Waco: Museums and 1st Movies!

Last weekend, Joe had his annual fantasy football draft with a bunch of his buddies in Austin…so me and the quadlings headed on down to Waco for some Papa & Granna lovin’.

Granna took us to Baylor’s Mayborn Museum and their awesome Lego Castle Adventure exhibit!

 

Andrew- checking out the super cool knight in armor

 

 

My little kings and queen of the castle: Drew, Sav, Ben, Ethan

 

 

They had cool “Lego tables” that the kids could sit at and build things

 

 

HUUUUGE dragon made out of Legos! (Ethan left, Drew right)

 

 

Sav ‘aint afriad of no dragon (did you cringe, English majors?)…I don’t think that girl is afraid of anything! Ha ;)

  

 

On to the train station!  (Drew, E, Sav, Ben, Granna)

 

 

 

Pretty cool set up of downtown Waco…my ‘ole stompin’ grounds.

 

 

 

 

It took me well over 30 minutes to pull the guys away from the trains. I seriously thought I was going to have to drag them out… kicking and screaming…one by one.

 

 

Enough of this guy stuff…Sav and Granna headed to Mrs. Moen’s neighborhood. (a neat section of kid-sized cars/kitchens/etc)

 

 

SO CUTE!

  

 

Sav- up to something in the garage

 

 

Andrew- calling in Sav’s suspicious activity.

 

 

My 3 little dudes (Drew, Ben, Ethan)…little do they know that there are some of these cars in big boxes in our garage---they have yet to be assembled for their birthday on Sunday! (they are gonna freak!)

 

 

Of course, my little quirky OCD baby (Drew), found a treasure trove of vacuuuuuum cleaners and was completely preoccupied for the next 20 minutes. Yep- had to carry him out, kicking and screaming. Fun times.

 

 

Sunday, Granna and Papa took Ben and Sav to church, while I stayed home and tended to 2 snotty, congested identical twin boys. Aren’t they cute?! All matching in their green? (totally not planned)

 

 

The next morning (Monday), the twins were feeling better, so Granna took the kiddies to their very first movie! (Well- I had actually taken Ethan for a one-on-one movie date a couple of weeks ago)

 

 

Toy Story 3!!! Such a great movie—highly recommended. I’ve cried BOTH times that I’ve seen it. (Drew, Sav, Ben, E)

 

 

Ahhhh…so nice to almost have the entire theater to ourselves!!! Gotta love that Monday morning matinee! (E, Sav, Ben, Granna, Drew)

 

 

The kids LOVED it! Captivated the entire time…so neat to be able to share a new adventure with the little ones! Thank you, Granna!!! We had a blast!

Last Day of Summer “School”

Benjamin, Ethan, Savannah, Andrew

Well, I’m not quite sure the kids understood that this was their very last day of school for the summer (given the ear-to-ear grins that they were sportin’ this morning)…but Mama was surely bummed for them. All of their new friends and new teachers will be missed terribly. (The kids will be starting a completely different school in September)

 

Andrew and Ben were super excited about something- NO idea what it was, but I LOVED the smiles! Ethan was still trying to wake up and could not wrap his mind around his annoying mom, wanting to take pictures, at 8:30am in the smoldering Texas heat! And Savi…well, “Miss Thang” is always up for a photo op.

 

And what better way to start the day, then with our neighborhood ducks coming up to greet us! (Check out Sav---she is airborne with excitement!) 

Yep, these cute little dudes just cruise around the neighborhood and reside in the pond across the street. I’ve accidentally almost hit them in my burb a time or two. (or three) They quack me up. tee hee hee herrrrrrr. (geesh…that was super lame)

 

 

Okay, so I’m not gonna lie…I’ve been having a difficult time wrapping my mind around this 3rd birthday. I have NEVER been one to get upset about the kids turning a year older---I LOVE birthdays…you could say that I’m one of those annoying birthday people who thinks the world revolves around themselves for an entire week out of every year. (who doesn’t?!)

 

Quads 1st Birthday!

 

We are so completely blessed to experience life through the eyes of 4, wonderful, amazing, deeply connected, quadruplet siblings. I’ve embraced every new beginning, knowing that a certain special chapter is ending.

 

Quads’ 2nd Birthday! (and more celebrating!)

 

This 3rd birthday has been exceptionally hard for me. We must say good-bye to new friends and teachers from our wonderful Mother’s Day Out program…and look forward to our new school in the fall (BIG KID SCHOOL!).

 

More importantly, we must say good-bye to ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). At age 3, our children no longer qualify for services and passed their school district evaluations with flying colors. (which is a good thing, of course!) The kids have had ECI since they were born! Our case manager, Kathy, has become a dear friend of mine. She’s one of those buddies who would drop anything in a second if you needed her. Such a blessing in our lives.

 

Ben and Andrew have been getting speech therapy for a LONG time and we just LOVE Miss Ann. Next week is their last speech therapy session. :(

Drew & Ben’s speech/ language/ pragmatics has developed in ways that Joe and I never could have imagined. Miss Ann is an incredible woman and she will be dearly missed.

 

I could go on and on…but just wanted to write down some my scattered thoughts that have been on repeat in my head. I’m not used to these emotions. Its part: excitement, anxiety, celebration, sadness, gratitude, pride, fear of the unknown, new beginnings…

 

the terrifying 3’s!!!

 

(muah ha ha ha ha ha hA)

insert Suz’s evil laugh…

(Were they terrifying, terrible or terrific for you?!)

 

Time to Chop that Mop!

The little foursome are feeling MUCH better!---good as new! Thank you for all of your well wishes and prayers.

It was finally time for Mama’s shears to get a break (I cut all of my family members’ hair)…so, Papa and I loaded up the boys and headed to the cheapest hair cuttin’ place I could find: Great Clips.

(Ethan, Ben, Andrew)

 

The boys haven’t been to a salon since their very 1st haircut---2 years ago! And because I do this a lot, I know how each child will react.

 

 

Andrew is great, but loses his patience after a couple of minutes. He’s a brave little soul, so he was the 1st to sit in the chair today.

 

 

 

Ben is a little apprehensive at first, but usually does well. Today, he requested Papa by his side (he loves his grandfathers) and was a real trooper!

 

 

Ethan…oh, Ethan my love. Mama saved YOU for last because she knew how much you would enjoy your haircut today. Poor lil guy FREAKS OUT when he sees his hair fall down.

 

 

I cannot believe these kiddos will be THREE in a couple of weeks (August 1st)! They look SO GROWN UP! (Sav, Drew, Ben, Ethan)

  

A new chapter in our lives…SCHOOL!

(written yesterday~ Thursday~ afternoon)

So…yes…I have been absent lately because there have been some MAJOR changes in the Steece household! I have debated whether or not to put this on my very public blog, but I want to remember every detail about this time in our lives…and my blog has been and will always be, first and foremost, our personal family journal. So here it goes…

The kids have started a Mother’s Day Out program (we call it “school”) at a local church and attend twice a week!

(Stephen Joseph lunch sacks---each child picked out their own!)

 

SUCH BIG KIDDOS!

(Reversible Lillian Vernon nap mats with attached pillow)

  

 

Here are the boys (Andrew, Ethan, and Ben), modeling their toddler backpacks that have been sitting in the closet for almost 2 years!

(May 2010)

 

 

 

 

I have been dying to use the packs, ever since Miss Barbara made them for the kiddos when they were wee little babes! (Thanks again, woman! They are perfect!)

 

 

 

 

The day I pulled the backpacks out of the closet, the kids would not take them off!

 

 

Ahh, the first day of school (this pic was actually the 2nd day, b/c the 1st day was filled with me running around like a crazy woman…organized chaos, if you will)

Sav, Drew, Ethan, and Ben- June 2010. Hate that it is so blurry.

 

Oh yeah, did I mention the part where I get to go back to work twice a week while the kids are at school? I cannot tell you how much I have missed nursing. When I had to go on bedrest with the quads, it was very difficult to quit working. Being a RN is such a huge part of who I am…so, needless to say, it was a struggle for me to find a “new norm” once the babies were here. I never in a million years dreamed that I would be a stay-at-home-mom. That being said, I would not have traded it in for the world!

I am working in the recovery room and operating room at an amazing outpatient surgery center.  Great staff, great doctors, incredible boss! Despite the fact that my entire paycheck is going to pay for quad schooling…it is just the break I need to be a better Mommy/Wife/Person.  I LOOOOVE using my skills again and leave work every time, in an euphoric state! Not kidding. This is me on my way to work. :) Could my smile BE any bigger?!?!

 

We had been preparing for “school” by watching DVD’s and talking a lot about what takes place. The kids were SO unbelievably excited! We split the quads up into 2 different rooms: Ben & Andrew/ Sav & Ethan. (Sav and Ben are SO co-dependent on each other, and we separated the identicals to help the teachers. If their own father can’t tell them apart, then the teachers don’t stand a chance! haha)

(Drew, Ben, Sav, and Ethan during “Wear your favorite team” week.  One of my favorite pics of all time! My cute little brown babies!)

 

Day 1, who cried, who didn’t? Here are the stats:

-Andrew immediately walked in and started playing with toys, oblivious

- Ethan was a little weepy and teary eyed, lip quivering, but held it together, very quiet

- Ben started playing with toys but then lost it when he realized that I was leaving

- Sav threw a ROYAL fit…like, broke down the gate in the doorway TWICE. SCREAMING her bloody head off. YIKES! Lol.

 

As I was rushing to put the backpacks/lunches/nap mats/ and water bottles in their designated areas (while my daughter was having an absolute panic attack), the teachers were all looking at me with gentle eyes and furrowed brows: “How are YOU doing, Mom? You okay?…” To which I chuckled and said, “ABSOLUTELY! You guys enjoy!” and ran out of there beaming with a grin from ear-to-ear! Come to find out later, Ben and Sav cried for each other several times throughout the day…not for Mama, mind you…but for each other. How sweet is that?! The teachers had to finally let them hug & love on each other so that they would settle down. Awwwwwwww

  

 

It has been SOOOO good for the kids to be around other children and make new friends. They are learning to follow directions from other adults besides Mommy & Daddy. They are learning Bible songs and stories---coming home and telling me all about it. We have seen real growth from them as individual little people…amazing to experience.  I was nervous about the whole potty training, but they have been great at school and tell their teachers when they need to visit the “facilities”.  ;)

(Ethan, Sav, Andrew and Ben- the 2nd day of “Wear your favorite team” week)

 

Joe and I crack up at the crafts that they bring home. You look at Sav’s which are all decorated with stickers and coloring, every inch is covered with something, etc…then pull out her brother’s papers and they have like ONE sticker. Its hilarious. Sav is LOVING those crafts. And after the first week, they simply adore going to school and wave bye with a big ‘ole smile! (Well, Ben has had some rough mornings, but  we’ve finally turned a corner!)

(E, S, A, B: “Red Rover, Red Rover, let Shiloh come over”)

 

However, as with many children in daycare…my kiddos have been hit hard with the “crud”. Ben has pneumonia, strep throat, pink eye, and an ear infection.

(I just went and snapped these pics as they awoke from their naps- yikes!)

   

Ethan has bilateral ear infections, and bilateral pink eye.

Both are running crazy high fevers (Ben was up to 104 yesterday) and Ben is coughing like crazy. Last night, Sav started running a high fever and coughed all through the night…waking up crying, and drenched in sweat. NEW UPDATE: Spent last night and this morning with Sav in the ER because her symptoms progressed to tachycardia, tachypnea, wheezing & diminished lung sounds in all lung fields (yes, I pulled out the trusty ‘ole stethoscope) and a fever that would not budge. Sav has joined the ranks of Ben with pneumonia. Poor gal. :( She looks a LOT worse than this pic from yesterday.

I ended up sleeping with her in the guest room.  Drew was very sick a couple of weeks ago and I’m guessing that he passed it around to all of his siblings…aww, wasn’t that sweet of him?: (tsk, tsk)

 

I guess this is part of it---since our kids haven’t really been around other children on a consistent basis. But like my sis-in-law, Ashley told me (God love her positivity):  “They are just strengthening their immune systems. And better now, during the summer, so they will be better equipped to fight off the same bugs this fall/winter.” So wise. Love her.

 

So in between breathing treatments and frequent medicating… (Yes, type-A Suz had to make a chart to keep up with all the different meds, ending on different days, taken at different times- now I need to add Sav’s meds to the list!)

…we are resting, eating lots of soup, watching our favorite movies, and washing our hands like crazy.

 

***For the safety and privacy of my family, specific information regarding the school and my place of work will not be disclosed. Thank you so much for your understanding.***