Elmer Fudd

I know that you have all seen the adorable Elmer Fudd hats that I got the boys. They really are the best hats ever. They really are extremely helpful. They keep their heads and ears warm, besides they are just to darn cute. They have warn them since they where born, but now they actually fit their heads. These are the pictures that they will get to look back on and say " mom what the heck where you thinking making us where those ugly hats?" I will be able to show their girlfriends just how cute they where when they were born with their cute as can be "Elmer Fudd" hats. I had searched for those hats once I found out that I was having 2 boys and low and behold I actually found them. The best part was that Mitch also has an Elmer Fudd hat that he has had for a couple of years, so of course his boys needed to look just as handsome as daddy does. The boys kept their cute little heads nice and warm on their first Bob adventure. They loved their stroller ride and slept most of it. Mommy got some quite time while the boys slept on our walk.

Yes here they are, the cute boys and their hats. Cohen is not really thrilled to be sitting for pictures for mommy.

Still not loving picture time,

just wait it gets better, add one more kid and you get the best picture ever!!! Thank you God for such a wonderful clan, who all look great in their hats I might add.

Accomplishments

It is amazing how many new accomplishments can happen in one week. So here we go; the boys are 2 months old. We don't have our check-up at the doctor's office until next week so I don't have all the specifics yet. They are chunking up, which I love. They no longer have little stick legs, they are gettin some chunky baby legs. It makes you just want to squeeze and kiss them all over. I am anxious to see what %'s they are in now.

1. Eating like a pig to make enough milk for 2 babies. Check

Cooper( who me?)

Cohen my boy is chillin My next accomplishment was completing Payton's birthday cake before her party. Yes, we made it, barely. Mitch was a huge help stirring up icing for me and figuring out how to get those darn fairies to actually stay standing and to not nose dive onto the table(that did happen a couple of times).

A recipe for chaos is having a 3 year old birthday party at your house. We had a little jumping, a dash of screaming, and a ton of frosting! The kids had a great time and Payton was so excited to have friends to her house. She liked her cake(even though I think all she really liked was getting to eat icing. Pretty sure she didn't care what it actually looked like). The boys got to visit, there were plenty of people who wanted to hold them. Some friends had only seen them in seats or in the car, so they couldn't wait to get the hands on them. That was nice so that most of the family could focus their attention on the birthday girl, since it was her big day. She got lots of assistance with opening her gifts.(the #1 gift was a sucker, that was all she kept asking for) Wish I would have known that and we wouldn't have spent money on her bike!

Daddy putting together his first bike
Our big girl on her bike(every one's a little confused on which way to look)

Our 1 attempt for a family photo opp at the end of the evening.(not to bad)

I was happy we got all 5 of us. Boys happen to be awake and happy and we got the birthday girl to sit still for 5 seconds. This is what you get at the end of the night. A tired chair full. Sleeping boys(after lots of fussing) and a tired 3 year old, getting to watch her new movie. What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I know that you are all jealous. We left Sunday for cleaning up Saturday. Hope your weekend was just as much fun as ours.

2. survived 3yr old birthday party. check

Are You Kidding???

Most parents thinks their child is wonderful; we are no different. I am confident that all three of our children will be well-mannered and intelligent. Having a toddler can be such a fun, exciting experience. There are wonderful days and those days when you want to bang your head against the wall. (or their head.) When they look at you with a blank stare, as if I was speaking a foreign language.

This afternoon lunch was finished and I was feeding Cooper. Payton was playing with her dolls and said, " I have to go to the bathroom." She heads that direction and then starts her winning cry. I of course know that means she has gone some in her pants. She then starts walking slower, which is what I would do if I was peeing my pants. She then changed her panties and pants and crawled in bed for her nap.

Our next adventure was after nap time. Payton had changed out of her pull-up by herself. She came downstairs I asked," Did you go potty?" She replied "yes mommy." She started playing with her dolls and wanted to go in the basement. I asked again," Do you need to potty first?" She replies "NO" Within 3 minutes of going downstairs she was back upstairs. Standing in the middle of the family room, looking right at me. "mom I peed." REALLY. She wasn't kidding, completely stood there and peed her pants. It proceeded to run down her leg and onto the carpet. I had just started breast feeding so couldn't jump up as fast as I would have liked to. I have absolutely no idea why!? Luckily for her I was feeding one of the boys or I would have jumped off the couch screaming slightly louder then I was while sitting on the couch. I asked of course, "why didn't you go potty when I asked if you needed to go?" Payton; " I don't know."

That is the most common response I here lately.

Thank goodness Mitch was arriving any minute, here you go she is all yours for the night. I am going to be hopeful that will not be happening any more. It felt like we had a puppy in the house today. ( not that I am calling my child a dog) Think positive thoughts for Payton. ( and me because I think I will need it)

Birthday Girl

Yesterday my little baby turned 3. It is so hard to believe she is growing into such a little girl. The past 2 months have been difficult for her since her world has been turned upside down. She has done very well considering all the changes that have taken place. She has been such a great big sister and is very gentle with the boys. On good days she is such a good helper. She still can't tell who is who. She just takes a guess or says "that boy". I know she will be good entertainment once they are old enough to pay attention to her.

We went with tradition and went to Zio's again for her birthday dinner. That is where we ate last year when she turned 2. She enjoyed her birthday ice cream Sunday. She is extremely excited about her party this weekend. Our house will be a very full one that is for sure. I am looking forward to watching her blossom this year and starting pre-school in the fall. She might even try out a sport this year. We will just wait and see what the year brings. She has her 3 year check up in a couple of weeks, I am anxious to see how many inches she grew in a year. That child is like a weed. Happy Birthday my girl!

It was our first restaurant experience since the boys arrived. It went very well, Cohen slept the whole time and Cooper was asleep most of it. We had to get him out for the last 15 min. So I think it was a success. I even made it on time, meeting everyone else at the restaurant.

Payton with her birthday sunday

Mom and Dad with the birthday girl

Heartbreakers

Happy Valentine's Day! This year our celebration is going to be a little different. It started last night with Mitch and Payton making chocolate covered strawberry marshmallows. She thought that was fun, who wouldn't chocolate and messy. This morning the boys had their tummy time and mat time after their morning feeding. Then it was off to the doctor's office. We all got ready and Payton got dropped off at the baby sitter's aka: Cheryl's house. Then the boys and I got to pay a visit to the OB office. I had my 6 week check-up. The boys were due to eat just shortly after my appt. My doctor was running late so that didn't help anything. I got Cohen feed, changed and burped and then he finally made it in to see me. All is well, looks great, I am now cleared to workout and do normal activity. ( I will get right on that, because I have all the time in the world to make it to the gym) My ab muscles felt good, besides the flabby skin on top of it. I still have 30lbs left to loose hopefully it won't take forever but extremely grateful for the healthy recovering I have had so far.
I got to remain in the doctors office after my appt. so I could get Cooper fed and changed before loading back up in the car. It is great that one appt. can take me leaving the house at 9am. and I returned home at 1:15. AWESOME. We got it all accomplished though. We even manged to get pictures taken with my neighbors daughter who is 1 week old but they are all 3 the same size. Hopefully they won't break her heart later in life.
Instead of going out for dinner we will be eating dinner in. Mitch is just picking up Olivie Garden. We still will share a good dinner together and get hopefully a few minutes of cuddle time and that is all I need for Valentine's Day.

party time with the jungle animals

my 3 little heartbreakers
Cohen ready for the day

Cooper ready for a nap

Cooper, Avery, and Cohen( from left to right)

1 Month

1 month has flown by so fast. It is hard to imagine that should have arrived today into the world. I am so grateful that they decided to come join us early. They have been growing and doing so well. They still have yet to catch up to Payton the day she was born. Yesterday was there check-up at the doctor's office. Luckily we missed the terrible snow storm that is blessing us today.

Cooper: Height- 20.5 inches (10%) Weight: 7lbs. 12.8oz. (7%) head cir: 14 7/8 (40%)
Cohen: Height- 21.25 inches (50%) Weight: 8lbs (10%) head cir: 14 5/8 (30%)

It is kind of interesting their heads are the largest part. I am thinking that means they are going to grow up to be geniuses. You know that is what any mom would think. I always have a non basis opinion. They are holding their heads up for a couple of seconds. We are breastfeeding between every 3-4 hrs. They are excellent babies, thank goodness since there are two of them. We still have some pretty sleepless nights. That is what happens with 3 kids the 3 of them are never up at the same time throughout the night. They space it out for us, isn't that so nice? Things more fun Payton came down with a 102 fever last night. The boys slept their best night, but she was up multiple times. The fun never ends!!!

Daddy and his boys taking a Sunday nap

Cooper at 1 month

Cohen at 1 month

Baby Dedication

Today was a very special day in our little sleepless world. We participated in the baby dedication at our church this morning. That has been the earliest we needed to be somewhere as a family. We actually succeed and made it there on time. That even included Mitch having to work all night, Payton having a small breakdown before leaving and having to change her tights that she got a whole in. The boys didn't sleep the best but Nana helped by staying the night to help me since Mitch had to be on calls and his computer all night, so he wasn't going to be able to help me. We managed our first family picture before loading up in the car. I am still not used to having a loaded car. It looks so strange to have almost every seat filled up by MY children.
The dedication went very well, Payton even stood up on stage while they were making the introductions. She is defiantly not shy at all. ( Must have gotten that from Mitch, you think?) We are both so grateful to be blessed with 3 of the most wonderful children, and so blessed to be able to dedicate our lives to making sure we do the best we can to teach them about God to make their lives better.

Our first family picture

standing in front of stage at church
Payton and her brothers

Cohen and Cooper dressed for the occasion