A Day in the Life

6:30 am - My typical day starts around 6:30 when I hear the babies stirring in their beds. Whenever they wake me up I pump which takes between 20 and 30 minutes depending on how loud they are yelling at me.

7:00 am - By the time I get done pumping and bottles made, I'm usually in their room by 7 to feed them. Cohen usually has a poopy diaper first thing so we have to take care of that. After I feed them their bottles and change diapers we move to the kitchen for breakfast. Breakfast consists of O's and some fresh fruit. They are feeding themselves these days so they snack on O's while I slice up pears, bananas, kiwi, peaches, blueberries and applesauce or whatever we have on had that is semi soft. In the meantime, I make hot tea for myself. Next we usually have to re change diapers since the fresh ones have gold linings and they like to dirty them right away. Sometimes if they are not really wet I will wait until after breakfast to change them since I know I will have to do it again either way. Then we tackle getting dressed. Since it has been so cold and the babies rarely make it out these days depending on the sleepers I will let them stay in their jammies. Most the of the boys sleepers are a little big so if their feet don't stay in place when they try to walk/crawl they are guaranteed a change in clothes. While doing all of this Caleb usually gets up and I try to get him to eat something which usually takes awhile. By the time we finish getting everyone dressed it is almost 9 am and nap time.

9:00 am - I usually try to get Caleb situated with breakfast and as soon as I put the babies down for their nap I take a shower and get dressed. I am selfish with this as I require a shower in the morning in order to wake up and feel normal. I can be selfish, right? So Caleb usually watches some cartoons while I take my 5 minute or less shower. I think I could go to the store and come back and he would never even miss me. Once I am out and dressed I start working on Caleb to do the same. He never wants to get dressed or brush his teeth so sometimes it takes awhile.

10:00 am - The babies are usually awake by now which makes Caleb happy. We all play for awhile and then at 10:30 I have to pump again. Bottles at 11 and then everyone gets lunch. Caleb usually wants chicken nuggets or a peanut butter sandwich and the babies get a cheese, a veggie and sometimes a fruit and or meat. After lunch depending on the day determines what happens next. Monday we are home all day, but Tues, Wed and Thurs I have to take Caleb to school. Most days someone (my mom) is here to stay with the babies, but if I have to take them we are all in the car by noon.

1pm - nap time for the babies. The hope is that they will take a LONG nap, but sometimes this happens and sometimes it does not. Most days they are up by 2:30. Depending on how long they nap determines what gets done in the meantime. Sometimes I nap, sometimes I clean, and if Caleb is here we usually play.

2:30- pump again
3:00 pm - feed bottles and on Wednesday I have to pick Caleb up from school and I have to leave at 3 to get there on time which is tricky. Most Wednesdays there is someone here so I do not have to take them, but if not I have to feed them early which works somedays and others not so well. After this bottle is usually when I start making dinner since it takes me awhile.

5:00 pm - Babies get their dinner. They eat a veggie, meat, fruit and of course O's. Caleb is hungry early a lot so sometimes I feed him too now and I usually try to eat while they are eating as well. If they are happy in their seats sometimes I actually get to sit and eat but usually it is standing. I'm ok with that. Food is a priority, and if I don't eat, I get crabby and that is not good. Every day I call Mark and ask him what time he will be home and every day he tells me the same thing, between 5 and 5:30. So whenever he strolls in he can either eat or take a shower. If he does not take a shower right away he usually has to wait until the kids go to bed since it is crazy time. So unfortunately most nights we do not all sit and eat together, but one day we will. Mark usually has someone at the table with him and most of the time we are all still in the kitchen hanging out so he doesn't have to eat alone.

6:00 pm - If it is bath day the babies get stripped down as soon as they are done eating and we start baths right away. Bath day is every other day and they LOVE it. They know when we are taking their clothes off what comes next and they all crawl to the bathroom squealing when the water is turned on. Caleb usually takes a bath with the babies too, but they really have so much more room to move around when he is not in there so we have been trying to talk him out of getting in with them. Bath time has to be quick so I can pump so usually they swim for awhile and then we start handing them off to get lotion and dressed.
6:30 pm - Pump again and make bottles
7:00 pm - The last bottle of the night and and then the babies are pretty much done. Sometimes it is difficult for them to make it to 7 and if blankies are out in sight they are usually laying on them. I try to give them a late afternoon nap, but they will have no part of that. It would be nice if they would and maybe the evenings would be a little more bearable.

7:30 pm - Once the babies are in bed we usually have some time with Caleb and try to get him ready for bed. He has been staying up later these days, but he also does not have to be up in the morning at any certain time so even if he is up later, he can sleep later. He is usually in bed by 8:30, but we read to him and cuddle for a bit so that takes time. Most nights he has to get back up and go the the bathroom too. Delay tactics, but for the most part he is really good about going to be and is usually fast asleep.

8:30/9-whoever does not put Caleb to bed is usually cleaning up the kitchen and picking up toys. We have to do this otherwise the next morning is a nightmare. Sometimes by the time this is all done it is 10 and we head to the basement pub as Mark likes to call it to hang out for a bit. Most nights we are up too late trying to catch up on each other or shows that have been recorded. Laundry, sweeping, mopping, cleaning, shopping, etc all have to fit into this time slot as well. Before I go to bed I have to pump again.

Whew, I am exhausted just writing all of this!!

Caleb 4 years 10 months

Caleb is doing great and loving the babies a ton. We do have his special area set up in the play room so that we can keep the babies safe from his small toys. He also thinks it is really cool that he has a 'special' area which is great since the babies are into everything and it was starting to get to him. We are really working on his letters and it finally seems to be clicking. WE play a game every morning before he gets to watch cartoons. Most days he prefers to delay the game which is kind of nice since it is his choice to not have the TV on and he is not bugging me. TV is our biggest challenge, but it is getting better. Just this week we had to register him for kindergarten. Don't ask me where he is going because I don't know. Currently he is registered at St. Margaret Mary and Blades (the public school). It has been a tough decision which obviously has not been made yet. We have until August...right?

Currently he is in a swimming class and loves it. We really wanted to get him involved in something that we could do with only him however he asks every week if the babies could come. Normally we would honor his request, but his class is not until after their bedtime so even if we wanted to we could not bring them.

Caleb and I were able to sneak away to his favorite park, 'the rocket park'. We usually just play on the playground, but I had heard there was a creek and an awesome hill for sledding that we should check out. Since it was cold and we had been stuck inside so much I wanted to get him moving as much as possible. It was a nice little walk and here he is running...most of the time it was away from the camera, but I caught him.

Since Caleb has school in the afternoon, mornings tend to be pretty lazy. He sleeps in until he feels like getting up which is usually well after the babies are up. This particular morning I when I walked in the babies room Caleb was in Christians bed 'resting'.

Cecilia 10 months

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Cecilia. She has the biggest smile but is stingy with showing it, especially for pictures. We do get this smile a lot when she is in what I like to call 'Disney' or Caleb's room. There is something about his room and especially his bed that they all love, especially Cecilia. She still only has two bottom teeth and one fang, but the other one is on its way in. She too stands independently, but not as much as the boys right now. She is definitely a girl though and does this little turning of her head thing when you talk to her which is kind of a shy/'I'm cute' look. She is a wild woman in the bath tub and dives around and sneaks in drinks of the 'forbidden' water.....but is very discreet about it.

Christian 10 months

We have decided that Christian is going to be our little musician. He crawls around the house with a horn or a kazoo in his mouth pretty much all of the time. Not only are they in his mouth, but he hums into the kazoo and blows the horn so it is quite entertaining. He now has 7 teeth. One snuck in on the bottom when he was sick last week. He is standing for long periods of time, but no real steps just yet.

He has a sweet smile and I think he is still changing. I can't quite figure it out yet, but I think his face is getting thinner and he hair is getting a little thicker. I love the blonde hair, but Caleb's hair was that light too and now it is so dark. In both of these pics his hair looks wild and that is the new growth.

Cohen 10 months...first word

This is Cohen tonight...not the best pic, but I wanted to show him with the Ball because he said his first word...other than mama and dada. He says 'ball'. . It comes out more like baw, baw, baw, baw though. I told Mark when he got home and had him bring this blue ball into the bath tub and when we said ball he got really excited and started saying it. This kid is crazy about balls so it is only appropriate that it would be his first word. From early on he has always known what to do with them. He gets up on his knees, puts the ball over his head and throws it. He will also play back and forth with you. Its almost like primal instinct.

He has also been spotted standing for long periods of time and taking a step or two at a time before falling. He is SO close to walking, but still a little shaky. Before long I am sure he will be running and kicking that baw, baw, baw!!



Cohen no longer has fangs as his front teeth have come in.

Conflict..

Tonight I was trying to take a picture of Cecilia with her new hat grandma made for her. She had been turning her head to the side and smiling big, but tonight Cohen wanted that bug off her hat and he was on a mission. I had to put all the pics because it was so funny. This is really a daily occurrence here at the Gardner house, but typically the fights are over remotes, cordless phones, cell phones and horns/kazoos.

Cohen-hmm...what is this pretty thing. Cecilia-Get away from me!!

Cohen-ooh I almost got it, but she is getting away!!
Cohen-get back her missy!!

Cohen-I've got you now!!!

Cecilia--HELP ME!!!

And then the rest is history...Cohen ripped the hat off and it was his :)

Help!!

No, I don't mean to help me...these little guys LOVE to help!! Well, most days I wouldn't call it help, but they are so happy to be in the middle of everything. Most days I just let them go and they have a blast. The house usually looks like a tornado went through it but as long as they are safe and not playing in the toilets I am good. The most recent game of Cohen's is throwing everything down the stairs and I think we will have to work on that one. Phones and remotes keep ending up at the bottom which is not good. Loading the diswasher without three helpers climbing on the door is pretty much impossible these days.

Cecilia has to actually climb into the entertainment center to pull the items from the very back. This is so much more exciting than the million toys we have in the same room. Cd's, DVDs, frames and games are so much more exciting.

The kids have heard mom and grandma talking about how to help the disaster of a pantry that we have now that we have 3 additional mouths to feed. They seem to want to help, but really???
They LOVE to help put groceries away and are sometimes caught trying to snack on things that look good, but are they really??

Christian thinks he see something yummy in the back of the fridge. He is determined to get it and he just might have to climb in there. Hmm...what to do, what to do.

Back soon

I have not dropped off the face of the earth, but I have been sick and dealing with sick kids for the last two weeks. I am finally feeling better and trying to get things back in shape around the house. Today I actually accomplished several things which felt good. I don't ever want to have a sinus infection again.

9 month appointment

The babies had their 9 month appointment this past week even though they were really 9 months old on the 21st of December. Everyone did well at the appointment.
Christian weighs 19 lbs, Cecilia weighs 15lbs 10 oz and Cohen weighs 19 lbs. It is funny that the boys weighed the same about since by looks one always looks/feels heavier than the other.
Christian's face seems to be changing to me, but I think it may also be that his teeth are still coming in on top and he also developed a cough this week.
Cecilia's hair is getting thicker and is definitely red. Yesterday it actually looked orange. She is very independent and has been known to wander off and play by herself. She has her two bottom teeth and one top fang tooth.
Cohen still has his two bottom teeth and his top side teeth so he still looks like he has fangs. As of today we can see his two front teeth and they are ready to pop through any minute. Hopefully they pop through soon as he has been a little fussy.

Cohen, Cecilia and Christian. 'Locked up' in Cecilia's bed so I could actually get a picture of all 3 of them. Yes, Cecilia is yelling at me :)

Bath time

Bath time changed a lot this past week. They were all in the bath rings but everyone was trying to climb out and getting all turned around so we thought we would let them be free. We have a rubber mat on the bottom of the tub, but of course they all wanted to be wherever the mat wasn't and in the end it seemed more like a disaster than a relaxing bath. They were very timid at first and the they let loose and were diving and splashing and having a grand old time. Mark on the other hand cut bath time short because everyone just got too unruly. They love the freedom though and tonight was a little better than the first time. Cecilia loves to dive and no one seems afraid of the water.....now all we need is a larger 'pool' for them to all get ready for summer!!!

Kiddos

I thought this was a cute picture of all 4 of the kiddos. Caleb has his buddy Christian with him and then Cohen and Cecilia are trying to get up there with them. They love to be wherever Caleb is.