Little Cookie Monsters

The boys have all mastered the art of pushing the kitchen chairs over to the counter to try to get into things they don't belong in. Those things today consisted of getting into the snack box on the counter and get out the vanilla wafers since I told them no more.

Brady the mastermind who passed them all out


Matthew trying to hide the "coo-coo's"


Cameron ratting them out all the while trying to chew the mouthful of cookies "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH"


Aubrey showing of the new outfit and shoes Uncle Kyle got her


Little rockstar!

Stepping into Spring!

I was reminded today by a friend that it was time to get Springy and get rid of our Winter Wonderland heading. She was convinced that is why we are in store for another snow storm this weekend because I was jinxing us. Anyway, I was ready for a new signature for one of the message boards I frequent so when the very talented Mandy King generously designed one for me I asked if I could also use it on here and she said yes!

For those of you who don't know Mandy she is one of the most thoughtful, caring, and understanding women I have never met! I say never met because we have never met in real life but she has provided me much support throughout my years of trying to concieve, my pregnancy, Ben's illness, and the past 18 months of parenting. She also is the woman who designed our birth announcements and First Birthday invitations. SOOOOO talented but don't take my word for it...check her out at http://www.luckysevendesign.com/ and keep her in mind for any customized projects you may need!

Thank you Mandy for bringing Spring to our blog!

Little Piggies!

We are very lucky to have four good eaters that are no where near as picky as their monther. Some days they eat hardly anything and others they eat everything in sight but for the most part their diet is very well balanced and they all love fruits and veggies. Tonight we had Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes, Carrots, Rolls and Manderin Oranges.

They ate almost everything on their plate and got down so Ben and I started cleaning up the dinner mess and I put the left over carrots and manderin oranges in small bowls that I thought they would have with dinner tomorrow night but they had other plans!

Aubrey asking for more by saying "moe" and signing it


Brady trying to keep the left over carrots from Matthew


Brady shoving as many carrots in as possible


Matthew hoping he has better luck getting some oranges from Cameron


Cameron was thrilled he ate the last one

Great Grandparents

The quaddlers are fortunate to have several of their great grandparents still living even though they have not yet met them all they are loved by all of them.

Here is a picture of them with Great Grammie and Great Grandpa Caron



Here is a picture with Great Grammie McAllister


Hopefully next year we will be making the trip to Florida to meet Great Grammie and Great Grandpa Reynolds!

Fishies!

Every time we go to Walmart the kids beg to go see the fish. Today we told them we were heading to the fish and the started chanting "fishies!" when Ben got side tracked and walked past the aisle we typically go down to see the fish Cameron started whining and saying "there!" They just love seeing the fish so Ben and I decided to buy them a small beta tank and two betas. I figure for a $12 investment they get to see their fish every day and Ben will have to get off my back about getting a pet! LOL!

Cleaning out!

I took several hours last week and went through all of the kiddos dressers and their closet to get rid of all the stuff they have already outgrown and make room for the hand me downs they are starting to fit into. I am amazed at how much stuff they have! We have been fortunate to get hand me downs from friends and family and the kids have gotten clothes for holidays and their birthday so we have only had to purchase a handful of outfits for each of them. Mostly special holidays and if we find something that they just have to have.

I cannot believe how big they are! Even little Miss Aubrey is fitting in many 24 month items. All three boys are looking oh so grown up in 24 month and 2T shirts but their short legs have kept them in mostly 18 month pants for Cameron and Matthew, Brady is able to fit into 24 months for pants now too. That boy looks like he is at least 6 months older than the other three due to the way he towers over them. I am thinking when we got to their 18 month visit in two weeks that he is going to exceed the height limit for his rear facing car seat. I am sure that will cause a stir when his siblings see him riding forward facing while they are stuck riding backwards!

After sorting through all their clothes they have 3 dressers full as well at 2 bars in the closet and a tote of all pants that they are fitting into now or will be fitting in within the next couple months. We are totally set for spring and even next fall but they only have a few summer outfits so I am on the hunt for some sales! As much as the winter clothing clearances that are going on right now tempt me I don't dare buy anything because who knows when they will stop growing so rapidly and it isn't a savings if they never get to wear it!

Playtime fun!

Every night after dinner the babies want to be "naynee" aka naked. So we strip them down to their diapers and they play in their playroom and make a huge mess that they sometimes attempt to help me clean up. Brady likes to just go in and dump a bunch of the buckets in their organizer just to see if it makes me mad. He will say "momma" and then slowly dump it out. Mostly they play on their little indoor playgound. So many hours of fun have been had with it!

Brady practicing the piano


Aubrey playing alone, I swear she hates her brothers


Cameron reading to us


Matthew going head first


Can I help you?


Cameron thinks using the stairs is for whimps!


I think Matthew is hoping to make it to the top to give Brady a little help getting down the slide

Product Review

A couple weeks ago a representative from a company called Build a Sign contacted me and asked if I was interested in picking out a couple of their products to review. Let me tell you it was so hard to choose from their amazing line however I ended up choosing a personalized licence plate and a yard sign that I will be able to put out every birthday! The prices are great, the product is well crafted and shipment was prompt! I would recommend them to anyone...don't take my word for it check them out here

It's been 2 years since...

These 4


Became these 4


Amazing! I will never forget the day we had our first ultrasound. After my beta tests Dr. Mahutte had told us there was a good chance of multiples and I thought PERFECT...I always wanted twins! After a week of solid bleeding I was certain the ultrasound would show that I was miscarrying. When the screen came on we were looking at 4 little bubbles and Dr. Mahutte said "Do you see what I am seeing?" I was choked up thinking we were looking at newly growing follicles on my ovaries and that this pregnancy was over until he said "There are FOUR sacs!" My response? WHAT?!?!?

Ben began sweating profusely and I was crying. We were quickly warned that there was a great chance that they would reduce themselves in the coming weeks. The ride home was complete silence other than the one moment when Ben turned to me at the border and said "You said it would only be 2!". Who knew a 3 hour car ride could be so long!

I always read post on message boards about women finding out they were having twins or more and being completely devastated, angry and upset. I can honestly say I never had any of these feeling. I was worried, excited and nervous about it all. I worried they would not all make it, I worried that they would. I was excited to have my family I always dreamed about and the prospect of them growing up together. I was nervous about whether or not my body could handle a high risk multiple pregnancy when it never could handle a simple singleton one.

As the weeks past it was evident that all four were in for the long haul and we were faced with the heart wrenching decision of whether or not to reduce. In my heart I knew it was something I never could do but my head was telling me to be practical and look at all the facts. Our first appointment with Dr. Acker was a long one full of ultrasounds, information and exams. Once the words came out of my mouth that I was not reducing a huge weight came off my shoulders when he said "Then it is my job to make sure they all make it to a safe delivery day." I cannot express how much I adore him as a doctor!

We looked at making it to 28 weeks and when that day came and went without a single complication I knew that someone was looking over all of us. At 30 weeks I was upset to be admitted into the hospital with pre-eclampsia but Dr. Acker was headed out on a mini vacation and he wanted me where I could be constantly monitored. Each day consisted of exams, dopplers, ultrasounds and daily calls to Dr. Acker to report in.

After 14 days in the hospital Aubrey's flow went from diminished to absent made the thought of one of these babies might not make it home with us come to the front of my mind. Ben was home receiving his chemo treatment and I knew that delivery day was right around the corner., I called him at 3 am and told him to get down here because I had an ultrasound at 8 am and I would be delivering. Sure enough he walked in the ultrasound room at 8:30 just in time to hear that they were getting an OR ready for the big day!

At 11:31, 11:34, 11:35 and 11:37 am on September 17, 2009 our little miracles made their entrance into the world and life was forever changed. I could not have asked for an easier pregnancy or healthier babies. If I had the choice to do it all over again or change the course of history there is no doubt I wouldn't change a thing! We are truly blessed!

Our Crazy Life

Our typical day has been starting with a 4 am wake up call courtesy of Brady. At that point I have two options, go get him and bring into our bed where I get no more sleep because he insists on sleeping on my shoulder with his face touching mine or let him cry it out and wake up the Aubrey and Matthew and sleep is done for the day. Most of the time I choose option number one because at least then the kids all sleep and might wake up in a good mood. Cameron on the other hand typically sleeps until 6:30 or later and could sleep through a bomb going off. Their bedtime has been 7 pm for almost a year now and it has worked for us but I think I am going to experiment with a 7:30 bedtime the next couple nights and see if they sleep a little later in the mornings. I was so happy with the time change the first 2 days because not a single little soul was up prior to 6:30 am then they decided that was no fun so they would change things up a bit.

Showering with four 18 month olds up and running is just awesome. I typically will put on "Chuggy" aka Chuggington and that buys me about 7 minutes of peace and quiet. On days when they decide that Chuggy isn't interesting enough for them I have 4 little monkeys joining me in the bathroom...wrapping each other in toilet paper, weighing themselves on the scale, wearing my underwear on their head...ya, so much fun!

They are driving us crazy with their eating habits. One day they will eat everything in sight then next day you can offer them the exact same things and they won't even take a bite. I think they do it to drive me nuts. They do general eat a wide variety of foods which I am very grateful for because I do not want them to be picky like I am.

The fabulous foursome are so much fun when they play together and laugh at things the others are doing however lately it has been more like Royal Rumble here! They love to fight, knock each other down and climb all over each other. The little canabils have been biting each other so much lately that I have considered having them tested to see if they are rabid.

Bathtime is fun now that they all have discovered the joy of splashing. Everyone wants to splash but no one wants to be splashed! By the end of bathtime I am usually drenched as are the walls and the floor. Bath instantly transforms bad moods into good ones though so I will take that over needing to mop up the flood anyday!

I am in total amazement with all the climbing they do that no one has yet even attempted to climb out of their crib. With any luck we will be able to keep them caged in those unil they are ready to leave for college.

The fear of strangers has hit and they are even scared of people they know sometimes if they think someone might take them. When people come too close out in public or come into our home they get very nervous and start to cry, mostly Brady and Matthew but sometimes Cameron and Aubrey will do it as well. I have to take the blame on this one I guess because I never wanted them to go anywhere or be away from me and now that I am ready for some mommytime they are not willing to give it to me. Hopefully soon they will start to outgrow this stage.

18 months or a Year and a Half?

Either way they are half way to reaching birthday number two! I am not ready for that milestone. I like to think of them as 18 months because it sounds younger! I like to think of them as the little tiny babies I brought home from the NICU. Does anyone know how to make time stop?

Dancing Babies

Here is our newest video however I have been working on uploading all their videos from birth through present and you can view them at
Our Videos

Aubrey's First Haircut!

Before


During




After


Aubrey was none too happy to get her haircut! Her bangs were in her eyes and driving her, ok me, crazy and the back looked so matted all the time so a little trim was in order. They boys on the other hand were in serious need of a lot of trimming. We were very lucky to have our friend Marlene come take care of them at home and save us a trip to the salon.

Showing off the new dos!

Giveaway!

Approximately 6.1 million couples in the United States, or 10 percent of all couples of childbearing age, have difficulty conceiving. Next month The Lucky 7 will be hosting an amazing giveaway event in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week. Each day of that week an awesome item will be given away. Truly, awesome. So yes, that's SEVEN, great products up for grabs. These 7 prizes have a total retail value of over $550!! Earn extra entries today by visiting http://bit.ly/i8lvVM

Daddy and his tribe

His little mini-me Matty. They act way too much alike!


His little princess!


His little Monkey Cameron!


His little Monster Brady!

Wordless Wednesday