Big Boy tooth

Caleb and I were talking at the kitchen table before bedtime and I noticed somthing looked different in his mouth. His big boy tooth was coming in on the bottom. His excitement was SO adorable.  He was holding his fists tight and saying 'YES!' over and over again.  It was almost as if it was an official right of passage into big boyhood.  This was clearly a big deal to him and no one could take this away from him. 

Red head rage?

A lot of people ask me who rules the root and I'm not exactly sure because all of my kids can pretty much hold their own. This video is an example of something that happens often and this time after listening to the fight for several minutes I decided to document the experience to share with everyone.

Cohen and Cecilia are fighting over the weed eater. At one point in the video I tell Cecilia to stop and that was because she started to bite Cohen. They are not big biters, but occasionally they will lash out on the other person and sometimes they even bite what they are trying to get. I only tell you this because when Mark watched it he said 'wow, you really tried to stop her huh?'.

The video stops when the doorbell rings and everyone ran upstairs to see who it was. The weed eater was left behind and forgotten.

Updates on the kiddos

Caleb-Caleb is soon to be 6 an couldn't seem more grown up. He loves school and seems to be doing well also. Don't get me wrong we still have struggles with his school work since we try to supplement at home, but I think we are more recently in a groove with that. He knows many words, can count to 100 and identify numbers. He is great at problem solving and really thinks about what he says and expresses his thoughts well. I sometimes laugh that he is a little chatter box. He loves to talk to people about what is going on and asks lost of questions. He always seems to be listening and has the best memory when he wants to.

He has lost two teeth since the beginning of school and has two others that are really loose. I think just today that his one top tooth is about to pop through his gums. He is going to start playing indoor soccer soon and have a practice and a game each week which is a change from the hour long practice and game split. I am anxious to see how he does especially since Mark is not the coach. My hope is that there are some kids on the team that will push him to excel.

Christian-Christian is the one I refer to as the mamma's boy. He seems to always want me and is super cuddly. He loves his Christmas bear, sing-a-ma-jig and of course his blankies. He knows what pacifiers and drinks are his but tends to 'borrow' anyone's cup that have juice in them and suck it down in seconds. He is the one that drinks the least amount of milk, but still drinks a lot. He reminds me of Caleb in many ways, but in many ways not. I think he is going to me my train lover. He really likes the little cars and has been found organizing hot wheels. He still has his moments where he has to be put into time out or into his bed until he can calm down, but now that he can get out of bed he just comes back when he is better so that is nice. He likes to hug and says hug. He can be a stinker at nap time because he pretends to be sleeping

Cecilia- She is out little princess and not that we call her that all of the time I think she is going to be. She definitely knows there is a distinction between her and the boys. The other day I tried to give one of the boys a purple bowl and she flipped out and screamed 'MINE'. So now she not only knows the purple and pink cups are hers, everything else that are those colors should belong to her as well. She got a set of triplet babies for Christmas and she loves one of them, the pink one. I was worried about it getting dirty so I put one of her preemie outfits on her and she likes that. It has a hat too and she is obsessed that the hat be on at all time. Some days I think about gluing the hat on but don't. She definitely has the motherly instinct and still brings the boys their lovies when they are hurt or upset and passes milk out in the morning. She had the funnies laugh and at the same time lives up to her red hair. She will fight it out until the end. She walks with a waddle. I finally convinced her to wear these one barrettes in her hair but I still can not get her to wear bows. This is important since her bangs are finally long enough to get into her eyes. I put her in pig tails today and it was adorable. She still is very tiny and I would be surprised if she weighs 22lbs. I think she has gotten taller, but no bulking up. Not worried at all, but there is a definite weight/height difference between her and they boys, I think they are probably closer to 28lbs at this point.

Cohen-Cohen is the stuffed animal man. He took a liking to the stuffed animals that were brought out at Christmas time and still have not given them up. I think we could be a bit more disciplined about his obsession, considering he has about 30 in his bed at a time. He just snuggles in and falls asleep so he is a happy guy. But he still loves his blankies too. His hair has gotten a little darker since the summer, but also seems to have lightened a bit lately. He is out figure it outer. At Christmas he mastered the train, can play pinball by flipping the flippers even though his arms are barely long enough and can be found 'working' on things with a butter knife (which is why the second round of locks were just installed on the silverware drawer). He is a great jumper and can jump with two feet at the same time and has been able to since he was small. He is a 'mans man' meaning he loves men and clings to them when around, especially grandpas. He likes to wrestle and seems to be an instigator of such events.

All of the babies LOVE Elmo however I think they love Barney just as much. I love them all very much, but oh how they test me and my patience.

More to come because I am going to get back into this!!

I'm back

So I totally suck and hate the fact that my blog has been so neglected. I decided at the beginning of the year that I was going to update it, and even go back if I could, but I was not going to set myself up to fail either. So much has happened since August when I last updated. I have gone back and added photos and comments with the correct date, but it is just not the same. The photos bring back memories, but not the complete details which is why it is so important that I keep this current-ugh!

Life seems to have gotten the better of me since the end of August. The babies moved from 2 naps to 1 and that whole entire process was not fun. It was around the time Caleb started school and needed to be done since they were not napping in the afternoon, but I lost my hour in the am to get things done. Not that life wasn't busy to begin with, it just seemed to get worse. Constantly trying to keep them moving so they would not fall asleep all the while getting Caleb up and out the door to school and then picking him up at the bus stop just a short time later. Taking the babies places so they had a change of scenery, but not too far otherwise they would nap in the car and that would be a disaster. Unfortunately since August that has not changed a whole lot especially since Cohen thinks it is time to get up at 5am. Now he can fall asleep at 8am because he has been up for so long rearranging things in his room.

The babies can get out of their beds which makes us crazy. Yes, I still call them the babies even though they are almost 2. I could buy them crib tents, but they are 50 a pop and I need 3 so we are just dealing. They are almost 2 and Caleb was in his big boy bed by then too. Most of the time is it not that bad and we have figured out that if we sit 'on guard' in their room they will stay in bed and go to sleep. Sometimes at nap time I too nap in the rocker until they all pass out.

They are very challenging, more so now than when they were infants. When they were babies I was tired, very very tired, but they were very good babies and I was blessed. Now, they wear my butt out. It is a mental and physical exhaustion. The constant battles, constant clean up, constant control, constant correcting along with the constant fun and laughter. Most days I don't know whether to laugh or cry. As of recently we have added more locks to drawers that were never locked before, added bungee cords to gates and chairs to keep them safe, locks that were thought to be good failed and had to be replaced with newer fancier magnetic lock and now we need a key to access our utensils.

Potty training has started, I think they are ready, but I am not sure that I am. I just never thought it would happen so soon. Someone said to me how wonderful it would be for them to be out of diapers and yes if I could snap my fingers and that would happen that would be great, but this has been a total nightmare. Everyone wants to help each other and someone is flushing while the other is waiting for something to happen. Toilet paper everywhere. Concerned helpers and celebrators at the same time. Christian is probably the most ready, Cecilia is on the verge and Cohen I haven't even attempted with him but he is definitely an active participant. He has gone in the potty several times, but could really care less other than the reward. I actually moved the potty chairs to the living room since that is where we are mostly but they still seem to fight over the same potty chair even though they are EXACTLY the same. Being naked seems to work the best for them however now is the time I wish all of my belongings were covered in plastic and I didn't have any carpet. I guess just like with anything else there is probably not a 'great' time so I just have to work hard on the ones that are ready and go from there.

Caleb is still the best big brother that we could ask for. He is rough at time, but he is also very generous and caring at the same time.

Lego's

I found a tub of legos on an incredible deal for Caleb. Cohen clearly likes them as well.

Hayride round 2 Sept

I think we definitely need 4 swings. Could this be any cuter? Just wish Cecilia was looking up. They are really getting the hang of big kid swings.

Crazy Cohen and daddy

Caleb

'I said do not throw any more hay out!' Cohen and mommy

Hayride round 1

The triplet group always has a hayride at one of the moms house. It is so much fun because she has an awesome set up and a wonderful host. Aunt Sarah had gotten all of the babies a Halloween shirt so they were looking festive so Mark Caleb and I had to join in and wear similar fall colors. Wow does Cecilia's hair glow when she wears orange!

Family photo on the hayride

They recently had some work done at their house and there was a HUGE dirt pile so of course that was Caleb's favorite part.

Cohen playing with one of the MANY toys. I swear they have 3 of everything with is great when there are literally 85 kids there

Christian was lovin on the new kittens there. He was so sweet to them and just giggled when he was holding the babies.

Cecilia...our pumpkin actually sitting on the hayride...guess she was taking a break from throwing all of the hay out.

Craft Time

Caleb decided to make some crafts and someone really wanted to help him out. He was happy to let her help out today, but I'm not so sure I was a fan of what her idea of crafts were. Most of all of those small foam pieces ended up on the floor and are a pain to pick up-ugh! But they had fun, right?

Cohen enjoying a banana

Christian enjoying a banana

Cohen's first Haircut 9-19

Cohen was really long overdue for his first haircut, but we just hated to do it. He clearly does not know what is going to happen here and seems excited.

Clearly he was not a good participant in the hair cutting experience. Stylist daddy struggled a bit with his angry customer.

Still not happy and not interested in a post haircut photo op.

Caught

Cecilia likes to climb up in her chair (she usually sits in this one) and play with the phone or grab things off the table or throw things over the ledge, but today...she got caught...literally. Her dress got stuck on the center piece so she was hanging there by her dress. Of course I did not free her,. I grabbed the camera to capture the moment.

Jammie Time

What better way to enjoy the morning and trap your kids for a group photo? They love playing in each others beds and today it was Christians.

Cecilia, Cohen and Christian

Cecilia, Cohen and Christian

Labor Day cont

Apparently someone loves the lake. Cecilia maxin and relaxin

Caleb

Breakfast! In this picture it was the first time I realized how much Cecilia and and Aliyah look alike.

Labor Day Weekend at the lake

Labor day always seems to be the unofficial end to the summer season at the lake. Most of the time we go back after this weekend but it is always so nice since it is one of the few weekends the whole family is there.

Caleb, Caiden, Nolan, Grandpa G and Preston getting ready to roast some marshmallows!

Caleb doing his thing :)

How many can I have?? Caleb, Caiden and Nolan

Aliyah and Cecilia....the only girls must stick together.

Getting ready - Labor Day weekend

Of course everyone likes to help get ready for a weekend away at the lake. Cohen was packing the cooler and Christian was helping out by handing him things and even better, closing him in so he could pop out.

Crazy Cohen

Cecilia FINALLY let me put a bow in her hair. Not the best picture, but I had to prove that it actually happened.

Kindergarten Day 2

So the second day of school Caleb came home and told me that he had gotten lost and did not know where his classroom was. He knew from that from the library you go up the stairs and turn, but he did not know which stairs or how to get to the library. So I asked him what he did and like it was no big deal he said I just asked someone and they told me where to go but he didn't know his teachers name either...he called her the wrong name. Problem being that he still did not know how to get there the next day.

So, my thoughts are churning about the no teacher and never seeing his classroom so I could not help explain and now my kid is lost at school. UGH! What happened to the name tags that would identify them as kindergartners and the extra help they would get off the bus. I called the office and they of course said that all he had to do was ask for help the next day but I did not feel like that was enough. Caleb is no dumb kid. If you show him the way he will find it but all of this mixed up stuff was not right. I spoke to another mom and she suggested I contact the principal. She was not in her office when I called and since I had to be at work in a bit I shot her an e-mail. She of course called right away, but I missed her so she responded via e-mail that she would personally see to it that Caleb was walked to his classroom. Thankfully she was great and reassuring and Caleb did not have any other problems.

Date night

Mark and I got to go out one night and since it is such an event and I thought we looked nice I figured why not take a picture. Here we are.

Of course Caleb wanted in on the photo action too. How could I resist??

So Cute!

Team work

Talk about team work. These kids really know how to work together to get into stuff. The bathroom drawer is one of the hot spots that they love to hit. Here Cohen was using Cecilia to get up higher unfortunately she could only stand it for so long.

Blankie babies - Aug

Caleb has always loved the blankies that my mom has made for him and still has what we like to refer to as a yarn rag. When I was pregnant with the babies I of course wanted a hand made blanket from grandma, but I knew that for one was a lot of work and for two I knew I would need as much help as I could get when they got here from her so I didn't want to use up her precious time before hand. Much to my surprise at the 'Bath' I was given a box with 2 blue and 1 pink hand knitted blankets, just like the ones Caleb loves. I was so excited that she spent the time to make them for the babies.

You never know what you kids are going to cling to and fortunately and unfortunately all of my kids have loved their pacifiers and blankets. Here they are with their lovies.

Cohen decided he liked one of Caleb's smaller blankets that my mom had made so he handed his blue one off to Christian. She also got him another green one with a bear on it. Green blankies and green pacifiers.

Christian clings to the original blue blankies and his blue pacifier. He, like Caleb sometimes used his blankies as floss so there are quite a few loose strings that have been tied up. Grandma made him another blue one, but the originals are his favorites

Cecilia has the original and of course Grandma made her a back up too.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten morning started with Mark making pancakes for breakfast. Caleb told him that he makes the best pancakes in the whole entire world so of course Mark was thrilled to make them for him. Caleb was not as hard to wake up as I thought he was going to be but 6:45 is definitely WAY earlier than his 9am wake up. This is actually a big adjustment for me too since I was used to rolling out of bed at 7 and then being lazy for awhile before we had to do anything. Now it is rush to take a shower, get Caleb and the rest of the kids up, fed and out the door to walk to the bus stop by 7:40.

During breakfast Caleb got a call from his 'friends' aka cousins Caiden and Nolan. He had a good conversation with him while enjoying his pancakes. I think what really was supposed to happen was that aunt Trisha was calling to tell Caleb to have a good day and the kids took over the call.

Mom dad and Caleb before heading to the bus stop

There are lots of kids at the bus stop, and one of the kids is actually in his class. He w as really excited when the bus showed up and ran off. No tears from this kid. I didn't think it would bother me, but I was a little sad to see him seem so grown up. After the bus picked him up we went to school to meet him off the bus and go to the parents boo hoo breakfast. This is Caleb after he got off the bus. He was excited to be at school.

After the conversation the night before Mark and I could not resist taking a picture of this sign we found in school.

When we got to school we walked Caleb in but were not sure where to go since he did not have a classroom. We checked with the other kindergarten teacher and she said that we needed to go to the library. We met his teacher and she seemed very nice. Caleb told us that he was fine an that we could leave him. Mark and I headed to the boo hoo breakfast to chat with other kindergarten parents.

After picking up Caleb from the bus I got home and there was a message that he was absent. Knowing that I left him with his teacher an just got him off the bus I was not too concerned, but obviously wanted to know why they called. Apparently they had two name tags for him so when the second one was not given out he was marked absent. Seemed to be first day flubbers so I was understanding about the situation. Had I been home when they called I might have freaked a little especially if I had not taken him into school.

All and all the first day went well. Caleb seemed to be excited about school...mostly about the playground, but still happy to be back.

Family Photos - July