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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The Very Hungry Babies

In the light of the moon, little children lay on their beds.


One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and- pop!- out of their cribs came four tiny and very hungry caterpillars babies.


They, like big sister, were very hungry.

They started to look for some food.

In the morning, they ate one big bowl of cereal mixed with strawberries and yogurt.  They also polished off four full bottles.
But they were still hungry.

After nap-time, they ate two big bowls of food: cereal mixed with formula, carrots & squash; & cereal mixed with melon & peaches.  They also had four more bottles of formula.


But they were still hungry.  



After the second nap, the boys had another bottle (to fatten them up!).  Then they all ate a big dinner bowl of cereal, formula, peas & sweet potatoes, and a big bowl of cereal, avocado & pears.


But they were still hungry.  And whatever big sister was helping make smelled good!!! 


So they each ate through 1 ritz cracker, 2 wagon wheels, 3 yogurt drops, 4 cereal rice puffs, and 5 chocolate chip cookie doh balls! (that last one might have been daddy).






That night, they had a stomachache!



The next day the babies woke, pooped, and felt much better.  Then they continued the day eating everything just as they did the day before.  



One of these days I will be stunned to see my five hungry little caterpillars children have turned into butterflies adults.  



And I will wonder where my little babies went.



So today, I am cherishing every moment I have with my very hungry, growing caterpillars.





Hugs,
Becky



Wednesday, April 17, 2013

9 Months Old!

As Spring shouts its symphony of showers, Jenna & our garden of babies thrive & grow- I can't believe they are 9 months old now!


Their gestational age is 61/2, and these babies are so much fun!  They are learning to sit unsupported, they officially have "found" each other and laugh and grab at one another all the time, they love to eat and are trying new foods & textures often, they are rolling and reaching and getting around like CRAZY, and we (Jenna included, of course!) have a hoot with them!
Play time!



After the babies eat dinner I often put them in a "4-square".  If it's a bath night, they go straight to the bathtub from here.  If it's not, we let them watch us play Candyland :-)


Jenna & Lauren playing before bedtime


Jenna continues to be a great big sister.  She is nearing the end of pre-school and (snif snif) is VERY excited and ready for Kindergarten next year.  She loves to play outside and insists that short sleeves, capris, flip-flops & no jacket are just perfect to wear for a sunny 45 degree day.  I am always telling her to add layers and she politely tries to argue, "But mom... I am a warm-blooded girl, remember?" She is very good at riding her bike and I predict those training wheels will be off very soon.  Oh, and she loves worms.  She is such a girly tomboy!



Hannah got a bottom tooth this weekend and is the only one so far who can sit unsupported well.  She is starting to get her belly off the ground so crawling will be soon!  She LOVES to eat finger foods, and the wagon wheel puffs are her fahvorite.  Hannah has taken to growling (yes, growling) just for the heck of it.  She is very curious, very social, very intense (meaning very happy or very angry!) and very adorable.


Going for a walk!  Hannah protests loudly when waiting too long for anything (she thinks she is an only child) so we always load her last.  Since we load the back seat last to prevent tipping, she always sits in the back.
"Of course I am a princess- see?"
"Ooooh....Lauren, beautiful hair bow!"
Lauren does not have any teeth yet but I think one will break in a day or two.  She can sit unsupported about a half minute and laughs the best deep, hearty belly "HA HA!".  She doles out that laugh for things like when I lay on my back and use her as a weight for ab & triceps exercises, when I kiss her neck, and when I lotion & squeeze her feet to name a few.  Lauren loves to nap & has an overall happy demeanor.  Several occasions I have had 4 (yes, 4) crying and upset children for whatever reason (not naming any names...) but I can count on Lauren to give me the happy smile I need to get me through that moment.  Every time this happens I kiss her and whisper a, "thank you, sweet girl" in her ear.  Lauren rolls and shimmies and scootches like a ninja.  Yesterday I put her on her belly on the living room floor by Hannah.  I went to the computer for a couple minutes to upload photos & edit them, and then I checked on the babies.  No lie- Lauren had moved about 20 feet.  Yikes!  Time to put up the kiddie corral!!!  Here is a picture:


She was so proud of herself!
"Mom, Tanner & I will help you fold laundry if you give us another ride!"
 Tanner is such a big boy!  He has two bottom teeth and is enjoying eating and even drinks from a sippy cup now when it's offered.  He also is starting to like finger foods like wagon wheel puffs.  His doctor & I have been trying to figure out the best medicine for Tanner since we suspected silent reflux,  and I finally think we have it under control.  Tanner was getting to where he would arch his neck and back when laying on his back and sleeping in the crib was HORRIBLE.  I actually pulled out the old rock-n-play for a while, until one nap I was watching him on the video monitor try to settle down and I witnessed him standing in it and pushing his whole upper body up and over the head of it.  I ran to him faster than you can say "head trauma" and decided hearing him scream and moan in a propped up crib was way better than a visit to the ER.  Thankfully with an upped dose of Prevacid and repetition with the crib, he is falling asleep better.  I just hate it when any of my kids are in pain!
Sandwiched by his sisters!
Someone needs some prune juice.  Or privacy.
Arching his back in discomfort.  Poor little buddy!

Play time with daddy!
Tyler is growing like a weed and is just the smiliest boy!  He actually sat without support today for about 20 seconds, but he still needs support.  He has 2 bottom teeth just like his brother and is starting to protest naps & arch a little bit so I am on high alert to see if he possibly has silent reflux, too.  He is still on medicine for reflux (Tagamet, like Zantac but orange flavored instead of peppermint) so we shall see.  He tolerates new food better than Tanner but when I tried yogurt puffs the other day, he puked something awful.  I got it on video if you want to see... but I am warning you, it's gross!  Tyler is still a little peanut but is gaining every day and has some pretty sweet motor skills for being so teeny.


What a happy, handsome little man!


After a walk.  Tyler is #2; Poor Tanner (#3) is sleeping in the most uncomfortable position!


"For thou, O Spring!  canst renovate
All that High God did first create."  
Ralph Waldo Emerson, May-Day

Wild Flowers Blooming--- Happy Spring!!!

Hugs!
Becky

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Spring Fun!

(((So much to blog, so little time...!)))
Today I'm talking Spring stats, Easter, freedom & butterflies!
First, some stats on our super duper quads~
Weights & lengths at 8 months:
Hannah: 16#l, 15 oz, 2'1" long
Lauren:  17 #, 1 oz, 2'2" long
Tanner:  14# 14oz, 2'2" long
Tyler:14#, 20z, 2'1"long
Tanner has a second bottom tooth & Tyler has first bottom tooth!  The girls are still all gums but drooling like crazy.  They will get teeth soon- way to go, boys!  Everyone loves to eat now and now we have added finger puffs/teether biscuits and greek yogurt.  Hannah LOVES the finger foods, andTanner is not so sure about that yogurt stuff!  We met with a dietician this week who was concerned about Tanner's low weight.  Although he eats a lot (now), he isn't gaining like he should.  His reflux seems to be bothering him much more lately, so we are looking into silent reflux and upping his calorie intake.  Hopefully the boys can catch up with their chunky monkey sisters!

We are also in the middle of changing up the routine.  We are adding a cereal feed (3/day!) and dropping a nap (2/day).  There are still kinks to work out, but this is our tentative schedule these days:
8:00 Wake.  Cereal feed, bottle, then play
11:00 Nap #1
12:30/1:  Cereal feed, bottle, then play
3:30ish: Nap #2
5/5:30:  Cereal feed, maybe bottle, then play
7-8:00- bath (every other day), final bottle & bedtime.

I am sure it will change again real soon, nothing stays the same here very long! :)
Jenna playing with the babies 
Easter Pics
We had a lovely time celebrating Easter at my parents house.  We went to church as a whole family, but Andy was sick so he did not go celebrate Easter with us.  My in-laws came, and it was a wonderful time!  LOTS to pack up for a day away, but it was worth it!



My sister Cindy with me, Hannah & Jenna

I didn't feed one bottle the entire day-- Lovely!  Mimi, Papa, Uncle Steve & Aunt Cindy got the honors here 

Beautiful Babies!

Twirling my beautiful Jenna!
Spring Freedom
Some of you might remember the amazing story of how we got the quad runabout stroller- if not, you can read about it here.  Anyways, this last week my Aunt Nancy visited from Illinois and besides other helpful tasks, she cleaned up our strollers that have been collecting dust all winter!  We have been taking the babies on walks almost daily since then.  Sweet Freedom!!!  They love it, I love it, and since we live on a small private road, the best part is there is little traffic and even less gawkers!  



Jenna loves riding her bike while we walk.  We inevitably alway end up at our favorite neighbor's house, the Schmidts!
Jenna with some of the Schmidt girls at the public museum this last week.  She loved Spring Break because she got to see them almost every day!
A Butterfly Date
Every year since she was a baby, I have taken Jenna to see the butterflies bloom at Frederick Meijer Gardens.  It has a beautiful tropical rainforest (so warm & summery!) and every March thousands of butterflies hatch and flutter in the botanical gardens.   Jenna & I met up with friends this year and had a great date! (without babies!!!)
Jenna had at least 3 butterflies land on her!  (My sweet girl!)



Getting misted on
This post is daddy-sparse, so here is a cute pic of daddy & babies!
Life is very busy and the older the kids get, the busier I get.  Even so, I wouldn't change one. single. thing!  Every day I still thank God so much for this family and these 5 children.  I am in awe of what He has chosen to bless me with!  

Just look-- all around there are blessings abundantly!  


Hope you get a chance to enjoy some Spring Blessings too!

Hugs,
Becky