Daddy's Little Helpers

Both the kids, especially Jake, copy EVERYTHING that John does. And there was no exception last night. Our door knob on the front door had broken and John knew it would be an easy fix so he jumped right on the task as soon as he walked in the door. The kids watched him busy at work and decided they should offer their help. They immediately picked up the tools nearby and started working on the door knob, just like daddy! Fun was had by all fixing the door knob. And it works great now!!!

Girls n' Pigtails

Okay so I thought girls were supposed to like pigtails. Abby has been blessed with a good head of hair. Although it's a little wild at times. She likes to sleep on her head with her butt in the air so when she gets up from naps or in the morning, she looks like a lion with her mane sticking out everywhere. I've tried brushing it, spraying water on it and then brushing it, even hair products...nothing works to control that girls hair. It's frizzies everywhere!
When we go out to places, I always see little girls in pigtails or barrettes with their hair all nice and pretty. My little sweet Abby appears to be the only little girl with the crazy hair!!! So, I thought we should try pigtails too. Well yesterday morning I sat her in the bumbo with ponytail holders and comb in hand. We set out to get two little pigtails in her hair. I brush her hair ONCE...she SCREAMS!!!! The girl is twisting, turning, pulling and tugging at her hair, the comb, anything! I manage to get one in. Time to get the other side done. She's got full blown alligator tears by this point. It takes another five minutes or so to get the second one done. I take a look at my work and realize the pigtails are going in two different directions. I can't have that. Need to redo the first one. Another 5 minutes has passed. Whew! Done with that one. Abby is so unhappy at this point, red little face, tugging at her pigtails. Jake is just working on his puzzle, watching everything happen right in front of him.
I thought she looked so cute...it definitely changed her face...she's turning into a little girl. My baby is disappearing.
Anyway, Abby would have nothing to do with the pigtails and just cried while they were in. She eventually pulled them out and then returned to her normally chipper self. Oh well, at least I have a few pics to prove she did wear them!

Take me out to the ballgame!

Well, Saturday night we took the kids to their first sporting event. My multiples club had the corral area so there were a lot of moms with twins and triplets (none of the quads moms made it out). The kids were really excited. We didn't bring the stroller but rather used our "leashes" for the kids. We got out of the car, got everyone hooked up and started walking to the stadium. We got a lot of laughs, stares and even "where'd you get those?" along the way, but hey, at least I knew where my kids were and that they weren't going to dart in front of traffic!
We walked around the stadium a bit hoping to get all their "wiggles" out so we could sit and watch the game. What were we thinking?!? I think we sat in our seats for 5 minutes and then had to get up and walk around. John took off with Abby, while I hung out with Jake. John said Abby was on a mission. She started walking around the stadium and didn't stop till she made it all the way around. She would stop however, when people clapped for a play. She'd stop, turn to the game, and clap away. When everyone was done, she'd start walking again.
Jake and I just hung out near the playground. He'd walk over to the big lights though, and look up in amazement. He loved those things!
We didn't really catch much of the game and left about half way through, but I thought that was good for us. We had a really fun time and overall the kids did really well. They just aren't up for sitting in their seats for very long yet.

Fort Worth Museum

On Friday, we met my parents, niece and nephew at the Fort Worth Science museum. They watched a film at the Omni theatre about oceans (we opted to skip that) and then we met up to play in the children's museum. Since there were 3 adults and 4 kids, we let the twins out of the stroller to run and have fun. They had a blast playing with the toy cars, shopping at the grocery store, and even playing house!



This girl waited so patiently while Abby hogged the car.


Jake and Abby washing their hands in the playhouse.



Jake takes the convertible out for a spin.



What?!? He knows exactly what to do at the ATM machine!

Hot & Sticky

I mentioned in an earlier blog that our a/c went out last week. Luckily the people who came to fix it were here the same day we called so we were only stuck in the heat for about half a day, but it was still really hot. We closed all the blinds, turned all ceiling fans on high, turned off all lights and brought our floor fan out into the den to help keep us cool.
The kids loved the fan and thought it made a great toy. Jake would get right up to it and hug it, but of course I never could get a pic of that. Abby had fun letting the wind blow through her hair.
The a/c was fixed by 4:00, but the house had warmed up to 90 degrees!!! So as soon as the a/c guy left, I loaded up the kids and headed over to a friends. We played in their cool house until 6 and then came home for supper and a cool bath. The house was down to about 83, but it took most of night to get it back down to 78.

Such Civilized Human Beings

The kids are working on eating with silverware and plates/bowls. They aren't the best yet, but have a ton of fun. I have to watch Abby though, she'll try to eat EVERYTHING with her fork, even crackers, but then she gets frustrated when it doesn't go on the fork. You also have to be careful if you're eating with a fork and she's not. She'll often pitch a fit until you get her a fork too.


You want some mom?


Notice how clean everything is at the start.


They still eat with their fingers when all else fails.


The suction bowls don't work at all!!! The kids chase the bowls all over their tray and eventually dump all their food out.

A New Game

Well, the kids have discovered how much fun it is to run and play under the dining room table. This has turned into their new favorite game and they even try to get John and I in the action by hitting the china cabinet and then running under the table. Such fun!

Here we go again!

It's been a while since I've blogged and I have a lot to say, but this week has been CRAZY!!! We went back to 1 nap a day (well, except a couple of days a week) and it's going well. Twice a week they get 2 naps a day and sleep beautifully, the rest of the time, it's one nap a day. It's great! We can do stuff when ever we want, if the kids are extra fussy, they get 2 naps and I have lots of time to get other stuff done if I need it!!!
Our air conditioner also went out this week. Ugh! My parents were here Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning, my dad though the a/c was broken. He went outside and checked it out. It was FROZEN!!! What?!? It's so hot outside, how could it be frozen!!! We also had a play date scheduled that afternoon at 4 with 9 kiddos. Okay, first things first, cancel the play date. I can't have that many kids hot and cranky in my house! Next, call the a/c people. They were great and were here by 2:30. They topped off our freon (sp?) and said we needed to replace our evaporative coil (runs about $2K). Ugh! We decided to just see how long we could go with the new freon. So far so good. I'm hoping it's a slow leak and we can get through the rest of this year without any issues. Otherwise, we'll be buying a whole new a/c. Of course John's opting for the whole unit vs. just the coil b/c our unit will probably go in another few years so he hates to spend $2K now and just to spend $6 in a couple of years. So, he'd rather save the $2K and just spend the $6 now. I just love how is little mind works sometimes. :-)
Okay, and now for the biggie this week. I'm pregnant! About 2 months. The new little bambino is actually due on 3/20 - yes, 3/20 - the twins b-day!!! We've known for a few weeks, but wanted to wait until we had the first sono to tell everyone. And yes, it is just one. So far I'm feeling fine, a little morning sickness, but not bad. John was super excited when we found out, but now he's trying to figure out all the logistics. Where do we put this thing? We don't really want to give up our guest room (we will welcome all the help we can get), but there's no other place for the kiddo. Plus, do we need a new car that will fit 3 car seats? Hopefully not. Then there's the kitchen...we only have 4 chairs, we need another one for the little guy eventually. And am I going to get a triple stroller? The twins will only be 2 when the new guy gets here and won't be the best at walking (where I want them to) at that age. I won't really want to chase after them (in different directions). I told him not to worry - I've already thought of all that and it will be just fine! We'll figure it out (probably as we go, like we did with the twins).

Mom, what's that?

Thursday the kids discovered belly buttons. They first discovered mine. I don't know what possessed Jake to lift my shirt up first of all, but once he did he found my belly button. He proceeded to poke and prod at it with a very confused look on his face (my belly button is misshapen and stretched out since being pregnant with the twins so it's not really a pretty site). Abby then came over to see what all the fuss was about. I showed her where Jake's "be bo" was too and she thought that was funny. She'd lift his shirt up and poke his belly button too. She was wearing a romper so we couldn't "find" Abby's, but all day, both were fascinated for some strange reason with belly buttons.

Bubble Mania!

After dinner this evening, the kids and I went out and had fun with bubbles. I have this little "gun" that blows a ton a bubbles. The kids get so excited chasing the bubbles around the yard. I thought they made for some cute pics. Enjoy!

Our Gym

Okay, I talk about our little gym (My Gym, Frisco) all the time and today PAMOM had a social at the one in Plano. I grabbed my camera as we headed out the door to catch some pics of the kids in action. They LOVE going to the gym and I know it has helped enhance their climbing skills. They had fun at the one in Plano, although you could tell they were a little confused when we first got their. The didn't know any of the staff, the layout was different, but everything still looked like the stuff at their gym. It was so funny. After a few minutes they warmed up and took off in different directions, having a blast.

The Nap Saga Ends

Well, today I broke down and went back to 2 naps a day. We gave it a valiant effort, but the kids just weren't switching. I know it takes about 3 weeks for them to change their schedule and we've only given this 2 weeks, but I just don't think they were ready. Last week was rough and they were only napping 1-1/2 hours, maybe 2 if I was lucky. Yesterday the kids slept in, which mine NEVER do!!! Abby woke up a little after 9 and I finally woke Jake up at 9:30. That was it. They were too exhausted. They also haven't been sleeping well; waking up crying throughout the night. Although I did anticipate that (it happened last time we went from 3 naps to 2).
Today, everyone was MUCH happier. I didn't know if they'd go down for their morning nap since they weren't used to going down anymore and they really weren't acting tired. But after about 30 minutes of playing in their crib, they fell asleep and slept until noon. They only napped for about 15 or 20 minutes this afternoon (b/c we had a play date at 4:45), but even that short catnap did wonders. They've been little angels all day. We are all three much happier.

Climbing to New Heights

Well yesterday our little monkey (Abby) finally figured out how to climb on the kitchen table. It's just been a matter of time and now we are chasing her off the table constantly! In the past the kids would just push the kitchen table chairs around the room - which was fine. But yesterday morning, Abby decided that wasn't good enough and just climbed right up. The chair quickly became tiresome and the table was the top destination. She now pitches fits and screams when she can't get in the chair because you're holding it in, but she is going to have to learn (quickly) that this is not okay! John's in Minnesota and his truck is in west Texas, but as soon as he and his truck are back home, the bungee cords may be coming out to help hold the chairs in place around the table (the bungee cords are in his truck).

Not up to much

We'll I haven't posted this week at all so I thought I'd just let everyone know we're doing well. We've been adjusting to the new schedule still. I think this week has been a bit tougher than last week. We've been going out to the mall in the mornings, but now they're starting to expect that. We stayed home Wednesday morning and they were both little terrors. They'd go to the door and say "Let's go!". When I told Jake "no", he immediately fell to the floor crying. They're also having a hard time napping; I think they're a little restless. But by Friday, hopefully, we figured out our new routine. We had gym class first thing Friday morning and got back to the house around 10:30. I sat them down for a quick snack and then we were off playing happily. Yeah! Lunch came at 11:45 and then we played until nap time. They did okay during the nap and each only woke once during the time period they're supposed to be down. Now, the afternoon was another story. Abby was super cranky. I don't know if she was still tired and should have slept a bit more or what. We went out to play after they got up from naps, but when we came in for supper she was not happy. She then slammed her finger in a drawer (again, not happy!) and then after that any little thing would make her burst into tears. Even singing Old MacDonald.

That's actually funny - if she's in a bad mood, you can't sign this song. Not sure why, but it makes her burst into tears every time. John got to see this first hand Thursday night. She fell pretty hard and got a bruise on her chest from falling onto a toy. He took her outside to help her calm down and then brought her back in to play. She was doing great until he decided to sing Old MacDonald. He got to "EIEIO" and she made a horrible pout. He sang again, not sure if the pout was for him or not and she cried. I calmed her down and he tried again (not really believing it was him or the song making her cry I guess). She burst into tears and couldn't be consoled this time. Now he knows. Don't sing this song when she's upset!!!