Pictures, Pictures

Just thought I'd let you see some recent shots of our crew. The kids have all grown and blossomed so much over the past couple of months. I wish I could show you before and afters, but my camera had been broken.

Johnathon's bath picture is coursetsy of lettign Avery feed him. I came back in the room to a baby covered in baby food chicken and gravy. From the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet, in ears and belly button, totally gross! But he was loving it. She gave him the spoon.

Christmas in Crazytown

The kids are starting to spend more time with their mom and dad. They have had to day long visits and were back for an overnight for Christmas. This meant we had to celebrate early. Saturday morning was Christmas here. (and again Christmas Eve for Avery)
I knew we were going to be surrounded by a sea of paper and toys, but it took me days to get organized. The funny thing was, we only got the kids 3 toys each.
I really don't think they had a clue what it was all about, but they sure do love opening presents. We got each of the kids a big gift, Avery a kitchen (then a market), Hannah got a dollhouse, Hayley got a baby doll with diaperbag and accessories, and Johnathon an activity table. Then thier other stuff. I honestly think the girls would all rather play with Johnathon's trucks and blocks.

Just between you and me, after all the chaos I really enjoyed the break of having the kids gone for the night. Shhh, don't tell. (wink, wink)

We had a really nice Christmas and hope all of you did too.

More Milestones and Adventures

The past couple weeks have been chalk full of new experiences and milestones.

To start off the biggest thing so far is that the kids had an overnight visit with their mom and dad for Thanksgiving. It was nice to have a little break and the kids overall did really well. This is just the start of what will hopefully be a smooth transition home for them. I am cautiously optimistic that things will go well.

Hannah has done well at gymnastics. There were no tears at her first class, so that was an amazing feat in itself. She also initiated me into the club of puke cleaning moms this morning. Seriously, in the more than 3 years I have been a mom I had yet to clean up or deal with the dreaded pukemonster. Of course she really did a number in her sleep, so I had a bed, hair, clothes and blankets to scrub and sanitize. What a crash course! ICK!!!! Can't say I want to ever do that again.

Hayley is still wild, but seems to be calming down a bit. Now that she knows the boundaries though she is loving telling me "No!" every chance she can get. She has been having some tests ran, so I am anxious to get the results from those and possibly some more testing to come.

Johnathon is sick with an ear infection, but other than that he is still just growing and learning faster than I can keep up with. He now says "dada, baba, and Mmmm!"

On Saturday we threw caution to the wind and along with my parents took all the kids to the indoor waterpark. It was good! Of course Hannah and Hayley were a little scared of the slides and splashing water, but they loved the lazy river and playing in the zero entry pool. Hannah particularly likes the hot tub and would ever let go of us to attempt to swim. She really just hates the cold, so if we can get past that I think she would be a fish. Avery went down every slide that she was tall enough for and probably 50 times each. She couldn't get enough. Johnathon seemed to like the pool and splashed a bit. Afterward they were all exhausted and went to bed early. What a bonus!