Christmas Kick Off

After celebrating the 4th birthday, the kids are READY for Christmas. We're counting down ever morning with the advent calendar and had our first visit with a Santa other than Uncle Rick. The kids were a little unsure about Santa but quietly told him what they wanted for Christmas. Apparently, K said she wanted a firetruck. This was the first time we'd heard this and now tells us everyday that Santa will be bring she and Mater a firetruck. They keep asking for three of everything. I'm pretty sure they're getting tired of sharing.
After visiting with Santa, we had a little snack and toured incredibly decorated trees. We are ready to decorate our tree. The best part of the night was we rode the "train" to and from the event.

Littlest Sister

Mater was born last and the last child I held. She was the largest of the three at 6'6" but was the sickest of the three. Patrick held her first, as they moved her isolate closer to the other two. She had a tough time breathing and wore the CPAP machine for a few days before moving onto the air cannula. The nurses urged us to have a pic-line put in to minimize the need for IVs which led to a staph infection. Mater was in the hospital 18 days longer than the other two for a total of 27 days. You'd never know how sick she was but she's scared to death of the doctor now.

Have you ever really looked at your hands?

H was born second and he was the second child I held. As a baby, he was quiet and had a serious likeness to an old man. He rarely cried and was patient when waiting his turn. He was the smallest of the three but had these huge hands and feet. We noticed his hand fascination shortly after we brought H home. Picture him, laying on his back with one or both hands in the air, just staring. The kid could not get enough of them. Last night, while tucking him into bed, he began checking his hands again. Twisting and turning. He stares at his hands, I stare at him. Perfect way to end the day.

4th Birthday

My babies turned 4 last Sunday. Four years old. They are big kids now and correct me when I call them my babies. The only time I'm allowed to call them babies is after bath when I open the door and yell, "babies on the loose" as they run to get jammies. Last weekend was a whirlwind of celebration. They're still asking when they get to turn 5 or which holiday is next. Thanksgiving isn't very appealing.

K and I were chatting about when she was in my tummy. Did you know it was purple in my tummy when she was in there? Hunter kept squishing her and it was pretty cramped. Must have been early on when she was able to the floating. She was the first one I held. They laid her on my chest on my way from recovery to my room upstairs. She stretched and wiggled and squirmed before going back to the isolate. I'm sure it had been a while since she had so much freedom. She loves talking about her stint in my tummy and when the doctors got her out. I could listen to her side of the story over and over.

Happy Birthday to Mama's Babies

Duck, Duck, Goose

The kids have been playing duck, duck, goose lately. You'll see they've even gotten the stuffed animals into it!

Trick or Treating

The kids had been practicing trick or treating most of last week. K and A would "knock" on H's door and he would give them "candy" typically consisting of a small stuffed animal or a matchbox car. They were READY. Friday was Trunk or Treat at Preschool and Saturday we hit the local shops with P as Buzz Lightyear. After dinner we got back into costumes for the real thing. They quickly got the hang of ringing, knocking and if the lovely neighbor wasn't moving fast enough, they'd yell trick or treat. Sometimes, they'd even check to see if the door was open. We'd did have to stop them from going into one house when the man ran for his candy bowl. Every time they'd come back and yell, "let's go to a new house" When the boys heard dogs barking, they'd push the girls up until it was safe to move in for the goods. This has been the best Halloween ever and is now the favorite holiday thus far. K asked me twice if we were going to be trick or treating tonight . Then she figured we'll need to go this weekend.

Butterfly, Kitty and Doggy