The Kids

It has been a long time since I have done a kid update. Things have just been such a whirlwind around here with visiting friends and family, boating, hospital visits, work... oh and pure exhaustion. The time/energy to blog has simply left me. I have read other blogs where this very same thing happens. We get introverted and have trouble getting things out, despite the fact that all would just seem better if we put it out there. Hmm. Well back to the kids.

Twin1 - says 'I love you, too' almost hourly. He is such a sweet, affectionate little man. He loves to cook and help out in the garden. He just really likes to be around people. He is very affectionate towards others and has a hard time letting go. My best friend from back east was visiting and twin1 really took to her. He had a hard time saying goodbye. He even packed his own suitcase and wanted to go sleep at 'wou' (you) house. Twin1 is our highly distractable child. He will head off to do something and never come back. It doesn't seem to be on purpose either.

Twin2 - is our master builder. Almost daily he puts on his hard hat and vest, grabs his tools, and heads off to fix things. He has really taken to the computer, which we now have to monitor because he has figured out how to turn it on and open the one game that he can access. Within this one game is a memory game that he is amazing at. We had no idea. He will sit and watch twin1 take his turn and when twin1 gives up, twin2 will finish it with barely a flaw. It is very impressive. His memory is a lot better than he lets on. Twin2 is our obstinate child. You can ask him to do something and he look at you and turn around and do something else, completely ignoring you.

Toddler - is finally moving out of his tantrum stage. He still has tantrums, just not for no apparent reason. He is extremely stubborn - takes after me eeek. He is also very loving. He will come up to you for no reason at all and give you a big cuddle and kiss. It is adorable and very special. He is still extremely busy. When he does decide to settle down and cuddle, you need to drop all that you are doing and really soak it in. He has started to clean up some of his messes - wet ones mainly, but it is a start. He loves water and thoroughly enjoys helping clean, cook, garden.... Oh and the strawberry patch is his favorite place in the garden. He climbs right in and picks away. We recently went raspberry picking and he came away covered in red. I wish I had had my camera. It was very cute.

There is so much to share about these little men. They are my life and astound me with their brilliance, compassion, and creativity everyday. How fortunate I am to be their mom.

Busy Mommy

I get asked/told all the time how busy I must be. Well, I am officially too busy - atleast that is what my in-utero baby is trying to tell me. I met with my new maternity doctor yesterday and voiced some concerns about contractions that seemed a little stronger than Braxton hicks and as it turned out there was blood in my urine. So, over to the hospital I went to have a test to determine whether I was in labour. No, as it turned out I was not in labour and would not be soon - as long as the contractions stopped. However, I was contracting about every 3 minutes - not Braxton Hicks.

In went the IV, contractions slowed for 10 minutes, and then picked right back up again stronger. My cervix was checked - no changes (YA). But there was no way they were letting me leave that night. Ug.

After a sleepness night at the hospital, I was released with few contractions and ordered to take it easy for 2 weeks!!! Hmm, I thought. How does a mother of 3 extremely busy, young children take it easy?

We picked up the kids from my wonderful Mom and Dad and returned home to HUNGRY kids. Well. The kitchen was a disaster because I thought I would be home yesterday to clean it up, twin1 and the toddler started fighting while standing on a chair, twin2 pooped his pants and started argueing with Daddy..... Needless to say, within 15 minutes of arriving home contractions started up again. So, fed the kids as quickly as we could while trying to smarten up their attitudes with some timeouts. Off to bed went the toddler. Off to the stores went my husband and twins in an attempt to sleep the cranky defiance away. Off I went to try and catch up on some missed sleep from last night. HA. Like I will ever catch up on missed sleep!

So, with this pregnancy I have discovered that this girl is going to run me through the ringer emotionally and with stress. She has already decided that I am not going to boss her around - she is the official queen and I am to stand down!! OH NO.

Sweet Sorrow

My bestest friend just left. She stayed with us for a few days and we had such a wonderful time. Her kids are getting older, 7 and 8. The interaction between my kids and hers was a little haggard at times, but overall things were great. We managed to meet them at the zoo for an afternoon. We went swimming and fed the ground squirrels. It was much too short, though. I really have to stop having babies so that I get go and visit her. There is just no one else that I can see once a year and talk to like I see her everyday. I miss you already.

Busy

Hiking, swimming, beach playing, boating, water slide riding, zoo meandering, visiting with cousins and best friends. There is just so much to do in so little time. We are trying to pack in an entire summers worth of activities before I collapse on the couch. We are having a grand time, though.

Development

It's amazing how much more relaxed you become with your second birth. I would never have let the twins drink from big-boy cups at this age, let alone climb up the chair and sit without being buckled in.

I read an article the other day about how the second child recieves X fewer hours of quality time with Mom/Dad resulting in delayed book/letters/school type knowledge. Well, I beg to differ. I think the twin dynamic of a first birth severely alters common inferences. I have started introducing things to the toddler at a much younger age than I ever did with the twins: 1) because he seems interested; 2) because I talk a lot more this time around. I am in constant conversation with the twins and, thus, the toddler as well. I speak to them like they are people. The toddler may not sit still and look at the book when I read books, but he is in the room and absorbs it.

The toddler had his 18 month shots this morning and I had to fill out a development questionnaire. I like to be honest about these things, so for the question about whether he knows his body parts, I answered 'No.' Well the health nurse told my husband and I that we really needed to get started with that..... My husband quickly chimed in that he know lots of other words and those ones will come. As it so happens, I had just begun going over body parts with him in the last week.

I think back to the twins language development and remember how they barely said 'that' at 2 1/2 years old. The could understand each other perfectly, it was the rest of us who were behind in their language! Even today, the twins enunciation of words is way behind that of other children their own age, but those children didn't create their own language first and then start on another one - English.

Development - each to his/her own. I can't wait to see how the next one develops. I am sure it will be entirely different yet again.

Boat

Here is our latest acquisition and my husbands new play toy. We've actually been out in it 4 times - 2 more times than we managed with the trailer. All the kids love it. Twin1 and the toddler love to go swimming, but twin 2 refuses citing, the "water makes me cold." While the rest of us swim, twin2 fishes (sans hook) with Daddy. Fun, fun. And such a relief for me during this heat wave. Tee hee, also my husband has now found an excuse to leave work right at 5:00pm so that we can get in a swim before bedtime.

Pregnancy Belly

Despite the fact that this is my third pregnancy, you would be hard pressed to find many pregnancy pictures of myself. My twin pregnancy belly, of course, will always remain the most impressive. However, this one is different in that it sticks straight out front. There really isn't all that much to the side. Only 8 weeks left. Eeek.

Got Milk

There is nothing quite so cute as a boy, his bottle, and his many blankets. Don't try to take a one or you will hear about it loud and clear.

Favorite Places

The toddler loves shoes. His favorite place in the entire house is..... the entrance shoe closet. At a meer mention of the word shoes, he bolts for the closet. If he is aware that we are headed out of the house, he brings me my shoes, one at a time so that he gets to return to his beloved place. We accidentally purchased some squeaking shoes and he prances around making them squeak. It is all very cute.

Yesterday, we discovered a new favorite place - water. I mean, I new he likes to take baths. He is always the first one in and runs there as soon as all his clothes are off. And at the lake, he has walked straight in, clothes and all, several times in an attempt to drown himself and give me a heart attack. But, I just didn't realize how much he loved the water until yesterday.

The twins were given an 8' x 30" pool. Since yesterday was so hot, I thought I would set it up for them. There wasn't even a skiff of water in the pool before the toddler was running around in it squealing with glee. He stayed in there until the water was about waste height, on him, and he was shivering so bad I thought his teeth would chip. I thought I would take him out and change him until he was warm. Well, he screamed for the next hour straight. At one point he bolted from the house, down the slide, and was in the pool before you could blink - no life jacket. Uhg. Needless to say, the pool is now put away and has been replaced by the little kiddy pool - where upon waking from his nap, he spent the remainder of the day. Way too much work/screaming/heart stopping action for this house. I guess we will have to try again next summer.

30 weeks

Where, oh where has the time gone. We are already three-quarters of the way through this pregnancy. I am truly not ready for this again. The rewards are great, but the first few months sure are tough.

And my poor little toddler. I hope I am still able to give him all the attention and cuddles that he asks for and needs.

The twins are very excited. When they play, they now add a sister into the mix. Very cute.

Final hurrah. Here we come.