out. Kaitlyn revisits most meals in mass form, but doesn't really seem to mind. Molly doesn't regurgitate as much, but is way more upset following every feeding. At this point, they get gas drops, Gripe Water, and Zantac throughout the day. Hopefully we'll see some improvement in their comfort levels.

My SIL Mere called this morning and invited us up to lunch in the Five Mile area. Who knew the Burger King up there had a play area? Not me! The boys had a blast playing with cousin Macey and I got some adult conversation. Afterwards, we tossed the girls into the stroller and walked to Joanne's to get supplies for the girls' birth announcements (yes, they are finally getting ready to be mailed out!). The girls slept through most of the shopping and the boys did great. We raided the $1 bin and found bird houses to paint, necklace kits, and magic wands the boys could color. Everyone left happy (except Thomas who wanted candy...it's a rough life). I was pretty proud of us for getting through a store without the boys in the stroller! Hooray! We CAN get out! :)

Potty Training Woes

It's not that the boys have regressed in potty training, but they are PROgressing any further. They rarely have an accident, but frequently have just a little wet spot on their underwear. They have started wetting the bed (something we've avoided for a long time). So, I started something new today...this afternoon actually. Each boy starts the morning with a baggie (taped high up on the fridge) with 5 chocolate chips. Every time said boy goes potty he gets a chocolate chip. Any time there is an accident, a change of underwear, or anything of that nature, they lose a chocolate chip. I expect that they use this a million times today and then wean down to an appropriate amount. Since I began this post, Thomas has peed 3 times. But, I tell myself, it's better than washing multiple pairs of underwear day in and day out. I also want the boys to become independent. With the girls, it's harder to be at a park and take them to the potty. I want them to not need to be asked before we go somewhere. I know they will want their chocolate chip (only available at home? Still working on this part) so they will want to go before they leave somewhere. We'll work on it!

Today, I caught Thomas as a tree getting ready to pee at Upper Manito Park. Fortunately, he had decided he had to go and found a tree. Unfortunately, the tree was right next to a bench where a couple ladies were sitting watching their children play. I ran over and grabbed him before he could pee (as the ladies chuckled at me...watching me run with Kaitlyn in a sling must've been a little hilarious), and helped him find a tree not next to people.

**On a side note, the girls are doing MUCH better! Cutting stuff out of my diet has been successful thus far. We'll see if the happiness is a fluke, or whether last week was the fluke. Let's hope these happy babies continue. I will be calling to get Molly checked for reflux or stomach issues on Monday as she cries and cries after every feeding. Poor baby. It took me a while to realize this as we just ended a growth spurt, so she fed all day long, and then cried all day long. :(

Remember When?

Remember when? Remember when I was pregnant and you said, "If you ever need someone to come hold babies or play with the boys, let me know." I'm letting you know. Call me. Dan is at Guard this weekend and then working all next week. You are now officially invited over. Here's why:

The girls are now 6 weeks. Lately they've flipped a switch. We went from having easy-going happy babies to these little beings tormented when awake. They spend every waking moment crying uncontrollably...it's awful. I'm really hoping they turn it around soon and am experimenting with different things in MY diet to see if it's affecting them. Bye-bye caffeine. :(

Here's their 6 week shot...sorry it's the best I could get. :(

On the upside, the weather has been nice so we've been able to get together with lots of friends and family. Thanks to the friends who let me hand off my children as soon as we are together so that I can regain my sanity for later! You guys are amazing! This week we were really busy and did lots of activities. Our friend Greg watched the boys on Monday while I went to my 6-week check up. The boys were worn out when Greg left....hooray!!! We also went to Joshua's best friends' house (Anna) for a dinner playdate on Tuesday. This was the highlight of Joshua's week...Anna. He saw her lots and loved every minute! Wednesday we went to Audobon splash pad, and Thursday was Mobius. Today was so SO rough! Molly cried for 3 hours solid so we packed up the car and headed out. We ended up at Uncle Adam and Aunt Mere's. The boys had a blast and Mere did her "magic" thing where the girls were happy the entire time. They also came over tonight and cut down the trees in our backyard. Thanks guys! This also meant the girls were quiet again for a couple hours. I'm feeling very relieved.

**Side note: The boys and I are now addicted to Sonic...surprised? We get the apple juice slush. The boys think it's a great treat and so do I! We try and hit it on the way home from a playdate so we hit Happy Hour (2-4 PM) and get our drinks half price. It's a real treat for all of us in this hot weather!