Thursday, May 08, 2008

28 Years to Sing Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to ME! WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
This is the only "baby" picture (not really a baby, I know) I have of me saved on my computer...my parents have the rest...gotta love that pout! I don't know WHERE Savannah gets it from! hahaha


Funny how birthday perspectives have changed now that I am a mother...we have always been big "Birthday People" in my family! We like to go all out and make that person feel extremely special! I am that annoying girl singing "Happy Birthday" to myself at midnight on May 8th! But this year, I didn't even realize my birthday was coming up so fast until my Aunt Susan mentioned it! (I wonder why???)

It has changed somewhat--(Joe might tell you differently--ha!) But, it is very humbling for me. NOW, on this day, I think about my mother...and what SHE went through 28 years ago to deliver me (3 weeks early at 5 pounds around midnight). I think about what SHE was experiencing, how HER labor was going, what SHE was thinking and feeling as SHE brought her second child and only baby girl into this world. I appreciate her so much and very fitting that it is close to Mother's Day as well!

Happy Birthday to ME, but more importantly: WAY TO GO MOM!!! I love you & respect you more than ever! ;)

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Morning Cup 'O Quads

Here's some random video I took of each baby this morning...they are just growing up too fast!

Ben showing off his rockin and rollin' skills


Ethan has been rockin and rollin' too, but gets a little camera shy :)


Sweet Drew--I just melt every time he smiles at me!


Savannah is serious when it comes to her toys!


Please pardon the morning breakfast beautifully displayed on the bibs!

Drew



Ethan



Ben



Sav



Drew captivated by the bubbily fishies...I wish I had his posture!


Ethan was grunting at me and giving me this face as he watched me feeding his bro and sis...eagerly waiting his turn.


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Monday, May 05, 2008

Quadruplets Wild for Waco

We had a wonderful weekend with the quads while in Waco! (WOW, that's a lot of "W"s!) They were great passengers in the burb! WOO HOO!

Headin for the zoo with Lauren and James. Lar is one of my best friends since 6th grade and it was so fun to take our child/children to the zoo together! (Isn't she beautiful!?) That was a first for me and I LOVED it!



I think I had more fun while at the zoo than the kiddies! I LOOOOVE zoos and museums, etc. It was also fun--being a little animal exhibit ourselves! My favorite comment was from the little kids that would stop and say, "WHOOOOAAAA....momma they gotta LOT of kids!"....Another favorite was when a mom was telling her little girl to look at all the babies and the little girl replied, "mama...I want one!" I just about died laughing as the mom walked away shaking her head.


The babies LOVED the underground aquarium with all the fishies...it reminded them of their nighttime fishie aquarium toy attached to their crib! Very cool...



Look at Ben's cheesy grin...the babies can't keep anything out of their mouths...bless their hearts- they are teething like crazy! Joe and Granna with quads.


Is this not a gorgeous picture of a lion that my dad took? Lions are such incredibly beautiful creatures. I just want to go up and pet his mane...He looks friendly, right??!! Love this pic.



Exhausted from being out and about like regular little 9 month olds! Sav has officially checked OUT!



I love this picture. My dad caught me holding Benny's hand as we walked. So cute...

Jodi with Savannah and Ben...Sav was all ready for the zoo in her little giraffe dress! The babies LOVED Jodi!



Oh my gosh! Don't you want to just pat that little behind that is sticking up in the air??? Sweet boys...Ethan on Left, Drew in stripes


Church was so much fun. It was so neat to take the babies to the place where so many people had been praying for them--before they were even born! Such a special day for us. Mrs. Litton with Savannah...Lauren, Me, and Ben



Mrs. Hall, me, and Sav...yep, Sav only lasts about 10-15 minutes in church before she decides that she is tired, has had enough, and wants everyone to know about it!


The twins getting some good luvin'...Ethan in blue, Andrew in green...I don't think they'll ever know a stranger, or be able to keep shoes on for more than 10 minutes!


Mrs. Murphy with Ben...he had the women in stitches....performing for the crowd like he always does--that crazy little Benny Bear



Granna with the boys...Drew (striped pants), Ethan, and Ben...I can't believe how big they are getting!...my little men


Trying to get one good outside pic with the quads before we change clothes and head home...



Hooray for babies that hold their own bottles and don't spit up anymore!...One of the best Mother's day/ Birthday presents EVER! ;)


(9 month old check ups this week!!!! Can't wait to see how heavy my little baby bowling balls are! Mama's arms are definitely getting a workout!)

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Friday, May 02, 2008

"...at tha Copa...Copacabana"

The quads were having fun in their cabana this morning!

Savannah, Benjamin, Andrew, & Ethan




Shiloh, of course, had to get in on the fun!







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Thursday, May 01, 2008

Traveling Life Savers

I'm sure this list will grow, as our number of trips increases...but these are some items that really helped it go as smoothly as possible. I will start with two of the most important items!

I cannot tell you how many bibs we dirty up a day (at least 16)...lots of laundry. These bibsters were great b/c we could just throw them away after every feeding and didn't have to worry about gobs of dirty laundry to carry around.


Absolute life saver. No worries about bringing bottles or bottle preparation...it is all done for you in these convienient 8 oz. single bottles! Just throw on a nipple and ring and you are good to go!


I'm sure many of you have this or have seen one, but my kids LOOOOVE this little guy. Its cheeks light up and it makes little cooing sounds every time you jiggle it. The quads would stop crying for like 1 minute when I had this out...(one minute of sanity? I'll take it!)


The quads LOOOOVE these books. They get quiet every time I read to them...they also love to munch all over them.


Ahhh...good 'ole Ziploc baggies. Okay, here is where my super organized anal side comes out. I packed 4 sets of onesies, complete with matching socks in each bag. So, when I needed to grab outfits for the little ones to change into for bedtime, etc., I just reached inside and grabbed a Ziploc bag that had everything in it! I had already picked out what the babies would wear each day and packed them all together in bags. It really helped and cut down on space!


Yes! Thanks Goerlich quads for the heads up on the big tub-o-quad-stuff! It really helps to have all "quad items" in one big tub: feeding supplies, diapers, wipes, bibs, etc.


As I said earlier, Larry & Peggy let us borrow their cargo storage! We are currently looking into getting our own, seeing as how it will almost be impossible to travel with 4 babies and a dog without one! It helped SOOOO much! Thanks again guys!


Mom & Dad needed this ipod to play tunes! First, we were trying to play songs that would soothe the babies (didn't help)...then we listened to our own stuff--trying to drown out the screaming!


Come to find out, every time a Bob Marley song came on, the quads would get quiet for a few minutes...we thought it was just coincidence, but noticed that it kept happening every time our shuffle would land on a Bob song. Crazy, huh?! In the words of Mr. Marley: "...Don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing, is gonna be alright..."


So, all you fellow Waconians...we heard the weather is going to be gorgeous this weekend--we will be taking the quads to the Cameron Park Zoo on Saturday morning! Should be a fun time...bring your little ones out and come play with us!!!

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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

4 Quads, 2 Migraines, & 1 Road Trip DOWN!

We SURVIVED!! Wow, what an awesome weekend with family and friends! I did not have time to take ONE PICTURE! So, a HUUUUGE thanks to my Aunt Susan and my dad who sent me theirs--I was ONE BUSY MAMA! (Also, thanks to Larry & Peggy who let us borrow their cargo storage on the top of our burb! It was a life-saver!)
I'll get right to it:
We started off Thursday night after the last feeding around 6:30pm, naively thinking that the babies would be exhausted and would welcome a nice 3 hour nap...




(you can all begin laughing out loud at us right about now!)



HOOOOOOLY COW! They were quiet for about one hour...then it began...the crying/screaming by all four babies for the next 120 minutes. I jumped in the back and pulled out every toy and every trick a first time momma on a first time road trip with quads could think of!...didn't work...so, after I had exhausted all my efforts, I retreated, in defeat, to the front passenger seat of the burb. Joe and I cranked up the radio, rolled down the windows, and stared ahead in silence with dazed looks on our faces. (popped a couple of Advil in the meantime)

IT. WAS. ROUGH.

Once we got to Austin, it took forever to pat the babies down to sleep! I guess they were just super exhausted and completely thrown off guard by being in a new place, waaaay past their bedtime. The next day and following days were amazing! The babies did great on their schedules and took nice two hour long naps twice a day! (It was just the first two, 3 hour drives, that just about "did us in")





We were able to spend some good time with Uncle Dan at the Steece Villa...the Steece's were at Joe's cousin's wedding in Mexico--CONGRATS Meg!!

Dan with Ben


Before we left on our next 3 hour drive of ear piercing torture, Ethan was practicing his hoop skills on the basketball court


Once again, mama jumped in the back and rattled every toy, sang every song, read every book.....to no avail. Those were the longest three hours of my life (ok, so not really, but wanted to add some dramatic effect to bring home the point!) Finally we arrived in Uvalde and the quads went to sleep pretty easily. (WHEW)

Saturday we enjoyed some good loving from lots and lots of family... (Me & Sav, Grandpapa & Ben, Sugar & Ethan, Joe & Drew--no stripes, but camo pants this time)



Aunt Susan and Savannah


Twins feeding twins...yes folks, more twins in the family (my dad's cousins)! Mary Lou on the left, Karen feeding Drew & Sharon feeding Ethan. I love quinky twink stuff--so look at the womens' postures and then look at the boys' postures. They are doing the same thing! Cracks me up. E & D even have the same shoe missing...


Aunt Sandra with Drew...little fireball!


Aunt Susan with Ethan...sweet cuddle bug!

Then we drove to Brackettville for my mom's twin--Aunt Judy's retirement party. It was so beautiful and Judy will truly be missed at that school! I remember how amazing her classroom is always set up and decorated--such a fun and extraordinary teacher!
Uncle Stoney and Aunt Judy (I hate that I didn't get a picture of Judy with the quads! argh! Just too much going on!)


Family getting to love on the quaddies--holding Ethan


Yep, just pass em around...make sure I count four by the end of the night...and we're good to go!




After the party we headed back to Uvalde for the night and got ready for church the next day. Savannah in her pretty little yellow dress, laughing at her great grandfather.


Sweet Big Ben--he was a little bashful this weekend, believe it or not...


Ben flashing that smile with Aunt Susan


Sugar and Susan with the quads after church


Mom helping me change them and getting them ready for a LONG 6 hour drive home!


Awww...daddy and his princess


Susan with Ethan, Sandra with Drew


I caught sweet little Ethan smiling again!


Aunt Sandra and Uncle Mike with the crew...By the way, Bashful Ben was doing his little shy head tilt for almost every picture (Ben, Sav, Drew, & E)

One last pic before we leave...NO--Joe and I did not PLAN on wearing the same shirts! :) We aren't THAT gooberish!....well....sometimes ;)


And this was SOOOOOOO NEAT! I was able to meet (for the first time) one of my blogger buddies who grew up in Uvalde and just happened to be in town that weekend. Charla and I have been buddies for about 2 years--waaaay before I was even pregnant. Check her site for the whole background story--it is VERY AWESOME--one of those "small world" stories! (She grew up in the same house as my father! Check it out)
It was so great to finally meet--like long-lost friends! Charla was so beautiful, sweet and funny with the most amazing blue eyes!

The 6 hour drive home, although dreaded like the dentist, was surprisingly GRRREAT! I think Joe and I finally figured out what works best for our quads. We waited to feed them until they started crying (which was about 2 hours into the trip). I crawled to the back and fed all four--which took about an hour (that is--an hour of babies with bottles in their mouths and not crying--an hour closer to home!) We stopped for gas, burped them, changed their diapers in the burb--now THAT was a sight to see. I wish so badly I would have had my camera. Just imagine with me, if you will: Joe was in the very back seat, diapering the two on the back row--in their carseats...Suz is hunched down in front of Joe, in between the middle bucket seats, diapering the middle two--in their carseats--while people are driving by the gas station, hearing four babies crying, and staring at us with our windows rolled down. We were laughing the whole time, we could barely see what we were doing!

All in all....a WONDERFUL trip! But we DID modify this weekend's itinerary and cancelled the 3 hour drive to Houston. We will stay in Waco the whole time...must recuperate! My next post will be about the grocery items that were life-savers on this journey!

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Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Boys Test Results

I will be away from a computer for the next several days but wanted to make sure you all know that the three boys' kidney tests were all
NORMAL!!! Praise God!

Yae!!! Have wonderful weekends and God bless! Super excited about traveling with the quads! I will definitely post pics when I get back.


And by the way, my good friend- Bowie Hogg- is running for the Arlington ISD School Board - Place 6! So, for what it is worth, he such such an incredible guy and would do an awesome job on the AISD Board of Trustees! Please take a look at his website: http://www.bowiehogg.com/ and don't forget to vote by Monday!





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