Memorial Weekend

We had a busy but super fun three day weekend with the kids and now I am wishing that every weekend was a three day weekend...two days simply isn't enough!

Saturday started out PERFECT for me! Ben let me sleep in (sad I call sleeping until 6:53 sleeping in!), we fed the babies then he cooked me breakfast and dressed the babies while I showered. It was a nice break! I put some orajel on Matthew's gums and found that his second tooth popped though. After that we went and watched some of the day care kids play baseball. The babies loved all the attention they got and watching the kids run around. We went to Walmart and then came home and played in the outdoor play area Ben set up this week for the babies complete with padded ground and a tent over the top for shade. We all had fun spending a couple hours playing out there! After the babies went to bed for the night I got a much needed girls night out with two of the best girl friends anyone could ask for. I miss seeing all my friends now that life is so busy with the quads.














Sunday we spent the day at the campground with family and friends. The babies loved the new sites and playing with the puppies. I guess they are going to be more like their dad than their mom when it comes to animals! It was too cold to go swimming but we kept busy walking around and playing with everyone that was there. By the end of the day they were just as tired as Ben and I were.








Today we brought them to the Parade. They got a little antsy waiting for the parade to get down to where we were but once it did they watched in amazement. It doesn't take much to entertain them! This afternoon got warm enough that we were able to get them into their kiddie pool. They showed off their newly acquired sitting by themselves skills while they were in the pool until Brady face planted in the water. The boys loved it! Aubrey...not so much! She is such a little diva! Now on to the week which looks pretty uneventful so far, well as uneventful as it can be when you have quadruplets!





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And the first tooth award goes to...

MATTHEW! His first tooth popped through this afternoon...maybe that will explain why he has been soooo crabby and not sleeping for anything at night. I hope that does anyway since if that isn't it then I think we may start to go crazy with this no sleep business. You can feel Brady's right below the surface and I thought for sure Cameron would be the first one since I could feel his several days ago so close.

They are all playing together and taking toys from each other at every chance they get. We set up an outdoor play area with rubber mats and a pop up tent so they will be shaded and have a safe place to play. They love being outside!

We are looking forward to the three day weekend! The babies are going to get their first taste of swimming this weekend as long as the weather is nice and the pool is warm, if not we may take them to the local hotel and let them try an indoor pool. They love the bath so I hope that they enjoy the pool. Monday we are going to bring them to a parade and see what they think of that. They are easily amused with people and sights so I think the parade will be a big hit!

Swinging Fun

Ben cleaned up the yard this week and put up the infant swing on the swing set so the babies so we could see if they would like to swing outside. They sure did! All 4 of them laughed and smiled and were not happy when it was time to give one of their siblings a turn.

Yesterday the babies, my dad and I took the trip to Jay, VT to see my nephew play in his tball game. I cannot believe he will be 5 next month! We went to lunch after his game and he was so funny! He told me that if I needed some alone time I could go look around the store and he would watch the babies...LOL!

Today we went to the greenhouse to get stuff for the garden and grocery shopping then we had some company for a cookout. The babies had a great time playing with Uncle Dan and when Auntie Allison came back from her shower they had fun with her too. We wish they didn't live so far away so we could spend more time with them. Uncle Tom and Auntie Kate came for a cookout too then helped with bedtime. It is nice to have them there for bedtime feedings a couple times a week. It goes so much easier since they are not patient enough to wait for a bottle when it is bed time!

I have to share pictures of them on the swing, even one with Brady sitting on the big boy swing with Daddy and one of Aubrey in my favorite onesie, it says "worth the wait". That is so true the moment they were born all the hurt of wanting a child was erased and replaced with so much joy.

AUBREY




CAMERON



MATTHEW



BRADY

Before and After

When we first found out that Matthew would need a helmet to correct his plagiocephily we were nervous on how he would react and how long he would have to endure wearing it 23 hours a day every single day. Amazingly he did fantastic with wearing it. he was not too thrilled to have it put on each time he got changed but once it was on he was absolutely fine with it. They had originally told us 6-8 weeks would correct it and when he went for his check up 2 weeks ago we found out that he would indeed be ready to take it off during that time frame. We definitely recommend the Star Band to anyone who is considering correcting their child's head shape! Here are some before and after pictures to show you all the great improvement!

BEFORE



DURING


AFTER

It's already been a year

One year ago today Ben went to the doctors and was hospitalized. We never imagined that one year later he would be cancer free and looking to return to work. He was released from the neurologist with the restriction that he cannot be on his feet for more than 4 hours per day. It is difficult to find a job in this economy not to mention finding one with that type of restriction.

He has retained a laywer to fight his Social Security claim and we are hoping to get his SSI retroactive for the past year. It would be nice to get that chunk of change! Luckily we found one that was willing to take it under the condition that they don't get paid unless we do.

Onto the babies! They are all pulling themselves around the room and rolling to get wherever they want to go now. They are finding their way into other rooms in the house now...nothing will be safe soon!

Brady finally said "mama" so now they have all talked. The other three are constantly talking and yelling at each other. It is so fun to see them interact with each other now. They will get themselves facing each other and then start smiling and talking. I love it!

Seperation Anxiety

Aubrey has been driving me crazy this week with her screeching every single time that I am out of her sight. She is content to be playing on the floor, in a bouncer or in her glidder as long as she can see me but the moment I walk into the other room she starts crying and screeching until I walk back in and amazingly she puts on a happy face. I hope that this phase is over just as quick as it began! Luckily the boys are not doing this...YET!

We have had a pretty busy weekend. Friday night we went to see the kids dance recital and it was so cute! The boys put on a great show and got the biggest applause from the audience. I was so proud of the babies for being so good during the 2.5 hour show. Aubrey was pretty uninterested in watching the show, Matthew thought playing with the wall was way more interesting, and the other two boys were so entralled in the performance. Everytime the curtain closed Cameron and Brady would get mad and whine a little then as soon as the curtain opened and music started they began kicking their feet and laughing. I told Ben maybe they will be our dancers, he told me no way. We will see...LOL!

Yesterday Aubrey and Matthew went with me to a baby shower for a friend of mine. We are excited for them to have a new friend coming into the world very soon. The were great there too! Brady and Cameron went with Ben to a baseball game, I guess he is trying to sway them away from dancing ;)

Today I took the babies to spend a couple hours with Grammie. We took a nice long walk they loved looking at the scenery and talking to each other. When we use the double strollers they can see each other and talk, take toys from each other, etc so it gives them a little different view than when I have them alone so we have to use the quad stroller. After their nap we are heading over to have a cookout with my dad, gram, brothers and nephews and it is a beautiful day for it!

Family Pictures

Our Family!


Matthew


Brady


Aubrey


Cameron

Mother's Day 2010

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day yesterday! Ben and the babies got me a Mother's Ring and some chocolates as well as a really sweet card. My mom got me a massage from the kids that was AWESOME and my dad got me a gift card for the Olive Garden so we will have to make a trip south sometime. It was so nice to spend the day with my babies. I have waited a long time to celebrate this holiday and it was as special as I thought it would be.

Saturday we went out for lunch, went to Walmart, 2 birthday parties and the babies were perfectly behaved. Usually when we go out and about they get tired of everyone bugging them so they get really crabby but they did not do that this day.

Cameron is recovering well from his surgery and has started to roll around like crazy and pull himself everywhere. He doesn't want to fall behind his siblings. They are getting so mobile and I don't think it will be long before they begin to crawl around then we are in trouble.

First Mother's Day!

We all survived!

We all made it through our first night without the six of us under one roof since Cameron's NICU discharge in October. It was much harder on Ben and I than it was them I am sure. Cameron enjoyed having mommy and daddy all to himself and staying up past his normal bedtime last night.

We had to arrive at DHMC at 8 am and we waited, and waited, and waited some more before they finally took him back to start anesthesia at 10:12am. Luckily Cameron slept most of the time while we waited or he would have been crabby from not having his bottle or food this morning. When they took him in we were told that the surgery would take about 2 hours start to finish but they booked the room for 3 hours just in case. We went down stairs to get a bite to eat after seeing on the monitor that surgery started at 10:43. When our pager went off at 11:36 my heart plumetted into my stomach as I was sure that something had gone wrong during surgery. I was relieved after running back upstairs that his surgery was complete and the doctor was ready to see us.

As the nurse brought us back into the post op room I could hear Cameron crying and saying mama. That of course started the waterworks! We were pleased to find out that they did not have to do quite as much work they had originally thought was needed and he did great with it all. At noon he gulped down an 8 oz bottle and they were ready to let him leave shortly after that .

Cameron has been a little angel all day for all he went through, barely fussing at all. I think the worse part of recovery for him will be the fact he cannot go in the jumperoo or excersaucer for 2 weeks. Hopefully Brady does not break them all by then!

Back to Real Life

We enjoyed our week away last week. It has been the first time since the babies have been born that we have had so much time with just the 6 of us. It made me realize I probably should have taken more time off in the beginning to stay home with the babies when I had the chance.

Throughout the week I heard "dada dada" all the time from Cameron, Matthew and Aubrey. They only say "mama" when they want something I have discovered like getting picked up, getting out of bed, etc. Brady still hasn't said anything yet but he is holding his own bottle and not spilling a drop. We are very proud of Cameron for being the very first to say "baba" he is normally the last to do everything so this was a big milestone! Matthew has learned to scoot backwards and gets a little mad because he really is trying to go forward and it just isn't working for him. Aubrey thinks she is just hilarious because she will be just sitting there talking then she lets out an ear piercing screech and laughs.

We started doing 2 meals a day this week, oatmeal and fruit in the morning then rice and vegetable in the afternoon, as well as a sippy cup of watered down juice. They had practiced with water for a couple weeks with their cups but they are really excited to taste juice in there. We are going to slowly start changing over one bottle at a time into sippy cups so that they are on cups by their first birthday. We will see how they do with formula in cups, I am sure they will not be happy at first to discover it isn't juice.

Matthew had a helmet fitting yesterday and we were very excited to learn that it is coming along great and they anticipate him only needing to wear it for another 2-4 weeks. I cannot get over how good it looks. I will post before and after pics when he is done with his helmet.

Tomorrow is going to be a hard day for us! Brady and Matthew are spending the night at our house with my mom and Aubrey is spending the night with Auntie Kate and Uncle Tom because Ben and I are bringing Cameron to spend the night in Lebanon to be there for surgery he has scheduled at Dartmouth Thursday morning. He is getting his hypospadias and chordee repair as well as a circumcision at the same time. I feel bad for my baby boy.

The NICU reunion is Saturday in Boston and I think we will have to miss it this year due to Cameron's surgery. I don't think he will be feeling well enough to ride in the car 7 hours that day. There's always next year!

Sunday is my first Mother's Day! I am beyond excited for this day. Every year this has been one of the hardest days for me but this year I get to spend it with my four little miracles and I couldn't be happier!

The babies got weighed on Thursday and are growing ridiculously fast still! Matthew is 17 lbs 14 oz, Brady 21 lbs 15 oz, Aubrey 15 lbs 3 oz and Cameron is 18 lbs 14 oz. Cameron feels so much heavier than Matthew so I have a hard time believing that he only weighs a pound more.

Well to finish up here are some new pics!

Matthew

Brady

Aubrey

Cameron