The Fourth of July!

First and foremost, I got everyone dressed in their red, white, and blue duds.  :)  The babies had these cute matching outfits, but they’re size 3-6 months.  I had to tuck the onesie flaps into the shorts without snapping them.  :)  It’s okay though, because they’re adorable.  I made everyone pose for me.

Then Gran and Grandpa David grabbed the big three and took them to watch the local parade.  I stayed home with a couple of napping babies.

I don’t think they missed me.  :)

Matt made it home from work by about 3:00, and we got ready to go to Grandma’s house.

I had to take a picture of Joanna in her blue and white while holding a red chicken.  Very patriotic!

First up the bigs had to help Uncle Steve crank the homemade ice cream!

And of course we had to have a cousins’ first Independence Day shot.  That’s Michael, Thomas, and Drew from left to right.

Joanna and Drew must have called each other – they were matching!

Aunt Gail made a red, white, and blue cake.  James is still talking about it.  :)

At some point the babies were grouchy, so I let Gran put the “easy” one to sleep.  Then she joined Mr. Michael for a little snooze.

I put Thomas in the Ergo and commenced a lot of bouncing and swaying.  Eventually he crashed!

After they woke up and had some dinner, we headed home to put everyone to bed.  The big three were going to watch fireworks with Gran and Grandpa David, so they got to keep their clothes on.  I made them go “rest” in their beds though.  I was pretty sure this would happen:

(Side note: I opened the window blinds, but it wasn’t quite enough light, so I shined my iPod on them as well.)

This kid was HARD to wake up. I gathered him in my arms and sat him up in my lap.  Then he grabbed the bottom of my shirt and tried to use it as a blanket.  Ha! 

Finally, I woke him up and got everyone loaded in the van. 

Mom sent me a couple of pictures of their firework watching.

She said Natalie wouldn’t get out of her lap.  :)

I love this one of Joanna with the fireworks in the background.

Maybe next year I’ll beg/borrow/steal a nice long lens and take some firework pictures.

I may have said that last year too.  :)

The kiddos had a wonderful time and seem to have recovered okay from staying up so late!!

Eight Months!

The babes turned 8 months old on June 29th, and we managed these pictures in the afternoon.  The light wasn’t quite as perfect as I would have liked, but the sun was hiding behind the clouds often enough to give it a try.  :)

I plopped Thomas down and told Natalie to stand behind him (just in case!) while I got my settings right.  But then I loved this one!

Thomas was pretty much hamming it up in all the shots, but Michael was more serious.  :)

Mr. Sock Monkey made his appearance – they could be triplets!

I looooooove this one.  I think they look like little old men, Thomas especially.  Look at all those heavy thoughts and wrinkles!

The next day, I took a few more, mostly of Michael, since his personality wasn’t really shining through the day before.  He frequently crawls himself backward under the changing table.

Joanna and Thomas were playing stacking cups around this time.

I looooooove this one too!  She has such a special bond with her baby brothers.

A few days ago I cooked the babies up some rice and carrots in homemade chicken broth.  I thought that would be a way to get some good nutrients without actually having to chew up chicken.  :)  They only have three teeth between them.

It was a hit.  Michael even wore some rice on his face.

I guess there were bananas too.  Loving the foot up on the tray.

What big eyes you have Michael!  In case it wasn’t obvious, they both needs baths right after this mess!

They’re doing really well with their eating.  Thomas is better at it than Michael, but I know that won’t always be the case.  :)  I typically feed them just one meal of “food” each day.  Mainly that’s because it’s a lot of work, and they don’t seem to need it yet.  So far they have eaten (or at least tasted): avocado, banana, peach, watermelon, carrots, rice, Cheerios, potatoes, sweet potatoes, puffs, chicken broth, plain Greek yogurt, and pinto beans.  I think that’s it.

Other things about these sweet boys at 8 months old:

• Michael can still squeeze into most 3-6 month sized clothes, but 6-9 fits him best.  Thomas cannot really squeeze.
• They have mostly moved to two naps per day, but they aren’t very long.  Sometimes they need a third nap.  Sometimes they take it.  Sometimes they’re just grouchy for a while in the late afternoon.
• Both boys can get up on their knees and rock.  I’ve seen Michael almost take a little crawl.  They both kind of scootch backward.
• Thomas LOVES to knock down towers of cups or blocks.  It’s his favorite.  Michael likes it too, but in a normal way.  Thomas is obsessed.
• I think Thomas can say “Momma.” 
• Thomas is sitting up very well, though he can’t get into or out of a sitting position on his own.  Well, he can fall over, but he doesn’t like that.  Michael is still quite wobbly, though he can sit for a little bit with someone behind him to help.  It’s fun to play with toys and “talk” to his brother that way.
• Thomas’ other bottom front tooth has popped through, but it’s still tiny.
• Thomas has drawn blood due to biting while nursing – twice!  I have been very diligent since then on trying to avoid that.  Ow!!
• Their night sleep is fine, though it’s been better.  A typical night has them eating in the 5 o’clock hour and going down in the 6 o’clock hour.  (Pushing these times back does not help the morning come later.) They most often wake up to eat in the 4 or 5 o’clock hour and then go back to sleep until 7 or 8.  Occasionally they will push the early morning feed until 6 something, but then they’re up for the morning.  It’s not terribly predictable, but we’re flexible people.  :)
• Michael can fall asleep in someone’s arms relatively easily.  It’s much harder for Thomas; he needs his bed.  I did manage to put him to sleep in the Ergo yesterday, but it took a half hour or so of intense jiggling and bouncing.  It was pretty good exercise I guess.
• They are 2/3 of the way through their first year, and that seems kind of unbelievable. 
• They are so stinkin’ cute and sweet, and so different from each other.  It’s very fun to be raising siblings who happen to be the same age.  :)

Tonka Babies

I had grand plans of taking pictures of my newborn twins in the Tonka truck.  Turns out having newborn twins makes it really too hard to fulfill grand plans.  :)

I did manage this one of Thomas when he was nine days old.  It’s from the back so you can’t tell he was crying.  Ha!

The other day I noticed the light was pretty in their bedroom, so I stuck ‘em in the truck again.  They’ve gotten so big!!  This is Thomas.

And Michael.

I was only a few feet away from them, but I also had the girls just out of frame to be ready to catch them if they tried to fall out of the truck.  :)

No babies were harmed in the taking of these pictures.  :)

June, via iPod pictures

Most of the time, if I share pictures taken with my iPod, it’s on Facebook.  I often don’t get around to putting them on the blog.  But there are some cute ones! Instead of doing a bunch of little posts (or rather not doing, since I’m having trouble finding the time lately), I’m doing one huge one. 

You have been warned.

We often sit in the front row on one side of the balcony at church.  There’s a little extra room there, and the kiddos can easily look down into the chancel area.  We aren’t the only young family that does this.  The Harlan girls were up there too on this particular Sunday.

The babies enjoy Cheerios from time to time.  Thomas will grab handfuls to shove in.

Michael tends to eat them more one at at time.  :)

James put on his Thomas overalls over his pajamas.

The girls got to take a little ballet class at the YMCA.  They enjoyed it, but I don’t think they realized how much hard work dancing is.  :)

Apparently when you leave your iPod, your daughter, a pair of sunglasses, and a baby in a room, you will get something like this:

He appears to have been quite the champ about it.

Just regular ol’ life:

The big three took swim lessons for a couple of weeks in June (thankfully before the broken arm).  They enjoyed them very much, but I need to get private lessons for Joanna.  She’s ready and fearless – she just needs some instruction!

Gran was SO OVERJOYED to get to give the babies their very first French fries.

It’s a rite of passage at our house.  :)

Thomas says “yum!”

(For the record, I don’t think these fry pics are from the iPod. I must have mixed some big girl camera pics in here.)

Michael like ‘em too, even though his face doesn’t look like it.  He just isn’t quite as in to food yet.

As of right now, we have four weeks left of our school curriculum for the year.  I went ahead and ordered our 2nd grade/Kindergarten stuff for the fall.  It is SO FUN to open up those boxes and start getting everything organized!!

We were basically “caught up” with school at Christmas time, despite having two new babies, but we began really slowing down in the late winter and early spring.  I was a little worried at first, but it was the best for us.  There were some GORGEOUS days and weeks, and the kids spent a lot of time outside.  Outside free-play is so important, and it is just too hot here in the summer.  I’m very glad we took the time off when we did and are finishing up now.  My plan is to finish up over the next four weeks, take one week (or half or so) off to get things organized if I haven’t by then, and then dive right in to the fall curriculum.  Then we’ll take a week or two off in October to celebrate THREE little brother birthdays and enjoy the weather that should hopefully be almost pleasant by then.  Things don’t always go as planned, but it’s still a good idea to have one, I think. :)

Natalie is very ready for Kindergarten.  She made this and gave it to me one day.

Michael is my good napper.  I often have to wake him up because his stinker brother is up and ready to eat.

Same baby, different nap.  :)

And again!  There were a couple of days he wasn’t feel quite himself.  One morning he nursed, finished, and then totally crashed out on me for a little nap.  It’s not uncommon for him to take a little snooze if he’s tired while nursing (I am the human pacifier), but this was different.  Thankfully Matt was still home to take Thomas for a bit, and I was able to hold this little sleeper.  THE BEST!

So we’re not watching the world cup AT ALL, but doesn’t this kid look ready to join the team?

Last day of swim lessons – they were doing safety demonstrations.

Two of the ballet classes happened right after swim lessons.  The girls were troopers, but swimming for 30 minutes then dancing for 45 is rough!

Joanna can often be found reading to a younger sibling or two.

One day last week my mom came and got my big three and took them to lunch at Cracker Barrel.

They had a great time!

Then they stopped back by her house and “rode” on Grandpa David’s boat.

Last Friday some good friends who have moved away were back in town for a visit.  A bunch of us met up at Tin Roof BBQ to eat and visit and let our kids play.  It’s still too hard for us to eat out, but I’m so glad we went.  We had to leave earlier than we might have liked, but our babies were sure grouchy!

I put Michael in the Boba carrier just to get him out to the car, and he crashed out before we left the restaurant!

He even stayed asleep through being buckled up.  You can see his WIDE AWAKE brother in the background. :)

I love eating yogurt with granola in it, so I decided to make my own last week.  Yum!

I braided Natalie’s hair during church on Sunday.

So, on the whole, I hate summer.  It’s too hot, and all my regular stuff is cancelled.  That said, I do love the abundance of fresh fruit.  So what I’m saying is that I’m glad there are seasons.  But I could totally be one of those people with a summer home waaaaaaay north of here. 

Fruit is very fun on kabobs.

These days we send Joanna to bed at the same time as her sibs, but in our room.  And she’s allowed to read for a little while.  Sometimes she comes out after a bit and wants to go in her bed.  If I’m sure the littles are asleep, I will let her, but if they’re not, she will keep them up… for forever.  Anyway, one day she came out needing something to snuggle, but I wouldn’t let her go in her room.  I told her to just grab something and go back to bed.  Later, when we went to move her sleeping self into her bed, we found she had made two pillow people with bed pillows and Matt’s pajamas.  She’s hilarious.

My poor Thomas felt pretty punk this week.  I think he had a little virus.  We did some snuggling.

Another Joanna reading to siblings pic.  (Have I mentioned that I LOVE that she can read?!!)

We most assuredly employ child labor around here.

But we give them breaks. :)

Last fall I ordered a subscription to this Thomas and Friends magazine and gave it to James as a Christmas present (or maybe birthday; I can’t remember).  It has been the best gift! He gets a new magazine every other month, and he just loves “reading” them.  He carries one or two around with him a lot.  The girls enjoy them too, so we definitely got our money’s worth from that gift.