New Years Eve 2011

Ben and I couldn't get dinner reservations at our favorite restuarant so the choice was go with a lesser option or go New Years Day instead so we choose to go with option two and spend New Years Eve with the kiddos.

Typically I make a well balanced dinner ever night but to celebrate we did just an appetizer buffet and the kids loved it! We had cheese, crackers, keilbasa, chips, dip, popcorn, blueberries, grapes and apples. We still had most of the food groups represented after they drank their milk but it was just a junkier version. The only thing I needed to refill though was the fruit plate...they went right to town on that!


They all sat and waited for me to bring out the food then got very excited when I told them they could go up and make their own plates with whatever they wanted!




Aubrey must have been trying to watch her girlish figure on her first trip up...


While Brady took as much as he could fit on his plate!


We did dinner and a movie...a big treat! Cars was a hit!


After the movie we got the quaddlers dressed for bed and teeth brushed before setting up the airbeds on the floor for a camp out. We told them if they laid down we would let them watch Aubrey's Tinkerbell movie so they were excited about that idea!










Let me say that them laying down did not last long! Thankfully Tinkerbell is only an hour long movie because when it was over I said "Ok, let's go to our cribs!" and they actually went and went to bed without a peep. It was an hour later than regular bedtime so I am hoping for an extra hour in the morning...it NEVER works that way in our house though, it usually means an even earlier wake up time.

2011 in review

January- We started the year off with ear infections, colds and respitory infections. Luckily we have made it through 2 winters without RSV and I am hoping that we make it through this one as well. The boys got their first haircuts and they all said good bye to high chairs and moved onto the toddler table!

February- We were able to have some outdoor play and Aubrey was not to fond of the snow or the cold. Aubrey decided to join her brothers walking around everywhere.

March- The quaddlers turned 18 months! Aubrey got her first haircut and they got their first pets...2 beta fish. It had been 2 years since we first found out we were having quads and I think the shock still hadn't worn off.

April- They got to take their little 4 wheelers out for the first test run and had a blast riding them everywhere. The first Easter Egg hunt was a hit and we even brought them to church on Easter morning.

May- The quads discovered Mickey Mouse Club House and have been singing the M-I-C-K-E-Y song everyday since then! The weather was warm and there was a lot of outside play. We got a new Quadmobile and I attended Quadvention 2011 with 11 other quad moms...so fun!

June- They all started swimming lessons and were trying to count and say their ABC's. We attended the Father's Day Fishing Derby and took Daddy to Santa's Village for Father's Day.

July- July was a busy month for us! They attended their first wedding, checked out another country when we went to Granby Zoo, had a blast at Story Land with 3 other quad families, went swimming at South Pond.

August- Had our first tenting experience (and last until the painful memories fade), spent a weekend at Old Orchard Beach, and returned for a free day at Santa's Village. Our easy bedtimes were a thing of the past and still are. Imaginations began running wild in our home and they brought play time to new level.

September- We celebrated birthday #2 in a fitting manner...a circus themed birthday party with many friends and family in attendance. We had our first trip to Build A Bear on their birthday and got two baby bunnies who have since reproduced. Grammie and I took the foursome to Connecticut for a weekend and they helped Daddy build a new shed.

October- The quaddlers potty trained! We enjoyed pumpkin carving and trick or treating as Smores for the very first time and even won a prize for having the most original costumes.

November- Cameron failed his hearing test which resulted in ear tube surgery and speech for him. Aubrey found her new BFF in baby Abby. They discovered how fun baking with Mommy was and ask to do so regularly now.

December- We booked our Disney vacation for next September and I started selling Scentsy to fund our little adventure. Cameron fell in love with all things Elmo. Christmas was full of excitement in our home. The elf of the shelf Jingle B made each morning an adventure. We rang in the New Year by hanging out, eating junk, watching movies and having a camp out in the living room.

We hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!

5 days past Christmas...

and I can give a review of many of their new toys!

OSO toys- Amazon ran a 70% off sale on many toys just a few days before Christmas and I snached up four different toys ranging from $4.09 to $5.19. I fully expected them to be small little toys but they were OSO and that is the kids favorite thing right now so I bought them. To my surprise three out of four of them were good sized! For less than $19 it was by far my favorite find of the season. I should have bought only these and they would have been happy as they get the most use so far! The only complaint is that there was no Dotty in any of the sets.

Dress up shoes- Let's just say Aubrey is as graceful in her heals as her mother is in well...barefeet??? Enough said!

McDonald's Drive through- They are having a blast with this find from Target at only $35 shipped! It would have even been a decent deal at the full price of $60.

Home Depot Carry All Tool Bench- Very flimsy and not worth the $30. A lot of pieces but many broke within the first 2 days.

Graco nursery- The bouncey seat and the play yard leave much to be desired but the pack and play and stroller make up for it making it a deal for $25.

Toys R Us Deluxe Cleaning set- The kids always want to sweep and mop the floor with my adult sized stuff so this is a hit. I could do without the dry mop that has a handle that falls off every 10 seconds...maybe I should just hide that piece and it would fall on the good list!

Matchboxes- They love them and love to scatter them everywhere!

Play Doh- Always a hit and you can never have enough in this house. They are Play-Doh artists for sure and I must sweep up a container full a week off the floor so now we have plenty to replace it with!

Discovery Kids Digital Cameras- Other than the fact that Aubrey's came in broken I think I like these. The kids love taking pictures and getting to review them. I got a fantastic deal online Black Friday and paid a mere $16 each for these full price was nearly $50 and I have to say as much as I like them I wouldn't think they are worth $50.

Vtech Laptops- We had one of these from years ago in the day care room and they fight over it CONSTANTLY so when I spotted them for $10 each I of course grabbed 4 of them. Do you think they would all want to play with them...nope they prefer the one that doesn't work that we have had for years!

Baby Bunnies

The bunny triplets have been doing very well especially considering the cold weather we have had. Ben brought them in the other day so he could clean out the cage and the kiddos had a ball playing with them. They named the black bunny Blackie...original huh? The other 2 bunnies remain nameless.









Chicken Little, oops I mean Matthew watched from afar...I don't blame you buddy!

Outdoor fun

I had the day off and the weather wasn't too cold so I packed the quaddlers up to go over to Grammies for an afternoon of outdoor fun! Aubrey likes the outdoors just about as much as her momma so she was not a willing participant in most of the activities as you can see by the look on her face...


The boys racing their sleds


And the winner is Brady for going the furthest distance


Child labor laws should prohibit 2 year olds from having to pull their fathers around ;)


Riding on the snowmachine and four-wheeler












A smily moment


Shoveling out the driveway with one of their new Christmas gifts








Time to go in and get some coffee...aka hot chocolate...YAY!

Christmas Day 2011

Of all days for them to pick to sleep in! Normally wake up time starts at 5:45 and everyone is up by 6:15 well this morning Matthew woke up at 5:45 needing to pee so I brought him them took him to bed with me to wait for the others to wake up. He was so excited about Santa coming that he was going crazy having to wait for everyone else to get up. When Brady woke up at 6:15, soaked...which meant we would not be decked out in our matching pj pants...I hoped the others would wake soon. FINALLY at 6:30 I let the boys go wake up Cameron and Aubrey so we could get the show on the road!


They were so excited to come down and see what Santa had left for them! The look on Cameron's face as he peered over the railing was priceless!














They ran out into the kitchen to see if Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk and they were so happy that he did and that he left them a note.






They all piled up on the couch for a quick picture then we started with stockings, much to my dismay because I always did presents first thenst stockings however Ben informed me that that was not the correct order in which to do things! They all were just longingly looking at the gifts under the tree.










Finally PRESENT time had come! Santa had left them gifts in which they all had to share and so far they have done pretty good sharing them. They had a few presents each from Ben and I and each a gift from their great grandparents to open. They were ready to play with everything so while Ben was in the shower I spent my time opening up all the things that were already assembled and let them start playing with those. Then we put together all the things that needed putting together throughout the day.
























Aubrey told anyone who would listen to her that Baby Abby need Christmas presents too. She even went as far as telling Uncle Kyle that Aubrey's wrappers needed to be pink and Abby's needed to be purple. I think the best part of her Christmas was finding a gift for Baby Abby from Santa. She laid Abby right down beside her while she opened the gift and leaned over and said in her best cutsy voice "Look Abby! You got new shooooes!" God I love her!


They wasted no time getting started with their new stuff!




Everyone got dressed and ready for the day before our first set of company arrived. Bumpa, Uncle Brandon, Laura, Zachary and Kyra came to celebrate with us. We had a little breakfast then opened some more gifts. The kids might not have been super excited about getting cards but Ben and I sure were. They each got $50 to spend on our Disney vacation in the fall. It will be great for them to each have their own money to spend in the gift shops!

All dressed for the day!







Aubrey was so happy to get to hold her littlest cousin, Kyra!


We packed up and headed to Grammie Donuts and Papa Digger's house for Christmas lunch. We had already had Christmas with all the cousins last week but they still managed to get a few more gifts there too. Now they are all completely outfitted for the upcoming summer. They loved the wrapping paper fight at that signaled the end of gifts!

Brady hanging out with Uncle Kyle


Finally we got home and I finished cooking up a turkey dinner for Uncle Kyle, Evan and Ella to come have Christmas with us. They had a ball playing with all their new stuff and I was exhausted by the end of the day! When 7 pm finally came we were happy to put them to bed and relax!

All ready for bed sporting their new matching jammies...Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!