Happy Halloween!

Although this isn't technically their first Halloween it is the first time we got to let them celebrate Halloween. Last year we had just been home from Boston for 9 days and we were being very cautious not to let them get the flu or RSV so we just stayed inside at Uncle Tom and Auntie Kate's and watched the trick or treaters go by.

This year was sooooo COLD! We dressed the babies in socks, fleece feetie jammies, a sweat suit with hood then their costume and gloves. We wanted them to be warm but they still seemed cold so we did a quick walk around, less than 20 minutes then back home to warm up but we did attend two Halloween parties with costume contests and were lucky enough to win Most Original at both! Auntie Sam and I were pretty proud that our handmade costumes were a hit! Ben did a great job configuring a basket out of a cardboard box that we wove paper bags on and trimmed with scrap wood to make a perfect basket for our little fruits.

I have so many ideas for theme costumes future years to come so I hope that they never see that there a costumes at a store that they can pick from or else I am going to be one sad quad momma! LOL!

The cutest fruit basket ever!


My crazy banana...Matthew!


One of the four apples of our eyes...Brady!


Our little Aubrey Peaches!


Our sweet little grape...Cameron


Had enough trick or treating!

Spaghetti night!

Today was a great day in the Hickey household! Ben had his 1 year check and it came back clean! His chance of a recurrence went from 70% down to less than 30% and once he gets through then next 4 years then they will officially declare him cured so lets hope the next 4 years are as uneventful as this one has been.

The babies Halloween costumes are done thanks to help from their Auntie Sam and with any luck I will have the prop for the stroller done tomorrow so we will be all ready for the costume contest at the Legion on Saturday. I can't wait to share pictures!

Tonight the babies had spaghetti for the first time and it was quite a sight and quite a chore to do clean up tonight but it was so fun to watch them!

Matthew gobbled it all down, fistfuls at a time like he does with EVERYTHING!


Cameron is a little anal like his mom! His food can't touch and he never likes to have a mess on his hands...LOL!


Brady is showing me how good his garlic bread is!


Aubrey was loving it all!

I love days like this!

What better way to spend a chilly fall day than by having a pajama day with my four favorite people in the world? The babies and I just hung out, played, and spent lots of time snuggling.

The babies had a ton of fun crawling through their tunnel and chasing each other. You could tell Brady was feeling much better today because he was so happy to be playing and was back to his normal self.





Aubrey with a little snack left on her face.


Brady acting like a dork with his new laugh!


Matthew chasing his sister.


Cameron looking innocent.


Coloring Time! Thank god they are non-toxic because Brady thought that it was more fun to bite the tip off his blue crayon and eat it than it was to color with it.






I think these babies are going to eat us out of house and home! I can only imagine our grocery bill when they reach their teens!


One shake and bake pork chop, 3/4 a box of au gratin potatoes and a small head of steamed broccoli and of course 4 crackers to hold them off while I cut everything up, because they were sure they would starve to death in the 2 minutes it took me to get it all ready...this is what they had left!

A wardrobe change and time for some more playing and dancing! These babies better sleep well tonight because they have officially worn me out!


Brady using his Vtech Step and Count Kangaroo


Matthew getting ready to ride his fire truck


Aubrey is thrilled that she can climb into the ball pit alone


Cameron guarding the steps so no one else can play on the slide

Brushing our teeth!

The babies love to brush their teeth. They will come from all over the house when I say "time to brush your teeth". It cracks me up how they fight to be the first one to get their turn. I will brush their teeth then let them have the toothbrush to do it themselves. The babies are racking up teeth like crazy! Matthew has 4 (5+6 are coming in), Brady has 5 (6 coming in), Aubrey has 2 (3+4 are finally coming) and Cameron has 10. They go to the dentist next week for a check up and to make sure there are no visual problems with their teeth and gums. Hopefully they cooperate well!

13 months!

The babies are 13 months old! Unbelievable! They are just full of it all the time. The boys are definitely boys and are diving head first into the ball pit, down the slide, and love playing rough. Aubrey is definitely a princess and likes to be catered to.

Matthew and Brady are cutting their first set of molars in an attempt to catch up to Cameron's 10 and Aubrey is finally cutting a third tooth. I set them up with a dental appointment for the end of the month at a Pediatric Denistry. Hopefully they will be good and allow the people there to look at their teeth and clean them. They love to brush their own teeth but I make them let me brush them first then they can finish up while I get them dressed.

Talking is big here! The babies love to chat amungst themselves and try to say new words all the time. So far we hear:
hi
bye
momma
dadda
bumpa
up
go
out
no
yeah
eat
juice
what
what's that
this
ba ba
cup
butt

Getting ready for Halloween!

Last year at this time we were adjusting to Matthew and Brady being home with us, bringing Aubrey home (a year ago today!) and waiting for Cameron to be released from the hospital. We didn't bother doing Halloween costumes because they were too small and they were not able to go out in the public much anyways so this year is a big one for us! I cannot believe how far they have come!

Last year


This year


With the help of Auntie Sam the babies costumes are almost done! I am so excited to see them all dressed up and to take them trick or treating! I am sure I will have plenty of pictures to share in a couple weeks.

Today the babies got to carve their first pumpkins at Tabby's annual pumpkin carving party. We had so much fun there and the babies loved getting into new stuff. Aubrey surprisingly enjoyed gutting the pumpkins the most. She stuck her hand right in and tried to clean it out. Cameron and Matthew were not having any of it and Brady was prefering to try to eat the guts. Thanks Tab for letting us invade your home!

Matthew



Brady



Cameron



Aubrey

Playing catch up!

It has been over a week since I last updated and not due to lack of things to write about just lack of time and energy. I have had a cold for over a month now and it is wearing me out. I blame it on the cold but I think chasing around four one year olds might have something to do with it! None of them are walking yet but they are crawling like mad men, climbing, pulling up on everything and diving head first into anything they can. Aubrey is a little more calm and hates when her brothers bug her so lately her favorite thing to do is screech at them. They can all climb the stairs so it makes it much easier to get them all up to bed now. Thank god because they were starting to get so heavy to carry up the stairs especially on days when I am trying to put all 4 of them down. Next up is teaching them to come down them.

We spent the weekend in Connecticut with friends and family. The babies all rode really well on the way down and we only needed to stop twice once to let them get out and roam and once to get lunch. They all were very well behaved considering that Cameron cut 2 new molars and Matthew had an ear drum rupture. I think that kid is going to be my problem child as far as ear infections go.

Saturday we got to spend time with one of my oldest friends and her husband and two adorable children. It was nice to have a place that the kids could have some room to play and crawl around. Dinner was fabulous and the kids slept great after being worn out.

Sunday Ben and my dad took the babies to the mall to play at the play area while I went to my cousin's baby shower. They had a great time and Brady made a new friend that he chased around the whole time they were there. They tried Dipping Dots for the first time and LOVED them. After we got together with the whole family and went out for dinner at the local Chinese buffet. The kids loved the food and made a HUGE mess.

Yesterday we headed home and made a stop in at the babies NICU to visit some of the nurses. It is amazing that Matthew and Brady have been home a year tomorrow. They were little superstars throughout my whole pregnancy and the short time they spent in the hospital learning to eat and growing. Time hasn't changed that, they still have shown that they are able to make great progress for being multiples and preemies.

Our second stop was in Tilton where they enjoyed driving the little car carts in BJ's. Aubrey made "bbbbrrrrrrrooooommmm" noises all through the store as she turned the wheel and was very upset when shopping was done and we had to get back into the car. I think every grocery store needs to invest in a couple of these.

We had been trying to figure out what to get the babies for their big Christmas gift and last week Step 2 released a limited amount of the previously discontinued Choo Choo Wagon. This is a coveted item amongst families of multiples and we were lucky enough to be able to purchase the wagon and the two attachment so each of them will have their own seat. I think I am more excited about this than they will be but I hope that they love it. It is going to be hard to keep myself from breaking it out before Christmas. Hey, they are little and have no idea what Christmas is yet! LOL!

Well, it's official. It is now RSV season. We are SO thankful our babies have been SUPER healthy since being discharged from the hospital and we don't feel the need to be strict this year when it comes to RSV. The babies did not qualify for synagis this year (the monthly shots they received last year to help protect them against RSV) which is bitttersweet... boo they don't get the extra protection but yay because they don't need the extra protection this year! They were able to recieve the flu shot so that is one worry off my mind. To hep prevent RSV we pretty much expect the same as always from friends and family. We ask that don't visit if you have been/have been around someone who is sick... regardless of how much you want to see and miss the babies! When visiting we ask that you wear clean clothing and sanitize your hands upon arrival. Are we over protective parents? Absolutely. We have every right and reason to be. Our goal is to make it through this RSV season without the babies contracting RSV or any other serious illness. Their lungs are still very fragile until they are 2-years-old. Please understand that we do not mean to offend anyone, just simply to provide an explanation. We hope you understand, and we appreciate your help keeping our babies safe.

Little love bugs!

The past couple weeks the babies have become so affectionate. They love to hug and kiss each other! Matthew is the first to come to the rescue with a hug and kiss if anyone is crying he even makes a little "awe" noise when he kisses them. It is too cute! Cameron is just learning how to do kisses and usually chooses his sister as his recipient but she is less than willing to kiss him most of the time. The two of them fight horribly. I think it is from the time in the womb when Cameron kept moving around and pushing her out of his way all the time. She holds a grudge!

They are all saying new words daily. They repeat us all the time but when we ask them to say something they just look at us like "we are not a circus act, no tricks here"! Aubrey is learning how to work her father already. She will instigate the boys then they will do something to her and she will screech and daddy will tell the boys to be nice to their sister. She doesn't like that I don't fall for her little tricks so she usually goes crying to daddy.

October is here so it is time to start on Halloween costumes! I am so excited to make their costumes and very greatful for Brady's talented Godmother who will be helping me make sure that they look very cute for their first time trick or treating. I have theme ideas for many years to come so any costume books or trips to Walmart around Halloween time will be banned from this kids so I can dress them however I want...LOL!

Brady giving his sister some loving!


Matty loves his sissy!