Simply having a wonderful Christmas time!

Christmas is all very magical at our house. Lots of fun to be had and lots of loud noises too! From Rowan trying to pull down the tree to Miles being a different character every time you look up, Lucy celebrating 12 days of themes at school and Callie reassuring everyone that she IS getting an ice cream cart for Christmas...(she was right). 

Lots of activities, lots of noise, plenty of magic. 

The most magical, Christmas miracle being that Miles is officially potty trained! I mean, six months after Callie.... and not a day too soon. I was tempted to take him in the pediatrician to make sure things were medically okay. It took so much hard work and lots of motivation, but he's great now! 

We used winter break to have a blast with all the local activities. Library, bounce time, baking and making cookies times 3, play doh, ginger bread houses times 3, a little bit of snow, a few Santa visits,  trampoline park, hot cocoa, Pizza King, Science Museum, Zoo, Smileys, painting ceramics, basketball, a Chuck E Cheese Party and petting cats at the Kitty Cafe. 

We did all the things. All of them. :) 

This is why my kids need zero toys, haha! 

Christmas was awesome but I am ready to set up a spring yard sale!!

 

November 2022

     October flew by because we never stopped moving! Busy and active- with a hospital visit taken by ambulance thrown in the mix. Miles is doing better, we passed along a stomach bug of some sort and he didn't get that- thank goodness! He was admitted for a asthmatic episode that required oxygen and an overnight stay at Norton Children's (downtown- and we super do NOT recommend). It was a little PTSD inducing as he had also been to Norton when he was born and hung out in the NICU for a week. Those nose cannulas with oxygen tubes- hopefully he never remembers that stuff. He definitely loved the one on one time with momma and the rest of the crew will never let me catch up.

     The fun we had far outweighed the yuck- we lived it up and changed our costumes enough to keep it fresh! We visited all the Halloween festivities we could fit into our schedules! What my kids will remember from Octobers, is how much fun we packed into the month. The silliness, laughs, running around and being goofballs- there was plenty of that. 

   

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LUCY!!

      I really loved having a 5, two 3, and a 1 year old for a couple months- having that counting pattern was so neat. But I also really love having the kids birthdays every other month, it just sits well with me. Haha! Especially because we didn't "plan" any month to have kids and it worked out in a pattern. 

    So September is "Lucy Birthday Month" and we celebrate as long as we want, likewise for all birthdays around here! She's 6! Which is huge but really, she's been catching her age up to her personality since she was 2. 

    She's a kind soul with bossy tendencies and retells her experiences with way more pizazz than what actually happened in real life. She told me today, "well that's how I said it in my head!" I just hope all that attitude and expression stays in her head and doesn't come flying out of her mouth. 

    She's in to all things crafty, artsy, cute and colorful- which is so fun! She likes to set up stations of activities for the littles to do and is overjoyed when they play along. She leads with great ideas and most of the time, a great example. She is shy when it comes to kids her own age but loves to hang out with the big kids she's gotten to know at school. She's playing soccer and basketball and claims that basketball is her favorite. She follows the coach's directions well but we are still looking for the aggressive attitude that comes with fighting with Miles and Callie. She seriously is a great sister, always looking out for Rowan and she can calm Miles down back there in the back row of the car with just a few words. Callie is her shadow and Lucy lets her do everything with her. 

    Luckily, she hasn't outgrown coordinating outfits with the crew and still has ended up in my bed after a bad dream a time a or two- so she is still little. She loves playing games on her tablet that involve taking care of baby animals and has taught Callie how to play and it is so sweet. She's set a goal to ride a bike with no training wheels- she's not even close but her determination is admirable. Also, she loves school. Which we all knew she would, haha. She said, "It's not very worky- it's more playing and doing activities." So we know she's having good time. She's still painfully shy when it comes to adults at school, but she will wave or nod- with the exception of her teacher- she will talk her ear off. :) She came to the realization pretty quickly that I know everyone at school and everyone will gladly tell me what she's up to- not that I have to worry- but maybe she can fill Miles and Callie in. 

    Big thanks to everyone who loves her and is helping to mold her into a responsible kid that cares for others! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our THREE year olds!

 As active and busy as "two twos" were, I feel like we are already earning survival badges for three....

Miles and Callie are THREE and don't worry- they won't let you forget! They are still totally adorable, much more independent and so very talkative. 

Both kiddos can buckles their own car seats and that is just a very huge milestone over here. They can both put shoes or sandals on by their self and they can eat meals without me cutting anything up- it's big stuff in our house. 

Being three comes with a lot of new opportunities- like a summer "camp" at Lucy's old preschool- which you have to be potty trained to attend. So Callie and Lucy are about to have a super fun week! Miles- might have to hold off til next year. Callie is good to go, very spotty incidents on rare occasions and she's earned a million pieces of candy and plenty of popsicles too. Miles is just like, not in the mood. He promises he won't go in his underpants annnnnnnnyyyyyymore- if you ask him. He just isn't getting it and isn't all that upset when he makes a mess. So my summer to-do list of "potty train M and C" is still only halfway checked off. That's tough for me, but if having twins helped with anything- it's the acceptance that my plan doesn't always work and that's okay. 

Callie is very into "actually" information and ready to tell you that she can do it by herself- which she usually does and does well with. She's easily frustrated when she can't physically do something but she is such a problem solver- she usually finds a way around. When she doesn't though- cover your ears because her whine will make sick cats sound like singers. It's painful for everyone around and the other kids don't hesitate to tell her that. She's so smart, she knows things that we didn't teach her but she's heard Lucy talk about. She is very musical- always making up songs, singing songs from anything and rocking out along to the music we play. It's also hilarious to hear her change her voice to mimic cartoons and she knows she's being funny. She's hard on herself when she messes up- which will motivate her later. Also- terrible at cleaning up. Voluntarily went to bed one night to avoid having to clean up a mess that she made. Little stinker. She is coming around to being lovey with Rowan although he pulls her hair whenever he can catch her. She is brave too! I overheard Lucy telling her to pick up the crunchy bugs (cicada shells) because Lucy was afraid it might still be alive and Callie reached right down and scooped it up. She goes downstairs with Lucy when Lucy doesn't want to go alone. She is still a snacking pro- but she's also going through some sort of growth spurt because she'll clean her plate! (although sometimes in between she'll claim she doesn't like any of the food thats there.) 

Mister Miles is still a wildly expressive little guy. He knows how to crack you up and giggles at himself when he makes you laugh. He's passionate about every obsession- Toy Story to his Bear Bear blanket. He's a huge fan of eating and I can tell we're going to have to start stocking the fridge based on him and Rowan cleaning us out of food! He used to be very cooperative about bedtime.... not so much these days- but he is the last to get up in the morning and this summer vacation momma really appreciates that. He is working on the initial S sounds in words and will fix it when you call him out on it but it's so sweet to hear that toddler speech. He can dance like nobody's business and you don't have to ask him- he hears the music and he starts moving! He is Rowan's bodyguard but also the reason Rowan needs a bodyguard..... He knows exactly how to annoy his sisters but usually stops when they ask. Miles has built a stamina for the activities we keep him busy with and is pacified with snacks very easily. He prefers flavored water (sweet tea flavor) to regular water- so he looks very high maintenance. He plays that part well- he is the most likely to throw a fit but also most likely to velcro to my side. He loves his momma dearly and I have to love on him for that. He likes to run with the big boys at bounce time and it really doesn't matter to him if they notice him or not. He loves Johnny from SING and all the Elton John songs he performs. He sings along and it's just the sweetest. 

As twins, they love each other but I can't say they love each other more than their other siblings. It will be interesting to see how their relationship changes when Lucy is not with them every day when school starts. They are both very cute and sweet- I couldn't ask for better double rainbow babies! They are so fun!