Passing the Time

Everyone's been sick for the past several days: Noses running like faucets, coughing, sore throats and fevers. Yes, everyone. Nat and I are sick too. So life's been a bit dull because we can't go anywhere. The babies and I are getting tired of being in the house, but things have been a bit chaotic at the same time. Random naps encouraged by an exhausted Mommy --who's tired of sick little crazy heads fighting constantly--has truly destroyed our routine. Last night the boys slept until 6:00 then refused to eat anything simple and easy for dinner. They both insisted we make quiche. Dinner was served at 10:00 p.m. Everyone went to bed sometime after 1:00 a.m. Then everyone slept in until 10:00--causing Nat to almost miss his dentist appointment. Will I ever get my routine back????

S came out of his room crying but still asleep. Came and bawled for about 15 minutes on the couch then fell asleep sitting straight up. It was so cute. Poor little guy.

Lots of time in the bubble bath playing and passing time. Also helps with the fevers.

Out in the back practicing their golf skills with their new clubs. S got tired of practicing and decided to pretend his club was a jack-hammer and he was Bob the Builder instead.

Sweet little buddies. The boys wanted E to have a "pirate hat." She obligingly kept in on for them and played happily. She's trying so hard to sit up, but even with the special seat her back isn't strong enough and she still flops forward. Sweet little lady! She's started saying Hi, Momma, and Papa!!! I was so thrilled. I was told she may not say her first word till she was 3 years old. And she started waiving bye-bye this week! Go E!

Six Little Angels

We had a picnic tonight where we made new friends for the whole family, including five other little angels E's age with Down Syndrome. The babies were sooo cute talking to each other and scooting closer and closer to one another. The splash park was AWESOME and the boys totally had a good time. There were bees all over the food, but we had a good time being out and making new friends.

Houston

We went down to Houston for Labor Day weekend to visit my brother Josh and his family. We had a great time. It's the first time we've seen each other in three years. So we met both of his kids for the first time and they met two of ours for the first time. We had a great time hanging out, then went and visited our friends Ryan and Jentry on our way home and had a BBQ. Somehow we didn't get any pictures of our visit there, but we had a great weekend.

We intended to go to an ice cream factory and have a tour, but it closed, so instead we all went to Marble Slab when we arrived in Houston. The kids were still happy with it!

My nephew Lincoln greeted us with a great big smile and two little golf clubs for his cousins. Lincoln's not quite 3 and he's a terrific golfer. Josh made him a little mini-golf thing in their play room and our boys couldn't get enough of it. They were so excited.

Too many nights staying up late talking. I think we wore them out. They didn't even know I took the picture!

Our little Buckeye Fan. Josh loves the Buckeye's and it was the first game of the season so he and N watched it together while Jacquelyn and I hung out with the kids.

Trey adored E. Here he is playing ball with her. I think he just bonked her head! He followed her to her nap, me when I was feeding her, and when his mom took him away from E he would cry "Baby! Baby!" I think he's going to be a good big brother here soon.

B's been dying to go miniture golfing ever since we left Williamsburg and with their new golf clubs and his cousins loving golf we decided to take them all. It was REALLY hot, but everyone had a good time. S liked dropping the ball down the hole and retrieving it and doing it over and over again. B just ran from one hole to the next. He didn't quite get the concept of starting here, then moving on to the next one. But it was a fun time.

We were able to swim at Josh's in-laws and cool off a bit. We had a lot of fun. S was scared of the slide but fearless of the diving board. They both loved it. E liked floating around with her Papa.

A fellow train-lover. B & Lincoln thought each other were hilarious and they'd sit and giggle and giggle together. S was pretty shy, but he loved the Light Sabors and stayed close to Lincoln even though he didn't talk much.

Eight Months

Eight months! E is our little sweetheart. She is so affectionate. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She's figured out how to "talk" and now makes a ton of noise trying to talk about it. She's so darn cute!!!! She's still rolling around and trying to get somewhere. She does pretty good. E's muscle tone is still low so she can't sit up on her own or get completely into crawling position, but she is so determined. She keeps trying. We know she'll get there eventually. She's teething and wakes up a hundred times a night, but it so sweet about it. She growls and calls softly till I come for her then she gives me a tight, tight hug and pats me for a while. Her brothers always want to be with her and tend to fight over who "gets" E! Love this baby girl!

More Water Fun

Overnight the weather changed from 110 to 85 degrees. We all agree that it feels MUCH better! The boys are a lot more excited about playing outside now. S is quite in love with his life-jacket swimming suit, his "big soccer socks", and his rain boots. He cracks me up!

D is also for Dentist

B had his first trip to the dentist. He was actually super excited. They told me he'd go first, but before I had a chance to say a word they had me in the chair working on my mouth for 40 minutes, giving him time to rethink things and get a bit bored. Luckily, he climbed into the chair willing enough, let the dentist count and poke his teeth, but when she actually started brushing them, it tickled too much and he clamped his mouth tightly shut. Only the promise of another trip to the aquarium got his mouth opened up again. Interestingly enough, he did really like getting his teeth flossed. He was given a Lightning McQueen toothbrush at the end and very considerately requested a Mator toothbrush to bring home to S. I asked it it was okay if I took a few pictures and was told "Sure!" But when I actually did it, the dentist looked a little annoyed with me. Oh, well! I did ask, and I got my pictures! =)

D is for Dolphin

I decided to do a few little "preschool" type activities with the boys. Last month we learned about dolphins. They really thought this was fun. S was particularly interested in the dolphins. We made a little ocean out of a Sprite bottle and used blue food coloring. Then we blew up balloons and they were our dolphins. They really thought our little aquarium was awesome! We also made dolphin place mats and sugar cookies. My little chefs liked making the cookies so much we did it two different times. Then we ended by going to the aquarium. No dolphins--we'll make it to Sea World another time--but they LOVED petting the sting rays!